DEWITT
TABERNACLE TEACHING SERIES
TOTAL COMMITMENT
EQUALS
RAPTURING FAITH
By C.W. Wood
July/August
2006
The last hours of decision time are fading away. Choose ye! (Deut. 30:
15:19)
In the lost world, we see people being presented with the DECISION of
whether or not to obey the convicting Spirit of God that is falling on them. If
they obey, repent, and turn from their sins, they are received into the circle of safety. If not, no man knows if he will have another
chance. The end of this world as we have known it is staring us in the face.
Beyond question, it is DECISION TIME, not only in the lost world, but also in
the churches where the people are called Christians.
This SEPARATION reaches into our MESSAGE CHURCHES the same as in the
denominational churches. In our Message Churches, we can clearly see God
confronting us with decisions that have to do with TOTAL COMMITMENT to Himself.
Decisions that will have a definite bearing on whether or not we go in a
Rapture, or be left during tribulation to have the world purged out of us!
In John
In this writer’s opinion, that is one main reason for God’s Children
being trapped in false doctrine. Somewhere in the past, God has sent them some
truth that they have refused to live by, or else it could be they do not have
the One living in them who “Leads into all Truth.” Those who DESIRE truth,
and strive to OBEY, repenting when they fail, will always receive revelation. Isa.
30:21, “And thine ears shall hear a
WORD behind thee, saying, THIS [IS] THE WAY, WALK YE IN IT.” We do often
need to hear a Voice behind us saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it.”
Our subject is TOTAL COMMITMENT, and the Lord Jesus taught much on this.
In Matt. 10:37-39, He said, “He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me; And he that
loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not
his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his life
shall lose it; And he that loseth his life shall find it.” In these three
verses, we see His call to total commitment! In requiring us to put Him before
father and mother, and before son or daughter, we are to understand that since
these persons are the closest ties we have on Earth, then NO PERSONS should be
allowed to come between us and our Creator.
In the spiritual realm, no person, including a wife or husband, can ever
be placed before God. Our obedience is to Him first and always. The following
parable will show that there is nothing in this natural world that our Lord will
allow us to place before Him.
Luke 14:16-35 “Then said he unto him, A
certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden,
Come; for all things are now ready.
18 And they all with one [consent] began to make excuse. The first said
unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I
pray thee have me excused.
19 And another
said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have
me excused.
20 And another
said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the
master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the
streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and
the halt, and the blind.
22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet
there is room.
23 And the lord
said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] to
come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I say
unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
25 And there
went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any [man]
come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of
you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost,
whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]?
29 Lest haply,
after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that
behold [it] begin to mock him,
30
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
33 So likewise,
whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my
disciple.
34 Salt [is]
good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?
35 It is
neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; [but] men cast it out. He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
In the beginning of the story, we are to understand that the “certain man” who made the Great Supper was God Himself. Also,
we see in Verse 16 that this man (God) “bade
many.” The invitation went out to ALL MEN. The word “many”, as used
here, implies that everyone was
invited. It is the same word used in Matt.
Also, in Verse 16, we understand that this GREAT SUPPER is the
Marriage Supper of The Lamb, which is for the Bride of Christ. This goes without
saying to those who have revelation of the Scripture! This being true, then can
we see that our Great God of Love has sent His precious invitation to ALL MEN,
and that it is not His fault if some refuse it. Where does this leave us then
when we teach that some can come to the Supper and some cannot?
We cannot deny the fact that the invitation given in our parable is to
ALL MEN! Neither can we deny that in the parable, our Lord Jesus is speaking of
the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which is for HIS Bride! Following this line of
thought, we can see that ALL MEN have been invited to be God’s Bride. But as
the Scripture says, “Many (all) are called but few are chosen.” Why are not more chosen? Simply
because they do not heed the call! We are not to sit back and wonder if
certain ones can come to the Supper, and perhaps think that some others cannot
come.
With His foreknowledge, He elected those whose hearts desire was toward
Him. This is the Scripture, as stated in Rom.8: 29 (and other places), “For whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to
the Image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many Brethren.”
It is very factual that no man can come unless “The
Father which has sent Me draw him.” (John 6:44) By calling all men, God
retains His total Righteousness. By leaving the choice up to man AFTER He calls
him, God abides by His decision to make all Angels and Men free-moral
agents. This is a meeting in the middle of the road between God’s
Election and man’s free-moral agency;
it is the proper balance in the Scripture. Many will testify that the doctrine
of Election is true, and will also admit that free-moral
agency is true, but it took a Word Prophet to tie the two doctrines together
so that they are compatible with each other.
There is a time before God convicts the hearts of the lost that they
CANNOT COME to Him. But once He draws us, and we see our need to repent and turn
to our Saviour, we become responsible to come! In this sense then, man will give
an account for his responsibility; he will reap the harvest of his own decision.
If this were not true, then there would be no need of the White Throne Judgment.
The lost would be as robots, programmed to eternal damnation without any say in
the matter. But this is not the case. There will be a White Throne Judgment, and
every man “Shall give account of
himself to God.” (Rom.
In Verse 18 of our parable, we see that “They
ALL with one consent began to make excuse.” This is always the reaction of
natural man to the call of God. But while the grace of God continues to work in
our hearts, some finally stop resisting and turn to the Saviour. But alas, many
never become willing to turn loose of the things of the world, a piece of
ground, a yoke of oxen, a wife or husband, a job, a reputation, or perhaps a
bank account as seen in the story of the Rich Young Ruler!
In Verse 24, we see what should be a most disturbing statement by
our Lord, “For I say unto you, that
none of those men which were bidden shall taste of My Supper.” Remember,
all are invited to be Bride! “And the
Spirit and the Bride say Come. And let him that heareth say Come. And let him
that is athirst come. And WHOSEVER WILL, let him take of the water of Life
freely.” (Rev. 22:17) When the last call goes out to mankind, and they
have refused it, the Lord said, “They
shall not taste of My Supper.” In other words, they will not be in the
Bride group, and will miss the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.
The Rapture will take place and millions will be left to enter into the
Great Tribulation. There, by the Grace of God, some will repent and be purged of
their sins. They will not be Bride, but will come up in the Second Resurrection
and be given Eternal Life at the White Throne Judgment (See Rev. 20:12-15).
Others who will also come up in the Second Resurrection will be forever lost
(See Rev. 20:15)
In Verse 33, we see another statement by our Lord that is so often
by-passed. “So likewise, whosoever he
be of you THAT FORSAKETH NOT ALL THAT HE HATH, he cannot be my disciple.” In
giving thought to this Scripture, we see that the “whosoever”
spoken of here includes any and all that will receive Eternal Life. Whether they
be Bride or Foolish Virgins, ALL will have to forsake “All that he hath.” The difference between the Bride and the
Foolish Virgins will be that the Bride forsakes all here and now, but the
foolish will have to have the greater pressure of the Great Tribulation before
they will “Give up all.”
As time goes by, and the Lord tarries, some of our dear Message Believers
are turning back to the ways of the world. They look to the world’s ways and
programs more than to the revealed Word of God that is sent to produce in us
Perfect Rapturing Faith.
We must never forget to preach that full Salvation is for “whosoever
will.” I am so thankful for a God who is offering the invitation to the
Marriage Supper to any and all.
Friends, if any of us miss it; it will not be His fault. How grateful we should
be that He is no “Respecter of
persons.” The worse sinner on Earth can come and be the Bride of the Lord
Jesus Christ, if he will repent and turn from his sins!
In Luke 23:33-34, we read about the scene at the crucifixion. The
soldiers that had spit in the face of the Lord, pulled out His beard, beat Him
without mercy, and pushed a crown of thorns down on His precious brow, were now
driving spike nails into His hands and feet. In Verse 34, Jesus prayed a
most amazing prayer, one that should forever encourage sinners to throw
themselves upon His great love and mercy! Jesus said, “Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do.” My question is, “Was our
Lord only speaking idle words, or were they words that were meant to forever
show forth the unfailing Grace of God?” Was that prayer heard and honored by
the Father? Remember, Jesus was the Father. (He said, “I come in My Father’s
Name.) This writer believes that we will spend eternity with those heartless men
who were led to repentance by this prayer!
Has any lost person done worse than kill the precious Son of God? If not,
then turn to Him at once, receive forgiveness, and accept His invitation to the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Yes, even you, lost sinner friend, may come to this
lovely Christ and be forgiven. Come today, it’s about over!
Referring to the title of our sermon, we do know that the degree of our
commitment to God determines the degree of our Faith. Our obedience to known
light, or truth, opens the door for the Lord to reveal his Word to us (John
In our world of plenty, when many of us have more material things
than ever before, there is a terrible sickness that takes hold of us. It is
called “Depression.” I will make a statement that may strike you as strange
at first, but please bear with me. I believe that depression is many times
caused by our un-submitted will. We refuse to submit to the trials of life!
Our duty is to lay everything on the altar, submitting to the Scripture
that declares, “The steps of a good man are ORDERED by the Lord.” (Ps. 37:23)
Although we think we understand the way we should go, we often find that it is
not in man to “understand his own
way.” (Pr. 20:24) Ps 37:5, “Commit
thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” He
will bring to pass HIS WILL in our lives.
The Scripture declares, “His
servants ye are to who ye obey.” (Rom.
To be unhappy and in disagreement with the circumstances of our lives
is to doubt God’s Word that declares, “And
we know that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord and
are the called according to HIS PURPOSE.” (Rom.
I will close with a Scripture that is completely life-changing for those
who will wrap their spiritual arms around it and believe it every hour of every
day. It is a Word that our Father gave me in the early days of my Christian life
when I was confused about the leading of the Lord for my life. It is found in I
Thess. 5:16-18. “Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing (keep God constantly in our thoughts). Verse 18
holds the powerful key, “In everything
give thanks; for THIS is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
First, may I call your attention to Rom.
Now notice I Thess.5:18, “In
EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS; for THIS (This circumstance that you find yourself
in at any given moment) For this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I am praying for the Lord to
open this verse to you as you read. It simply means what it says; we are to
thank God for everything that comes into our lives! Why? Because,
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,” (Ps. 37:23) and our
Lord knows exactly what we need every day of our lives to perfect us. Do you see
it? “For THIS that is happening to you right now is God’s Will for you in
Christ Jesus!
We are not teaching that we are to go along with everything that comes
into our lives. We know that whatever is contrary to the Word we are to resist.
But the great point is, nothing can come that has not been ordained by God. So
we will accept all things as having been ordained by Him, resisting what should
be resisted and obeying what should be obeyed.
This is a sure-cure for a rebellious spirit, which spirit, when entertained, always leads to depression! Depression is what takes hold of us when we are constantly disagreeing with the way our God is ordering our steps. Know He is in full control, praise Him for that control, and choose to be full of joy over the fact that His ordering of your steps is preparing you for the Rapture! Depression is a spirit of the Devil that comes to set you against what God is working out in your life. Put him out, believe the Word, and receive fullness of Joy. God is on our side, but remember, He is going to crucify our flesh-man, so get ready to die to it.
I’ve preached, now may I receive grace to walk in it myself. Amen!