how far will you take it, if He takes you

In America today there is a serious problem with evangelism and I have seen it fail so many people throughout my life. From friends and family to just some random kids that would come in and out of our youth group. There just seem to be these churches that there whole purpose of there sermon is to end it with a giant alter call and count the heads of people getting saved. Now there is some good in this, I’m sure some sincere Christians found Jesus and did stick with it. But for me I know that the largest problem with a lot of evangelism in America and I think one of the biggest reasons it is failing the world is that we try to sell Jesus as a solution to all these problems. But he isn’t, don’t get me wrong he is a solution to a lot and some of the biggest problems you might have in your life he could solve them, but it might not be overnight. Following Jesus is not easy. 1peter 1 says this "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." the first part of this verse is talking about Christ’s sufferings in the flesh, anybody who knows remotely the story of the bible could tell you that, Jesus died for all of our sins. But is that really all there was too it. As Jesus was on that cross he bared the complete weight of all sin! Think about that my sin alone could quite possible need a dump truck, and that’s just the last 8 years of my life. Jesus was always in complete communion with God, they were never separated, but when he took upon all of our sin he was no long pure and that beautiful communion that he had always shared went away. With out his purity Jesus could not approach God and either can we. That’s why what Jesus did was and is so important to us. We are unclean and unpurified; God literally can not deal with us in the state that we are in. Jesus exclaimed form the cross as recorded in Mark 15:34 "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" or simply in English "My God, My God why have You forsaken Me?", Jesus on the cross now with the weight of our sins on his back and dying understood sin. He felt our burdened as he destroyed all of death! People forget that Jesus suffered, maybe because we don’t like to think about it. I admit it’s hard sometimes to think about my savior being killed so brutally, but it happened. But to bring it home, Peter says that we are supposed to prepare ourselves to do like wise...are you prepared? I hope we are.