Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Matthew 16:24-27 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
God will reward the Jesus disciple who faithfully walks the way of his/her own cross, denying the self life and following The Son, for without faith in it’s resurrection power this walk would produce nothing acceptable to God; knowing this the disciple desires only to seek the kingdom and will of God.
Mark 8:34-38 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Here the Lord is giving the principles of discipleship. It’s absolutely clear, we either want it or we don’t, God isn’t going to let us play at church. He isn’t going to let us enjoy being spiritual on Sunday’s or Tuesday’s but every day, every second, every moment.
Luke 9:23-26 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Here are 3 clear accounts to show why we have been given the faith teaching, that is to enable us to embrace the conditions of the cross in our everyday life and walk in them moment by moment – that is the Deeper Life, that is the power of the cross. Christ crucified is our message that we take to this dying world which will only respond as they see the life of Christ living His life through you. This part of Jesus teaching is least understood in the Christian church today. Jesus wouldn’t have gone to the cross if He didn’t have it’s end result in sight, this is where you need a vision which comes from the cross which you take up daily. This vision will show that there is a harvest out there and that the labourers are few. The cross is making it into the kingdom, the only guarantee of making it into the kingdom of God is disciples
The cross puts an end to self lusting for the things of the world
We’ll always make an excuse for our lusting until God touches us and we realize that our motive is wrong. You will know a saint who is not lusting for things – those who say “God blessed me with that” – the gratitude and thanks that comes out of their heart for what God has blessed them with. Jesus said ‘by there fruit you will know them’ and God looks for a thankful heart that praises Him, because they have learnt that their blessings come from God and not from lusting and working after it….
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The cross won’t let you sell your soul to the devil
Here is another reason we follow the Lord – if you desire and pray for the cross in your life you will not lose your soul….
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We take up our cross for Jesus and the sake of the gospel
Luke 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son.Hear Him!”
We hear Him. You’re not hearing some minister, your not hearing some popular evangelist whom you follow. You’re in this room today because you’re here to hear Him. God just uses a mouthpiece. This is why I keep saying it is so paramount you pray for the Word that you hear, you intercede in the week for the Word – for that seed of that Word that you hear. You pray for it’s purity, you pray for it’s correctness, you pray for that Word because you want to hear God speak. This can only come by saints who see the cross and who know what their cross is for and they take it up daily and follow.
You see a saint who walks the crucified life is one who doesn’t have to be told to pray for the Word of God that they are hearing – that cross will produce the unction in which to do it. Something within me wants to pray for my brother and my sister going through a trial – there’s just something there. Yes I know the enemy tries to hinder us to keep us out of God’s presence, to keep us out of praying, but then that’s a sign you’re on the right track when you get these attacks, so praise the Lord – He has a way in which He shows us.
The Cross causes us to not be ashamed of Jesus and His Word
The cross frees you up from yourself, frees you up from embarrassments, frees you up from ‘O I don’t know what to say’, frees you up from all of these things the enemy tries to hold us with ‘well you can’t say that – what will they say’ – That is the power that comes from the cross – we’ll always put self first otherwise. Don’t worry about crucifying yourself, settle it with God just like Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross will do the rest – it will bring out all the weaknesses but you will know the mercy and power of God. ‘in my weakness I am strong’ The cross will always weaken you and I – it brings us to the end so that the power of the risen Lord Jesus who lives in us takes over. The more you get of that the more you’ll want it – glorying in the cross
The Cross Will Preserve A Remnant, The Overcomers For Jesus’ Appearance
Unless the bride who’s making herself ready through the working of the Cross there will be no bride. To make herself ready she has had a revelation of the cross that she too takes up and follows the Lord daily. But the cross speaks also of walking with the Lord being with the Lord – unbroken fellowship – the very way that Jesus went. This is what is signifies and this is its power – unbroken fellowship 24/7 – cannot be achieved in the natural, but can be and is through the working of the cross. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth you through the cross which you are willing to take up daily and follow. Everything else will stem and work from that
Luke 9:27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Do we believe that we are that generation that will not pass till it sees the coming of the Lord? I believe so, I believe so. They stand firm because of the cross that is in their lives.
That’s why we need to be in faith for the cross in our lives as much as getting healed or that new job, salvation of our loved ones, but above all we need to believe that the cross is central to our lives, to our church, to the teaching we receive. Some don’t have faith in the cross because they don’t see or experience it- unless you pray the cross into your life you will never know it’s power, it’s experience, and that is the problem. That is why we have such problems today in pulpits where it’s a watered down lukewarm message. Most of what you hear comes out of commentary books and they have there place but
they will never be your experience unless you are a saint that goes into your closet, gets on your knees and sweats it out with God
And there is the difference
2 Timothy 3:6-8 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith;
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