Bible Study
“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. 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. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 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.”
Mark 8:34-38 NKJV
There are at least 3 Important Parts To Following Jesus we see in Mark 8:34-38….
1. Deny Yourself
What does it mean to deny oneself? Does it mean to deny one’s identity? Change one’s name? Lie about oneself?
What does it mean to deny oneself?
a. Get Yourself Off The Throne: Stop worrying about how you look, how you sound, what people are saying or thinking about you, etc. Strike out “I am shy”, “I feel embarrassed” “What will people say about me“, from your vocabulary. There’s no “Me” or “I” when you’re following Jesus. It’s all about Jesus and where He is leading you!
b. Put Your Flesh Under: Starve your senses and feed your spirit. You can’t react to everything your eyes sees, you don’t have to respond to everything your ears hear, you don’t have to yield to every feeling and desire, you don’t have to satisfy every craving, and you don’t need to pay undue attention to every perception.
He that is born of the Spirit is spirit- you are a spirit, don’t let your flesh dominate.
c. Put Your Will Aside: Jesus put His own will (preferences, wants) aside and adopted the Father’s will (John4:34, John 6:38). In John 4:34, Jesus said that His food(what gives Him satisfaction and fulfillment) is to do the will of the Father. And in John 6:38, He said His mission on earth is to accomplish the Father’s will. Friends, to follow Jesus means to go only where He leads, and that implies doing only Jesus’s will for your life. And the way to be in God’s perfect will is to let Him change your thinking through His Word.
2. Carry Your Cross
Jesus carried His cross! And I say that literally-
Jesus carried an estimated 110 pounds crossbeam through an estimated distance of 650 yards (from Pontius Pilates’ palace to Golgata). We are told from the synoptic gospels that at some point Simon of Cyrene was recruited to help Jesus with His cross. I believe though, that Simon couldn’t have covered any significant distance compared to what Jesus did.
When we understand that Jesus could have chosen not to carry that kind of weight at all, it helps us appreciate a bit more, just how much He SACRIFICED and how much He ENDURED.
Jesus could have asked the Father to send an army of angels to clear the soldiers who came to arrest Him (Matthew 26:53), He could have defended and exonerated Himself at Pilate’s court instead of keeping mute (Luke 23). But He didn’t, instead He endured physical, emotional, psychological, torture/hurts in order to do the Father’s will.
You Have To Carry Your Own Cross
No, you don’t have to carry a physical 110pound wood just like Jesus did, however, whether you like it or not, if you are going to accomplish anything significant in/for God, you have a cross to bear. Apostle Paul had thorns in his flesh- annoying and irritating people who worked under satan’s influence to taunt him. Identify your own cross and like Paul, deal with it by grace (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus’ cross didn’t come from God, Paul’s thorns were messengers from Satan. So make no mistake about it, your cross does not come from God. However God already made available His grace to you, so that the cross/thorn, does not inhibit your effectiveness in delivering on your divine mandate.
There is no Grace without a Cross/Thorn and there is no Cross/Thorn without Grace! If you believe that you are graced, then there’s a cross you must bear.
When your cross seems too heavy, embrace God’s grace. When the weight of your cross feels too heavy and you’re tempted to drop it, reach out to your Helper- The Holy Spirit- grab His hands and keep moving.
3. Follow Jesus’s Leading
Jesus followed through with the Father’s will. We must also follow Jesus fully.
To follow someone’s leading steadily, you have to be focused on their every step; keep in-step with Jesus!
a. Avoid distractions: If you stop to respond or react to everything or everyone along the way, you’ll not keep up with Jesus; you’ll lag behind, you’ll miss Jesus. And at some point, you can become lost in the maze of trying to respond or react to everything and everyone on your path that you lose bearing of exactly where Jesus is.
Avoid distractions and strife; sometimes they are just the devil’s trick to keep you occupied with everything but what God would have you do.
b. Keep Your Focus on the Price: There’s an eternal price for finishing your Christian race strong. Jesus said; “it is not profitable to gain the whole world and lose your soul“. Apostle Paul said, he has “a crown” waiting for him because he finished his race well. Finish well and take your crown.
c. Keep Following Jesus by simply walking the path He’s set for you: Live a purpose driven life every day. Be busy with the Father’s business. Love and serve the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.
Run your own race, not another’s. Don’t delve into or assume a ministry Jesus didn’t assign you, Run Your Own Race.
Don’t stop Following Jesus because of pressures and adversities.
There’s sufficient grace for every cross along the way of following Jesus. Keep moving!
Halleluyah! Praise The Lord!! Amen!!!
