July 22-26

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Mark 8:34 ESV

  WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
  You must be prepared to pay the price of: Radical Surrender.

General William Booth was once asked to reveal the secret of his success. After some hesitation, tears came to his eyes and he said, “I will tell you the secret. God has had all there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I have, men with greater opportunities, but from the day that I got the poor of London on my heart and caught a vision of what Jesus could do with them, I made up my mind that God should have all of William Booth.” It was this which led Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, the questioner, to remark, “I learned from William Booth that the greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.”(Encyclopedia of Illustrations)

The first condition that must be met in order to follow after Jesus is radical surrender. Jesus says following Him starts with denying yourself. Bruce Barton writes in Life Application Commentary: To deny oneself means to surrender immediate material gratification in order to discover and secure one’s true self and God’s interests. It is a willingness to let go of selfish desires and earthly security. This attitude turns self-centeredness into God-centeredness.

Reflection

Denying yourself may be one of the hardest things you will ever do. What makes it hard for you to deny yourself on a daily basis? What’s the radical life God gives you in exchange for denying yourself?

Praise/Prayer

Thank God for the power of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for you to deny yourself and follow Jesus. Ask God to help you forsake the things you thought of above when asked what makes self-denial difficult.

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Mark 8:34 ESV

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
You must be prepared to pay the price of: Total Sacrifice

Boarding the SS Dorchester on a dreary winter day in 1943 were 903 troops and four chaplains, including Moody alumnus Lt. George Fox. World War II was in full swing, and the ship was headed across the icy North Atlantic where German U-boats lurked. At 12:00 am on the morning of February 3, a German torpedo ripped into the ship. "She's going down!" the men cried, scrambling for lifeboats.
A young GI crept up to one of the chaplains. "I've lost my life jacket," he said. "Take this," the chaplain said, handing the soldier his jacket. Before the ship sank, each chaplain gave his life jacket to another man. The heroic chaplains then linked arms and lifted their voices in prayer as the Dorchester went down. Lt. Fox and his fellow pastors were awarded posthumously the Distinguished Service Cross. (Today in the Word).
Following Jesus means being willing to give up your life for the life He has for you. Jesus gives a second command to “take up your cross” which means to pick it up at once. This speaks of death to self, for the sake of Jesus. This goes beyond denying yourself to dying to yourself and your agenda. Jesus’ point was that those who desired to be His disciples, rather than seeking prosperity and ease, must be willing to endure persecution, rejection, hardship, and even martyrdom for His sake.

Reflection

Most of us have not had to face threats of physical death for our faith. What other threats or pressures have you faced because of your faith in Christ?

Praise/Prayer

Praise Jesus for dying on the cross in your place. Ask God to give you the courage to stand when you are threatened or pressured because you are following Him.

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. - Mark 8:34 ESV

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
You must be prepared to pay the price of: Faithful Submission

The captain of the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance. Immediately he told his signalman to send a message" "Alter your course 10 degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north." The captain was angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!" Soon another message was received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am seaman third class Jones." Immediately the captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship." Then the reply came "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse."
In the midst of our dark and foggy times, all sorts of voices are shouting orders into the night, telling us what to do, and how to adjust our lives. Out of the darkness, one voice signals something quite opposite to the rest--something almost absurd. But the voice happens to be the Light of the World, and we ignore it at our peril. (Paul Aiello, Jr.)
Submitting to Jesus' direction is an essential part of following Him. Jesus’ third command is to follow Him. This means continuing in Jesus' Word as a way an individual demonstrates that they are a genuine follower of Jesus. And continuing in His Word means not just reading His Word, but believing and obeying His Word.

Reflection

How is God’s Word like a lighthouse when it tells you to change your direction?

Praise/Prayer

Praise God for the clear direction that He provides you for your blessing and protection. Ask God to help you recognize any areas of your life where you are not “following” Jesus and to help you change your course.

 

35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? - Mark 8:35-37 ESV

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
You must be willing to recognize the reward.

In his book The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis notes how believers often underestimate the full riches God has for His children. If we consider…the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures…like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (In Touch).

Adrian Rogers wrote, “When I was a child, we used to play a little game called "Finders, Keepers, Losers, Weepers." But our Lord is saying, "Losers, Finders, Keeper's, Weepers." Jesus expands on the reward of denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him when teaches by losing our lives we really are saving our lives for eternity.

Reflection

How much do you think a soul is worth? What do you think it means to sell your soul?

Praise/Prayer

Thank Jesus for paying the price to purchase your soul. Thank God for the promise of the rewards He has stored up for you in heaven. Ask God to help you to see the value of souls over everything else.

 

38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” - Mark 8:38 ESV

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO FOLLOW JESUS?
You must be able to envision the end.

A young man got up to give his testimony for Christ at a tent meeting. He was not very accustomed to speaking in public, and he stumbled over his words quite a bit. An atheist in the back of the crowd yelled, "You should be ashamed of yourself, standing up there and talking like that!" The young man yelled back, "I AM ASHAMED of MYSELF. But I am NOT ashamed of Christ!" (Robert Drake).

Jesus promised heaven in the end to those who were not ashamed of Him and not ashamed to be called His followers. Someone ashamed of Jesus is a person who is more concerned about fitting into and pleasing this “generation" than about following and pleasing Christ. Jesus taught if we refuse to acknowledge Him before men He will refuse to acknowledge us before the Father.

Reflection

What’s the opposite of being ashamed of somebody? Being proud of them. Admiring them. Not being embarrassed to be seen with them. Loving to be identified with them.

Praise/Prayer

Praise God for the privilege of being His child and being a part of His family. Ask God to grow your love and admiration of Him to the point that you love telling others about Jesus and your relationship with HIm.