April 7, 2014: Wilderness Challenge / It's Not About Me!!!
Luke 9:18-36
Amplified Bible (AMP)
18 Now it occurred that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, Who do men say that I am?
19 And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.
20 And He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? And Peter replied, The Christ of God!
21 But He strictly charged and sharply commanded them [under penalty] to tell this to no one [no one, whoever he might be],
22 Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be [deliberately] disapproved and repudiated and rejected on the part of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death and on the third day be raised [again].
23 And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].
24 For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].
25 For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?
26 Because whoever is ashamed of Me and of My teachings, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in the [threefold] glory (the splendor and majesty) of Himself and of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 However I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.
28 Now about eight days after these teachings, Jesus took with Him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.
29 And as He was praying, the appearance of His countenance became altered (different), and His raiment became dazzling white [flashing with the brilliance of lightning].
30 And behold, two men were conversing with Him—Moses and Elijah,
31 Who appeared in splendor and majesty and brightness and were speaking of His exit [from life], which He was about to bring to realization at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they fully awoke, they saw His glory (splendor and majesty and brightness) and the two men who stood with Him.
33 And it occurred as the men were parting from Him that Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is delightful and good that we are here; and let us construct three booths or huts—one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah! not noticing or knowing what he was saying.
34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud came and began to overshadow them, and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear as they entered into the cloud.
35 Then there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, My Chosen One or My Beloved; listen to and yield to and obey Him!
36 And when the voice had died away, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept still, and told no one at that time any of these things that they had seen.
When I was young I read a lot of scripture without understanding what I was reading. And as a result, I didn't take it to heart. I guess I was putting my time in, so to speak, and didn't really want to let some of these hard scriptures sink in. I was an only child and my life pretty much was all about me.
Thankfully, I have moved forward from this way of thinking. I have found that if I focus on myself, I am miserable. Instead, when I attempt to live every moment of every day as a living sacrifice, I am completely fulfilled! In other words, it all comes back! 100 times over, as we studied a few days ago!
23 And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].
A sermon I heard a few years ago has stuck with me. I was privileged to hear Eli Hernandez preach about taking up your cross. He said you have to lay down your burdens in order to take up your cross. You cant carry both, it's too heavy. So, every day, multiple times a day, lay your burdens down at the foot of Jesus' cross. Leave them there. And if you don't know what your cross is, ask Jesus to show you. And then, pick it up and carry it joyfully!
I love the Amplified description of what it means to follow Jesus. Cleave stedfastly to Him. Conform wholly to His example in living. And if need be, in dying as well! We may or may not have to die for the cause of Christ. But we must be willing and ready to die. If this seems overwhelming and upsetting to you, simply have a conversation with Jesus about the subject. I've noticed when I go ahead and talk to Jesus about my fears, He clarifies stuff for me and my fears vanish.
I used to be afraid of physical pain. Until I had contractions during the birth of my second child. The anesthesiologist wasn't able to come right away, and for a while, I had some intense contractions. I simply started speaking in tongues, and as the presence of God surrounded me, the pain vanished!
Many years later, I was very sick. I was in intense pain once again. As I lay on the couch, writhing in pain, I started to speak in tongues. The same thing happened! I had an amazing time with Jesus that day as I cried, worshipped and told Him I can go through anything, as long as He is by my side.
"Jesus I have found that my life is fulfilled and happy when I take up my cross and follow You. You are my only reason for living. There have been times I felt, for whatever reason, far from You. I was miserable. I want to continue to lay down my life as a living sacrifice. To the One who layed down Your life for me. How I love You! How I adore You! Here I am! A servant to the King of kings! Yours forever and ever, Jesus. AMEN"
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