New Life Family Church
Wednesday May 5, 2021 WED
- Made Up Mind
- May 5, 2021 The Commands of Christ – 11bAdult Bible StudyWhat do you think?What do you think of when you see a cross that is worn as a piece of jewelry or one that is displayed in front of a church?Isn’t it pretty? Beautiful wood work… etc. It’s (religious) art.I KNOW it doesn’t mean the person wearing it is a Christian. The person wearing it may have no idea about what it means. Maybe they think it ONLY means that Jesus died on a cross.What do you think people in Jesus’ day thought of when they saw a cross?There was fear, anger, revulsion, etc. because they saw crosses at work every day — and it was horrible!And yet, Jesus commands us to carry our cross, take up our cross and follow Him.A lot of difference! But still, Jesus commands us to Take up our cross and follow Him.Recap:Series Foundational Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20 esp. vs.20As we study the Commands of Christ, we are using Tom Blackaby’s approach in his 2012 book, The Commands of Christ. In his book, Blackaby divides the commands of Christ into 6 areas:1: Coming to God| 2: Christ as Lord | 3: Character4: Concerning Others | 5: Calling | 6: CautionsWe have covered the commands that relate to coming to God:Be born again | Repent | Come as a child | Love God with all your being |Receive the Holy Spirit | Enter through the narrow door | Worship in Spirit and in truth |Abide in MeWe continue to cover the commands that relate to Christ is Lord:Deny Yourself | Take Up My Yoke and Learn from Me | Follow Me | You Have Heard It Said . . . but I Say to You | Pray This Way | Do This in Remembrance of Me | Remember What I SaidFollowing Jesus sounds like a wonderful adventure—and Jesus does promise a life of incredible challenge and enriching purpose as we follow him. But the satisfying path is not necessarily the easy path. Several times during his ministry Jesus urged his followers to consider the cost of following him. Salvation in Jesus is free—a gift of God’s grace. Following Jesus as a faithful disciple, on the other hand, requires the willing sacrifice of all the things we hold most closely.Dig:READ:
Luke 14:25–27 NASB95 Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.How does carrying a cross illustrate what is required to follow Jesus (v. 27)?When the Romans executed a prisoner by crucifixion, they made the entire process as humiliating as it was excruciating. After stripping the victim naked for flogging, they hung a sign around their neck listing their crimes. The victim was then forced to carry the implement of their own death through the city streets to the place of execution. Therefore, to “carry one’s own cross” is to bear the public scorn of discipleship and to accept the inevitable suffering it brings.Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary - Luke.Following Jesus, therefore, meant identifying with Jesus and his followers, facing social and political oppression and ostracism, and no turning back. And this would not be a once-for-all deal—believers would need to be willing to take up this cross "daily" as they faced new situations, new people, new problems. Life Application Bible Commentary - Luke.There are no crown-wearers in Heaven that were not cross-bearers here below. — SpurgeonWhat do you think of CH Spurgeon’s quote?There are several ways the believer carries a Cross and dies to self. Romans 6:11-13 spells out the ways as clearly as they can be.Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Luke.Romans 6:11–13 NASB95 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.1. The believer reckons or counts himself crucified with Christ.2. The believer reckons or counts himself dead to sin, but alive to God.3. The believer does not let sin reign in his body.4. The believer does not yield his bodily members as instruments of sin.5. The believer DOES yield himself to God—as much as those who are alive from the dead are yielded to God.6. The believer yields his bodily members as instruments of righteousness.It should be noted that one's hardship or burden can bring a person to the place where the Lord can deal with him. It is then that the hardship becomes the cross and denial of self that Jesus is talking about. With an act of self-denial, the Christian can then reckon himself alive to God (Romans 6:13). He can then follow Jesus. This is an act which can be described as committing all that one is and has to Christ. It is an act that needs to be repeated every dayPreacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Luke.There are only 3 other passages that use the same Greek words Jesus used in Luke 14:27: “Come after Me.” (Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23) How does “coming after Jesus” relate to following Him?Luke 14:27 NASB95 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.Matthew 16:24 NASB95 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.Mark 8:34 NASB95 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.Luke 9:23 NASB95 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.Note the phrase “and come after Me.” It expresses the idea of getting in line behind someone. In the same manner the masses followed Jesus on His way to Jerusalem, true disciples place their feet in His footsteps—all the way up to Golgotha, the place of crucifixion. The Lord’s call includes a commitment to the kingdom cause that’s as selfless and complete as His own. In a practical sense, discipleship requires placing all other goals, objectives, plans, and personal desires under those of the Father. The truly committed follower releases their own will while embracing the Father’s will. Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary - Luke.How did Caleb follow God? (Numbers 14:20-24; 32:11-12; Joshua 14:6-14)Caleb followed God “fully.” THAT WAS HIS TESTIMONY. (Put it on his tombstone.)Complete Biblical Library: Joining this verb (to “fill”) to another verb with the same person and number heightens the other verb's intensity (in this case “follow”)Characteristics of how he followed God:By faith, declaring what had not yet transpired: Victory2. When others did not agree.3. When others wanted to kill him (Num 14:10)4. He followed in the face of delayed fulfillment (40 years!) (not his fault!) Joshua 14:6-14 He didn’t stop even when he was old (80+)Others?How does his example help us to follow Jesus?Obviously following Jesus will NOT be popular. We may even face death.Following Jesus will require great faith.Hebrews 11:1 NASB95 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.Following Jesus will often require delayed gratification.Think about the people listening to Jesus in Luke 14. There were committed disciples, critics, casual followers and curious seekers. How might each group respond to what Jesus is saying?Committed Disciples - “Yes, Lord! Not my will, but Yours be done. It will be hard, but if You help I can do it.”Critics - Who are You to demand so much? No one can do that. You’re crazy!Casual Followers - Wow! That’s more than I was expecting and definitely more than I will pay.Curious Seekers - Why do you want me to do that?Reflect:As you reflect on these words of Jesus, try to articulate how you feel about your own spiritual journey. Use any of the statements below if it helps you put words to your reaction.• I am fully committed to following Jesus, regardless of the cost to my image or reputation.• I am a bit fearful because I do not know what "taking up my cross" looks like.• I am not ready to take any next steps yet because I am still trying to understand why Jesus makes such demands on people.• I think Jesus is going too far here and is scaring away people who might follow him if they had a chance to get to know him.• I made the commitment to follow Jesus fully in the past, but I feel I failed him along the way since then. So now I am unsure—will he still want me to follow him after what I have done?Consider what you are willing to sacrifice in order to follow Jesus fully. Express the level of your commitment to Jesus in prayer.Next Week: Following Jesus into MaturityJesus wants us to be born again and to accept the Kingdom as a little child, but He doesn’t want us to be childish.We need to follow Him to a place of greater and greater maturity. Luke 14:27NLT
Matthew 16:24NLT
Mark 8:34NLT
Luke 9:23NLT
Hebrews 11:1NLT
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