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ENGLISH PAGE - The Messages
What
is Jesus mean ¡°The
Cross¡±
in this verse? The cross means is when we submit our will to the will of Christ.
Of course this is hard for us to give up our own will because we are human
beings with our own personality and our will is a part of that. But when we
submit our will to the will of Christ, so that Christ¡¯s
will stands and mine lies flat, that is the cross. Whenever we choose to do the
will of Christ, there will be a cross. Every Christian must do Christ will, so
there cannot be a Christian without the cross. It will different from person to
person. Not all of us may be called upon to lose a loved one, to go through
special pain or suffering or to lose our lives. But when we choose to follow
Christ and do His will, there will be a cross. What is the real Christianity? The Christian life is about justice and peace and righteousness and godliness and purity. It¡¯s reaching out to your neighbors at convenient times and inconvenient times. Helping them in any situation. It¡¯s not firstly about giving money; it¡¯s about giving chunks of your life. ¡¡ REAL PEOPLE OF CHRISTIANITY 1.BEING
A DISCIPLE
What does Jesus
mean in their verses by denying ourselves and taking up a cross? It is clear
that He is not talking simply about something in short-term but He is talking
about a continual, daily process. When Jesus died on the cross for us, He paid
the price for the sin of our own hearts. It was that sin which had enslaved and
corrupted us. And so, to follow Him into deliverance, we need to be saved from
ourselves, from our sinful nature, and self-centeredness. Only as we deny
self-daily are we freed from its domination. In 1 Peter 3:18 says, ¡°For
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring
you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.¡± So it is our own selves, our own nature that we are to deny and put to death. For the cross Jesus is talking about here is not some golden ornament to decorate our churches, but an instrument of death. Only as we take up the cross daily, identifying ourselves with Jesus death to all that is opposed to the will of God, will we be delivered from ourselves. Only through that denial and daily death that true life begin. The cross is the end of a life of sin and slavery, but it is also the beginning of a life of holiness and spiritual revolution. When Jesus says, ¡°Follow Me¡± He is not calling us to a narrow, negative existence, but to the most exciting and beautiful fellowship you could ever dream of. ¡¡ 2.
THE CRUCIFIED LIFE
I believe that God calling
every Christian to His life of self-denial and commitment. Jesus said in Luke
14: 27 ¡°And
anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me, cannot be My disciple.¡±
To carry a cross and follow the Lord does not make you into some kind of
religious freak. I believe that we can all have a deeper commitment than we can
fill with the Holy Spirit and that Christ can be Lord of every area of our
lives. I believe that it is possible for us to be genuine and sincere in our
Christian lives without becoming overly emotional or introspective. Why is it that so often, when Christian talk about the need for repentance and the good news of Jesus Christ, they are ignored by the world around? There are many reasons, but I am sorry to say that one of the commonest reasons is that we do not live what we preach. We preach a gospel of love and yet we do not love each other. We preach a gospel of commitment and yet we ourselves are not committed. And our fine words and religious do not deceive the man or woman in the street. It is only when the people around us see the evidence of a changed life that they will begin to take what we say seriously. The key to reaching people with the gospel is not evangelism at home or abroad, not serving others in the church or in the community. Of course all these things are part of the gospel but the changed hearts of Christians. The key is for Christians to allow God to take over their lives. Putting self to death and letting Jesus rule instead. We may spend all the hours we like in evangelism and service but unless our hearts have changed we will be doing it foe ourselves and not truly serving God. To change the whole direction of our lives in this way may hurt at the time. But remember that in the Christian life there will be no gain without pain. No wonders so few are really going on for God today! We are the generation that has run away from pain more than any other generation. We¡¯ve got every medicine in the world, every kind of painkiller you can imagine. But there¡¯s no painkiller you can take that¡¯s going to take away the pain of spiritual growth. 3.
A DEEPER COMMITMENT
¡°If
anyone would come after Me¡±
said Jesus. In this one phrase He put before us the choice that has divided the
world ever since. Do we really want to follow Him or is the cost too great? If
we really want to become followers of Christ we must become personally involved
in His death and resurrection through prayer, repentance, self-denial, humility,
obedience and sacrificial love. That is why it is easier to talk about
commitment than to experience it.
The cost of true commitment
is indeed great. But the rewards are even greater. It is only when we talk Jesus
words seriously and act upon them, which His power breaks through into our
lives. Let¡¯s
realize that the crucified life is for everyone. The hardship of Christ is for
everyone. We are all called to purity, to reality. Let the Holy Spirit fill our
life. Trust God¡¯s
word, God has not given us a Spirit of fear but of love and power and calm mind.
We need the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, and the mercy of God every
day. And I have found that often God meets us in the moment of weakness rather
than strength. He doesn¡¯t
always wait until we feel spiritual, He doesn¡¯t
always wrap life up in a nice little present with a bow on the top. The life of
discipleship, the life of deeper commitment includes ongoing battle and ongoing
struggle. It will include fear and worry and anxiety at times. But Jesus is
always there.
Commitment is the part of a
process. If we¡¯re
not willing to deny self daily, take up the cross and follow Jesus, if we¡¯re
not willing to put into practice the principle of the crucified life, than the
initial commitment, even it made for a second or third time in your life, will
be a little value. We need to give our lives more fully to Him in total
commitment and surrender and be the real people that God would have us to be.
Galatians 2:20 says, ¡°I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The
life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who love me and gave
Himself for me.¡± God may prepare us to be a real people of Christianity if we says with whole heart ¡°I will surrender everything to Him, I¡¯ll go where He want me to go and do what He want me to do.¡± <by: Bro James> ¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡ ¡¡ |
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