Are you a fan of Jesus or a follower of Jesus?
Some folks have prayed to receive salvation through faith in Jesus, but have never really chosen to become a follower of Jesus Christ.
They treat the gospel like it’s simply fire insurance.
I was there. I accepted Jesus at the age of 7, because I knew that I had sinned, and I didn’t want to go to hell if I died on the drive home from church.
It wasn’t until I was in high school, that I really committed to following Jesus as my Lord.
In several of the gospel accounts, Jesus’ conditions for following Him are laid out for us.
He told His disciples:
“If anyone wishes to follow Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life, shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.” Matthew 16:24,25
I want to break down these verses over the next few weeks.
Let’s start with what it means to ‘deny self.’
Why is this so important?
When Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they became self-aware.
They went from living our of God’s life in them, to seeking self-fulfillment from each other and their environment.
Now, we have whole philosophies built on ‘self-actualization.’ You are god; you just have to realize it.
Folks, we are our own worst enemy!
Selfishness is deadly. We enter this world from day 1 crying out to get our needs met.
We think we are the center of the universe…. “It’s all about ME!” No, it’s NOT!
It’s all about God! He is the center of all existence.
He is the only One who fulfill our every need. We are His creation. We were made to NEED Him.
The key to entering into the Exchanged Life mindset is the denial of Self.
Self is kicked off the throne of our lives, and Jesus takes His rightful place as both Savior and Lord.
We no longer live for ourselves; we live for Him.
We no longer try harder to live the Christian life; we allow Jesus to express His life through us in all that we do.
It’s not about us; it’s about Jesus!
He is our Life Source; there is no other.
Beloved, realizing and accepting this is the first step in following Jesus.
Next week, we are going to talk about what it means to take up the cross.
Blessings!
Robyn Henning
Exchanged Life Ministries 