Video Talk
As believers in Jesus Christ we are to be his followers. And
so I looked up this word “follow” on biblehub.com on its interlinear, and this
is what it said: “To join one as a disciple.” “To cleave steadfastly to one,
conform wholly to his example, in doing.” And in Merrian-Webster’s dictionary
it says, “To be or act in accordance with.” “To accept as authority: obey.” And
in the thesaurus there were these synonyms: obey, abide by, adhere to, and stick
to.”
Matthew 10:37-39 ESV
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
So, what is this saying? It is saying that if we prefer our
family members over following Jesus Christ in obedience, we are not worthy of
Jesus. If it is more important to us to be approved and liked by our family
members than it is to be pleasing to God in our actions, then we are not worthy
of Jesus. So, if obeying our Lord requires we do what will be displeasing to
our family members, are we willing to obey the Lord at the cost of being
rejected by our family? Or by anyone else, in reality?
Luke 9:23-24 ESV
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.’”
Now this one repeats what some of the previous Scripture
said, so I am going to discuss that part here. What did it mean to Jesus for
him to take up his cross? It meant pain and suffering and being humiliated
before others. And it meant his death, and it meant death to sin, for he who
knew no sin became sin for us on that cross, so that when he died our sins died
with him, in order that we might be delivered from our bondage to sin and that
we might now walk in his righteousness and holiness, in his power and strength.
So, for us to come after Christ, to be his, we must deny
ourselves and be willing to die with him to sin daily and to walk in obedience
to his commands. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for
self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, then we have the life of
Christ within us, and we have the hope of eternal life with God. Thus, if we do
not leave our lives of sin and follow Jesus in obedience, we don’t know him.
John 8:12 ESV
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
Now I hear many people professing faith in Jesus Christ talk
of how they are “struggling” with sin. What they often mean is that they are regularly
and consistently giving in to sin deliberately. But they call it “struggling,”
because then it sounds like they are doing something to improve their
situations. But many of them are not. So, what is the solution? It is to follow
Jesus Christ in obedience to his will for our lives and then we will not walk
(in conduct, in practice) in sin. But many are still walking in the flesh,
instead.
John 10:27-28 ESV
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are quoting
John 10:28-30, and they are applying it across the board to all who make a
profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And I believe that those who are promoting
this are doing so willfully, choosing to ignore verse 27. But verse 27 tells us
who this promise is for. It is for all of us who are listening to Jesus Christ,
but not just with our ears, but with our minds, our hearts, our attitudes, and
our actions. We are taking his words seriously, and we are applying them to our
lives.
Therefore, Jesus knows us intimately, and as a result, we
are following him in obedience. We cleave to him steadfastly. We conform to his
commands. We accept him as the authority over our lives, and so we walk in
obedience to his ways, in practice. And we abide by, adhere to, and stick to
Jesus and to his Word. And we no longer live for the sinful pleasures of the
flesh. And he gives eternal life to us, and we will never perish, and no one
will snatch us out of His hands. So make sure you know who this is for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbXjPmCQalY
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My Sheep
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me.
They know me.
They listen to my
voice and obey.
I call them and lead
them.
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
They will never
follow strangers.
They will run away
from them.
The voice of a
stranger they know not;
They do not follow
him.
So, I tell you the
truth that
I am the gate, so
you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find
forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever
enters
Not by the gate;
other way,
He is the thief and
a robber.
Listen not, the
sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good
Shepherd,
Who laid his own
life down for the sheep.
I know them. They
know me.
They will live with
me eternally.
The thief only comes
to steal and
Kill and to destroy
the church.
I have come to give
you life that
You may have it to
the full…
They know my voice,
so they follow me.
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