Last Night's Message

Notes From Last Night's Teaching:

Luke 9:23
Then He said to the all, "If anyone desires (wants) to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

1.) We don't like change in our lives. We also don't like order.
        A.) If we don't have order in our daily lives, we have chaos, which means we have on-going change at every level. This chaos isn't for the betterment of our ability to live life on our terms. We have proven that our lives have become unmanageable. The chaos we experience only aids in the creation of more confusion and turmoil. In our old way of thinking...in our old way of living.....when we encounter such chaotic times, we turn to using as a means of escape. Rather than deal with our problems, we run from them. Trouble is, such a journey in that direction only creates more chaos and more problems.

2.) While it would be nice to be able to quote chapter and verse as to how your life would turn out for the next ten years, I can't. But what I can do is share with you some necessary changes that will aid you this journey in recovery. First off, we need to set the record straight. When I speak of recovery, I am talking about someone who is in an active, ongoing relationship with Jesus. Some refer to this as being "saved" or "born again". The main focus in such a relationship is the idea that our old way of living, as well as our character, is undergoing change, under the guidance and work of God's Holy Spirit, which has taken up residence inside us. God brings order and peace inside us so we can navigate the daily situations we face that, in the past, would have swamped us in chaos and emotional as well as spiritual turmoil.

3.) Just as there are 12 steps to recovery.....there are some steps, or disciplines, we need to recognize in this relationship we have with Jesus. Disciplines that will reveal the intent and sincerity of whether or not we truly want to change. In other words, there are benchmarks we can look to, to measure our growth and maturity in Christ.

4.)  One of the problems we face is that we suffer from divided hearts. We want a better life NOW! We become discouraged by how tiresome this new life is. WE loose heart over promises we know God has made, but we haven't seen them come true in our own life. Our old addictive nature is craving the "quick fix". Right here, right now, today...change me God!

5.) We say that we want to be more like Jesus. Well, we only have to look to the passage from Luke 9:23 to find out our answer.

6.) Notice the first thing. Jesus qualifies who can have this relationship with Him. ANYONE!!
          A.) He says, "If anyone desires." It isn't based on race, creed, or color. It isn't based on education or economic stability. It is solely based on having a desire to move into a new way of living.
          B.) I like how the Amplified Bible states it:  "Anyone who wills to come after Me."
          C.) So we are brought under conviction by God's Holy Spirit about the way we have been living outside the boundaries of God's grace and love. Under this conviction, we exercise our will to move from our old lifestyle of sin, into a new life empowered by Jesus.

7.) So if it is in my heart to turn to Christ for the answer to my sin/addiction, I must deny myself.
          A.) Amplified says, "To disown yourself, forget, lose sight of yourself and your own interests, refuse and give up yourself."

8.) Take up "his" cross:  Personal sign or a symbolic idea of dying to self daily. Dying to the old sin nature that has driven straight down the road to destruction, so that we might embrace this new way of living.

9.) And Follow Me.  Follow me-----cleave steadfastly to Me...Conform completely to Jesus' example of living. And if need be, His example of dying also.

10.) Most people will want to ignore the things we have just shared. The denying of self and taking up the cross daily....Most simply want to jump to the last part, following Jesus. But without the change of will and heart, following Jesus simply becomes a religious exercise. One in which our commitment to a new life is shallow and will not produces the real Holy Spirit fruit that comes from a changed heart. In other words, we are simply going through the motions. We may have good intentions, but because we have not surrendered will and life, we find ourselves going after the first thing that whets our old appetite. 
           A.) We get the cart before the horse, so to speak. "Let's follow Jesus, then we'll worry about the "denying self and all that cross-taking-up later."

11.) I like the way the Message Bible reads concerning the Luke 9:23 passage:
The He told them what they could expect for themselves. "Anyone who intends to come with Me has to let Me lead. You're not in the drivers seat---I am. Don't run from suffering, embrace it. Follow Me, and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, My way, to finding yourself. Your true self.

I'll be posting the audio portion of last night's message, hopefully by next Friday.

God on you.....
mb