Follow Me!

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Consider the Cost of Following

Jesus restored Peter from his denials and invited him to shepherd His sheep. He did so by confirming the love Peter had for him. This was important because Jesus knew the price Peter would have to pay in order to shepherd Jesus sheep. Love is the only power that would enable Peter to pay the price to shepherd Jesus sheep. What is the price?

John 21:18–19 NASB95

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!”

Shepherding Jesus sheep would cost Peter his life. Jesus told him that he would be crucified when he got older. Now understand that Peter knew what crucifixion was because Jesus had just gone through it himself. Peter had been exposed to the horrors of crucifixion because the Romans used the punishment of crucifixion in a public way in order to deter uprisings and crime.

Jesus told Peter that he was going to die by crucifixion if he chose to follow him. How would you respond if Jesus made you the same proposal? Your action would be rooted in your love for Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-27

Matthew 16:24–27 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. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

In order to be a disciple of Jesus the cost is threefold. Deny yourself, take up his cross and follow Him.

Deny yourself

To deny yourself means that you do not engage in the things that you desire that cause separation between you and Christ. The first thing is sin. You must not engage in the sin that you desire. Just because you become a christian doesn’t mean that the desire to sin goes away. It does mean that he has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the temptation of your sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13

1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB95

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

God protects us from falling to temptation to sin by providing a way of escape. The way of escape is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We must call upon Him to give us the strength to endure the temptation.

The second way we must deny ourselves is with our plans for our lives. When we surrender to Christ as Lord we surrender our will to His. This may mean that you have to make significant changes in your expectations or plans in life. This could mean relationally. You may want to be married but God calls you into singleness for his purposes. You may have plans to be a business owner and Jesus may call you into vocational ministry. You may want to get healed from an acute illness, but Jesus does not heal because He is using it for His purposes. The point is to deny yourself means to surrender your will to Jesus. Jesus demonstrates this in Luke 22:41-42

Luke 22:41–42 NASB95

And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

Deciding to follow Christ will cost you the same as Peter. It will cost you your life. It may not be by crucifixion or even death, but always by will!

Take up your cross

AS I have pondered what this means, I have concluded that I must look at the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ had purpose. So I have concluded that taking up your cross means to put to death the things that keep you from living in your purpose for Christ and embracing your purpose for Christ. Jesus lived in the shadow of the cross his entire life. He knew that he came into the world for the purpose of atoning for the sins of man. It was not easy, but Jesus submitted to it and as a result many have been reconciled to the Father and are in heaven today.

Though none of us can atone for anyone’s sin, we can live in the purpose of Christ. We must seek what that is in the season of life we are living and pursue it with passion. We must embrace the purpose of God for us and put to death those interests that stand in the way. How do you know what your purpose is? I have been taught and lived by these 4 principles.

1. Be aware of what you are passionate about. God reveals His purposes by placing passions in our hearts.

2. Confirmation of the passion through God’s word. Does the passion you have line up with God’s Word. God will never give you a passion that stands in opposition to His Word.

3. Opportunity to live in your purpose. Is there an open door for you to fulfill your confirmed passion.

4. Do you have or can you get the qualifications to fulfill your passion.

To take up your cross means to live in purpose for Christ!

Follow me

To be a disciple you must follow Christ. The old hymn we sing sums it up. Wherever He leads I’ll go.

Focus On Following

Obviously Peter didn’t like what Jesus said so he appealed to his idea of fairness. He asked Jesus: John 21:21-22

John 21:21–22 NASB95

So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”

Peter wanted to make sure that if he was going to have to give his life then John should have to give his life as well.

This is a common mistake that many Christians make. We presume that the walk and purposes for all people are the same. I would contend that there are some similarities but overall everyone’s walk is unique to how God made them and His purpose for him. Just think, none of us are identically the same. We have different physical features, temperaments, skill sets, passions, and the list goes on. We were created to live for and bring glory to our creator. 1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB95

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

This is the overall purpose for us all. Bring glory to God. The ways and path to do this is unique to you. In order to walk in your purpose you must follow Christ. John 15:5

John 15:5 NASB95

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

We must not get wrapped up in what God calls others to do and compare. We must focus on what God has called us to do. Peter was to glorify God by dying on a cross. John was to glorify God by being exiled to Patmose where he could receive the Revelation to give us.

Whatever your calling is follow Christ!

Clear Following

Rumor got out that John was going to live forever based on what He told Peter. Jesus did not say John would live forever, but that if He wanted him to then He could. Jesus was telling Peter to focus on his calling and not worry with John’s. Jesus was the determiner of purpose. Not Peter’s idea of fairness.

As a result of this people began spreading false rumors about John.

We must live on purpose for Christ regardless of what people will say about you. They may say things that are untrue and hurtful. Matthew 5:11-12

Matthew 5:11–12 NASB95

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We cannot allow they opinions and words of others deter us from following Christ.