Commitment to Jesus Christ
Notes
Transcript
Commitment to Jesus Christ is grounded in the knowledge of his saving power and divinity, and expresses itself in adoration and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Commitment to Jesus Christ is grounded in the knowledge of his saving power and divinity, and expresses itself in adoration and obedience to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ commanded people to make the commitment to follow him
Jesus Christ commanded people to make the commitment to follow him
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.”
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!”
Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.”
Jesus Christ frequently spelt out the cost of commitment to him
Jesus Christ frequently spelt out the cost of commitment to him
But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead.”
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
“He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
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.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?
“Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
“Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
“So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.
“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
Jesus Christ’s demand for commitment was sometimes met with a refusal
Jesus Christ’s demand for commitment was sometimes met with a refusal
And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.”
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.”
Sometimes people followed Jesus Christ without being truly committed to him
Sometimes people followed Jesus Christ without being truly committed to him
A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
Some committed themselves wholeheartedly to his invitation
Some committed themselves wholeheartedly to his invitation
Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
Secret commitment to Jesus Christ
Secret commitment to Jesus Christ
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
True commitment to Jesus Christ is seen in love and obedience to him
True commitment to Jesus Christ is seen in love and obedience to him
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;
not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.
Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb.