Following: a Step-by-Step Guide

1. What does it look like to believe in Jesus?

God Does Things on Purpose

** While reading 31-33**

God and the Gospel

He planned the Gospel story

He promised the Gospel Story

He performed and executed the Gospel Story

The Gospel story HAD to happen this way

** While reading 31-33**

Jesus HAD to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and raise again

It was NECESSARY

It MUST happen

People who say that the way to heaven doesn’t have to happen with rejection and suffering and being killed and coming back to life:

They are not thinking about God’s concerns

They are thinking about Satan’s/human concerns

Notice that they are the same: human and Satan- equally damned

These broken, evil minds do not hate the world and love God. They love the things of this world and hate God— Jesus says that these things need to be switched

Neither think that salvation HAS to happen this way

Things that stand opposed to God: Hate. Things that are not worthy of God: hate. Things you possess that you think are bigger or better than God: Hate. Things that you hear and feel that draw you to look at yourself worthy of praise over God: hate.

So, people will also disagree our salvation HAS to happen this way. Is it really necessary that Christian faith means we do uncomfortable things, we give up things we love, we change our lives all around?

“Whoever does not hate his mother and father is not worthy of me”

This passage is teaching us that faith, belief, trust, following Jesus- can’t be faked.

That is the question we are going to ask. What does it really look like to believe?

I love my mom and my dad and my family- Good. You should. And you should love Jesus 100,000 times more. He is your greatest love.

Jesus is saying it HAS to look a certain way, Satan and the sinful man are saying something different.

It HAS to be real and the come the way God said it has to.

God said salvation HAD to happen this way, and this (Rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection) is the only way to get to it… How then do WE get it?

How do we get through the rejection, the suffering, the killing and into this new resurrected life with God?

“believe”, “repent and believe”

Believe in Jesus

Jesus is important

Get behind ME

Follow ME

Deny himself, take up his cross and follow ME

Lose his life because of ME

Whoever is ashamed of ME and MY words… I will be ashamed of him

Jesus is really important: He is how you get to the Father

No one comes to the Father except through ME

He says “follow ME”

Now we know who we are supposed to believe

Believe in Jesus

“Believe”, “repent and believe”

We have lost a lot of that word means

Jesus said “believe in me” or “have faith” and it meant something more than how we use it to mean “be convinced for now”

Belief is where we the New-Self is born

I think this passage explains:

2. Believe in Jesus means FOLLOWING

Believers follow. And following is defined here: denying ourselves, picking up our crosses, and following him

3. FOLLOWING means DENYING, CARRYING, and FOLLOWING

No room for pretending or living it half-way

Nobody should trick themselves into thinking that life doing a little bit of church will get you good with God—

You are called to be a follower, not a fake.

Following

Step 1: Live the New You

Believing in Jesus as your King means that he brings to life a new you.

A You who loves good and hates bad

A You who can hear and feel the Holy Spirit

A You who He has good works ready for

Free from sin and death

Walk according to the Spirit

Live according to the Spirit

Life and peace

Spirit of God living in you

Bring your body back to life

Put to death the old you so that you can live

Put to death the old you so that you can live

This new you has a job: Fight the old you

Put to death the old you so that you can live

Step 2: Fight the Old You

By the power of the Holy Spirit, you will now deny yourself

Again, we have lost a lot of this meaning over time.

But think of it as the two dogs inside fighting. Which one wins?

Whichever one you feed more.

Which ever one you believe more

It really is which ever one you BELIEVE that makes it:

: So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

OBLIGATED- means we have to. **Debtors— free in verse 2**

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Do you believe that you have to keep some sin? Think a certain way? Keep those bitter feelings? Hold on to that habit?

What are you actually OBLIGATED to do?

**Addict recovery: starving yourself of something that would hurt you if you had it**

shaking, nausea, pains, uncomfortable, emotional ups and downs, fits of rage or depression, pressure, stress

Personality change, lifestyle change, friend group change, how you dress or the way you talk, how you think and what you do with your time, money, energy

It is possible that everything will change during this self-VS-self brawl

It really is whichever dog that you BELIEVE that is winning:

: So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

OBLIGATED- means we have to.

**Debtors— free in verse 2**

- For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Do you believe that you have to keep some sin? Think a certain way? Keep those bitter feelings? Hold on to that habit?

What are you actually OBLIGATED to do?

Step 3: Live for Dying

Through your belief God gives life to the New-You and empowers you to fight the Old-You. But it isn’t just a life of fighting off temptation to hold your ground. This life is about advancing God’s kingdom.

Your tool to do that is exactly what this world would use to reject you, cause you to suffer, and kill you.

You are to use the tools to lose your life, and that is how you will find yourself saved.

Instead of trying to do everything possible to save yourself from pain, from hurt, form being uncomfortable, from being rejected, from suffering, from being killed— you have a new goal.

You will do whatever it takes and pay whatever cost to do what Jesus asks you.

Sometimes you can be comfortable doing that- but over all you won’t be

The Cross is your path to a Crown

You will work hard at making Jesus famous, even if it means no one ever notices you or learns your name

You will work hard at living out His truths, even if it means being killed

“You will kill sin or it will be killing you” John Owen

Step 4: Trust Him Every Day

The New-You is empowered by the Holy Spirit to fight the Old-You, Satan, and all his demons. You have a wonderful life to live in Christ and you begin to walk down that road.

Belief will continue to be present as you learn to lean on God for everything. ()

- Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not rely on your own understanding;

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

The work of Jesus on the cross to pay for your debt, free you from Hell, give you new life: these are things that you can forget from time to time. But, belief/faith will always bring them back to your mind.

These truths are the currency in which we buy obedience

We are commanded many things in this following: lots of don’ts but also lots of do’s

Don’t: murder, hate, lust, gossip, lie, slander, rude, foolish, nasty, angry, bitter, steal, lazy, sexually immoral, too opinionated, judgey, look down, desire money, desire people’s approval, put other things before God, prideful

Do: evangelize, make disciples, generous, kind, loving, joyful, gentle, faithful, peaceful good, self-controlled, disciplined, hard-working, hopeful, caring, broken-hearted by sin, be sympathetic, hate sin, stand up for the weak ones, comfort people, share, listen, listen to your parents

But NONE of these can be accomplished for God without the Holy Spirit working in us, the Old-You being fought, the New-You having life from God

In other words: Nothing can happen without Belief

Nothing can be done in the Christian life except by faith.

Including walking with Him everyday.

You need to trust in Him every day

Actually Walking (trusting)

This belief is the birth process of the New self.

We already have a suicidal self

But this is a Sacrificial-self. A self-denying self.

This New self is the one that says “I don’t need things to be happy. I don’t want to be selfish. I don’t want to cheat, or steal, or look at that, or do that.”

This new self looks right in the eye of the old self and says “YOU are dead! YOU have been beaten with the blood of Jesus! YOU have no claim over me! YOU get behind me.”

The New-You can be filled with peace in giving up things that the world says it needs, because just like the recovering addict it know that this pain can’t even be compared to the goodness ahead

- For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

This New-Self can yell out in any situation in life: “My highest priority is Jesus! My joy is in Jesus! Even if that means that I will have to die or give up every comfort I know, I will gladly do it for my King! And I will live with Him forever. Because He saved me.”

Everyday. We have this conversation with ourselves everyday.

Every temptation: Get behind me, Satan. Jesus is King

Every time our heart wanders to desire possessions: There is nothing of value here. Jesus is King.

Every time the songs tickle our ears about how wonderful we are: Jesus is King. Praise God. Forever.

That’s what it means to follow Jesus; that’s what it looks like to believe.

----

Thoughts

The words of satan and the mind of man are the same: they don’t think that God’s plan is necessary

Things that stand opposed to God: Hate. Things that are not worthy of God: hate. Things you possess that you think are bigger or better than God: Hate. Things that you hear and feel that draw you to look at yourself worthy of praise over God: hate.

I love my mom and my dad and my family- Good. You should. And you should love Jesus 100,000 times more. He is your greatest love.

Consider the black/white nature of the cross: for or against, Satan or God, Follower or not.

Follow me defined as “denying himself taking up his cross, and following me”