IF ANY MAN WILL FOLLOW ME

TEXT: Matthew 16:21-26

INTRODUCTION: The passage of scripture just prior to this is a highlight in the life of Peter. He has proclaimed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answers him with (Mat 16:17) "…Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."

In just two or three verses later Peter makes one of the greatest mistakes of his life. He rebukes the Lord. He places himself in the way of the Lord fulfilling His mission on earth. Jesus then has to rebuke Peter and get him straightened out. Peter goes from one of the highest pinnacles of his life to the lowest position. Why? How could this happen? If it happens to Peter, surely you and I can expect to see the same thing take place in our life.

Is there something here that will keep us from making the same mistake? When this happens to us, what will we do? Let's take a closer look.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I. If Any Man - The Candidate

A. Who is the Lord talking to here?

1. "Any man."

2. That's true, but He is looking straight at Peter.

3. They are eye ball to eye ball. He is saying, "Peter, if any man will come after me...."

B. He is using Peter as an example for our sakes.

1. He is telling Peter how to be raised from the low spiritual place he has gotten himself into.

2. He wants Peter to know that he has just committed a terrible sin, and now the way to avoid future reoccurrence is to do what He is about to tell Peter.

3. This means that we can be in the same place Peter was.

4. We may be in a very low state of Christian happiness.

5. We may have denied Christ as severely this week as did Peter.

6. Our victory may have gone out the window. You may be so low spiritually that you have to look up to see the gutter.

7. The solution lies within the formula that the Lord gave Peter.

C. Notice that Jesus uses the singular "man", not "men".

1. This would indicate that not many will proceed in this matter.

2. There are not many people today who are willing to pay the price.

3. God is pleading for us today.

4. Will we be followers of Jesus Christ?

5. Will we be His disciples?

D. Note also that this is addressed to Peter, one who had chosen to follow Christ.

1. Usually we look at the message of Christ here and assume that He is talking about salvation for the lost.

2. Certainly God wants to see folks saved.

3. If you have never accepted the finished work of Christ on Calvary as atonement for your sins, God wants you to be saved today!

4. In a moment we will have an invitation, and we would love to be able to take the Word of God and show you how you can be born again…have eternal life…never have to worry or wonder again!

5. But this message wasn't given to a lost man, it was addressed to Peter…one of Jesus' disciples!

6. So we cannot exclude ourselves from these instructions.

II. Will Follow Me - The Commitment

A. The commitment comes from our will.

1. Must be a surrendered will.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2. It must be a joyful will.

a. A person will not accomplish this assignment if they are unwilling.

b. To follow Jesus will require a surrendered will and a joyous attitude.

c. A will that is yielded to the Spirit of God.

d. We will not accomplish this in the flesh.

B. This Commitment Must Be Made In Faith.

1. No conditions. "Lord, if you will heal my sick child, then I'll commit." That won't work.

2. "Lord, if you will put my marriage back together, I'll commit." That's not what He is calling for.

3. "Lord, if you will show Yourself in this certain way, I'll commit." No!

4. It is "Lord, I'll commit to you whether my child lives or dies."

5. "Lord, I'll commit to you whether my marriage works or not."

6. "Lord, I'll commit to You whether you do what I ask You to do or not."

C. Are we willing to make that kind of commitment? Will we follow the Lord?

III. The Criteria - Deny Self

There may be some who would answer the first two points. Some may be so desirous in living for God that they would dedicate themselves as a candidate and even make the commitment… But when they hear the criteria, many will turn back and walk no more with the Lord.

A. Let Him Deny Himself…

1. This is the hardest thing we will ever do.

2. To deny self is to put self to death.

a. Self no longer lives.

b. Self is an enemy to your mission.

c. Self is a stumbling block that must be eliminated.

Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

3. Had Peter denied himself here he would not have denied Christ later.

4. We will either deny self, or we will deny Christ, we can't please both.

5. Listen to what Jesus said.

John 6:63-66 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

B. Let Him Deny Himself, and Take Up His Cross…

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple

1. This is not the Lord's cross.

2. It is the individual who would follow Christ.

3. The cross was the will of God for Jesus.

a. It was God's plan for His life from before the foundation of the world.

b. Jesus was born to die.

c. He was willing to take up His cross.

4. Will we be willing to take up our cross?

5. Will we be willing to do His will for our life?

6. The cross is a place of death, but it was also a place of victory!

a. Without taking up our cross we cannot have complete victory in our Christian life.

b. Without taking up our cross we cannot be one of His disciples.

C. Let Him Deny Himself, and Take Up His Cross…and Follow Me.

1. Some take the approach of placing Jesus in our daily planners with everything else.

2. If we can squeeze in some time for Him then great, if not they He has to wait.

3. But that isn't what the Lord said at all!

4. There can be no competition.

Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

5. Jesus will not compete with everything else in our lives.

CONCLUSION