CARRYING YOUR CROSS
Memorise: And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me,
cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
Read: Luke 14:25-30, (KJV) 25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned,
and said unto them,
26 If any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
27 And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
28 For
which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth
the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it
29 Lest
haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all
that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying,
This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Bible in one year: Nehemiah 6:15-8:18, Ecclesiastes 8:10-17
The cross of Jesus is very effective
in cleansing us from all our sins. Jesus instructs that whosoever will be His
disciple will have to carry his cross and follow Him. As a disciple of Jesus
Christ, every manifested work of the flesh must have been crucified to the
cross. You are to be clean from all filthiness of the flesh. You must allow the
cross to deliver you from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the
pride and passions of life.
“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Galatians 5:24
Carrying your cross is the
commencement of a new life and a new journey. It means your old ways of
thinking are no longer allowed and you begin to walk in newness of life. Every
resurrected life that is genuine begins with carrying the cross. When believers
carry the cross, authentic power from God is released into their lives.
However, the devil paints those
who carry the cross as people who are old fashioned and people who follow
doctrines that no longer necessary. This because he knows the secret behind the
cross; he knows that the heredity of Christ is in the cross. He understands
that holiness, power and wisdom are in the cross, and he wants believers not to
have access to these things. This is one of the reasons why those who have
refused to carry the cross are living a defeated life on daily basis; they are
under the rule of the devil and so have become slaves to him. Carrying your
cross means to follow Jesus all the way. If the 21st century will be
potent enough to put the devil where he belongs, there is the need for the
Church to carry her cross.
The Cross was what made a public
defeat of the devil. If you also want the devil to be publicly defeated in your
family, in your career, in your finances, in your church, we all have to carry
the cross and follow Jesus. Those who carry the cross will live. Those who
follow Jesus will be delivered in the time of trouble. Self made righteousness
cannot earn you a place in the presence of God but the cross will help you
fight flesh and sins. You must seek to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. You
must be willing to commit yourself in total surrender to the Lord. If you want
to do great exploits in the world, you will have to deny yourself. Others may
but as a true disciple of Jesus you cannot. Others can be careless but you
cannot. You can no longer allow the system of the world and the dictates of
culture to be the basis upon which you make your decisions. It is the love of
Christ in you that becomes your compelling force. Paul had to suffer in order to
carry out His mission. Jesus had to die in order for salvation to be possible.
Nothing worthy is ever done in God without a sacrifice. I pray for you the
grace you need to follow Jesus shall be available to you in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point
Father, please help me to carry my cross to the finish line.
Open
Heavens Daily, written by Pastor E.A Adeboye
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