The Call of Christ
Luke 9:23 “And He said to them all,….”
“All”, not just disciples….but all who would “come after” Christ.
Luke 9:23 “And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
We sometimes think that the call to deny ourselves and pick up our cross….is a call to discipleship.
Yes, Jesus Christ said it to HIs disciples (Matthew 16:24), but they were disciples before that call.
“If any man will”….means it is a act of the will….not an emotional response….but a willed determination to deny self, and let Him lead….for that is what “follow Me” states.
Jesus also makes it plain, that to follow Him…..you need to do this daily.
(Years ago, when I first heard this call….I thought I could bow my head, and make a commitment to do this……”done!”…..great!
But the Lord, very specifically, showed me the “daily”……and I must be honest…..I winced. “Daily”?
Isn’t my commitment enough? I want Your Will…..isn’t that enough?
How silly and ignorant of myself I was! You see, I did want His Will….as much as I was aware of it…..
….but there are long nights…..dark times…..storms and suffering, which I knew nothing about as a Christian, yet.
And these times are really hard, unless we are closely following Him.
Of course, He is patient and gave understanding to His servant….how kind He is!
And as I learned…..I became aware of a sense of freedom as I denied myself…..daily.)
We are often unaware of our inward state, until….in honesty….we realize what Paul is saying…
Romans 9:20 “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?”
Man’s rebellion is universal. We are in rebellion against Him….we have all “gone our own way” (Isaiah 53:6).
Even as Christians, we “go astray” and get lost in the world’s chaos and influence….
……..and then the call comes to us again….”set thy heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again,…” (Jeremiah 31:21).
Matthew 16:25 “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
To save your life for time….at this time; is to lose it.
I want to say here about “waste”.
I have wasted time planning things…..or trying to fix things….or with worldly pursuits….each has been a blot on my life. Each has been “waste”, for they have taken my time…..and I have only so much of it….and given it to nothings.
Where are those plans…..the Lord showed me His, and they are laid aside in the waste bin….where they should have been sooner.
Where are those “fix-it” projects? Sometimes they made the situation worse….but mostly, they did not help….but prolonged the Lord’s deliverance, for me and for others.
Where are those worldly pursuits? forgiven, yet the time can never be taken back.
What about those words we need to hear or say to the Lord? When is that going to happen?
What about those habits we need to stop, and the ones we need to begin?
What about those times when we should have listened to someone, and we were “too busy”….?
We think our life as Christians entails times of prayer, Bible study, and witness….and they are all good and important for knowledge.
But our life as Christians entails:
“…and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.”
You find your Christ-life….the actual experience of those things of Christ….HIs mercy—for ourselves and others,
His grace—for today.
HIs Words to say.
HIs affections for others.
HIs character being formed in us, “for as He is, so are we in this world”. (1 John 4:17)
And mostly, I believe, peace and joy in Him…..in the circumstances of today.
I can not take back yesterday….nor step into tomorrow;
But I can stand firmly in this day’s events….
….and act (not just react to things)…but act, for Christ Jesus my Lord.
I am here, now on earth for Him,….and He is there, in heaven before the Father, for me.
Let each of us take our place in the call of Christ…..to fulfill our part of His manifested life here and now….
….and live in the liberty of becoming what we were brought into being for.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 