What is most important to you? Are you following Jesus? What might be in your life that is hindering you? Today’s message asks you to consider four points instructed by Jesus.

The enemy of God and your soul wants to kill, steal, and destroy all that is good. You must have a resolve, a will, a desire, a determination to follow Jesus. You are never alone when you are following Jesus, and you will never be lost.

Are you following Jesus?

We recently finished a series of messages focusing on wilderness seasons of life. I shared that in wilderness seasons, we need to remain focused on the Lord. We must learn to listen both to and for his still small voice. We need to develop spiritual patience and trust the Lord and not wander off like sheep going astray. We need to learn to follow the Lord and not let our personal or worldly thinking cause us to turn to the right or left. What was true in Jesus’ day is still true today.

Jesus gave his disciples four key points in following, or living, as a disciple and follower of Jesus.

In Matthew 16, Jesus tells his disciples of his coming days and that he will suffer many things. Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed and, on the third day, be raised to life. Peter, like many of us today, focuses on the physical and present. Like Peter, we often focus on what we see, what we think should happen, and what we think is all-important. It is difficult at times to keep in mind the spiritual things and our future with Christ when our attention is on the present and physical desires of the day. Peter was focused on the physical, the present, and on Jesus’ being killed rather than the spiritual, the future, and Jesus being raised to life. Peter could not spiritually understand Jesus' words. Peter could not see past the idea of Jesus’ death. Both Peter and the disciples needed to have more than head knowledge regarding Jesus being the Messiah. They needed, most importantly, to know and believe Jesus is the Son of God and to trust Jesus even when they could not see or understand Jesus' words and the spiritual outcome resulting from Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In Matthew 16:16, Peter declared Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. However, shortly after that, Peter had it in his mind that what Jesus was telling them about his death and resurrection was wrong, and Peter declares it will never happen. Peter did not see the entire spiritual picture. Peter, like many, did not understand what needed to happen spiritually.

Jews, like Peter, all looked for the physical kingdom of Israel to be restored. Peter only had in mind what he thought should happen, and Jesus’ dying was not what he had in mind or what he wanted to happen. Jesus quickly rebukes Peter and his thinking:

‘But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man”’ (Matthew 16:23, AMP).

Many people today want to tell God what he should do, and because we live in this physical world, we do not always recognize the spiritual implications or the spiritual ramifications of our physical, worldly decisions and desires. When a person focuses on the physical, very often, the spiritual becomes less and less relevant to them. I believe this is exactly what Peter did; he focused on the physical and what he thought should happen, and Jesus tells him to “get behind me Satan.” It is directly after Jesus tells Peter to “get behind me Satan” that Jesus tells his disciples to “follow me”. Let me be clear, Jesus was not calling Peter Satan, but rather the selfish, narrow, and unspiritual type of thinking Peter and others had at the time is what Jesus was speaking to. In Matthew 16:24 and the following verses, Jesus gives Peter and all the disciples a clear picture of how a disciple/follower of Christ is to live.

‘Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom”’ (Matthew 16:24-28, NIV).

I want to focus only on verse 24 today, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

If you are to be a disciple and follower of Christ, you will need to consider these four points that Jesus outlines in verse 24:

1. You must decide, choose, and be willing to follow Jesus.

2. You must deny self.

3. You must take up your own cross.

4. Then finally, follow Jesus where he leads.

Deciding to believe and follow Jesus is a personal choice. It is the first step in being a disciple of Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me.” Like most people, physical death is not something one looks forward to with any excitement. The natural man will do all they can to ward off physical death.

A lot of money is spent on pills, different types of treatments, all in the search of the fountain of youth. In finding the key to a longer, and more enjoyable life. For many, a more enjoyable life involves satisfying personal desires. Yet those personal desires can cloud or compromise the person's faith in Jesus over time. Many times, the compromising of one's faith or way of life is a gradual spiritual falling away over time. The individual is unaware of the spiritual erosion of their faith. It may not be until some horrific situation occurs that the person suddenly realizes just how far they have drifted spiritually from God.

I have heard how people did not realize just how far they had spiritually drifted away from God until some serious event occurs. It is hard for them to pinpoint what happened and why they stopped attending church, stopped praying, and stopped making Jesus a priority in their life and family. But it happens. That is why following Jesus must be a daily focus.

In the Old Testament we can see how the Israelites slowly embraced false gods. Over time they wanted to be like other nations. They became spiritually lax regarding what they once held onto so strongly in their hearts. In time the Israelites developed a desire for something they saw that others had and were doing. The Israelites compromised their beliefs and turned their backs on God. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and began serving the created rather than the creator.

Jesus warned the disciples about leaven and how a little leaven can cause foods and beverages to ferment. Leaven is a yeast-like substance; just a small amount can cause bread to rise or grape juice to become wine. The warning had to do with the teaching of the religious Pharisees and Sadducees. If a person allowed even a small amount of false teaching to enter their heart, they could be led astray spiritually.

If you look around today, you will find churches and religious organizations embrace teaching that is opposed to the truth of the gospel. Worldly ideas and false teaching are infiltrating churches. Worldly ideas are becoming acceptable and are being embraced by some believers and religious leaders. Churches and believers may not realize at first that they might be spiritually drifting from following Jesus. It happens when life is easy and things are good, a person’s focus on God can become less and less. Personal desires, worldly thinking begin to take root and that type of thinking seems to crowd and chock out the things of God in the person’s heart. Slowly the idea of teaching tolerance and the need to accept the idea like abortion is OK. That marriage to the same sex is OK. Sex before marriage and living together is OK because they want to be together. Besides, living together is cheaper than living apart, so why not? The enemy of your soul will try to make worldly ideas sound reasonable. He will try to plant seeds of doubt in your heart. He might try to have some of your close friends influence you into thinking about something you have said no to in the past, because you thought it to be wrong, to now be OK because they are doing it. Maybe it’s the worldly thinking that God loves everyone, so how can a loving God send people to hell? Everyone will be in heaven. There is no hell. There is no sin. There is no Son of God. How about the idea that the 10 commandments are only a suggestion? Or that the 10 commandments were for then, and they are outdated now? Or that the Bible is out of date and does not take into consideration life in today’s world? That the teaching of Jesus and the idea that Jesus is the son of God is only a nice story? Jesus did not really rise from the dead? Or that many other worldly ideas such as adultery, hatred, lying, cheating, homosexuality, abortion, sex before marriage are not sinful or wrong? This kind of thinking and teaching is contrary to scripture but is slowly creeping into the hearts of some believers and churches. Some denominations are embracing such false teaching.

In scripture leaven is a symbol of evil, corruption, and false teaching. Jesus refers to leaven just before he addresses Peter as Satan and the four key points to being a disciple of Christ. Remember a little leaven, a little false teaching, will cause hearts to turn away from the truth of the gospel. Jesus warns about a small amount of leaven and what it can do. Obedience to the scriptures is now thought to be simply a suggestion to some. Evil and sin are overlooked by many in the world today. Spiritual blindness, moral insensitivity, and worldly influence of a godless society is at play all around. The enemy of God and your soul wants to kill, steal, and destroy all that is good. An example this week is the attack and killing of innocent children, babies, and civilians in Israel. The lack of condemnation of some who think that it was OK, justified, and celebrated is witnessed around the world. The spiritual blindness, moral depravity, and ungodly thinking is beyond understanding at times. The acceptance of evil actions is a sure sign of moral decay. The battle between good and evil still rages in the hearts and lives of people everywhere. The follower of Jesus must have a resolve, a will, a desire, a determination to follow Jesus. It is a choice every person makes. It must be the individual’s choice, and willing decision to follow Jesus. The choice to follow Jesus is not limited to a certain people group.

What are the 4 steps to discipleship?

Step 1: Decide to Follow Jesus

Jesus said, anyone—in other words, whoever wants to be a disciple of Jesus—can simply follow him. Thus, the first step in being a follower of Jesus is for the person to make a willing decision and choice to follow Jesus. Peter and the other eleven disciples were following Jesus because Jesus called them and invited them to follow him. Many others in Jesus’ day were following Jesus because they wanted something from Jesus. Some saw Jesus as someone who might deliver them from the oppression of the Romans. Some thought him to be a prophet, a religious teacher, someone who was healing the sick and had a fresh message that inspired people. The religious leaders hated Jesus because he was turning people away from their influence. The religious leaders saw Jesus as a threat and wanted him out of the way, for good.

So, the true follower of Jesus would need to make a choice that involves more than just saying they were followers of Jesus.

• They will need to trust Jesus.

• They will need to make decisions and choices that others would not make.

• They will need to put aside their personal desires and worldly ideas.

• The follower of Jesus is called to deny self.

Step 2: Deny Self and Go All-In with Jesus

The second step in following Jesus is to deny self. What does it mean to deny self? The word deny in the Greek has the meaning of to disown, disregard, forsake, reject, refuse, restrain and do without. It is to disregard one’s own self-interest for the interest of God Almighty.

In Luke 22:42 we find Jesus prayed.

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Here, Jesus is on the Mount of Olives. Very shortly he will be faced with being arrested and later crucified. He would soon be physically beaten and nailed to the cross. He was about to suffer humiliation and the physical pain of being nailed to a cross and physically dying. He would also suffer the pain of being spiritually separated from God because he was taking upon himself the sins of the world. Jesus denied his own human will, of wanting to avoid what would soon happen to him, and he submitted to the will of God.

If a person is to be a follower of Jesus, they must be willing to deny their own preferences, their own will, their own lives, and follow Jesus. When we deny ourselves, our will, our desires, we are saying yes to Jesus and allowing Christ to rule in our hearts and lives.

We are choosing to follow Jesus when we:

• Say no to worldly desires.

• Refuse to follow the ways of the world.

• Take a stance for the teaching of God’s word.

The choice to follow Jesus and deny self means saying no to your wants, your plans, your desires, and saying yes to Jesus. The choice to deny self means that you will refrain from doing your will or the selfish desires in your heart. To deny self means that you let Jesus direct your life and heart. It means getting in line and following Jesus no matter what comes. It means renouncing one’s own personal rights and life, and following Jesus completely.

This kind of discipleship that Jesus is calling his disciples to is not some tranquil, calm, easy, or undemanding way of life. Being a follower of Jesus is not a life free from worry or pain-free. It is a deliberate choice and lifestyle. It is a life of dedication to God Almighty. Being a disciple of Jesus is not for the faint of heart. To deny oneself does not mean to deny yourself something like ice cream, sweets, or any one thing, but rather to deny self—your will—and embrace wholeheartedly the will of God. It is a constant self-denial and the passion to put Jesus first. It is making his will first and foremost in your life and not your own self-will.

Step 3: Take Up Your Cross

The third step in following Jesus is to take up your cross. Only by denying self will you truly be able to take up your cross. Taking up your cross is not taking up Jesus’ cross but taking up your own cross; the cross you are called to bear. In Roman days, a cross signified the person was a criminal, and taking up their cross was a death sentence.

Here the taking up of one’s cross is taking up a life of sacrifice.

The Christian’s life, the disciple’s life is a life of sacrifice.

• It is a life of service.

• A life of serving Jesus and serving others.

• A life of loving God and loving others.

Taking up one’s cross is an act of crucifying the flesh. It is a dying to self and living for Christ. Taking up your cross means you will need to lay down the things that are most important to you and pick up the things that are important to Jesus. Your cross might be very different from any other person. The cross you bear is yours alone.

The gospels of Mark and Luke echo what Matthew records Jesus to have said:

‘Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”’ (Mark 8:34).

In Luke 9:23 we find Luke adds one word:

‘Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”’ (Luke 9:23).

In other words, according to Luke, the taking up of one’s cross is not a one-time event, but—rather—is a daily act of following Jesus. The taking up of one’s cross is not like having to bear poor health or being financially poor or maybe the loss of a job. Taking up one’s cross can be very different from another person’s cross. The wealthy person's cross and the poor man's cross can appear very different from each other, and yet, both are called to crucify the flesh. Each person is put to death those things in their heart that would distract, cloud, or deter them from living a sacrificial life for Christ.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:5-10).

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38).

What might be in your life that is hindering you from taking up your cross? What is in your life that you need to deny for you to follow Jesus with all your heart? What is it in your life that is keeping you from sacrificially serving Jesus?

A teacher of the law once said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus’ reply is recorded in Matthew 8:

‘“Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” 21 Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead”’ (Matthew 8:20-22).

Jesus was making it clear to those around, that to follow Jesus is a life of daily sacrifice. It is a life of dying to self and all the world and live with Christ first in your heart.

In Mark 10:17 a man asked Jesus "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" The man told Jesus how he obeyed the commandments. The man may have wanted Jesus to tell him, well you have done all you need to do.

‘Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”’ (Mark 10:21-23).

This man needed to deny himself. He needed to pick up his cross. He needed to let go of everything that was holding him back spiritually. Only then would he, could he, follow Jesus.

Step 4: Follow Jesus

The fourth step in following Jesus is to follow him. The word follow in the Greek has the meaning of being a follower, a companion, to be a disciple. To be a disciple means to follow Jesus, to do what Jesus does, to go where Jesus goes, to care for what Jesus cares for, to give of self as Jesus gave of himself.

Yesterday, Margaret, Macsen (our grandson), and I went to a corn maze in Livermore. Macsen took the lead, and we followed him through the maze. There were trails leading to the right, trails to the left. Some ended in a dead end, others were trails that circled around and brought us back to the same point. A person could get lost in the maze and if you were alone, it might be a long time before you make your way out.

My point is that you are never alone when you are following Jesus, and you will never be lost. You have no need to fear.

However, before you can follow Jesus, before you become a disciple of Christ you must:

• Be willing to follow him.

• Deny self.

• Pick up your cross.

• Follow Jesus.

As you do these things you will find yourself following Jesus. As you follow Jesus with all your heart, you are being conformed into the image of Christ. Following Jesus, you will not go astray.

If you are able to close your eyes, do so and consider your past week. What was most important to you? Are you following Jesus? Are you daily denying self? Are you daily picking up your cross and following Jesus?

Following Jesus means walking in his footsteps. It means reflecting the love, character, and behavior of Jesus to the world. Jesus says “follow me.”

Suggested Praise and Worship

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