In this digest/blog, I intend to bring you to a place the Lord described as, “Carry your cross and follow me".
This is also interpreted as, “you are solely responsible for your duties and assignments or responsibility towards the Kingdom of God and your role in it”. Meaning, your destiny and purpose here on earth is not another man’s burden or "cross".
Matthew 16:24-25 (KJV)
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“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.
²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
The call to walk with the Lord and His plans for your life and for this world has always been important to ardent believers. We all have a desire to see that which He has for His family in heaven and in earth yet one place finds us wanting; that is the area of "they loved not their lives unto death".
Revelation 12:11(KJV).
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Child of God, we have got to learn the principle of sacrifice. Sacrifice is really the bedrock of dominion and victory in implementing the will of God and in the manifestation of His blessings declared unto us.
It is very easy to think that you are sacrificial if you think, “I have prayed enough, or fasted enough”, until it comes to something you really desire. For instance, what are you willing to let go of in order to catch or manifest God's plan for your life? Remember He said, “Whosoever will save his life will lose it.” I tell you, many destinies hang in the balance when it comes to this principle.
It is the urge of every one of us to try and save our "lives": to save our image, save our job, save our family/ marriage, save our money etc and the list goes on. Yet according to the Kingdom of God, those things you fight to save, you will ultimately lose. Oh boy how true this is!
I know of an old man who did everything he could to save his failing marriage (I learned this by observing this man). He had married a woman almost 18 years younger than him, and there is nothing he held back from this woman for she was a beauty to behold. This man had lost his previous wife tragically and did not want to lose this one as well. So there he was, stuck with a second failure staring at him in the face, as proof kept coming in of his wife's whereabouts. He did everything physically possible at his level to please her but every effort was in vain. According to her, the lure of the pleasure she was having at her young age was not worth exchanging for this old man's expectation of “Finally, let me sit home with my wife”. Anyway, to cut the long story short, she still left him and even accused him of wasting her youth. Well, the Bible teaches that whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it.
Matthew 10:35-39 (KJV)
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“³⁵ For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
³⁶ And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
³⁹ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”
Now, you too have witnessed these things out there yet somehow you don't realize that it is a principle that God promises us that if we are courageous enough to stand with Him, which in effect is to lose our lives here one earth, He promises that we shall find it.
I like apostle Peter in the Bible for asking obvious questions - questions every disciple was thinking but could not ask. Here is one:
Mathew 19:27(KJV)
“Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?”
Matthew 19:28-29(KJV)
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²⁸ And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
²⁹ And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Glory, glory, Friends! God is a good father! He is not expecting you to abandon everything for nothing. He knows all your needs and wants. The test is, will you carry your cross forsaking all, just for him? He promises a hundredfold for everything you lose for His name's sake, or in pursuit of Him.
Let me tell you something; I made this decision to forsake all at a time. I didn't even have this revelation. The only thing I wanted was to do His will. Well, I am not there yet as you know, but I am glad I am not where I used to be. It's still my endeavor this day to carry my cross. But guess what? I am glad He has given me a lot more, including "you" who is reading this - a family in Christ and so much more!
NOTE: It is important that you realize that God is not asking of you what He hasn't asked of others.
I say like Paul, “I count not myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching for those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ.”
Finally to you, the word says, “Let every man wait on his calling.” In other words, get excited to do your part in the Kingdom! He that leads, lead. He that gives, give. He that worships, worship and so on.
Romans 12:6-8(KJV)
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“⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
⁷ Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
⁸ Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Remember God is not unrighteous to forget your works.”
I know that the God of remembrance will quicken you through and through in this life a hundredfold and eternity with him.
Peace, love and prosperity to you all.