“From that time Jesus began to point out to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem and to suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised up on the third day. And yet Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but men’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to his deeds. “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matthew 16:21-28 NASB
How do I answer His call?
- Die to self
“Deny yourself”
“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3 NASB
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20 NASB
“If you live in accordance with the flesh, you will die; but if, by the spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13 NTFE
2. Die to my agenda
“Take up your cross”
“For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23 ESV
“To fulfill your mission will require you to abandon your agenda and accept God’s agenda for your life. You cant just tack it on to all the other things you would like to do with your life…You yield your rights, expectations, dreams, plans, and ambitions to Him…You hand God a blank sheet with your name signed at the bottom and tell Him to fill in the details.” Rick Warren
3. Die daily
“Follow Me”
- Choose sacrifice over selfish ambitions
- Choose servanthood over power
- Choose risk over comfort
“Let us often ask ourselves whether our Christianity costs us anything.” JC Ryle
4. Die to the temporal
“Lose your life for Me”
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NASB