SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/27/2022 9:04 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
Intro to Matthew 16a:24-27
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 16:24-27
Message of the verses: “24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If
anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
(daily) and follow Me. 25 "For
whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for
My sake shall find it. 26 “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the
whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his
soul? 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with
His angels; and WILL THEN RECOMPENSE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”
John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary
“Winning by Losing: the
Paradox of Discipleship” He
begins his introduction with these important words “This passage sets forth the heart of Christian
discipleship and it strikes a death blow to the self-centered false gospels
that are so popular in contemporary Christianity. It leaves no room for the gospel of getting,
in which God is considered a type of utilitarian genie who jumps to provide a
believer’s every whim. It closes the door to the gospel of health and wealth,
which asserts that if a believer is not healthy and prosperous he has simply
not exercised his divine rights or else does not have enough faith to claim his
blessings. It undermines the gospel of
self-esteem, self-love, and high self-image, which appeals to man’s natural narcissism
and prostitutes the spirit of humble brokenness and repentance that marks the
gospel of the cross.” (I have to say
that this paragraph will take some time to go over and understand what he has
said.)
He
goes on to write: “To come to Jesus
Christ is to receive and to keep on receiving, forever. But Jesus, through His direct instruction
during His earthly ministry and through His apostles in the rest of the New
Testament, repeatedly makes clear that there musb be a cross before the crown,
suffering before glory, sacrifice before reward. The heart of Christian discipleship is giving
before gaining, losing before winning.”
Let
us now look at some verses to show us that this was not the first time that
Jesus spoke of the high cost of discipleship.
“37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and
he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 "And he
who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who
has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will
find it” (Matt. 10:37-30). “26 "If
anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My
disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be
My disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). Now we
will look at what Jesus said to the wealthy young man in Perea as seen in Mark
10:21 “Looking at him, Jesus
felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell
all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and
come, follow Me.’” Here is what Jesus
said to the Greeks who asked to see Him in John 12:24-25 “24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much
fruit. 25 “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this
world will keep it to life eternal.’”
We have talked at length about what kind of Messiah
the Jews were looking for, a Messiah who would take on Rome and defeat it, a
Messiah who would then rule over the Jews so that they would not have any
enemies. This goes along with the health
and wealth gospel that is seen in our world today, and both of them are
wrong. Now we know that the next prophetic
thing to happen is the rapture of the church, and then shortly after that will
come the seven year tribulation period ending with the second coming of Jesus
Christ where He will separate the sheep from the goats and then re-do our
planet earth, then will go into Israel and sit on David’s throne ruling the
world from Jerusalem. However before all
of this could happen Jesus had to die for the sins of those in the world, but
not all will accept His death, burial, and then resurrection for
themselves.
I
have to say that there were some Jews who did realize that Jesus would be born
to take away the sins of the world, but this did not become clear to even His
disciples until after Jesus was resurrected, and in particular on the day of
Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to them. At this time His disciples, and in particular
Peter had not gotten these statements that Jesus was making in Matthew 16:22 “And
Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it,
Lord! This shall never happen to You.’”
MacArthur concludes his introduction: “They did not accept the truism that it is
impossible for God, whether incarnate in His son or living in the hearts of
believers, to come into the midst of an anti-God society without there being
hostility, reproach, and oppression.
When holiness meets Unholiness, a violent reaction is inevitable. “And
indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” Paul
said (2 Tim. 3:12).
Spiritual meaning for my life today:
I have not seen a time in our country and in many places around the
world that there has been such a great division between those who name the name
of Christ and those who hate the name of Christ. I think it will continue to get worse.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord will very soon come to
get His bride and take them to be with Him forever.
9/27/2022 10:01 AM
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