Selfless Faith

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

So many of us want the promises, the rewards, and the gifts of Jesus. However, we seem to miss the key to receiving them. Are we a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Of course, many of us will quickly say yes without hesitation. However, maybe we should hesitate just for a moment to find out  what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? A disciple of Jesus is one who denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows Jesus. We think it is great to follow Jesus and we try to but without denying ourselves to do the will of the Father, it is impossible to follow Jesus. We will always find ourselves fighting with what we want and what God wants. I was at a church service a few years ago and the pastor told his congregation lift up their envelopes and ask God to give them that big house, that new Lexus and Mercedes, and the high paying job they’ve always wanted. We really need to get our prayers and priorities in order. There are people hurting out there in bad situations slowly perishing away while we sit in church trying to gratify our wicked flesh. Jesus didn’t die on a cross so we could feed our flesh. He didn’t die for us to have more stuff. He died to bring salvation and redemption to a dead and dull world; a world that is so full of darkness that it can’t even recognize it is slowly but surely digging it’s own grave; a world where instead of sin prevention, it practices sin tolerance and acceptance. We are destroying ourselves. We desperately need to come back to the Word of God. Now more than ever, we need to learn what it means to pick up our cross to do the will of the Father; a simple will to believe in Jesus Christ so we can gladly follow Him.

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In Matthew 16:23, Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

There is a sharp distinction made here. Jesus addressed Peter as “Satan.” It is not that Peter was actually Satan, but that his rebukes of Jesus about God’s plan for man’s salvation and redemption were influenced by Satan. Many times, people try to be neutral about Jesus. However, Jesus never allowed any neutral grounds. He expressed on many occasions, if you are not with Me, you are against Me. Peter was caught in the middle of a spiritual battle. He was in the crossfire. One minute he was acknowledging Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God and the next minute he was rebuking Jesus forbidding Him to redeem man. We go through the same battle almost on a daily basis. Sometimes we want to be “tolerant” of others. To me, tolerant is a short way of saying a person has no confidence in what you truly believe, if they believe it at all. We say Jesus is the way for me but someone might have their own way that works for them. If that is the case, we do not know Jesus as we should. With those kind of statements, we are calling Him a liar and we stand against Him. He said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one gets tot he Father except through Me.” If we say someone has their own way, we are going against God and spitting on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross which wash away all of our sins and cleansed us white as snow. At that point we are being used by Satan just as Peter was being used. O, my beloved, it is so important that we know Jesus personally. We need to stand with Him so we are not misguided and mislead by this ever so dying world around us.

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After Jesus began to reveal to the disciples the death He would face, in Matthew 16:22 Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

The truth is so difficult to bear when it is negative. It is even more difficult when it relates to someone that we love. We seem to forget all that we know and focus on the immediate situation. At that point, we try to make a way for whatever is about to happen, not to happen. In that sense, we can end up fighting with God, going again His perfect will. We never see the full picture until we examine it from all angles. When we see something is not good in our own eyes, we automatically assume it is bad for everyone else. We seem to forget that all things work for good to those who belong to Jesus Christ. This is something we must never forget. Jesus said those who endure to the end shall be saved. When we try to fight against the will of God, that is when we find ourselves in a position of being tired, wearisome, and deeply burdened. God is so much stronger than we can ever even hope to be. When we understand His will is perfect and we align ourselves with Him, He uses His strength through us. However, if we fight, we will get ran over because God will continue with His plan and purpose whether we are with Him or against Him. My beloved, the good news of Jesus Christ will get out and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it.

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In Matthew 16:21, Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Right after the glorious revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus began to reveal to the disciples God’s plan to redeem man. He revealed to the disciples the gospel before it even happened. The truth is Jesus was betrayed, beaten, killed, and raised up on the third day. Many of us seem to lose focus on that. We only want to talk about the love of Jesus, the great teachings of Jesus, to follow His examples, or the peace that He brings. However, without the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, everything else is utterly meaningless. Paul wrote without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith is in vain and we are to be pitied the most amongst all men. Without BOTH the death and resurrection, there is no Christianity, there is no redemption, there is no peace. Our faith lies upon two pillars. The first pillar is the death of Christ to wipe ALL of our sins away. We are covered by His precious blood. The second pillar is the resurrection of Christ. Through His resurrection, we have received a new life. Both are the two most essential components of our faith. If one is missing, the foundation completely falls to the ground. Thank you God for this newness of life in Jesus Christ you have so graciously given to us. Lord, let Your world fall on us to bring forth the fruit you deserve.

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In Matthew 16:19, Jesus continues to speak to Peter saying, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Without full and complete reading of scriptures, we can fall into the same trap many people fall into. Many people take one verse and because it sounds good to them make it the Word mean what they personally want it to mean. Although Jesus is speaking to Peter in this verse, it is only because Peter had the revelation from God. Anyone who comes to a saving knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God will also have the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Some people believe that the church is built upon Peter. Somehow, we always seem to find a way to glorify men and not the true and living God. Thank God that was not His plan. If that were the case, there would have been no use of purpose for John, Paul, James and all the others who lived for Jesus because Jesus died for them and for us. Just as Jesus said to Peter, we all have the access to the kingdom of heaven ONLY if we truly know Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is where the key resides, in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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