Is He Your Lord or Saviour?
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 16:24-27 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
In the opening passage, Jesus made it clear what it takes to be a disciple. A disciple works and lives for Jesus while waiting to be united with God in heaven. We are to count the cost of discipleship.
In this “selfie” generation, it is almost unthinkable to ask people to deny themselves. Most of us can be very self-centred because of pride. Self-centredness can lead to sin because people have no regard for God or what the Bible teaches, even if they are believers.
To “deny himself” does not mean to give up your favourite snack or TV. Instead, it means to stop making your own desires, ego, and reputation the centre of your universe. Jesus is asking us to die to ourselves.
To “take up his cross” means a complete, daily surrender of your autonomy. It all boils down to whether we allow Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour or treat Jesus merely as a Saviour. There is a high chance that we will live our lives like unbelievers if we treat Him only as our Saviour, who provides us with a ticket to heaven.
Denying ourselves dethrones us from running our own lives and enthrones God in our hearts, granting Him the power to decide for our lives. Some of us may struggle to give up different aspects of our lives to God, but God has spelt out very clearly in the Bible what He requires of us.
What does denying ourselves and carrying the cross look like?
• Dying to our fleshly desires by dealing with carnality in our lives.
• Laying down the right to be offended and walking in love. We are to walk in the Spirit.
• Releasing our plans to God. We are to carry out His will for our lives.
• Looking at work as worship and using our work as a platform to share the gospel.
• Releasing our time to worship and serve God.
• Releasing and managing God’s finances for Him.
In essence, it is saying, “I am no longer in charge; I am following Jesus even if it leads to social rejection, loss of status, or physical danger.” It also means that what people in the world think of us does not matter, because all that matters is how God sees us. We want to listen to our Lord and Saviour because we belong wholly to Him.
Reflection: Do you see Jesus as your Lord or your Saviour? What does denying yourself and carrying your cross look like in your life right now?
Sermon: Pick up the cross to follow Jesus
