Take up your cross and follow Me



(Mark 8:34 - 38 KJV)  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.   (35)  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.   (36)  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?   (37)  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?   (38)  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

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(Mat 10:34 - 42 KJV)  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.   (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.  (40)  He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.  (41)  He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.  (42)  And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

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We are to love the Lord our God more than any thing or any one. If  you hold your life so dear, your hobbies, your work, your family or any thing in the end you will lose your life eternally.

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(Mat 16:24 - 28 KJV)  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.   (26)  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?   (27)  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.   (28)  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

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(John 12:24 - 26 KJV)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.   (25)  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.   (26)  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

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The first step toward a daily following of Christ is the denying of self.

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(Mark 10:21 KJV)  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

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(Luke 9:23 KJV)  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

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(Luke 14:26 - 28 KJV)  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.   (27)  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.  (28)  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

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(Luke 14:33 - 35 KJV)  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.   (34)  Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?   (35)  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

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We are told to deny self and forsake all to be a disciple of Jesus. Denying self requires one to give up anything that would hinder him from doing the will of God. Denying one's self one must forsake all bad habits and evil desires of the flesh and even one that may not be bad in them selfs. To deny self means your desires come last this is a conscious decision. You will need to put God and others first on a daily basis. The cross of Christ is the very end of self and all worldly thinks, the end of all man's wisdom.

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What did Christ mean when He said that except a man take up his cross?

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What does “the cross” stand for?

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The cross is an instrument of death. The cross stands for a life that is voluntarily surrendered to the will of God, a total sacrifice. We must give our whole life to Jesus, no matter what he may call use to do. All believers have a cross to bear, Your cross is God's will for you no matter what the cost. Your cross is not beyond your control it is your choice to take up your cross daily.

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(Luke 9:62 KJV)  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

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(Luke 21:33 - 36 KJV)  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.   (34)  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.   (35)  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.   (36)  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

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(2 John 1:8 - 9 KJV)  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.     Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

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Who then is a faithful and wise Servant

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(Mat 24:45 - 51KJV)  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?   (46)  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.   (47)  Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.   (48)  But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;   (49)  And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;    (50)  The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,   (51)  And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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(Luke 12:43 - 48 KJV)  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.  (44)  Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.   (45)  But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;   (46)  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.   (47)  And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.   (48)  But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

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Jesus has appointed set those to rule over his sheep, Christian teachers and preachers.  Leaders will receive rewords our punishment for how they treat the sheep. This message does not stop with leaders we all are responsible to be wise and faithful steward of what God has given us.  We all are accountable for the knowledge, resources, abilities and etc. that God gives us. All believers are responsible for the word that we have heard. we are to be faithful, God is looking for faithfulness not your natural abilitys.

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Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,

leadeth unto life

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(Mat 19:16 KJV) 
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

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(Mat 19:21 KJV)  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

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Hear we have a rich young ruler that came to Jesus asking what good thing shall I do? We need to note that Jesus did not rebuke him or say he was wrong that there was something that he could do. Jesus said to him "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments" Jesus said if you keep the commandments you shall live. Then Jesus listed several of the commandments that deal with our relationship with man, leaving out the commandments of our relationship with God. 

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Mar 10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
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Jesus told him there was one thing that he lacked, the man had made money his god, he trusted in riches not God.  "Thou shalt have no other god before me

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Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

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(Mat 7:14 KJV)  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

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(Mat 7:16 KJV)  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

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(Mat 7:21 KJV)  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

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Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,

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Jesus said that not all that profess Him as Lord shall enter the kingdom. That we would know God's children by their fruits, are they doing what Jesus said. We need to be doers of the Word, for we read in Romans 2:13  "(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified."

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(Mat 25:46 KJV)  And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

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(Mat 5:27-30)  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.  And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell

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Jesus warns to take radical action against sin. We need to honor God with our thoughts, our motives and our attitudes. Jesus talked about all kinds of sin hear in Matthew, anger, lying, divorce, lust and so on. He explained it is not enough to keep the letter of the law but we need to keep the spirit of the law as well. We are called to follow Jesus and commit ourselves completely to Him in obedience and in our motives and our attitudes. We are to take radical action against sin, we must cast them from us. We are not at any time to make a truce with sin and evil passions. Jesus expects only real and practical obedience to His sayings.  

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For a teaching on how to deal with sin and how sin works go to my teach          
                                                                                                The Mechanics of Sin  

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(John 3:36 KJV)  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

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(John 3:19 - 21 KJV)  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.   (20)  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.   (21)  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

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(John 4:14 KJV)  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

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(John 5:24 KJV)  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

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(John 5:29 KJV)  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

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(John 6:40 KJV)  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

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(John 8:12 KJV)  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

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(Rom 2:6  - 8 KJV)  Who will render to every man according to his deeds:  (7)  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:   (8)  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

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(Rom 6:22 - 23 KJV)  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.   (23)  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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(Gal 6:8 KJV)  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

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(1 Tim 6:12 KJV)  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

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(1 Tim 6:19 KJV)  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

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(Titus 1:2 KJV)  In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

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(Titus 3:7 - 8 KJV)  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.    This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

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(1 John 2:23- 26 KJV)  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.   (24)  Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.   (25)  And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.   (26)  These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

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(Jude 1:21 KJV)  Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

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(Rev 2:7 KJV)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

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(Rev 3:5 KJV)  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

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(Rev 22:19 KJV)  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.


 * *The Faithful Servant

And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
Luke 12:42-44 (KJV)

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(Luke 9:23 KJV)  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
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 Which servant type are you? Be the faithful and wise servant take up your cross daily, put all sin out of your life, if you stumble confess and repent, keep your garments white. Note that Jesus said "take up his cross daily, and follow  me" did you catch that its not just take up the cross but also follow me "Jesus".  You need to follow Jesus, do what He says, read your Bible every day, and heed what it says. Ask God to reveal His will to you, the Holy Spirit of truth will guide you. When Jesus comes and finds you DOING what He has called you to do He will make you a ruler over all that He has.  
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