After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus declared that signs would follow those who believed in Him. Well, Jesus said this in the Book of John 14:6 Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. When you get down to it, following Jesus puts you at odds with the world. I began to understand my own salvation i ways that truly impacted how I lived my life and prioritized my days. They would face opposition. One account of Jesus inviting someone to follow Him is found in the gospel written by Matthew. The early church relied on this promise, giving up their earthly wealth (Acts 2:42-45) for something far greater (Mark 8:36). When we think of eternal life in earthly terms, we think only of it lasting forever. Because if I do, I will experience more of the Father and Son’s all-satisfying presence. And Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. All the arguments and proofs for God’s existence pale in comparison to actually experiencing a relationship with God through Christ. Well, Jesus said this in the Book of John 14:6 Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. a hot, restless, eager longing to walk with Him, to please Him. In John 6 Jesus says no one comes to him except those his Father gives to him. What Jesus promises to those who answer his call "What's in it for me?" God aims to be an utterly unique, wonderful, and exalted God, and the way he does it is by condescending to forgive sinners and work for those who wait for him. When you get down to it, there’s an element of God’s truth that one can only understand from the inside. (Matthew 12:30), Luke’s Jesus orders his followers to murder those who reject his rule―and to do it in front of him! " As soon as the Holy Spirit removes the blinders and opens their minds, Satan can be there with his lies, vying for their allegiance to the world system. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me” (Matthew 5:10–11). In the dimension of time, we still see the effects of the old, and with respect to the heavens and earth, the new is still yet to come. The key to this passage, besides being Christ-centered and mission-focused, is found in verses 45 and 49. The answer to this is we can’t. But You are outside of time, already viewing the New Heaven and the New Earth as reality. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin's power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. They refuse the gift because they insist that they must suffer or work hard to earn their own way. The Bruised Reed and the Broken Heart, Part 1 . It is to imply that God makes mistakes, which he doesn’t. In Matthew 10:34–39, Jesus stated clearly what it means to follow Him. We are part of the “all nations” to whom the Gospel was and is still being proclaimed. He is saying my … 5 The apostle Peter once asked Jesus: “We have left all things and followed you; what, then, will there be for us?” (Matt. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them” (John 14:21, NIV). That is when Jesus spoke His “hundred-fold” promise. God sent Jesus to live a perfect life. Eternal means forever. Our Lives Can Bear Fruit Through Him (John 15:5-8) Jesus’ Promises . . When you follow Christ, you get trials in this life. Our Relationship with God is based on these: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 48 You are witnesses of these things. I sensed Your call to every believer to make disciples, and I was eager to cross cultural barriers to do so. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. Before His resurrection, the disciples were reeling with despair and confusion. But, that’s not all. Only God can turn the heart of another human being from the things they think this world has to offer to the simple way of grace–salvation by faith in Christ alone. Last, He promised to clothe them with power from on high. These are people who once loved Christ warmly who have cooled in their affections for Him. We only have 24 hours in a day and have lots to do in that time. In addition to these great promises, Jesus also made some promises about his words and the word of God that deserve their own mention. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it’” (Matthew 16:24–25, New International Version). He reminded them of the Father’s promise–that He would send another Counselor. It seems like an incredible contradiction, but we will only find life when we quit pursuing it. Spend time with Him. Sadly, most people want to go their own way, not follow Jesus. It’s not yet a promise that we will do greater works, just Jesus’s works. Jesus’ resurrection confirmed that they were right to believe in Him and follow Him, but now they needed to see the Scriptures from a new perspective. Either you have to call Jesus deceived or a deceiver, or what He promised about the blessings for those who follow Him is true. God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully (Romans 8:28). Luke 14:27 And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple. The Good Shepherd also promised to hold us securely: “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). For now, we proclaim that, “the old is gone, the new has come.” With respect to our persons, this is true. Then Jesus would have had to raise up others in their place. Jesus wants us to know that our sacrifices aren’t in vain and there’s nothing we can surrender that exceeds what’s attained in following him. Jesus promised abundant life to those who follow Him (John 10:10). Spiritually speaking, the servant is engaged in a pursuit of God . They’ve traded in their desires for Christ for worthless idols. Jesus motivates us with the promise of himself — like in John 14:23, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." We’re instructed to continually exist in God’s love, and he tells us that we can do that by keeping his commands. We sang this today at her Memorial Service at her request: Mrs Marie Morgan, 89 yrs old. — Matthew 5:9 Bobby Ross Jr. With social media, it is possible to have thousands of friends and followers. Our Relationship Our Hope Our Gifts ... and they follow me. God's Word promises those believers who are obedient and faithful to Christ, living an overcoming life, will reign with Him As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:12, "If we endure, we will also reign with Him. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. "If they persecute me, they will persecute you" ... and other Middle Eastern countries. It is a promise those who go forth proclaiming the Good News can claim in faith -- whatever is given them to eat or drink will not hurt them. Some that belong to Jesus will lose friends, family, jobs, opportunities, maybe even their lives. Once saved, always saved. Jesus came to reconcile God to mankind. What was true for the disciples is true for us. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." The Bible does promises riches to those who faithfully follow Christ, but they are heavenly riches—specifically eternal life (Ephesians 1:18b). 5. Then Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 2. All we have to do is trust in His word and obey him, he will always show us favor. VS 8:18-20 - “18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around Him, He gave orders to depart to the other side. But when was the last time we invested ourselves into each and every one of them? Jesus never came up to anyone and said, “Let me into your heart,” or “accept Me,” but rather He wants us to show our love for Him as He says, “Follow Me” (Matt 4:19) and them follow Him. (Ezra 8:22-23 NKJV) For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” {23} So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer. He says the followers that loves Him and keeps his commandments shows that they love Him. But that’s not how Jesus motivates us. The Bible is packed with the promises of God. We know that the seeds of our faith which were planted in Israel grew and spread from Jerusalem after His resurrection and ascension. Jesus said many times that those who follow Him will be persecuted. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:14–15, NIV). Jesus is the eternal Word, the creator and life-giver, God Himself in human flesh, come into this world to fulfill the holy commandments of God which we have failed to keep and to suffer and die in our stead to bear the punishment we justly deserve (cf. Jesus promises us that, when we obey him, he will manifest himself to us. In fact, we should be building our lives upon God’s trustworthy promises. He just invited them to follow. Their own pride may also get in the way of the gift, making them think the Gospel is just too easy. Their love grows cold as they lose the war against temptations to sin. Jesus extended an invitation to follow to every single kind of person imaginable — rich people, poor people, people who were spiritual, people who weren’t spiritual. That was Domingo Reyes’ prayer as the Wilmington, Del., minister taught his congregation’s Wednesday night Bible study Jan. 6, just hours after a deadly riot inside the U.S. Capitol. It may be difficult for us to see and understand how this is accomplished at times, but God has promised it, and He will deliver. He said “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Jesus promised not to turn those away who are looking for Him. Lv 7. When Jesus Christ takes over, things get exciting! These promises are incredibly important for us because they help to keep us grounded and give us hope in troubled times. Following Jesus is the only way to please God and get to heaven. Relevance. Let s read 1 Corinthians 2: 9. It is humbling to consider that apart from God’s grace to open my mind, I would have no understanding of the Scriptures. We have to believe that His promises are true. Since Jesus refers to the Spirit of Truth as “he” and “him”, Muslims see this as a man. We know that our eternal life with God will hold lots of pleasant surprises for us. Spend time with Him. To obey Jesus is to heed him. Jesus said that eternal life is all about following Him; and He summarized His entire plan for the disciples in just two words: "Follow Me" (Matthew 4:19).Those two words were what He spoke to Peter, Andrew, James and John as they fished and to Matthew as he sat at the tax office (); and those two words are what He still calls for as He walks through this world. We see this acceptance peppered throughout his interactions in the Gospels. Based on the promises of Jesus, Christians can encounter the Qur'an without fear, knowing that it is a revelation which glorifies Jesus and, in a spiritual sense, is from him. What does it mean ? Had they rushed right out to proclaim the message, they would have been immediately cut down. In the Revelation it says, "To Now remain in my love. Verse 12a: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Now we create problems for ourselves immediately by thinking of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. He commented to His disciples in verse 24 “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” The ruler understood what Jesus was asking of him–to put God and His belief in Jesus as Messiah ahead of earthly treasures. The Distinguishing Marks of True Repentance, Part 2. They would definitely need power from on high to face such opposition. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit to Those Who Follow Him Come Bless the Lord Icon Packets: is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to have faith, to say "Yes" to Jesus. The verb or action word used here - αἴρω (airō) - does not mean to carry at all. Being a true follower of Jesus Christ is the height of an extreme life! Jesus' Promises to those who have committed their life to Him. All praise to our Faithful Lord. Jesus does talk about how he could come back at any moment, he does talk about the imminence of his coming, but there’s nothing that binds him to the idea that he had to come back while his disciples were still alive. I presume that you think that Jesus claimed to be God. It is a glorious, graceful plan unfolding over millennia, and I now feel like the most anticipated match of all time has gone into overtime as cosmic observers await the final victory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the … Yet, this is is exactly what Jesus promises us. Luke 5:31-32: Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. They were awaiting an earthly kingdom ruled by their Messiah, whom they had believed to be Jesus, but His crucifixion confused them. Our Relationship Our Hope Our Gifts Our Persecution. In the verses given me from Luke 24, He commanded them that: “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (47), At that time, Jerusalem was where their greatest opposition lay. Even Jesus, being God Himself, was unable by His words alone to convince the Rich Ruler to follow Him in Luke 18. I and the Father are one." The Bible has a lot to say about friendship, and this is one of them. I presume that you think that Jesus claimed to be God. is a question that we can find ourselves asking before agreeing to do anything that is going to cost us or require us to part ways with something that we hold dear, whether that's our hard earned cash or our friends and family. Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Matthew 19:21. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”. Multiply my life so that I may bring as many people fo the nations of this world as You see fit to gather into Your heavenly arms through, me, by the power of Your Spirit. An issue has occurred. Answer Save. He Is Preparing A Place For Us In Heaven (John 14:1-3) 7. Nothing or no one can come between God's love for us, for it is unflailing and unconditional. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. What God Promises to Those With Christian Faith. In Luke 16:31, Jesus had Abraham speaking to the Rich Man regarding his request to send Lazarus, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.” Jesus Himself rose, and still the Scribes and Pharisees refused to believe. Action. The second observation is that Jesus promises all believers will do his works. The Koran says Mohammad is … They were cowering in fear of what either the religious or political authorities would do to them as Jesus’ followers. Jesus is that prophet promised through Moses Posted Jan 22, 04:08 pm ... with whom I am well pleased. We leave boring behind. 6 Answers. “The events that occurred were so disturbing that I had to change my lesson … in an attempt to refocus our minds,” Reyes said. 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