The Claims of Jesus
Deuteronomy 11:1 - "Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always." (NIV)
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 - "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." (NIV)
1 Samuel 15:22-23 - "But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.'” (NIV)
Mark 8:34-35 - "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" (NIV)
John 14:23-24 - "Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.'" (NIV)
Romans 6:6-7 - "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (NIV)
As Jesus is Lord and has a right to your life, he exercises his Lordship over your life. He lays his claim on you and calls you to follow him. But, what do the claims of Jesus involve? Let's take a deeper look…
We are called to OBEY God's commands. God's claim over our lives is a loving, wholehearted response of obedience to his word and ways. He has the right to command our obedience. Remember that the boundaries God sets for us means life and blessing. Obeying God is always the best for us. In our independence, we think that rebellion will give us a better outcome. But, instant, joyful, wholehearted obedience not only pleases the heart of God, but brings great blessing into our lives. It is important to note, also, that delayed obedience and grumpy obedience is not real obedience. Our attitude counts while we obey!
The claim of Jesus on our lives means that we DIE to ourselves. He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34 NIV) Where is Jesus headed, as we follow him? He is headed to death on the cross. And he calls us to follow him. Romans 6:6-7 says, ""For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (NIV) And again, the Holy Spirit tells us, "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11 NIV) The notion of self-denial and death is not a comforting one. There is a certain violence and pain involved. So, how do you treat your selfishness and sin? Too often, we treat our sin like a bad friend that we know we shouldn't hang around. But, we put up with this bad friend. Jesus calls to kill selfishness… to be utterly done with it. There is a finality to death. Self should no longer reign in our lives. If Jesus is Lord, we will follow Jesus to the cross and put it to death.
For More Study
Thoughts and Questions for Application
Memorization
Mark 8:34-35 - "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" (NIV)
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 - "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." (NIV)
1 Samuel 15:22-23 - "But Samuel replied: 'Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.'” (NIV)
Mark 8:34-35 - "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" (NIV)
John 14:23-24 - "Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.'" (NIV)
Romans 6:6-7 - "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (NIV)
As Jesus is Lord and has a right to your life, he exercises his Lordship over your life. He lays his claim on you and calls you to follow him. But, what do the claims of Jesus involve? Let's take a deeper look…
We are called to OBEY God's commands. God's claim over our lives is a loving, wholehearted response of obedience to his word and ways. He has the right to command our obedience. Remember that the boundaries God sets for us means life and blessing. Obeying God is always the best for us. In our independence, we think that rebellion will give us a better outcome. But, instant, joyful, wholehearted obedience not only pleases the heart of God, but brings great blessing into our lives. It is important to note, also, that delayed obedience and grumpy obedience is not real obedience. Our attitude counts while we obey!
The claim of Jesus on our lives means that we DIE to ourselves. He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34 NIV) Where is Jesus headed, as we follow him? He is headed to death on the cross. And he calls us to follow him. Romans 6:6-7 says, ""For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin– because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (NIV) And again, the Holy Spirit tells us, "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11 NIV) The notion of self-denial and death is not a comforting one. There is a certain violence and pain involved. So, how do you treat your selfishness and sin? Too often, we treat our sin like a bad friend that we know we shouldn't hang around. But, we put up with this bad friend. Jesus calls to kill selfishness… to be utterly done with it. There is a finality to death. Self should no longer reign in our lives. If Jesus is Lord, we will follow Jesus to the cross and put it to death.
For More Study
- Deuteronomy 11
- Deuteronomy 30
- Mark 8:31-38
- Romans 6
Thoughts and Questions for Application
- Are there areas in your life that you make excuses for disobedience? Do you ever make excuses for delayed obedience? In what areas?
- Take some time to wait on God and ask him in what areas of specific self-denial he might be calling you. Then respond to him.
- How can you put sin to death in your life? What specific action could God be calling you to?
Memorization
Mark 8:34-35 - "Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.'" (NIV)
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