OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-FRIDAY-17/06/2016-CARRYING YOUR CROSS -BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
CARRYING YOUR CROSS
Memorise
And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27
Read
Luke 14:25-30,
25 And
there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 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?
29 Lest
haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all
that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying,
This man began to build, and was not able to finish.
KJV
MESSAGE
The cross of
Jesus is very effective in cleansing us from all our sins. Jesus instructs that
whosoever will be His disciple will have to carry his cross and follow Him. As
a disciple of Jesus Christ, every manifested work of the flesh must have been
crucified to the cross. You are to be clean from all filthiness of the flesh.
You must allow the cross to deliver you from the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eye and the pride and passions of life.
“And they that are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”
Galatians 5:24
Carrying your
cross is the commencement of a new life and a new journey. It means your old
ways of thinking are no longer allowed and you begin to walk in newness of
life. Every resurrected life that is genuine begins with carrying the cross.
When believers carry the cross, authentic power from God is released into their
lives.
However, the
devil paints those who carry the cross as people who are old fashioned and
people who follow doctrines that no longer necessary. This because he knows the
secret behind the cross; he knows that the heredity of Christ is in the cross.
He understands that holiness, power and wisdom are in the cross, and he wants
believers not to have access to these things. This is one of the reasons why
those who have refused to carry the cross are living a defeated life on daily
basis; they are under the rule of the devil and so have become slaves to him.
Carrying your
cross means to follow Jesus all the way. If the 21st century will be
potent enough to put the devil where he belongs, there is the need for the
Church to carry her cross.
The Cross was
what made a public defeat of the devil. If you also want the devil to be
publicly defeated in your family, in your career, in your finances, in your
church, we all have to carry the cross and follow Jesus. Those who carry the
cross will live. Those who follow Jesus will be delivered in the time of
trouble. Self-made righteousness cannot earn you a place in the presence of God
but the cross will help you fight flesh and sins. You must seek to be a true
disciple of Jesus Christ. You must be willing to commit yourself in total
surrender to the Lord. If you want to do great exploits in the world, you will
have to deny yourself. Others may but as a true disciple of Jesus you cannot.
Others can be careless but you cannot. You can no longer allow the system of
the world and the dictates of culture to be the basis upon which you make your
decisions. It is the love of Christ in you that becomes your compelling force.
Paul had to suffer in order to carry out His mission. Jesus had to die in order
for salvation to be possible. Nothing worthy is ever done in God without a
sacrifice. I pray for you the grace you need to follow Jesus shall be available
to you in Jesus’ name.
Prayer Point
Father, please help me to
carry my cross to the finish line.
Bible in one year
Nehemiah 6:15-8:18,
Ecclesiastes 8:10-17
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