“And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself.” (Luke 9:25-23 NASB)
This is your Sunday Share meditation. This past Sunday, just a few days ago, Rev. M.R. King, Senior Pastor at Salt Of The Earth Church (Indianapolis, Indiana), continued preaching the third part of a series entitled, “The Jesus Franchise.” The first two sermons in the series were “The Great Commission,” and the “Great Start.” Sunday’s messages, a specific message sent for all disciples of Jesus Christ for specific purpose was entitled “The Great Commitment.” Pastor clarified at the start, “Being a disciple is a daily decision where we decide to live like a follower of Christ.” To do this, it requires a “Great Commitment.” To reiterate that this sermon was specifically for all who were listening or those who shall listen on the church’s Facebook or YouTube site, Pastor put an emphasis on the word “all.” The text starts out, “And He was saying to them all.” Don’t overlook the fact that you are included in the “all.”
Rev. King went on to say, many want the call, but not the commitment. Many want the crown, but they don’t want the cross. Many want to assemble on the first day of the week, like Christians ought, but they don’t want to act like Christians ought, living by Jesus’ precepts and principles the rest of the week.
Here are the three major points that Pastor emphasized, communicating things that we, members of The Jesus Franchise, the body of Christ must adhere to faithfully. Here they are:
- Recognize THE CALL. Jesus starts out, in the text above with clear instructions and expectations for you, me, and anyone who wants to come after Jesus. As far as “anyone” is concerned, there is no pre-requisite. Just come to Jesus as the clay comes to the Potter. If we do, we will let Him be in charge. We will take His directions. We won’t be like the person who disregards the directions on his/her GPS while traveling on the highway because it does not make sense or it does not agree with their thinking. Look! If you follow Jesus, He will change your thinking; from wrong thinking to right thinking, from deviant thinking to divine-oriented thinking, from have it my way to have it a holy way, from a personal opinion to the prescribed optional “route” that we “all” have to follow by faith.
- Make THE CONNECTION. Pastor emphasized that as disciples, we have to make a connection with Christ Jesus. He makes it plain by explain that a relationship is not just a movement to come to Jesus, but it is getting to know Him, His way, His truth as we follow Him.
- Pay THE COST. Pastor was not talking about money. No! He was talking about placing Jesus ahead of our own priorities, our own preferences, and our own prescriptions for living. By the way, Pastor’s father published a sermon over 30 decades ago in Preaching Magazine, and he said it this way regarding verse twenty-three, in the text: “Go beyond your comfort zone.”
Listen to the sermon in its entirety and take good notes so that you can share the preached word with somebody. Also, if you share this as you do personal evangelism, witnessing to someone who is unsaved, refer to the words below, written by Frances J. Cosby in 1883. Have a great Wednesday! Be blessed!
“Jesus is tenderly calling you home—
Calling today, calling today,
Why from the sunshine of love will you roam
Farther and farther away?
Calling today, calling today,
Jesus is calling, is tenderly calling today.
Jesus is calling the weary to rest—
Calling today, calling today,
Bring Him your burden and you shall be blest;
He will not turn you away.
Jesus is waiting, oh, come to Him now—
Waiting today, waiting today,
Come with your sins, at His feet lowly bow;
Come, and no longer delay.
Jesus is pleading, oh, list to His voice:
Hear Him today, hear Him today,
They who believe on His name shall rejoice;
Quickly arise and away.”
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
Jesus loves us so, that He is tenderly calling today. The Jesus Franchise theme is a clever way to admonish us to be in compliance with Jesus’ word. We just can’t call ourselves Christ-like if we don’t follow His example and model what His word says unto us. Answer the call by recognizing it, making the connection to Jesus, and paying the cost to carry our cross.
Your words can be a meditation all by themselves! Thank you! Be blessed!