Kingdom Principle: Jesus, our Lord and Savior calls us to come and die in order that we might live. The call of Christ our King is to deny our self, pick up our cross, and follow him. This can only be done as we trust in his cross bearing work in and through us. This is seen in losing our life and believing our Lord. Losing ____________________ LifeLuke 9:24 (ESV) — 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Luke 9:24 (NASB95) — 24 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. Luke 9:24 (NIV) — 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. The problem that Jesus is addressing here, is our innate and ardent desire to preserve our own life.the contradiction is in what the self (flesh) sees as life giving. The problem is not in Jesus’ logic, the problem is in our definition of what is life giving. Because our natural perception of what is truly prosperous is so skewed, we think we are pursuing life when really we are pursuing death.Proverbs 26:11–12 (ESV) — 11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. 12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. The real life giving prospect in this world and the world to come is advancing the kingdom of Christ.Luke 18:27–30 (ESV) — 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus has promised me, and you, that if you spend your life for the gospel it will yield eternal gains. Believing ________________ LordLuke 9:25–26 (ESV) — 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. To be ashamed is more than a feeling of discomfort because we have done something wrong, like “I feel so ashamed”. It is worse than that. To be ashamed of Christ is to see Jesus as disgraceful.Romans 1:16 (ESV) — 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. The consequence of not trusting Jesus is being ashamed, or we could say being wrong about Christ. The problem, beloved is that we don’t believe God, the Father when he says something. The problem is that we do not believe Jesus the Son, when he says something to us. Questions to ConsiderWhat are some things you believe will grant you life? How is Jesus calling you to lay those things on the alter and trust him with your things?In what ways is the Lord calling you to trust him in faith?
