4. Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus said to His disciples
“ If anyone wants to come with Me, he
must deny himself, take up his
cross, and follow Me.
For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life
because of Me will find it.”
5.
6. MY JOURNEY OF TAKING THE GOSPEL
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH STARTS
WITH BEING A DEVOTED DISCIPLE OF
JESUS. HIS CALL TO SEEK, KNOW AND
TRULY LOVE HIM IS PARAMOUNT…AND
COSTLY.
7. He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37, HCSB
8. “I’m realizing that I don’t have to be superhuman to
do God’s will, but I do need a heart that
trusts Him where He leads me!”
Nicole, sub-Saharan African peoples
9. Will I choose to:
• Confess Him as Lord of my life?
• Turn away from living for myself and follow Him?
• Forsake my own life?
10. Just as the psalmist states, “As a deer longs for
streams of water, so I long for You, God.”
This is the cry of my heart, Jesus.
11. HE HAS CALLED ME TO DENY
MYSELF, MEANING I CHOOSE TO
NO LONGER LIVE FOR ME BUT
SOLELY FOR HIM.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24, ESV
12. “Putting our selfish desires to
death is painful, but it is glorious
to live as Christ lives!”
Jason, Central Asian peoples
13. Am I so focused on self that
• MY comfort
• MY relationships
• MY plans
• MY desires
come before God?
14. God, please reveal pride in my life.
Teach me to deny myself and give
You the honor only You deserve.
15. Whoever does not
bear his own cross
and come after me
cannot be my
disciple. So
therefore, any
one of you
who does not
renounce all
JESUS WAS WILLING
TO DO WHATEVER WAS
that he has
NECESSARY, EVEN DEATH
cannot be
ON A CROSS, TO PROVIDE
my disciple.
Luke 14:27&33, ESV
A WAY FOR MAN TO BE
RECONCILED
TO GOD.
16. “ May I have a heart that
refuses to give to the
Lord a sacrifice that costs
me nothing.”
Leslie, Central Asian peoples
He is calling me to do
whatever it takes to make
this way of salvation
known to all peoples.
17. Lord Jesus, help me to
understand the
gravity
of what
“ taking
up my
cross”
really
means.
18. THE DECISION TO FOLLOW “Follow Me…go and proclaim
JESUS IS A DAILY DECISION everywhere the kingdom of God”
— FOLLOWING HIM IN LIVING A Luke 9:59,60, NASB
HOLY LIFE, GLORIFYING THE
FATHER AND CARING FOR THE
OUTCAST AND BROKEN.
19. Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus cares for the hungry
(Matthew 14:14-21)
925 million are undernourished
20. Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus touches the untouchable
(Matthew 8:3)
34 million worldwide live with HIV/AIDS
21. Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus is broken over lostness
(Matthew 9:36)
1.7 billion have little access to the Gospel
22. “ Sometimes what Jesus asks of us is
difficult, but we have to make the decision
to either follow Him or deny Him.”
B., South Asian peoples
23. Jesus, my Lord and Savior, You are worthy
to follow! Today I purpose to follow You
wherever You lead, no matter the cost.
24. BY LOSING MY LIFE I HAVE CRUCIFIED MY FLESHLY
PASSIONS AND DESIRES. AND I COMMIT TO FOLLOW JESUS TO
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, NO MATTER THE COST.
25. Karen Watson’ s last letter
(Martyred March 15, 2004, in
Iraq)
26. Am I willing to be like Paul and:
• count all as loss for the sake of Christ?
• share in His sufferings?
• even become like Christ in His death?
Father, I completely trust You with
my life, even my death. May Your
will be accomplished in my life—no
matter what that means.
27. Matthew 16:24-25
How will
your
following
Jesus
impact a
lost world?
