It’s important to always make sure that you’re following the right leader, whether it be concerning your friends, business associates or local officials.  It’s even more important follow the right leader concerning our Spirtual life!  There are many leaders in our world and in our lives but when it comes to matters of faith, only Jesus Christ can be trusted because God’s Word says that only by following Jesus Christ can we get to heaven (John 14:6). All other alternate routes lead to a dead end!

Jesus says to us in Matthew 16:24 that to be a genuine disciple of His, there are some things that need to happen.  First He says that there has to be a desire to follow Him.  This is about a choice that we first have to make.  We can’t be on the fence concerning whether or not we’re going to follow Jesus.  We must decide to give Him all our heart, our mind and our souls.  In short, anything less than our whole lives is just not going to cut it.  A disciple who has a genuine desire to follow Christ will model that commitment by the way they live their life.  Disciples of Jesus Christ should live in obedience, faithfulness and service to Him and for Him!

Jesus says secondly that there must also be a denial.  Of what you ask?  Of ourselves!  Desire involves a choice while denial involves action as a result of the choice.  We must strive everyday to put away all that our sinful flesh seeks to run after, chase and follow and instead accept the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives.  When we live in disobedience and rebellion concerning God’s commands then we live in denial of Him and His ultimate will for our lives and that path leads to destruction, isolation, regret, and often death, both physical and spiritual. 

When it comes to directions, we want to follow the right leader because choosing the wrong one to follow will end up in us being lost!  Do you know the right way?  Knowing the right way begins by knowing Jesus Christ, who says in John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  You’ll never be lost when you find yourself following Jesus!

Watch for the full sermon “To Follow Jesus” (Pt 1) in our “Listen to a Sunday Message” section.