And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ta ke up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” –Mark 8:34-35.

Notes:

When Jesus said the above statement, He had summoned not only His disciples to listen, but also the multitudes.  The difference between these two groups was the willingness inside their hearts to follow. Jesus then gives teaches us several requirements for us to be His disciples:

1. Willingness to Follow: A person first must “wish” or be willing to follow Him.  If there is no innate desire in the heart of a person to truly follow Christ, then the rest of what Jesus says is not even necessary to know.
2.  Deny ourselves-The first thing we must do is deny ourselves.   It is to make decisions for the outcome for God to get glory and for the benefit of others, instead of making ourselves look “better”, more powerful, or more “prosperous”.
3. Take up our Cross- The second requirement is that we take up our cross, meaning that we crucify sin in our lives through the crucifixion that Jesus endured.  We have been crucified along with Him, so that we may no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness through Christ.
4. Following Him- You can deny yourself, and even take up your cross daily, but never truly learn to follow Him to the fullest extent.  As Jesus’ sole purpose was to reveal the Father and the Kingdom of God to the world, so our purpose is to reveal Jesus and the message of the Gospel. When we truly follow Him, we are to not only do as He said, but also do as He did. This means living holy lives, being anointed by the Holy Spirit, sharing the gospel, healing the sick, casting out demons and making disciples. But we first must be willing.

Willing to Take the Challenge?

The great mark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ is not whether or not he/she goes to church on Sunday’s, or whether they sing in the choir, or if they read their bibles, but rather if they are losing their life for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s.  The apostle Paul said for him to live is Christ. This meant that each breath and waking moment was for Christ Jesus and advancing the gospel to every creature. What deep fulfillment and joy we receive when we deny our flesh, cast away sin, and decide to live each minute for the resurrected Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit.  This can be a tremendous challenge.

Our time on earth is short, nothing less than a vapor in the wind. We are merely pilgrims and sojourners on the earth, looking for a better city, a heavenly one.   When we number our days and apply a heart of wisdom, we realize the old proverbial phrase rings true: Only one life and it soon will pass; only what we do for Christ will last.