Seeking God and Fellowshipping

Happy Sunday! We were blessed to have church today as the expected weather missed us. God is good! As Pastor Nathan reminded us, seeking God and fellowshipping with Him should be our number one priority. After all, how amazing it is that God wants to spend time with us. He wants to give us daily bread or fresh manna every day!

Pastor Nathan’s message today was entitled “Greater Vision Requires the Cross.” Beginning in Mathew 16:21-24 (KJV), Pastor Nathan taught us that as Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day, Peter became upset and openly rebuked Jesus, forbidding Him to do this. He did not want things to change. He did not want Jesus to leave. He failed to realize that Jesus was not trying to break up the circle, he was getting ready to enlarge it!

There is always a new level in God. God is infinite and we can never “top out” in knowing Him. God always has a greater vision. Although the things of this world often compete for our attention, God is always speaking. Pastor Nathan asked us this question. If Jesus knocked on your door and asked you to be a part of His ministry, would you go? Would you quit your job? Would you leave your current life and begin a new one? That is exactly what happened to Jesus’ disciples, and because they answered the call, they experienced great things and mighty miracles. Their lives were changed forever!

I don’t blame Peter for wanting to protect Jesus at all costs. To him, the ministry couldn’t have been better. The Messiah was with them, why not keep it that way? Immediately following Peter’s rebuke, Jesus revealed to us how Satan can use our flesh to stop the greater plan. Jesus did not want a 12-member church. He died for every man, woman, boy, and girl. We cannot diminish the importance of the cross, and if we are to follow Christ, sometimes things must be removed from our lives. Jesus said it this way, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

In John 12:24-26 Jesus taught, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

We are all destined to do greater things for Christ, so when we have things in our lives that don’t belong, we must take them to the cross. It is the power of the cross which can remove things that don’t belong. Remember that it is one thing to have Jesus WITH you, but it is quite another to be born again and have Christ IN you! Likewise, it is one thing to have the Holy Spirit with you; it is another to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and to live, move, and have your being in Him! (Acts 17:28)

Every new level in God requires us to put the flesh under with the Cross of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:27, Galatians 2:20, 5:24). If Satan is hindering you, it’s because God desires to enlarge you. Remember, there is no amount of offense (quitting or giving up) that the power of the Cross cannot remove. So, what hinders you from serving Christ with all your heart? Learn to deny yourself, take it to the cross, and follow Him. The rewards are unspeakable and full of glory! (I Peter 1:8)