Young Adults' Group

The Challenges Of Following The Lord

by Pastor Mark
May 06, 2016

The call to follow the Lord

The invitation to follow the Lord is given to all. This call was even given to lowly fishermen such as Peter. The Lord Jesus called him and his fellow fishermen to follow Him and that He would transform them to become fishers of men. In response, they forsook all and followed the Lord. (Luke 5:10,11)

This began Peter’s journey of following the Lord. It must have been an inspiring moment for him. He was going to discover lots more as to who the Lord Jesus is. It was a turning point in his life. He was no longer going to continue his life as a fisherman. He was going to learn how to catch men instead. He and the others were greatly impacted by the Lord’s invitation. It was a significant moment in their life. Let us seek to heed the call to follow the Lord.

The confirmation of following the Lord

Yet did the disciples understand fully what it meant to follow the Lord? The answer was probably “No!” Going beyond the initial euphoria of following the Lord, the disciples needed to understand how challenging it would be to follow Him. As the disciples followed the Lord Jesus over some time, He felt the need for them to check and confirm their understanding of following Him.

The challenges of following the Lord

The Lord gave three challenges for the disciples to consider in following Him, “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

1. The will to follow the Lord

The Greek word for “desire” is “thelo” which means “to wish, to will.” Following the Lord must be something that we wish or will to do. It is an act of the will that is not only for a moment but something that should endure. With a great sense of purpose, let us seek to come after the Lord. Let us ensure that it is our wish and that we are truly willing to follow Him.

2. Denying of oneself

The challenge is given to deny ourselves. There are things that we hold on to in life that could prevent us from following the Lord. Jesus used the imperative to command the disciples that they should abstain from or disown these things. Jesus must have seen in the life of His disciples that they were still holding on to certain things in their life and they needed to be challenged to deny themselves. Let us be challenged to deny ourselves too.

3. Taking up the cross and following Him

The Greek word for “take up” is “airo’ which means to lift up or to raise up. The challenge was given for the disciples to lift up their own cross. The cross is symbolic of the challenges of life and ministry that we must expect to face in following the Lord.  Whether it is rising up early to pray or in facing opposition to our ministry, following the Lord is most difficult. It is a cross that we have to personally lift up daily. According to the challenges of each day, we should be unafraid in following the Lord. Let us seek to check our own understanding of following the Lord…that we are willing to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Let us seek to ensure that we are seeking to follow the Lord completely.

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