Are We Worthy Of Christ?
Matthew 10:37-39 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
If you DON’T take up your cross and follow Christ, are you not worthy of Him?
What is the cross referred to here?
-Jesus’ cross?
-Do I have my own personal cross?
Is it important that we be WORTHY of Jesus? Why?
The Context:
Jesus here is speaking to His disciples (Matt.10:1). He has just given them power to cast out unclean spirits and heal ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease.
-This is NOT a discussion of who is worthy to be saved. We were all
unworthy until Christ saves us. That’s what being LOST means.
-This IS a discussion about HOW to use these new powers that
Jesus gives to each of us who have received the Holy Spirit.
It is extremely important to use these powers because they show that we are the Ambassadors of Christ. If we are not worthy of Christ, we cannot use the authority He has given us. The apostle Paul explains:
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
But, Paul, how do we DO it?
There are MANY Christians that don’t see the power of God…
Why?
The first step is:
You MUST be a born-again Christian.
John 3:1-3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The second step is to be worthy:
Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
If we want to follow Jesus, we should know before-hand that He will lead us into some strange and difficult places. Places you won’t want to go.
- (v.25) the life that you had planned for will be lost forever.
- (v.26) everything that you have gained (or could gain) in this world is
not worth that of one soul being saved!
Paul explains:
Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Jesus, too, gives difficult answers:
Mark 10:17-20 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
To begin His answer, Jesus makes two points, first;
-Jesus is the Lord and we are not… The commandments SHOW us that only Jesus is good, only Jesus is God.
-The man agrees with Jesus, saying that he has observed these things from his youth. Do you agree that only Jesus is good?
Once the Messiah has been accepted, Jesus makes His second point;
Mark 10:21-23 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Almost everyone wants to see God’s power in their lives and ministries. We want to win souls (treasure in Heaven), but at what cost?
If you won’t allow God whatever you have, you are not worthy of the Kingdom of God.
As Jesus continues to tell of the difficulties that riches bring, Peter starts to ask the question that we all want to ask (what do we GET in return?)…
Mark 10:28-31 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
Sweet! However, this passage is often misunderstood and misapplied;
How many faithful ministers of the Gospel (even the apostles) have received a HUNDRED HOUSES, hundreds of kids (I suppose you could count grandkids…), HUNDREDS of pieces of land, etc…
-Clearly worldly goods are NOT being referred to here!
The promises of God for those that follow Christ are:
-Households will be saved (extended families as well).
-Our natural brothers and sisters will be saved.
-Our Mothers and Fathers will be saved.
-Our wives (husbands, too, but He was talking to only men here…).
-Our children will be saved.
-Our lands (communities and areas) will see hundreds saved.
The promise also includes troubles; persecutions and death (with eternal life continuing in the world to come).
V.31 -With our natural eyes we see many “important” people in the Church
that actually are last (least) in the Kingdom of God.
-Many that appear unimportant and that are often over-looked are
actually first (greatest) in the Kingdom of God.
Remember, God judges us by our works (works of the Holy Spirit in us). Old widows are often responsible for the salvations that young pastors get “credit” for.
Matthew 13:1-9 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Now there’s a nice, easy story that everyone can agree on. Seeds and Weeds and Birds and Harvest. Lots of scriptures seem sort of nice and easy…
Matthew 13:10-11 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Notice that the disciples had to go to Jesus and ask for understanding.
ANYONE can go to the Lord and ask; the Lord will answer directly (James 1:5).
Matthew 13:18-19 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
If you don’t understand the scripture, you won’t see the Kingdom come.
Matthew 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Tribulation means trouble here. Not the Great Tribulation, but problems of all types pressing down on you today.
-Sickness and sufferings.
-Slanders and betrayals.
-Mocking and insults.
-Etc…
Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
If you worry about the things of the world and the riches of the world, you will not see the Kingdom of God in your ministry or life…
-I can’t, I’ll lose my job…
-I can’t, I’ll lose my business…
-I can’t, my family will reject me…
-I can’t, I will lose my reputation…
-I can’t, I will lose my important position…
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Here is the promise of God:
If we are the good ground, we will:
-Hear the word, search it out (study) and believe what God says.
-Walk with Jesus in the world of suffering, lost causes, disgrace and insults.
-We will be attacked by our own families, close friends and our churches (like
Jesus was).
-We will need to ignore the prosperity that the world offers us and follow
Christ.
-The Gospel is more important than our career development, our politics and
our financial situation.
Only if we accept these conditions can we see the Kingdom of God.
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Don’t be ashamed!
The righteousness of God awaits you!
Will you be worthy?
Matthew 10:37-39 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
If you DON’T take up your cross and follow Christ, are you not worthy of Him?
What is the cross referred to here?
-Jesus’ cross?
-Do I have my own personal cross?
Is it important that we be WORTHY of Jesus? Why?
The Context:
Jesus here is speaking to His disciples (Matt.10:1). He has just given them power to cast out unclean spirits and heal ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease.
-This is NOT a discussion of who is worthy to be saved. We were all
unworthy until Christ saves us. That’s what being LOST means.
-This IS a discussion about HOW to use these new powers that
Jesus gives to each of us who have received the Holy Spirit.
It is extremely important to use these powers because they show that we are the Ambassadors of Christ. If we are not worthy of Christ, we cannot use the authority He has given us. The apostle Paul explains:
1 Corinthians 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
But, Paul, how do we DO it?
There are MANY Christians that don’t see the power of God…
Why?
The first step is:
You MUST be a born-again Christian.
John 3:1-3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The second step is to be worthy:
Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
If we want to follow Jesus, we should know before-hand that He will lead us into some strange and difficult places. Places you won’t want to go.
- (v.25) the life that you had planned for will be lost forever.
- (v.26) everything that you have gained (or could gain) in this world is
not worth that of one soul being saved!
Paul explains:
Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Jesus, too, gives difficult answers:
Mark 10:17-20 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
To begin His answer, Jesus makes two points, first;
-Jesus is the Lord and we are not… The commandments SHOW us that only Jesus is good, only Jesus is God.
-The man agrees with Jesus, saying that he has observed these things from his youth. Do you agree that only Jesus is good?
Once the Messiah has been accepted, Jesus makes His second point;
Mark 10:21-23 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Almost everyone wants to see God’s power in their lives and ministries. We want to win souls (treasure in Heaven), but at what cost?
If you won’t allow God whatever you have, you are not worthy of the Kingdom of God.
As Jesus continues to tell of the difficulties that riches bring, Peter starts to ask the question that we all want to ask (what do we GET in return?)…
Mark 10:28-31 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
Sweet! However, this passage is often misunderstood and misapplied;
How many faithful ministers of the Gospel (even the apostles) have received a HUNDRED HOUSES, hundreds of kids (I suppose you could count grandkids…), HUNDREDS of pieces of land, etc…
-Clearly worldly goods are NOT being referred to here!
The promises of God for those that follow Christ are:
-Households will be saved (extended families as well).
-Our natural brothers and sisters will be saved.
-Our Mothers and Fathers will be saved.
-Our wives (husbands, too, but He was talking to only men here…).
-Our children will be saved.
-Our lands (communities and areas) will see hundreds saved.
The promise also includes troubles; persecutions and death (with eternal life continuing in the world to come).
V.31 -With our natural eyes we see many “important” people in the Church
that actually are last (least) in the Kingdom of God.
-Many that appear unimportant and that are often over-looked are
actually first (greatest) in the Kingdom of God.
Remember, God judges us by our works (works of the Holy Spirit in us). Old widows are often responsible for the salvations that young pastors get “credit” for.
Matthew 13:1-9 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Now there’s a nice, easy story that everyone can agree on. Seeds and Weeds and Birds and Harvest. Lots of scriptures seem sort of nice and easy…
Matthew 13:10-11 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
Notice that the disciples had to go to Jesus and ask for understanding.
ANYONE can go to the Lord and ask; the Lord will answer directly (James 1:5).
Matthew 13:18-19 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
If you don’t understand the scripture, you won’t see the Kingdom come.
Matthew 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
Tribulation means trouble here. Not the Great Tribulation, but problems of all types pressing down on you today.
-Sickness and sufferings.
-Slanders and betrayals.
-Mocking and insults.
-Etc…
Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
If you worry about the things of the world and the riches of the world, you will not see the Kingdom of God in your ministry or life…
-I can’t, I’ll lose my job…
-I can’t, I’ll lose my business…
-I can’t, my family will reject me…
-I can’t, I will lose my reputation…
-I can’t, I will lose my important position…
Matthew 13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Here is the promise of God:
If we are the good ground, we will:
-Hear the word, search it out (study) and believe what God says.
-Walk with Jesus in the world of suffering, lost causes, disgrace and insults.
-We will be attacked by our own families, close friends and our churches (like
Jesus was).
-We will need to ignore the prosperity that the world offers us and follow
Christ.
-The Gospel is more important than our career development, our politics and
our financial situation.
Only if we accept these conditions can we see the Kingdom of God.
Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Don’t be ashamed!
The righteousness of God awaits you!
Will you be worthy?
