Looking Up

On this Lord’s Day Sunday, we come mindful of our Heavenly Father’s Presence with us. We come most mindful that He is the One Supreme, the One to be revered, the One to be honoured, the One to be respected and the One to be feared. We are quite aware that in this world of darkness and sin, the Lord God is not considered by many, in high and low places, as the God to be feared. We know that even with many of us believers, who claim to fear God, we seriously, either advertently or inadvertently, totally dishonour Sovereign Jehovah, by living as the world does, in several points.

We know, for example, that the world places emphasis on the self, the power and privilege of self. We are encouraged and persuaded in the goodness and wisdom of self-effort, self-works, self-thought, self-reasoning and self-understanding. But our Lord, Leader and Saviour, Jesus Christ, has told us the opposite. He has categorically told us, all who will hear and heed that we cannot serve God and serve the world at the same time. No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6: 24. In other words, whatever or whoever we serve, along with God, is totally futile, where God is concerned. He will not have it, and trust me, He is the Supreme Word, the Infinite say and what He says is done.

Today, on this privileged and special Lord’s Day Sunday; today, as you have worshipped God and are worshipping God; today, as you cast yourself before the throne of grace in prayer and petition, remember that these are but ploys of the evil deceiver, if you do not fully and completely deny all of the world, all of self, indeed, all of you, to obey the Lord.

Will you again listen, with renewed hearts and minds, to our Lord’s words? Will you hear, deep in your spiritual hearts and minds, the call of Jesus, His plea, to His disciples and all who will follow Him? Jesus is here speaking to a crowd and even if this day, you think that you are not worthy of being a disciple of Jesus, you certainly are one of the crowd. You certainly are one who has decided to follow Jesus.

Then he called the crowd to him, along with his disciples and said: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Mark 8: 34.

Two, just two requirements are asked of us, if we would follow Jesus. They are both opposites, which take place simultaneously. It’s as simple and straightforward as this. If you were driving in a northerly direction and you are told that you are going the wrong way, because you ought to be going south, what do you do? You turn your direction and go south. In that one turn, you have denied going north, you have cancelled going north, you have shunned, going north. In reality, you are dead to going or following north. Be aware! North still lives and operates perfectly well, but you are dead to it, because you are going another way. When we deny the self in us, we turn to and look to the Divine, Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us. Your carnal self and God’s Holy Spirit cannot work together. You must deny yourself, if you will be a follower and disciple of Jesus. You do this by intentionally, consciously and faithfully looking to God.

During this week, we shall be taken through a time of looking to God.