21 Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. "You lack only one thing," he told him. "Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  (NLT) (Full Passage: Mark 10:17-31)

 

Look at the first part of this verse “Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him.” Jesus genuinely loved him. Think about this for a moment. Jesus genuinely loves you. Yes you. He loved you before you were born. Jesus loved you so much that He died in your place on the cross. When He was hanging on the cross He was looking at you and thinking about you. Jesus chose to love you. Even though you have done horrible things Jesus loves you, has forgiven you and has given you His love to love others the way He loves them. You are an ambassador of Jesus’ love. You are to love others with such intensity that you are willing to die for just one sinner to come to repentance in Jesus Christ.

Jesus genuinely loves.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ

Matthew 16:24-26

Then Jesus said to the disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.  If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. (NLT)

When Jesus asks you to follow Him He is asking you to follow Him into something greater than yourself. He did not call you, then leave you here alone. What must you do, what steps must you take? First, you accept the call or the invitation to receive Him as your Savior. Second, is to deny yourself or put aside your selfish ambition and put Jesus first in your life. And third, shoulder your cross, carry your cross or do the part that He has called you to do.

If you live for yourself or try to keep your life you will lose it. You will lose the blessing of that close fellowship with Christ. But if you give up your life, put Christ first and obey His commandments you will find true life -- that life of close fellowship with Him. You will find the person Christ wants you to be and you will find the life that He has for you.

Jesus calls you into something bigger than yourself.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ

 

Matthew 5:3-12

3 "God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them.

4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them.

6 God blesses those who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for they will receive it in full.

7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

10 God blesses those who are persecuted because they live for God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 "God blesses you when you are mocked and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers.

12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted, too. (NLT)

 

God blesses you and it is His pleasure to bless His children.

When Jesus died on the cross it was to be a blessing to you.

Scripture was written and given to you to bless your life.

Obedience to Christ is to have a blessed life.

Bless others as God has blessed you.

John 1:16

We have all benefited from the rich blessings God brought to us

one gracious blessing after another. (NLT)

Ephesians 1:3

How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. (NLT)

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ

Matthew 4:19

19 Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" (NLT)

 

Come and study about Jesus. Come and study at His feet. Come to the foot of the Cross. Listen to what He says. Come and be His disciple. Believe what He says for it is truth. Follow and He will lead you. Leave your burdens and your worries at the foot of the Cross and follow Jesus. He will show you how to fish for people. Cast out the gospel net and trust Jesus for the catch. Come and He will show you all the great things God has done. Give as He has given to you, forgive as He has forgiven you, love as He has loved you, bless as He has blessed you, share the gospel as He has shared it with you, so let’s go fishing with Jesus.

Jesus called you out, “Come, be my disciple.”

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ

Romans 1:12

12 I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other. (NLT)

 

When Jesus came He came to bless and to be a blessing to others. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead and preached the love of God. He gave to those who had need even to those who did not thank Him. He was patient and kind. He came to give hope to a hopelessly lost world. And what did He ask us to do? He asked us to follow His example, to be obedient to His word, to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing and has given you an inheritance. What is your real goal in life? It should be to become a blessing to others.

Jesus came to be a blessing.

 

Q: How can you be more of a blessing to others?

 

Q: Who has blessed you, and how?

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ

John 12:32

32 And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself." (NLT)

Jesus was never distracted from the plan. He willingly went to the cross. He did not worry about what other people thought or said. Jesus rose above it all by keeping a Heavenly perspective. “To be in the world but not of it” and we too are to rise above because Jesus did. We are to be in the world but we are not to be partakers with the world and its sinful ways. We are to stand out, show that we are different, to show the world a better way and to show them we have spent time with Jesus. Jesus changes us from the inside out and we are to show that change to the world. We are to share and to live Jesus’s message of the gospel - death, burial and resurrection.

Jesus rose above it all.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – Abiding with Jesus Christ