Transcript BE virtual prayer tent experience

Matthew 16:24-25
LET IT START WITH
FERVENT
PASSIONATE
INTERCESSIVE
OBEDIENT
PRAYER
PRAYER
Please take a moment to
prepare your heart
Matthew 16:24-25
Then Jesus said to His disciples
“If anyone wants to come with Me, he
must deny himself, take up his cross,
and follow Me.
For whoever wants to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life
because of Me will find it.”
MY JOURNEY OF TAKING THE GOSPEL TO
THE ENDS OF THE EARTH STARTS WITH
BEING A DEVOTED DISCIPLE OF JESUS.
HIS CALL TO SEEK, KNOW AND TRULY
LOVE HIM IS PARAMOUNT…AND COSTLY.
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37, HCSB
“I’m realizing that I don’t have to be
superhuman to do God’s will, but I do need
a heart that trusts Him where He leads me!”
Nicole, sub-Saharan African peoples
Will I choose to:
• Confess Him as Lord of my life?
• Turn away from living for myself and follow Him?
• Forsake my own life?
Just as the psalmist states, “As a deer longs for
streams of water, so I long for You, God.”
This is the cry of my heart, Jesus.
HE HAS CALLED ME TO DENY
MYSELF, MEANING I CHOOSE TO
NO LONGER LIVE FOR ME BUT
SOLELY FOR HIM.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galatians 5:24, ESV
“Putting our selfish desires to
death is painful, but it is
glorious to live as Christ lives!”
Jason, Central Asian peoples
Am I so focused on self that
• MY comfort
• MY relationships
• MY plans
• MY desires
come before God?
God, please reveal pride in my life.
Teach me to deny myself and give
You the honor only You deserve.
Whoever does not
bear his own cross
and come after me
cannot be my
disciple. So
therefore, any
one of you
who does not
renounce all
that he has
cannot be
my disciple.
Luke 14:27&33, ESV
JESUS WAS WILLING
TO DO WHATEVER WAS
NECESSARY, EVEN
DEATH ON A CROSS, TO
PROVIDE A WAY FOR
MAN TO BE RECONCILED
TO GOD.
“May I have a heart
that refuses to give to
the Lord a sacrifice that
costs me nothing.”
Leslie, Central Asian peoples
He is calling me to do
whatever it takes to
make this way of
salvation known to
all peoples.
Lord Jesus, help me to
understand the
gravity
of what
“taking
up my
cross”
really
means.
THE DECISION TO FOLLOW
JESUS IS A DAILY DECISION —
FOLLOWING HIM IN LIVING A
HOLY LIFE, GLORIFYING THE
FATHER AND CARING FOR THE
OUTCAST AND BROKEN.
“Follow Me…go and proclaim
everywhere the kingdom of God”
Luke 9:59,60, NASB
Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus cares for the hungry
Matthew 14:14-21)
925 million are undernourished
Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus touches the untouchable
(Matthew 8:3)
34 million worldwide live with HIV/AIDS
Where will He lead if I chose to follow?
Jesus is broken over lostness
(Matthew 9:36)
1.7 billion have little access to the Gospel
“Sometimes what Jesus asks of us is
difficult, but we have to make the decision
to either follow Him or deny Him.”
B., South Asian peoples
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, You are worthy
to follow! Today I purpose to follow You
wherever You lead, no matter the cost.
BY LOSING MY LIFE I HAVE CRUCIFIED MY FLESHLY PASSIONS
AND DESIRES. AND I COMMIT TO FOLLOW JESUS TO THE ENDS
OF THE EARTH, NO MATTER THE COST.
Karen Watson’s last letter
(Martyred March 15, 2004, in Iraq)
Am I willing to be like Paul and:
• count all as loss for the sake of Christ?
• share in His sufferings?
• even become like Christ in His death?
Father, I completely trust You
with my life, even my death.
May Your will be
accomplished in my life—no
matter what that means.
Matthew 16:24-25
How will
your
following
Jesus
impact a
lost world?