I'm Following Jesus – Page 1284 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Monday, October 12, 2020
Chapters: Matthew 11, Luke 11
Message: Jesus Revealed

Hello My Friend,

Did you ever wonder why God hardens a heart to the point that they will never believe? It is not because they never knew that God exists, it is because they have become reprobates. Reprobates are those whom are filled with pure evil, they are controlled by the devil himself, even appear to be religious, saying they believe in God, but have a hatred so deep for Jesus that they are beyond the hope of salvation. Let me tell you, the world sees Jesus every day, and so does religion, but they are too blind to actually see that it is Him. If you are going to believe in God, you must believe in Jesus, and Jesus will only reveal Himself to those whom truly believe in Him, [Matthew 11:25-27 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.]

[and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.] Jesus was referring to the conceited, self righteous, religious people who hide behind whatever knowledge they received and their religion. They saw Jesus right in front of their faces, witnessed Him performing miracles, yet never would believe that He is the Son of God, even though it was all written in the Scriptures. When you think about all the miraculous and amazing things that take place every day (even with all the evil in the world) you cannot help, but wonder how people are so blind, they cannot see that these things were given by the Almighty Himself. Jesus heals people every second of the day, and yet very few see Him. Why? Only the poor see Jesus.

[Matthew 11:2-6 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.]

[and the poor have the gospel preached to them.] This does not literally mean that only those who have no money are witnessed the Gospel to, this means the poor in spirit. The truth is, people who are proud, conceited, arrogant, only see that they made themselves into who they are, they do not believe in life after death nor miracles, yet believe it or not, they are religious, believing that God exists, all they while are offended in Jesus. Remember, while Jesus is fully God, He subjected Himself to the Father, He was not ashamed to pray in public, most of the time He went to a secluded area by Himself, other times He had the disciples with Him. As they watch Him praying, they ask Him to teach them how to pray.

[Luke 11:1-9 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. 5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. 9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.]

[yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.] Importunity; Pressing solicitation; urgent request; application for a claim or favor, which is urged with troublesome frequency or persistence. As much as we fail God it is any wonder why He is so good to us, but there is something to be said about asking Him for something over and over again. Well, as long as it is in He will for us, He will give it to us. Why? He loves us. Just like any parent, He always gives us the things that we have need of, and at the right time. We must be saved if we want God to hear us, the only prayer He will hear until we receive Christ as Saviour is our asking Him to save us through our faith in Him, [Romans 10:9-12 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.]

[for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.] God will only respond to those whom come to Him through His Son. Just think of all the Jews who have come and gone since Christ came here in the flesh, they think that they are saved because they are Jews. Well, they have a huge awakening coming to them, they too must believe in Christ or they are not saved. Likewise, the Muslims, Buddhists, and every other religion that is offended in Christ. Oh, and if you think that being a Catholic, Mormon, or Jehovah Witness will save you because you know of Christ, think again, you must believe the entire Gospel. Do you know how religious the Pharisees were? Many walked with Christ just as much as His disciples, very few believed in Him, even accusing Him of being the son of the devil. However, Jesus called them out.

[Luke 11:17-20,23-26 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. 23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.]

[no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.] Until we are saved, Satan can have his way with us, even possess our soul. Oh, we can appear godly, and to even know Christ as our Saviour, but that is only to deceive people. Satan will not hesitate to use religion to lead people away from the truth, and this is exactly why so many people are not only walking away from the church, but becoming down right evil, renouncing Christ all together. Religion will never save you! Ignorance will never save you! Being deceived will never save you! Jesus proves this when a Pharisee invited Him to dinner, and He did not wash His hands before he ate. That was all it took for Jesus to call them out as appearing to be neat and clean on the outside, but far from it on the inside.

[Luke 11:38-40,43-44 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. 39 And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. 40 Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? 43 Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. 44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.]

[and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.] Woe unto those who think that their works are going to save them, the ones who give elaborate tithes and offerings, who appear good. Religion places the leader of the church on the level of God, it enforces a bunch of laws that have nothing to do with His Word, many proclaiming Christ, yet never preaching the Gospel, nor are saved themselves. Religion always bases salvation on works, but all they are doing is sending millions of people to hell with them. And if you think that you can make up your own law, think again, the lawyers thought they were in the clear, but Jesus called them out also.

[Luke 11:45-47,51-52 Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. 46 And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 51 From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.]

[and them that were entering in ye hindered.] Jesus has nothing against lawyers, but they are some of the worst offenders because they often represent those who are offenders trying to get out of facing punishment for their crimes. Christians slapped with lawsuits because they decline to accept their service, people in debt being sued to pay three or four hundred percent of what they owe, even the president being sued because he is enforcing laws and giving people a right to choose. Let me tell you, Jesus is actually our defense lawyer, we broke the Law through our sin, and deserve to be punished for it, but He took the punishment for us, paying for it with His life. NO ONE CAN COME TO THE FATHER WITHOUT THE SON. AND NO ONE WILL BE SAVED UNLESS THEY HAVE RECEIVED THE SON, [Hebrews 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.]

Today’s Prayer: God, You know the very intentions of all that I say and do. You have not removed me bodily from this world, but You have raised me up spiritually to abide in Your presence even as I carry out my daily duties, whether it is something You commanded me to do or in my every day labor. As Your presence graciously overshadows me, it is there that Your love and faithfulness sustains me and gives me the strength to endure all tribulation and remain not only in Your mercy and grace, but love and will also. I love You Lord and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/