I'm Following Jesus – Page 1596 – 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: Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Chapters: I Corinthians 15-16
Message: The Messenger of Life

Hello My Friend,

Charles Spurgeon said, “When you take the Word to them, you do so because God has ordained you to be the messenger of life to their souls, and they must receive it, for so the decree of predestination runs. They are as much redeemed by blood as the saints before the eternal throne. They are Christ’s property, and yet perhaps they are lovers of the ale-house, and haters of holiness; but if Jesus Christ purchased them he will have them. God is not unfaithful to forget the price which his Son has paid. He will not suffer his substitution to be in any case an ineffectual, dead thing. Tens of thousands of redeemed ones are not regenerated yet, but regenerated they must be; and this is our comfort when we go forth to them with the quickening Word of God.” This is perfect for these verses, “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” – I Corinthians 15:12-14.

“the messenger of life to their souls,” Think about that, we, who are saved and born again have the words of life in us. These are not fables as so many proclaim, these are not tales that were told from those who never witnessed Christ, these are true, uncorrupt, words spoken by the apostles, who witnessed Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. And before you say Paul was not there, he cannot be discredited because Jesus met with him face to face on his way to Damascus when he set out to capture Christians, and bring them to Jerusalem to be prosecuted for their faith (Acts 9). As Paul closes out his letter to the Corinthians, he explains this.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” – I Corinthians 15:1-10.

“as of one born out of due time.” Salvation is not something that we grow into in due time, such as puberty, it is something that are born into in due time. When Jesus knows that we are ready to receive Him, that is when He will reveal Himself to us. I grew up in the Catholic religion, I knew of Jesus, His birth, and death on the cross, but I did not know Jesus as my personal Saviour, I never even knew there was such a thing. Did you know that one day each year, on Resurrection Day, Catholics remove Jesus from the crucifix that they keep as a shrine in their homes? The next day they put his body back on the cross. Let me tell you, Jesus is no longer on the cross, He has indeed risen, we are to never put Jesus back on the cross. You see, when we stop looking to self or religion for our salvation, and look to Christ, that is when He reveals to us that He is all we need. Paul reminds us that our faith is not in vain, unless we did not believe the Gospel, His sinless death, burial, and resurrection.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.” – I Corinthians 15:19-27,32.

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ,” Our hope in Christ is the very foundation to life after death, but Christ gives us much more that hope after death when we trust in in everything we do, He gives us hope that we can live the life we are living right now as see something good come out of it. “for to morrow we die.” Paul is being sarcastic here, he’s saying, “What are you basing your faith on if you believe there is no resurrection, are you just going to live life as you please because you are going to die?” You cannot change or alter one line from the Gospel, if you do not believe that Jesus was sinless, or was born of a virgin, or that He arose three days later, then your faith is in vain, and Christ is not in you. Yes, life is vapor, we are not guaranteed tomorrow, all we have is today, and if we are not saved before we take our last breath on earth we will not be a part of the Kingdom of God or the resurrection. Now, the problem really is this, people cannot grasp the concept that those who died before Christ came here, who lived by faith, are also a part of the Kingdom of God. That means that every single soul of faith, from Adam down to the very last soul to receive Him before He returns, will resurrect as Jesus did, to receive new bodies, immortal bodies to be exact. Paul explains this.

“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – I Corinthians 15:35-36,39-40,50-54,57.

“that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:” Celestial; Heavenly; belonging or relating to heaven; dwelling in heaven; An inhabitant of heaven. Terrestrial; Pertaining to the earth; existing on the earth; as terrestrial animals; bodies terrestrial. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” – John 12:24-25. We must die to self before we can be born into Christ. Although our shell of a body may die or fall asleep, and be buried or burned and scattered all over the earth, our soul is up in the heavens, awaiting the day that Christ returns, in which our shell will wake up to receive our new, immortal bodies. What a glorious day it will be when our bodies will awaken from our sleep to receive our spiritual bodies. Death is Satan, and he is going to be destroyed one day, along with the antichrist, false prophets, unbelievers, and anyone who has not called on Christ to save them. Paul encourages us to keep preaching the Gospel, keeping an eye out for His return at all times.

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity. That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth. All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.” – I Corinthians 16:13-14,16,20-24.

“let him be Anathema Maranatha.” Anathema; accursed to damnation (hell), Maranatha; our Lord is coming. What Paul is saying is that, Our Lord is coming, and He will judge those who have rejected Him will receive damnation. It is simple to be saved from this, just admit you are a sinner, believe in the Gospel, and confess that you need Him to save you. “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9,10.

Today’s Prayer: God, Everywhere I go I run into people trying to get me to alter my faith, they tempt me, try me, doubt me, but I know the truth. Lord, keep me in Your Word, keep me in Your truths so I can withstand what is actually Satan’s attempt to keep me from telling the Gospel to others. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, mercy, and above all, Your grace, to get through each day, hopeful, joyful, and standing fast in my faith of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is my Lord and Saviour, and is alive in me. I as these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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