Luke 9:23-24 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Follow me
The third instruction given by Jesus in the above scripture is "Follow me". If you are going to be intimate with Him you must learn to follow Him. Following Jesus is simple and hard. Simple because it is just doing what Jesus does and requires- No revelation or Rehma required. Hard because what Jesus does and requires is contrary to our nature of the flesh.
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Following Jesus is hard because of our flesh. To follow Him we must therefore crucify our flesh and put it under subjection.
Imagine trying to lead a goat from one point to the other. It is a difficult job because by nature goats don't follow they go where they want. They are very inquisitive and therefore like exploring. You can't keep a goat on a straight path. If you are going to be intimate with Jesus by following Him you must seize to be a goat. No more trying to show your intelligence, inquisitiveness, and willpower. You must submit all to Jesus and become a Sheep.
To be sheep we need the Holy Spirit. He is the one that can break us and make us teachable, humble, and courageous to follow Jesus despite the hardness of following Him.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, believers are saved, filled, sealed, and sanctified. The Holy Spirit reveals God’s thoughts, teaches, and guides believers into all truth, including knowledge of what is to come. The Holy Spirit also helps Christians in their weakness and intercedes for them. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit which is largely focused on making us live above the flesh to be able to follow Jesus.
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