Do You Want To Be A Follower? Then...

Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24

Turn From Your Selfish Ways - “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” Philippians 2:3-5

Before we can take up our own cross and follow Jesus He tells us that we first have to turn from our selfish ways. The amplified version of Matthew 16:24 says, “If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests]”

We have to die to our self-centered desires which come from our old nature that fulfills sinful pleasures, has a “what about me attitude”, longs for the pleasures of this world, and is self serving. Immediately the Word that comes into my heart is Galatians 2:20 “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” What Paul is saying here is that he died to his old self and desires when he came to faith in Christ. Christ and advancing the kingdom of heaven became his priority. That is exactly what we have to do, die to our old sinful and selfish desires and start putting others and the cause of Christ first. No more me, myself, and I attitude.

Leaving our selfish ways is about becoming others minded, loving them, looking out for their interests and well being (physically, spiritually, and emotionally). We voluntarily become a servant to others knowing that we labor not for our own glory but for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. Turning from our selfish ways is to become kingdom minded losing sight of our own will and instead accepting, desiring, and fulfilling God’s will here on earth. Once we lose sight of self then we can carry our cross.

Take Up Your Cross – “And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:27

Jesus’ journey through this world that led Him to the cross was marked with suffering and persecution. He was lied and talked about, the religious people of that day tried to trick Him and make Him stumble in His ministry, His family thought He was crazy, He was beaten and tortured, they called Him names and mocked Him, and He was betrayed by one of His own disciples and deserted by the others when He needed them most.

Our Lord and Savior suffered for us. He counted the cost for the salvation of our souls and determined that we were worth it. He set the bar by loving us to the point of carrying His cross. Now we must also count the cost of following Him and take up our own cross of suffering and persecution for the kingdom of heaven. (Luke 14:25-35)

The more we serve Jesus in Spirit and in Truth the more we will be hated, talked about, and persecuted. People will try to discredit and destroy our testimonies. They will hate us because we bring the sword (The Word of God) which cuts through them. Many love the darkness and our light shining on them reveals the sin that they love to keep hidden.

Here’s what our Master has said..

“All nations will hate you because you are My followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22

“Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted Me, naturally they will persecute you.” John 15:20

“Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of My household will be called by even worse names!” Matthew 10:25

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” Matthew 5:11-12

Follow Me – “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give your life for Me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:39

Becoming true followers of Christ is more than just believing in Christ Jesus and being saved. A follower by definition means one who subscribes to the teachings or methods of another; an adherent. If we are to be followers of Christ Jesus then we must be subscribed to His teachings (The Word of God) and His methods of serving and loving others. We need to adhere to His will and His Way of living (pure and holy). Here in Matthew 16:24 Jesus is telling us that if anyone wants to be His follower we must turn from our selfish ways, take up our own cross, and follow Him (The Word of God).

Following the Word is a matter of laying down our life because we love Christ Jesus because He first loved us. We trust Him and we know that His Word is true. He died for us and we desire to give our lives in return as living sacrifices to be used by Him to bring glory to God the Father. We are not ashamed of the cross and the gospel message so we share the Word of God not only through our words but through our actions. His love in us gives us a passion like our Master’s to see the souls of men redeemed from the hands of the enemy so we imitate Him by preaching, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

As followers we find our true life in serving Christ Jesus. We know that our Lord created our new life in Christ Jesus for such a time as this so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. Let us be determined now more than ever to become followers of the Word and truly be about our Father's business.(Ephesians 2:10)


Father please help us to surrender our selfish ways and lay down our lives to follow you. We know that we will find our true lives in serving you and sharing the Truth of the Word of God. Thank you for the good work that you have started in us. We trust you and abide You. In Jesus name..Amen