FOLLOW JESUS CLOSELY III
MEMORISE: My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. Proverbs 1:10
READ: Proverbs 1:10 -19
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
11 If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
13 We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
14 Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
15 My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
17 Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
18 And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
19 So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
MESSAGE
In continuation of our enquiry from yesterday into why Peter denied Jesus, let us look more closely at why he even chose to sit with those who were persecuting Jesus.
And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. Mark 14:54
Peter sat with these people because he wanted the warmth of the fire which they had lit. Many times, the reason Christians stay in the congregation of the dead and end up denying Jesus is the warmth they get when they sit with them. The reason some people cannot stop conducting business with partners who make them deny Jesus is that they don’t want to lose certain benefits they get from those partners. Jesus however, said in Matthew 16 24:
…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
The one who will not deny Jesus must first deny himself or herself. If you are not willing to deny yourself of certain ‘benefits’ you get when you spend time with unbelievers, you would end up denying Jesus like Peter did.
Nothing is more important than the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for you, so you should never put any benefit above identifying with Him. Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 10:33:
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
If those ‘benefits’ are more important to you than Jesus Christ, then He will deny you before His Father on the last day and the people you are trying to please will not be there to save you from the pains and agonies of hell.
KEY POINT
No benefit is worth you denying Jesus your Lord and Saviour.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2Chronicles 2-3
HYMN 26: WE ARE NEVER NEVER WEARY OF THE GRAND OLD SONG
1. We are never, never weary
of the grand old song;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
We can sing it loud as ever,
with our faith more strong;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
Refrain
O, the children of the Lord have
a right to shout and sing,
For the way is growing bright,
and our souls are on the wing;
We are going by and by
to the palace of a King!
Glory to God, hallelujah!
2. We are lost amid the
rapture of redeeming love
Glory to God, hallelujah!
We are rising on its pinions
to the hills above:
Glory to God, hallelujah!
3. We are going to a palace
that is built of gold;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
Where the King in all His
splendor we shall soon behold
Glory to God, hallelujah!
4. There we’ll shout redeeming
mercy in a glad, new song;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
There we’ll sing the praise of Jesus
with the blood washed throng;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
