Study Four: The Conditions: Part Two

STUDY FOUR

The Conditions: Part Two

Read Luke 9:18–27

The taking up of the cross will mean sooner or later saying no to self. But it is also a resounding yes. It means saying yes when everything in us says no, deciding to do the thing that we do not want to do because it is not “natural.” And in our giving of wholehearted assent, we find to our amazement that the impossible becomes possible and the things we were sure were beyond us are now within reach, for God’s command is his enabling. Never has he given an assignment that was not accompanied by the power to accomplish it.

The cross entails sacrifice, too. There is no getting around this. Christianity has been criticized and rejected by many as an “unnatural” religion, a life that denies living, a negation and not an affirmation. Jesus never tried to make it look easy. The principles he taught cut across the grain of human nature: Lose your life in order to find it; be poor in spirit if you want to be happy; mourn if you want to rejoice; take the last place if you want the first. The corn of wheat must first fall into the ground and die if it is ever to produce anything.

What we must not forget is that Jesus traveled this road before us. “He himself endured a cross and thought nothing of its shame”—not because he had a particular liking for self-denial and suffering but “because of the joy he knew would follow his suffering. . . . Think constantly of him enduring all that sinful men could say against him and you will not lose your purpose or your courage” (Heb. 12:2–3 PHILLIPS).

Prayer

Key thought: Faith requires action. Perhaps the most “natural” activity is prayer. If we know the one in whom we have believed, we turn to him for help. The single kind of help most frequently prayed for in the Bible is guidance.

Study Psalm 25. What does it mean for God to guide you in his truth (v. 5 NIV)?

Whose path are we to seek when we pray (v. 4)?

Why should we seek God’s path?

Why will God instruct you in his ways (v. 8)?

The simple bringing of the request to God is an acknowledgment that we need him.

What do you think are the most important requests for you to bring to God in prayer?

What factors stand in the way of regularly bringing your requests to God?

Carefully read Philippians 4:6. In what spirit are you to bring your requests to God?

If God already knows what you need, why should you bother bringing your requests to God? (See pp. 49–50.)

According to Philippians 4:6, what wrongful attitude will prayer prevent? Why?

What does Matthew 7:7–12 promise you if you bring your requests to God?

Does this mean that God will always answer your prayer the way you want? Why or why not?

In what way will God answer prayer, according to Romans 8:26–28?

How does this passage in Romans assure you that God will give you what is best for you?

Fasting

Key thought: Fasting is not a good way of getting one’s mind off food, but it is a way of deliberately putting one’s mind on one thing (God) because you are reminded every minute of the other thing (food). The fact that you have made up your mind not to eat keeps before you the reason you are not eating. You are after something specific from God, and although your own will may be too weak to desire his will, it is at least strong enough for this one small thing. God in his mercy and fatherly love takes note of this flicker of movement toward him.

Study Acts 14:23. What were the circumstances in which Paul and Barnabas were fasting?

What does this tell you about the value of fasting when facing an important decision?

How should you fast, according to Matthew 6:16–18?

What will be the result of fasting in the right spirit?

One Man’s Cross

Key thought: The cross is the thing required of me today. “Let him . . . take up his cross daily,” Jesus said, “and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Some duty lies on my doorstep right now. It may be a simple thing I have known for a long time I ought to do, but it has been easy to avoid. It is probably the thing that springs to my mind when I pray the prayer, “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done” (Book of Common Prayer).

When people speak of bearing crosses, what sort of burdens are they typically thinking of?

It may be that, although I have been doing something I ought to do, I have never done it without grudging. The so-called cross I could not avoid I may, for a change, take up with gladness. Might I not then, for the first time, be on the way to true discipleship?

List some things you have been doing grudgingly.

How does the idea of taking up your cross allow you to approach these duties in a more cheerful spirit?

Jesus says that you must “take up [your] cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In following him, you are treating him as your master. You are obeying him. If you obey him, can you rightly expect his guidance? Why?

If you refuse to obey, can you still expect him to guide? Why not?

The cross entails sacrifice. There is no getting around this. What one thing do you believe God is asking you to sacrifice above all else?

Applying God’s Truth to Your Life

List three of the most important requests for guidance that you wish to bring before God.

Have you ever fasted when faced with an important decision? If so, what was the result?

What cross or crosses do you believe God is asking you to take up today?

To Do This Week

Each day pray that God will show you what cross he wants you to take up on that day. If you are facing a crucial decision, try fasting in preparation for making that decision.

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