The Way of the Cross
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:14).”
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end is death (Proverbs 16:25).”
“The way which leads to life is narrow, and few find it (Matthew 7:14).”
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6a).”
We talk about “one way”, but there are really two ways: the broad way which many take, ending in death; and the narrow way which a few take, ending in life. There are two ways presented to us. One way is of man, seems right in man‘s opinion, and leads to death. The other way is of God, seems wrong in man‘s opinion, and leads to Life.
We find that Christ is the Way to Life, and He Himself is Life. He is both the means towards the End, as well as the End.
What is God after? What does He seek from us? What does He want? First and foremost, He desires a people who will be conformed to the image of His Son, that they may demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all things. But how does He gain such a people for Himself? The first step is to reveal His Son to us. This is the narrow gate. We cannot begin to walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate.
Upon entering the narrow gate He begins to change us from the inside out so that it is Christ expressing Himself through us. “Not I, but Christ.” This is the narrow path. This narrow path we call discipleship. It leads us somewhere. A path is not for standing still. It has a destination. Where does the path lead? What is the End? Christ as All in All. That is the End. All things work together according to this supreme purpose, His Purpose.
What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who applies their energies to learn a special discipline under a master teacher. There is no other way to be a disciple. There must be a pupil who is taught, and there must be a teacher who teaches. The disciple lives with the teacher, eats and drinks with the teacher, travels about with the teacher, observes the teacher during the course of the day and night, asks a lot of questions and listens intently to the answers. This is the Eastern way of making disciples, and it is the way the Lord Jesus discipled the Twelve.
Disciples sit under the teacher – literally at his feet – and hang on his every word. Disciples memorize their master’s teaching and repeat it verbatim to one another, using the same hand gestures, phraseology, and emphasis, until they sound and act just like their teacher. Thus when you see a mature disciple you will, in essence, see the teacher as well. When the disciple speaks, it is as if the teacher is speaking. This not only honors the teacher but preserves the teaching.
So a disciple of the Lord Jesus is someone who enters the narrow gate and walks the narrow path until they come to the end of the narrow path and are left with nothing but Christ. As you can see, this is a very, very narrow way, which is why few find it, and fewer still remain on it once they find it. Nothing of self can be retained. All of self must be lost in order to gain Christ.
As we walk the narrow way we are being changed from glory to glory. Today we should reflect a little more of the glory of God than yesterday; tomorrow we will reflect yet more than we did today. This is growth. Growth is not more knowledge or increase of years: it is simply more of Him and less of me. He increases as I decrease. This is what it means to be a disciple.
What God Wants Is Disciples
God does not want ministers or workers to begin with. We think these things are very important, for how can the Church get along without ministers and workers? What else does God want if not ministers and workers? Quite simply, He wants disciples first and foremost. There are many ministers and workers today and very few disciples. Everyone either has a ministry or wants a ministry. Everyone is expected to be a minister or a worker. We do not hear too much about being a disciple, yet this is what God must have before He can have anything in the Church.
Jesus said go into all the world and make disciples. It is not that ministers and workers are unimportant; indeed they are. But what is the priority? Can a man or a woman truly be a minister or worker on behalf of the Kingdom if they are not a disciple first? Of course not. They can minister and work themselves to death and still be in the flesh, doing many mighty works in the name of Jesus and not know Him at all.
“Few there be that find it.” But doesn’t everyone know the way by now? Surely multitudes of people will find it? Not at all. The way that leads to Life is narrow, and few there be that find it. Isn’t the way Jesus? And doesn’t everyone know that? Well, everyone has been told that, and they think they know it, but Jesus as He really is and Jesus as He is commonly taught are two different things.
What is our idea of discipleship? I hear brothers and sisters say, “I have been sitting under the ministry of brother so-and-so for years now.” They say this with great pride as if it is something others should be impressed by. I ask them, “How long have you lived with your teacher?” Invariably you discover they do not live with their teacher at all. They simply listen to his sermons in church or on television or on cassette tape or video tape. Furthermore they have no personal relationship with their teacher. In many cases they have never even met in person, much less shared a meal with them.
Be careful of who you “sit under” for you will become just like them, and you will never advance beyond them. Please understand that the Lord did not call us to go forth mentoring and being mentored. A mentor is a synonym for teacher, guide, or counselor. If I am not mistaken (and I am not), the Holy Spirit is our Teacher, Guide, and Counselor, not man. This is where so many of us have missed it. We are still looking for man – flesh and blood – to affirm us and tell us what to do. Should we encourage one another? Yes. Should we seek advice and prayers of other brothers and sisters? Absolutely. That does not mean we need a mentor to tell us what to do. Who tells the mentor what to do? His mentor? And who tells the mentor’s mentor what to do? You see this can become ridiculous, and it has in fact become that ridiculous in recent years right up until this present time.
There are people out there who are eager and willing to be your mentor, to teach you how to release your “gifts” or find your place in “ministry” or move in the “prophetic” or pastor a large “church”. Anyone who is eager to mentor someone doesn’t know himself well enough. Anyone seeking a mentor doesn’t know the Master well enough. Finding a mentor isn’t difficult. The difficult part is understanding that discipleship has nothing to do with finding a mentor or sitting under a teacher. Instead the Bible tells us that we have no need of any man to teach us, for the Anointing (Christ) will teach us all things and will lead us into all truth. A teacher who is teaching in the name of Christ will always teach you away from himself and towards Christ as the Teacher. “Less of me and more of Him.” Does your mentor do this? Does your pastor do this? Or do they find ways to keep you dependent upon them and their teaching?
Who Is Your Teacher?
When the Lord revealed Himself to me I realized that such experiential, intimate knowledge cannot be found in a book, or I would have had it years ago. It cannot be found simply by reading the Bible, or everyone who has a Bible would know the Truth experientially, and we know that is simply not the case. It is a revelation of Truth as a Person, not as a philosophy, and from that day forward I understood that MAN cannot add to it or take away anything from it. That is when I stopped seeking the affirmation or confirmation of man.
I understood then (for the first time) that there is only one Teacher, and I am His disciple. I do not belong to anyone else, and no one else belongs to me. This was not something I would have understood automatically. As a pastor I was used to talking about “my sheep” and “my congregation” and “my church” as if I owned something. But when I discovered that there is One Flock guided by One Shepherd I knew then that I owned no one, and no one owned me. I belonged to Him, and they belonged to Him. What liberty! For me certainly, but more so, for the ones who were formerly “sitting under my teaching.” People would come to me to be taught instead of others because they claimed they could not be fed by others, only by me. What a tragedy! Who is your source? Where did the manna come from? Moses? No, “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the True Bread.” When will we look away from Moses the man and towards Christ the Living Bread?
Now I can say (and indeed, “boast” is not too strong of a word here) that my teaching is not my own. It is from Christ, for Christ, and unto Christ as All in All. My boast is that my teaching does not come from a human source. That is not to say that I have not learned much from the likes of Watchman Nee, T-Austin Sparks, and others. I read their writings for years and continue to read them. But what I know I did not learn in a book. I do not read them to discover something new, but to verify something I already know. We have the same Teacher.
What is my point? To boast of myself? Not at all, but to boast of my Teacher! There is no better thing in the world than to have someone ask, “Where did you learn what you know? Who taught you these things?” and for you to respond, “Jesus Christ is my Teacher, and He taught me everything I know.” This is discipleship! The Lord told us to call no earthly man “Rabbi” (that is, Teacher) because you only have One Teacher. But how many of us can say that?
Become His disciple. Sit at His feet and hear His Word. There is no other way to learn. You cannot get it from someone else, you must get it from Him. He is Truth.
The Cost of Discipleship
What does it cost to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? What does one have to give up? There is truly only one thing that must be given up. It is not, and it never has been, a question of giving up friends, family, material possessions, fame and fortune. You can give up all those things, just like the first disciples of the Lord, and still run away and deny Him.
Forget the outward things and go right to the heart of the matter. Only one thing is necessary, and if we give up this one thing we are qualified to be disciples of the Lord. What is the one thing? All we have to give up is OUR WAY.
There are two ways, one which seems right, and one which IS right. One is my way, the other is His way.
Yes, if we are willing to give up OUR way then we have, in effect, given up everything. I am thinking of a dear man who pastors a church, but he does it according to his way. Unfortunately he cannot see that he is pastoring according to his way. Not that his way is necessarily bad, because there is a lot of good work in his ministry. But it is not purely the Way of Christ. I do not expect that he will give up his church, or his ministry. The reality is that he will probably never give up his work. The glorious thing is he does not have to give up a single thing, except his own way! If he will but give that up, everything else will take care of itself. The same is true of us.
That is not to say we will keep everything. When we give up our way then we will, in fact, lose quite a bit. We will lose the admiration and appreciation of the world. We will lose the prestige and position we once enjoyed. We may very well lose friends and even members of our family who will not approve of us anymore.
The disciple is not greater than the Master, but it is enough that the disciple be like the Master. The cost is great, but the reward is greater. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.
Christ is the Beginning and the End. He is the beginning, or the Door (narrow gate) through which we enter in, and He is the end that we seek. In other words, He is the complete package (in Him we are complete, Col. 2:9). He is All, and in all’. Meaning, He is All when pertaining to all things needed for us to be holy and acceptable to the Father, and therefore to have a wonderful relationship with Him, which brings us complete fulfillment as well! There is no more that we need–just Christ, and He in us.
And, He is ‘in all’ meaning He is in all who have by faith have received Him. I am SO HAPPY to have His life in me, living through me, and so sharing with and giving His life to others! He in us is what pleases the Father, so therefore praise God that we are VERY pleasing to Father God! That alone should make us live this life joyfully! It’s not based on what we do or don’t do in our own strength, yet if it’s prompted by the Spirit of Christ in us, THEN it blesses the Father and all who we come into contact with, and gives us joy and strength as a result! ‘For we are to God, the fragrance of Christ, among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma of death to death; and to the other the aroma of life to life.’ 2 Cor. 2:15-16.
In the words of Charles Spurgeon back in 1878 on this topic, ‘Without Christ ye are nothing, though ye be baptised, though ye be members of churches, though ye be highly esteemed as deacons, elders, pastors. Oh, then, have Christ everywhere in all things, and constrain men to say of you, “To that man Christ is all in all: I have marked him; he has been with Jesus, he has learned of him, for he acts as Jesus did”‘.
oh it is such a beautiful thing to die to self. to see you as God see’s you. oh and how horrible,unreliable,untruthful,impure motives, there is nothing good in me. .. ohhh to see the real me.to see as God see’s me…the crossroads in every day life oh how it aches in me but choosing to die to go to the cross and die to self oh is such a beautiful thing, i welcome it, i love it…I ask God to show me more, so that i can die more, so that it is more of Him and less of me and finally all of Him and none of me…i really do not understand why people do not desire it, nor welcome it…oh why do people want to be blinded to their true condition…my favourite verse in the bible is, Search me oh God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
I would like to know Chip if you wouldn’t mind in sharing your favourite verse from the bible. If you could only choose one, which would it be?
kind regards
julie
Julie, if I am forced to choose one, it would be John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” In these seven simple words I see the entire plan and purpose of God.
Dear Chip,
I am new here but am reading your book Embrace the Cross. The annointing and life changing power I can not put into words. Its back to the Cross for me. Two of my friends have ordered 6 copies a piece. I am in hope to have gatherings of people coming together to reflect and read this book as a study. “I” can do nothing. I must go so he may live. He is already living in me, but the awareness of his presence and voice increases with clarity as turn over my will and agenda. One of the most vital books, bringing us back to remembering, there would be no life in Jesus without death to self. Thank you and I am on board now as it is not a common experience to fellowship with the pure gospel nowadays. I am your Sister…….Linda
The text in the original Greek Language in Matt.28:19 is very poorly translated in the KJV. The Master NEVER intnded or implied that our “mission” is to “GO.” The word originally would be better translated in todays language “as you are going,” or “while, or wherever you go or are going.” Hence, the GREAT commission’s emphasis can’t be on running, chasing, wandering (going), but rather what we are to be DOING. Our Master desires for us to “make disciples” wherever, whenever we GO. Sadly, I have known “missionaries” based in the USA having next door neighbors who were unaware of their Christian affiliation. May this never be the result of our “Great Commission.” jb
To My true Brothers and Sisters here:
Thankyou all so much for sharing. In doing so, I am encuraged to press on for the prize…the hope of His calling in Christ Jesus. Often, when my trials seems unsurmountable, and impossible, and make me grow weary, it’s often one simple word of reminder from the precious Holy Spirit that brings it all back to perspective….Just one word from my Lord, and All is Well, althought nothing outward has changed at all. How does one explain this? Peace be with you all. The Prince of Peace.
Thanks for the great msg and pray all come to such revelation and the world would enjoy heaven on earth.amen
Although I am new to this website, [and desire to be a part of the school when it opens], I am not knew to the message, especially the cost of true discipleship.
I used to walk through life with what I called my “pen & ink” friends, searching to understand the one thing, the secret that would help me understand how to surrender my heart, my will, or my way, more; more consistently,and deeper, if that makes sense.
Now I walk more with HIM, and not so much with books, although I feel He has used your straight-as-an-arrow articles[that I like to call them]to show me that I have a long way to go, but the path is straight in front of me.
Please advise when the school opens.
That just made things a whole lot simpler for me. For example, I was considering responding (in a rather sarcastic, but clever way) to a letter in our local newspaper that I found rather offensive. Simple question: Would that be my way or God’s way? Ahhh…got it! You’ve brought it down to earth for me. I’m sure I sound a little daft at just cluing into this but it does take that sharp two-edged sword to divide soul and spirit and I’m only learning to differentiate between the two. My soul has come up with some pretty good sounding ideas at times, and, without that dividing work, I would have sworn (if I swore) that they had originated with God. Now that I’m learning to know the difference between my soul and my spirit, this makes the choice quite simple…simple, not easy!
~ Mentors, teaching others to release
their gifts for A Place in Ministry?
Whoa! Busted!
~ Please pray for me, as my dad died Saturday.
So I’m in processes which require continued self control.
With family, and Finances
of unraveling my guardainship to ownership.
Thanks so much, this Ministry has been
a comforting light to me for many difficult years.
I have come to see that being willing to give up MY WAY means that Jesus has to take me to that place, and that is always a struggle. Otherwise I will continue in my flesh and MY WAY. Thank God that even coming to the end of myself is an act that Jesus does. Yes, Jesus is our teacher and the MEANS of teaching. He does it all, even the will to be willing. Jesus has to do it all. and thank God, Jesus DOES do it all! Jesus is good to us, isn’t He?
Thank you for this message Chip. As I read this I could not help but think of the passage that says the Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Not the violence that non believers do, but the believers, who seem to think that if one does not follow them, they can by force cause them to do so, thereby quenching the spirit of God in man.
This also reminds me of Whitmans samplers. The box says chocolates, but there are some that have nuts, others caramel, and some with fruits and jellies. But the box says chocolates, not differentiating the fact that there are different kinds in the box. Christians are much the same way. As one eats from their table, one can sample the religious nuts, and the spiritual fruits and then decide which kind they like–which one tastes like the Original Sampler that God has given us in His word.
I think THE WAY has as many tourist on His highway as does those in the natural. They went to God and they got this or that but where is He in relevance to these things? The banquet table is set, but there is no food.
Just my thoughts.
To say that the kingdom of God (or heaven) suffers violence and the violent take it by force and imply that, to mean this violence is induced physically is in error. For Jesus the one who is speaking in Matt 11:12 is also speaking in Luke 17:21. God looks for those who will worship Him in His Kingdom. This is where the physical gets its beginning. Remember Jesus said if a man looks upon another woman to lust after her. He has committed adultery with “her” (this is not the woman he is looking at) already in his heart. He leads by saying “you have heard of old you shall not commit adultery” BUT I SAY TO YOU….Is not Christ in His Kingdom?
I am sorry, I meant to just convey that people are cutting each other with the word of God, rather than just introducing them to the Master and letting Him clean that which He would clean, and do it His way.
If I have offended you in any way, please accept my apology.
To me it is interesting that both Tina and Dan refer to Matt 11:12 – for a long time I struggled with this scripture, I knew it was being misused, both as Tina describes and also where christians were ‘claiming’ this piece of land or that building for God’s Kingdom – both concepts miss the truth. Finally, as a balance to Matt.11:12, God showed me Luke 16:16 where, “…every man presseth into it.” might also be interpreted “..uses violence toward it.” I believe this was a personal revelation from God showing me that I needed to to ‘push with strength’ in seeking God.
Todays scripture is: “Not my will, but Your will, be done.” and this for me, was and still is, my goal and my desire, toward which I will ‘push with strength’ to sit at the feet of Jesus, and listen and learn.
Yes Chip, I want to live with Jesus, have a daily relationship with Him and learn to be a disciple, and I agree with Joy, thank God that Jesus does do it all.
Tina…Iam not offended. I just have not learned well enough that the body has many parts and functions. That what is another’s function is necessary (even allowed LOL)…Forgive me for my oversight in this area.
Dan, we are all still learning here, if not we too would be masters, but we are not. Thank God He has a grading curve because some of my failures severely needed to be dealt with and upgraded. So to know that you are not offended brings relief.
May He richly bless you.
I think before we say something is in “error” we need to make sure we really understand what is being said. Sometimes it’s just miscommunication. Sometimes it’s a different shade of interpretation. Not necessarily “error”. Thanks for sharing!
Keep pressing Roger– Keep pressing–
I had this same vision last night– a man pressing a big rock– he was bound with chains but seem to be getting stronger with each push— I do not know if this was you that I seen– the man had short black hair.
In the words I wrote above, I was comparing spiritual with spiritual.
I see things differently in scripture, and appreciate Chip for allowing us to commune and express these things and have no problem with being corrected.
No man can teach the spirit but God, and as we share we can grow thereby, nourishing the body, that none of it whither.
Keep your focus on Him–likened to a camera, what we focus on will develop.
Tina – my hair was once short and black, now there is more grey than black… as to your seeing things differently, well, my experience has been that God will use what ‘He will’ to get our attention. On a number of occasions He has used a specific scripture to speak into my situation at that time – at a later date that scripture does not have the same impact, for me, in a different situation, and it may have a different impact on you and others at any given time. Does that make sense? I have learnt, am still learning, that God is not to be ‘expected to do things the same’ as He has done them before – He is God, He is our Creator – His will be done, not mine.
May He continue to bless you and reveal Himself to you Tina, and to you Chip, and to all the others who read, and share, and grow, and learn and are a part, a member, of the ‘body’ of the new man, whose head is our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.
Its very simple Roger, that is why they call it “The Living Word” Isnt it GREAT! I just love that! For example, I just listened to a sermon that brought up the Scripture JAMES 1:25 & although Ive read that Scripture 1000 times at least, it hit me so hard last night, Hence, the Living Word has come alive to me once again… I could never live without Bible & so thankful that we are free to read it anytime we want,,, others are not so fortunate!
JAMES 1:25:
“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty (aka: The Bible) AND continues in it, AND is not a forgetful hearer, but a DOER of the work, This one WILL BE blessed in ALL he does.”
WHAT A GREAT PROMISE FROM GOD!