THE SALVATION JOURNEY (I)

Pr. Geoffrey Kibombo

Mathew 16:24 (AMP)

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me].

When you believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour – become Born Again, you become a new creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (GNT says); “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.” For God to perfect that which concerns you, you must first become Born Again (John 3:3) and then be in position to experience the benefits and privileges of the Kingdom of God. You might have failed in life but when you become Born Again, God restores and transforms you. It is according to God’s plan that in Salvation everything falls in place - once you become born again and your name is registered in the book of life, you begin a new chapter of life. All good things you desire are available to you as long as you walk according to God’s ways and word! Salvation is a revelation and the devil will prevent you from getting to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God because he knows that Salvation is the source of freedom, joy, blessings and an abundant purposeful life.

Your salvation life can be renewed; I therefore encourage you to hold onto Jesus and renew your faith every day. If you had become discouraged it is time for you to rise up again. The scripture says in 2 Corinthians 4:16 (MSG) that; “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace”

How will you survive the punishment of refuting Salvation in the afterlife? By becoming Born Again; Hebrews 2:3-4 warns; “So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? 4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.”

For everything we desire in life, God came up with a one-stop solution called Salvation and put whatever we desire into that package, and if you patiently hold onto Christ and walk according to his word, though you face challenges, a day will come when you will get into the promises God has planned and purposed for you.

The four gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John contain various events that surrounded Jesus’ three years of ministry. The writers of those books saw Jesus preach, heal and teach and, recorded the events which is why something written by Mark may also be read in John; that is what is referred to as the gospel – telling others about Christ and His works. It is through those archives that we are able to teach others about salvation - how to become a new creation (Born Again), and how to walk in Christ (Salvation journey).

Jesus taught His disciples what it takes to walk the salvation journey in Mathew 16:24 (AMP) - “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me……”

1- Salvation Means Denying Yourself

In Salvation there is perfection and fulfillment but in order for that to happen, you have got to deny yourself and let go of certain things - forsake the old things and way of life. In order for the disciples to follow Jesus, they had to deny themselves and when Peter queried Jesus about the benefit of the sacrifice they had made in letting go of everything and deciding to follow him, Jesus gave him the perfect response in Mark 10:28-30 (NASB); “Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms…..”

In the scripture above, Jesus was talking about perfection both in heaven and on the earth, however everything in heaven is already perfect (Revelation 21). God has assured us that we shall receive a hundredfold in this life, so perfection is attained by accepting Christ and humbling ourselves to follow him. 1 Timothy 4:10 (GW) says; “Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

Denying yourself and letting go of certain things breeds transformation – a new creature in terms of character, values and principles. There should be a difference between your old character, values, lifestyle and new ones. There are things you should forsake because of Christ; there should be an irreconcilable difference between the old you (before you got saved) and the new you (after becoming born again). The outcome of Salvation should be evidenced by the positive revitalization and transformation of your life - a new creation; people must be able to see a new person out of the old person; they should be able to witness and say that you are indeed born again. 

Many people still want to enjoy the old ungodly lifestyle after becoming born again but, you can’t put new wine into old wine skins. When you evaluate your life, is there a difference between the old you and new you? Why haven’t we seen perfection of everything that God placed in Salvation? It’s because we have not yet known what we believed – Salvation means forsaking our desires (Luke 3:33) and denying yourself to follow Christ (Math 16:24). Perfection is in letting go; there is no one who has forsaken deceit, alcohol, stealing, fornication, profanity, religion etc who won’t receive hundred times as much now in the present age.

Some people still walk recklessly yet they confessed Christ as their Lord – they act contrary to what they claim to believe. You can’t get saved then act diabolical and be at peace in your heart; when you get saved, you even start to feel distressed by sin. Acts 2:37-38 (NLT) says; “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do? 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

When you accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and start the salvation journey, the good pasture is not always nearby but when you go an extra mile into knowing Christ; when you go deeper into letting go of the old self and seek Christ more, you will get the revelation about Him, and ultimately you will see God’s saving hand and fulfillment in your life. John 10:7-9 (TLB) says; “….I am the Gate for the sheep,” he said. 8 “All others who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 9 Yes, I am the Gate. Those who come in by way of the Gate will be saved and will go in and out and find green pastures”

Many people know about Christ, few people know Him and fewer people know and do His will. Some people just stop at accepting Christ, however, that is just the beginning of the Salvation journey; just confessing Christ is not sufficient; you must also sit down (fellowship), be taught His word, will and how to pray. The deeper you go into fellowshipping, the deeper you will know God and His ways, and doing so will help you to forsake what He dislikes and do what He loves.

When Zacchaeus met Christ, he abandoned his old ways; his attitude and character changed; wealth was no longer a priority to him but Salvation. Luke 19:8-10 (TLB) says; ”Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “Sir, from now on I will give half my wealth to the poor, and if I find I have overcharged anyone on his taxes, I will penalize myself by giving him back four times as much!” 9 Jesus told him, “This shows that salvation has come to this home today. This man was one of the lost sons of Abraham, and, 10 I the Messiah have come to search for and to save such souls as his.”

2 - Salvation Means That You Have To Carry Your Cross Every Day

We all know that the cross is a representation of a relationship between; man and God – vertical and; fellow men – horizontal. Let’s look at the other revelation: The cross Jesus carried was burdensome but He had to endure because it was the will of his father in order for him to receive glory, honour and power (Revelation 5:12). The devil gave him shortcuts in (Matthew 4:8-10) which would have resulted to his downfall but he overcame him. Despite all, Jesus fulfilled His Father’s will when he endured the pain and got nailed to the cross; that is why whatever happened to him at the cross led to our victory as well (Colossians 2:13-15). There was an easy way out but it would not have resulted into anything everlasting. Therefore, carrying your cross means waiting upon God by rejecting shortcuts, or ungodly options; there is pain involved, but you need to carry your cross every day because in the end God will come to your rescue and wipe away your tears.

Jesus was nailed to the cross so that the blessings of Abraham would come to the gentiles. The cross is painful and you have to carry it daily and ultimately it leads to victory and joy; some people avoid it because they do not want to go through pain or deny themselves; they just do whatever pleases them but far along when they get disappointed and hurt, they blame God yet He has already a provided a way out - Salvation. We did not get saved to only receive healing, blessings or accumulate wealth; but we should walk the Salvation journey bearing in mind the qualifications for our final destination – heaven.

When you become born again, you become a new creature and thus you must deny yourself on behalf of Christ. There is none who has left the old life on behalf of the gospel or Christ who will not receive a hundred fold – perfection and fulfillment on this earth. God will not place something in your hand when your other hand is still holding something ungodly. God does not forget his people so let us review our lives. You have to renew your relationship with God daily; you must understand that salvation is about patience, endurance and forsaking your old self.

May God give you the grace to put into action the truth you know in Salvation!