Faith is to Carry the Cross and Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus Christ

Luke 9:37-45

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.

• What we experience with Jesus Christ, the multitudes have never experienced.
• Faith in God is to walk in the footsteps of Christ and to carry our cross.
• Satan throws us down, but Jesus returns us to His Father.
• This world conspires against Jesus Christ.

What we experience with Jesus Christ, the multitudes have never experienced. “Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.” Luke 9:37 What a few Apostles experienced on the mountain is something that the multitudes do not experience, they saw the kingdom of God. They saw the unearthly radiance of Jesus and saw Moses and Elijah alive and in an eternally transformed but recognizable body. They heard Moses, Elijah, and Jesus talking about the death He would soon suffer for the atonement of sin. The Apostles would forever remember the experience and know their destination would be the kingdom of God. They would remember their glory to come in the process of giving their own life for the testimony of Jesus Christ. During the time on the mountain, the voice of God called Jesus His beloved Son, His only Son whom He would give as a sacrifice for sin.

Faith in God is to walk in the footsteps of Christ and to carry our cross. As they came down from the mountain, “Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.” Luke 9:38 I can imagine what the Apostles with Jesus must have been thinking, “Your son! You are worried about your son! This is Jesus, God’s only Son who He gives as a sacrifice for you.” The man continues on, “And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Luke 9:39-40 Satanic spirits were constantly seeking to torment and kill Jesus Christ, and there was no way to stop it. Except His suffering and crucifixion was only a bruise on His heel as God raised Him from the grave in victory over sin and death. Jesus knew He didn’t have long on the earth with the faithless and perverse, “Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” Luke 9:41 It’s noted that the man is not praised for his faith for coming to Jesus, but Jesus uses words like faithless and perverse. Faith is to come to God through Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, not to expect Heaven on earth. We take up our cross daily to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, not seeking to escape the affliction and suffering that comes when holding to His testimony.

Satan throws us down, but Jesus returns us to His Father. When someone comes to Jesus Christ, there are going to be strong demonic attacks to throw them down before they get to Jesus. Satan’s tool in this world is the mark of the beast, and he works through the thing that has power over thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It will manipulate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to throw a person down before they can come to Jesus. “And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.” Luke 9:42a. Jesus Christ wants to reconcile us to His Father, that is why God has given us faith, faith makes us the home of the Holy Spirit, “Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.” Luke 9:42b. The crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus is for only one purpose, to give us back to His Father out of the hand of Satan’s sin, to give us eternal life by the forgiveness of sin. The cleansing of an unclean spirit by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ is the definition of amazing, “And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.” Luke 9:43

This world conspires against Jesus Christ. Nowadays, if everyone were to marvel over the Salvation of Jesus Christ, or the works of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, Jesus would have a word to say to us, “But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples…” Luke 9:43 Jesus wants us to know that powerful people conspire against His Gospel. Those who govern by the mark of the beast claim the person as the seat of government for the mark of the beast, and they come against those who devote their body as the home of the Holy Spirit. “…it opposes and exalts itself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that it sits in the temple of God, showing itself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Jesus wants us to be very aware of what lies ahead for His followers in these present times and the days ahead, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” Luke 9:44 That betrayal has already happened in the churches, and in city, state, national, and global government. Jesus Christ has been thrown into the pit as the world lives by the mark of the beast in the name of humanism. A fire has already been kindled against the teachings of the Bible and the followers of Jesus Christ are disappearing. Global tribulation and persecution intensify as the global government progresses.

“But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.” Luke 9:45

---

“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1