Carry Along
Matthew 16:24-25 NKJV
[24] Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. [25] For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
There are statements that Jesus makes sometimes that just doesn’t seem to be very appealing.
We have been led to believe that every word that comes from the Heart of our Savior must be edifying and encouraging.
Well it is. Even the hard statements like these.
Jesus asks His disciples ‘who do you say I AM’.
The Apostle Peter says with confidence. ‘ You are the Christ ‘
Many people believe in Jesus.
Many of those people are not willing to give up anything to follow Him.
There has to be something that we reject. There is something that we must accept.
We all want the Kingdom of God to come but very few are willing to do the work of the Kingdom!
Because working for the souls of sinful man costs every professing Christian something.
Matthew 9:37-38 NKJV
[37] Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. [38] Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The harvest of a ready and willing soul is waiting for the labor of love to come, even if it doesn’t know it.
There has to be something that we reject.
There is something that we must accept.
Today I want you to challenge yourself.
Look into the depths of your heart. Ask yourself ‘ am I a follower of Jesus Christ.’.
Not a believer, but a follower.
There is a difference.
In order to be a Follower of Jesus Christ one of the requirements He gives is to deny yourself.
This is one of those subjects that really throws people off.
We like to accept everything that the Lord has to offer us.
His Grace, which is His undeserved favor.
His Mercy, which is His undeserved kindness and compassion.
His Salvation, which is His deliverance from our sin and all the consequences of them.
We take and take. And He is Gracious to give.
These three are free.
There is nothing we can do to earn any of it. These are straight from the compassionate heart of Christ.
Coming down from His Throne to give us the opportunity to escape the Wrath of God.
But in order to understand what He so freely gives and we so willingly take we have to understand the requirements.
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
There’s a denial that has to take place.
Denial means having intentional dissociation.
In the Gospels to deny yourself is connected to taking up a Cross.
So what does the Cross mean?
Most people today see it as a sign of mercy. Over the centuries It has come to be known as symbolizing the love of God.
Through the Cross we can see our sin.
Through the Cross we can see our Salvation.
Through the Cross we can see our future hope.
Or at least we should.
We wear the Cross as jewelry. It’s printed on t-shirts.
We have them hanging in our homes.
Off the mirrors of our cars.
It is a way we connect to each other. It’s a way that we show allegiance to the Glory of Heaven, Jesus Christ.
But In the time of Jesus when they heard of the Cross only one thing came to their minds.
It probably brought fear, maybe a little bit of panic because they knew exactly what that Cross meant.
To take up a Cross only meant death.
The Cross is a symbol of death, but not just any kind of death.
It was the Roman way of maximizing pain and suffering.
It was excruciating
It was humiliating
It was literally torture
It was to die a very disgraceful death
Jesus tells His Disciples and He tells us that we must take up our Cross, daily.
And He was very specific when He told them this.
Imagine the looks on their faces. The unsettling thought.
But this is what separates fans from followers.
This isn’t the way to make Disciples.
Telling them they must die daily.
They must carry the Cross.
Whoever chooses to Follow Him will suffer.
There is grace and mercy to be had.
But new life, new birth and Salvation must come from death!
When Jesus tells His disciples to pick up and carry their Cross how could they not see it as a means of death through suffering like no other.
There’s a reality to Following Jesus Christ.
He calls us to be imitators.
We all strive to imitate His Love and mercy. We try to be compassionate and humble. But who wants to imitate His death?
The shame, the suffering, The heartache
The disassociation
The excommunication.
The pain and sorrow felt in this life for following Jesus Christ and enduring it all for the sake of the Gospel.
To continue to cling to Him no matter the cost. To have the hope of the promises He gave. To have assurance of Salvation. To have perseverance of faith.
All this in a world that goes against just about everything He has said and taught. To be set apart for Holiness and Righteousness. To be imitators of the same Christ that hung on the Cross, that is what it means to pick up yours!
Not only does Jesus say to take up your Cross daily, He gives the instruction to deny yourself!
Who still wants to be a Follower of Jesus Christ?
If the answer is still yes then why?
The reward is worth the price. Remember that, as Jesus called His disciples to “take up your cross and follow Me,” Jesus Himself had to shoulder a Cross.
Accused, shamed, beaten, nailed, hung and pierced. Our Lord led the way!
He gave us His example.
Jesus calls all people to this same life. He does not change the requirements. He doesn’t make it easier for some and harder for others.
We all go through hardships just in different ways.
All people are called to Repent, believe, follow and deny themselves.
We are to carry along that Old Rugged Cross too!
There is power in the Cross of Christ.
The Cross reconciles humanity with God. Jesus’s death on the Cross brought in the new covenant with The Father.
Eternal life comes to submission to this Cross.
Jesus’s Resurrection from the dead gives people the opportunity to have eternal life. There is healing power that can restore life of this flesh and give eternal life to the soul.
The Cross can start people on a journey of becoming new creations in Christ, leading to growth and maturity. In that maturity faith deepens and trust is given to the One that denied all so we too can gain all!
So my question to you is this.
What have you denied in your life to serve Jesus Christ and the Kingdom?
Have you picked up your Cross to be in service to Him and the Kingdom?
If you can’t answer these questions then how deep is your trust and faith really in Jesus.
Pastor Ed
