Text: Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
We claim to be Christians which indicates that we follow the “words in red” that are printed in our Bible. The “words in red” are the words spoken by a man named Jesus who was sent into the world by a loving, caring, compassionate Father.
The “words in red” were spoken 2000 plus years ago to people just like us. They were spoken to people who were living worldly instead of Godly. People were doing things and committing acts thought to be acceptable because society approved of them.
This is pretty much the same as today. If it feels good, do it. Do your own thing because you only live once. If what I do does not hurt anyone else, why should anyone else care?
The truth of the matter is that someone else does care and that person is God the Father who created you in His own image. I am not saying He created you or me sinless. He did create two sinless people in His own image. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).
After disobedience to God took place sin entered the world because disobedience to God is sin. Yes, we are created in the image of God, that image being the positive attributes of God, but we are created with the sinful nature of Adam and Eve.
Once sin entered the world, life for mankind took a radical change. Prior to the act of disobedience, God provided the beautiful garden, The Garden of Eden, for Adam and Eve to reside. Everything necessary for life was in the garden. There was no hard work. There was not toiling labor to be done. They were in good hands. They had it made and did not realize it. But all this changed and mankind has suffered the consequences down through history.
After the act of disobedience, God said to Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19).
God said to the Eve; “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).
Sin is a pollutant and mankind has lived in the polluted stream of sin from the beginning of time. God did not approve of sin in the beginning and He does not approve of it today. He did not give up on His creation of mankind following the act of disobedience, but He did provide them with “garments of skin” to cover their nakedness. “So then the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken” (Genesis 3:23).
Mankind became separated from God. The kind of relationship that existed before the fall was not the same that existed after the fall. God still loved His creation, but there was a void or a separation between sinful man and righteous God. That same separation is evident in the life of many people today.
God had a plan that would give people an opportunity to regain that right relationship with Him. He talked about this plan through his prophets throughout the years of history.
Psalm 22 is referred to many times in the New Testament. Verses 7, 8 indicates how the coming Messiah will be treated. Verse 7 says, “All those who see Me ridicule Me.” Verse 8 says, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.”
This prophecy came true as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 27. “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (vv 43, 43).
The 16 verse of Psalm 22 is another prophecy concerning the Messiah. “They pierced My hands and My feet.” This actually took place at the crucifixion of Jesus. Nails were driven into Jesus’ hands and feet and into the wood of the cross. After the resurrection, Jesus showed these to Thomas and Thomas then believed. (John 20:25)
Isaiah talked about the Messiah in the 53rd chapter of his book. He talked about the coming Messiah with these words:
1. “despised and rejected”
2. “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”
3. “wounded for our transgressions”
4. “bruised for our iniquities”
5. “oppressed and afflicted”
6. “led as a lamb to the slaughter”
God’s plan to redeem and bring man back into a right relationship with Him was revealed numerous times before Jesus ever appeared on earth. God’s plan was to give man another opportunity to be redeemed, saved, and right the wrong caused by the original sin of disobedience.
God’s love for man has never been lost. God has not moved from His place. He is in the same place today He was in at the beginning of time. It is man who makes the wrong move. Man was born with a sinful nature and will tend to sin until the day he dies. God knows this and because of His infinite love for who He created He sent His Son into the world to pay the penalty for all man’s sins.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
John the Baptist came on stage to announce the coming of the Messiah. “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:1, 2).
When Jesus started His ministry, He preached the same message. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). The kingdom of heaven began when God appeared in human flesh in the Person of Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is in the heart of every believer.
In our Scripture reading, Jesus was predicting His death and His resurrection. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Luke 9:22).
The disciples did not fully understand what Jesus was telling them, so He told them not to tell anyone else. The disciples believed Jesus was the Messiah, but other people were looking for a military type of Messiah. At the end of all the suffering Jesus would go through, the disciples would be better prepared to share the message with other people.
We are at an advantage because everything Jesus taught is available to us in His Word. Jesus taught us the way to live and how to get along with other people. He taught us that living according to the Word of God the Father would not be easy because it is contrary to the ways of the world.
Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
We say we are Christians and we desire to live according to the “words in red”. If we live according to the “words in red” we will deny ourselves. What does it mean to deny ourselves? To deny ourselves, I believe means to forsake all the things of the world and always give Jesus first place in our life.
Many people enjoy the luxuries of the world. They strive to make as much money as possible, live in the biggest house in the most elite subdivision, reach the top of the corporate ladder, socialize with the upper crust, drive the most expensive automobile, buy the best of wearing apparel, and dine in finest restaurants.
I am not saying this is all bad, but my question is: Where does God fit in this picture? Is there any communication time with Him? Is there any time spent in fellowship with other believer in His house of worship? Is there a moment in time to reflect upon what He has done for you?
Is there any consideration given to the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) or “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)? Is there any thought given to destiny or where eternity will be spent?
The pleasures of earthly life do not compare to what God has in store for those who deny themselves and live according to the “words in red”.
Jesus says that each of us is to “take up his cross daily”. Jesus is not talking about carrying your cross to the place of your crucifixion as was mandated by the Roman government in His day. He was telling the disciples that if they were going to follow Him, the journey would not be easy.
For example, to admit that you are a Christian or a follower of Jesus in certain countries would surely mean death. We have read about missionaries and people captive who have been killed because they would not deny Jesus Christ. These people “took up their cross” and identified with the message of Jesus although they knew their choice could mean death.
This earthly life is more important and more valuable to some people and they will do everything to protect themselves. They will do nothing that might take them out of their comfort zone.
On the other hand, if you consider it more important to “take up your cross” and follow Jesus daily, you are indicating that whatever comes your way will not change your stand of following the “words in red”. You will be willing to die because you know that “to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
God gave us life to enjoy. He also gave us many pleasures enjoy, but all the worldly endeavors should not come before serving God the Father and His children. To “take up the cross” is to give up anything that stands between us and our relationship with the Father.
You recall the story of the rich young ruler. The rich young ruler came to Jesus and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). Jesus talked about following the commandments about adultery, murder, stealing, bearing false witness, and honoring father and mother. The rich young ruler thought all was fine and he was in good shape, but then Jesus said, “You still lack one thing. Sell all you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Luke 18:22).
You know what happened. Scripture tells us, “But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (v. 23).
The rich young ruler could not lift his cross of wealth. He would not give up what material possession he had. He could not deny himself and he would not lift his cross of selfishness and follow the “words in red”. He could not follow Jesus and he did not inherit eternal life in the presence of God the Father.
Jesus does not want this to happen to any of His children, but then His children have a choice. Each one of us has the option of placing our faith in God and trusting that He can and will control our life better than we can. On the other hand, we can go with the ways of the world and control our own life. We can “take up our cross” and live by the “words in red” or we can be like the rich young ruler and walk away with no hope of spending eternity in His kingdom.
Conclusion:
The “words in red” are powerful words and obeying these words will enable us to follow Jesus. Living those words will help us deny ourselves and serve God and His children. Those words will assure us of a right relationship with the One who loves us. The love projected by the “words in red” will allow us to “take up our cross” and follow Jesus.
Amen.
