The way of the Cross
Mark 8:34-38
Mark chapter 8:34-38
Prayer-
Introduction-
Last week we looked at some of the words of Jesus to his disciples.
We found that He had the nerve to eat with sinners and associate with people that even the religious thought should be avoided.
We saw the setting is political unrest, spiritual decline, and people had no loyalty to anything.
That sounds every bit of today as we try to journey through this polluted world of selfishness.
Jesus used two words to Matthew- “Follow me” Matthew rose up and followed Jesus giving up all that was necessary to follow Him.
What does it mean to follow Jesus?
It means some will give up everything because of where the call of God takes them.
Some will be asked to give up the things that are in disobedience of God’s Word.
Some will even be asked to give up things not necessary wrong but given up because it is a bad witness and could cause someone else to stumble.
This morning the text falls within that same vein. Jesus giving us directions on what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
Remember that all of us are called by God to do what He has asked us to do.
The Christian journey begins where we are and should end where God wants us to be- both in this world and for eternity. He desires to help us journey here with the hope that we will desire to spend eternity with Him. In that journey of ours, we are to impact people’s lives that God brings in our path.
Matthew 7
“The way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Why?
Because our greatest joy should come from serving God and others. That means that we have to deny ourselves and follow the ways of God.
Jesus in this chapter talks about His death and that was confusing to the disciples, especially Peter.
Peter had this great revelation from God that Jesus was the Messiah!
Death could not be the path of victory. Victory had to be life, conquering the enemy, and bringing Justice to a wronged people.
Peter rebuked Jesus and thought that Jesus must have had a breakdown or something.
Jesus rebuked him back and called his actions Satan working through him. Peter was stunned.
“Get behind me Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
The mindset of denying self and following God is that He’s first! What does Jesus want from us and for us?
Anything less is putting yourself first.
Jesus gathered the crowd, he gathered the disciples and he gathers us this morning … “ If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
He doesn’t say we pick up other people’s cross- take up our cross.
He doesn’t say… when you get around to it, it says if you are a follower of Christ, pick up your cross and follow me.”
Luke’s account of this passage adds the word daily- we are to pick up our cross daily and follow Him.
In context, the crowd that heard him say “Deny yourself and pick up your cross” were baffled- they understood the cross one way- Romans put people on the cross and tortured them in an unimaginable way till they died and were ridiculed and mocked till they died. They were hoping that Jesus asking us to pick up the cross would not have such pain and death to it. That it would not involved total sacrifice.
Jesus leads by example-
We see it all through scripture. Jesus does not ask us to do something that He has not done and He promises that when we go through it that He would be with us.
Think about it-
He tells us that to live for God that you must die to self.
To be more like Jesus would involve dying to self and seeing more of Him than you and the world.
Jesus showed us that we must move toward death of ourselves to be more like Christ.
Those disciples present – most paid the ultimate sacrifice- they were martyred for their faith. They choose to live out their faith even if it cost them their lives. How many are willing to do that today?
Death to self
Death to self-glory
Death to worldly desires that go outside of God’s will.
Death to the easy life that centers only about you and your immediate family.
Death to unhealthy desire for money.
Thousand deaths that would speak to us saving ourselves without God’s help.
Observation than a thought-
Observation-
Christian life is hard! Really hard! That is why Jesus said that we do not have to do it alone.
Nothing says sacrifice like dying to self and living for Him.
Nothing shows the value we have for Jesus in our lives than how we live our lives and who we live our lives for.
Thought here-
I believe in our quest to wrong the injustice and abuse in disciplining that as a society we have lost discipline as a means to correct. We as a society have not given anyone permission to correct. It is being taken away from those that should be doing the correcting.
God
Parents
School/ church
“Don’t correct my child”
“Don’t make him/her do that”
No accountability for our actions because all our actions are a result of us having the freedom to do what we want.
It’s not his/her fault because someone did this or that to them and that is why they do it to someone else.
It is hard for someone to die for a cause unless they believe in it whole heartedly. No one makes the ultimate sacrifice unless they believe dying is worth the price paid.
What I learned at Lackland AFB /write down because it fits everyone of our oives
To be broken of self brings obedience for your good not your pleasure.
To be given responsibility makes you accountable for your actions.
There is no such thing as a one man/one women Military
Correct discipline can save your life when you are facing adversities.
“If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross, and let him follow me.”
Make a decision to deny yourself. God first.
Take up your cross. Obedience and willing to be discipline.
Follow Jesus.
That is the Christian faith
Jesus never said following Him would be easy.
He never told us that if we followed him that suddenly every wrong would be made right.
Everything we did wrong would suddenly be corrected.
Jesus never bribed us to follow him.
These prosperity teachings lead us to believe just follow Jesus and never have a problem and then when we do they believe Jesus has bailed on them.
Jesus never offered peace from harm.
He offered a glorified life and eternity at the end of the journey.
He did not paint a pretty picture of what life on this side of heaven is , but He did promise for those that carried their cross and finished the journey under the Lordship of Christ that we are promised a beautiful eternity with Christ.
Honesty of a leader is important. Jesus never made promises that He could not keep and He never promised easy.
Sir Winston Churchill
All I offer this country is blood, sweat and tears.”
Garibaldi, great Italian patriot recruiting soldiers
“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions: I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country in his heart, and not with his lips only, follow me.”
The only things that Jesus denies us of are things that rob us of the joy and life that God desires for us.
Hebrews 11:25-26
“He (Moses) chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matthew 7:14).
No one with inflated egos or self righteousness can fit through those gates.
Only one entrance to God’s kingdom- By way of Jesus Christ.
The demand of bearing a cross is universal. It is made of all who follow Christ, without exception. Our Lord addressed these words "to all", not to a select few who walked nearer to Christ.
Our text indicates that this mandate was not issued to the twelve alone. It was for "any man or women" who will go after him.
Picking up your cross allows God to take you in a deeper relationship with Him because you are giving him permission and desiring to go to that deeper relationship.
"Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple".
It is an absolute impossibility to be the Christian God wants you to be without self-denial.
Taking up your cross is an intentional act.
In every passage which records our Lord's mention of a cross for his disciples, he commands them to "take it up". The Lord does not force a cross upon any man against his will. He does not strap the cross to a man's back.
As we closed this morning-
Maybe it would be easier to deny yourself and pick up your cross if your picture of God was bigger. I guarantee that whatever size your God is, He is bigger.
Instead of dwelling on the evil that exists in the world, you center in on the fact that God is stronger, and smarter than you are! Because of His mercy and His He has provided for you a way of salvation that doesn’t make sense to unbelievers but does not change the truth and reality of it.
God does not have to give us an explanation of everything He has done or is doing in our lives, but because of His love for us He gives us revelation.
He owes us nothing of telling us of His ways- They are bigger than we are-
He gives us revelation- Because He chooses to reveal who He is to us- than we know who it is that says “follow me” who it is that says – if you are going to follow me- you must become more like me and less like yourself.
I know that it is at times hard to follow me, but if you trust me, you will follow me, and when you follow me, I will place my anointing upon you.
If you understand this, you will be able to understand this scripture in its entirety.
Mark 8:34-38 Read from Bible slowly
Wow,
You want to my disciple? Follow me.
You want to do your own thing? You will lose your life. Serve me and gain your life.
What good is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?
If you are ashamed of him now, he will not acknowledge you later.
Come by way of the cross- Jesus.
Don’t let time get away from us-
Million seconds- 11-12 days
Billion Seconds- 31.5 years
Before time was I was says God
Trillions seconds ago-31,688.74 years- 29,000 years B.C.
Time is not Gods problem, it is our problem.
You think about that – Amen.
