Following Jesus (7) ‘CROSS’ – Take Up Your Cross

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

(Mark 8:31-38; Luke 9:23-27 / Mk 8:34; Mat. 10:38; Luke 14:27)

A Message by Rev Dr Vincent Leoh on 7 December 2008

The cross is an emblem of Christianity that holds special meaning for every one of us who identify with Jesus Christ.
How much does it cost? The secret to truly living for Christ is considering the cost. What has it cost you to follow Christ?
What it means and what it entails to TAKE UP YOUR CROSS ….

1. THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS IS DEATH
The image Jesus used is a cross. A real disciple is someone who carries his cross. Taking up our cross & following Jesus is always voluntary. What does take up the cross mean?
The true message of the cross is death. The cross was a symbol of death and suffering. It was the cruellest form of death in the day, and everyone cringed when they thought of the terror of the cross because it stood for a cruel and certain death. So, when Jesus told them to take up their cross, he was telling them to get ready to give up their life.
Today, the image of the cross has lost its horror. We all want the CROWN without the CROSS. Success without suffering; promise without pain.
Paul understood what it meant to carry a cross (Galatians 2:20; 5:24; 6:14) That means there is nothing the world has to offer you that interests you–it’s as if the world is dead to you and you are dead to the world. The secret to truly living for Christ is dying to ourselves.
“The cross is laid on every Christian…. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” (Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship)
Martin Luther, “A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, andn suffers nothing, is worth nothing.”

2. THE POWER OF THE CROSS IS SACRIFICE
The ultimate sacrifice – when Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, God Himself gave Himself for us in order that we might have life.
Sacrifice – The offering of something that is precious, that has value, that is important. A sacrifice isn’t a sacrifice unless it costs you something. What are you willing to sacrifice? Money, Time, Success, Position? God has called us all as Christians to a place of sacrifice
Luke 21:1-4 cf. Mark 10:21-22; John 12:24
If God didn’t call us to sacrifice beyond ourselves nothing great would ever be achieved for God. You sacrifice for what you care about. You can always measure how much someone cares about something by how much they sacrifice.
Power that brings growth is death; sacrifice. Without shedding of blood, no remission of sins. It’s His sacrifice! Before u see glory, we must see sacrifice. 2 Chronicles 5
Cross bearing is an act of love that we freely choose. It is a task that we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love.
“If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” …Charles Thomas Studd (1862-1931)
Our notion of sacrifice is the wringing out of us something we don’t want to give up, full of pain and agony and distress. The Bible idea of sacrifice is that I give as a love-gift the very best thing I have.” …Oswald Chambers (1874-1917). It is the attitude of King David, who said (2 Sam 24:24), “I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.

3. THE GAIN OF THE CROSS IS LIFE
Jesus tells us: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” How many millions of unknown and unsung Christians have found life, the largest, richest life, by losing it! Nobody likes to lose. But in order to win in God’s game, we have to lose.
There Is a Return on One’s Investment. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” The world did not recognize the truth of Jim Elliot’s credo: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
A. You will gain real LIFE. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (v. 35).
B. You will not be DISAPPOINTED in the end. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (vv. 36-37).
C. You will not be ASHAMED when you stand before Jesus. “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (v. 38).

I don’t just want to be a Christian, but I want to be a disciple of Jesus; I want to follow Jesus.