DISCIPLESHIP: THE DISCIPLES CROSS 1

The Evangelist D.L. Moody recounted a train ride. A man approached him in an obvious drunken stupor. The man said, “You’re D.L. Moody and you converted me through your preaching.” Moody replied, well it must have been me who converted you because you do not smell like the Holy Spirit has touched you yet.

Moody’s call and office was that of an evangelist. He preached powerful messages, but even he understood there was a profound difference between a DECISION and DISCIPLESHIP.

A Person can intellectual agree with the message of the gospel but miss on the point of the Gospel, to become a follower of Jesus in everyday life.

Luke 9:23–25 CSB

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. 25 For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself?

Matthew 10:38 CSB

38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

FOLLOWING CHRIST MEANS

C- A CHANGE OF CHARACTER.

Discipleship vs. conformity

Consider some of the great Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates. They certainly had followers who wanted to be like them. They wanted to learn everything that Plato and Socrates knew. They wanted to absorb all they could from those great minds. They were disciples.

Now contrast that with a talmudim (The word in the Hebrew language for disciple is “talmudim.” Be a talmudim. Let the Lord teach and empower you by the Spirit to obey His instructions. He wanted not only to know what the rabbi knew. But he wanted to be what the rabbi was. Now there is a subtle yet undeniable difference. And that has great application to us as Christians and those who would seek to be Holy. I don’t want just to have an intellectual relationship with Jesus. I want to live my life for Him. I want Him to come and live inside of me. I want to be like him in all that I do.

R- REPENTING OF WORLDLY VALUES.

Two pastors went to lunch one day. One pastor comes to pick his friend up in a new car. The second pastor says brother, I’m happy for you, you’ve been blessed with that car. The first one says, I have been the church gave it to me, this is all of God and this is God’s car.

They drove and talked about how kind the Lord is and how everything belongs to him. Unfortunatley, a gravel truck pulled out in front of the pastors. As it did so, a rock came from the back of the truck and struck the car’s windshield causing it to crack and the men to pull over to assess the damage.

The first pastor began to complain about that truck driver and saying, “Look what he did to my car. I just got it. I can’t believe he did this to my car.”

The second pastor simply asked, “Brother, where did God’s car disappear to in all this?”

It’s so easy to miss the blessings of the cross and Christ and fall in step with a worldly outlook on life.

Job 1:21 CSB

21 saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

The Good Lord gave us His only Son and Jesus carried His cross. The Cross is not to punish us but to refine you to be like Jesus.

O- OPENING UP TO THE ONGOING WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

- Do you struggle with anger? Take up the cross of humbly walking into a counseling office to heal the wounds from which your anger swells.

- Are you controlled by an addiction? Take up the cross of asking for accountability and being willing to receive it when you need it most.

- Is your heart hardened with bitterness because of past wrongs against you? Take up the cross of untangling those wrongs and applying to them the same forgiveness Christ has given to you.

- Has God called you to share the gospel with your lost friends and family? Take up the cross of a bold proclamation of the gospel even if it causes those you’re sharing with to label you as foolish.

- Have you walked away from a relationship with God? Take up the cross of repentance. Let your pride come crashing down and willingly admit that your way has led you to death and you desire to once again live the life that Christ has called you to.

Choose to be a willing participant in the hard and holy work of denying self that you may gain Christ, in whatever way that looks for you. I pray that even now, God is revealing where you’ve chosen comfort over Christ. I pray that you choose to take up your cross and as you do, remember the promise that what you’re losing is of little value compared to what you are gaining!

You can choose to walk on your own path, but it will kill you. Only by dying to self, giving over hurts, past, attitudes to the Holy Spirit will you find true life and the freedom deep down that you desire.

It can be scary. The cross is not easy. But it means dying to things that kill your soul so you can truly live. Some of you are on that path. Others stumble, but you know the path and it feels a bit slower than you like.

God give me patience and GIVE IT TO ME NOW!

Others of you have wandered off the path.

Some of you need someone to point you to the path.

S- SERVING THE KINGDOM FIRST.

Taking up our cross to follow Christ means, simply, commitment to the point of giving up our hopes, dreams, possessions, even our very life if need be. This is the attitude – the only acceptable attitude – of a true disciple (Luke 14:27).

Luke 14:27 CSB

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Jesus' followers regard the reward as worth the price. Jesus set the example for us in His death, to give us the gift of life: "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

Tish Harrison Warren shares

There’s an aphorism repeated often in the writings of the medieval church: Per Crucem Ad Lucem, through the cross to the light. God loves us passionately and wants to bring us joy and flourshing, but this doesn’t preclude a cross. God’s love is refracted through the cross, which often makes it hard to see or recognize. But if we are to learn to trust—to place the weight of our lives on the love of God—we can only learn this through the cross.

Taken from Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep by Tish Harrison Warren

S- BEING SOLD OUT TO CHRIST.

Currently in America, we can complain that cultural elites want to push Christians to the side in discussions. They want the Christian witness and values to not merely to be outside of boundaries of acceptable thought, you will even sense a movement to demonize Bible believers. That is a form of persecution. However, there are countries where to be a Christian means to risk everything, North Korea, China, Iran, and much of the Middle East and parts of Africa.

I talked with our Thru the Bible instructor, the Reverend Jim Tomasik. He served in the Soviet block where they had to raise up lay leaders because pastors would simply disappear at night. For the Lay person to take up the role of leader meant he would also face the cross.

I understand The Chinese Christians do not consider someone to be fully be pastor until they have been educated through Prison for their faith.

Those are people who are sold out to Christ.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your closest friends? • Would you still follow Jesus if it meant alienation from your family? • Would you still follow Jesus if it meant the loss of your reputation? • Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your job? • Would you still follow Jesus if it meant losing your life?