The Call to Discipleship
Notes
Transcript
18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”
21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.
25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
What does it look like when a person gives themselves completely to God, no matter the cost? We often share stories about what it looks like when a person is devoted to Christ, even when it means losing everything—even their lives.
For example the story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliott. TELL A LITTLE BIT OF STORY.
There are parts of the world where being a Christian does truly require one to be willing to give it all, maybe with their lives just for being a Christian.
Today’s scripture tells us about the beginning of the end of Jesus’s journey on earth. He set out for Jerusalem, knowing that suffering, humiliation, and death awaited him. Although the crowds were celebrating him now, he knew those crowds would soon turn. With this in mind, Jesus asked his disciples who people said he was. They gave a few different answers, none of them correct. Jesus then asked them who they thought he was. Peter, in his characteristic boldness, said that Jesus was the Messiah, and Jesus affirmed that Peter was correct. But what Jesus did next took the disciples by surprise.
Instead of telling them that they were about to ride into battle and come out physically and politically triumphant, setting up an earthly kingdom, he told them the opposite would happen. Jesus predicted that he would suffer and die. Then he went a step further and told the disciples they too would need to be ready to suffer and die if they wanted to follow him. The disciples were shocked. Jesus flipped the script and upended all of their expectations about what a Messiah would do.
Although we have the benefit of hindsight and thousands of years of church teaching, we can still learn from this message today. God doesn’t ask us to grasp worldly or political power, taking land and people and lives. Instead, we’re called to emulate Christ, lowering ourselves and allowing God’s power to shine through our weakness.
Denying Self and Taking Up Our Cross Daily
There’s a huge difference between casually following someone and being fully dedicated to their cause.
For example, you might be a fan of a certain musician and follow them on social media. You might even keep up with the latest news about them. But you’re not likely to die for them.
Jesus was calling his disciples to deeper commitment, warning them that it could even mean death.
These men had already given up so much to follow Jesus, but Jesus knew a lot more had to happen in their hearts before they were ready to be the apostles they would become.
We know most of them went on to become martyrs for the faith. While they would be reminded of these words after Jesus’s death, it likely took the repetition of this message and witnessing Christ’s own sacrifice before they really internalized it.
Following Jesus means you won’t be playing it safe.
While following Jesus often feels fairly safe for many of us (especially those of us who live in North America), it can be literally dangerous. You don’t have to look long to find stories of people who’ve lost their lives for their faith.
When we look outside the U.S., we hear stories from missionaries—especially in places where Christianity is treated with hostility by the government—who have personally experienced violence or who have seen violence done to other believers by those who don’t want the message of Christ spread.
We aren’t called to be cozy and comfortable. There’s nothing cushy about taking up our cross and denying ourselves. Jesus didn’t sugarcoat this message, and neither should we.
Saving or Losing Life
Jesus told his disciples that whoever wanted to save their life would lose it and whoever lost their life for Christ would save it.
If we’re desperately grasping onto our lives, power, or money, we’re going to lose them. When we grasp onto those things, we often have a narrow, short term perspective. We miss the point and lose in the end.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
However, when we lose life, power, or money in Jesus’s name, we aren’t really losing. Scripture reminds us that we should store up treasure in heaven instead of treasure on earth that can be destroyed (see Matthew 6:19–21).
What we have on earth is meant to be invested in God’s kingdom.We need the reminder that following Christ is life or death. There isn’t space to be lukewarm (see Revelation 3:15–17).
15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
God’s Economy
God’s economy is different than the world’s. Jesus asked his disciples what good it is to gain the world if it meant forfeiting their very selves.
All the money in the world cannot stop death from coming. Only trust in Christ can help us prepare for eternal life.
Sometimes we don’t find what really matters until we have lost everything.
Living in faith means we keep moving forward and seeking God’s will above all else—even when that doesn’t make worldly sense.
We see this when people sell all their belongings and move to the mission field with nothing, taking jobs that won’t cover more than their basic needs.
We also see this when people choose less financially lucrative career paths to live out the vocation God called them to.
One young man found that he’d made his XBox into an idol. It was preventing him from spending time with his family. He felt God leading him to destroy the XBox. When other people asked why he wouldn’t just sell it, he said he felt like God wanted him to destroy it as a symbol of what it was in his life.
The hymn “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken” (see p. 35 in My Cup Runneth Over) sums up this idea well: “Perish every fond ambition/All I’ve sought, and hoped and known/Yet how rich is my condition/God and heaven are still my own!”
Jesus, My Cross I Have Taken
Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave and follow thee, Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be
Perish every fond ambition, All I’ve sought, and hoped and known, Yet how rich is my condition, God and heaven are still my own!
What would it look like if each person in this room truly committed to denying themselves and going where God leads?
We have a problem as believers. Instead of living out the life God wants us to have, we often live lives that are almost what God wants us to have. For example, we might ignore the tugging of the Holy Spirit to go into missions. Instead, we donate funds and hope it will alleviate the guilty feelings we have inside. What would our families, our communities, and our world look like if every believer lived out the incredible calling God has for their life?
Picking up your cross and following Christ isn’t about a one-time act of valor. It’s about daily doing the thing God has called you to do. It also means that when the time comes, you’re willing to follow Jesus into the unknown—even if it costs you your life. As Christians, we aren’t called to stand in our power but to follow the example of the Lamb who was slain. We’re called to lay down our power, our money, our influence, and our lives for the greater good of the kingdom.
Where will you go? What is the cross Jesus is calling you to take up?
ALTAR CALL
SING The Stand
COMMUNION RITUAL
The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.
The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.
All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.
In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:
PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION:
Holy
We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.
On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.
By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
EXPLAIN ELEMENTS
The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.
CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMITMENT
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
BENEDICTION: God of hope, we leave this place, filled with joy, peace, and grace, knowing Jesus Christ is by our side. As we live each day to come, may we trust in and surrender ourselves fully to the trustworthy and loving God of hope. Because of this reality, we are people of hope. May we walk and live into this hope as one, with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
