The Cost of Discipleship
Notes
Transcript
Open your bible with me to Luke 9:23-27
The context surrounding this passage is important. Because Jesus doesn’t make this declaration and implication of who He is in a vacuum, but in the context of a lot of confusion and incomplete views of His divinity and messianic office.
We know that happens often in our society as well. I mentioned a few of those in our sermon last week. However, it also occurs in smaller and larger ways. I don’t want to sound trite. One example is on T-shirts, you remember the t-shirt and phrase – Jesus is my homeboy!? Well, I hate to break it to you, Jesus is NOT your homeboy. He didn’t come to affirm you and be a good buddy and a good pal. Or your life coach!... He came as the savior to redeem You. He came as Messiah, because He’s God.
Another is one that I’ve seen recently. It’s some weird form of evangelism, at least that’s what I think is happening. You’ve seen these little Jesus figurines. The little pocket-sized, tiny hold in your hand Jesus figurines. – and they are given while saying…“Here, have a little Jesus”…..Like, what is that? Never mind, the 2nd command – "you shall not make for yourself a carved image"….It’s just for funzies, right? No harm in that?
We’ve literally made a little god, made a little Jesus, or what we think is Jesus, and said there’s Jesus, take Him with you; that is a graven image, and we want to put Him in our pocket. We throw those little idols away at our house, BTW. And I always want to say something, and Ashley talks me out of it…..Well, next time, I’m going in. I’m saying something. I’ve had enough of the 2nd Commandment-violating Jesus figurines.
We’ve just taken the THRICE HOLY GOD, 2nd Person of the TRINITY, GOD IN THE FLESH, and reduced Him to a figurine and cute saying – “have a little Jesus for your day.” Seriously, what are we doing? And I’ll tell you what we are doing, we are doing exactly what everyone else wanted to do with Jesus - Take Him alongso long as He is convenient. So long as He fits in our pockets. So long as He goes along with us! So long as He’s only a figurine! Because we like that Jesus! Homeboy Jesus! Figurine Jesus….He fits into our lives…..WHO DO YOU SAY that I am?(Luke 9:20) A figurine that fits in your pocket or sits on your desk? A t-shirt that you wear? A little turn of phrase? Someone who fits into your life?
In reality, Jesus invites us to conform to Him. And the cost of that means much more than wearing a t-shirt, or puttinga toy in your pocket or on your desk. We are going to see in this text that the call to follow Jesus is the call to follow Him unto your own death!
Sermon Summary: Following Jesus means daily dying to self to gain eternal life.
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
This is God’s word. Let’s pray
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I. The Call to Discipleship: Christ’s Terms, Not Ours (v.23)
I. The Call to Discipleship: Christ’s Terms, Not Ours (v.23)
You recall Jesus made it clear the implications that came with His messianic office. Contextually, that the Son of Man MUST suffer many things, be rejected, and be killed….but on the third day will be raised…Now Jesus turns with implications for them. Namely, that if Jesus is the Messiah. The anointed one! Godin the flesh. IT NOT only carries implications for Christ, but also implications for those who followHim!
23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Here is a condition invitation. IF ANYONE. That is conditional to all who desire. That is to all who desire to come after Him. Universal and open. Yet, comes with implications for their life!! Three explicit commands in this one verse. An entire sermon here! Yet, if anyone would come after me, let Him embrace the implication of Follow Jesus – NOT as homeboy! NOT as Life Coach, but AS MESSIAH! AS KING!! AS GOD!!
THEN LET HIM…..
Deny Self - to refuse; disdain. To refuse to pay attention; acts in a selfless way. Means to set aside one’s interest for the sake of God’s Kingdom. It’s a word of negation, and it means to forget oneself entirely, to do NOT what pleases you, but would please the LORD!!
Take Up Your Cross -To lift up and move from one place to another. Means to subject oneself to an instrument of death by crucifixion. The disciples knew what cross-bearing meant. A cross was a pole placed into the ground and used for capital punishment. They had seen on countless occasions those executed, bearing the very instrument of their death, carry the humiliation that ultimately led to their death. The disciples would have known this was a one-way journey. A man carrying a cross wasn’t coming back home. He was headed to His own death. There was only one man who carried a cross and returned. That was Simeon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus’ cross (Matthew 27; Luke 23).
What Jesus has in mind for cross-bearing was merely enduring hardship. He wasn’t speaking of having a rough day in the office. He wasn’t talking about navigating difficult people or hardship due to financial or physical limitations. There is a tendency to think, well, these are the crosses that Jesus had in mind.
But Jesus intends crosses that come specifically for the sake of FOLLOWING HIM!
Joni Eareckson Tada, who is quadriplegic, said these words
Our affliction becomes that which pushes and shoves us down the road to the cross.… And that’s what it means to become like Him in His death. Don’t think that the cross is simply the wheelchair, or an irritating job, or an irksome mother-in-law. The cross is the place where you die to sin and live to God. - Joni Eareckson Tada
Luke adds the context that this cross-bearing is to be done daily. Jesus means that this is to be a way of life. That is a life of self-denial. A life of sacrifice. A life that turns away from self and orients towards the Lord!
And so Jesus says thirdly – to FOLLOW ME!!
Follow Me - Lit; to move behind in the same direction.
To followJesus on a cross is an invitation to follow Him to His suffering, rejection, and death
It is to take upon the same way of life of Christ and the implication of His Lordship. And it means the laying down of your own life, the death of your own desires and self, and surrender to your will to God. These things are a conditional invitation - If anyone would come after Jesus. To receive Him as the Christ comes as an invitation. Though an invitation has implications.
And how often we want the TERMS without the conditions. We want the joy of Christ, without bearing the cross of Christ. We want the comfort of Jesus, without embracing the suffering He has called us to endure. We want the peace and presence of Christ, without the pursuit of cross-bearing. We want a crown without the cross. We want Jesus, but we also want to keep our own lives, wishes, and desires.
We think of discipleship in terms of personal advancement, when really it is about conformity to Christ's death and resurrection life. New life - that is found in Jesus. that is marked by Jesus and the pursuit of Christ.
Jesus means that our life would look otherworldly. It would look like death to self. It would be marked by suffering and surrendering to Christ in all things.
Which is why the Apostle would say – 1 Cor 15:31. I die every day. It’s why he would say in Galatians 2:20
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
For some, the call to deny self and take up the cross daily meets us NOT in outward persecution, but in the quiet places of fear, anxiety, and inner struggle. It means surrendering the need to control outcomes — to trust God when the future feels uncertain or frightening. For others, this cross looks like dying to self-protection, to the instinct to run, numb, or hide from pain. For the believer wrestling with depression or shame, it may mean daily choosing to believe that Christ’s love defines you more than your failures or feelings. For the one trapped in cycles of fear or addiction, it’s the daily dying to the lie that you must manage life in your own strength, and instead leaning wholly on the power of His Spirit. For those counseling others, bearing the cross means walking patiently with people in their brokenness— giving up the desire to fix them quickly, and learning to love them as Christ loves you. To deny self in these spaces is to surrender our illusion of control and to say, “Lord, even here — even in my fear, my confusion, my weakness — I will follow You.”This is the daily cross: to trust God more than our emotions, to obey even when it feels costly, and to find in that surrender NOT loss, but freedom.
To deny yourself and take up your cross daily will look different for each of us, but it will always cut across the grainof self. For some, it may mean forgiving someone who has wounded you deeply — NOT because they deserve it, but because Jesus calls you to die to bitterness and live in His grace. For others, it might mean choosing integrity at work when compromise could bring promotion or comfort. It may mean giving generously when your instinct is to hold tightly to what feels secure. For a young believer, it might mean walking away from a relationship or friendship that pulls you away from Christ. For parents, it might mean surrendering control of your children’s future, trusting that God’s plan for them is better than your own. For all of us, it means choosing obedience when the world says, “Protect yourself,” and Jesus says, “Follow Me.” This isn’t about taking Jesus with you, in your pocket or on your t-shirt….But is about Christ IN YOU, as you deny self, follow Him, and live for HIM!
Every day presents a cross — moments where we can cling to self or submit to Christ. The question is NOT whether we will carry a cross, but whose cross we will carry — our own comfort, or His call. And when we choose His, we find that the road of surrender is the road to true freedom, joy, and life.
--------------------------------------------------- The Call of Discipleship
II. The Paradox of Discipleship: Losing Life to Gain It (v. 24)
II. The Paradox of Discipleship: Losing Life to Gain It (v. 24)
All this continues to bring implications. Jesus continues with the reason or motivation to carry out the commands in v.23. We know that because of the first word FOR. Further implication is the upside-down nature of following Jesus. To save one’s life, they must first lay their desires and life down to follow Jesus. This verse is the ground that carries the remainder of this text, namely, the paradox of discipleship.
24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
One of the great ambitions of humanity is to find something worth pursuing to fulfill us. They strive for ambition. They desire satisfaction and security. We constantly look and long for it. And yet, Jesus declares that the way that you find it is NOT through gaining, but losing. It’s NOT through gaining more, but acquiring less. Specifically, less for the sake of CHRIST and cross-bearing!!
Jesus reverses human logic: the pursuit of self-preservation ends in eternal loss, but surrender for Christ’s sake results in true life. This is the gospel paradox. The believer’s union with Christ means dying with Him to sin and risingwith Him to new life (Rom. 6:3–5).
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
This, of course, swings us back to the implication of Christ. That HE MUST SUFFER, HE MUST BE BETRAYED, HE MUST BE KILLED….But that’s NOT all. HE MUST also be raised. And in being raised to life. Jesus invites those who followHIM to find true and lasting life, meaning, and satisfaction in HIM!
The word loss here means to make a ruin, to destroy. To lose something one already has. It means to forfeit total loss. Jesus is speaking NOT of just a forsaking, without a promise. Jesus is inviting us to trade in our deepest ambition, deepest pursuits, and deepest passions, to lay them down for something better! To find true life in Him! – LIFE HERE LITERAL MEANS- YOUR SOUL! Here is an invitation and exchange to what you think will satisfy your soul. What do you think will bring you fulfillment? What do you think will give you purpose….And to forsake it all, and run to Christ, and find that TRUE salvation for your soul!. True life is found in Him! That loss for Jesus sake, because GAIN!
You know, I’m amazed when people think, and they often do. That if I come to Jesus, He is about killing my joy. He’s about taking from me what brings me satisfaction and happiness. He will strip away those things that give me comfort. Yet, what is actually happening is that Jesus is taking away the things you think will save you and replacing them with the only one who can save you.
The way to gain is NOT through more, but through losing everything for the sake of Christ, and finding that Jesus is where we truly find life and salvation!
Beloved, what are you still trying to save? What are you still attempting to hold on to when Jesus invites you to lose for His sake? Your reputation as a good guy, surrendered it for a reputation of a godly man! Is it your comfort? Surrender it for riches in Christ! Is it a relationship? Trade it in for the satisfaction that Christ brings! Your dreams, ambitions, and hopes? Come, TASTE, and SEE that the Lord is Good, and His plan for your life is BETTER and gives more satisfaction.
How often we think that God is taking away from you! When really, He’s inviting you into TRUE life with Him. He calls you to deny yourself, but in the process, you discover a LIFE you never knew existed— one that’s free from guilt, shame, and striving.
True joy isn’t found in having more; it’s found in needing less — because your heart has found enough in CHRIST. And that when we come and die to self, we find that it was a death to the very things that were killing you! And yet the invitation here is to lose your life for CHRIST, and SAVE IT!!
The human heart has a tight grip, doesn’t it? And often it clings so tightly to the wrong things that it chokes us in our pursuit of true freedom. The grip of what we think is ours is deceptive, when we find we were clinging to vines of poison. And so Jesus invites us to let go and lose our lives, for His sake, and find that true life is found in surrender, sacrifice, and following Jesus.
--------------------------------------------------- The Paradox of Discipleship
III. The Question of Profit: The Folly of Worldly Gain (v. 25)
III. The Question of Profit: The Folly of Worldly Gain (v. 25)
This verse is a continuation of verse 24 – now Jesus infers that more is at stake than just merely living, but our very souls. You see that in at least two ways. First, is the continued use of the word – FOR. FOR WHAT PROFIT is there in living for yourself, if it only results in loss, of even your own soul? And you see it as well in even what He thinks he has gained, is His loss.
25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
It is no profit to live for the world’s good and earthly riches.
Loses – again means to lose something one already has. To ruin, to destroy.
Forfeit - means to suffer loss and implies undergoing hardship.
There is a paradoxical language in this passage. Lose in order to save, profit in gain, that results in loss.
You see the paradox of verse 24 – that loss in Christ is in fact gain, but that worldly gain is in fact forfeiting your own life and soul.
I want to keep that connection tight in your mind – that is the paradox of the KINGDOM and the question of profit. Consider then, in Luke 18, when a young man came to Jesus with everything the world prizes: wealth, success, moral reputation, and influence. By every earthly standard, he had “gained the world.” Yet his heart still longed for something more — eternal life.
Jesus pointed him to the commandments, and he confidently replied, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
But then Jesus looked deeper — past his résumé and religion— and said, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
In that moment, the rich man faced the very question of profit that Jesus asked in Luke 9:25.
Would he cling to his worldly gain and forfeit his soul, or would he surrender his earthly wealth to gain eternal life?
He walked away sorrowful — NOT because he didn’t understand, but because he couldn’t let go.
He thought he was preserving his life, but in truth, he was losing it.
He thought he was keeping his treasure, but he was forfeiting his soul.
That’s the tragedy of false profit:
You can have everything and still have nothing.
You can gain the whole world and still lose yourself.
The pursuit of self-preservation leads to self-destruction.
This is the heart of Jesus’ paradox:
To lose your life for His sake is the only way to truly save it.
To cling to your life is to lose it forever.
So when Jesus asks, “What does it profit a man?” He’s not speaking of money or possessions —
He’s asking about the exchange rate of your soul.
What are you trading away for comfort, security, reputation, or control?
The invitation is NOT simply to give things up, but to gain something infinitely greater — Christ Himself.
To follow Jesus is to believe that His treasure is better than anything this world can offer.
The cost may be high, but the gain is eternal.
It’s interesting as well, because this was the exact temptation that met Jesus in the wilderness when being assailed by the Devil. You remember Satan takes him to the pinnacle of the Temple and says, I’ll give you all this world and its kingdom. IF you bow down and worship me!!
This was the price of exchange – of what? GLORY! The offer was to exchange a future crown for earthly comfort now!! Jesus, take the comfort now, take the glory now! EXCHANGE IT! TRADE IT ALL IN.
BELOVED, the same exchange that bids us, is it NOT!! And that’s why Jesus is helping us to see the weight of the exchange!! WHAT PROFIT - WHAT GOOD WILL IT DO! WHAT HELPOR BENEFIT….TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD….If you lose yourself. If you lose your own soul!
Jesus is arguing from the greater to the lesser – if your own soul isn’t worth the weight of the world, then why would you settle for anything in the world!
This is the heart of why Jesus would say things like – Matthew 5:29-30
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
That the appeal of Satan often isn’t it…You can have the whole world. You want it. It’s yours!! See that fruit in the middle of the Garden. It will make you like God… God doesn’t want you to have it, but it can be yours. Here, just a bite, and look what you’ll have……Beloved, it was poison!!
And He still does it today. You can have the whole world!! ….Carefullest it cost you your soul!! And Jesus warns us NOT to trade it in!! WHAT IS THE PROFIT…TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD? If you lose yourself in the process. You will perish and your soul perish because your pursuit left you lacking, and was actually the very means of your destruction.
SATAN will always tempt us to satisfy the longings of our hearts to the neglect of what is needed for our souls! That’s why we need to be careful following our hearts! Careful NOT to love the world, and the things of the world…Because the world is passing away, along with its desires!!
Satan constantly tempts us with temporary satisfaction at the expense of eternal joys! HAVE what’s in the bottle. It will mend you, take away the pain….And it does until can’t any longer and it begs for more. It doesn’t satisfy….What you need is something more. Something DEEPER! Something more abiding than the bottle!
Have what’s on the screen! Come taste and fulfill your desires….and it leaves you feeling empty! Because Satan tempts you to gain the WHOLE world, but it’s at the expense of your own soul.
Have the promotion— climb the ladder, build the name, secure the comfort! YOU DESERVE IT!!— but at the cost of your soul’s devotion. If it takes you away from Christ, if it cools your love for Him, if it consumes all your time and affection, then what profit is it?
Have that relationship— even if it means compromising truth, bending your convictions, silencing your witness. “It feels right,” the heart says, “it feels good.” But beloved, feelings don’t determine faithfulness. You’ll lose your soul!
Have the applause, the followers, the praise of men! But what happens when you must choose between His name and your name? Between being known by the world or being faithful to Christ?
Have the ease of this world — avoid the cross, avoid the cost, avoid the pain. But remember: comfort now often means compromise now, and compromise now means loss later.
Beloved, it's worth our asking. What are you pursuing? What are you chasing? Seeking to PROFIT more than Jesus!
Beloved, Jesus is warning us: don’t make that trade. The world’s promises sparkle, but they fade. Christ’s promises may cost you now, but they end in glory. And that’s the truth in the text. Towards a coming glory, in Christ!
--------------------------------------------------- The Question of Profit
IV. The Promise of Glory: The Reward of True Disciples (v. 26- 27)
IV. The Promise of Glory: The Reward of True Disciples (v. 26- 27)
The question would logically come, why would disciples endure this for the sake of Christ? Why would they forfeit temporary pleasure for Jesus? Is He really worth it? And that all comes down to what Jesus gives in return. That is, is the reward in Christ greater than the pleasures in this world? Is the glory of Christ worth forgoing temporary satisfaction? And that’s why Jesus points us towards a greater glory coming!! A better kingdom! A coming day when the reward for disciples will be worth it!
26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Jesus speaks of being ashamed.
That is to forsake this way of discipleship, and to cave into a way of worldly living and to deny Christ as King. As MESSIAH. AS LORD…AS the SON OF MAN with all authority and POWER.
Ashamed - means to be put to shame. Painful feeling or sense of loss of status.
To be ashamed of Jesus means to deny any association with Him.
Which is interesting because this is what Peter did…But really, it’s what all the disciples would do. They were ashamed of Christ when it mattered most. They would soon feel the shame of their own shame for denying Him.
To consider the irony of this – While the disciples were ashamed of Jesus, Jesus was unashamed to die for them. Rather than denying themselves, they would ultimately deny their Lord. Rather than taking up their own cross, they forsook Jesus to take up His own, alone. And it’s there, at CALVARY, that we recognize that the cross that Jesus bears is His own cross. He would suffer and die alone. And in so doing would die for sin and shame, and for ours.
And I would submit to you that what changed is the promise of His Spirit to empower us to live this way. Beloved, that the only way we can live in this way. It’s through the supernatural enabling of the Holy Spirit. In other words, this isn’t willpower. This isn’t merely wisdom applied. This is sovereign power and enabling by the Spirit of God. To DENY SELF, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, FOLLOW JESUS…TO DENY the WORLD and its riches in order to pursue Christ. It’s the enabling of the Spirit of God to see the beauty of Christ and His gospel that we might live in the confidence of Christ and His gospel. TO NOT BE ASHAMED of Him and His coming!!
It's why the Apostle Paul would say – Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
And so Jesus points towards a coming glory – that is in Christ!! That eclipses the temporary losses endured and countedfor the cause of CHRIST, that the glory that is comingis worth it!
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
There will come a day when there will be no need for shame because of the glory of Christ. So don’t be ashamed, lest He be ashamed of you on that great and final day. That is the glory of CHRIST, which will eclipse any inkling of shame that we may endure for bearing the cross of CHRIST. That the glory to come is of such value that it will surpass any sorrow or pain we’ve suffered on behalf of Christ! ….
And then Jesus says - Luke 9:27
27 But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”
4 primary views:
The full kingdom is imminent; Jesus is “mistaken” about the nearness.
2. The already inaugurated kingdom is initiated by Jesus’ resurrection and includes interpretations related to Pentecost and the spread of Christianity **
3. The transfiguration is a preview of Jesus’ glory, as a foreshadowing of the kingdom’s full manifestation. ** (see 2 Peter 1:16-21)
4. The destruction of Jerusalem as a foretaste of judgment and glory.
All of those would have pointed towards the coming kingdom! The Kingdom of God is, in short, the rule of God. But the best view seems to be a combination of views 2 and 3. Namely, that I sense that whatLuke has in view here is contextually the TRANSGIFURATION. In which they see the FORESHADOWING of the GLORY OF CHRIST!!
In others, how do you know that Jesus is worth it? It’s because of His coming glory! And that’s what some of the disciples see! They see the glory of CHRIST and the King in His glory!! To see the King on His throne in power!
This seems to be what Peter means in
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
But beyond the transfiguration – We must see the empty TOMB as the unfolding of the inaugurated kingdom. That is when Jesus rose from the dead. It was a declaration of His authority! He is KING! HE IS THE MESSIAH! WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM!!!???? AT THE EMPTY TOMB, there is no question. JESUS IS LORD!! HE IS CHRIST!! HE IS THE MESSIAH!! HE is the SON of MAN and the TRUE SON of GOD!!
In which the disciple would also see and they would also participate in this kingdom as the church goes and proclaims – this gospel of the KING. That Christ is victorious!! And they behold with their very eyes, the coming of the KINGDOM of God!!
See, the Kingdom has come through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And one day that kingdom will come completely when Christ returns. And so, we live on the other side of the resurrection. With the invitation of Christ to His disciples to come after JESUS…and we do that by DENYING OURSELVES, TAKING UP OUR CROSS for Jesus’ sake, and following Him. Endure hardship, embracing suffering as a way of life, because this too was the way of Christ! FORGOING THE comforts and pleasures of this world, for eternal satisfaction and joy with CHRIST!!
UNASHAMED of CHRIST, clinging in longing for a coming and final glory when CHRIST RETURNS. Because then, we will know it’s all been worth it. Then the price we’ve paid for following Jesus will be considered as smallWHEN WE behold what Christ has accomplished for us. And we behold His glory, in its fullness!! This what it means to live for the glory of GOD!! …that the view of future glory in CHRIST, is better, so we live for that GLORY now, NOT just in it’s display in us!, but in it’s coming promise and REWARD for THOSE IN CHRIST!
Really, that’s what moves this text from legalism and doism to GOSPEL joy. It’s NOT that we do these things as earning Christ. But in coming after Him, seeing a glimpse of His glory, we realize that He is worthy it! So if anyone would come after me – LET HIM, DENY SELF, TAKE UP HIS CROSS, and FOLLOW ME!
Because one day, that glory will be a glory that we too participate in. That His glory becomes our glory as we are united to Him by faith. And so scripture speaks of those who continue and endure, will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).
Beloved, every cross you carry in faith is a preview of the crown we wear when we behold the glory of God in Christ. So may we press on and press ahead and look beyond the right here and now…towards a coming glory and crown in Christ!
BECAUSE THIS IS THE WAY OF THE CROSS – Isn’t that how Jesus lived? – FOR A GREATER GLORY?….it’s the nature of the kingdom! That loss is turned to gain. That in laying down our life, we find true life in Christ. That is surrendering our lives to death in Christ, we in fact find life, TRUE LIFE, in Him.
See, followingJesus isn’t about improving your life; it’s about losing your life and finding His. The gospel doesn’t just invite you to the cross — By His Spirit, He empowers you to carryit.
Because Jesus carried His cross to the end, He now calls us to carry our cross to glory.
Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Jesus. And never forget — the grace in the gospel of Christ is the same grace that carries the weight of the cross we endure for His sake. The call to followJesus is a NOT call to put a little Jesus in your pocket or to carry Him with you. It’s NOT about putting Him on a t-shirt or as your homeboy.
Sermon Summary: Following Jesus means daily dying to self to gain eternal life.
