Luke 9:21-27

Luke

Luke 9:21–27 ESV

And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 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. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

INTRODUCTION:

I. Discipleship begins with the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being a Disciple is being a Christian. If you are a Christian then you are a disciple.

The following statements are things true of Christians, of true disciples.

II. Denial of Self and Taking up Your Cross

a. Denial of Self

“Three weeks after my third trip to underground house churches in Asia, I began my first Sunday as the pastor of a church in America. The scene was much different. Dimly lit rooms were now replaced by an auditorium with theater-style lights. Instead of traveling for miles by foot or bike to gather for worship, we had arrived in millions of dollars’ worth of vehicles. Dressed in our fine clothes, we sat down in our cushioned chairs. To be honest, there was not much Please don’t misunderstand this scene. It was filled with wonderful, well-meaning, Bible-believing Christians who wanted to welcome me and enjoy one another. People like you and people like me, who simply desire community, who want to be involved in church, and who believe God is important in their lives. But as a new pastor comparing the images around me that day with the pictures still fresh in my mind of brothers and sisters on the other side of the world, I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.”

Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (p. 7). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

b. Taking Up Your Cross

Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (p. 6-7). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition. b. Taking Up Your Cross

III. Kingdom priorities

a. Do not let wordly pursuits crowd the priority of discipleship.

b. Unashamed of Jesus

This brings us to the crucial question for every professing or potential follower of Jesus: Do we really believe he is worth abandoning everything for? Do you and I really believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in him? Do you and I believe him enough to obey him and to follow him wherever he leads, even when the crowds in our culture— and maybe in our churches— turn the other way?

Conclusion

Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (pp. 18-19). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition. Application

Application