Sermon Tone Analysis
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INVITATION TO DISCIPLESHIP
(If anyone) it’s a broad invitation (would) based on your desirability not ability (come after) a definitive act (me) down a specific pathway.
STIPULATIONS OF DISCIPLESHIP
(HE) the one who accepts the invitation
(MUST) Must is a non-negotiable action.
It's not optional but an obligation.
It's not open for debate, only doing.
(DENY HIMSELF)
A DEFINITION
Jesus does not use the usual word for deny but a stronger verb, meaning to have absolutely no association with or disown completely without reservations or hesitation!
It is entrance into a new state or condition.
To deny oneself means to surrender immediate material gratification in order to discover and secure one’s true self and God’s interests.
It is a willingness to let go of selfish desires and earthly security.
This attitude turns self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
Denying self is not the same as self-denial.
We practice self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities.
But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will.
It is a once-for-all dedication followed by daily “dying to self” as we take up the cross and follow Him.
From the human point of view, we are losing ourselves, but from the divine perspective, we are finding ourselves.
When we live for Christ, we become more like Him, and this brings out our own unique individuality.
A DEMONSTATION
This word deny is used only twice in the Gospels, in today’s text and in Jesus prophecy concerning Peter.
We see Peter’s denial and what Jesus means when he talks about denial in
When Jesus says that we must deny ourselves this is what it looks like.
It is much easier to die at the hands of an executioner than to execute our wills, importance, and agendas.
So, to deny self is to: say no to yourself; relinquish all claims to your life, and renounce your right to run your life.
Followers of Christ do not belong to themselves
You have been bought with a price; Jesus gave his life for your life.
He has an absolute claim on your life, or he has no claim on your life.
Jesus picked up His cross and died for our sins.
Now we must pick up our cross and die to our sins.
This mandate is not optional; it must be obeyed.
Jim Elliot the martyred missionary at age 28 wrote in his journal at 22; he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
(TAKE UP HIS CROSS)
This is Jesus second stipulation and it means to pick up at once.
It speaks of death to self, for the sake of Jesus.
He is not saying "wear your cross," but "bear your cross."
Many wear crosses today who have never genuinely taken up their cross.
This reference to a cross needed no explanation, for the Jews had seen thousands of their countrymen crucified by the Romans.
Allegiance even to death is demanded of Christ's followers.
Everyone who accepts this great salvation must prove the reality of their faith by carrying the cross of Christ.
Like his Lord, each disciple must bear his own cross.
To understand what this cross Jesus refers to is, we need to talk about what it isn't.
It isn't your lost husband or wife.
It isn't your wayward children.
It isn't your mother-in-law.
Your cross isn't your difficulties or the bad situations you face in life.
The cross is not just a place of suffering, it is a place of death!
To take up one's cross means to willingly pick up and carry the shame (People mocked men who carried the cross.
Unlike today when a person will carry one across America and draw cheers.
A man under a cross in Jesus' day drew jeers!), the rejection, the suffering and the death that Jesus Himself willingly carried for us.
To take up your cross means that you are willing to identify yourself with Jesus Christ, His death and His word, regardless of what it costs you personally, publically or financially!
An Italian legend tells about a man who had a servant who was rather stupid.
One day the master became exasperated and told the servant, “You’re the stupidest fellow I’ve ever known.
I want you to take this staff and carry it with you.
If you ever meet a man who is more stupid than you are, give him the staff.”
The servant took the staff.
He met some pretty dumb men, but he wasn’t sure if they were dumber than he was, so he never gave away the staff.
Then one day he was called back to the castle.
He was ushered into the master’s bedroom, where the master was on his deathbed.
He told the servant, “I’m going on a long journey.”
The servant asked, “When will you be back?”
The master replied that he would not return.
The servant asked, “Well, sir, have you got everything prepared for your journey?”
The master said, “No, I’ve not really made much preparation for it.”
The servant asked, “Could you have made preparation?
Could you have sent something on?”
The master said, “Yes, I guess I had a lifetime to do that, but I was just busy about other things.”
The servant went on, “Then you won’t be back to the castle, to the lands, to the animals?”
The master said he wouldn’t be back.
The legend says that the servant took the staff which he had carried for all those years and said to the master, “Here, you take the staff.
I finally met a man who was more stupid than myself.”
We’re all going to take that journey.
Jesus tells us how to prepare.
Trust Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord, denying self even when it’s hard.
One day you will see Him smile and say, “Well done!” Then it will be worth it all!
We may not walk to the martyr’s stake, but we must walk in the Master’s steps.
(AND FOLLOW ME)
Our final stipulation is follow me.
The word “follow” means “to take the same road as another does.”
It is used to describe the relationship between and instrumentalist and their instrument case.
It is, “Let him follow with Me.”
The idea is not that of following behind another, but that of accompanying the other person, taking the same road that he takes and fellowshipping with him along that road.
Jesus is not asking us to blaze our own trail.
He is saying; “here’s the way walk in it”.
Jesus said, "Follow Me." Jesus did not say, "Follow a set of rules" or "Follow a series of rituals."
He said, "Follow Me." Discipleship is an intensely personal pursuit.
Make no mistake about it.
Being a disciple of Jesus is more than adding a new set of activities to your already busy life.
Being a disciple of Jesus is first and foremost a response to His call to pursue Him passionately.
The call "Follow Me" is the essence, heartbeat, challenge, and adventure of discipleship.
It is a formal challenge to live with, learn from, and study under King Jesus.
It is a call to be close to Him, obey His teachings, take the same path He takes, and walk the same road He walked.
It involves daily growth and development at the expense of personal comfort.
It demands absolute abandonment of all else in order to pursue Jesus fully.
Somebody asked Dr. Tozer, "What does it mean to take up your cross?
What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?"
He said, "Three things.
Number one: a man who is crucified is facing only one way.
Number two: a man who is crucified is not going back.
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