Disciple Destiny Part 2: Matthew 16:24

Introduction

Attention:

Many of you know that we have a cat named S’mores (check out this picture of him)

One thing that you need to know about S’mores is that he follows Samie and I around everywhere

And when I say everywhere, I do really mean EVERYWHERE; to bed, the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, etc.

And most of the time, its neat and all, but then he starts trying to get ahead of you so that he can scratch at your feet as you walk by

I think that my and Samie’s feet are literally scarred at this point

But anyways, I tell you this to say that being a follower is a big part of what it means to be a disciple

Disciples followed their Rabbi everywhere back in the day

Jesus’ disciples (the 12) followed Him during His earthly ministry

We follow Jesus as we live as His disciples by embracing His teachings

Tonight, we are going to be looking at Matthew 16:24, where we will see the role of a disciple as a follower laid out before us.

Need:

You need to hear this tonight because its easy for us to forget our intended destination

It is hard for us to follow after Jesus in our schools and in our communities because of our culture

We worry about what might happen to our popularity if we took this following Jesus stuff more seriously

God has built you to be a follower. It is your destiny to follow, so we need to talk about what it looks like to do that.

Transition Question: What is something that it is hard for you to practice self-control with?

Body

The Big Idea: A disciple follows

The Question: How does a disciple follow?

1. Self-Denial

Cross-Taking

Walking-After

Matthew 16:24 (NLT)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

Explanation:

Jesus speaks to His disciples (“said”)

There is a conversation happening; a converation about their new title

He is talking to His primary disciples (the 12) about being a disciple

Remember: This is the primary word that the NT writers use to describe Christians!

Notice the word “if”

This word indicates that this is a conditional phrase

A conditional phrase is essentially saying “in order for this to happen, this must happen first”

And the first thing that has to happen first is self-denial, aka “giving up your own way.”

What exactly does it mean to deny yourself?

R.T. France: “To renounce his right to life.”

This is in contrast to the majority of Jewish people at this time: “The Jews renounced the messiah; his followers renounce themselves” (D.A. Carson)

David Platt put it this way: “You die to yourself by putting aside self-righteousness, self-indulgence, and everything that belongs to you-your desires, your ambitions, your thoughts, your dreams, and your possessions.”

A disciple is a denier!

Illustration:

There is nobody that has a better understanding of self-denial than successful dieters

My biggest weakness health-wise with food is the milkshake

This especially demonstrated itself whenever I would go to Cookout when I was at Liberty

The only thing that I could eat meal-wise at cookout was a tray with pulled pork and fries

And that was always plenty enough to fill me up, but man… those cookout milkshakes

My favorite is the Reese’s flavor. It is one of the best things that I have ever tasted in my life

As I prepared this illustration in my office, my mouth starting watering (no joke)

But I knew that it was both better for my health and better for my wallet if I practiced self-denial

Following requires self-denial. We have to fight against letting our own selfish desires get in the way of us following our Lord and Savior

Application:

Which part of yourself do you deny the least?

Maybe it’s watching, listening, and/or looking at stuff that you shouldn’t

Maybe it is being unkind

Maybe its being more concerned about how you are going to get through the day than how someone else is

How tightly are you holding onto your own way of doing things?

How do you respond to criticism?

Are you okay with being wrong?

Give into growth.

What do you need to start and/or stop doing in order to deny yourself and follow Jesus more closely?

Discipleship is key here

Transition statement: Denying yourself also means picking up your cross

Transition question: What is one of the heaviest things that you’ve ever carried?

The Big Idea: A disciple follows

The Question: How does a disciple follow?

*three answers that describe the same thing*

Self-Denial

2. Cross-Taking

Walking-After

Matthew 16:24 (NLT)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

Explanation:

In the verses preceding this one, Jesus alludes to His future crucifixion

This is something that was incredibly hard for the disciples to grasp.

Peter went as far as to rebuke Jesus for it! But it was His fate nonetheless

But what Jesus does here is also hard to swallow: He says that its not just Jesus that is to carry a cross; they are supposed to as well. But what does that mean?

Jesus is not warning them of persecution; he’s warning them of a death of some kind

R.T. France: “To take up the cross is to set off for public execution, not to suffer patiently some irritation.”

D.A. Carson: Carrying the cross was “a burden and a sign of death.”

But is this death literal/physical? Not necessarily. The way that David Platt describes it is helpful.

David Platt: You are a dead man walking! “Your life as you once knew it is now over.”

Disciples don’t just deny themselves; disciples die to themselves

This is beyond self-denial

This is to acknowledge and live out the fact that your life doesn’t belong to you anymore

This is to say, “Jesus, I will do WHATEVER IT TAKES for your Kingdom and Yours alone!”

Illustration:

Imagine what it would look like to pick up a cross and walk with it.

Crosses weighed well over 300 pounds

So you wouldn’t just carry this thing; you’d probably take a few steps and then Fall, ESPECIALLY if you, like Jesus, were already beaten beyond human recognition

The cross is heavy. The cross is burdensome. Carrying it takes great effort.

But cross-carrying is a transformational lifestyle that shows that you belong to someone greater than anyone could ever think or imagine.

Application:

How far are you willing to go for what you believe in?

Are you willing to feel a little awkward in order to share the Gospel with somebody?

Are you willing to leave your comfort zone in order to do something that God wants you to do?

Are you willing to be made fun of to stand up for something that’s right?

Where is your cross?

Is it on your shoulders on the sidewalk?

When was the last time that you put a lot of effort into your faith? (bible reading, sharing the Gospel, etc).

What is it going to take for you to pick up your cross and follow after Jesus like you never have before?

Transition statement: You don’t just pick up your cross and stand still; you pick it up and go where Jesus is going.

Transition question: What famous locations have you been to?

The Big Idea: A disciple follows

The Question: How does a disciple follow?

Self-Denial

Cross-Taking

3. Walking-After

Matthew 16:24 (NLT)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

Explanation:

Let’s dive a little deeper into the word “follow”

The Greek word is ἀκολουθέω; take a look at it here on the screen!

This word is used in the Old Testament to both describe someone literally following someone physically, and it is also used to describe the process of being a disciple spiritually

For the 12, both of these were a reality (except for Judas); they followed Jesus physically, but the reason that they were doing that is because they were following Him spiritually

Following Jesus spiritually results in you following him physically

Does that mean that, within this life, we can find the physical Jesus and follow Him around? Of course not.

But what it does mean is this; following Jesus requires us to go places

Does that mean you have to move to a foreign country in order to follow Jesus? No, but it means that you need to be willing to if that’s what God wants

AND it does mean being involved with missions both nationally and internationally in some way! (trips, etc).

Obviously international stuff is good, but let’s get a little more practical for you guys right now

What does it look like to follow Jesus at your schools?

To walk over to the student that nobody’s talking to and to get to know him

To walk over to that person who mistreated you and to extend forgiveness

Where would Jesus have gone in your schools? What would He have done? THAT’S what you need to do

Illustration:

Take a look at this picture: do you know what this is?

Yep these are the Rocky Steps!

I had a chance to walk on these for the first time when I worked as a FUGE staffer in Philly in 2014

There is something very surreal about being in the same place that you know somebody famous has been here; it’s like “wow, this is where it really happened.”

People say the same thing about going to visit Israel; being able to see where Jesus lived and did His ministry is an incredible thing to behold

But the great thing about being His disciple is that, whenever we die to self and serve others, we are doing what Jesus would do; we are following Him in His footsteps

Application:

Where has Jesus been trying to get you to follow Him to?

Maybe there’s something in your life that you need to let go of, but you’re just afraid to follow Jesus into that place if you are being honest

What is it going to take you to drop everything that hinders you from following Jesus in order to live the life that He wants you to live?

What is it going to take for you to be where Jesus is?

Whenever you do make a decision, honestly ask “what would Jesus do?” (WWJD)

Follow Jesus into your future.

Conclusion

Visualization

Look for Christ, and where you see Him, follow

Application:

Tonight, many of you need to fully surrender to the call to follow Jesus

Maybe this is salvation for the first time, or maybe it is a call to more closely see Christ at work in the world and to follow Him into that

We are going to spend some time in prayer right now… everyone, bow your heads and close your eyes.

PRAY