Refocusing on Our Cross

This morning we are continuing our series on Refocus, so far in this series we have seen that we need to refocus our passion, we need to refocus on who Jesus is, we need to refocus in order to not hinder God, and then last week Pastor Wayne preached on Refocusing our heart and that we must have love, our motto here is Real Love Begins with Christ, and we must refocus our hearts on love, in order that we are sharing that love with others.

Today is the fifth week in the series of Refocus, and we will be looking in Matthew 16, as we look at the last five verses of the chapter and look at refocusing on our cross.

To just refresh our memory a little, at the end of chapter 15 of Matthew, Jesus had feed the four thousand people, then at the beginning of ch 16 he warns the disciples about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, then Jesus asks the disciples who do people or the world say that I am? Then He asks them well who do you or the church say that I am? Peter responds with, you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. But then shortly after as Jesus is predicting his own death and resurrection to the disciples, Peter rebukes Jesus for it, and says oh no, Lord, this will never happen to you. Jesus tells Peter get behind me Satan, you are a hindrance.

Now Jesus is going to talk to the disciples about truly following him, about what it cost to be a disciple of his, and he tells them to take up their cross.

This morning we are going to look at Matthew 16:24-28 at Refocusing on our Cross.

If you are able will you stand with me in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

Matthew 16:24–28 CSB

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

I. Surrender V. 24

The first thing we see from our text this morning is in verse 24 is if we are going to refocus on our cross, we must surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:24 CSB

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

Jesus has just finished rebuking Peter for rebuking him, and Peter was thinking in the natural or flesh and not in the spiritual or God’s ways.

Now he addresses the disciples, telling them if anyone, not just the disciples, but anyone, therefore, that includes me and you today also.

Jesus says, if anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself - that is surrender our will, our wants, our desires, our dreams, everything about ourselves to follow after him, because it is no longer about us, but it is about Him.

Jesus continues on with take up your cross, Jesus first mentioned the cross to the disciples in the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 10 verse 38.

Matthew 10:38 CSB

38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Today we hear so much about God is love, Jesus loves you, and even our motto here is Real Love Begins with Christ. And don’t miss understand what I am trying to get across here, Yes God and Jesus is love, they are the meaning of love.

If we look at the whole context of Matthew 10:38 we will see more what I am saying here.

Matthew 10:32–39 CSB

32 “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven. 34 Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.

Jesus is speaking to the twelve disciples as he is preparing them to go out among the world to serve as his ambassadors, that is to go out and share in the ministry.

He tells them everyone who will acknowledge me or who will confess me before others, I will also confess them before my Father in heaven.

If you deny him before others, he will deny you before the Father in heaven.

He says, do not assume that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

He continues there, with a man against his father, right down the list, the man’s enemies will be the members of his household.

The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, son or daughter, is not worthy of me.

Now how is that love, no peace, not loving our parents and children - how is that love, God/Jesus is supposed to be love, but yet he is telling us he is bringing division, and we are to love him more than our parents and children.

God/Jesus is love, but we must understand that when we put God/Jesus first place in our lives it will cause division, it will cause unrest, it will cause conflict in our lives.

We are to love God/Jesus more than anything else in our lives, that includes our parents, our children, our spouse, even our own lives.

Jesus says in our main text and then there in Matthew 16:24 that we have to take up our cross, in 10:38 he tells us if we we do not take up our cross we are not worthy of him.

To the disciples the word cross would have evoked a picture of violence and degrading death. Jesus was demanding total commitment from them - even unto physical death - and making this call to full surrender a part of the message they were to proclaim to others.

This same call to life or death devotion to Christ is repeated multiple times throughout the Gospels. For those who come to Christ with self-renouncing, that is self-surrendering faith, there will be true and eternal life.

Your cross has to do with your public identification with Jesus. To bear your cross is to endure hardship specifically because you are a visible and verbal follower of him.

If you are unwilling to do that, you are unworthy of Christ - that is, your relationship is distant.

in order to refocus on our cross we have to surrender our will, our wants, our ways, our lives to Jesus as Lord of our lives.

II. Loss Vs. 25-26

Matthew 16:25–26 CSB

25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 26 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

Here we must keep these verses in context, and remember that Jesus is talking to the disciples, and more specifically he is addressing Peter, yes this is meant for all of us, but when he was speaking he was addressing Peter, just after Peter had rebuked him for prophesying about his coming death and resurrection.

Jesus says there, whoever wants to save his life will lose it, now we at times think he is speaking about the person that will not gain salvation, but that is not the case here, again he is addressing Peter.

Peter was already a follower of Jesus, therefore, he is telling Peter, that whoever wants to save his own will, his own ways, his own dreams, his own, goals, his own desires, his own life, will lose the life that God/Jesus has for them, the will, the plan, the ways, the blessings, the rewards that God/Jesus has in store for them.

But Jesus continues with, whoever loses his life because of me, that is whoever is willing to deny themselves, whoever is willing to loss their own will, loss their own dreams, their own ways, their own goals, their own desires, loss their life for Jesus will find it, that is they will find the will, the way, the plan, the blessings, the rewards that God/Jesus has in store for them.

In verse 26, Jesus says what will it benefit someone if you gain the whole world, yet loses their life?

Another words, what good is it to gain worldly stuff, like millions of dollars, a huge house, brand new vehicles, all this materialistic stuff all while losing spiritual blessings and the peace that makes life worth living.

We have all heard the saying you cannot take it with you, and at the end what does it matter how big our savings account is, or how many collector cars we have, or how big our house is, to me the bigger the house the more there is to clean and maintain, but we cannot take it with us, while not use our earthly goods to grow the kingdom of God.

Jesus asks another question there in verse 26, what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

If we think we can go through this life and gain all the world has, and then when we step in front of Jesus at judgment, because we will all no matter if we are saved or not, will stand before Jesus.

Hebrews 9:27 CSB

27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—

We will all stand before Jesus and face judgment, and when we do, it does not matter what our checking, savings, 401K, IRA, or any other account shows here on earth, the only thing at that point that matters is if we have the blood of the lamb, which will determine our eternal destination, will we live eternally in Heaven or Hell.

Jesus said what will you exchange for your life?

Refocusing on our cross is to loss our will, our wants, our desires, and surrender to Jesus will, and plan for our life, and follow after him.

III. Reward Vs. 27-28

Matthew 16:27–28 CSB

27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. 28 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Jesus says to the disciples the Son of Man, here Jesus is referring to himself as the Son of Man, he says, is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, Jesus is not speaking of the rapture here but of his actual second coming at the end of time.

Jesus says in the last chapter of the Bible in Revelation 22:12

Revelation 22:12 CSB

12 “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.

Jesus will separate the believers and the unbelievers sending the unbelievers to eternal fire with Satan and his demons.

Matthew 25:31–34 CSB

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 25:41 CSB

41 “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!

Therefore, Jesus will separate the believer from the unbeliever, the unbeliever is sent to Hell, the believer will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, but as believers we also receive rewards, those rewards are based on how we use the gifts and talents that God has given us, how faithful and obedient we are during this life.

Paul speaking on this very thing, in 1 Corinthians 3 is talking about how he planted, Apollos watered, but it is God the gives the growth.

See I can go out and plant a corn seed, but I cannot make that seed grow, I can water it, I can fertilize it, but there is nothing I can do to make it actually germinate and grow, only God can do that.

The same is with the seed of the Gospel, we can plant - that is share it, water it, fertilize it, tend it, do all these things, we can tell people about Jesus, but it is only God the Father that draws a person to Jesus for salvation.

But the part I want us to see there is I Corinthians 3:12-15

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 CSB

12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.

Paul is talking about the work we are doing for God/Jesus, are we truly doing kingdom work, or we just putting on a show?

I can take straw, hay, and wood and dress it up like gold, silver and costly stones, but once it goes through the fire it will be revealed to what it really is, that it was a fake.

See when we stand before Jesus to have our life reviewed, the things that we are supposed to be doing, the things he has called us to do, will be tried in the fire, if we are just dressing them up, if we are just putting on a show, trying to make people think we are some great christian person, when in reality, we are not truly following Jesus as Lord like he has called us too, it will be revealed in the fire.

That wood, hay, and straw will burn up, it does not matter how well you have dressed it up, it does not matter how well you have fooled me and the church, God sees the heart, He knows your true worth and that is what matters.

Once we have been reviewed, we will be reward according to our faithfulness and obedience to what God has called us to do.

In verse 28, Jesus tells the disciples there are some who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man, Jesus is speaking of himself there, he says, coming in his kingdom.

Here Jesus was telling the disciples that there was some of them that would see him in his splendor or glory before they tasted death, and that would happen very shortly from that point.

In the very next chapter, we are told after six days, Jesus took Peter, James and John which is what we call Jesus inner circle.

Jesus takes these three men, his inner circle up to the top of this mountain, which is not named, where he is transfigured or transformed, he changes if you will into his heavenly body for this meeting with Moses and Elijah.

Therefore, Peter, James and John the inner circle have seen Jesus in his glory, in his splendor before tasting of death.

When we refocus on our cross, it will bring eternal rewards.

The cross has become to some an idol, to others it is what represents their faith, we have crosses in here, and yes some could even say we have idolized it, and it does represent the sacrifice Jesus has made for us, but we also need to refocus on our cross - to surrender our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and to understand that we need to be willing to loss all we have and all that we are, and even our life in order to follow Jesus as his disciples, in that when we do there are rewards waiting for us in eternity.

But our cross is like the cross of Christ, it is a torture device, it is meant for death, and we have to die to self in order to follow Jesus.

Are you ready to refocus on your cross, in order to fully surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ even if it means losing your life?