Take Up Your Cross
Take Up Your Cross
Matthew 16:24 KJV
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Matthew 16:24 Amplified
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]."
So, there is three things that Jesus said that are requirements to being a true disciple.
1: One must deny himself.
2: One must take up his cross.
3: One must follow Him.
Denying yourself is the first thing we must do in order to pick up our crosses and follow Christ!
To "deny yourself" is to renounce self-centeredness, surrendering personal will, rights, and comforts to make God the center of our life.
To deny yourself means surrendering personal control and rejecting the idea that life revolves around our own desires.
It involves dying to selfish toxic patterns, to follow Him, prioritizing spiritual purpose over worldly desires, rather than merely abstaining from pleasures.
Self-denial for the Christian means renouncing ones self as the center of existence and recognizing Jesus Christ as one’s new and true center.
It means acknowledging that the old self is dead and the new life is now hidden with Christ in God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
From the moment of our new birth into Jesus Christ, self-denial becomes a daily exercise for the rest of this life on earth.
To deny oneself for Jesus means to give up one's bad habits; to root out of the heart all that ties us to the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Self-denial means voluntarily yielding one's own will, desires, and selfish ambitions to submit fully to God's will and follow Jesus.
To deny yourself also means to let him give up all, he must disregard himself, let him forsake himself, let him disown himself, crucifying our flesh.
You have to give God all of your heart, not just some of your heart, not just what you are willing to give up but hang on to somethings that you really don’t want to let go of.
You have to love God with all of your heart, which is your desires, your will, and your emotions. Love God with all of your mind, which is your intellect, understanding, and reasoning. Love him deep down in your soul which is your life force, inner self, or spiritual essence.
And love him with all of your strength, which is referring to physical energy, resources, and capabilities.
His will and his plan and his desire for my life has got to be more important to me
than my own will, my own plans and own desires.
His desire for my life needs to become my desire, my goal has got to be to be a servant of the Most High and to walk in a way that is well pleasing to him!
True discipleship begins when we choose Christ above ourselves.
It is about transforming one's devotion from self-love to love for God.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
My love for God in my life must increase and my love for myself must decrease!
Without God being the center of my life, my life would have no meaning, my life without God would have no purpose, no direction, no joy and no peace and only a selfish love for myself.
Denying yourself means seeking the good of others before looking out for yourself. When Ruth followed Naomi, she practiced self-denial for the benefit of her mother-in-law. When Esther put her life at risk to save her people, she demonstrated self-denial.
Isaiah 6:8 KJV
The prophet Isaiah said, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." - Another example of self-denial.
He had no idea of what he was signing up for, he was ready to pay the cost no matter what it cost him! No matter what he has to suffer, here am I; send me!
Matthew 26:39 KJV speaking of Jesus
"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." - Jesus denying Himself.
Matthew 16:25 Amplified For "Whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. Whoever lives a life of self-gratification will lose his eternal life; whoever puts to death the sinful deeds of the body will gain eternal life!"
Clinging to selfish desires results in losing one's true, eternal life. But, surrendering one's life to follow Jesus leads to finding true purpose, freedom, and spiritual life.
Matthew 16:26 Amplified
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Even though the call is tough the reward is beyond measure.
Following Jesus is easy when life is going along smoothly, true commitment to Him is revealed though trials. Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost. He said " In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Are you willing? Following Jesus doesn’t mean that you will give your very life (although that may be required by some), but if there was to come a time where you have to make a choice of the comforts of this life or following Jesus, which will you choose?
Matthew 6:24 Amplified “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]. You cannot serve God and material things [at the same time]. You cannot serve God and riches. You have to Love God more than your money, more than anything you possess. Your love and dedication and alliance toward God has got to be above everything. Anything you put above God becomes your God. And God said I will have no other Gods before me!
God is not telling us that we can’t have what we are in need of, or that we cannot have the desires of our heart, if you finish reading chapter 6 in Matthew he explains that God knows what you have need of. But He said in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things that you have need of will be given to you." For God said that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory! But He wants you to trust in him, not your riches.
Are you willing step out of your comfort zone and do what you have been called to do? Are you willing to make the sacrifice? Do you love Him enough to submit your full alliance and say "Here I am Lord use me!" He said to Peter, "Remember that I have called you to be a fisher of men and not a fisher of fish."
We all need to examine our own hearts and ask God to open our eyes to any area of our life that we need to make changes in, because we can’t submit what we do not recognize. You can’t surrender what you are unaware of? Spending time examining our hearts, studying our motives, desires, and sin, is not only permissible in discipleship, but necessary to do it.
There are no halfway measures in following Christ. It’s all or nothing. By definition, it’s not a hobby but total and complete allegiance to Him in every corner of the heart.
You can find people all day long that say they are Christians and that they love God. But they have no real commitment to Him, no true dedication and are not will to sacrifice anything of their time, their comfort, and especially their money.
They won't give God the time of day, unless they are in need of something for themselves.
Jesus said, "They honor me with their lips: but their heart is far from me."
Make sure that your love and dedication to God is not compromised with the things of this world!
Make sure that at the end of your life and when you stand before God, He can say to you, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Matthew 16:24 Amplified
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]."
So, there is three things that Jesus said that are requirements to being a true disciple.
1: One must deny himself.
2: One must take up his cross.
3: One must follow Him.
Denying yourself is the first thing we must do in order to pick up our crosses and follow Christ!
To "deny yourself" is to renounce self-centeredness, surrendering personal will, rights, and comforts to make God the center of our life.
To deny yourself means surrendering personal control and rejecting the idea that life revolves around our own desires.
It involves dying to selfish toxic patterns, to follow Him, prioritizing spiritual purpose over worldly desires, rather than merely abstaining from pleasures.
Self-denial for the Christian means renouncing ones self as the center of existence and recognizing Jesus Christ as one’s new and true center.
It means acknowledging that the old self is dead and the new life is now hidden with Christ in God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
From the moment of our new birth into Jesus Christ, self-denial becomes a daily exercise for the rest of this life on earth.
To deny oneself for Jesus means to give up one's bad habits; to root out of the heart all that ties us to the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Self-denial means voluntarily yielding one's own will, desires, and selfish ambitions to submit fully to God's will and follow Jesus.
To deny yourself also means to let him give up all, he must disregard himself, let him forsake himself, let him disown himself, crucifying our flesh.
You have to give God all of your heart, not just some of your heart, not just what you are willing to give up but hang on to somethings that you really don’t want to let go of.
You have to love God with all of your heart, which is your desires, your will, and your emotions. Love God with all of your mind, which is your intellect, understanding, and reasoning. Love him deep down in your soul which is your life force, inner self, or spiritual essence.
And love him with all of your strength, which is referring to physical energy, resources, and capabilities.
His will and his plan and his desire for my life has got to be more important to me
than my own will, my own plans and own desires.
His desire for my life needs to become my desire, my goal has got to be to be a servant of the Most High and to walk in a way that is well pleasing to him!
True discipleship begins when we choose Christ above ourselves.
It is about transforming one's devotion from self-love to love for God.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
My love for God in my life must increase and my love for myself must decrease!
Without God being the center of my life, my life would have no meaning, my life without God would have no purpose, no direction, no joy and no peace and only a selfish love for myself.
Denying yourself means seeking the good of others before looking out for yourself. When Ruth followed Naomi, she practiced self-denial for the benefit of her mother-in-law. When Esther put her life at risk to save her people, she demonstrated self-denial.
Isaiah 6:8 KJV
The prophet Isaiah said, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." - Another example of self-denial.
He had no idea of what he was signing up for, he was ready to pay the cost no matter what it cost him! No matter what he has to suffer, here am I; send me!
Matthew 26:39 KJV speaking of Jesus
"And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." - Jesus denying Himself.
Matthew 16:25 Amplified For "Whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity]. Whoever lives a life of self-gratification will lose his eternal life; whoever puts to death the sinful deeds of the body will gain eternal life!"
Clinging to selfish desires results in losing one's true, eternal life. But, surrendering one's life to follow Jesus leads to finding true purpose, freedom, and spiritual life.
Matthew 16:26 Amplified
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Even though the call is tough the reward is beyond measure.
Following Jesus is easy when life is going along smoothly, true commitment to Him is revealed though trials. Discipleship demands sacrifice, and Jesus never hid that cost. He said " In this world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
Are you willing? Following Jesus doesn’t mean that you will give your very life (although that may be required by some), but if there was to come a time where you have to make a choice of the comforts of this life or following Jesus, which will you choose?
Matthew 6:24 Amplified “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]. You cannot serve God and material things [at the same time]. You cannot serve God and riches. You have to Love God more than your money, more than anything you possess. Your love and dedication and alliance toward God has got to be above everything. Anything you put above God becomes your God. And God said I will have no other Gods before me!
God is not telling us that we can’t have what we are in need of, or that we cannot have the desires of our heart, if you finish reading chapter 6 in Matthew he explains that God knows what you have need of. But He said in Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things that you have need of will be given to you." For God said that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory! But He wants you to trust in him, not your riches.
Are you willing step out of your comfort zone and do what you have been called to do? Are you willing to make the sacrifice? Do you love Him enough to submit your full alliance and say "Here I am Lord use me!" He said to Peter, "Remember that I have called you to be a fisher of men and not a fisher of fish."
We all need to examine our own hearts and ask God to open our eyes to any area of our life that we need to make changes in, because we can’t submit what we do not recognize. You can’t surrender what you are unaware of? Spending time examining our hearts, studying our motives, desires, and sin, is not only permissible in discipleship, but necessary to do it.
There are no halfway measures in following Christ. It’s all or nothing. By definition, it’s not a hobby but total and complete allegiance to Him in every corner of the heart.
You can find people all day long that say they are Christians and that they love God. But they have no real commitment to Him, no true dedication and are not will to sacrifice anything of their time, their comfort, and especially their money.
They won't give God the time of day, unless they are in need of something for themselves.
Jesus said, "They honor me with their lips: but their heart is far from me."
Make sure that your love and dedication to God is not compromised with the things of this world!
Make sure that at the end of your life and when you stand before God, He can say to you, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"
Posted in Assoc. Danny Miller
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