This sermon explores the Christian call to self-denial, embracing the cross, and committing to discipleship, as a path to truly experiencing Christ's saving grace.
Welcome, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, to our gathering today. We are here, not as strangers or as mere acquaintances, but as a family united in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are gathered, not under the roof of a grand cathedral or the canopy of the sky, but under the banner of His unfailing grace. We are here, not to fulfill a routine or to check off a religious obligation, but to draw closer to the One who first loved us.
Today, we will turn our hearts and minds to the book of Mark, chapter 8, verses 31 to 38. Let's read together:
'He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. 'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.' Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.'
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see a life that was marked by self-denial. He left the glory of heaven to come to earth. He was born in a stable, not a palace. He lived a life of service, not of privilege. He chose to go to the cross, not to a throne. He did all this not for His own sake, but for ours.
This is the example that we are called to follow. But what does it mean to deny ourselves? It means to say no to our own desires, our own plans, our own ambitions, and instead, to say yes to God's will, God's plan, God's purpose for our lives. It means to put God first, others second, and ourselves last. It means to live not for our own glory, but for the glory of God.
Now, this is not an easy thing to do. Our natural inclination is to put ourselves first. We want to do what we want to do, when we want to do it, how we want to do it. But the call to follow Jesus is a call to deny ourselves, to put aside our own desires and to seek first the kingdom of God.
How do we do this? How do we deny ourselves in a world that tells us to put ourselves first, to look out for number one, to do whatever makes us happy? The answer is found in the words of Jesus Himself. He said, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'
Taking up our cross means to embrace the life that God has called us to live, even when it's hard, even when it's painful, even when it doesn't make sense. It means to trust God in the midst of trials, to cling to Him in the midst of storms, to rely on Him in the midst of uncertainty. It means to live not by sight, but by faith.
Following Jesus means to walk in His footsteps, to live as He lived, to love as He loved, to serve as He served. He lived to seek the lost, to care for the needy, to stand up for the oppressed. Just like Him, we can speak the truth in love, forgive as we have been forgiven, and show grace as we have been shown grace. To live not for ourselves, but for the One who gave His life for us.
As we move forward, we find ourselves on the path of the cross, a path that is marked by dying to one’s self ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
Sermon Central
