Sacrifice is a word that has the ability to send shivers down the spines of the majority of us. Of course Christians have reconciled themselves to the idea that this is a part of following Jesus. I would venture to say that our understanding of the concept of sacrifice is much different than Jesus’. The question is have we really ever sacrificed for the cause of Christ? In our text Jesus actually goes beyond our idea of sacrifice. When He says that to follow Him, we have to deny ourselves. Now hold on just a minute Jesus, isn’t this a little over the top? I work hard to have what I have, isn’t part of our rights the pursuit of happiness? While our head is still spinning from the deny yourself statement, Jesus tosses out another difficult statement. “You must take up your cross.” If these two statements haven’t done anything else they have gotten our attention. These statements go against our cultural norms and basic inclinations. If we are really honest, we would have to admit that we don’t really know what to do with these statements. In fact, we have a really hard time visualizing what the application of these statements would look like in our lives. As Americans we have little idea of what it means to deny ourselves and in regard to this cross thing we are sort of clueless. So as we bring this series to a close we are going to seek some clarity as we tie everything together that we have studied over the past five weeks. In fact, my goal is when we leave this place we will have a better understanding of what a disciple of Jesus looks like.
I. Why these two statements are extremely hard for us to handle.
A. The modern ideas about Christianity are vastly different from what the Bible teaches.
1. Faith is based on our own feelings, logic and own interpretations of Scripture.
2. Our faith should never offend anyone. If we do offend others then we are the ones wrong.
3. Our goal is to please the world and not offend anyone. We should never say anything to make anyone feel guilty.
4. Compromise so you don’t offend anyone. Follow your heart and own human logic.
5. Change your beliefs and the church to better fit in with the culture.
B. Our natural instincts fight against these two concepts.
1. We by nature seek self-preservation. It’s survival of the fittest, right?
2. We want the approval of others. We want to be accepted and liked.
3. We want to be comfortable and able to enjoy our lives on this earth as well as in eternity.
4. We want our lives to be stress free, pain free and without any inconveniences.
II. Understanding what Jesus meant by denying yourself.
A. Denying one’s self is completely different from the concept known as self-denial.
1. We all have participated in the practice of self-denial. This is when we give up a thing or an activity.
2. A good example of self-denial is dieting.
3. This concept requires that we give up the tendency to seek immediate gratification.
4. What Jesus has in mind when He says to deny yourself is the act of surrendering our lives totally to Him.
5. From a human perspective this means losing our identity. However, in God’s eyes this means finding out who we really are.
B. This concept allows us to turn self-centeredness into God-centeredness.
1. When we deny ourselves we make a significant change in our lives.
2. By nature we are self-centered and our culture feeds this idea.
3. No longer will self be our driving force in life. Jesus Christ will become the object of our affections and the driving force of our lives.
4. It is extremely difficult to replace our own selfish wills with the will of God.
5. With the help of the Holy Spirit we are able to make God’s will the dominant will in our lives.
III. Understanding what Jesus meant by taking up your cross.
A. This concept illustrates the submission and humility that Jesus desires out of His followers.
1. The cross was a very painful and humiliating form of execution.
2. To an audience that was familiar with this horrific form of Roman execution, Jesus’ words bring to mind a disturbing picture.
a. The condemned criminal would be forced to carry the cross beam on his back.
b. The criminal would be paraded past jeering mobs to further enhance the humiliation.
3. To take up the cross was a sign of one’s submission to the authority of the Roman government.
4. This illustrates the total submission that Jesus desires out of those who would choose to follow Him.
B. Jesus is calling us to be willing to endure what He went through for the cause of the Kingdom.
1. To take up your cross is to identify with what Jesus went through.
a. Political oppression
b. Social oppression
c. The possibility of death.
2. So the true disciple would be prepared to obey God’s will regardless of the consequences.
3. This is an idea of totally giving up everything and totally submitting to do whatever God calls us to.
4. Jesus is not calling us to a lifestyle that will be easy. Following Jesus will always carry a high price tag.
C. Jesus’ idea of taking up your cross is much different from the popular ideas of Christians today.
1. Bearing a cross does not simply refer to some irritation that we experience in life.
2. It is more than just an inconvenience; it is willingly deciding to make significant sacrifices for Christ.
3. Following Jesus means to travel the same road that He did and be willing to make the same sacrifices that He did.
4. The blessing is that we are able to enjoy fellowship with Him along the way.
IV. How in the world can we apply these statements to our lives?
A. Are we willing to put everything on the line for the Kingdom?
1. We are called to rearrange our priorities for the cause of Christ in a radical manner.
2. Being a Christian is more than acknowledging it with our words, it must be seen in the way that we live.
3. We follow Jesus by imitating His life and obeying His commands.
4. Our wants, desires, aspirations and life all need to be willingly laid down for Him.
B. We no longer will have the right to determine the direction of our lives.
1. The decision to follow Jesus is a once-for-all act. From the time we commit to follow our life is no longer ours but Christ’s.
2. We must make a moment by moment decision to continue to follow in His steps.
3. Following His will for our lives must take precedence over our own desires.
4. This truly is losing ourselves, but this is not an act of desperation. This is truly an act of devotion.
C. We must be willing to sacrifice rewards now for rewards in the future.
1. Are we willing to surrender immediate gratification to discover the rewards that God has for us in eternity.
2. What does this look like? We will use our time, money and talents in a way that will glorify Christ.
3. We might not see the fruits of our sacrifices in this life time but we will see them in Eternity.
4. This is sacrificing the applause of man to do what we are called to do before an audience of One.
D. We must be willing to stand for Christ regardless of the consequences.
1. Are we prepared to follow Christ regardless of what it might cause us?
2. When people give everything up for the sake of the cross, they will inevitably find more than they could have ever imagined in Christ.
3. Discipleship is a matter of profit and loss. The question is whether we will waste or invest our lives.
4. God will give us opportunities to truly make our lives count. Will we seize each opportunity that He gives?
5. The only question that remains to be answered is this, “What are you going to do with your life?”
Late in the 4th Century, there was a Christian by the name of Telemachus who decided that the only way to protect himself from the corruption of the world and to serve God was by becoming a hermit and living in a desert region.
But one day as he rose from his knees, it dawned upon him that if he wanted to serve God that he must serve men; that by staying in the desert alone he was not serving God, and that the cities were full of people who needed his help. So he bid farewell to the desert and set out for the greatest city in the world, the city of Rome.
Now by this time the terrible persecutions of the first 3 centuries were over. Christianity had won! In fact, Christianity was now the official, approved religion of the Roman Empire. Even the Emperor himself was a Christian. And so were most of the people. At least, in name they were Christians, if not in fact. Being a Christian was the politically correct thing to do, if you wanted to be in favor with the Emperor.
Anyway, Telemachus arrived in Rome at a time when Stilicho, the Roman general, had gained a mighty victory over the Goths. So to Stilicho there was granted a Roman "triumph" with processions and celebrations and games in the Coliseum, with the young Emperor Honorius by his side.
Remember, Rome was supposedly a Christian city, but one thing still lingered from its terrible past. There were still the bloody games in the Coliseum.
Christians were no longer thrown to the lions; but still those captured in war had to fight and kill each other to make a Roman holiday for the people. Still men roared with blood lust as the gladiators fought.
Telemachus found his way to the Coliseum. There were 80,000 people there. The chariot races were ending; and there was tenseness in the crowd as the gladiators prepared to fight. Into the arena they came with their greeting, "Hail, Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!"
The fight was on and Telemachus was appalled. Men for whom Christ had died were killing each other to amuse a supposedly Christian populace. He leaped down into the arena, and stepped between the gladiators, and for a moment they stopped fighting.
"Let the games go on," roared the crowd. The gladiators pushed the old man in the hermit’s robe aside. Again he came between them. The crowd began to hurl stones at him. They urged the gladiators to get him out of the way.
The commander of the games gave an order. A gladiator’s sword rose and stabbed; and Telemachus lay dead. Suddenly the crowd was silent. They were shocked that a holy man should have been killed in such a way. Quite suddenly there was a mass realization of what they had done.
Historians tell us that the games in Rome ended abruptly that day never to begin again. Telemachus, by dying, had ended them.
Gibbon, the great historian, wrote of him, "His death was more useful to mankind than his life." By losing his life he had done more than he could have ever done by living a life of lonely devotion out in the desert.
