YOUR CROSS!
Mark 8:34
The meaning of the cross is often misunderstood. The physical cross is an emblem of suffering and shame. It is a symbol of disgrace. It was the worst possible way to die. It caused the most pain and suffering of any torture devised by man.
I. WHOSOEVER WILL
John 3:16
A. Includes You
B. Includes Your Neighbor
C. Includes Your Friends
D. All Inclusive
E. Does Not Exclude Anyone
II. DENY SELF
Titus 1:6 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
A. Put God First
1. In Your Home
2. In Your Relationships
B. Get Self Out Of The Way
C. Selfish Desires
D. We Live In The Me Generation
E. What’s In It For Me?
III. BEAR YOUR CROSS
A. Your Cross Comes In Many Different Weights and Styles
B. Luke 14:27 “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
C. The believer's cross is not any and every kind of suffering, sickness, or tension.
D. The believer's cross must be, like his Lord's, the price of his social nonconformity. It is the end of a path freely chosen after counting the cost… It is the social reality of representing in an unwilling world the Truths of God’s Word.
E. The cross is the pain involved in doing the will of God.
F. To take up the cross means that you take your stand for the Lord Jesus no matter what it costs. Ex. Popularity, Money, Embarrassment.
G. Are You Willing To Suffer Reproach for the Glory Of God?
IV. FOLLOW JESUS
Matthew 4:19 “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
A. The man with a cross no longer controls his destiny; he lost control when he picked up his cross.
B. Follow me: I am the way, the truth, and the life.
C. Without the way there is no going;
D. Without the truth there is no knowing;
E. Without the life there is no living.
F. To Follow Means To Obey.
The title expression was used in a testimony meeting, following an evangelistic crusade in Brockton, Massachusetts, by Dwight Lyman Moody. A young man stood to speak, and it soon became clear he knew little Christian doctrine. But he finished by saying, “I’m not quite sure - but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” Daniel Towner, who was in the meeting, jotted down the words, and gave them to John Sammis, who developed the lyrics from them.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
