INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Well, you are back, last week was a difficult message to absorb, I hope last week’s message was enlightening and challenging for each of us. It was for me.
• As we continue with our series, DISCOVERING DISCIPLESHIP, each week will be a challenge for each of us to go deeper down the rabbit hole with Jesus.
• Jesus has this considerable crowd following Him. The religious leaders were jealous of the masses that Jesus was attracting.
• As Jesus looked back at the current crowd that was following Him, He was troubled.
• As we touched on last week, because He has a large following, today we would say what is He concerned about?
• Why wouldn’t He water down the message to keep the crowds large?
• Jesus is troubled. Does Jesus want large crowds following Him? ABSOLUTELY!
• But looking into the crowd, Jesus knew that within that large crowd were people who were not there for reasons other than wanting to be His disciple.
• Some were in that position by choice, others because they did not understand the real cost of discipleship, so Jesus being Jesus, shares what it means to be a disciple.
• In the Luke 14, which are looking at together for this next few weeks, Jesus lays out some stuff that seems impossible for anyone to do.
• One's own, it is impossible to do; however, if we can grasp the first concept we examined last week, loving Jesus so much that our love for others looks like hate, we will be well on our way.
• We also have an ace in the hole, the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in our life when we are in Christ that will empower us to do what is impossible to do on our own strength.
• Today we are going to continue in our quest to discover discipleship as we examine Luke 14:27 together.
• After what we looked at last week, can it get much more difficult? ?
• Something we need to keep in mind.
• Having the opportunity to go to Heaven when this life is over, having the blessings God has to offer to us in this life, along with the peace and joy a relationship with Jesus can bring, makes the whatever God calls us to do with the effort.
• I know some of you are dealing with some challenging circumstances. Life is not comfortable all the time, and for some, it seems like it is never easy.
• But let me ask those of us who are struggling with life, those of us who are stressed trying to control the difficulties that life has laid before you right now.
• How is being stressed and working out, does it make things better or worse? Jesus has a better way.
• Let’s see what Jesus has in store for us today!
• SLIDE #2
• Luke 14:27 (CSB) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. The call to carry your own cross.
• After Jesus shares the easy task of loving Him so much that your love for your family looks like hate in comparison, Jesus moves on to some easy territory now. ?
• Whoever does not bear his own cross!
• What does Jesus mean when He says this?
• How many times have you heard someone use this expression, such and such is my cross to bear?
• If you hear my wife tell you, that’s Jeff, he is my cross to bear.
• When you hear that, I am thinking that would not be said if she thought I was a great husband.
• We see this statement as meaning the cross we bear is something that is unpleasant.
• When the kids were young or teens, did you ever think that they were your cross to bear? ?
• I am sure that is not the context Jesus uses this thought.
• There are a couple of simple words in this part of the verse that are important to grasp.
• First the word BEAR.
• The word means to pick up, to carry, to support. The word carry works well.
• This implies that I HAVE TO CARRY. I cannot get someone else to do the heavy lifting for me.
• In my home, I am called to be the spiritual leader of my home, I cannot pass off the child rearing and the children’s spiritual growth to my wife.
• Someone else cannot do the carrying for me so that my life would appear to be more comfortable.
• This word to BEAR or carry denotes a willingness to carry NO MATTER what the circumstances, no matter what the consequences. I must be willing in the extreme to carry even unto death.
• To be a disciple of Jesus, I have to carry or bear my own cross no matter what the cost.
• The second small word is OWN!
• What this implies is that when it comes down to it, no matter how much we do for others, we have to carry our own cross, we cannot carry other people's crosses we have to first carry ours; obviously, we can help but not at the expense of carrying our own cross.
• We have to make sure we are spiritually charged if we spend all of our time trying to carry the cross of others, that we will forget to carry our own.
• Jesus’ audience was well aware of what He was telling them here, they knew what it meant.
• When the Romans led a criminal to his execution site, the criminal would be forced to carry the cross on which they would die.
• This showed submission to Rome and warned observers that they had better submit too. Jesus gave this teaching to get the crowds to think through their enthusiasm for him.
• He encouraged those who were superficial either to go deeper or to turn back. Following Christ means total submission to him—perhaps even to the point of death. (LIFE APPLICATION BIBLE COMMENTARY- LUKE)
• To carry our own cross means that we are willing to give it all everything for the cause of Christ, we will sacrifice whatever we need to for the purpose of Christ.
• From a spiritual standpoint, it means we will die to self-every day for Jesus!
• SLIDE #4
• Galatians 2:20 (CSB) I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
• When you think about Jesus’ demand for being loved over all else, it takes that kind of love to put Him ahead of self.
• One other thought, the word OWN also tells us that we will all not have the same cross to bear.
• Let’s look at verse 27 again.
• SLIDE #5
• Luke 14:27 (CSB) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
• SLIDE #6
II. The call to pursue Jesus.
• Well, Jesus tells us we are bear or carry our own cross, now what, where are we to go with the cross we carry?
• and come after me
• To come after Jesus means to follow Him, to seek him.
• We can’t just go where ever we want to go, we are called by Jesus to pursue Him!
• To come to Him means we move our life toward Him, that we orient ourselves to Him.
• SLIDE #7
• Matthew 16:24 (CSB) Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
• In this verse He uses the term follow me, it is the same root word that is used in Luke 14:27.
• Ultimately, if one wants to be a disciple of Jesus, they have to follow and pursue Jesus.
• This means that when we teach and preach at FCC, we have to be leading people to Jesus, we have to be helping people to find Jesus so they can follow Him.
• The last thing we need in the church is hero preacher worship, where folks are following the celebrity preacher instead of Jesus.
• Jesus did not make following Him sound very easy.
• For many in the crowd, this would have been too much for them to handle.
• For the disciples who were seeking a special position in Jesus’ kingdom, these would have been hard words to hear.
• Denying one's self and personal desires and taking up their cross is not what that bargained for.
• Following Jesus requires a willingness to let go of selfish desires, I am no longer master of my domain, Jesus is!
• My life is hidden in Christ and found in Christ.
• Let’s take one more look at our verse today.
• SLIDE #8
• Luke 14:27 (CSB) Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
• SLIDE #9
III. The call not to fail.
• This is where it gets really hardcore, if we will not do these things, then we CANNOT BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS!
• Are you thinking what I am thinking, there is no way I can do this, last week was tough, this week is tough.
• So, the question that used to run through my mind when I read this years ago was, why did Jesus give us something that seems impossible to do.
• Why would He give me an impossible seemingly impossible task to do IF I am going to be His disciple?
• The answer is simple, on my own, I cannot do these things, and if I could, instead of being grateful for my salvation and for my relationship with Jesus, I would feel entitled, arrogant, and not appreciative because I earned it on my own.
• Jesus wants me to be ALL IN with Him, anything less will not cut it.
• My life should be on a trajectory toward Jesus! Each day I should love Him more, each day I should submit more of myself to Him and His will because as I love Him more, I will trust Him more.
• Jesus is laying out the expectations, and He offers us the expectations, HE will empower us to be able to do this by the power of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit we receive when we are baptized into Christ!
• Through the Spirit, we can do this, and as we grow we realize more and more that by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit working within us we can be victorious in Christ!
• In the later part of Roman's 8, Paul talks about how God did not spare His own Son but offered Him up for us.
• He speaks of how we are justified in Christ and how nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not affliction, not persecution, not distress famine nakedness, danger or the sword. Then he gives us this jewel in verse 37.
• SLIDE #10
• Romans 8:37 (CSB) No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
• We will have victory in Jesus!
CONCLUSION
• Being a disciple of Jesus is not easy, but we are not left alone to try it on our own.
• We have the Holy Spirit to help us, and we have each other!
• God will help you to be more than a conqueror in Christ!
• Next week, Jerry will take us to the next part of this series when he examines the concept of calculating the cost of following Jesus!
