MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
This morning I want us to look at a passage of Scripture found in Mark 8:34-35. "Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples & said: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself & take up his cross & follow me.
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me & for the gospel will save it.’"
You have heard this passage of Scripture before, haven’t you? When he talks about us denying ourselves & taking up a cross & following Him – what does that mean?
Well, we’re going to talk about that in just a few moments. But before we do, I believe that we ought to realize 2 things about Jesus.
A. First of all, there is the startling honesty of Jesus. Jesus never tries to bribe us by the offer of an easy life.
ILL. I want to read part of an e-mail received from Tom Hans in Papua, Irian Jaya. As you know, Tom & Rosa, after working for several years there with Mission Aviation Fellowship, have just begun working in that same area with Helimission.
With Helimission he’ll be flying helicopters into areas where MAF’s fixed wing planes are unable to go. It’s a rough & dangerous area, so please continue to remember them in your prayers! Well, here’s a part of what he wrote:
Dear Friends in Christ, Greetings in the name of our Lord from Papua! Please know you are all loved & very much appreciated. Sorry for the delay in getting this first report out. I find I’m spending more time away from home with Helimission than I did with MAF.
Well, it was my first day on the job, & … we hit the ground running … Hans Kummer, our mechanic from Switzerland, & I were invited by this young evangelist to show the Jesus film in a village called Kurima. This is the district whose people performed some of the worst atrocities during the Oct. 2000 riots.
To be able to give my testimony & show the Jesus film in a village of murderers, thieves & plunderers, was quite an opportunity. How could we say no?
We did not fly there, but took a car from Wamena until where the first big bridge is out, & then walked for an hour more over the trail to reach Kurima. The evangelist had arranged for some carriers to help us haul the equipment we were carrying through the streams & over the trail. It was hard going, but we got there!
We did not have as large a turn out as we had hoped. But there were over 200, & we were sure it was whom God wanted there, & seeds were planted.
It rained during the second half of the film so Hans & I sat under umbrellas & a tarp to protect the equipment, while the crowd moved to the porch of the local government office & watched the reverse side of the sheet/screen.
It was also interesting that while we were showing the film, some of the Islamic members of the local military unit held some sort of assembly about 240 feet away. I’m sure our speakers could be heard there by them as well.
We hadn’t planned on spending the night, but because of the rain we did. The evangelist had a friend who allowed us to sleep on the straw floor of his kitchen, next to a hole in the ground with a fire, so it was quite nice.
The next day on the hike over the trail home, the streams were quite high because of the previous night’s rain. At one spot I let one of the local soldiers, assisted by some of the village boys, carry my motorbike across the largest stream & up the steep bank on the far side. We later learned that the half broken down bridge that we used there was completely washed away a few hours later. Thanks Father!
Well, there was more in his e-mail, but I think Tom & many other missionaries have come to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself & take up his cross & follow me.”
It’s not an easy road! And Jesus never sought to lure people to Him by the offer of an easy way.
ILL. Some of you will remember that in the early days of WW2, when Winston Churchill took over the leadership of England, all that he offered his people was "blood, sweat & tears." And that is very much like what Jesus is offering to His followers, too.
B. Secondly, Jesus never calls upon us to do anything that He was not prepared to do Himself. What He asks us to face, He has already faced. And when He calls upon us to take up a cross, He, Himself, has already borne one for us.
That goes against the grain of what the world teaches. The world teaches us that anything that bothers us or becomes difficult, we should avoid. Sadly, some churches seem to have adopted that attitude, too.
And yet, the words of Jesus are still there, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself & take up his cross & follow me."
PROP. What did He mean? What does it mean to "take up" or "bear a cross”? What does the Bible teach about "cross bearing?"
I. CROSS BEARING IS ALWAYS VOLUNTARY
First of all, the Bible tells us that "taking up a cross" is voluntary. Jesus calls us, & challenges us, but it is our decision. Taking up a cross & following Jesus is voluntary.
But I’m afraid that generally we’re pretty careless in the way we talk about our “cross bearing.”
ILL. For example, suppose that after extensive testing the doctor tells me, "I’m sorry, but you have diabetes, & you’ll have to deal with it for the rest of your life." Now that may be a burden that I must bear, but it is not a cross I have taken up for Jesus. So I can’t then tell others, "Well, that’s my cross to bear," because I didn’t volunteer for it.
Or if a tornado sweeps through our area & destroys my home, I can’t call it "a cross I have to bear," because I didn’t volunteer for that either. It is not something that I chose to do for Jesus.
SUM. You see, if I talk about bearing a cross, that means I am voluntarily taking it up for Jesus. I’m going to enlist, to offer myself in some way to serve Jesus.
II. CROSS BEARING IS AN ACT OF LOVE
A. So, cross bearing is not an accident that happens to us, or something unavoidable that we must face. Cross bearing is an act of love that we choose to do. It is a task that we undertake, a price that we pay, out of love for Him.
For Jesus it meant going to a cross to die because He loved us so much He could do nothing else.
It means reaching out to people who are unlovable & unlovely & who may never return the love. And yet we are to keep on loving because that’s what Jesus did.
B. You want to read a description of what it means to carry a cross? Turn over to 1 Corinthians 13. Listen as I begin reading in vs. 4, & I want to change the word "love" & put the word "cross bearer" in its place.
"A cross bearer is patient. A cross bearer is kind. A cross bearer does not envy. A cross bearer does not boast. A cross bearer is not arrogant or rude. A cross bearer is not self seeking.
“A cross bearer is not easily angered, nor keeps records of wrongs. He does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. A cross bearer always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
ILL. Author Dr. Paul Brand related that his father was a missionary to India. For years he saw almost no converts, due primarily to a Hindu priest who warned the people that if they listened to the Christians their cattle would die. Sure enough, the cattle of those who came to the Christian chapel did die, but only because the priest poisoned them!
As a result, almost no one would listen to the gospel. Bland’s father at times doubted his calling.
Following the First World War a terrible flu epidemic took the lives of thousands in India. People lived in isolation & many died from dehydration. Dr. Brand’s parents cooked a huge vat of soup & took it in buckets to the afflicted in their neighborhood. When the wife of the Hindu priest became ill, the Brands compassionately ministered to her, but she also died.
When the priest himself became ill, the Brands brought soup & attempted to assist him. Before he died, he asked the Brands to adopt his daughter. He said, “All my life I have served my people, but now that I am hurting no one comes to help me but Christians. I don’t want my daughter to grow up as a Hindu.”
The Brands adopted her & today she is an 81-year-old grandmother with a large family of Christians. Because the Indian people saw the deeds of mercy to people who had persecuted Christians for years, the mission became a thriving work.
(Bob Russell in the 2-24-2002 “The Lookout” Standard Pub. Co)
SUM. That is what cross bearing means. It means taking the love of God to the very ends of the world. To touch the lives of people who are unlovable. It means denying & sacrificing. It means paying the price regardless of the hardships we must endure.
III. CROSS BEARING IS HARD
A. Now it is not hard to understand that people have always had trouble with that. Whenever the message of the cross has been preached people have always objected to it. "Wait a minute. That is hard. I can’t do that."
Jesus talked about His impending death on a cross & His apostles balked at that. They tried to keep Him from going to Jerusalem. They said, "We don’t want you to die." When He did die on the cross they hid behind locked doors, fearful of what might happen next.
A few years later, when Paul wrote about the cross in 1 Corinthians 1:22 24 he said, "Jews demand miraculous signs & Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews & foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God."
That hasn’t changed much, has it? We can understand the Jews stumbling over the idea of their Messiah hanging on a cross. They were an oppressed people. They had been oppressed by Assyrians & Babylonians & Greeks, & now by the Romans.
But one thing kept them going through it all. Every night they came together in their family circles & read again God’s promise of the Messiah.
Fathers would tell their children, "One day the Messiah will come & set us free. He will ride on a prancing stallion. He will be a magnificent king with legions of soldiers behind him. They will defeat our enemies & make them bow down before us. And God’s people will be in control."
Then the Messiah came, but not as they had expected. He came as a carpenter, a preacher from Nazareth. Some called Him a madman. His army was made up of twelve men. And instead of great military victories, there was a crucifixion.
So the cross was a stumbling block to the Jews. It wasn’t what they expected. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear. And neither do we.
B. Jesus’ talk about bearing a cross bothers us, too. As we lean back in our easy chair, hot coffee in our cup & a loving companion by our side, rejoicing in our success, we hear Him say, "Take up your cross & follow me."
He says, "There are some lost sheep & I need a shepherd to find them & bring them home again." But we say, "Lord, I don’t want to bear that kind of a cross. I’ve worked hard & I really need more time for myself."
Sunday morning comes & He says, "I have a classroom of squirming kids who need to hear the good news about Jesus." But we say, "Not me Lord. I don’t want to carry that kind of a cross."
You see, Jesus is setting crosses all around us, just waiting for us to pick one up. Someone says, "Missionaries need money to carry the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world." And once again we find ourselves wrestling with a cross.
Over here are all the things that we want. And over there are the needs of a lost world. And the words of Jesus come back to haunt us, "If you’re my disciple, then deny yourself & take up your cross & follow me." The idea of carrying a cross is a stumbling block & we keep falling over it.
APPL. But I wonder what kind of world it would be if we just had the courage to put into practice what Jesus taught? If we could turn the other cheek & go the second mile & really learn to love our enemies, I wonder what kind of world would be the result?
We’re running around frantically piecing together our lives, trying to build homes & stockpile possessions. But one day, poof, it’s all going to be gone. It’s going to burn up, disappear & count for nothing. And the only thing that’s going to last is the cross that we have borne for Jesus.
C. History is full of examples of people, who by giving away their lives, gained life eternal.
ILL. 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 & to serve God was by becoming a hermit & 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, & that the cities were full of people who needed his help. So he bid farewell to the desert & 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 & celebrations & 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 & 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; & there was a 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 & 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, & stepped between the gladiators, & 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 & stabbed; & 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.
CONCL. This morning we offer you a cross. Not a life of ease, or a church that is perfect with all the solutions to your problems. We can’t guarantee you success on your job. We can’t promise that your marriage won’t fail. We can’t promise that you’ll stop having problems at home. All we really have to offer is Jesus Christ & his cross. Will you come as we stand & as we sing?
