Taking Up The Cross (Luke 9:23-25) Series

TAKING UP THE CROSS

Luke 9:23-25

Day 8

Week 2: Stripping Away (Self-Denial and Surrender)

MORNING LENT PRAYER WORSHIP SERVICE

Theme: Stripping Away — Self-Denial and Surrender

THE INTRODUCTION: THE CALL TO WORSHIP

Good morning, church! Good morning, good morning, GOOD MORNING!

(Clap your hands and greet someone near you)

I said GOOD MORNING! We are alive! We are breathing! We are in the house of the Lord on purpose, and that is worth celebrating right now!

Somebody shouts: "I showed up!"

Now listen. Settle in. Because I need you to hear me clearly this morning. We are in Week 2 of this Lenten season, and I need to correct something right now before we go any further. Some of you were told that Lent is about giving up chocolate. Giving up social media. Giving up your morning coffee. And while those things are fine, that is not the full picture. That is not the deep water. That is the shallow end of the pool.

Lent is not about giving things UP. Lent is about making room for the GLORY.

You are not fasting from Netflix so you can have more free time. You are fasting from distractions so that GOD can fill the space. You are not cutting back on comfort so that life gets harder. You are clearing the clutter so that the KING can move in.

This morning, our theme is Stripping Away. The title of this word is "Taking Up the Cross."

Now, I need you to look at this. You have seen the cross on necklaces. You have seen it on bumper stickers. You have seen it on church walls and coffee mugs and T-shirts. But the people who first heard Jesus say these words had never seen the cross as a symbol of faith. They had seen it as an instrument of execution. When a Roman soldier handed you a cross to carry, you were not walking to church. You were walking to your death.

Open your Bible to Luke chapter 9, verse 23. Jesus said, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross DAILY and follow me."

And in Galatians 2:20, Paul said: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

This call is for ALL of us. Not just the pastors. Not just the elders. Not just the people who have been saved for thirty years. Jesus said "whoever." That means you. That means the person who just gave their life to Christ last week. That means the believer who has been walking with God for decades and still wrestles with the flesh. ALL of us.

(Tell your neighbor: "This message is for me!")

Let us pray before we go any further. Lord, strip away everything that is not of You. Strip away our pride, our preferences, our performance. And let what remains be YOU. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

1. DENYING THE EGO (THE DETHRONING)

Luke 9:23 says we must DENY ourselves. Not discipline ourselves. Not manage ourselves. DENY ourselves.

Now, what does that mean?

Turn to Philippians 2:3-4. Paul writes: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Self-denial is the dethronement of the I.

Say that slowly with me. The dethronement. Of the I.

Every single one of us has an ego. And that ego wants to sit on the throne. The ego wants to be first in line. The ego wants credit. The ego wants recognition. The ego wants to win the argument. The ego wants to be understood before it tries to understand. The ego is not always loud. Sometimes the ego is quiet and religious and polite, but it is still running the show.

This is what I call the Idol of Ego. And an idol is anything you bow to before you bow to God. Your ego becomes an idol the moment you start organizing your entire life around protecting your reputation, defending your feelings, or advancing your agenda.

Let me show you what this looks like in real life.

You are in a traffic jam. Someone cuts you off. Now, you were minding your business. You were playing your worship music. Maybe you were praying. And then this person, without warning, pulls right in front of you. And something rises up on the inside. Something says: "No. No, sir. I have rights." And before you know it, you are laying on the horn and your worship playlist is still playing in the background.

Church, that is the ego defending its throne. That is the self refusing to be denied.

Or try this one. A family member says something that hits wrong at the dinner table. And instead of listening, instead of pausing, you go into full defense mode. You reconstruct the argument. You bring up things from three years ago. You want to WIN. Not because the issue is important. But because YOUR dignity feels threatened.