“Pick Up Your Cross” |
Preacher: | Rev. Lamont Waddles |
| Date: | May 30, 1999 | |
| Notes: |
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
I imagine that Jesus' statement had meaning that we fail to recognize. In those days, the cross was known as a means of execution. It struck fear in the people's hearts. There were days when the road to Jerusalem was lined with crosses bearing dead or dying people. They were put up there to warn and scare people. It was punishment and intimidation. It reinforced the idea that death is the most awful thing. It inspired people to do everything they could to avoid it. Yet, Jesus said "take up your cross and follow Me."
We believe in a universe that rewards good and punishes evil. However, you can do everything correctly and still get hurt. Goodness is no protection from pain. Jesus was as good as good gets. Yet, He experienced pain... physical pain, spiritual pain, and emotional pain. Jesus faced the worst pain that life had to offer. He did not run away from the pain, He accepted it. Jesus was showing us a new way to live. Still, we feel that if we are good, God will protect us from the bad things.
Our human response to the cross is similar to Peter's response to Jesus when He announced His bloody, painful and humiliating death on the cross. Still, Jesus' hurt body would be resurrected into a body that will last forever. Peter only understood the first part of what Jesus had said to him. Because of his misunderstanding of the second part, Peter used God's name to challenge God's will.
Some said that Peter loved Jesus too much to see Him die on the cross. Others said that Peter feared that if Jesus went to the cross, the same would happen to him. If fear runs your life, it becomes your fear. Jesus did not offer you freedom from pain... He DID offer you freedom from fear. While you are carrying your cross, you may be:
- Mistreated
- Misunderstood
- Falsely accused
- Confused
- Disappointed
- Left all alone
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)
While carrying your cross in this life, you may find that life tries to get you down. There will be trials and tribulations, hardships and difficult times. You may get weary and loose sleep... don't worry about that. Just pick up your cross.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
While carrying your cross, you will be confronted by people who are:
- Evil
- Mean
- Hateful
- Judgmental
- Prideful
- Arrogant
- Self-Centered
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. (Isaiah 59:19)
How can we call ourselves followers of Christ when we don't want to do the work of Christ? If we have no interest in the word, no understanding of the word, or no commitment to the word, we should not sing songs like:
- The Old Rugged Cross
- Near the Cross
- Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Take up your cross daily.
And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38)
If you don't take up your cross and follow Jesus, you are not worthy of Him. You need to pick up your cross.
- Stop trying to cover it up.
- Stop pretending that it is not there.
- Stop going around it.
- Stop stepping over it.
- Stop moving it from side to side.
- Stop picking it up one minute and putting it down the next
- Stop trying to get someone else to carry it for you.
- The cross is caring for the homeless
- The cross is visiting the sick and shut-in
- The cross is visiting those who are incarcerated
There is a cross with your name on it. Jesus says to pick it up. There are three parts to this.
- Action
Picking up something
.- Ownership
Jesus gives you ownership. This is your cross.
.- Action
When you pick it up, then you follow Jesus.
Our problem is that we don't want to pick up our cross. We don't want to follow Jesus.
You will go through trials and tribulations. Trials and tribulations are not your cross. We get upset with people in the church and stop coming to church. That is not your cross. Some people want to sit in the pew.
Our problem is, we don't deny ourselves.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
Examine yourself daily. If you can't get along with this person or that person... the problem may not be with them. What about you? Can anyone get along with you? Deny yourself.
What profit is it for a man to gain the world and lose their soul? There is nothing wrong with material things, but when it becomes your god, then you lose your soul.
We call ourselves disciples of Christ (or, Christians). Yet, if we don't pick up our cross, we are not His disciples.
Your cross can be a gift you are not using. Siloam Baptist Church should be on the march. We all have a gift... but we all are not using them.
If you carry your cross all the way to heaven, you get your rewards.
Some people say, "It's not my fault they're homeless." But, in Christ, we have a cross to bear.
The disciples were scared of facing death on the cross. This was fear of physical death. You will die whether you carry the cross or not. We all have to stand before a risen Savior and give account of our lives. This is Jesus, the same Jesus who:
- Came down through 42 generations
- Lived for 33 years
- Healed the people
- Gave sight to the blind
- Hung, bled, and died
- Rose on the third day with all power in His hands
We have to carry the cross by ourselves. You can't be a disciple and be worthy of Jesus Christ until you pick up your cross and follow Him. It takes a lot to follow Jesus, but there are awesome rewards.
We sing, "Jesus keep me near the cross," but do we mean it? Does it just sound good? Do we understand what we read?
This message is not intended to make you feel bad. However, if you have not picked up your cross, you are not a follower of Jesus.