Spiritual Growth Lessons
from Christian Ambassadors
Lesson 19, August, 2002
Take Up Your
Cross Daily
by Sharon K. Griffee
Luke 9:23-26 (NIV) - Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What
good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very
self? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed
of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the
holy angels.”
It is not easy to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,
especially if we become worried about our own reputation. The daily choices we
make will not set well with our friends or associates. Taking into
consideration the sinful period of time we live in and its commitment to many things
that are opposed to God and godliness, society will try to make us feel shame
and embarrassment when we disclose our intent to follow Jesus Christ. People
may call us weak and accuse us of hiding behind our Bibles. If we are searching
for man’s approval, their remarks will bother us. We have to make a choice and
deal with the consequences. Do we fear man’s opinions more than we fear God?
Proverbs 29:25 (KJV) - The fear of man bringeth a snare [trap]: but whoso putteth his trust
in the LORD shall be safe.
What exactly are we safe from, if we decide to put
our trust in the Lord? We are safe from the fear of man and his
opinion of us. This verse from Proverbs, along with the following verse of
scripture from Hebrews, gives us sound reason to put all our trust in the
Lord’s help, consequently avoiding the deceptions of man.
Hebrews 13:5b-6 (KJV) - “... for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So
that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man
shall do unto me.”
If you choose to follow Jesus Christ, whether it be
from inside the walls of prison or out on the streets, you will have to make
decisions that will affect your relationship with others around you. So don’t
make your decision casually. There is a price to pay in following Jesus. Are
you ready
to pay the price?
Luke 14:27-30 (KJV) - And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first,
and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply,
after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that
behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able
to finish.
In the natural world if the foundation of a building
is not properly laid the whole structure can collapse. The same is true in the
spiritual world. A faulty foundation can result in spiritual disaster. There
are people who are hurting themselves spiritually, because they are not prepared
to carry the cross of Christ. They are trying to live like Christians when they
have never been born again. They have not come to an understanding of the
basic principles of the doctrine of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 6:1-2, KJV). Neither have they understood the steps they
must put into practice daily, in order to build a good spiritual foundation.
Describing these steps in simple terms, one must -- come to Jesus, hear His
sayings, and do them! All three
steps are required! (Luke 6:47-48, KJV)
In Luke 6:46 (NIV), Jesus asks the question, “Why do you call me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Jesus is not truly Lord of our life until we
respond to His teachings in word and deed! Many people begin to build a
relationship with Jesus then abandon that relationship as soon as the going
gets tough, then back into the world they go. By building on unstable ground
they had not prepared themselves spiritually to continue the relationship. They
were not steadfast in reading and meditating on God’s Word and seeking personal
direction from the Holy Spirit before they attempted to act. When
people make false claims about Christ’s Lordship in their lives, they are
placing themselves on wobbly ground, because they are walking in their own
strength, not the Lord’s strength.
Without the Holy Spirit’s daily involvement, such
works of the flesh are guaranteed to fail. Such was the case with a prison
inmate, whom I’ll call Pat, who wrote and described to me in detail what
happened when she decided to step out to follow Jesus. Her experience
parallels the parable Jesus taught about the necessity of counting the cost
before building a tower. Jesus knows His business, for the outcome was just the
way He said it would be!
Pat wrote, “Sharon, I’m so ready to move on now and
leave my past life of sin behind me. But, you know, there is one thing that
makes it seem so hard for me to do. I keep telling my friends (associates) here
in prison, that I’m turning my life
around for the Lord Jesus, but when I start to follow Jesus, I keep falling
back and doing things with them like cussing, gossiping, speaking on immoral
things, and stuff like that. Then I start feeling guilty, so I tell them, ‘Look
I’m changing again. I’m going to be spending more time alone in my cell
studying the Bible.’ Sharon, this has happened so often, it has gotten to the
place where they don’t want to believe me anymore, because I keep falling back
into my old ways. So, this is what they say to me, ‘Pat, you’re just playing
with God! You’re only making up excuses, saying you’re following Jesus, just to
keep from talking to us.’”
Jesus is not looking for lip service nor our
patronage. He will not play games with those who are double-minded; who make
commitments to Him they never intend to keep. Those who constantly waver back
and forth between the world and Jesus must wake up to the realization that they
are living for themselves. They may confess Christ, but they do not possess
Christ. The people who genuinely confess from the heart that Jesus Christ is
Lord of their life, will sincerely turn away from sin and turn toward
righteousness.
II Corinthians 3:16-18 (NIV) - “...Whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being
transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit.”
God is looking for people who will not drop the
cross and go “backwards” at the first sign of trouble. God is looking for
people who will go “forward” making a commitment to Him and standing with it!
In these last days, the barrage of bad news has people frightened and disturbed
about the future. Preoccupation with end time events has people concerned about
when Jesus will return and whether or not they will be here during the Great
Tribulation. People who only play games with God (trying to follow Jesus when
their heart isn’t in it), seem far more interested in avoiding hell and the
tribulation which will come upon the earth, than they are in developing a true
spiritual relationship with Him. These people are missing the point. The truth
is, people who are willing to deny themselves and pick up
their cross daily, are people in hot pursuit of God and His kingdom. They are
not trying to avoid the suffering that comes with following Christ, but
rather will gladly enter into it.
Philippians 3:10-11 (NIV) - I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and
the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his
death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. [emphasis mine]
Acts 14:22 (KJV) - Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to
continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into
the kingdom of God. [emphasis mine]
There are no free rides into the kingdom of God. If
we are true to Jesus in this space of time here on earth, He will be true to us
in eternity.
Luke 17:32-33 (KJV) - Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall
lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
Questions for personal or
group study:
1. Why is our relationship with Jesus incomplete
if we only receive Him as our Savior? What else must we do to continue
our relationship with Him? (John 8:31-32)
2. Why does Jesus tell us that we must be born again
before we can see the kingdom of God? What does it mean to be born
again?
3. If we confess Jesus as Lord does that mean we are
saved into His kingdom? (Matthew 7:21)
4. When you make the choice to follow Jesus, you
must be willing to stand. If you continually waver, what does James 1:8 call
that person?
5. What was it that Lot’s wife couldn’t let go of?
What did her choice cost her?
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