Title: The Disciple's Way / Matthew 16:24-28
The most important thing Jesus did during the three years of His public life was to select His disciples, to live with them, to train them, and then the Lord entrusted them with His work.
In Matthew 10:1 we read, “Jesus called the twelve disciples and gave them authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal all diseases and diseases.”
Mark 3:13-16 says, "And he went up on the mountain, and he called those he wanted, and he came to him. And he appointed twelve to be with him, and to send them out to preach and to have authority to cast out demons. That's why," he said,
Becoming a disciple of Jesus does not mean that we go before the Lord ourselves with Jesus as our teacher. Jesus is calling us to be disciples.
In John 15:16 it says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you."
The word “disciples” does not refer to only the 12 chosen by Jesus. In a broad sense, it refers to all those who believe in Jesus.
In John 8:31 it says, "Therefore Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples."
On the other hand, in the book of Acts, a disciple is a person who has come to believe in Jesus Christ.
In the book of Acts, when Paul and Barnabas preached Jesus, those who came to believe in Jesus as Savior were called disciples. Acts 13:52 says, "They fell the dust on their feet and went to Iconium, and the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."
In Acts 6:7, “The word of God continued to prosper, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased exceedingly, and a great multitude of priests also obeyed this way.” Those who believe in Jesus are called disciples.
Before ascending to heaven, Jesus asked his disciples: “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
Now, let's read verse 24 again in today's text.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
This means that those who will become true disciples of Jesus must do three things:
First, you must deny yourself.
Second, we must take up our own cross.
Third, we must follow Jesus Christ.
1. What is self-denial?
The word denial is the same letter as Peter's denial of Jesus. Peter said he followed Jesus, but instead of denying himself, he denied Jesus. do not admit It is an attitude of not knowing.
1) To deny oneself means to forsake all worldly things that hinder you from following Jesus.
The Apostle Paul said that he had given up everything for the sake of the Lord.
“I was circumcised on the eighth day, of the house of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, zealous persecutor of the church, and blameless as to the righteousness of the law. I count all things as loss for the sake of Christ, and all things as loss because of the noblest knowledge of Christ. For his sake I lost all things, and counted them as dung, so that Christ might be gained and found in him” (Philippians 3:3). 5-8) said.
2) To deny oneself means to forsake all the lusts of the flesh.
"Therefore put to death your members that are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil passions, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).
3) It means to abandon one's own greed, one's thoughts and claims, and obey God's will.
Our Lord obeyed the will of God. The night before the crucifixion, I prayed all night in the Garden of Gethsemane. I prayed with blood and sweat. The prayer is, “Father, if you will, remove this cup from me. But not my will, but your will” (Luke 22:42).
4) To deny oneself means to think of what was centered on the self as the center of the Lord, and to live as the Lord and the Lord for what was centered on the self.
My life is not about being the center, but about making Jesus the center. I must live with Jesus as the center of my life, as Lord.
2. What does it mean to take up one's cross?
In the old days, people who were being crucified carried the crucible on which they were going to be crucified and went to the place of execution. Jesus also carried the cross and went up the hill of Golgotha. On the way, he met Simon of Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry a cross.
Jesus carried the cross of atonement to bear on behalf of mankind that Jesus instructed. Jesus suffered on the cross for sinners without any sin.
Everyone who wants to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ must take up his own cross. The way to follow the Lord is the way of suffering.
It means that you must suffer the sufferings that you will suffer because of following Jesus.
“Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Sometimes we take up our cross for others.
Luke 9:23 says, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Don't touch it for a few days, don't lose only when you're young, lose every day.
The apostle Paul confesses.
We must bear this cross well at home and at work. “Rejoice and be glad when you are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”
There is suffering to bear the cross, but those who participate in this suffering will also receive glory with Christ.
1 Peter 4:13 says, “Rejoice in your sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and rejoice in the manifestation of his glory.”
Example: A man complaining that his cross is too big met the Lord in a dream. He begged the Lord to make his cross smaller. The Lord cut the cross short. It was too big, so I cut it three times. But other people also brought their own crosses. The Lord made the people who came with the cross to cross the narrow river, each with his cross as a bridge. Others said that the cross was large and long, so they could all leave it and cross it, but those with short and small crosses could not cross the river.
3. What is following Jesus Christ?
Matthew 8:22 "Jesus said to them, "Let the dead bury their dead, and follow me."
Matthew 9:9 "As Jesus was passing from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs office, saying, "Follow me." So he got up and followed.
1) Following Jesus means obeying the Lord.
2) Following Jesus means learning by imitation of Jesus. We must learn the character of Jesus.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Matthew 11:29).
Let's learn the forgiveness of Jesus. Let's learn the prayer life of Jesus. Let's learn to live in the Word of God.
Let us learn the diligence of Jesus. Let's learn the service life of Jesus. Let's learn to love God and love our neighbor.
3) Following Jesus means walking with Jesus.
Pastor Bonhoeffer said that to become a true disciple of Jesus Christ, you must receive "expensive grace".
This expensive grace is self-denial. It means taking up your cross. Following the Lord means following the Lord.