Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
To understand what Jesus is talking about we simply need to consider where He was going when he was carrying His cross.
He was carrying it to His death. Not His complete death, but the death of His flesh, so His Spirit could be resurrected to new life.
When we are born again, we don’t immediately die to the flesh; it is a journey. It is our journey, but it is His great work. If we refuse to pick up our cross and follow Him, we resist the Great Potter’s right to work on us and mold our frail clay forms into vessels fit for the Master’s use. By picking up our cross, we lay ourselves on the Potter’s wheel, allowing Him to shape us back into His image.
To be a true disciple of Christ will require us to be obedient and make that journey that will ultimately result in the death of self. We must love everything in this world LESS than we love God.
Luke 14:24-34 Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
34 “Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? 35 It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill, but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Being a disciple will cost us everything, but the truth is, it only costs us everything we were never created to be.
Christianity is not easy. If it seems easy, we’re probably not doing it right. If we are living the Christian life without a constant need for a Comforter, we are not carrying our cross.
Carrying our cross is not an easy journey. Without help, no man can make the trip. We must have the mind of Christ for this to be conceivable.
The mind of Christ can be summed up in this simple statement:
“I can do nothing of myself.”
John 5:30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Once we make a commitment to Christ it is no longer about us and our will. It must be all about God and others. As soon as we make it about us we lay down our cross.
Carrying your cross is the deepest commitment we can make to God. It is also the only path to true Kingdom authority.
Philippians 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It is only through bearing our cross that we can abide in Him and exercise Authority in Jesus’ name.
For sickness, disease, and devils to bow their knees when we use the name of Jesus, our knees must be the first to bow.
The journey of carrying our cross is the path of profound transformation. It requires us to relinquish our own desires to fully embrace the will of God.
By having the mind of Christ, we align ourselves with God’s purpose and open the door to true spiritual authority. This path is fraught with challenges, but it is through tests and trials that faith is perfected, and we grow closer in intimacy with the Father. Let us bow down and pick up our cross in reverence and obedience to Jesus, manifesting His love and authority in all we do.
JESUS IS COMING!
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