Take Up Your Cross

Welcome to God First with Brian C. Thomas, a program committed to encouraging you to put God first while viewing life through the window of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, let's join Brian C. Thomas for today's message. Welcome to the program.

So glad to be with you once again this week. Folks, with so many things going on in the world today, there is so much division. There is so much turmoil.

Sometimes if we're not careful, we can lose perspective of the big picture. So what I want to do today is a little bit different than our normal format. We normally cover current events in light of the Bible.

And again, not to say that that's anything bad. That's what we do. That's what we feel God has called us to do. But we just want to make sure that we remind ourselves of why we speak the truth, why we discern the times.

Because our motivation is not to be hypercritical. Our motivation is not to find fault in every area of life. Our motivation is to speak the truth of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And when we think about our great Lord Jesus Christ, we can never repay him for what he did for us. We can never repay him for the sacrifice, for him dying, suffering, being tormented, giving his life so that we can have eternal life.

We can never repay him for that. But what we can do is we can at least stand for him. And by standing for him means we stand for truth. We stand for the truth of his word. And it troubles me today when I see so many who profess to be followers of Christ.

But yet they will not stand for truth. They will not stand for our Lord Jesus. So I want to draw your attention to the book of Matthew Chapter 16 and let's look at verses 24 through 27. Matthew Chapter 16, verses 24 through 27. The word of the Lord reads as follows. 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. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his father with his angels, and then he will reward each according to his works. As I look at this text, I'm reminded of a few days ago. This was just earlier this week when I went out with my son to pick up some dinner. We were outside doing things and we made a quick trip to a fast food restaurant to pick up something to eat. I had a burger with fries and he had a burger with fries. Now, my son is 13 years old and he's at that point in life in which he's entered into puberty and he's going through this major growth spurt. And so his metabolism is like a buzz saw, you know, he just burns it up. Whatever he eats, it just burns right through him.

And so he's at that stage in life. And so as we got our food and we're driving back home, he finished his burger and his fries. And and I had only ate my burger.

I decided I wanted to save the fries for when I got home so I could have both hands free to to really be able to eat it and to enjoy it. And as we're riding along in the car and I have some sermons playing on the radio and I noticed that my son cut his eyes over at my bag a few times and we were riding along. And after about the third or fourth time that he he cut his eyes over at my bag, he said, you know, that I finish my burger and fries. And I said, that's good, son.

And so we continue riding in nothing but the sermon playing on the radio. And I noticed out of my peripheral vision, I saw he he cut his eyes a few more times over at my bag that was sitting on the console in between us. And then we rode a little bit further. And a few seconds later, he said, Dad, did you eat your fries? To which I responded, not yet, son.

And we rode a little bit longer. And I notice again, he was cutting his eyes over there at my bag and I knew what was coming. He said, Dad, can I have your fries? And I said, yes, son, you can have my fries.

Now, let me tell you something. I was really craving these fries. I was really looking forward to enjoying these French fries. And I thought to myself as he was was was getting the fries out of the bag, I said, well, you know how sometimes a few fries will will fall out of the carton and they'll fall into the bottom of the bag and they'll be down there. And and I thought to myself, well, maybe he'll leave a few that fail in the bottom and I can I can eat those and that'll satisfy my craving for the French fries. And so my son proceeds to take the carton of fries out of the bag and he puts them between his legs. And then he looks over in the bag once again, reaches down and digs in and looks under the napkins that are in the bottom of the bag, and he proceeds to find a few more fries that were in the very bottom hidden underneath the napkins. And he pulls those fries out and proceeds to eat them. Now, as I saw my son eating those fries, I'm going to be honest with you, my mouth began to salivate.

My mouth began to water because I had my heart set on eating these French fries. And I know it's not the healthiest of meals. So so before you write in to tell me we need to eat better.

I know I've already spoken with my son about that. I say we we have to make some changes in our habits. We can't we can't eat this fast food the way we do so much because it's not it's not good for you to to consume so much fast food. But, you know, as we as we were riding and I thought to myself, though, you know, I had a brief moment of disappointment because, yes, I'll be honest with you. I wanted to eat those fries.

But, you know, my brief disappointment quickly turned to joy. Because as I saw my son eating those fries and I saw the way he was just desiring them. And I know he's again going through this growth burden and how much his body needs the the food and the energy and the thought of providing for my son and meeting a desire that he had in fulfilling nourishment that he needs.

That brought so much joy to my heart. And, you know, it's my love for my son that overrode my own desire for those fries. You know, and to think about it, my son, he would not have perished or or suffered malnutrition if malnourishment or malnutrition if I had not given him the fries, he would have lived.

He would have been fine because he had already finished his bill, but he was desiring more. And so as I was riding along, the Holy Spirit began to minister to me. The Holy Spirit began to speak to my spirit and showed me that that is how and that is why Jesus sacrificed for us. Now, let me be clear that sacrificing French fries in no way compares to what Jesus did for us in dying for our sins because fries are temporal. But Jesus gave his life so that we can have eternal life. And, you know, when when my son with these fries and those fries would have cleared his system in a couple of hours, they would have been gone.

And so whether I had kept them for myself or not, the consequence of those fries would have been been gone in a couple of hours. But of course, I would not tell him, no, I would I would never do that. I would not deny my my child something of that nature. But I thought to myself again about Jesus, the Holy Spirit was showing me, says, deny yourself and take up the cross and follow him. That is the word that Jesus had for us.

That was the message. And Jesus denied himself. He denied himself the comfort and the luxuries of heaven. He denied himself all the great splendors that he had as he was at the throne of God, the father. He denied himself of all the great things that he had in heaven. And he came to this fallen world to suffer and to die. And he did it because there had to be a sacrifice in order for us to have eternal life. If it were not for him, we would all be eternally damned. And Jesus didn't always feel like doing it. That's something that we have to to understand is that it wasn't an easy cakewalk.

It wasn't an easy task for our Lord for what he did. And we're in a society today where it is all about feelings. People base their what they consider to be truth. They base it on feelings. Doing only what I feel like doing only what makes me feel good. But, folks, we can't live being controlled and being guided by our feelings.

We have to do things in life that we don't always feel like doing. Jesus again did not feel like suffering and dying on the cross. Look at the Book of Luke, chapter 22, verses 39 through 44. The text tells us here, coming out, he went to the Mount of Olives as he was accustomed and his disciples also followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And he knelt down and prayed, saying, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me.

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Then an angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him and being in agony. He prayed more earnestly. Then his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Folks, we cannot fathom the suffering that Jesus endured and Jesus knew what he was going to suffer. He knew how bad it was going to be.

He knew it beforehand. That is why his sweat became like great drops of blood because of the agony and the torment of knowing what he was about to go through. But, you know, as the saying goes, it was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross. It was his love for mankind. It was his love for me. It was his love for you, which is what kept Jesus on the cross because he could have came down at any time. He could have said the suffering is too much.

This is more than than I can bear. He could have said, I don't want to go through this. He could have came down off the cross.

But if he had done that, we would all be lost for eternity. It's like when I'm on the treadmill at the gym and I'm running and and I and I feel my my lungs are burning and my legs are burning and I'm tired. And I want to give up and I'm at the one and a half mile mark and I have three miles to go and I want to quit. I want to get off, but I push myself. I don't feel like doing it, but I keep going because it is my desire to to have the end result, to have the reward, which is better health.

And so I continue going on. It is that desire that Jesus had for us that calls him to stay on the cross, to have him continue to suffer, to bleed and to be tormented and to die. To have the father turn his back on him. Again, we can't imagine how bad it was for what our Lord suffered through. But Jesus said, if you want to be a follower of him, you must deny yourself and take up the cross and follow him. So my question today is, are you willing to deny yourself? Are you willing to take up the cross? Are you willing to do that and follow King Jesus?

The Bible nowhere said it was going to be easy. The Bible nowhere says it would be a cakewalk, but we must do that if we want to be a true follower, if we want to be a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have to deny our own desires and we have to look to the will and the desire of our great Lord in heaven. That is what Jesus is calling us to do. That is the challenge today to deny yourself, take up the cross and follow our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We're going to pause for a brief break, but please don't go away. On the other side, we'll be back with more on taking up the cross and following our great Lord Jesus Christ. You are tuned into the God First program. You are listening to Brian C. Thomas on God First. For more of Brian's teachings, please visit Godfirst.org to browse our extensive library of material. There you will find devotionals, blogs, articles, and audio messages available as MP3 downloads on various topics such as salvation, Bible prophecy, marriage, and the significance of Lesson Israel, just to name a few.

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Welcome back to the program. Today, we are looking at the topic denying oneself, taking up the cross and following our Lord Jesus. As Jesus was about to go to the cross, we saw in Luke chapter 22, where our Lord said that not his will, but the will of the Father be done. He said, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Could there have been another way?

I've asked myself that question in the past. Did it have to be that Jesus died on the cross? Could there have been another way in which God could have brought about redemption to mankind? But there had to be a perfect sacrifice. A sacrifice was required. And that sacrifice had to be perfect. And there was no man who has ever lived.

That is perfect. None other than our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is why God came to the earth.

He took on the form of a man. He became one of us so that he would be that perfect sacrifice. And folks, that's what we have to keep in mind is that great love that our Lord had to do that for us. Jesus did not want to to go through having his father turn the turn his back on him.

Again, we can't we can't fully conceive and comprehend of all that Jesus went through. But it was the will of Jesus to save mankind. And that is why he was willing to go to the cross. And that is why he was willing to to stay on the cross. It was not his desire.

He didn't want to suffer so greatly. But he said, Father, if that is the only way that this can be done, then so be it. Have your will be done. And so the message to us is to be a follower of Christ. We must follow his example. We must deny ourselves. We must deny ourselves and take up the cross. And so what does this mean in life?

Because I shared that story with you about my son. And folks, don't get me wrong. Sacrificing some French fries is nothing in comparison to what Jesus did for us. But but even in this life, what we have before us, we have to be willing to deny ourselves when it really comes to big things that are meaningful, things that really have lasting, long lasting consequences. So will you deny yourself when it comes to fornication? Will you deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? Or will you give in to the desires of the flesh and say, no, I have to fulfill this desire? What about when it comes to viewing pornography, that draw that you have that that long and that desire to to view that pornography? Will you deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? Or will you say, OK, just to watch some here and there on the side, nobody will know. God knows. God sees all.

He knows all. What about when it comes to holding grudges and unforgiveness? Are you willing to deny yourself what you feel, your your desire to get even, your desire to to win a battle? Are you willing to deny yourself that and take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? Are you willing to deny yourself when it comes to telling a lie that would help you supposedly get ahead in life?

But how many know that deception is going to come back to haunt you at some point in time? But will you deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? When it comes to perceive control of power versus humbling yourself, will you deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus? When it comes to Black Lives Matter with all the things in it that it endorses that antithetical to the Christian faith, are you going to go along with it or are you going to deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? Political allegiance, racial allegiance. Will you deny yourself?

And stand for the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, even if it means separating from your political party, even if it means separating from your your ethnic or your racial group, will you deny yourself and take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ? That is the challenge today. What about when you're in a bad marriage? You're not happy.

You're miserable. Will you deny yourself? Will you deny your own happiness and say, I'm going to stick this out, I'm going to be faithful, I'm going to pray, I'm going to do what's right and trust that God is going to reward me in the end.

Will you deny yourself and take up the cross and follow him or will you rush to get a divorce? You know, when it comes to this abortion debate that we have in our society, the whole debate is based on women not willing to deny themselves, because although so many will use the argument of rape and incest, it is a very small percentage of that being the issue when it comes to an abortion. And even when it comes to rape and incest, still, God hates the the shedding of innocent blood.

And so I do not advocate or condone abortion even in the case of rape and incest. But it's all about women wanting to be able to go out and have sex freely, casually and enjoy the pleasures of that, but not want to have to deal with a child that may come along. Not willing to deny themselves the desire to go out and to make a lot of money on a job. Not willing to deny themselves maybe going out and getting a degree in school so they can climb the corporate ladder. Not willing to deny themselves the the inconvenience, as they say, when it comes to taking care of a child. Because when you you have a baby, yes, you will have to sacrifice yourself. You have to sacrifice your your time. You have to sacrifice your energy.

You have to sacrifice sleep. And so many today are not willing to deny themselves. They're not willing to take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ.

And so they say we should have the right to take the life of an unborn child. But God hates the shedding of innocent blood. Luke Chapter 14, 27 through 33 reads as follows. Whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you intending to build a tower does not sit down first and count the calls, whether he has enough to finish it less after he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish. All who see it begin to mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to finish. What king going to make war against another king does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with 10,000 to meet him, who comes against him with 20,000 or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and ask conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Wow. What a powerful message that our Lord Jesus is sending to us here. He's saying you cannot be his follower unless you bear the cross. You cannot be his follower unless you are willing to forsake all that you have. And follow Jesus Christ, folks following Jesus is going to cost us something.

Are you committed to the calls? Will you speak the truth? Even if it means losing your job, even if it means losing your family, even if it means losing popularity, because council culture is out there and they are targeting Christians. Just a couple of nights ago, I went to see David Jeremiah in my area. He came to Raleigh, North Carolina, and I was there for the event and it was just so uplifting. I mean, it just really energized me and so many others.

The inspiration that came out of that great service. And David Jeremiah spoke about pastors who changed their message out of fear of losing members, out of fear of losing givers, out of fear of losing popularity, changing their message, either embracing things that are immoral or not saying anything at all. But we have to be willing to sacrifice.

We have to be willing to stand for our great Lord. You know, this reminds me of another time in which my daughter, when she was three years old and she loved Doritos. And again, I know it's not a healthy meal.

Trust me, we're working on it. But she called them orange chips. She didn't call it Doritos. She called them orange chips. And one night it was on a winter day and it was cold outside and it was almost bedtime. And she said she asked her mama if she could have some orange chips. And so my wife went to the pantry and she came back and said we were out. We didn't have any more. And so I saw my daughter's disappointment and I sat there and I just could not sit there and watch and feel that disappointment.

And so, again, it was a cold winter day. It was almost bedtime. But I got up and I got dressed and I I went out and I went to the grocery store and I came back with those orange chips and I gave them to my daughter. And I sat there and watched her eat one after the other.

And I got so much joy out of seeing her eating those orange chips. And folks, don't get me wrong, I'm not patting myself on the back because my best is like filthy rags. God said that in his word, the best that we can do is as filthy rags. I am a wretched sinner, just like anybody else, just like everyone else.

We're all wretched sinners and we are nothing without Jesus Christ. But I got joy out of making that sacrifice so so she could have what she desired. And Jesus got joy for sacrificing himself for us. He suffered, but he he he joys in. He delights in us having the opportunity for eternal life. He joys and delights in us having life in this world. He said he came to to give us life and to to give us fullness of life.

And so Jesus delight in that. The challenge for us today is, will we deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him? Will you stand for the truth? Will you speak the truth of his word?

And the scripture says Jesus is going to reward each of us according to our works. He's keeping record as to who is really taking a stand as to who's really speaking the truth. He's keeping record of those who are not taking a stand for those who claim to be one of his followers, but yet will not speak truth for those who claim to be one of his followers.

But yet go into a voting booth and vote for candidates that legislate for things that are against the ways of God. Jesus is keeping record of these things. And he says, if you want to be his disciple, you must bear the cross.

You must deny yourself. So the challenge is, are you willing to forsake all so that you can be a disciple of Jesus Christ? Again, nowhere in the Bible does it say, folks, this walk was going to be easy. Jesus never said it was going to be easy. But what he did say is, I will never leave your side. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. He said, I will walk with you if you would just trust me and follow me.

And he said, in the end, I will reward you openly before the father. If you were willing to deny yourself, take up the cross and follow Jesus. That is my challenge today to all of us and to myself to deny my desires. Being rejected by loved ones, being rejected by friends, being rejected by co-workers, family, folks, it doesn't it's not easy. It doesn't feel good. And you could easily take the corner out and say, no, I'm going to just go along to get along so that I can be accepted.

So I could be loved. But that brings disappointment to the heart of our Lord. But if you want to bring joy to our Lord, deny yourself, take up the cross and follow King Jesus. Folks, this is a wonderful time that we're living in. The times around us look dark.

They look bleak. But Jesus put us in this time for a purpose. And he has us here to make a difference.

And he wants us to be that example of one who will stand for the truth and to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him. Let your life be a testimony to others, a shining light to this in darkened world. We are all out of time for this week, but I want to thank you for joining me. Please come back and join us again next week as we continue to encourage you to put God first while viewing life through the window of the Bible. Until then, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel. And to the only wise God, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. You've been listening to the Bible teacher Brian C. Thomas, founder and president of God First. Brian and God First reserve all copyright protection under applicable law. Our copyright policy is available at our website, Godfirst.org. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God.