16 July 2006; Luke 9:23 (18-27) Real Discipleship - What's My Cross!

TOPIC: Senior citizenship; discipleship, flesh, sanctification, spirit, walk, world

TITLE: REAL DISCIPLESHIP - What's My Cross? After all I'm 64 Years-old?

Of course the implied question here is what can an old man do? We'll see!

TEXT: Luke 9:23

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

FOCAL PASSAGE: Luke 9:23-27

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What three compulsory acts must believers be willing to do if they truly wish to come after Jesus?

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Jesus must have meant something here. Neither He nor the Scriptures speak vainly, as man does. All words have meaning, and context is everything.

Is the context of this passage salvation? Heaven? Works? What?

Jesus is answering questions from those who would follow Him. What Jesus is addressing here is discipleship, real discipleship.

The text implies Philippians chapter 2, the denial of self! The denial of self would be meaningless if it led to an early death.

Age has nothing to do with the subject of discipleship ... discipleship is a heart condition.

When people get to a certain age apparently many think there is nothing for them to do: they don't volunteer and avoid being seen as available.

[OLD AGE] We should live our lives in such a way that when we die even the undertaker will be sorry that we are gone!

A University of Wisconsin study determined if we're physically well and keep active as we get older, we can enjoy people, laugh at ourselves and get as much out of life at 90 as we did when we were 40!

The saying is that life begins at 40. It really begins when we want it to begin!

• Moses was 80 when he received the Law.
• Aaron was 83 when he began to perform miracles and plagues in Egypt.
• Joshua was 85 when he led Israel into the promised land.
• Will Durant sold a series of television programs at the ripe young age of 91.
• Frank Lloyd Wright created the magnificent Guggenheim Museum at 89.
• Colonel Sanders was in his 60s when he sold his first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise.
• Immanuel Kant wrote one of his best philosophical works at the age of 74.
• Verdi penned his classic "Ave Maria" at 85. . . .
• President Ronald Reagan was the most powerful man in the world at 75
• Ted Williams slammed a home run in his last official time at bat, at age 42.
• Golda Meir was 71 when she elected Israel's Prime Minister.
• George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was produced.
• How about Benjamin Franklin? He was a columnist at 16 and a framer of the United States Constitution at 81.
• At age 71 an agent turned down Jack Benny thinking he was washed up. Jack found another agent and fulfilled twelve million dollars more in bookings before he died at the age of 81
• Michelangelo was 87 when he completed The Pieta, his finest work of art: a life-sized sculpture of a seated Mary holding the dead Jesus in her lap

The Cross that Jesus bore was ours to begin with; it was His God ordained Cross, to bear OUR crosses. It was His mission in life.

So Jesus said to His disciples,

"My time is not yet here, but your time is al-ways opportune."

John 7:6

His time was "appointed" and He would be there at the proper time.

Many think their cross is a curse or a sin or a fault or a demon or sign of their unsaved condition. It isn't!

Which of you would say you don't wish to come after Jesus? If you use your age as an excuse shame on you, for that is a virtual rejection of His invitation.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What three compulsory acts must believers be willing to do if they truly wish to come after Jesus?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. THEY MUST BE WILLING TO DENY THEMSELVES!

A. The active and indicative sense of the word is to contradict, to refuse to grant, to withhold, to refuse or neglect, to disown
B. I am told "To deny ones self, is to decline the gratification of appetites [or desires of the flesh]; to refrain from; to abstain"
C. Consider 1 John 2:15-16

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

D. Take a look at Galatians 5 ...

1. Deeds of the flesh (verses 16-21)
2. The flesh dies; brings death and death rots and returns to dust
3. Fruits of the Spirit (verses 22-25)
4. The Spirit is renewing; seed to seed brings life, life brings more life and returns to its Maker
5. Consider the final fruit mentioned specifically - self-control!
6. "The Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"! [Mark 14:38]

II. THEY MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE UP THEIR CROSS DAILY!

A. Romans 12:2 says "so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
B. Clearly we are confronted with hundreds of crosses to bear up each day but there is only one that allows us to focus on the mission without distraction … James 4:5-6 and 7-8a (4-10)

Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

And then He says ...

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

III. AND THEY MUST BE WILLING TO FOLLOW HIM!

A. Where! Is He referring to heaven? If He were, He’d be working on the doctrine of soteriology. But that is not what He is referring to because it would be works righteousness ... a false doctrine.
B. This is literally a willingness to go to your death for the Lord
C. Would there be any other option?
D. Does He mean we must all die martyrs? I don’t believe so. I believe He is anticipating the teaching of Paul in that we must die to self.
E. We can’t serve two masters is Jesus teaching [Matthew 6:34]; we cannot have divided allegiances.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Jesus focused on ...

1.) the time of His mission
2.) the purpose of His mission and
3.) the cost of His mission …

In other words,

• He let nothing distract Him from the hour of His suffering for us;
• He denied Himself daily, so He didn’t allow the world, the flesh, or the devil weaken His focus
• He was willing to pay it all with all that He had; according to Philippians 2:5-7 we should ...
  

Have this attitude in [our]selves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

And so He has said to us this day to ...

1.) focus on the race set before us
2.) deny the world the flesh, and the devil any control over us, that we might be slaves to them; and
3.) follow Him to the altar of sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).

Christ has set the example for us all; He could have easily said "follow my example," but we would have watered down His example, to the point it didn’t resemble anything of what He had done!

[NEEDLE & THREAD] An old Congolese (now Niger) man once prayed, "Lawd, you be da needle, I be da thread ... you go in first, I follow where you go!"

Did Jesus mean what He said? Oh yes! Every word! Listen to the same passage in another place ...

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Matthew 10:38

I try very hard to do this ... I'll be honest, I do pretty well until I read that "[my] righteousness is like a filthy rag." I fail miserably by His standards.

What do I do? Where do I go? To whom do I go? Grace and mercy at the feet of my Savior!

[OLD AGE #2] It is now believed that a man reaches his peak mentally around the age of 35 and that this peak is maintained even past 70 years of age.

It has also been proven that the old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is untrue. The learning power at 70 is about the same as it is at 17.

As one authority put it, we do not become old through the passing of years, but rather by our reactions to the circumstances of life. [e-Sword]

You can make yourself available to your Lord ... you can do this.

GENERAL TAGS: Homoletics, Preaching, Sermons

SPECIFIC TAGS: Discipleship, Flesh, Old age, Sacrifice,
Sanctification, Selflessness, Seniors, Spirit, World, Worship