The Cross Call
A disciple of Jesus follows Jesus wherever he goes. The call to Salvation cost us nothing, but the call to discipleship costs us everything.
'And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ' Luke 9:23-24
Jesus is giving us a Cross Call! A Call to pick up our cross and follow him, just as he picked up a cross and went to Golgotha, He is calling us to take up our cross and follow him into this lost world.
This is a sacrificial call! This is a rugged call!
Our Will
In order to understand this call Jesus is giving, we need to understand what he laid down in order to pick up his cross.
The first thing Jesus laid down in order to pick up his cross was his will!
'saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." ' Luke 22:42 “NOT MY WILL, BUT YOURS BE DONE!
You may have never thought about this, but Jesus wasn’t particularly thrilled with the call he received from the Father to go to the cross!
Many times we think of Jesus more as God than man, but I want you to understand the humanity of this moment. HE IS BEING CALLED TO DO SOMETHING HE DOESN'T WANT TO DO! To sacrifice his life for the sins of the world. And his will is fighting it!
I can not stress to you how many times in your life (as a follower of Jesus) you're going to receive a call from God to do something you don't want to do!
Generally speaking, it will be something sacrificial and necessary for your good or the good of others and you will have one of these moments of prayer, like Jesus, God are you sure I need to do this?
One of the ways you know it's God calling you, is you will get this impression that you cant shake. No matter how hard you pray, no matter how far you try to run from it, it keeps popping up; and many times you won't want to do it.
Our Rights
The second thing that Jesus laid down to pick up his cross was his rights, and he is CALLING US TO DO THE SAME!
Jesus had all the rights of heaven as the son of God. The Bible calls him the Heir of God. Every knee has to bow to him & every tongue has to confess that he is Lord, All power of heaven and earth belongs to him. Those were his rights.
'Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? ' Matthew 26:53
He could have called a legion of angels.
He could have done like Darth Vader and used the force to choke his enemies out!
BUT HE LAID DOWN HIS RIGHTS for us!
'Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ' Philippians 2:5-8
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
This is hard for Americans because as Americans we have so many rights and we are taught the protection of our rights from the time we are young! Rights Like:
The Right To Remain Silent: Jesus was precisely murdered because he didn't stay silent! A Follower of Jesus doesn't have that right any longer to stay silent! ' Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble' Psalms 107:2 Jesus will tell you to Speak when you want to stay silent!
The Right To Free Speech: As a Disciple of Jesus we don't have this right to free speech anymore! Oh how I wish Christians would follow Jesus on Twitter, Facebook… Jesus will tell people many times DON’T SAY THIS! ' He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.' Isaiah 53:7
The Right to Own Property: As A follower of Jesus we give up this right too. The Bible says, the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. So As a follower Of Jesus, all my stuff is his to do with it as he wills!!!! Example- I was debating getting a house with a pool for this reason, because I said, man, everyone will want to swim in it. Well, as a disciple, my pool is Jesus pool and he will tell me to lay down that right for others.
The Right to Life: Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness- This statement comes from the declaration of Independence, where the founding fathers saw that humanity had certain rights, and amongst them were life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Jesus will even tell you to give up these basic unalienable rights at times for the sake of following him!
Life: Jesus gave up his life every step up the cross.
'By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ' 1 John 3:16
Every day of life I have to decide to pick up my cross and follow Jesus.
Liberty: There is a lot of talk of freedom in the Body of Christ, but not a lot of talk of slavery. Whom the son sets free is free indeed, but there will be times where Jesus asks you to give up your freedom (Like he did) and become a slave.
Pursuit of Happiness: Are you willing to lay down your happiness in exchange for the Joy of the call?
'looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ' Hebrews 12:2
For the Joy set before him, he endured the cross! Jesus says, when you pick up your cross and lose your life, that's when you find it.
Let’s Talk About This…
Will you answer the Cross Call today?
What’s the first thing we need to change?