Matthew 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23

Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Mark 8:34
He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

Luke 9:23
Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

“When Christ Calls a man, he bids him come and die” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

If anyone

“if” means it’s an invitation and a choice

“anyone” – anyone means everyone. the invitation is for everyone!

Deny Yourself

We live in a “Me First Society”

Two Wolves: We all have a war within us, between “two wolves” – both of them want to eat. Which one are you feeding?

Deny yourself does not mean self-deprivation, it does not mean self-hatred

Deny yourself might include temporary self-denial

Overall, deny yourself is submitting oneself to the will of God. It is the denial of not just things to self, but the denial of self.

What are you holding back?

Take Up your Cross

What do we think of when we hear the “cross”? We might think of salvation, God’s love, Jesus’ sacrifice…

How did the original crowd hear this? The cross was a cruel way to day, torture device by Rome, reserved for those who rebelled against Rome…

How do we understand this today? Is it a one-time event?

Luke 9:23 includes the word “daily.” This means that it’s more than just a one-time event, it’s a daily decision

Follow Me

There are those two most powerful words that we are looking at in this series. Notice that the invitation comes after the stipulations are given