Three Steps to Christ Part 2

Luke 9:23-24; “And He said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him {1.} deny himself, and {2.} take up his cross daily, and {3.} follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it.”Mark 8:34-35; “And when He had called the people unto Him with his disciples also, He said untothem, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

Luke 14:27 says; And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14: 34-35 says, Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dung hill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Why did Jesus pick up His cross and carry it to Calvary? Why did He endure the scourging and the spitting and the yelling of mockers filling the air? Because of His love for humanity. His compassion. His pity upon us as sinners.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, doeth all things, endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

In part one we mentioned how to deny self, you must deny the worldly lusts and come out of the world and give all of yourself to Christ. Is it an easy task to do? Not at all. Is it important to do? Very. Because you cannot pick up your cross and carry it and follow Him until you first give up your old self. Sacrifice your desires of the world for Christ’s sake. Denying self is full of pain, suffering, its a long process, and difficult when you have your old self talking you into not wanting to give up what you have cherished for so long. Old habits, old desires, old lifestyles, old lusts, losing things you’ve loved all your life. Possibly losing your family and friends, your loved ones. But God has promised that when you do, your reward is in heaven. In all honesty, what does this temporal world have to offer? What matters most, temporal things, or eternal?. Losing that which does not benefit you in the end, will not seem to be so bad, once you know where your faith lies. Once you realize the promises God has for you, this world will seem pointless.

“The Godhead was stirred with pity for the race, and the Father, and the Son, gave Themselves to the working out of the plan of redemption. In order fully to carry out this plan, it was decided that Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, should give Himself an offering for sin. What line can measure the depth of this love? God would make it impossible for man to say that He could have done more. With Christ He gave all the resources of heaven, that nothing might be wanting in the plan for man’s uplifting. Here is love - the contemplation of which should fill the soul with inexpressible gratitude!

Oh, what love, what matchless love! The contemplation of this love will cleanse the soul from all selfishness. It will lead the disciple to deny self, take up the cross, and follow the Redeemer.” CH 222.2

Now your cross is going to be heavy; and it’s going to be hard to carry. But just as Simon the Cyrenain, the passerby helped Christ carry His to the end, Christ will come to you and help you carry yours. What does it mean to carry our cross? “God’s care for His heritage is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon His children but such as is essential for their present and eternal good. He will purify His church, even as Christ purified the temple during His ministry on earth. All that He brings upon His people in test and trial comes that they may gain deeper piety and greater strength to carry forward the triumphs of the cross.” AA 524.3

Once we have denied ourselves and given all to Christ, we are now the lost sheep recovered, for Jesus has found His lost one that wandered from the fold. Now He layeth us upon His shoulders and carries us rejoicing. We are like the lost coin that was retrieved and was rejoiced over. We are now as the prodigal son; we were once dead, and alive again; and was lost, and now is found; and the Father rejoices. Jesus loves us so much, that once we give all to Him and confess and repent of our sins and come away from them, He can now walk within us giving us a new heart.

“He that hath My commandments, and keepteth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. If a man love Me, he will keep my words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” John 14:21,23. But daily we must carry the cross. We must suffer as Christ suffered. We must be persecuted and mocked and crucified with Christ. Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave His life for me.” Galatians 2:20-21.

He also says; “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24. The cross of Christ is the central pillar on which hangs the “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Sanctification is not the work of a moment, an hour, a day, but of a lifetime. It is not gained by a happy flight of feeling, but is the result of constantly dying to sin, and constantly living for Christ. Wrongs cannot be righted nor reformations wrought in the character by feeble, intermittent efforts. It is only by long, persevering effort, sore discipline, and stern conflict, that we shall overcome. We know not one day how strong will be our conflict the next. So long as satan reigns, we shall have self to subdue, besetting sins to overcome; so long as life shall last, there will be no stopping place, no point which we can reach and say, I have fully attained. Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience. AA 560.3

Remember when Christ carried His cross. He was weak; His flesh was torn, His blood was spilled. His heart was broken. Because of His human form, He struggled with the weight of the cross. He had to have help for He kept fainting from His trials of physical and emotional pain. But if we allow Him to come to us and help us carry our cross, we will make it to the end. We must have faith that Jesus and the Father will supply all of our needs according to the riches and glory. Righteousness is waiting! We must obtain it. We must work for it. We must want it.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6-8. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.