Take Up Your Cross
Lord's Day Exhortation
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Lk. 9:23–24).
Those were the words of our Lord Jesus to His disciples after Peter’s confession revealed to them that He indeed was their long-awaited Messiah. They served as a sober warning then, and now, regarding the way in which His kingdom would come and advance. Lest they expect earthly glory and riches, Jesus told them that if they were to follow Him — they would be following Him to a bloody cross and a horrific death. That was the pathway to real, eternal glory.
And this morning, these are Christ’s words to you, if you are one of His disciples. You will only be lifted up with Christ in glory, if you are lifted up first on a cross and share in His death. As the Apostle Paul wrote, we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Rom. 8:17).
There is real joy and glory to be had for every Christian, but you must go low in imitation of Christ. You must die daily to yourself. You must endeavor to crucify your flesh, overcome the world, and resist the devil (Gal. 5:24).
As J.C. Ryle once wrote,
“Without a religion of this kind we shall never be saved. A crucified Savior will never be content to have a self-pleasing, self-indulging, worldly-minded people. No self-denial – no real grace! No cross – no crown!”
And so the question this morning is – do you know what it looks like to die? Do you know what it means to lay your life down in the service of others? To deny the sinful lusts of your flesh? To resist pride, anger, or envy? Do you know of the Apostle Paul’s desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, as well as the fellowship of His sufferings, that you may by any means attain to the resurrection of the dead? (Phil. 3:10–11).
Christ has prepared a cross for you to bear. But remember that beneath it is promised everlasting joy and resurrection glory.
This exhortation was given on June 14, AD 2026, at King’s Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho.