Are you a cross bearer?

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luk 9:24  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

Luk 9:25  For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

What does it mean to take up our cross.

A cross is -

Definition- an upright wooden post with a shorter post fixed across it at right angles toward the top, on which, formerly, people were nailed or hanged in public executions

When we take up our cross we are putting on ourselves the weight of our SELF death.

Remember this--

Joh 19:16  Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

Joh 19:17  And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha

Jesus bore His own cross until He could bear it no longer.

Luk 23:26  And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

The weight of the cross, the instrument of His impending death, lay upon His wounded, bleeding shoulders. 

Bearing a cross, when we say those words- or these words-  'I have a cross to bear.'  We know it means that what we are bearing is a heavy weight, a burden of some kind.  If I tell you-  "That's your cross to bear." - I mean that's your weight, your burden to deal with.

Picking up our cross daily.  Each new day we have a cross we have to bear. We have a burden, we have a weight, we have an instrument of death - OUR instrument of death to endure.

Does it sound like something pleasant?

Luk_9:23  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

It's not pleasant at all. We are to DENY ourselves.  What's it mean to deny ourselves?  When you deny yourself you are giving something up, not partaking of something.  What are ways you can deny yourself?

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

We are to deny- UNGODLINESS.

We are to deny- WORLDLY LUSTS.

We should- LIVE SOBERLY.

We Should- LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY.

We should0 LIVE GODLY.

And to live soberly, righteously, and godly we have to deny our ungodly ways - ALL OF THEM and we have to deny ALL our worldly lusts.

Do we comprehend the scope of our cross, of all we need to deny ourselves?  Or are we too busy indulging ourselves without a single thought of denial? 

Jesus said- 'take up his cross daily'

Jesus said- 'deny himself'

WHY would our Savior say these things if we were simply to enjoy any and all things believing that if we deny ourselves we are somehow trying to save ourselves, working for our salvation.

Php_2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

We are to work out our own salvation and do it with FEAR and TREMBLING.

We work it out not with the ability to save ourselves but the with the ability to put ourselves where we can be saved. The choices we make - this is an action we need to commit.

Please, read the following verses, we'll be studying a lot more of this by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!

Help us, teach us LORD!  TEACH US. Please, LORD, save us- we believe… HELP OUR UNBELIEF!!!!!

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1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Luk 14:26  If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luk 14:27  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Mat 10:38  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Mat 16:22  Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

Mat 16:23  But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Mat 16:24  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mat 16:25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mar 8:35  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.

Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Mar 8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Joh 12:25  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Joh 12:26  If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Col 3:5  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry

Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Tit 2:13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ