Fan or Follower-Come and Die daily!
Luke 9:23-27
April 14, 2017


#9 of series (Kyle Idleman, not a fan, chapter 11)


What if you and I were to go into business together. What do you
think is one of the first things we need to establish in our
relationship as business partners? Who's the boss? Nope!
Part of a good business plan is to create a slogan and symbol that
will attract potential customers. You want them to see your
symbol and hear your slogan and think to themselves, "I think I'd
like to try that or be a part of that."


A right slogan and symbol cannot only bring your company to a
customer's attention but it can also create a desire, an interest
for the product.


Let me give you a quick pop quiz to show you how important
slogans and symbols are to a business. I will give you 7 different
slogans and see if you can picture in your mind the symbol for
that company and the product it represents. This is a pass/fail
quiz!


1. Melts in your mouth not in your hand. (M&M)
2. It's everywhere you want to be. (Visa credit card)
3. The Ultimate Driving Machine. (BMW)
4. Just do it. (Nike)
5. It keeps going, and going, and going... (Energizer battery)
6. You're in good hands with... (Allstate insurance)
7. Where shopping is a pleasure. (Publix supermarket)
How'd you do?


With that slogan and symbol mentality in mind for a new
business; what slogan and symbol would you suggest for
followers of Jesus?



Jesus extends his slogan and symbol to us in a brief statement:
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and
take up his cross daily and follow me." ---Luke 9:23
From that statement what do you think is the slogan for a
follower of Jesus?

The slogan for a follower of Christ could accurately be captured
this way: COME AND DIE!


Most marketing strategists would suggest that this does get a
person's attention but not sure it would attract them to Jesus.
I mean we don't like to even say the word, "Die." When someone
dies how do we usually phrase it? "They passed on. They've
gone to be with the Lord. It was their time. They kicked the
bucket.


Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and theologian who was killed for
trying to overthrow Hitler put it this way,
"When Christ calls a person, he bids them come and die."
The symbol for a follower of Jesus is not any better. What do you
think the symbol for being a follower of Jesus might be?
A Cross!



An instrument of torture and horrendous death is to be the
symbol that represents a follower of Jesus?
Couldn't God, who was the Creator of all things come up with a
better, maybe more subtle symbol for those who sought to follow
His Son Jesus?



How about a dove? Symbol of peace.
How about a shepherds staff? Symbol of guidance and
protection.


How about a bible? Symbol of His truth.
A cross? Two bloody beams nailed together?
We have tried to make the most of it haven't we?
We have gold plated the cross or blinged it with jewels.
Or we have made it into a pleasing to the eyes wall ornament.
page 2
The cross, was during Jesus' time a symbol of:
Humiliation, suffering and death.


HUMILIATION


For the Jews, the cross was a means of execution that the
Romans used to force them into submission. There were other
ways the Romans killed people: Fire, stoning, sword. They were
quicker and cheaper than crucifixion.


A crucifixion on the other hand required four soldiers and a
centurion to oversee the process. So why crucifixion? They
would use it when they wanted to publicly humiliate a criminal.
They wanted to make a public statement that this person was
powerless and useless. We know that the soldiers humiliated and
mocked Jesus during his trial and crucifixion. They spit on him.
Mocked him as a king with a crown of thorns.



The bible says in Philippians 2:1-8 that we are to have the same
attitude of Jesus who humbled himself and took on the cross for
us. He had everything and yet chose to make himself nothing.
If we are going to follow Jesus we too are to humble ourselves
and take up the cross, making ourselves nothing.


SUFFERING


The cross was also a symbol of suffering. A person was beaten
severely...to the edge of death. Then the 100lb crossbeam was
placed on the open wounds of their shoulders and they carried it
through the narrow streets of the city to outside the city gates.
Jesus carried his crossbeam down the narrow roads of the Via
Dolarosa, known as the Way of Suffering.


Taking up the cross and following Jesus down the narrow path of
life will bring you pain and suffering. It is not a gold plated path
of luxury and promised comfort.
You can't carry a cross without suffering.



There is a junk theology that states that if you are experiencing
some pain or suffering in life then that means you don't have
enough faith...or you are not walking close enough with Jesus.
That's false advertising!!! The truth is that if we are walking
close with Jesus, we do experience pain and suffering. Jesus
himself, told us that in this world we would have pain and
suffering. (John 16:33)



When we say, "Yes!" to Jesus we are saying yes to agreeing to
carry a cross, and that will be painful at times.
Hear some of these promises of scripture that following Jesus will
cost you something:



"Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude
you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of
the Son of Man." Luke 6:22
"Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted." II Timothy 3:12
"For it is has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not
only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him."
Philippians 1:29



Here is a challenging, heart searching and maybe even gutwrenching
question to ask yourself:
"Am I really carrying a cross or simply wearing one around my
neck?"


It is definitely easier to wear the cross than carry the cross.
What is it costing you to follow Jesus, to carry the cross?
A relationship...a job promotion...a friendship...10% of your
income...time away from your recreation on Sunday?


DEATH


The cross is not only a symbol of humiliation and suffering, but
ultimately it is the symbol of dying. Hours after Jesus hung on
the cross a spear was thrust in his side to confirm his death.



Jesus invites those who want to follow him to die. We die to our
own desires, plans, pursuits and wills. When we become
followers of Jesus that's the end of us. We no longer live but
Christ lives in us. (Galatians 2:20)



Sadly, many churches and pastors want to try to sugar coat it
with some message that it's really not all that bad. We have
made the cross too comfortable and attractive. The cross is
anything but that. It is painful and offensive. Few follow Jesus
down that narrow path or way of suffering. It is so counterculture
to what society tells us we deserve: comfort and
satisfaction.



Jesus didn't come to this earth and die on a cross just so we
would be better behaved or to tweak our personalities or simply
smooth out some rough edges of our lifestyle. The truth is that
Jesus came so that we could die.



In his classic book, Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote:
Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and
so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you."



The slogan of a follower of Christ: "DIE DAILY!"
The symbol of a follower of Christ: The cross!
Anyone who is in Christ, the old is passed away and all things
become new. II Corinthians 5:17



I've been around my share of dead people as a pastor. I don't
mean to sound cold or uncaring but: dead people don't seem to
care very much what other people think of them...they aren't
concerned with how nice their clothes are...they are not caught
up in how much money they have in their account...or the latest
boxscore of their favorite sports team.



The point is that death is the ultimate surrender of yourself and
all that you have. All that I am and all that I have I surrender to
Jesus. That is so counter-culture.



When Jesus calls us to be a follower, he says, "Take up your
cross..."
That word, "take" indicates that dying is a choice we make. We
typically think that death is not a choice we make. A terminal
disease takes our life. A sudden heart attack. A deadly
accident. A fatal fall.



Scientist talk about what's called the "Survival Instinct" within
each of us. When our lives are threatened, self-preservation can
drive us to extreme measures. That's why this slogan of "Come
and die", and this symbol of the cross aren't just counter-cultural
but they are counter intuitive.



But there is one more word Jesus added that really challenges us
to be a follower.
The word is "daily." Take up your cross daily.
Every day we make the decision that we will die to ourselves and
live for Christ.



Really, it's only by dying that we are even able to follow Jesus.
I am every day dying to become a follower of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul said, "I die daily!" I Corinthians 15:31
And do we remember what Jesus said earlier?
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:24)



Then the Apostle Paul reaffirmed the power of the cross with
these words:
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God." (I Corinthians 1:18)
The message of the cross just doesn't make sense to many...it
messes up their personal comfort and space.



For the fan... For the follower...
The cross represented defeat An image of victory!
The cross represented guilt An image of grace!
The cross of condemnation An image of freedom!
The cross of pain and suffering An image of healing & hope!
The cross represented death An image of life!
The cross is unattractive An image of beauty!
Taking up the cross and dying to oneself daily doesn't sound like
a walk in the park. It's not! It's a walk down that narrow path of
pain and suffering. However, it is a walk we don't do alone. The
One who walked it before us, Jesus, walks with us each and every
day.



There is a surprising effect to dying daily to self...it is the
discovery of an amazing life...a life we so desperately desire!
Come and die daily to the One who died on the cross for you!
Daily come after Jesus.
Daily deny yourself to his love.
Daily take up the cross!




have a blessed day,   Gary
yfc77jesus@aol.com