THE DISCIPLE LIFE 03

“The Cross Life”

DEMANDS OF DISCIPLESHIP

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them,
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow Me. (Mark 8:34 NKJV)

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take
his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:37-38 NKJV)

1. Denying yourself means

to refuse to satisfy yourself. But your primary focus is to satisfy the Lord.
to put Him above all else. Jesus is the great King and must be treated as such. The
to value and love Jesus above all. No one else, even family member may be loved
and valued above Christ.

2. Taking up the cross means - that you must partake of the sufferings of
Christ. No one can be His disciple without embracing the cross. We must be willing
to suffer what Jesus suffered.

These two are spoken of Jesus as strong requirements, not as suggestions only to
anyone who wants to be His disciples

In Mark 8:34 - Whoever desires to follow .......deny himself, take up, His cross
....only then can he follow Him

In Matthew 10:37-38 - He who does not love Him above all, who does not take up
his cross, IS NOT WORTHY OF ME.

SUFFERINGS AND CROSS LIFE

The Self-Life: If we life for self, we always want to be well-thought of, to have
a good reputation or to even have “celebrity status”. Jesus did not have a good
reputation among His people. They hated Him because He told them that their
deeds were evil (John 7:7). His own people even tried to kill Him by throwing Him
over a cliff (Luke 4:28-30).
 One of the most effective ways for the self-life to be removed is through
suffering. THE SUFFERINGS OF JESUS

1. Persecution
Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If
they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will
keep yours also. (John 15:20 NKJV)

2. Slander, false accusation, evil speaking

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for
a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have
called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his
household! (Matthew 10:24-25 NKJV)

“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and
reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap
for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors
treated the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23 NIV

And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said,
“He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” (John 7:12
NKJV)

3. Sorrow, pain, rejection

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not
esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3 NKJV)
Jesus suffered rejection from His own family. For even His brothers did not believe
in Him. (John 7:5 NKJV)

There will be years of crushing and breaking in this process of discipleship.

Only when self is dead, can Christ manifest Himself through us. He is seeking
empty vessels who He can live and love through.