Carry Your Cross

We open Matthew 16:24 and take Jesus at His word: discipleship requires surrender, not comfort. We wrestle with what it means to deny ourselves, carry the cross the right way, and follow Christ with obedience that changes daily life. 

• reading Matthew 16:24 and treating it as a command 
• denying self as daily repentance and daily surrender 
• rejecting “follow your heart” when Scripture warns the heart deceives 
• counting the cost of following Jesus without sugarcoating it 
• redefining “take up your cross” as death to the old life 
• anchoring suffering in hope through Romans 8:18 
• following Jesus as becoming like Him through love, service, forgiveness, and obedience 
• asking whether we recognize Jesus’ voice or only feel familiar with Him 
• practical examples like integrity over temptation and humility over pride 
• prayer for listeners, families, pastors, and staying on the narrow road 

go to trainot.com slash both. 
I'm one phone call away, one text away, 706-267-1467. 
Make sure you visit the website. 
And don't forget, if you haven't gotten right today, you need to get right. 

Transcript

Motivation And Sponsor Message

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The distance between your dreams and your reality right now. Discipline is doing the things you hate to do. But do it like you love it. That's so responsible for that 200. This enough. Your body's a gift, so fuel it like it matters. You need to get that energy up. You need to get that focus up. You need to get that wellness on point. No jump, no shortcuts, just support where your body needs it the most. If you're ready to move, if you're ready to feel different, if you're ready to live different, go to trainot.com slash both. That's train.com slash b rob.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hello. We would like to welcome you to the Food Stop Face Cast with my husband, your host, B-rob. So without further ado, here's B-rob.

Matthew 16:24 Sets The Standard

Deny Yourself Versus Modern Culture

Take Up Your Cross Explained

Follow Jesus And Become Like Him

Real Life Examples Of Obedience

Help, Community, And Next Steps

Prayer And Final Challenge

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Hey guys, it's B-rob. Welcome back today. And today is a beautiful day. You want to know why? Because it is a day that the Lord hath made, and we are here talking, breathing, living just like the living God. Yeshua. Yep. So today we're going to dive into a powerful, challenging, and life-defining word from Jesus. If you ever wondered what it means to follow Christ, not just in words, but like actually follow Christ in life, in your life, in your lifestyle. If you ever wondered what it really means, then I've got a message for you today. So let's kick it off with foundation. Okay? A little scripture. A little foundation. If you have your Bible, you can turn it to Matthew chapter 16, verse 24. It reads, Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Let me read that for you one more time. Then Jesus said to the disciples, Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. First of all, he called him selfish, okay? Second of all, he basically said, you cannot depend on yourself because you're nobody. Take up your cross and follow me. So he didn't suggest it. He didn't say, I think it'd be a great idea. He didn't, he didn't have a plan. He didn't say, hey man, I think we should do this. It was not a suggestion. He was a rabbi. He was a teacher. It wasn't a motivational quote from a life coach or a preacher. It was a command. It was a requirement. And it was laid out in three different things. In one line, in one sentence. Jesus lays out three things. The foundation. Number one. Deny yourself. The hardest one of all, probably, if I had to guess for anybody and everybody. Deny yourself. Deny what the flesh wants. Deny what the flesh wants. That I've been friends with for a long time. I say friend because everybody's my friend. I'm a man of God. I'm a child of God. I look at everybody the same way. Do we talk on the phone every day? No. We probably haven't talked in years, except through Facebook. But I've been seeing some amazing changes in this individual. And I hope he sees the same in me. You know? And I'm gonna you, I'm not gonna say his name, but I'm gonna read this Facebook post. I lay my pride down every last ounce. I pour it down. Done with being that person, all that I am, all the abilities, all the money, time, and resources, I set them down before you. I do not do this to be best in show, like some Ponzi Pharisee. I do this with tears in my eyes because pride has been my armor my entire life. I shed it now in public. If you're reading this, know I love you. Well, if you are listening, you know who you are. I love you too. And that's a great post. And that is repentance. And that is what every single one of us need to do daily because every day we do not die to ourselves, we do not deny ourselves, we welcome the world in a lot of ways, and I'm just as guilty as the next person. I'm just speaking truth. But that's how hard this is, that's how narrow the road is. Everybody's on the wide road, but we must search for the narrow. Number two, take up your cross. Take up your cross. Well, let's get, hold on, let me let me finish with number one, okay? Let me finish number one, okay. Notice he doesn't say improve yourself. Notice he doesn't say express yourself, notice he says deny yourself. That goes against everything culture teaches, programs, that goes against everything on the TV. That even goes against the modern church. And I say that because the same crowd you hung out with in high school hangs out at the modern church. The same clicks you hung out in high school hangs out at the modern church. The same clicks that hang down at the coffee shop, the same clicks that hang in the modern church. You're just moving from one building to the next. The world says follow your heart. The world says do what feels right. The world says be true to yourself. And don't get me wrong. I am just as guilty as the next. I am not putting down any church or anybody. I'm speaking the truth. I love all of you. I don't care where you meet, what building. Church is two people coming together in his name. It's not a building. The world says be true to self. The Bible says to deny yourself. Jeremiah 17, 9. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? It says right there, your heart is not really a trustworthy guide. You see, denying yourself means saying no to the flesh, saying no to sin, saying no to pride, saying no to ego, saying no to any selfish ambition that you may have. The bad thing is, is it's human. So we have to be on guard. You see, choosing God's will over your feelings hurts. But it doesn't hurt like an eternity of hurt would feel like, which I would imagine hell being. Right? If you look at Luke chapter 9, 23, it adds something powerful right here. Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. That is not a one-time decision. It's a daily surrender, it's a daily walk. It is a minute-to-minute walk. Every day you gotta wake up and say, God, not my will but yours. Not my path but yours. Not my life but yours. Look at Luke twenty-two, forty-two. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will but yours be done. Yet not my will but yours be done. Jesus even says it. So if Jesus has to surrender his will, if he has to surrender it, what makes us think we don't? Right? Which brings us to number two. Take your cross. Take up your cross. Now, a lot of times this part is often misunderstood. Jesus says, take up your cross. Today we use cross as a mean inconvenience. Or as an inconvenience in in general. Like this job is my cross. Ugh. It's gonna be the death of me. This situation is my cross. It's gonna be the death of me. You see? Back in Jesus' time, the cross actually meant one thing and one thing only, not a symbolic thing, but one thing, and that was death by crucifixion. It was an instrument of execution, the stake. So when Jesus said that, he was telling you to be willing to die. Not only physically, but spiritually. Die to your old life. Symbolically. Die to your sin. You become new. You become a new person. Those old habits are no longer there. They are dead. That control that whatever had over you is no longer there. It is dead. You are a new creation in Christ. Romans 6, 6, for we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with. You see, Paul puts it even more clearly in Galatians 2.20. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. How heavy is that? How heavy is that? What do you think that means? I think it means that your identity is no longer centered on you, symbolically speaking. I'm not saying you gotta go out and get shot. I'm not saying you gotta go get run over. I'm not saying physically. I'm talking symbolically, spiritually. Your identity is no longer centered on you. You're no longer that selfish, sadistic, whatever, sinful person you used to be. Now you look like Christ because you have to live like Christ. But to look like Christ, you have to live like Christ. Your life belongs to Christ, so you should live like him because he died for you. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, so you would not physically have to do that. All you have to do is symbolically and spiritually do it. And obviously, don't go out and sin with your body. That would be physical. But taking up your cross is saying, God, even when it's hard, God, even when it feels impossible, God, even when there's the biggest mountain in front of me, I still choose you. When it costs me everything I own, I still choose you. Because let me tell you something, folks. Let me tell you something right now. Let me tell you, and I'm gonna say it for the cheap seats in the back. So I'm gonna say it once, not twice, but three times, because following Jesus will cost you something. Following Jesus will cost you something. Following Jesus will cost you something. It may cost you comfort, it may cost you relationships, it may cost you opportunities that you thought you had. But I guarantee you, I guarantee you, if you saw what he saw, you would have wished you never had. But check this out, guys. Check this out. Romans 8:18. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us and in us. You see, the cross is heavy, but it leads to glory. Which brings us to number three. Follow me. Jesus says, follow me. It's uplifting, it's encouraging. After denying yourself, after picking up your cross, Jesus says, follow me. This is where the miracles happen. This is where the transformation happens. Because following Jesus is not just believing in him, it's becoming like him. First John 2, 6 says, whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. So what did Jesus do? He loved the unlovable. He forgave the guilty. He served the broken. He obeyed the Father completely, one hundred percent of the time. And you saw it. You saw him glow. Well, the gospels glow. You see, following Jesus means walking in obedience. Following Jesus means living with love and purpose. Following Jesus means reflecting his character and not your character. Because once you do what the verse says, you become a new creation, and your biography turns into a testimony. John 10, 27 says, My sheep listen to my voice, I know them, and they follow me. Well, guys, the question of today is, the question of right now is, the question is, do you recognize your master's voice? Do you recognize his voice? Do you recognize Jesus' voice? Are you actually following him? Or are you just familiar with him? Are you going through the motions? Because there's a big fat difference. It's huge. It's the difference between the cost and a reward. Jesus doesn't hide the cost. If you look at Matthew 1624, he says, right after 1624, he's in 1625, he says, for whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it. That's a paradox, isn't it? But it's the truth. It's facts. As my kids would say. Facts, Dad. Facts. If you live for yourself, you will lose everything you have. That's the cost. The reward. But if you surrender your life to Jesus, you find purpose. You find love. You find real life. In Matthew 16, 26, moving along, what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet forfeit their own soul? What good is money? What good is success? What good is influence? And still lose everything in the end? That's what Jesus is saying. What are you really living for? What are you living for? What are you living for right now in your life? What does this look like in your life today? Denying yourself. Choosing integrity over temptation. Choosing humility over pride. Choosing obedience over convenience. Take up your cross. Standing strong for your faith even when it's not popular. Even when you get picked on, even when it's looked down upon. Holding somebody's hand that nobody else would hold. And that's symbolically speaking as well. Or physically speaking, it does not matter, whatever the spirit leads. Letting go of things God told you to release. That's a hard one. Are you listening? Or are you slamming doors in God's face? Enduring hardship without walking away from God, without getting mad at God, with knowing the purpose that God knows the answer and you don't. Follow Jesus. Spend time in his word, studying the gospel. Spend time in God's word. Listen to his voice. Live out love. Live out truth. And be grateful and thankful for his grace. It sounds easy, but I can assure you right now it's not. It's taken me years and years and years and years and years to get right here. 51 to be exact. But it's so worth it. I can tell you, it is so, so worth it. You see, Jesus never promised an easy path. He promised a meaningful one. It's real simple, guys. The call's clear. Deny yourself, take up your cross, follow him. And here's the beautiful part. You ain't doing it alone. I'm right here with you. There's a lot of people right here on this call right here, listening, that are right there with you, too. I'm one phone call away, one text away, 706-267-1467. You know that. Matthew 28, 20. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. So right there it says, Jesus walks with you. He strengthens you. He carries you even when your cross feels too heavy and too much of a burden. So today I want you to take a moment and ask yourself, are you truly following Jesus? Or are you just sitting back from a distance? Because real discipleship requires surrender. And if you do not have a relationship with God, with Christ, with Yeshua, you really need to get right. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today, Lord. Thank you, Papa Man. Just thank you for giving us this new Monday, this new season, this new moment, so we can praise you. So we can take this moment and just feel the lesson that you have given us this morning, the message that you have given us this morning, Lord. The reminder that you have given us today. To be more like Jesus, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. Lord, we love you so much. We pray anointing over everyone who is listening right now's life. Lord, I pray an anointing over my own family in my day-to-day out in the field. I pray that I can touch somebody's life. I can help somebody's life. I pray you send me to the right family, Lord, today that I can help. I pray the same for everybody who is listening, Lord. I pray for our pastors. I pray for their congregations. I pray for their ministries. I pray for Nikita. I pray for Man Camp. I pray for everybody who is back home and in the world. Who was so close to you. I pray that they are still right there in your palm. Lord, just be with us, keep us. Help us stay on that narrow road, on that path to eternity with you, Lord. It's in Jesus' holy, heavenly name we pray these things. Amen and hallelujah. Well, guys, thank you once again. Make sure you visit the website. I love you guys. God bless you. And um, we'll see you next time. And don't forget, if you haven't gotten right today, you need to get right.