Take Up Your Cross
Matthew 16:21-28
It's one of those mornings and as I was getting ready to come into the office I said, coffee time! Time to get my bodacious on. this morning we are on the third part of this weeks look at "Taking up our cross in Stewardship" So if you haven't read the first two, please do before reading on because it will make a whole lot more sense.
Coming to Christ is a voluntary act of our will. Nobody
can make us come to Jesus. Nobody can keep us away from coming to Jesus.
Sure our parents or our spouse can make us come to church, but that’s not making us come to Jesus. We never come to Jesus as a group. When we stand before God, nobody is going to be standing with us. It will be a one to one session. This is the only in Christianity when it will be all about you. God has chosen us to be His children, but we have to decide whether or not we will have him as our parent. We are not born God’s children, but rather we are adopted into the family of God.
Eph. 1:4-7 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
Sure our parents or our spouse can make us come to church, but that’s not making us come to Jesus. We never come to Jesus as a group. When we stand before God, nobody is going to be standing with us. It will be a one to one session. This is the only in Christianity when it will be all about you. God has chosen us to be His children, but we have to decide whether or not we will have him as our parent. We are not born God’s children, but rather we are adopted into the family of God.
Eph. 1:4-7 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the one he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”
The blood which Jesus shed on the cross will not do us a bit of good, if we do not choose to follow him. It’s like having a million dollars in the bank, but choosing to never write a check on it because we would rather get our money somewhere else. Did not God promise to take care of you if you gave Him control of everything? Did not Jesus say “Seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you?” One of the things about taking up the cross of Christ includes taking on the mentality of a steward; it changes our thought on who’s in control in our lives. It allows us to see the big picture plan that God has for each of us. Trusting Him is a big step, but a step that worth it. You are loved!
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