THE CROSS WE CARRY — PART 4

WHO ARE YOU BECOMING?

Mark 8:34

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”

SERIES QUESTIONS

Part 1 — Who Gets the Final Word?

Part 2 — What Has to Die?

Part 3 — Is Jesus Worth the Cost?

Part 4 — Who Are You Becoming?

BIG IDEA

Following Jesus is not only about where we are going. God is at work in us now, conforming us to the image of Christ.

Romans 8:29

2 Corinthians 3:18

Christian growth is not instant perfection. It is the ongoing work of God in people who belong to Christ.

The goal of discipleship is that the disciple increasingly resembles the Teacher.

Luke 6:40

I. FOLLOWING JESUS BRINGS US INTO HIS PRESENCE

Mark 3:14

Before Jesus sent the disciples out, He called them to be with Him.

Being busy around Jesus is not the same thing as being with Jesus.

God uses His Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, repentance, and obedience to shape us.

John 15 teaches us to abide in Christ—to remain dependent upon Him rather than having occasional contact with Him.

Something is shaping us every day.

What we repeatedly watch shapes us.

What we repeatedly listen to shapes us.

The voices we trust shape us.

The people whose approval we value shape us.

Our habits shape us.

The question is whether Christ has enough access to us to reshape what everything else is trying to form.

Spiritual growth is usually gradual.

You may not have arrived, but you should not be where you used to be.

II. FOLLOWING JESUS GIVES US HIS PERSPECTIVE

Philippians 2:5

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Following Jesus changes the way we think.

Jesus had the highest position but willingly took the place of a servant.

John 13 shows Jesus secure in who He was, yet willing to wash His disciples’ feet.

Humility is not thinking badly about yourself. It is being secure enough in Christ that everything does not have to be about you.

Following Jesus changes the way we see people.

Jesus noticed people others overlooked.

He welcomed children.

He touched lepers.

He heard Bartimaeus.

He called Zacchaeus.

Biblical conviction and genuine compassion are not enemies.

You do not have to agree with everybody to treat everybody with dignity.

Holiness does not require cruelty.

Following Jesus also changes how we understand greatness.

Mark 10:43–45

The world often measures greatness by how many people serve you.

Jesus measures greatness by your willingness to serve.

Maturity should make us more useful to others, not more entitled.

A good question to ask:

How do I respond when somebody else receives what I wanted?

John 3:30

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

III. FOLLOWING JESUS FORMS HIS PATTERN IN US

Luke 6:40

Training produces resemblance.

Spiritual formation includes learning, correction, repentance, obedience, and growth.

Maturity does not mean we reach a point where nobody can correct us.

Sometimes maturity is demonstrated by how well we receive correction.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Believers are being transformed into the image of Christ.

Transformation is more than self-improvement.

The Holy Spirit is at work in us.

Philippians 2:13

God works in us, and we respond to His work.

When the Spirit convicts, we repent.

When the Word corrects, we adjust.

When Scripture calls us to obedience, we obey.

There should be evidence of growth over time—not perfection, but evidence.

Romans 8:29

God is conforming us to the image of His Son.

ASK YOURSELF

What does the pattern of Jesus increasingly look like in me?

When pressure comes, is patience growing?

When someone hurts me, does grace eventually appear?

When someone corrects me, am I defensive or teachable?

Am I more willing to serve without recognition?

Can the people closest to me see evidence that Jesus is changing me?

GROWTH OFTEN SHOWS UP IN SMALL THINGS

You recover from offense more quickly.

You apologize more readily.

You stop assuming the worst about people.

You can serve without needing recognition.

You become easier to live with.

Your family, coworkers, and the people around you should benefit from your Christian growth.

DO NOT CONFUSE GIFTS WITH GROWTH

1 Corinthians 1:7

1 Corinthians 3:1–3

The Corinthian believers were spiritually gifted, but they were still immature in important areas.

Giftedness is not the same thing as Christlikeness.

A gift tells us something about what God has enabled a person to do.

Character tells us something about who that person is becoming.

Jesus is not simply forming gifted people.

He is forming Christlike people.

PERSONAL APPLICATION

Sometimes going deeper does not mean learning something new.

Sometimes going deeper means obeying what we already know.

We can study forgiveness, but eventually we have to forgive.

We can study humility, but eventually we have to apologize.

We can study generosity, but eventually we have to give.

We can study service, but eventually we have to serve.

That is when truth becomes formation.

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION

WHO ARE YOU BECOMING?

Is patience growing?

Is humility growing?

Is compassion growing?

Are you becoming more like Jesus?

The goal is not simply that we carry the cross.

The goal is that, as we follow Christ, God conforms us more and more to the image of the One who carried it first.