Can You Carry The Cross 17
Mark 15:21

A. In A.D. 162, Emperor Marcus Arilius sentenced Polycarp to burn at the stake at the age
of 100. All he had to do to save his life was to put a pinch of incense on the altar and say,
“Caesar is Lord.” Instead, Polycarp turned to Caesar and said, “Eighty and six years have I
served Him and He never wounded me; how then shall I blaspheme my Lord and my King who
has saved me?”
That brings an important question before each of us. One we need to consider carefully, seriously and honestly. Would you be willing to die for Jesus? Could Christians, in 2002, who live in pampered luxury and Idle ease withstand persecution if it were to come upon us?
a. You might ask, “Why bring it up, why bother considering such an unlikely and remote
possibility. We live in a civilized world and those things don’t happen in our world today?”
(A) If that is your sincere observation you would be absolutely wrong. It has happened
and is happening in our world today. That makes it a very real and valid question.
In 1956, Cline Paden was dragged out of the church building in Rome, Italy and throne in jail for preaching and deported out of Italy by the Italian Government at the insistence of the Catholic Church. In 1968, after graduating from Sunset School of Preaching, John Justin’s car was turned over and he was stoned by Catholics for preaching the gospel in Dublin, Ireland. That same year in Glasgow Montana the Mormons began a campaign of harassment and persecution against the Church with threats of violence and damaging our building. In 1969 a 20 year old Jew named Michael Schwarts converted to Christianity and came to Sunset School of Preaching to study and preach the Gospel. His family pronounced Michael “Moshe Schmad” (Dead, no longer alive) disowned, disinherited him, bought a burial plot, tomb stone, casket and put all remembrances they had of him in the casket, and buried it. In 1971, Frank Pierce with his family were working as missionaries in Ceylon, along with 25 new converts to Christianity, were beaten, their lives threatened, their homes burned and told to get out of the country by Hindus. In 1989, Ghassan Yoseph a Palestinean graduate of Sunset School of Preaching went back to his hometown of Elibaum where they were persecuted so badly by the Islamics they moved over into Israel. Those are just the ones I know about.
We live in a nation today where our own liberal Democratic politicians in the nation’s capital refer to us as “Right Wing Religious, Radicals, Right-Wing Extremists.” Some of you know about being slandered, lied about, spoken evil against and persecuted by those leaders of the group that broke off and went down town because they wanted to ignore God’s word and fellowship the denominations.
Their leader says they won’t have fellowship here again until those conservative members of this congregation here are dead and buried.
They might consider it after we have a few funerals.
Persecution is alive and well not only in the world, but even in our own town. If you don’t have the stomach for it, you’re in the wrong place.
(1) Jesus said, in Lk. 9:23, “If any man come after me let him deny self and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Matt. 10:30, He didn’t mince words when He said, “He who is not for me is against me.” Then in Vs. 38, “He that does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

(1) Are we ready to pay the price for following Jesus? Are you ready and willing to bear what ever cross God gives you?
(2) Jesus had to carry His cross. He reminds us in John 15:20, that “A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” You and I are not above our Lord and we must bear whatever cross comes our way.
(2) His cross was the pain and shame of dying for sins He did not commit. His cross was bearing the shame of our sins. We owe Him more than we can ever repay and there’s going to be a pay day some day.
(3) Isa. 53:6, “...the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” 1 Pet. 2:24,
“He bore our sins in His own body.”
(4) His cross was not heavy because of the wood. Because of the world and our sin. He bore the cross for me. Now I must bear the cross for Him.
3. I cannot go back to Calvary and help Jesus carry His cross. I cannot give Him a cup of water, to sooth his brow, wash His feet with my tears. It’s to late for that.
(1) But, it’s not to late to show my love and devotion by serving faithfully, enthusiastically and with total commitment of all I am and all I have.
(1) SONG: “Must Jesus Bare The Cross Alone?” (Pg. 300)
(2) Stand with the apostle Paul as he proclaims in Phip. 3:10, “I long to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, by being made conformable to His death.”
(2) That’s simply Paul’s way of saying, “The first thing I must do is die to self. I must put self on the cross so Christ can reign supremely on the throne of my life.”
(1) We owe God all that we have and all that we are. We desperately need the attitude and commitment of David as expressed in 2 Sam. 24:24, “I will not offer to God that which cost me nothing.” My God is not a cheap and stingy God and I will not attempt to worship Him in a cheap and stingy way.
(2) Acts 20:32.

Spur - 03/17/2002 am