Matthew 16:21–26; 1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Luke 9:23
It is easy to call yourself a Christian; it is much harder to ask honestly what type of follower of Jesus you are. Pastor Juliet Lyons unpacks Jesus' sobering words in Matthew 16 and describes three kinds of people in every crowd around Jesus: those who want to be fixed, those who want the world fixed, and the all-in disciples who follow Him for who He is. The call is to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow.
Key takeaways
- The thing God is after in your life often begins as a holy frustration, and breakthrough is on the other side of it.
- In every crowd around Jesus there are three types of people: the fix-me disciple, the fix-the-world disciple, and the all-in disciple who follows for who He is.
- To deny yourself means more than setting aside things; it means disowning your own will so that God is the center and instigator of every decision.
- Taking up your cross was not metaphorical to Jesus' hearers; it meant a final walk to death, and Luke adds that it happens daily.
- God is good and the world is broken, and the two are not connected; a faith built on expectations of God will sever when something goes wrong, but an all-in disciple follows come what may.
Message notes
How do you enter the room?
Pastor Juliet Lyons opens by observing that it is easy to let life happen, call ourselves Christians, and run the race without asking how we are actually showing up. God, she says, is watching how we enter the room when we call ourselves His followers.
A holy frustration
As a self-analytical teenager, Pastor Juliet would sit alone for an hour each evening reviewing her day, and one pattern kept surfacing: she was not disciplined. A naturally gifted sprinter set for a professional career, she once ate a Big Mac before a 100-meter race, lost to a rival named Crystal, and quit running in humiliation. The loss exposed her motives; she wanted to be seen as talented rather than do the hard work of becoming great. Over the following years she fasted, prayed, read, and found mentors on self-leadership, and 1 Corinthians 9:24–27 shaped her: every athlete exercises self-control in all things, but we run for an imperishable crown. Today discipline is one of her strongest values, and she asks what the holy irritation is in each listener's life, because breakthrough is often on the other side of it.
Passionate disciples, not fashionable ones
On the road to Easter, Elan Church has articulated its mandate to raise up passionate disciples of Jesus who lead a global move of God that shapes generations to come. Pastor Juliet warns that discipleship has become a fad word, and God is looking for the real thing, which is not as glamorous as it looks. At some point in every believer's journey the Lord will invite them to die to their own will and replace it with His. That is the whole point of true discipleship.
Three types of people in the crowd
Wherever Jesus went, three kinds of people gathered. Some came to be fixed and healed. Some hoped He would liberate them from Roman oppression and fix the world. And some were all-in, like Peter confessing who Jesus is, or Ruth saying wherever you go I will go. Nothing is wrong with coming to Jesus for healing or for hope about the world, but we cannot stay there. All-in disciples have no caveat. Thinking of the churches in Revelation, she prays Elan would be a house God finds faithful.
Discipleship is costly
In Matthew 16:21–26, at the height of His popularity, Jesus begins to speak candidly about going to Jerusalem to be killed and raised. When Peter objects, Jesus rebukes him for setting his mind on the things of man. Then He lays out the cost: whoever wants to follow must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow. "Our soul is tied to our discipleship."
Deny yourself, take up your cross, follow
To deny yourself is not to set aside a few things or habits; the word means to disown completely, and Jesus is speaking of our very life and will, so that God is the center and instigator of every decision, emotion, and thought. To take up your cross was a vivid picture for first-century listeners who watched condemned men carry 70 to 150 pounds of wood through public streets to execution. It meant a final walk to death, not simply carrying your burdens well, and Luke adds the word daily. To follow means conforming to Jesus' example even in suffering. Jesus was correcting disciples who expected a political liberator, and He corrects our expectations too. Sharing the story of a friend's husband, a young worship pastor recently diagnosed with cancer, she insists that God is good, the world is broken, and the two are not connected. A faith built on God meeting our expectations will sever when something goes wrong.
What kind of disciple are you?
Pastor Juliet recalls standing on a beach in Turkey in 2016 and committing her life to Jesus with no caveat, admitting she has sometimes regretted it but has never taken it back, because there is no other life. God does not promise it will be smooth, but it is worth it. In a world where everyone claims their own truth, now is the time to get your discipleship anchor right. The world needs to see dead people, people whose will is fully given over to Christ, because there is a King in heaven and every knee will bow. The closing question stands: what kind of disciple are you?
