I Can’t Carry My Cross Anymore
April 18, 2025 || Matthew 16:24
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Matthew 16:24 [NKJV]
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1 Corinthians 15:31 {NKJV]
32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me?
1 Corinthians 15:32 [NKJV]
The Cross From The Perspective Of Grace.
1. Grace Sends People To Help Carry The Burden.
26 As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
Luke 23:26 [NIV]
28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with Me and work with Me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with Me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Matthew 11:28-30 [MSG]
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 [NIV]
9 He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9 [NKJV]
2. Grace Starts At Jesus’ Finish Line.
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
John 19:30 [NKJV]
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20 [NIV]
3. Grace Is A Living Sacrifice.
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Romans 12:1 [BRB]
27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.
Hebrews 7:27 [NIV]
22 But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23 [NIV]
14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Hebrews 9:14 [NIV]
