Cross-Identification

We are in a season saints where Discipleship Development is going to be significant. No longer will one be able to get away with just being a "church member". If you're claiming to be saved and a born-again believer in Christ, then the requirement and the standard will be Christian Discipleship. Unfortunately, Discipleship to Christ is not something that is always strictly adhered to in the Body of Christ. This slackness in faithfulness and commitment to our Lord is found significantly in our church leadership. As preachers and ministers of the Gospel, a lot of times we get more preoccupied with our gifts and anointing than we do the Anointed One. This lack of focus in church leadership has created a ripple effect in the Body of Christ to where the majority of believers are not reaching for Discipleship to Christ as the standard for their relationship with God. This is about to change.

For those that have made a commitment to Discipleship to Christ, I'd like to reinforce the requirements of Discipleship as laid out by the Master Himself. Jesus says in the 16th chapter of the Gospel of Saint Matthew, "if any man will come after me let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me". The question I'd like to ask today is, have you identified your Cross? A crossless church is an un-discipled church. No matter how much praise and worship is going on, Jesus said that if you're going to be my Disciple you have to Bear Your Cross (of course praise and worship is a fundamental part of that). We have too many Cross-less Christians professing the name of Christ. This is one of the reasons why the church doesn't have the power to usher in the Kingdom of God. The Key is the Cross. And if you haven't identified and embraced your Cross, I can assure you, there's an aspect of your relationship with God that is off. We need to make sure that we've established Cross-Identification.

One of the preludes to bearing one's cross and the identification thereof is self-denial. That is the first prerequisite of Christian Discipleship (Matthew 16). Remember, self-denial is not synonymous with the stopping of sin. There could be an area that you need to deny yourself in that is not overtly sinful or against the word of God. One area that I've recently had to deny myself in is TV watching. Not that I watch an exorbitant amount of television, but the times I was watching it were not congruent with God's "discipleship agenda" for my life, so I had to shut it down. It may be an area that's very simple and subtle, but critical to the formation of Christ's Discipleship spirit within you.

In your pursuit of Cross-Identification understand this on the front end, you're going to have to Suffer. In identifying and bearing your cross, you are going to have to experience some pain. You're going to have to endure Sacrifice. If you're "pain aversive" or you're not into Sacrifice and personal inconvenience, let me tell you right now, you do not qualify to serve as a Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll be one of the followers that "walks away" (John 6). Our society has conditioned us that Pain is bad. However, this is not totally true. Not all pain is bad, particularly when it's Ordained of God. I still believe in the saying, No Pain, No Gain. The Holy Spirit will give you the strength to endure the pain of your Cross. But the first item of business is the identification thereof. The Lord is allowing me to identify mine. Yes it's painful, but it's also liberating. Hebrews chapter 12 says, "looking unto Jesus...who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the Cross". Saints, there is reward for those that allow the Holy Spirit to discipline and teach them how to identify and thus bear and endure their cross. I'm not talking about in the "bye and bye" either. I'm talking about the here and now! God has some rewards and promotions that He's getting ready to bestow upon His chosen. But the rewards will not be received without Cross-Identification.