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Why can’t serving God be all fun and celebration?            (Pg.1)
— A Bible study on the song, ‘Take up thy cross and follow Me’…

— Let’s start with what Jesus had to say on this subject…

From Matthew 16:21-27 (ESV)  From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. (22) And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (23) But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (24) Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (25) For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (26) For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (27) For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Following Jesus is not all suffering, as Jesus also tells us in…

John 15:9-11 (ESV)  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  (10)  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  (11)  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

 

With that in mind, let’s examine the lyrics of ‘Take up thy cross and follow Me’…

verse 1

I walked one day along a country road,  And there a stranger journeyed too,
Bent low beneath the burden of His load:  It was a cross, a cross I knew.

(Chorus)

“Take up thy cross and follow Me,” – I hear the blessed Savior call
How can I make a lesser sacrifice, – When Jesus gave His all?

verse 2

I cried, “Lord Jesus,” and He spoke my name,  I saw His hands all bruised and torn
I stooped to kiss away the marks of shame,  The shame for me that He had borne.

(Chorus)

verse 3

“Oh, let me bear Thy cross, dear Lord,” I cried,  And, lo, a cross for me appeared,
The one, forgotten, I had cast aside,  The one, so long, that I had feared.

(Chorus)

verse 4

My cross I’ll carry ’til the crown appears,  The way I journey soon will end,
Where God Himself shall wipe away all tears,  And friend hold fellowship with friend.

(Chorus)

***

Why can’t serving God be all fun and celebration?   (Pg.2)

— The first verses of today’s song call us to picture what Jesus went through for you and me.

Verse 1) I walked one day along a country road,  And there a stranger journeyed too,
Bent low beneath the burden of His load:  It was a cross, a cross I knew.

Verse 2) I cried, “Lord Jesus,” and He spoke my name,  I saw His hands all bruised and torn
I stooped to kiss away the marks of shame,  The shame for me that He had borne.

And the Chorus brings out the main point of this song…

“Take up thy cross and follow Me,” I hear the blessed Savior call
How can I make a lesser sacrifice, When Jesus gave His all?

Q1. What is the message this song is trying to communicate to you and I?

Comments? ___________________________________________________________________

Q2. Why did Jesus see the hand of Satan in Matthew 16:22-23… And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (23) But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Comments? ___________________________________________________________________

Q3. Do we sometimes find ourselves dealing with this dilemma of wills (Ours vs. God’s)?

Comments? ___________________________________________________________________

Verse 3) “Oh, let me bear Thy cross, dear Lord,” I cried,  And, lo, a cross for me appeared,
The one, forgotten, I had cast aside,  The one, so long, that I had feared.

Q4. Why do you think the author says ‘his cross’ is one he has long feared?

Comments? ___________________________________________________________________

Verse 4) My cross I’ll carry ’til the crown appears,  The way I journey soon will end,
Where God Himself shall wipe away all tears,  And friend hold fellowship with friend.

Q5. In which verse of Matthew 16 does Jesus tell us that there is no other way to gain this ‘fellowship of friend with friend’ except to take up your cross and follow Him?

☐ Vs.21-22…                       ☐ Vs.24-25…                       ☐ Vs.27…

Q6. Is this a…    ☐ PRAISE song,    …or a    ☐ WORSHIP song? – (Does it call for surrender?)

Q7. For discussion… What do you think of fellowship with Jesus in heaven?

We’ll close with this praise chorus from Psalm 35:27 (ESV) Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”