Take Up Your Cross
About this sermon
In “Take Up Your Cross,” Pastor Dean Odle presents a Scripture-centered message about faith, the cross and Christ’s blood, the condition of the church. Drawing especially from 2 Timothy 3:12, Luke 14:25, Luke 15, Revelation 3, the teaching emphasizes that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. Odle connects that foundation with the conviction that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin.
Chronological teaching outline
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Odle focuses on costly discipleship. The message argues that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. It connects this with the conviction that faithfulness in the home requires instruction, loving correction, protection, and a consistent Christian example. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on the cross and Christ’s blood. The message argues that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. It connects this with the conviction that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on the cross and Christ’s blood while working through 2 Timothy 3:12, Luke 14:25. The message argues that Christ’s sacrifice and shed blood are presented as the foundation of redemption, forgiveness, and victory over sin. It connects this with the conviction that faithful endurance is necessary when obedience brings testing, opposition, or suffering. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on a biblical foundation. The message argues that a durable Christian life must be built on Christ, sound doctrine, and obedient response to Scripture. It connects this with the conviction that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
Odle focuses on salvation. The message argues that salvation is presented as God’s work in Christ that produces a changed life and continuing faith. It connects this with the conviction that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise. The practical emphasis is to practice patient, truthful love in relationships and conflict.
Odle focuses on repentance while working through Luke 15. The message argues that repentance involves turning from known sin and bringing conduct into agreement with God’s word. It connects this with the conviction that the reality of final judgment gives urgency to repentance, salvation, and faithful witness. The practical emphasis is to respond with honest repentance and concrete obedience.
Odle focuses on faith while working through Revelation 3, Revelation 3:14. The message argues that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. It connects this with the conviction that the church is called to recover biblical faithfulness instead of accommodating compromise. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on eternal life and hope. The message argues that the promise of eternal life directs believers toward hope, holiness, and perseverance in Christ. It connects this with the conviction that the reality of final judgment gives urgency to repentance, salvation, and faithful witness. The practical emphasis is to trust God’s promises and refuse decisions governed by fear.
Odle focuses on the gospel. The message argues that the gospel announces Christ’s saving work and calls every hearer to repent, believe, and obey. It connects this with the conviction that Scripture is presented as the standard for doctrine, discernment, and daily obedience. The practical emphasis is to test the teaching by Scripture and apply it through faithful obedience.
Odle focuses on faith while working through John 17:15. The message argues that biblical faith trusts God’s character and acts upon His promises. It connects this with the conviction that following Christ requires self-denial, obedience, and perseverance rather than passive association with religion. The practical emphasis is to seek God in prayer and act on what Scripture requires.
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- 0:00:00
Father, I ask you to help us all to embrace what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus. I want it really means, Lord, to lay down our lives, to forsake all and to be your disciple. Lord, especially in this hour, in this time, in this season that we're in, we must awaken. We must awaken to the truth. We must awaken to the light of the hour. We must awaken to the task at hand. We must get serious. Father, I pray this today in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated this morning. You know, that song we were singing there, just thinking about it and really there's so many things stirring in my heart over this past week, but even up until coming to church this morning and even coming in here and getting ready, I still was not sure what direction the Holy Spirit wanted me to go to share with you this morning, but as we sang that song about believers wake up, stand up, take up your cross and carry it on. I was reminded of a quote from the late Leonard Ravenhill, a man of God, prophet, prayer warrior, a revivalist. Not many like him. Sad that he is Sad for us that is gone to be with the Lord, but good for him. I think he passed away in '94, '95, somewhere in that time period, but he said this, he said, "One thing you knew about a man who was carrying the cross outside the city is that he was not coming back." We Christians tend to forget something that to identify with Jesus to take up our cross is to identify with death. But I mean that in the absolute positive way, because if we're going to be Christians, real Christians and we're going to take up our cross and follow him, what we're saying is is that from this point on, I die. I die to my sinful habits.
- 0:03:00
I die to the lust of the flesh. I die to the pride of life. I die to the lust of the eyes. I die to my own plans, my own desires, my own will. I die to all that. I die to the approval of men. Go preach. I die to seeking fame. I die to seeking fortune. I die to seeking anything that is of significance in this world. I die and I completely identify with Jesus Christ in his death and the cross and everything that that means. That he is the only salvation for mankind. That he is the only forgiveness of sin. That he is the only Messiah, the only savior, the only Lord, the only God. I identify with him. And Jesus said, "If they have hated me, they will hate you. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you. If they have killed me, they will kill you and think they're doing God a service. To embrace Jesus Christ is to identify that death to self, to sin, to the flesh, to the world, to your own will, you must embrace that fully. And let me just tell YOU, IF YOU WANT THE anointing of the Holy Ghost and the resurrection power of Jesus, you must first identify with his death. And you must be willing to take up your cross, DIE TO YOURSELF, MORTIFY or kill the deeds of the body and the lust of the flesh, and live unto God. Are you regenerated? Are you born again? You see, you cannot experience his resurrection life until you embrace his death. But so MANY CHRISTIANS WILL NOT embrace the death. They want the life. They want the blessings of his resurrection power. They want healing. They want provision and prosperity. They want everything to go well in their family and their lives. They want, you know, their jobs to be blessed, their home to be blessed. They want everything to be blessed. AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG with wanting his blessing. But what we've got to understand is we can't get the cart before the horse. We must identify with his death and be willing to embrace that. Is that not what Paul wrote in Galatians two? Let's turn there and read this this morning.
- 0:06:06
Galatians chapter two. I could quote it, but we need to turn there. Verse 20. If we could just get a hold of this, there would be revival in the church. You want personal revival? You want to feel the anointing and presence of God in your life? You want to be filled with the Holy Ghost? You want to be used by God? Here's the key. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Can we truly say that, "I am crucified with Christ"? I know there are a lot of people who say they are crucified with Christ simply because they believe in Jesus or they have confessed Jesus at some point or said the sinner's prayer. But truly, you are not crucified with Christ unless you take up your cross and deny yourself and follow him. So many Christians want to add Jesus to their own plans. A lot of them want to add Jesus as fire insurance while they keep living in sin and rebellion and lust and perversion and everything else. BUT WHEN PAUL SAID, "I AM crucified with Christ." What he was saying was, "I am done. The old Paul is done." The old Paul who desired to be a religious leader, who desired to be admired by men, who desired to have it that had his own plans and his own agenda, who had the best education that the world could offer at the time. That was favored by the religious leaders of Israel. In fact, PAUL WAS SO identified with Jesus. His name was Saul before. Which means destroyer. And that's what he was, a destroyer of Christianity, a destroyer of of Christians. He wanted TO DESTROY THE GOSPEL, DESTROY the the apostles, destroy the church. And he thought HE WAS RIGHT. A LOT OF RELIGIOUS FOLKS, including Christian religious folks, think they're right. But when Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ." He died to all of the the agenda of Saul of Tarsus. And he even changed his name to Paul that means little man.
- 0:09:06
What he was saying was, "I am so not what I used to be. I'm I'm dead to all that." And that's why he said in Philippians chapter 2, he said, "Hey, I am an Israelite of Israelite. I'm a Pharisee. I am the seed of Abraham. A doctor of the law." He said, "All this I count done that I may win Christ." The biggest aspect of Christianity is to identify with the crucifixion through dying to yourself. It is an embrace of knowing that if you stand for the truth and you live the truth and you preach the truth, you will be hated, you will be persecuted, you will be shunned, you will be reproached, and ultimately you very well may be killed because of your stand. You know, I I I started writing a book in 1999 that I never published. It was right after the Columbine massacre in the high school, the shooting. Since then, a lot has been revealed. I knew back then that the two young men that shot all the students and people, teachers, and different all the people who were shot and killed Columbine. I knew that the two young men that did it were Satanists. I know for a fact that the high school shooting in Pearl, Kentucky back in the '89 '88 and '9, I can't remember now. Was also a Satanist who went purposely to shoot Christians who were had a Bible club and were having prayer before school. And I wrote in the book that I started writing and I still have it. I think Nancy started editing some of it a while back. One of those works that may never be done. About 14 chapters done. But in the introduction I talked about what happened in Columbine High School there in Colorado. And I said, you know, even back then the shooters asked people if they were Christian. Some of them they knew were Christians and went after them.
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