Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

1. Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me
By Wilson Ramos
July 25, 2014
The suffering and trails of the saints of God has been pressing on my mind and
moreover I have been seeking God for a deeper understanding as to the why our Father
allows us as believers to experience suffering.
During this journey the Lord allowed me to come across and be blessed by the music of
an amazing singer / songwriter named Matthew West. He has one particular song called
“Strong Enough“. This song has a powerful message and teaches a deep hidden truth
that the church needs.
That song inspired this message.
The CROSS
It all starts with the cross. In scripture the commandment to carry our cross daily comes
from none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself:

2. Then he (Jesus) said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:3
Some believe that the cross in this verse of scripture simply represents sufferings or the
trials of life that we will inevitably encounter as we walk with Jesus. But if you only
equate the cross only with personal trial or suffering you are missing a deeper hidden
truth regarding how the Lord wants us to view the cross.
When Christ commanded us to carry our own cross daily we need to understand that
when he gave this commandment to his disciples it was before he had been crucified so
his disciples did not have the reference point of a crucified Christ as we do today. So
when Christ spoke these words to them he was equating the cross with what the cross
would represent in the very near future which was his death. Christ was saying if you
want to be my disciple you must make a choice to deny yourself and die every single day
so that you can follow me.
Will God give us more than we can bear?
This question resonated in my spirit so I went to God. Well the answer I got to this
question is kind of tricky because the answer is both yes and no. Yes, God does and he
will allow you and I to be tested far beyond our human ability to endure a situation and I
can prove it scripturally.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we
experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our
ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself.
2 Corinthians 1:8
This scripture proves that God does allow his children to experience great testing in life
far beyond our human ability to endure. Another example is Christ himself and his path
to the cross. The ordeal of the crucifixion was both emotionally and physically
overwhelming for Jesus. The bible says that when Christ prayed in the Garden of
Gethsemane that he was so emotionally distraught that his sweat was like drops of
blood Luke 22:44
Christ was emotionally overwhelmed with anxiety and pleaded with God to remove the
cup from him. Jesus came to a place where he would have to choose to trust God
despite what his emotions were speaking to him at that moment. Likewise Christ
physically came to the point of physical exhaustion where he just could no longer

3. physically carry the weight of his own cross and the Roman centurion had to compel
Simon to carry the cross for him Luke 23:26.
So despite the fact that while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane and was
emotionally drained he made a powerful statement when he said in Luke 22:42:
Yet not my will, but yours be done.
Luke 22:42
Here Christ chooses to yield his emotions to God. He was saying to God, Lord I will trust
you no matter what I may be feeling in my mind. Christ also came to a place of
surrender physically while on the road to Golgotha simply by allowing himself to be
crucified. With this act Jesus was saying I surrender God and will trust you no matter
what happens. It must be understood that at any point during the ordeal of the
crucifixion Jesus had the power to stop the Romans from crucifying him. He was always
in complete control. At the time of his arrest he said to Peter who tried to stop the
romans from arresting Him by force:
Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more
than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say
it must happen in this way?”
Matthew 26:53-54
Jesus went to the cross willingly. No one killed him. He was God…no one could have
possibly have forced him on to that cross if he did not so choose. Jesus sacrificed is life
for you and I.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No
one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it
down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
John 10:17-18
I said earlier that the answer was both yes and no to the question will God give us more
than we can bear? That is true it is yes because God will allow you and I to endure
suffering in the life but that suffering is for one purpose and it’s so that we can come to
the end of our self. It is only when we get to that point when we look up to God and cry
out to him and say Lord I can’t do this anymore and admit that it is too much for you
and surrender that God will come in like a flood and help bring you through what you in
your own strength may be unable to deal with. God is God, and his ways are not our
ways. We can never know what or how God will do things. We can only be sure on one

4. thing and that is that we can trust God to bring us through our suffering one way or
another.
When I shared 2 Corinthians 1:8 earlier I purposely shared only that verse of scripture in
isolation to demonstrate the danger of using taking scriptures out of context. Doing this
can bring much misunderstanding and confusion. Now here are 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 in
context.
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we
experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our
ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on
God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will
deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as
you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious
favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
2 Corinthians 1:8-11
God allows us to endure suffering for one purpose so that we might not rely on
ourselves but on HIM.
So the bottom line is that God will give you more than you can bear for as long as you
choose to continue to do things your own way. God wants you to invite him into your
situation so that you are no consumed by hopelessness.
But there is hope. Whatever your situation maybe perhaps you are at the end of your
rope. Perhaps you may feel like you are drowning in hopelessness and trapped in a
prison of depression because of your situation but God has sent me to you today to
encourage you and tell you:
DO NOT LET GO OF THE ROPE…look up and tell God that you do not have the strength
to hold on anymore. Tell God that you cannot do it and that want his help and Jesus
will come into your situation and bring you through.
In those seasons when life gives you more than you can handle just hold on, give it to
God and wait on Him and hide this scripture in your heart as an anchor for your faith.
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is
faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are
tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

5. That word temptation in this scripture means: trails, troubles, suffering, sickness, and
problems of every kind and God has promised that if we press in on him and give him
whatever we may be dealing with then he will make a way out for us give us grace so
that we can endure it. God has promised that he will help you deal with your situation.
Something key that should be understood is that this is a promise that God has given to
his children and those who are followers of his son Jesus Christ. If you do not have a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ, then you need to begin there. Listen you have
tried everything else and you have nothing to lose?
Give Christ a chance. Invite God into your situation and please allow me to pray with
you.
Please…pray this prayer with me.
Father God, I surrender. I ask you to forgive me of my sins, I turn away from the things
that do not make you happy and invite you into heart and into my situation. I make
my choice today to trust you despite what I may feel or how I may feel in my body. I
pray in the name of Jesus Christ AMEN.
The Apostle Paul made a very powerful point at the end of 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 when he
said:
On him (God) we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us as you help us
by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor
granted us in answer to the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
There is power in prayer. It is important to be connected to a Christian community. I
encourage you if you do not have a place of worship where you can come together with
other likeminded believers to live out your faith and develop your personal relationship
with Christ. Then I invite you to come out and visit my home church the Bay Ridge
Christian Center (www.brccny.com . This is a place where you will be undergirded by)
the prayers of the saints in love.
In His Service
Wilson Ramos