Take Up Your Cross: Apostolic Living in a Sand-Built World (EP 367)

A good dose of American Christianity has settled for blessing without the cross, comfort without death, resurrection without crucifixion. But apostolic Christ-following operates on a radically different principle: life comes through death.

In this episode, we're exploring what it means to build on the firm foundation of Christ in a world where everyone around you is building on sand. We're talking about pulling down the blueprint God designed for your life over your work, your family, the places your feet touch, and why the cross must precede the life of the resurrection in every area where you want Kingdom breakthrough.

This is the daily dynamic of dying to ego, perceived rights, and the small kingdoms we build for ourselves so the life of Jesus can be released through us. It's about living an ascended life where you operate from above rather than scramble from below.

If you're tired of half-life Christianity and ready to live out your full potential in Christ, this episode may challenge what you thought following Jesus meant.

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See the full episode transcript below.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Take Up Your Cross: Apostolic Living in a Sand-Built World

Introduction: The Question Before Us

Hey there, my friend. Welcome to the podcast. This is Brian Del Turco. Here's a question for us: What does it actually mean to follow Jesus in a way that brings heaven's culture into the now, into our everyday life? Not just spiritual theory, but actual Kingdom breakthrough — practically in our work, our family, the places that our feet touch, the things that our hands reach out to and touch. The world is waiting to see a witness of Jesus' Kingdom in a practical way.

I'm suggesting that most American Christianity has drifted toward personal life enhancement, comfort, blessing without the cross. But apostolic Christ-following — let's use that word as an adjective, apostolic — apostolic Christ-following, the kind Jesus modeled in His very life and that He calls us into, operates on a radically different principle: Life comes through death.

Today we're exploring what it means to build on the firm foundation of Christ Himself, to live out the blueprint that God designed for our life, and why the cross must precede the resurrection in every area where we want to see Kingdom breakthrough.

This is actually a recording of an episode, a short episode — it's very tight — that I did a number of years ago actually, and I'm just introing it right now. I did this episode out in the woods. I had a portable digital recorder. I was out with the trees and the sunshine coming through the leaves. So the sound is good — slightly different than a normal recording sound, but it's good, high-quality audio. It was done outside. I think I probably had a piece of paper with some bullet-point notes on it. I must have.

This is episode 367. I think we're calling this "The Cross Dynamic: Apostolic Living in a Sand-Built World." Again, I'm Brian Del Turco, and this is the Jesus Smart X podcast.

Before we dive in, if you want these Kingdom realities sharpened and applied to the noise of our cultural moment every week, please subscribe to the Smart Edit newsletter at jesussmart.com/smartedit. It's free, it's direct, cuts through the noise, cuts through the fog. I'd love to have you on the list.

All right, let's talk about what it means to actually follow an apostolic Jesus.

Apostolic Living: Building on the Firm Foundation

Yeah, in the middle of the trees, the sun breaking through the leaves. And I love the versatility of this kind of recorder to be able to do that.

I really believe that the Holy Spirit is restoring and breathing upon apostolic — apostolic as an adjective — breathing upon believers and wanting to restore apostolic Christ-following. Now, what do I mean?

Apostolic living under Christ is concerned with building as a master craftsman and pulling down the design from above over your life, over the lives of those you run with, your families, over what you're connected to in your work, what you put your hands to, over companies of believers — the church, the ecclesia. The design is foundational.

If you read the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, he would say things like, "I've laid a foundation, and that foundation is Christ." You see, apostolic Christ-following is not me-centered. It's not anthropocentric. It's not man-centered. It's Christocentric. It's Christ as the foundation.

And what He says — Jesus talked about the house that is built upon the foundation. If we listen to His words and activate what He says, it is like we build our house upon a firm foundation that can withstand anything. But if we don't, it's as if we're building upon sand.

And I've got to tell you, all around you is sand. Most people around you — the overwhelming majority — are building on sand. But you and me, as consecrated Christ-followers, as we quest for that, we build upon the firm foundation of Christ Himself.

It's the wisdom of God coming down. It's the strategies from above. It is a blueprint.

And I have to mention a friend and, frankly, a mentor — Paul Graham Hubbard. My thoughts today are provoked by his book, The Blueprint of Life. And I think I'll be able to leave a link to this book on the show notes page under Resources. You're going to want to check this out. This is some of the freshest teaching that I know of in this area. It's very inspiring, very challenging, and it is probably unlike anything you have ever heard.

Becoming Like Jesus: The Apostolic Continuum

Just by way of introduction: Jesus is an apostle, and He calls us to follow Him. So it makes sense that as we continue on that continuum of following Him, we will become apostolic. We will become like Him.

You see, what apostolic does is it brings the culture of heaven into the earth. It brings the culture of the kingdom of God into spaces and places. Wherever your feet go, whatever you put your hand to, whatever you apply your mind to, whatever words you release into settings, and the very lifestyle of your life — it brings more and more of the culture of heaven.

You know, we pray that prayer: "On earth as it is in heaven. Father, let Your kingdom come. Let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Well, it takes an apostolic edge in our lives to do that.

This is very challenging to the American expression of Christianity and to Christianity in the West in general. You see, following Christ is not about just personal life enhancement. It's not just the inheritance. It's not just prosperity — although prosperity is included in God's kingdom.

The Principle: Life Comes Through Death

Following Christ is a quest for death. I mean, Jesus actually said, "Look, if you want to follow Me, you have to take up your cross." If we don't take up our cross as we follow Him, we're really not following Him.

If we are born again, if we are saved, and if we do make it into the new heavens and the new earth, we will live half-lives. We won't live our full potential. We won't live out the full destiny, the full story without the cross working in our lives.

Here's the principle: Life comes through death.

If we want to live in resurrection life, we have to live a cross life. The cross precedes the empty tomb, not vice versa. It doesn't just start out with the empty tomb with no cross. We must take up our cross daily, Jesus said, and follow Him.

And every day will present us with numerous opportunities — little daily things that we can die to. Die to our ego. Die to what we perceive as our rights. Die to what we think is our standing. You know how this works — we just die to it. Just lay it down so that the life of Jesus more and more may be released through us.

The Ascended Life: Operating From Above

We certainly won't live an ascended life. You know, the ascension of Christ was even beyond the tomb. So we must go through the cross experience consistently. We must experience the resurrection life, the empty tomb experience consistently, to live an ascension life.

You know, Ephesians 2 says that we've been seated with Christ in heavenly places. But that has to become more than just a doctrinal truth that we mentally assent to. That has to become a living, practical dynamic that is outworking in this life. Now it's being demonstrated, and it's a witness to the ascended Christ, you see.

So resurrection life manifests in all kinds of ways: healing, release from poverty, release from the bondage of dark powers. Living an ascended life where you're actually the head and not the tail, if you will. You actually transcend situations, and you're no longer under them.

An Invitation to the Person of Jesus Christ

Here's the deal for this first little mini-episode: Apostolic Christianity is an invitation to the person of Jesus Christ. He is perfect theology. It's a person. It's not mental knowledge or mental assent to doctrine or a belief statement.

It is a living, dynamic, experiential relationship with the person of God's Son.

Frankly, my friend, we're actually invited into the fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the experience of being born again. Jesus said, "I want you to come into the glory that I have with My Father. I want you to come into that intimacy, the beautiful relationship that the Godhead enjoys." We are invited into that through Christ.

It comes through the cross experience.

And if we want the full design of our lives, if we want the full blueprint to come down over the affairs of our life, if we want to help others and multiply value in their lives by helping them to bring the design of God into their settings, if we want to reach towns and communities and cities and regions and nations, it must be the release of the life of Jesus, the dynamic of the ascension of Jesus.

And this can only come through an approach to Christ-following which is apostolic — where you penetrate uncharted territories with the culture of heaven.

Well, we'll talk more about this. If you have thoughts about this, contact me. Go to jesussmart.com and hit the contact page. I'll receive an email from you. I would like to know your thoughts. Perhaps we can talk more about this moving forward, with guests as well, where we can do a deeper dive.

The Challenge: Where Are You Building?

Thanks for being with me. So central, so core to what it means to follow Christ and what it means in the gospel of the Kingdom. It's obviously applicable year-round, 365 days.

So here's the challenge though that we face again: Where are we building on sand instead of the firm foundation of Christ? Where have we been reaching out for resurrection life, hoping for that without going through the cross dynamic, the cross principle in our life? Again, Jesus said if we're going to follow Him, we must pick up our cross, we must carry it. And it's not fun to our natural man to die.

I just went through something the past couple of days. I'm not even sure all of why it happened or why my emotions and even my mindset were being affected so much. I think it was a complex of issues, a complex of things that were happening, not just one one thing.

I'm learning — well, again, I'm learning. I've learned this all the time. Maybe I need to actually learn it so I don't have so many opportunities to learn it again, if you know what I mean. But I think these things cycle through our lives. We do go through trials, we go through tests. And we have to keep applying this dynamic, the cross dynamic in our life. I have to die to myself, die to my ego, die to my way of thinking, die to how I've been approaching life.

Where have we been reaching out for resurrection life without going through this cross experience? Where is God inviting us into this apostolic edge, bringing heaven's culture into uncharted territory in our actual life?

This is the blueprint coming down over your work, your family, your calling. But it only works through the daily cross — dying to our perceived rights, dying to our ego, dying to these small kingdoms we've been trying to build for ourselves.

Life comes through death. Resurrection follows the cross. And oh, is it worth it — the ascension life, even going further, where we practically live out of that place of being seated with Christ in the heavenly places, operating from above rather than scrambling desperately from below. That only comes through consistently walking out this pattern of cross, resurrection, ascended life.

Closing: Building a Company of Kingdom People

Now, if this stirred something in you, I want to hear about it. Go to jesussmart.com, hit that contact page, and send me your thoughts. You can also just email me directly at brian.delturco@proton.me — Brian with an I — and maybe we'll explore this further with some guests even who are living this out in the trenches. I think we have to explore it further because it's so central to what it means to follow Christ and to live victoriously in Christ.

Find additional resources and connect with the conversation at https://jesussmart.com/367

If this episode sharpened your thinking and challenged your understanding of what it means to follow Jesus in a world built on sand, share it with someone who needs to hear it. We're not building a podcast audience here. We're questing to build a company of people who actually live under the reign of Christ in the now, in the light of His complete reign which is coming.

I'm Brian Del Turco. This is Jesus Smart X, the podcast. Walk in the Kingdom.