In Mark 8:34 Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after Me (be like Me, make it to heaven), (1) let him deny himself, and (2) take up his cross, and (3) follow Me.”
You must deny “Self” daily if you must walk in holiness in this present world (Lk. 9:23).
The true Gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment. The Christian life is not about self-promotion; it’s about self-denial.
Self-denial is painful for a moment, but very agreeable and profitable at the end.
For instance, people get fat because they choose pleasure over self-denial. People fall into immorality because they choose pleasure over self-denial. People go to hell because they choose worldly pleasures over obedience to God.
What is denial? Denial is the sacrifice of your own wants or needs. Denial is saying no
to you and yes to God.
What then is Self-denial?
God has
called every Christian to deny him- or herself. This means that every Christian
should choose to no longer live for him or herself but to live solely for God.
So
I know that God has called me personally to deny myself, which means I should choose
to no longer live for me but to live solely for Him. Therefore:
1.
Self-denial means my life becomes all about Jesus, and not about me any longer.
2. Self-denial is a
conscious sacrifice of your own desires.
3. Self-denial is an act or instance of restraining
or curbing your own desires. For
instance, to reduce your weight, you have to practice self-denial at the dinner
table.
4.
To deny self means a conscious rejection of self.
5. To deny yourself means
to refrain from satisfying your own desires or needs.
“To refrain” means to abstain from an impulse to say or do
something.
6. To deny self means to
consciously deny yourself of what you really wanted.
7.
To deny self means to forget yourself, say no to yourself and your own
interests, disown yourself, lose sight of yourself and your own interests,
refuse and “give up” self for the sake of Christ.
8.
Self-denial means to leave self behind, renounce yourself, “give up” all rights to yourself,
disregard self, put aside and ignore self.
Remember that whatsoever you can’t give up for the sake of Christ is an
idol to you. And God hates idolatry.
9.
To deny self means to end your service and your relationship with your own
natural desires.
How
would you know that you have given up “Self?” When
you have given up self, blackmail, criticisms or the praises of men will no
longer affect you because you have said “no” to yourself.
10.
To deny self is also rendered “let him
forget himself.”
What does it mean to forget yourself?
a) It means that you “cannot remember anymore.” That is to say that you can no
longer remember what you are, your personality, your accomplishments or your
importance.
b)
To forget yourself means to lose sight of what you think you are, or what you
used to be actually.
If
you really forget yourself, it means that whatever anybody does to you no
longer matters. This is so because you have forgotten what you thought of
yourself.
To
forget is not to suppress something that you still remember. It means that you
have forgotten completely what you are: your certificate, your personality, your
achievements, and your position in life.
To
forget means to wipe off from your memory. This attitude will help you to carry
out any assignment given to you no matter how humbling it is. You can wash the
toilets even if you are the president of this nation or the VC of a University.
You can obey anybody and can be placed under anybody.
When you have forgotten
yourself, you forget your age, your status and your personality.
A typical example
is Jesus Christ Himself. Even though He is God He washed the feet of His
disciples (Jn.13:4-10). To do this, Jesus must have forgotten Himself. He laid
aside, and put behind Him the fact that He is the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. This is contrary to the world system where self-consciousness is the order
of the day.
c)
To forget yourself in this world is to
allow yourself to be cheated.
Self-defense
actually is born when a man remembers himself, his place, his position. Yet
Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to be My follower, he MUST forget himself…”
When
you have forgotten “Self,” even if they abuse you, you will not be annoyed. You
can submit to anybody.
Naturally, “Self” is not submissive.
It selects the caliber of people it will submit to, people who he thinks are
better than himself, not people whom he thinks he is better than.
For
instance, when a young convert is asked to lead in a prayer meeting, you
criticize him. Why? Because you think you can do it better. You are so
conscious of yourself, your position and your ability to speak well.
“Self”
does not want to learn under anybody. But when you lose sight of yourself, you
forget about your educational or spiritual status.
You
MUST forget yourself. Whosoever you think you are, whatsoever you think you’ve
achieved in life, you MUST lose sight of it, if you want to follow Jesus.
Here
is the relevance: as long as you continue to remember your achievements in
life, your position in life, you’ll never be able to walk in humility.
What does it mean to forget?
It is not that you will just try or pretend not to remember, but that it has
passed away. Even when you want to
remember, you cannot. That is what it means to forget.
When
you forget yourself, even if you greet somebody and he does not respond, you’ll
not be offended. You will still gladly greet that person next time.
When
you have learnt to deny yourself, it will show in your character and lifestyle.
For
you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,
you MUST give up all your rights. You MUST stop claiming your
rights.
You
know that you only quarrel with somebody when you think he has cheated you. You
get offended with him because what he has done is not right. So you think it is
your right to get offended with him. God is telling you today to “give up” all
your rights.
What does it mean to “give up” all your
rights? It means to disown your position and
your possessions and totally disassociate yourself from them. It means to give
up all your entitlements. “Give up” things that are yours, things that you think should be
accorded to you.
Even
your personal right to use yourself as you like must be given up. For instance,
you have the right to sleep whenever you want to. But according to the
Scriptures, you must “give up” that right to sleep or eat anytime you like.
So,
if Jesus would ask you to do something for Him when you think that you should
be sleeping or resting, you will gladly do it without complaining and
grumbling. Or if somebody else needs your help at such a time, you’ll give up
your right to sleep.
Jesus
did the same for us all through His life here on earth. For instance, when He
met the woman of Samaria by the well in John 4, He was very tired and hungry.
But He gave up His right to eat and rest at that time in order to minister to
the needs of that woman.
Jesus
said to His disciples, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent
Me and to finish His work” (Jn. 4:34).
What
is the perfect will of God for you and I right now? 1) Walk in righteousness
and holiness (Heb. 12:14, 2 Cor. 7:1), 2) Bring as many souls as possible into
the Kingdom of God through aggressive evangelism (Prov. 11:30; Matt. 28:18-19;
Mk. 16:16-17; 2 Cor. 5:17-20), and 3) Lead many to righteousness (Dan. 12:3).
Apostle
Paul, a worthy disciple of Jesus Christ said, “Like an athlete, I punished my
body; treating it roughly; training it to do what it should; not what it wants
to; so that after enlisting others for the race; I myself would not be declared
unfit and ordered to stand aside” (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
Again,
if you have money it is natural for you to feel that you have the right to
spend it the way you want because it is yours. But when you have given up all your
rights, it means that you have no right to spend that money even though you
have a need, until the Master (Jesus) says you should spend it.
A
man who has given up all his rights does not demand for a “thank you” for an
act of kindness that he has done. Even if anyone says “thank you” to you should
hand it over to Jesus. And if there is no “thank you” at all, it should not
bother you because you have given up your right to receiving “thank you.” Just
realize that even though it is good for people to appreciate such deeds, you
need not demand it. Give up that right. Say “no” to yourself.
Even
if somebody takes something that belongs to you in your absence and without
your permission, that should not bother you or get you offended if you have
really given up all your rights. If the LORD has allowed him to take it, it is
the LORD’s business to deal with him the way He chooses.
A
man that has denied “Self” does not defend himself or criticize another person
and judge him wrong or right. He leaves everything to God.
Look at Jesus
Christ, our perfect example:
Philippians
2:5-8 says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7
But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men:
8
And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the Cross.”
Even
though He was God, He gave up His right as God and was obedient even unto
death. When God the Father asked Him to drink that bitter cup and die the
shameful death of a criminal, He did not complain or react against God. Neither
did He refuse to do what God the Father wanted Him to do despite its shame.
If
Jesus had refused to die and went back to Heaven like that, He would still not
have lost His personality as God. But Jesus did not cling to His right as God.
Rather He “gave up” all His rights and obeyed God the Father.
What was the result of such obedience? Promotion!
Philippians
2:9-11 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name
which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.”
Jesus
left all His glory and became a slave. He became a slave such that He did not
even have anywhere to lay His head. He could have made bread out of stones with
His power and right as God, each time He was hungry, but HE never did that.
That is what it means to “give up” all your rights.
Meekness
becomes your way of life once you have given up all your rights. Jesus never
demonstrated power to show off or score a point for Himself.
Men
of lower authority, when provoked to demand their rights as men and servants of
God, got heaven to back up their requests.
For
instance, Moses pleaded with God against the sons of Korah, Dathan and Abiram,
and the ground opened and swallowed them all alive (Num. 16:1-34).
Again,
fire from Heaven devoured the emissaries of the king of Samaria, who were sent
to bring Elijah down from the mountain. But Elijah finished all of them just by asserting
his right as a man of God.
But
Jesus emptied Himself of ALL His glory, of ALL His rights, voluntarily laid
down His vesture and became a mere man. He was reviled and did not revile back.
1
Peter 2:23 says, “Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He
threatened not; but committed Himself to Him (God the Father) that judgeth
righteously.”
In
Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus instructed His followers saying, “Blessed are ye, when men shall
revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you
falsely, for My sake.
12
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Men
freely spoke slanderous words against Him. He was called Beelzebub (Lk. 11:15),
a wine bibber, a glutton, a companion of tax collectors. On the Cross, when Heaven
would have struck in His defense, He covered His persecutors with “they
know not what they do.”
In
Luke 23:34 Jesus pleaded with the Father saying, “Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do.”
What is Jesus really saying by asking
us to deny ourselves? When Jesus is asking you to deny
yourself, He is actually asking you to lose your all – to lose your name, your
personality, your identity, your right, your possessions, your honour, even
your life also.
If
you do so, you’ll find it. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life
shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it”
(Matt. 16:25).
But
if you keep or save your life, you’ll surely lose it. That is the reward of
anyone who does not want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. He will lose his true
(real) life.
In
Matthew 16:26 Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain
the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul?”
A typical example of what happens when
you refuse to deny “Self” is the rich
young ruler.
Luke 18:18-26 says, “And a
certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest
thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do
not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept
from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things,
he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast
(self-denial), and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come, follow Me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very
sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very
sorrowful, He said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the
kingdom of God!
25 For it is easier for a camel to go
through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
This leader sought reassurance, some way of knowing for sure that he had eternal life.
He wanted Jesus to measure and grade his qualifications, or to give him some
task he could do to assure his own immortality. So Jesus gave him a task - the
one thing the rich man knew he could not do. “Then who in the world can be
saved?” the bystanders asked. “No one can, by his or her own achievements,”
Jesus’ answer implied. “What is impossible from a human perspective is possible
with God.” Salvation cannot be earned - it is God’s gift (Eph. 2:8-10).
When you become delivered from
“Self” to follow Jesus becomes easy.
Jesus does not want
divided loyalty. He does not tolerate anyone that dances for the “flesh” today,
and dances for Him tomorrow.
If
God wants to recruit a person into His service, He first looks at Mr. “Self” within
him to destroy and put it away. If He discovers that “Self” is still living in
and directing your life, He will not allow you into any serious service, unless
Mr “flesh” is crushed.
If
you are not delivered from “Self,” God is not going to allow you to be used for
noble things in the Kingdom. You can be doing menial things, things that are
not really relevant, but He will not allow you to handle anything glorious,
because you will surely take the glory to yourself.
Whatever God has in
stock for you must wait until Mr “flesh” is completely eliminated from
your life. Even in ministry, in helping others to find their feet, God insists
on the fact that you MUST hate the garment spotted by the “flesh” (Jude v. 23).
If you do not deal with Mr. “Self,” he will surely deal with you
without fail. Mr. “Self” can keep quiet for one week or even one year. The fact
that Mr. “Self” is keeping quiet now does not mean he cannot produce its fruit.
That is why you sometimes hear of a well-respected man of God that has fallen
into immorality. That is why a pastor that has not dealt with Mr. “Self,” one
day rises up to beat his wife. And people are surprised because that kind of
behavior is not expected of a pastor. Mr. “Self” or the
“Flesh” is therefore, an empty way of life, a worthless manner of life, an
impossible road to Heaven. It is totally different from Christ’s way of life.
Conclusion:
Remember that without SELF-DENIAL, you can never become holy, and without
holiness you will not see the LORD (Heb. 12:14).
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