THE DEMANDS OF THE CROSS!

Last Sunday we looked at some of the reasons why the world is offended with the Cross. One of the major reasons why the world hates the Cross is because of its demands. So today, we shall look at “THE DEMANDS OF THE CROSS!”

The demands of the Cross are diametrically opposed to the ‘ways’ of the world. The Cross tells you how to live your life: It tells you what you should put on and what you should not wear. It tells you how to adorn yourself. It tells you how to make your hair. It tells you how to do everything in this life. It tells you who to marry. It tells you what things to meditate on. It tells you what to drink, etc.

And this is exactly why the world is offended with the Cross. But none of us has any other option than to respect ourselves and co-operate by meeting to the demands of the Cross.

Jesus said unto His disciples, “Whosoever will come after Me, let him (1) deny himself, and (2) take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mk. 8:34).

How often should one take up his cross? Daily! And Jesus said to them all, “If any man will come after Me, let him (1) deny himself, and (2) take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me” (Lk. 9:23).

From the above Scriptures we can see that the Cross has two major demands:

a) Deny yourself, and b) Take up your cross.

Following Christ is all about self-denial and carrying your own cross. If you are not in the daily habit of denying your own will, appetites and desires, you are not a real Christian.

Here is the point: your prompt obedience to that demand of the Cross (which you don’t like) is the cross you have to carry daily. The persecution, the rejection you suffer because you are a follower of Jesus Christ is also part of the cross you have to carry daily.

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 “Self or the Flesh?” The Flesh is a way of reasoning that is contrary to the Word of God. It is the nature we inherited from our human parents (Jn. 3:6). The “Flesh” and “Self” are the same. The Living Bible calls it “the impossible road to Heaven.”

In 1 Peter 1:18 “the Flesh” is described as “…the worthless way (manner) of life handed down to you from your ancestors.”

“Self” has his own wants and desires, and these are completely different from the will of 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? 1. To deny self means to consciously deny yourself of what you really wanted. It means to consciously (not passively) say no to the desires of the flesh.

What are the desires of the Flesh? “Now the works (desires) of the Flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness…..” (Gal. 5:19-21).

The desires of the ‘flesh’ contradict the Word of God. So self-denial is to say no to anything that is contrary to the Word of God.

2. It is constantly denying yourself of luxury and personal convenience to supply the necessity of others. It is denying yourself of physical comforts so as to minister the spiritual to others.

For instance, Robert Arthington of Leeds, England, a graduate of Cambridge, lived in a single room and cooked his own meal. He gave 1, 000,000 Pounds to foreign missions. He said, “Gladly would I make the floor my bed, a box my chair, and another box my table, rather than men should perish for lack of knowledge of Christ.” What a self-denial!

3. Self-denial means your life becomes all about Jesus, and not about you any longer.

4. Self-denial is a conscious sacrifice of your own desires.

5. 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.

6. To deny self means a conscious rejection of “Self.”

7. To deny yourself means to refrain from satisfying your own desires. “To refrain” means to abstain from an impulse to say or do something.

8. To deny self means to consciously deny yourself of what you really wanted.

9. 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, and “give up” self for the sake of Christ.

10. Self-denial means to leave self behind, renounce yourself, “give up” all rights to yourself. Remember that whatsoever you can’t give up for the sake of Christ is an idol to you. And God hates idolatry.

11. 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.

12. 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. And 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?... 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…”

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 meeting to the demands of the Cross (self-denial and taking up your cross) you can never become a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

• Your friend, I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor, HOG)                      6^th May, 2018.