Firstly, we have established from the Scriptures that the only way to deal with Mr. Flesh is by going to the Cross.
“And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24).
Last Sunday, we established that the only way to overcome “The Practices of the Body” is by walking in the Spirit.
“For if ye live after the flesh, (according to the suggestions of the flesh) ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom. 8:13).
“…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust (desire) of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
Today we are going to look at “THE DEMANDS OF WALKING IN THE SPIRIT.” To effectively walk in the Spirit, we must “deny Self.” In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said, “If any man will come after (follow) Me, let him (1) deny himself, and (2) take up his cross, and follow Me.”
From the above Scripture we see that walking in the Spirit has two major demands: 1) Deny yourself, and 2) Take up your Cross.
The truth is that self-denial is painful for a moment, but very profitable at the end.
What is denial? Denial is the sacrifice of your own wants or needs (desires). Denial is saying no to your own desires and yes to God’s will.
What then is Self-denial? 1. To deny self means to consciously deny yourself of what you really wanted. It means to consciously say no to the desires of “the flesh.” The desires of the ‘flesh’ contradict the will of God. So, self-denial is to say no to anything that is contrary to the will of God.
2. Self-Denial is denying yourself of physical comforts in order to supply the needs of 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 the knowledge of Christ.” What a life of self-denial!
3. Self-denial means your life becomes all about Jesus, and not about you any longer (Gal. 2:20).
4. Self-denial is an act of restraining your own desires. For instance, to reduce your weight, you have to practice self-denial at the dinner table.People get fat because they refuse to cut down on their carbohydrate intake. People fall into immorality because they choose pleasure over self-denial. People go to hell because they choose worldly pleasures over obedience to God.
5. To deny ‘Self’ means to abstain from an impulse to satisfy your own desires.
6. 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, “give up” ‘Self’ for the sake of Christ.
7. To deny self means to leave self behind, “give up” all rights to yourself, disregard self, and ignore self. Remember that whatsoever you can’t ‘give up’ for the sake of Christ is an idol to you. God hates idolatry with passion.
8. To deny ‘Self’ means to end your relationship with “your own desires.” Every one of us has a relationship with his own desires. But it is your responsibility to choose to continue with that relationship or to quit.
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.
9. To ‘deny self’ is also rendered “let him forget himself.”
What does it mean to forget “Self?” To forget ‘Self’ means that you can no longer remember who you are, your personality, your accomplishments or your importance in the society.
To ‘forget yourself’ means to lose sight of who you think you are, or what you used to actually be.
What is the evidence that you’ve forgotten yourself? If you’ve really forgotten yourself, whatever anybody does to you no longer matters.
If you’ve forgotten yourself, it means that you’ve died to ‘Self.’ This implies that whatever anyone does to you, a dead person, will no longer matter to you. This is so because you have forgotten what you thought of yourself.
To forget is not to suppress something that you still remember. Rather it means that you have completely forgotten what you are: your certificate, your personality, your achievements, your position in life.
To forget means to wipe off from your memory. Here is the point: This attitude will help you to carry out any assignment in the Kingdom of God no matter how humbling it is.
For instance, 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 you can be placed under anybody.
When you have forgotten yourself, you forget 1) your age, 2) your status and 3) 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.
To forget yourself in this world is to allow yourself to be cheated. “Now therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded (cheated)?” (1 Cor. 6:7).
Actually, self-defense is born when a man remembers himself, his place in the society, his position. Yet Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to be My follower, he MUST forget himself…”
When you have forgotten “Self,” even if someone abuses you, you will not be annoyed.
Mr. “Self” can keep quiet for one week or even one year. But 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. That is why a man leaves the house without telling his wife where he is going. That is why a husband does not disclose to his wife his real monthly income and vice versa. That is why you are co-habiting with a woman in your house and producing children, without paying any bride prize or being officially married.
Conclusion: Except you deny ‘Self’ you cannot walk in the Spirit, and if you cannot walk in the Spirit, you cannot deal with the Flesh, and if you cannot overcome the lust of the Flesh, you cannot overcome the Practices of the Body, and if you cannot overcome the practices of the Body, you cannot maintain your holiness, and if you cannot maintain your holiness, you cannot enter Heaven.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit.
· Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG).
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