CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES

This Month's Theme: 

“Denying Self”

One of the greatest detriments for people to overcome, when it comes to faith in God through Christ Jesus, is the inability to discern the difference between the things of God and the things of men! And which to desire!

This is truly nothing that is new to men. Even the disciples of Jesus, who witnessed things never before seen by man, found themselves in this same predicament, note:

Mark 8:31 -38 “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, " Whoever desires to come after Me , let him deny himself , and take up his cross , and follow Me . 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

What a shock it must have been for Peter to be rebuked by the Lord. He had only expressed what he thought was a deep concern to protect the Lord. However, Jesus accuses Peter of being mindful of the things of men, instead of the desires of God. Indeed. Peter may not have thought so, at the time, but he cared more for his own plans and goals , than what God truly purposed and desired (even in the face of the constant teaching of Jesus!).

Because Peter's situation is common to all men, believer or not, the Lord would go on to explain four things that were fulfilled in His own short life as a pattern for us. But before we discuss these four things , we must recognize, as Jesus did, the value in denying ourselves for God!

Jesus displayed the concept of denying self from a very young age, note:

Luke 2:49 “And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business ?"

This display of denial would continue throughout His entire, but brief ministry as an adult (see: John 4:34 ; 5:17 ; 36 ), and would finally culminate in His willingness to become the Lamb of sacrifice for mankind. In the garden of the Mount of Olives , we see the war between our fleshly desires and the will of God, as well as the victory in denying self for the will of God in the prayer of Jesus, note:

Luke 22:42 “saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will , but Yours , be done ."

What was His victory in this denial of self, in this pure obedience to the will of God, in trusting the wisdom of God over His own desires?

Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

He knew that God had a greater purpose in Him and His reward was a name, given by God, above all other names ( Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." ), and to have preeminence above all things ( Colossians 1:18 “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” ).

Likewise, He has become our victory in denying ourselves and following after Him, note:

Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ , if indeed we suffer with Him , that we may also be glorified together .”

So, what were the four things that the Lord gave us, Who is our pattern, as an illustration of the denial needed to be heirs with Him?

• Desire.

The very message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the victory to be found in Christ over that which separates us from God (sin!). The purpose of the Gospel is to convict each of us of our sins and then to show us an escape, which leads to salvation (all directed by the illustration of God's love to that end! Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”) .

Desire is an earnest longing, a vehement want towards this end, by each who seek it!

Jesus teaches that the only way to overcome our human desires is to replace it with something of greater value ! The word of God teaches us this true value ( Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”; 2 Tim. 3:16 -17 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ).

• Deny Self.

Even when we comprehend the inherent value of God's offer through Christ the Lord; often we do not truly understand the scope of the denial necessary to achieve it. The value of Christ's example to us, as well as the value of His sacrifice, would have been severely diminished, had He negotiated compromises with His Father as to the extent of His follow through. Yet, to this very day, men attempt to desire what God has to offer, without giving up their base desires! So they attempt to compromise the will of God in line with their own desires (in doctrine, obedience, dedication, serving others, etc…); in order to attempt to have the best of both worlds.

True denial, requires a severance of allegiance ! This is explained by the simple question of Jesus, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

• Take Up His Cross.

Here is one of the hardest parts of self denial that we all face! In general, we all want the easy path, least resistance, and for things to fall in our laps! However, this is not the way of the Lord! The contrary is the norm for the followers of Christ. We were called to suffer ( 1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” ).

Of course, we always see suffering as the extreme. However, in the case of following after Christ Jesus, our suffering begins with the wars between His and our desires. This conflict is expanded by environmental temptations, contending doctrines of men, and secular influence. All of these conflicting influences are designed to diminish, alienate, and derail those who desire to follow the true path that God has given (this war is fought in difficult terrain, such as: family, friends, work, neighbors, etc…).

2 John 1:9-10 “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;”

• Follow Me.

This brings us back to the opening thought of the Lord as a pattern to follow! Here, Jesus concludes this four part message to His chosen disciples and all those who would follow Him, with the thought that He is the role model of self denial and true devotion to God.

Unless this is the path we willingly choose to follow, success is not within our grasp!

Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven .

This is the essence of self denial, to simply do the will of the Father in heaven (the true attitude of salvation).

James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up .”

Acts 2:41 “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized ; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”

Deny Yourself! Submit to Him !

We invite you to worship with us:

Sunday Morning Bible Study – 10 A.M. (Classes for all ages)

Sunday Morning Worship – 10:50 A.M. (Communion, Prayer, Singing, and a Sermon)

Sunday Evening Worship – 5 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and another practical lesson)

Wednesday Evening Service – 7 P.M. (Singing, Prayer, and Bible Classes)

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