DENY
SELF:
DECLARE
CHRIST
Luke
9:23-27
(See
also Matthew 16:24-28)
Luke
9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Susan: “Deny”
here is to utterly deny oneself, to give the right to oneself. It is to
separate from one’s own desire and will and submit completely to the will of
God. When I think of denying oneself, I think of two examples in the Bible. Of
course, the primary example is of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, “O
my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39b). Then there is Mary who upon being
told that she was to bear a baby by the Holy Spirit while still a virgin, said
to the angel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy
word” (Luke 1:38). To take this concept to a more personal level, when within
the confines of my cerebral-palsied earth-suit, I have to choose to be obedient
to thank the Lord in, for, and though the pain and to trust Him in the midst of
it, it is a denial of my natural desire to complain.
Susie: To the
disciples, the cross was a symbol of an excruciating, demeaning death. To take
up the cross was to be willing to follow Jesus even to the death. In addition
to denying one’s own desires in favor of God’s will, a person must be willing
to live sacrificially in the service of the Lord.
Susan: In the
past, the word “daily” has flown right by me. To take up one’s cross is not a
one-time event. Each day, even moment by moment, I must choose God’s plan
rather than my own no matter how dire the resulting consequences.
Susie: God
may not call me to be literally a martyr, giving my life because of my love of
Jesus. However, He calls me to DAILY be willing to lay down everything I am and
everything I have for His glory and His purposes.
Susan: We
must lay every personal dream, choice, or plan at the foot of His cross. God’s
dream for me is greater, more fantastic, more splendid than any desire we have.
When God called me to ministry, I tried to tell Him that He had the wrong
person—a woman, in a wheelchair, with CP—but now I can’t think of doing
anything else with more passion, zeal, joy, and fulfillment than preaching the
Good News.
Ephesians
3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that worketh in us . . .
Luke
9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose
his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
MacArthur
Study Bible note on Luke 9:24:
Aside
from the command “follow Me,” this saying is repeated more times in the gospels
than any other saying of Christ. Luke 17:33; Matt. 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35;
John 12:25.
Susan: We
must die to personal ambition in order to live for Kingdom purposes and the
glory of the Eternal One.
Susie: To
follow Jesus while He walked on earth would have been a difficult choice for a
Jewish person. Since the religious leaders had completely rejected Jesus, to
follow Him would result in a complete loss of status. Life as the person had
known it would be over. However, to lose their life in the Jewish community
would be to gain deliverance from sin and eternal life with God.
Susan: There
are still people today who are tortured or killed because of their trust in
Jesus, especially in countries of the 10-40 window:
Susie: Even
in our “Christian” nation, people who convert to Christianity may be faced with
loss of social standing, difficulties in the workplace, or even resistance in
their own home. We must be willing to have our lives drastically altered here
while remembering the hope we have for eternity.
Titus
3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life.
Luke
9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose
himself, or be cast away?
Susan: Many people spend all their energy and
vitality on things that are temporary, fleeting, rather than giving themselves
to the One who created the earth, its people, and everything. By rejecting
Jesus and focusing only on everything temporal, a person is choosing a forever
home in Hell.
Susie: We tend to forget that our time here on
earth is temporary, that this life as we now know it is like steam that
evaporates after a few moments:
James 4:14 Why, you do not even know what
will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes.
Susie: How we respond to Jesus during our short
lives here determines where we will reside forever—in eternal peace with the
Lord Jesus or in eternal punishment with Satan. There is no advantage in having
all the treasure, fame and power of this world if it leads to eternal toment.
Susan: There is no benefit to having all your
treasure here:
Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Susie: However,
this does not mean that a Christian should not have wealth. The importance is
in the attitude that person has. We must remember that all we own here actually
belongs to God, and we are just stewards (managers) of His wealth for His
glory.
Luke
9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son
of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's,
and of the holy angels.
Susie: We
have explained the term “Son of Man” in an earlier lesson, but for those who
may have just joined us: Whenever Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man”
He was quoting the Old Testament prophet Daniel (Daniel 7:13) and clearly
claiming to be the Messiah as this was widely accepted as a Messianic prophecy.
Let’s look at some similar statements in cross references:
Matthew
10:33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my
Father which is in heaven.
Luke
12:9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of
God.
Susie: Being
“ashamed” or denying Christ in this context is not a temporary denial like that
of Peter when Jesus was arrested. It is a complete rejection of Him as the Son
of God, never acknowledging His Lordship and deity until it is too late. If a
person never trusts in and confesses Christ (publicly declaring Him as Lord),
Jesus will say to that person:
Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels. ( Matthew
25:41)
Luke
9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not
taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
Susan: At
first glance, one could say, “What?!” and scratch their head because we know
that all the apostles eventually died. However, it must be understood that
Jesus was speaking of the three apostles who would have the privilege of
witnessing the Transfiguration which was a glimpse of Jesus in His glorified
state not long after this statement was made.
MacArthur
Study Bible note on Matthew 16:28: some standing. In all 3
of the synoptic gospels, this promise is made immediately prior to the
Transfiguration (Mark 9:1–8; Luke 9:27–36). Furthermore, the word for “kingdom”
can be translated “royal splendor.” Therefore, it seems most natural to
interpret this promise as a reference to the Transfiguration, which “some” of
the disciples—Peter, James, and John, would witness only 6 days later.
Ponder
this and Apply it: If you have surrendered your life to Jesus,
trusting Him for deliverance from sin and death, you are His disciple. Re-read verses 23 and 24. Perform a self-check
and evaluate how well you are denying self and dying daily to your own desires
in order to pursue the plans God has for you, His disciple, His child.
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