Whoever Wants Must Deny Himself | F/F Week 5

First Unit Half Summary

Many of the things we learned for the past few weeks can be summarized by reading Matthew 7:21-23, verse by verse:

1. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
2. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do mighty works in your name?'
3. And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

In light of this verse, and with the help of the other questions we've been asking ourselves lately, we would have to determine whether we're fans or followers. Whatever the answer, Christ calls us to follow him and follow him more closely in our lives. The Biblical promise is that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him". This alone should mean that following Christ will be worth it in the end. 

The Second Half of the Series: An Invitation to Follow

Jesus clearly lays out his requirements for his disciples all over Scripture, but it is most clearly stated in Luke 9:23:

Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me"

Our focus in this second half of the series is on each of the phrases in this verse:

1. "Whoever wants to be my disciple
2. must deny themselves
3. and take up their cross daily
4. and follow me"

For this week we are studying the first two phrases. 

"Whoever wants to be my disciple"

The first word here is "whoever" -- in other words, Jesus is making an open invitation to anyone, without any other qualifications. No matter what past, background, ethnicity, or any sins anyone has made, Jesus makes an open invitation to ALL. This concept is echoed all throughout scripture:

John 3:16 -- "...whoever believes in him will not perish..."
Acts 17:30 -- "...now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent"
Matthew 28:19 -- "...go and make disciples of all nations..."

The implications of this is that we should never exclude people from knowing the good news of Jesus Christ. No one is (in fact, no one can ever be) bad enough, far-out enough, or even "good" enough for the gospel. One can find quick proof of this by simply reading the gospels and seeing what kind of people followed Jesus: sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, etc. God calls everyone to himself. 

The rest of this phrase in Luke 9:23 implies that one has to "want to be [Jesus'] disciple". This means that he doesn't impose his will against anyone. A follower must actually want to be a disciple.

"must deny themselves"

Here lies the crux of discipleship; these are simply words but captures the essence of following Jesus. To follow him means to stop following everything else that is not in accordance with following him. This concept of self-denial is repeated throughout the Bible:

Titus 2:11-12 -- "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."

Luke 14:26 -- "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

It is also emphasized in Scripture that once anyone becomes a Christian, they live new lives that please God rather than selves:

Galatians 2:20 -- "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

The whole of Romans 6 talks about being dead to sin, and alive in Christ. Many, many Christians have also written about this. 

The fact that Jesus demands self-denial in his followers means that everything we do must in some way done for his glory alone (1 Cor. 10:31). This may be difficult in our modern American lives where the "I" is held at the center of one's life. But the truth is that one cannot fully see how great God is if we're so distracted by our own selves. As a hymn goes:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Christian Perspectives on Self-Denial

We got into some discussion on what it meant to deny oneself (Luke 9:23). We talked about how those who follow Christ have "died to sin" (Romans 6) and how it is now Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Because of this, one will eventually find their joy in obeying Jesus in their walk with him (John 15:9-11). Still, while we are in our sinful bodies we are tempted by sin in our Christian walk. And so we are called to deny our flesh while we wait until Jesus comes to redeem us from this disobedient world (Titus 2:11-14).

It is always good to learn from previous Christian thinkers who have written about topics like these, so here are some excerpts from their writings concerning self-denial and joy in following Jesus.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself." The disciple must say to himself the same words Peter said of Christ when he denied him: "I know not this man." Self-denial is never just a series of isolated acts of mortification or asceticism. It is not suicide, for there is an element of self-will even in that. To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. Once more, all that self denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to him."

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and the death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find him, and with him everything else thrown in.

John Piper in Desiring God

The pursuit of joy in God is not optional. It is not an “extra” that a person might grow into after he comes to faith. It is not simply a way to “enhance” your walk with the Lord. Until your heart has hit upon this pursuit, your “faith” cannot please God. It is not saving faith. Saving faith is the confidence that if you sell all you have and forsake all sinful pleasures, the hidden treasure of holy joy will satisfy your deepest desires. Saving faith is the heartfelt conviction not only that Christ is reliable, but also that He is desirable. It is the confidence that He will come through with His promises and that what He promises is more to be desired than all the world.

John Wesley in Self-Denial

On the whole, then, to deny ourselves, is, to deny our own will, where it does not fall in with the will of God; and that however pleasing it may be. It is, to deny ourselves any pleasure which does not spring from, and lead to, God; that is, in effect, to refuse going out of our way, though into a pleasant, flowery path; to refuse what we know to be deadly poison, though agreeable to the taste.

Read Wesley's sermon here: http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-48-self-denial

C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory

The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself.  We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire.  If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith.  Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.

Read Lewis' sermon here: http://www.verber.com/mark/xian/weight-of-glory.pdf

"Christ is Enough" | Hillsong Worship

Christ is Enough

Sung by Hillsong Worship from their album Glorious Ruins

If what we're learning could be summarized by a single song or hymn, this would be it. As you listen to this, I hope and pray that you guys understand and actually feel the weight of the message of this song. 

[Verse 1]
Christ is my reward
And all of my devotion
Now there's nothing in this world
That could ever satisfy

[Pre-Chorus]
Through every trial
My soul will sing
No turning back
I've been set free

[Chorus]
Christ is enough for me
Christ is enough for me
Everything I need is in You
Everything I need

[Verse 2]
Christ my all in all
The joy of my salvation
And this hope will never fail
Heaven is our home

[Pre-Chorus]
Through every storm
My soul will sing
Jesus is here
To God be the glory

[Bridge]
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back
No turning back

The cross before me
The world behind me
No turning back
No turning back

Count the Cost | F/F Week 4 Summary

By Kris Fernandez

This is the last week we’re going over the first half (“An Honest Diagnosis”) of the series. By asking ourselves the questions, and their implications, we might get an understanding of where we are standing in our relationship with God. 

If anyone... does not hate

In Luke 14:25-27 Jesus is again followed by a huge crowd. Whenever these things happen, Jesus would probably say some really difficult things to try to thin out the crowds – to separate the “fans” from the “followers,” if you will.

Here Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple. […] those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."

This is not exactly a Joel Osteen-style, people-friendly, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” message (not that any of these things are wrong per se).

But the question remains: how can the same guy who said “love your neighbors” say “hate your mother”?

Well because following Jesus will mess up the “priorities” in your life -- family, friends, job, school, popularity, sports, etc. Jesus will want to be ahead of all of these things, so much so that to put him before all of them will make you look like you’re now “hating” the things that you’re supposed to love (like you’re mom).

In New Testament days to follow this strange itinerant preacher Jesus against the wishes of your parents will be an insult to your family; people will think that you’re disobeying your parents, and are now hating them. In the same way, Jesus wants you to put him at the center of everything you do so that everything else must be at a distant second to him (and people are gonna think you’re crazy for doing that).

So our question number 4: Is Jesus your one of many or your one and only?

To help us answer this question it might be helpful to ask additional questions like, “Where do I find my greatest joy?” “Where is my greatest hope?”

Jesus teaches us “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:21).

“Where do I find comfort?”

Paul says in the first chapter of 2 Corinthians that God is the “father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”.

 “What really gets me so excited that I tell people about it?”

               Jesus says that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”.

Jesus further tells a story in Luke 14 that a person who plans to build a tower should “count the cost” if he’s able to finish what he started. Otherwise he would lose money and not get any benefit from an unfinished tower. He uses this analogy to warn his followers that following him will cost them everything. So his followers should count the cost if it’s worth it to follow Jesus even if it meant following him to their deaths. Otherwise, those following Jesus half-heartedly will lose time and money, and will not really get the benefits of salvation. Its essentially all-or-nothing. 

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Religion or relationship?

In reading the New Testament you will encounter two somewhat similar but different groups of religious leaders: Sadducees and Pharisees. We can learn a lot from these two groups.

First the Sadducees were generally those in charge of the daily duties of temple worship. They mostly inherited their positions from their parents. On the other hand, Pharisees were those who worked hard for their positions. They had to go through a lot of religious training in order to get to where they are now.

1. We have to ask ourselves then, are we like the Sadducees and "inherited" our Christian faith from our parents? Remember that God will not judge us on the basis of our parent's faith; we stand or fall on our own relationship with Jesus. (Sadducees also didn't believe in the Resurrection; so they were sad, you see).
2. Perhaps we are more like the Pharisees and we worked hard to become "Christians". We learned our Bible, went to Bible studies, went to church, and even attended church camps. But of course, none of these things by themselves make us a follower of Jesus. Jesus doesn't want us to be religious for the sake of religion; rather he want us to follow him personally.

Both of these groups may score high on a "religiosity index" but God does not judge by these standards. He cares more about the inside of the person rather than on outside appearances of religiosity. 

So Question 5: Are you more concerned about the outside rather than on the inside?

Sometimes we want to make ourselves look "Christian" as a cover-up for our actual inner self. We might fear being judged by others so we put up a show. Maybe we're so good at it we might be fooling ourselves too, but we're just no more than hypocrites.

While Jesus doesn't expect his followers to be perfect, ,he does call them to be authentic. 

No Turning Back, No Turning Back | F/F Week 3 Summary

By Kris Fernandez

A THIRD UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS

When we continue the story in Luke 7 we read about a woman who lived a "sinful life" -- generally interpreted as a prostitute -- who gatecrashed Simon's dinner for Jesus. You can already picture the scene -- a dinner is held in honor of a rabbi and this woman with a reputation enters uninvited.  This is the last person you would expect at a Pharisee's dinner held in honor for a rabbi. But here she is entering, not caring about any whispers directed against her, heading straight to Jesus.

What was her motivation? Perhaps she heard Jesus preach and thought to herself that maybe she had a chance at new life. Maybe this man preaching forgiveness really was the Son of God and the Messiah who can change everything for her. If so, then nothing can be more valuable than knowing this man who claims to forgive sins and give a "new birth". The woman breaks her alabaster jar of perfume (perhaps used for her occupation), cried and kissed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her own hair -- doing the very things that Simon failed to do. 

Simon, instead of learning his mistake from the woman's actions said, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is -- that she is a sinner". Clearly Simon didn't really think Jesus was a prophet, much less the Messiah; perhaps he only had a dinner with Jesus because of his popularity or perhaps to investigate him more closely. 

Jesus, perceiving Simon's words, told him, “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven."

Jesus notes the correct response of Simon. Jesus declares to him that the woman's sins "have been forgiven -- as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little". 

The actions of the woman showed how much value she placed on Jesus. Simon's lack of devotion, on the other hand, showed how much he really though Jesus did for him. 

Q3: How much do you really think Jesus did for you, and is that reflected on your devotion to him?

The more valuable we think something or someone is, the more importance, care and devotion we place upon this thing or person. This is true for cellphones, friendships, and for our relationship with God. If we think that God didn't really do anything for us (we're "good enough" without Jesus anyway), this will be reflected in our actions towards God. On the other hand, if we find God to be our greatest treasure and the source of our greatest joy then this will be reflected in our devotion and love for God, too. 

To conclude, which of these three characters are you most similar to: Nicodemus, Simon, or Mary? While we might start off as "secret followers" of Jesus like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, God wants to lead us to a closer walk with him until we can truly be unashamed followers of Jesus like the woman.

Traditionally, the "sinful woman" is identified as Mary Magdalene. If this is true, then such was the devotion of Mary that she was one of the few people who was with Jesus up until his death. In Romans 1:16 Paul himself says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile". May we live according to the truth of this passage. 

I have decided to follow jesus -- no turning back, no turning back

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
Though none go with me, still I will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me;
No turning back, no turning back.

The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Assam, north-east India, who along with his family was converted to Christianity in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of a Welsh missionary.

Called to renounce his faith by the village chief, the convert declared, "I have decided to follow Jesus." In response to threats to his family, he continued, "Though no one joins me, still I will follow." His wife was killed, and he was executed while singing, "The cross before me, the world behind me." This display of faith is reported to have led to the conversion of the chief and others in the village

The story was later passed on to an Indian missionary, Sadhu Sundar Singh, who is attributed with the formation of the words into a hymn. The melody of the hymn is also of Indian origin. 

Sources: 
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/I_Have_Decided_to_Follow_Jesus/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_Decided_to_Follow_Jesus