The Beauty Of Denial
Notes
Transcript
denial can be equivocated to dying out of our own will and desires.
denial can be viewed as good or bad depending on the context used.
the good:
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
the bad:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Types of Denial
Types of Denial
In many ways in life, we view denial as a bad thing....and often it is.
don’t be a quitter: In the joking sense.
the denial of involvement
denial of fact:
is where someone avoids a fact by lying. This lying can take the form of an outright falsehood (commission), leaving out certain details in order to tailor a story
Denial of responsibility:
This type of denial involves avoiding personal responsibility by blaming, minimizing or justifying.
Blaming: is a direct statement shifting culpability and may overlap with denial of fact.
Minimizing: is an attempt to make the effects or results of an action appear to be less harmful than they may actually be.
Justifying: is when someone takes a choice and attempts to make that choice look okay due to their perception of what is "right" in a situation.
Someone using denial of responsibility is usually attempting to avoid potential harm or pain by shifting attention away from themselves
Denial of God.
Denial of Gods word or his son (Jesus Christ): changing the word to fit our life style or denying that Jesus was God in the flesh.
Denial of Gods expectations: God doesn’t really require that?
Denial of the existence of God: by saying that God does not exist, a person clears themselves of any wrong doing or responsibility or expectation.
when we look at the condition of man....we see these types of denials prevalent in society: again, primarily to shift need or responsibility or the denial that any type of change is necessary.
One can deny the reality of facts in order to make it possible to believe or do things that God forbids. He may deny his own sin, when challenged about certain words or actions. He may deny reality in some respects in order to gain certain supposed advantages.
the scripture points out why mankind does this....
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
in other words: man tries to cover up their deeds because they take pleasure in them.
we don’t deny sin in our lives because there is no pleasure in it but rather, because it is against the principles of God
and creates a separation between us and God in this life, as well as an eternal separation if we continue in them.
to recognize sin is to have a responsibility to avoid or abstain from it. to maintain a separation from sin and this world.
“come out from amongst them and be ye separate”…tough not the unclean things
just as Adam and Eve covered themselves in the Garden of Eden when they had sinned against God.
mankind always tries to cover up or deny sin or attempts to change what is sin and what isn’t.
24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
sin was never a permanent fix but rather, a temporary satisfaction
Definition of Denial :
The deliberate rejection or disavowal, especially of a person or object.
refusal to satisfy a request or desire
the actual psychology of denial:
a defense mechanism in which confrontation with a personal problem or with reality is avoided by denying the existence of the problem or reality
The paradox of denial or dying out
The paradox of denial or dying out
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.
in view of this....we realize the need for the word of God and not relying on our own ways, traditions or interpretations of right and wrong…(good evil and evil good)
People fight for their rights and wrestle for greatness only to find that greatness is found through servitude and submission.
Instead of conquering like Caesar, Alexander, or Napoleon, Jesus provided us with paradoxical ways to a better life:
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
The Christian life is a paradox:
By dying you live.
By giving you receive.
The least become the greatest.
denial is a type of dying out to self will in order to be submissive to the will of another
when we die out spiritually…we are saying.. “not my will but thine” (self denial)
Jesus gave us the ultimate example of this....
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Jesus Christ, being the ultimate example of how we should be, denied his will in favor of the will of the Father.
our denial can lead to a separation from God
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
Proper Biblical Denial
Proper Biblical Denial
denial is not always a bad thing....in fact, in the bible, denial is largely a good thing.
spiritual life is actually brought about by denial
if we remember the bible study “from death to life”
Following Jesus
Following Jesus
when Jesus was gathering his disciples he simply stated, “Follow Me.”
Interestingly, without question they left their nets and businesses and followed Jesus.
2. But we see that There was more to following Jesus than just accompanying Him.
if we remember the scripture we earlier read...
“if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it”
The cross to which He referred was more than just a symbol; it was to be a way of life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died at the hands of the Nazis, made the following declaration:
“When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die” (Bonhoeffer 1959, 89)
Taking Up Our Cross
Taking Up Our Cross
Taking up our “cross” is the very act of denying one’s self and submitting to God in that:
the mind being made up…meaning that whatever comes along will not separate us from God and our mission/commitment to fulfill his will.
we are committing that in this life…we will serve the Lord
Jesus Christ was establishing the necessity of taking up one’s cross as a prerequisite to following him.
That statement made perfect sense in the day Christ lived upon this earth.
The Roman custom of crucifixion involved forcing a cross upon the one whom the soldiers were about to crucify.
Jesus took up His cross.
We should follow the pattern He set by being willing to die with Him.
Quote: “He accepted His cross, and He called on believers to do the same. Comfortable Christianity
produces no power in our lives, and it also fails to accomplish the will of God for our lives.
On the other hand, becoming a living sacrifice gives us authority and power with God”
(Johnson, Winter 2007, 29).
Becoming a Living Sacrifice
Becoming a Living Sacrifice
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Paul addressed this same idea in his letter to the church at Philippi.
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
We see that in this quest to know Jesus intimately, it must involve a person’s complete willingness to take up the cross of Christ daily.
We will never experience the “high calling of God” apart from the suffering associated with the cross.
through the cross of Jesus Christ, we find the power that is available to us through that cross.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
The Least Become The Greatest
The Least Become The Greatest
One of the greatest examples of humility and servitude was given to us by Jesus Christ himself
As the disciples finished eating, Jesus wrapped a towel around His waist and poured water into a basin.
He then began washing the feet of His astonished friends.
In this, Jesus was setting the precedent to us that he who is last shall be first…whoever is the least shall be the greatest.
We sacrifice our wants and desires in this world to attain a much greater prize and reward in the life to come.
26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.
At first Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet.
He was ashamed to have his Master and Teacher kneel before him in such a lowly role.
As Jesus continued washing their feet, He taught them to rearrange their priorities and value systems.
showing them new and more perfect way of viewing our walk with him.
By His actions, He demonstrated that those seeking positions or measuring their success in carnal terms could never effectively influence their world.
5. He introduced His disciples to a new paradigm:
The way up is down.
this statement being true both in servitude as well as prayer
becoming as a servant to all…as well as our servitude to God on our knee’s.
For to have a servant mindset…is to assert a sense of humility and servitude to our fellow man.
in servitude we actually conquer the issue of pride....
The New Role
The New Role
The task Jesus set before His disciples was to serve people in His place.
To honor God by being his hands and his feet.
by being an example of a true believer.
Our hands of service would become, in essence, the hands of Jesus Himself.
In denying ourselves, we show forth the Love of God to a world that knows no Love.
conclusion:
People strive for the throne, but it is at the foot of the cross that greatness is found.
it is in the denial of ourselves that he is Lifted up and exalted in our lives
2. People trick and deceive others to reach the top, but it is by loving others and thinking of their welfare before ours, that we become great.
In this, we show forth the Love and power of God through us and not because of us.
We humble ourselves and step aside (so to speak) so that Gods glory can be manifested in us.
Quote:
“Great Leaders are the ones who run headfirst into the unknown. They rush toward danger. They
put their own interests aside to protect us or to pull us into the future. Leaders would sooner
sacrifice what is theirs to save what is ours. And they would never sacrifice what is ours to
save what is theirs. This is what it means to be a leader. It means they choose to go first into
danger, headfirst toward the unknown. And when we feel sure they will keep us safe, we
will march behind them and work tirelessly to see their visions come to life and proudly call
ourselves their followers” (Sinek 2014, Preface).
The love of money, power and self exaltation, leads to pride and a great fall.
the answer......Jesus plus humility in self denial, is the secret to real riches and power.
The far reaches of our testimony and effectiveness will be realized in the life that we live.
when we are willing to serve rather than to be served.
Quote:
“In the heart of Africa, among the Great Lakes, I have come across black men and women
who remembered the only white man they ever saw before—David Livingstone; and as
you cross his footsteps in that dark continent, men’s faces light up as they speak of the kind
Doctor who passed there years ago. They could not understand him; but they felt the love
that beat in his heart” (Drummond 2007, 15).
Sacrifice is the heart beat of Love and humility
As Christ loved and gave himself for us.....so we love and sacrifice for others..for the cause of Christ.
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
As our supreme example walked (Jesus Christ) let us so walk