ALL IN

Deny Yourself

Jesus often gives commands that seem backwards from anything we hear elsewhere in the world around us. As part of His famous 3-step command to living life, Jesus first says that we must be people who deny ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we mope around in life having no fun. Instead, Jesus is calling us to give up our old ways of doing things and enter into the abundant life of Christ.

Scripture: Matthew 16:24; John 10:10; Psalm 139:23-24; John 16:13; Mark 10:17-22; Genesis 19:26

Introduction

I am excited to be with you today as we begin a brand new sermon series called “All In”! Now, maybe you have used these two words before to describe something in your life that you were doing. In my life, I’ve used them to describe a sport I played growing up.

Talk about a sport or club or anything else that you were in growing up that you went all in for. Make the point that going all in means not stopping short or walking away when it gets too tough. It’s about giving all to everything.

This principle is one that is absolutely paramount when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, maybe you are new to church and this whole Jesus thing. Essentially what I mean is that we believe the Bible lays out for us the best way to do life here on earth. This is what Jesus calls Abundant Life. In John 10:10, He actually uses this exact phrase…

Read John 10:10

John 10:10 NKJV

10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

So, if we want to experience abundant life and even eternal life (which we will talk about throughout this series), we have to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit all along the way! This means that we have to go All In for Jesus if we want to live like Him and for Him.

To begin, I want to go ahead and share with you one of the verses we will be using throughout the next few weeks. This is a 3-step command from Jesus. Here, Jesus is speaking with His disciples (earliest followers) and He says this…

Read Matthew 16:24

Matthew 16:24 NKJV

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Now, that may sound like a lot, but for the next few weeks, we are going to use this one verse as a launch point for what I believe God will speak to us about following Jesus as best we can. So for today, we are going to focus on that first part “deny yourself”. This is a tough command, but if we are able to live it out, everything can change.

The question we are trying to answer today is this: What does it mean to deny ourselves? Well, denying ourselves begins with a long look inside.

Looking Inwardly

Now prior to the coming of Jesus Christ here on earth, there was the Old Testament. We read about all that happened before His entrance into humanity. And one of the key things we see is that God communicates with certain people, rather than everyone as a whole. For instance, God raises up leaders that He talks with on behalf of His people Israel. And one of these people is David. David is a man of God who seeks to do things God’s way as much as possible. He was, at one point, the King over all of Israel. When we look at the Old Testament, however, we don’t just read about David, but also some things that David wrote, which can be found in the Psalms…

Read Psalm 139:23-24

Psalm 139:23–24 NKJV

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

This could be considered a prayer from David. He says very simply, “God, search me and know my heart.” David is doing something that I believe God is calling all of us to do if we hope to truly deny ourselves, as Christ says: looking inwardly. Maybe this is something you’ve done before. This is the process of taking an inward glance at our lives, and maybe even asking a series of questions.

For instance, “Where is my life heading? What are my priorities?” These questions have a tendency to reveal things to us. But even then, David wants God involved in the process.

You see, it would have been pointless for David to merely look within himself to try and figure out what needed to exit the scene. He wanted God to play a role. And similarly, we as believers have the Holy Spirit to help us in this process of learning what’s in our lives but needs to exit our lives. And here’s what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit…

Read John 16:13

John 16:13 NKJV

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

God desires to lead us into all truth. This truth is found in Scripture. Essentially, the Holy Spirit, if we will allow Him to, will lead us into the best way of life from the inside out! This is why it is so important that God has the key role in our introspection. What is it that God wants to reveal to you about what’s presently going on in your life? Maybe in your mind? Maybe in your heart? The steps God wants you to take He will first reveal if we have the receptivity to receive them. But after we learn the truth about what’s going on inside, we must be willing to give it to God. This is the next step in denying ourselves…

Living with Open Hands

ILLUSTRATION: Have everyone clench their fists and then slowly open their hands. Make the point that this is the action God desires from His people when denying themselves.

You see, it is really hard for us to say “no” to things when we have them clenched in our fist. We feel like they are necessities in life, rather than merely things we want. Maybe you’ve had some experience with this in the past. It’s something that the people around Jesus knew a ton about. For instance, have you ever heard the story of the rich young ruler?

Basically, a rich man comes to Jesus one day and wants to follow Him. When he gets to Jesus, the rich man asks Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life. And to answer this question, here’s what Jesus says…

Read Mark 10:17-22

Mark 10:17–22 NKJV

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” 21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” 22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Now, this is a powerful statement by Jesus. He tells the rich man to sell everything he has and give the money to the poor. But the response by the rich man tells us the most about him. The Bible says he went away sad because he had many possessions.

I wonder if we, too, have many possessions. Maybe these possessions are not material items like the rich man probably had to his name. Instead, maybe these are past things we have held onto for far too long that actually don’t fulfill us. Or maybe they are habits that create more and more unhealthy rhythms.

The only way WE ARE able to give these up was the act of moving from a clenched fist to an open hand posture that we just talked about. And the work of the Holy Spirit not only pointed it out, but helped me realize that I couldn’t take it with me into the next and best season of truly following Jesus.

And that brings me to our final point for the day…

Don’t Look Back

This is a simple statement that can be the game changer for you. Don’t look back at the things you have chosen to leave behind. Just like our other points today, there’s a Scriptural story that illustrates this beautifully. There was a man in the Book of Genesis named Lot. Lot had a wife who, when fleeing her city from total destruction, decided to look back…

Read Genesis 19:26

Genesis 19:26 NKJV

26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Did you read that too?? She was turned into a pillar of salt! But the question we have to ask is not “why did she get turned into a pillar of salt?” The question we must ask is “why did she look back?” The answer is revealed to us when we look deeper at a Hebrew word used in this verse.

In verse 26 that we just read, the original Hebrew word for our English “looked” means “to regard something with favor, pleasure, or care.” You see, Lot’s wife looked back and saw her comfortable place of residence, the place she knew for a while. This was the reason she cared so much for it. However, the Lord looked at this city and destroyed it because of its constant disobedience (something you can read more about if you’d like).

When the Lord points something out that must be left behind, we must be willing to leave it behind and never look back. God doesn’t want us focused on what’s behind us. Now, there’s no doubt He reminds us of just how far we have come. But His ultimate desire is that we fixate our focus and energy on Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

As we finish up today, I want to share a verse from the book of Philippians that highlights the importance of looking ahead;

Read Philippians 3:13-14

Philippians 3:13–14 NKJV

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul had quite a past that he could have looked back upon. He was held in high honor and esteem among the Pharisees, he was an extremely gifted leader, and he was celebrated for his thorough persecution of the early church. But he had to learn, as we do, to answer the call of God, deny ourselves, and move forward with the life that God has given.

He has abundant life waiting for you, for me, for all of us.

What’s holding you back today? What part of your past are you holding onto with clenched fists? What are you afraid to let go of?

Let’s take some time this coming week to think introspectively about living All-In for Jesus… and if you need help or counsel, please let us know. We’re in this together.

Let’s pray together.