The god of Self

Luke 9:23-25

What is the god of self?

The god of self, what is it? We are constantly being formed by the world around us. These are people like your parents, friends, family, teachers, the people that make up our church. It is also things like tik tok, instagram, tv shows, movies, books, and the list can go on and hand. In and of themselves, these things and people aren’t inherently bad for you. Many of these are mediums or ways just in which you are being formed into who you are as a person and the type of character that you have. However, because these mediums are neutral it is the content of that specific thing that is forming into one of two things. The first is being formed into someone who is un-Christlike. The second is your are being formed in Christlikeness. Those are the two things that you can be formed into. Scripture tells us it the nature of the world and the nature of God.

I think at first sight and realization we would all say, “I want to be like Christ.” But I want to ask, what are you doing to be formed into the image of Jesus?

Here’s why: We live in a world that worships self. Everybody says, “Worship yourself.” What I’m saying is that we live in a moment when you, and me, and our culture believe that the highest good is ourselves and to fulfill whatever we think and feel.

A current movement right now in our culture is telling us that whatever we feel is what we are. That is say that we able only what we feel. The culture is trying to boil everyone down to a certain feeling. Isn’t that sad? That your essence is boiled down to whatever you might feel that day. That you identity isn’t greater than what you feel. It’s actually the in-end and be-all. That’s a really sad place to be. That culture of thought tries to reduce me and you down to our gender, sexuality, mental illness or neurodivergence. Or that whatever we’ve felt in a certain moment defines us for a lifetime. Or maybe it’s our thoughts or philosophy of life or politics. That all you are is your political party. Which is funny it is being forced on all of you because you can’t even join a political party! Or if you hold to a certain policy that is the definition of who you are.

So, why does all this matter? Why does it matter that you are more than your feelings, gender, sexuality, or thought? Because God has said so!

God has made everyone here into his image. He created us all male and female. He made us for himself. And if God has made us, that actually means the best thing we can do is let God be the one who shapes us and form us back into the full image of what He has intended for each of us from the beginning.

God ultimately fulfills that promise in Jesus. And it is Jesus who shows us what it means to turn away from our god of self, and turn to The God who can actually fulfill and give us all that we need. Jesus has saved us from Satan, sin, and death. But he has also saved us from ourselves.

Denying ourselves and carrying our crosses helps us to lay down self-interest and live a fulfilled life on mission for Jesus.

Let’s read Luke 9:23-25

Luke 9:23–25 ESV

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

Deny Yourself

The older I get the harder it feels like it is to live out these verse if I’m gonna be completely honest with you. Denying myself feels harder and harder as I get older. To be honest, I usually don’t want to deny myself at all. I would rather do what I want to do and not have anybody tell me differently. I would rather scroll on social media or watch tv than work. I would rather hang out with my friends that study for school. I would rather ignore God and intentionally stay clear of remembering all the good things that He has done in my life because I would rather be comfortable than be confronted by my sin and current lifestyle. What I am saying is, I would rather be my own god than actually let God be the Lord of my life.

I have a feeling your one of two people right now. Your either 1. Thinking yes, that’s me too. Or 2. You’re thinking I’m crazy and that you don’t have that problem. Well if you’re the first, thank you for being honest with yourself and God. And if you’re the second, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you actually do have that problem and you’re so blinded you can’t see it.

But the truth is this, Jesus has called me and you to deny ourselves. What does that mean?

Simply, we need to lay down our own ambitions and desires.

One of my favorite tv shows is “The West Wing.” Some of you might have heard of it or your parents watch. Basically the show is about the staffers who work in the West Wing of the White House. They are the ones who move things around to make sure the President’s agenda gets down and that the federal government stays afloat and running.

In one specific episode, there is a bill that needs to be passed. This bill would basically allow under-funded schools to receive a grant and to provide computers for their students. But right before the bill is about to the go through, the majority in the Senate doesn’t want to pass the bill through because it had the vice president’s name on it from when he was a senator. To help give the bill through the senate, one of the white house staffers goes and speaks to the vice president to take his name off of it. So it creates this moment of tension when you it would be really easy to upset the vice president but it would be at the expense of helping others. So, he asks the vice president and to everyone’s surprise the vice president agrees to take his name off without reservation and without asking for anything in return. He says he will do it because it is the right thing to do.

In that moment, the vice president could have fought and rightfully kept his name on the bill for future political clout, but he does what’s unexpected. He gives up political clout for the sake of common good. In this situation he denied his own ambition and desire to something that was greater than himself.

This is the type of denial Jesus is calling us to. It’s a denial of self-interest. It’s a denial of our own personal ambitions, desires, habits, and sins for the sake of Jesus. Jesus is contrasting for us that a life lived for self actually leads to a loss of life. But actually what leads to true life is giving up your current self in the process. Let’s keep going.

Take Up Your Cross Daily

This is a weird phrase for us. For example in our culture we’ll hear things like, “This is my cross to bear” or “I’ve got the weight of the world on my shoulders.” All of these are based off of this invitation and command of Jesus. Jesus isn’t just calling us to deny ourselves, but he is telling us He has something in place of that to give us.

He is telling us that we have a cross to bear. A mission to fulfill on our way to eternity. A mission given to each us by Jesus. We know in other places of Scripture that we’re told to love God, love others and to make disciples. All of that can be summarized in taking up your cross to follow Jesus, daily. Carrying our crosses is hard. It’s heavy, it can feel lonely, it can feel like that it will never end. While all these things are true, it’s simple and it’s worth it.

Following Jesus is worth! I need to be reminded of that everyday! When we don’t deny ourselves and our ambitions, desires, habits, and sins get in the way, it’s really hard to remember that following Jesus is worth it. We need to remind ourselves daily that we need to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

Applications

I want to leave you all here today with just a few simple ways to deny yourself and to pick up your cross everyday and follow Jesus.

The first is this.

Read the Bible

Don’t just read the bible because it’s the “right thing to do.” Read the Bible because it is a gift the Lord has given us. God has given us His very written Word. Through reading and giving time to the Word, the Lord uses that to transform you in heart, mind, body, and soul. Reading the Bible is about encountering the God of the Bible. The Bible is not a textbook but to be studied, though you should study it. Rather it’s something you should read to be transformed by the power and presence of God.

Pray

Prayer is like a continual conversation between you and God. Prayer is where we get to speak to God like a King and Friend, and he actually speaks back to us. Rather that’s through authoritatively through Scripture, or through spiritual gifts like prophecy or words or pictures, or even through a friend. God desires for us to speak to him. He already knows what we need before we even ask it, but in asking God is revealing things about himself to us through it. Pray often and pray deeply. Pray to your God loves to hear you and respond to you.

Come to Church

Come as often as you can! The church is not just a building that we show up to on Sundays and Wednesdays, but it’s actually the people of the Living God. In the community of the church we are coming together as disciples of Jesus to be formed into His image! We do this on Sundays through singing, confession and assurance, prayer, the reading of the Word, the preaching of the Word, participating in the Communion, and receiving prayer! We do all these things on a Sunday not because we just want to fill our Sunday with stuff to do, but we’re filling it and participating in things that help us be formed in the image of Jesus.

That’s also what we’re doing here on Wednesday nights. That’s why we sing, pray, read the Word, preach the Word, and have small groups! We want to help you look more like Jesus. And if I’m honest, you help all of us leaders look more like Jesus, too.

Lastly, that’s why we have community groups that meet throughout the week. That’s why many of your parents are in groups, they want to be more like Jesus! That’s why we do what we do!

It’s through these practices that we can learn to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses daily and follow Jesus.

Let’s pray