Deny yourself

“DenyYourself”  September 13, 2009  Crows Nest Lutheran Parish.

Mark 8:27-38 

 ²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" ²⁸And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." ²⁹And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." ³⁰ And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

 ³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

 ³⁴And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Prayer:

Lord, help us to see things from your perspective. Free us from our natural, fallen, sinful human ways of thinking. Lord, teach us what it means for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow you? Thank you for doing for us what we could never do: You gave your life to save us. Help us to gladly and lovingly lose our lives for you and for the gospel. Amen.

We are a comfort loving people. All human beings are. This is not wrong in itself. In 2 Corinthians 1:3 God is called “the God of all comfort.” Christ’s statement that we have to deny ourselves to be his disciples sounds like a call to austerity. It sounds like we should deny ourselves all comfort and pleasures. But this is not a blanket prohibition against all enjoyment in life. Jesus fasted, but also enjoyed meals with people. He brought peace and happiness to people by healing them, teaching them of God’s loving kindness and generosity, and by such lavish miracles as making many gallons of top quality wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2) and multiplying a few fish and bread to be enough to satisfy the hunger of many thousands of people.

He didn’t want people to only focus on physical comfort, though. When friends lowered a paralysed man through the roof of a house because it was so crowded, the first thing he said to the man was, ‘son, your sins are forgiven.’ He spoke of finding deep peace and rest through coming to him in faith. Think of his wonderful invitation in Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

“My burden is light?”

The burden he tells us to pick up and carry in today’s text is a cross!

As for finding rest for my soul, I’ve been very agitated by Jesus’ words that if we want to be his followers we have to deny ourselves; forget about ourselves; say ‘no’ to ourselves. I read and hear stories of people like James Fraser and William McChesney, and I am confronted by my reluctance to deny myself.

William McChesney (“Smiling Bill”) was a missionary to the Congo. In 1964, aged about 28,  – he was shoved into a truck by Simba rebels in the Congo stripped and mercilessly beaten by soldiers while suffering from malaria, imprisoned in a small cell with 40 other prisoners, he was turned over to a rioting mob armed with clubs and fists who struck him down, dead. 

We could repeat story after story of people - men, women and children, who followed Jesus to the point of losing their lives. What makes a person willing to suffer and die for Jesus?

When Jesus talked about his own suffering and death at the hands of the Jewish authorities, Peter couldn’t handle it. He started to tell Jesus off, but Jesus responded with a sharp rebuke:

"Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

For Jesus, suffering and death on the cross were the reason he had come into the world. This was the Father’s will for him. In Gethsemane he struggled with the huge burden of the sins and guild and shame and degradation of the world. But in the end he prayed, ‘Father, not my will, but yours be done.’ We pray this in the Lord’s prayer: “Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

William McChesney wrote a poem about this, contrasting our human desires and preoccupations with the way of Christ:

“I want my breakfast served at eight,

with ham and eggs upon my plate;

a well-broiled steak I’ll eat at one,

and dine again when day is done. 

I want an ultramodern home.  

And in each room a telephone;

soft carpets, too, upon the floors,

and pretty drapes to grace the doors. 

A cozy place of lovely things,

like easy chairs with inner springs,

and then I’ll get a small TV

– Of course, ‘I’m careful’ what I see. 

I want my wardrobe, too, to be of neatest, finest quality,

with latest style in suit and vest:

why should not Christians have the best? 

But then the Master I can hear

in no uncertain voice, so clear:

‘I bid you come and follow Me,

the lowly Man of Galilee. 

Birds of the air have made their nest,

And foxes in their holes find rest,

but I can offer you no bed;

no place have I to lay My head.’ 

In shame, I hung my head and cried. 

How could I spurn the Crucified? 

Could I forget the way He went.

The sleepless nights in prayer He spent? 

For forty days without a bite,

alone He fasted day and night;

despised, rejected – on He went,

and did not stop till veil He rent. 

A man of sorrows and of grief,

no earthly friend to bring relief;

‘Smitten of God,’ the prophet said

 – ‘Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.’ 

If He be God, and died for me,

no sacrifice too great can be

for me, a mortal man, to make;

I’ll do it all for Jesus’ sake.

yes, I will tread the path He trod,

no other way will please my God;

so, henceforth, this my choice shall be,

my choice for all eternity.”

V. 34 "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

None of us wants to lose our lives. But in the process of trying to save ourselves, we may end up losing ourselves. What is the answer? How can we be saved?

Jesus says we can save our lives by losing ourselves to him and to the gospel.

What does this mean?

Is Jesus setting up a high standard of discipline that we will all have to measure up to, if we’re going to be saved?

Wasn’t that what the Pharisees were on about? They fasted and kept themselves very disciplined about their spiritual lives… but Jesus said they had lost the plot. They had got it wrong.

Self denial does involve giving up anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God. As his disciples, we accept that it is ‘par for the course’ (i.e. simply the way it is) to forgo worldly comforts as we serve Christ in our daily lives. But the key thing we need to deny ourselves, (let go of), is our constant desire to make ourselves secure through our own efforts and performances; We need to let go of our drive to justify ourselves and promote ourselves and worry about ourselves.

With Christ as our Saviour, there is no need to worry. We are his. He is our Saviour. He is our Lord. In him, in his love and grace and forgiveness, we do not have to be afraid of not being enough, or not having enough, or not doing enough. We give the issue of how good or bad we are, to Jesus. We let him be in charge.

Could denying myself and taking up my cross to follow Jesus involve leaving the comforts of home and going to another country, maybe even risking our lives for the gospel? Maybe.

But if I go overseas in mission, or if I involve myself in mission here at home, I need to be clear about one thing: my efforts will not make God love me more, or somehow pay for my forgiveness, or secure me in God’s family. 

However God calls me to serve him, my life is safe with him, because of Christ’s cross, not mine. His cross pays for all. His cross secures me forever. My cross is my opportunity to show how much I love him…I fail every day to do this properly and fittingly, so I come back to him every day, every moment of every day, if possible, and find forgiveness, a sure refuge and much encouragement through his gracious love. I abandon my life to him, and to his gospel. He is my Saviour. He will guide me, and make my life pleasing to him. Amen.

Let us pray:

Lord, our natural desire is to try to save ourselves. Thank you that through your sacrifice on the cross, you make us secure. You free us from the need to justify ourselves by dealing with all our sins and shame. You comfort us and invite us to live free of worry. Free of concern for ourselves. Lead us in loving, selfless service. May we be the people you want us to be. Help us to trust you, and entrust ourselves to you at all times, Lord. You are our loving Saviour, and our God. Thank you for your gift of grace.  May your love overflow in our lives, to the glory of You holy name. Amen.