Week 4 – The Process: Death to Self

Text: Mark 8:34-38

 

If the problem is powerless Christianity and the person of the Holy Spirit is what we are seeking, then how do we receive the power of the Holy Spirit? What is the process? Simply put, the path to more of the Spirit is the path that results in less of me. To be filled with the Spirit you must first be completely emptied of self.

 

God is not trying to destroy our humanity; He is seeking to get rid of our selfishness. The part of me that is guided by what I want is the part that must go. The part that demands my way must go. I can no longer be guided by me and what I want.

 

There is perhaps no greater teaching that is central to understanding Jesus than that of self-denial. Jesus teaches us that to follow Him we must:

–        Deny self

–        Die to self (which is tortuous and painful)

–        Refuse to save our lives, reputations, wants, wishes, etc.

–        Lose who we are (change our identity to being in Christ)

 

He asks us what it is we are trying to preserve. Objectively speaking, we trade the glories of Christ, His Kingdom, and His Spirit for things of no value (things like our ego, being right, etc.)

 

So how do we die to self? The answer is Christianity 101, believe the Gospel. Remember that the Spirit is received through faith, not works. Romans teaches us that part of the Gospel is our identifying with Jesus in His death and resurrection. Do you believe that when Jesus died, you died? Do you believe that the life of Jesus now courses through your veins? We simply do not enter into all that God has for us because of unbelief.

 

Our attitude towards suffering and weakness shows us the state of our souls. God uses suffering to pry our fingers off of our false identities, our egos, and our selfishness. As we see God using these things to deliver us from self, we begin to rejoice like Paul, because when we are weak that is when we are strong. We desire to be unseen so that the glory of Christ may be seen.

 

Self-denial is a daily choice. Like Paul we must choose to die every single day. We must continually be denying ourselves and yielding to the Holy Spirit. This means we live disciplined lives, not to build up our flesh but to tell ourselves, “No.”

 

Behind self-denial is the belief that all we need is Christ. Our flesh does not help us.

Can you say that you have been crucified with Christ? Do you truly believe this?

Who lives your life? You or Christ?