FBC Morning Light – March 15, 2023

Luke 9 and the Call to Daily Self-Denial

Well, a good Wednesday morning. I hope your week is going well thus far. Today we're reading in Numbers chapters 29 and 30, getting to the end of the book of Numbers, and Luke 9 and in Psalm 53. I'm going to look at a statement that Jesus makes in Luke 9 and show how it runs a bit counter to some sections of the church, Christianity, that emphasize a different way of looking at this.

I'm referring to Luke 9 verses 23 and 24. Jesus says to his disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, or he's actually speaking to his disciples as well as people around him, he says to them all, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. I'm going to focus on one word in verse 23, and that's the word daily. Many, many, many, many, many years ago, actually while I was still in college, I worked in a church that had a more experiential orientation to Christianity.

It was a church that they taught that you could lose your salvation, that there was a second work of grace, a second blessing, if you will, if you just got to that point of asking God for it, and believed that it was possible to be sinlessly perfect, a sinless perfection.

I never bought into that. I don't know how I got working in that church, but anyway, I did. I wasn't there for very long. Nevertheless, I heard the emphasis that you need to let go and let God, you need to come to this point of dying to yourself before you can experience that second blessing that will then stand you in good stead for life kind of an idea.

The mentality was, after you get converted, after you become a Christian, you're not really fully a disciple of Jesus until you come to a second act, a second step in the process. This is a step where God's Spirit just so heavily weighs on you and works on you that he finally breaks you and brings you to this place where you throw your hands up in the air and say, I give up, I die to myself, and from here on out, I'll live for Christ.

It's wonderful to come to such a place where you realize, I need to live for Christ and not live for myself anymore, and be really serious about your Christian life. But this isn't a one-time thing. It's not a one and done deal.

Jesus makes that clear here in this passage. He says, you need to take up your cross daily, daily. Deny yourself, die to yourself every single day. Haven't you found this to be true in your own life if you're honest?

One of my routines, my personal routines, and I'm not saying this is something you should do, I'm just saying this is what I do, and it just helps to remind me that I do need to deny myself daily, to take up my cross daily.

One of the things I do is, every morning I pray, Lord, here's my body, I'm putting it on the altar, and I'm yielding to you my heart that you might rule and reign on its throne. I yield my hands to you that I would do today what you want me to do.

I yield my feet that I would go where you want me to go. I yield my ears that I would listen to your word and obey. I yield my eyes that I would set my eyes on Christ. I yield my lips that I would speak the truth and speak it in love.

I yield my mind that I would think on things above and not on things of the earth. I would think on things that are true and just and noble and pure and lovely and of good report and praiseworthy and virtuous.

I give you my life. I die to myself today. This is a daily thing, isn't it? Paul recognized this in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 31. He said, I die daily. If Paul had to do that, I know I need to. I know I need to.

Don't fall into this idea that 20 years ago I went forward at the end of a service and I dedicated my life to Christ and I gave my life to him, so I did that. I'm done. No. 20 years ago, no. Maybe 20 minutes ago, it'll be good for the next 24 hours.

You need to do it again. No, I die daily. I take up my cross daily. Let me encourage you to do that in some way or another. Find a method whereby you can remind yourself that my life is not my own. I yield it to you, O Lord, today.

A Daily Practice of Yielding Every Part of Life to Christ

Father, help us to do that. Help us to keep this in mind that following Christ is a daily endeavor, and we need to renew that determination every day. Give us grace to do so, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, listen. Have a wonderful rest of your day. I trust the Lord will bless you in it. Good day.