Nathan's Message - July 21st

Some of you have asked about the message Nathan gave at church on July 21st, 2024.

Here it is.

Self-Denial & Priorities.docx

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Self-denial – Seeking first the Kingdom of God

Self-denial is not an easy topic to speak on, and I will admit, I am in no way an expert in self-denial. However, over the past few years and especially the past several months, through my devotional time, reading the Bible, prayer time, and life’s circumstances, God has really challenged me in this area.

Now, I’m not talking about denying myself that extra helping of dessert or a second or maybe third helping of brisket tacos, although, I could probably handle denying that too.

The type of self-denial that I want to talk about today is the self-denial that is written about throughout scripture, especially throughout the gospels, and the books written by the Apostle Paul. Passages like Matthew 16:24-25: Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

And Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.

We all have hopes and dreams of what we would like our life to look like. Where we see ourselves being in life. Whether it’s with our job, our family, our hobbies, our next vacation, our friend group, getting the next best thing...the list could go on. It’s easy to let our minds become consumed with all the things that we want and what the world says we should want and even deserve. Before we know it, our hopes and dreams consume our thoughts, our thoughts become our actions, and our actions become our life’s purpose and number one priority.

Chuck Swindoll shared a good illustration on priorities in life, which I think can be applied to the message I want to share this morning.

He says, life is a lot like a coin; you can spend it any way you wish, but you can spend it only once. Choosing one thing over all the rest throughout life is a difficult thing to do. This is especially true when the choices are so many, and the possibilities are so close. 

To be completely truthful with you, however, we aren't left with numerous possibilities. Jesus Himself gave us the top priority: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matt. 6:33). He said, in effect, "This is your priority; this comes first." 

If we are to seek first in our life, God's kingdom and God's righteousness, then whatever we do ought to relate to that goal: where we work, with whom we spend our time, whether we stay single or whether we get married. Every decision we make ought to be filtered through the Matthew 6:33 filter: “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness”. Where I put my money, where and how I spend my time, what I buy, what I sell, what I give away. We need to consider what our number one priority is in our lives. 

This way of living, seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness, requires self-denial.

Living out the kingdom life means that everything must remain before the throne and under the authority of the ruler. Everything must be held loosely. This is easier said than done.

What things are you holding onto? What is something you cannot live without? What things are you gripping tightly? Have they become your security? Are you a slave to some image? Some name you're trying to live up to? Some job? Some possession? Some person?

If I have to be honest with myself, I could provide answers for every one of the questions that I just asked.

Let me give you a tip. If you cannot let it go, it's a priority to you. It is impossible to be a slave to things or people and at the same time be a faithful servant of God.

Swindoll says, “Life places before us hundreds of possibilities. Some are bad. Many are good. A few, the best. But each of us must decide, "What is my choice? What is my reason for living?" In other words, "What priority takes first place in my life?" You can’t slavishly (slave-ish-lay) serve things or people and also be a faithful servant of God”. 

— Charles R. Swindoll

As most, if not everyone here knows, my family has had the opportunity to serve in the community of Fairford, for many years, this summer will be the seventh year. Whether it is running summer camps, day camps, or providing hampers to the community, God has provided us with many opportunities to serve Him and serve others. With every opportunity to serve the community, we had a choice. Although it requires a lot of preparation, work, time, and energy, it is always worth it! God is so good and despite how inadequate or overwhelmed we might feel, He is in control and His good and perfect way will always be accomplished. Is it easy? By my own strength, NO, I struggle to deny myself. Would there be other things that selfishly I would rather be doing? Absolutely!  

Jesus taught that to be His disciple—His follower—the spiritual discipline of self-denial is required: “Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’” (Matthew 16:24, ESV). Denying yourself is an essential part of the Christian life. Jesus called upon those who wish to be His followers to reject the natural human inclination toward selfishness. To deny ourself means to give up our selfish ways and to put God’s Kingdom first.

The Dictionary of Bible Themes defines self-denial as “the willingness to deny oneself possessions or status, in order to grow in holiness and commitment to God.” The words Jesus used in the original language for “deny yourself” were strong terms similar in meaning to Paul’s wording in Philippians 3:7–8: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (ESV, emphasis added).

For those that ask the question, why? Why self-denial? Why count all earthly gain as loss? The purpose of self-denial—counting as “loss” all earthly gains—is to become more like Jesus in holiness and obedience to God.

I want to repeat that answer again, “The purpose of self-denial—counting as “loss” all earthly gains—is to become more like Jesus in holiness and obedience to God”.

The song, to be like Jesus comes to mind when I think of this... “To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus. All I ask, to be like Him. All thru life's journey from earth to glory, All I ask, to be like Him”. What a great song and such meaningful lyrics, but how many of us really comprehend what that means? Do we really mean it when we sing these words? How many of us really grasp what it means to be like Jesus? To be like Jesus means we deny our self, our will, and desire to become more holy and obedient to God, following his will for our lives, in everything that we do.

If you would have asked me a few months ago if I thought our family would be going to Mexico to serve as missionaries, I would probably have said no. It’s amazing how God works. When you start praying for God’s will to be done and for Him to open the doors He wants opened and close the doors He wants closed, amazing things happen! A verse that often comes to my mind is Isaiah 55:8-9

8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.         

My family’s journey to becoming missionaries in Mexico for the coming school year didn’t happen by chance. God has had his hand in this opportunity all along. Over the past six months there have been many ups and downs and twists in life. Countless doors seemed to close over the past year, various job opportunities, where I thought God could use me, didn’t work out. Yet, the one door that God always kept open was that of missions, using our gifts and talents to serve Him and serve others. Our family has always had a heart for missions, yet, initially, I did not think this was where we would be going this soon, on such short notice. The more we prayed about it though, the more God made it clear, this was what He wanted our family to do. One example of answered prayer came in the form of a message from Amanda Wiebe. After explaining what Oaks of Righteousness was all about and the roles and responsibilities each person currently had in the ministry, Amanda provided a list of things that we could get involved in:

The list included directing the ministry - to build up the ministry, training/mentoring teachers, administration of funds/resources, teaching classes, creating a mission statement & policies for the mission. The message concluded with, hopefully this gives you a better idea of whether or not this lines up with what you are interested in. Have a great day, God bless.

After sharing this message with Rose that evening, it was the first time in a long time where both of us felt peace about the direction that God wanted us to go. This was the first time in my search for a job where someone spelled out what they could see me doing and it aligned with so many of my hopes, gifts, talents, and passions.

Some of you might be thinking, Wow! That is amazing; God just opened this door for you and your family, and provided you with this opportunity of a lifetime, how could you say no? While, it is amazing and yes, I believe it was an answer to prayer, honestly, it was and has not been an easy decision. One thing I know for sure is that it is a test of obedience. Would I deny myself? my interests & hobbies? my comforts? what I thought life for me and my family would look like? These and many other questions, have swirled around in my mind.

God brought about this once in a lifetime opportunity. Will I follow His direction? Will I be obedient? The story of Jonah and Nineveh has popped into my mind from time to time. As does Paul’s experiences in life. I think about some of Paul’s letters in Romans, where he is in turmoil and spiritual warfare, not knowing why he does not do what he should do, and does do what he shouldn’t do. Over the past few months, I feel like I can empathize with Paul & Jonah. But then I am reminded of scripture like 2 Timothy 1:7-9: 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

As mentioned earlier, self-denial is a constant battle between the spirit and flesh. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

Those who took part in the parenting course will remember the phrase happiness over holiness. We live in a time where happiness is of more concern than holiness. We want to be happy; we want our kids to be happy, we want everyone to be happy, but in so doing we often neglect holiness and obedience to God and do not put God as our number one priority in life. We want to build our own Kingdom’s characterized by happiness and success in life and forget to seek first the Kingdom of God. 

Denying yourself includes overcoming the persistent fleshly demands of the body, also known as the carnal self, and bringing them into submission to God’s Word so that you don’t give in to sin: Galatian 5:24 says, “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”.

I think Paul, in Romans 7:15-20 describes well how many of us, including myself, struggle with denying ourselves and what we want, rather than what God desires and shows us through his word: 

15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Have you ever stopped to count how many times the word I, me or my is written in just that short passage? If I counted correctly, it is 25 times. “My” – two times, “me” – three times, and “I” an astounding 20 times, in just six verses. How often are we focused on ourselves? I, me, my? Instead of focusing on the example of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

Self-denial for the Christian means renouncing oneself as the center of existence (which goes against the natural inclination of the human will) and recognizing Jesus Christ as one’s new and true center. It means acknowledging that the old self is dead, and the new life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3–5). 

From the moment of our new birth into Jesus Christ, self-denial becomes a daily exercise for the rest of this life on earth (1 Peter 4:1–2 says,

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.). Only by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit can we learn to deny self: “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11–13). 

Through daily self-denial and crucifying the flesh, our life in Christ grows, strengthens, and develops more and more. Christ now becomes our life. These famous words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer help us understand the meaning of self-denial: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die” (The Cost of Discipleship, SCM Press, 2015, p. 44). A follower of Jesus must be prepared to die if death is where the path of discipleship leads: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20; see also Romans 6:1–11). 

I am someone who appreciates things written out clearly, tell me the facts and let’s do this. I want to know; how can I apply this to my life? (whether I follow through on the application is sometimes another story)

In my studies on self-denial as a follower of Jesus Christ, these are some of the practical things I found, that I believe are worth applying:

Giving to the poor and needy is a form of self-denial that Jesus encouraged (Matthew 5:42; Luke 11:41). Whether it’s locally or on the other side of the world, there are numerous opportunities to give to those in need. This is something I see many in our congregation doing, whether it’s giving to the mission of the month, providing food or hampers to families in need, serving at different missions. I encourage you to keep doing this.

Fasting is another discipline of self-denial that Jesus practiced Himself (Matthew 4:1–2). While fasting is not one of my strengths, it is something that helps us show discipline and direct our focus on God. If you haven’t tried fasting before, I would encourage you to try it.

Watching in prayer is another way to deny yourself in service to God, as Jesus demonstrated (Matthew 14:23; 26:41).

This is something I especially appreciate about this congregation. There are so many prayer warriors here and I am grateful to God for the many who have prayed for me and my family. I encourage you to continue praying, take time for it daily, throughout the day.

Likewise, living modestly rather than indulging in excessive luxury is an area in which believers can exercise self-denial (Matthew 8:20; 10:10; 1 Timothy 2:9 speak about this). Let’s be honest, the community we live in may not be excessively luxurious, but is it modest? Are there things we could live without? I’m cautiously optimistic and somewhat excited about having the opportunity to live in a more modest way when we move to Mexico.

Perhaps the most significant way we practice self-denial is in our everyday interactions. How we love and esteem our brothers and sisters in Christ. Self-denial is the basis for Christian fellowship and service within the church: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:4–8; see also Matthew 5:38–48; Mark 10:42–45).

What could the Church look like if everyone looked not only to their own interests but also to the interests of others? If each one of us took on the form of a servant and humbled ourselves? If we stepped up to serve in the church? Whether it was leading singing, sharing an opening, giving a message, serving as a Sunday school teacher, as an Awana leader or youth leader. Putting aside our doubts, our thoughts, our desires, denying ourself, and putting God’s desires before ours. Seeking first His Kingdom. What could this church look like? I challenge each person here to consider, how are you serving? Are you serving? Have you humbled yourself and taken on the very nature of a servant? These are tough questions, but in seeking first the Kingdom of God and denying ourself, we must answer.

Denying yourself means seeking the good of others before looking out for yourself (1 Corinthians 10:24). When Ruth followed Naomi, she practiced self-denial for the benefit of her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:11). When Esther put her life at risk to save her people, she demonstrated self-denial (Esther 4:16). Scripture teaches us to deny ourselves for the sake of those who are weak in the faith (Romans 14:21; 15:1–3; 1 Corinthians 8:13; 9:23). When you are willing to sacrifice your time, energy, rights, position, reputation, privileges, comforts, and even your very life for the sake of Christ, you exemplify what it means to deny yourself: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25.