Deny, Take Up, Follow – Part 1

This is a teaching that I have been working on since January 4, 2017. Many times something inspires me to write out a teaching when a powerful truth is revealed to me during my studies. I don’t think I’ve ever published one at the same time I get the revelation. God puts me on pause until He reveals the entire teaching to me. That can take weeks, months or years, as in this case. Then one of the Lord’s “and Suddenlies” shows up and He says publish this one or that one. So, here it is.

Although we can find this word about deny yourself, taking up your cross, and following him in three books (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), I have chosen the one in Mark 8:33-35 to open this teaching. Here it is in the King James Version (KJV)

33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

I like the way this reads in The Message. Here it is.

“Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all.”

Religion has a field day with this set of scriptures by twisting them into a performance oriented works requirement. However, the first thing we see here is that Jesus is speaking to his disciples and the people. It says “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them”. Even though this was not written to us, it is written for us and we can learn a grace truth from it.

Let’s take the verse in context and start with denying oneself. Religion has falsely taught this as being a state of self denial in any aspect of life that could bring amusement, entertainment, relaxation and so on. For instance, going on an all inclusive vacation and simply enjoying yourself and relaxing for seven straight days. “What? And miss church? You have to go to church!” Really? Show me where it says that in the New Covenant, and don’t try to use the scripture in Hebrews 10:25. That is another one of those scriptures that legalists and religion like to use to control you and get you into a performance mode. See my teaching “Faith In Truth”. It completely destroys the old religious adage that this scripture is referring to going to a church building.

The religious crowd will also portray this as meaning giving up any desires you might have. As if to say the more you dogmatically resist your wants and desires, the holier you are. Then you not only have to deny yourself the types of things I just mentioned, but you must work hard to perform to the rules of religion and make sure you constantly avoid sin. Clean yourself up and improve your christian standing by what you do.

You know what’s wrong with this line of thinking? First of all it’s wrong and secondly there is no way you can do that. This teaching leading to false belief will leave you in a state of fear wondering if you’ve denied yourself enough to make you holy and acceptable.

Then there’s fasting. If I deny myself of TV, food, drink (except water of course), or anything else that’s presented, I will be more holy. No, it only serves to make you more religious. If people are honest, getting ready to do a fast, because someone or some group says we are going to do a community fast, will leave you in a state of dread. “Oh no. I’ve GOT to give this up or that up for this long or that long in order to satisfy the edicts of a group of people or the leader of a church. THAT’S WORKS!! During the time you are in the period designated for the fast, you will be impatiently focusing on “how much longer” the fast must go before you’re done rather than what the fast was supposed to be intended to do. At the end of the fast, you’ll have pride that you completed it and then overly indulge in that which you have given up. So what’s the point? The answer….there is none.

When someone says you HAVE TO pray and fast and you do it, you’ve just moved from relationship to religion. From walking in the spirit to walking in the flesh. From the grace of God to legalism and self righteousness. It will not make you righteous or holy. “But Jesus told His disciples to pray and fast.” Exactly, He told His disciples not us, and that was before the cross, not after. If the Lord tells you to fast, then do so, but not because some group calls for a corporate fast.

So what does deny yourself really mean? It means give up any self attempt to live your life through performance or traditions and simply embrace what Jesus has done for you. Trust Him because after all He is the Way, The Truth, and the Life. Live in relationship with Him. He wants to be involved in every aspect of your daily living. The problems and the pleasures.

On to the cross. Everyone thinks taking up their cross means to suffer, or carry their burdens themselves. This would include their aches and pains, wrongs, errors, and sins. That is not what that means. It means to remember what Christ did for you through the “finished” work of the cross. All the freedoms that were provided for you at that cross. Reference the Message translation above. It says “don’t run from suffering; embrace it”. That means, when problems arise, don’t get all stressed out and try to avoid them or solve them on your own. Look at them through victory eyes, because Jesus has already provided all you need in time of trouble. Take up the freedom that is found in the finished work on the cross and enjoy the promises of God.

I’m not very good at embracing my problems and seeing them as an opportunity for the Lord to bless me through them. For instance, we lived in Costa Rica for eight years and recently moved back to Texas. In Costa Rica cars are one of the few things that are expensive, so Expatriates purchase older vehicles. Mine, at the time, happened to be a 1997 Honda CRV with 165,000 miles. The good news is that it’s a great car and if repairs are needed, there are parts here and mechanical work is cheap.

Well, after having the car for nearly four months and almost 3,000 miles, the check engine light came on. This was bad timing since we have visitors coming in eight days from that moment and I need the car to pick them up. To add to that, I had some medical treatments to my hip and the Dr. was firm in his order that I should not drive for five days. That would only give me three days to get the car in and out of the shop. Well, Costa Rica is the land of manana. That means it could take awhile for things to get done. They do not get in a hurry. Actually, that’s a good lifestyle once you learn it because it cuts down on the self created stress people experience when always being on the go to get things done in a self imposed timeline.

Well, my immediate reaction was “Really God? With everything else that’s going on (and there was a lot), I don’t need this at this time also. I don’t have the time, and the money would be better spent on our visitors enjoying a meal out somewhere than on the cost of parts and repairs”. Then I got quiet and remembered this teaching. Remember, I said I have been working on this one since January 4, 2017.

In my meditation time on this study, God says “call your friend and ask him if he could take your car down to the mechanic for you”. Now those who know me understand that I’m not much for burdening others with my problems. By the way, that’s not a good thing. Certain others are more than willing to lend a hand when needed. So I called my friend. What you need to know about this friend is that he has moved away from the Lord and is struggling with finding true happiness. He is a super individual. Very gracious and giving. He was more than happy to help me. My action to call him gave me an opportunity to show him again the love of Jesus and softly present to him the gospel of the grace of God simply in the way I thanked him for helping me out of a situation.

As it turned out, he took the car in the morning and it was ready to be picked back up in less than 2 hours. That was fast for this culture. Also, it seems it was a quirk that the check engine light came on. It seems a slight fluctuation in voltage through the system, for whatever reason, caused the check engine light to come on. The mechanic told me there is nothing wrong with any part of the vehicle. It is perfect. This is a strange event that happens once in awhile with this type vehicle, but your car is perfect. The cost for mechanic’s time and computer connection to vehicle was $8.90. Oh yeah, they returned my vehicle to my house. I did not have to go get it.

I’m certain all of us have had our “check engine” light come on in our lives more than once. How did we we react? How should we react? This teaching is giving all of us the way.The word for it in Costa Rica is “tranquilo” which means quiet, still, serene, peaceful, relaxed, and easy. It can also mean unconcerned.

I’ve said this before that problems are nothing more than shadows of the forthcoming answers. Along with every problem, God has a promise and gives you provision. There were three crosses there that day, and many more before that, but there was only one that provided salvation and redemption. Christ died one time for all, but one time just for you. So in affect, that one cross was your cross and place of total freedom. Romans tells us we were crucified with Christ. So, when you confessed the Lord Jesus and believed that God raised him from the dead, you were placed into Christ death and resurrection. You received all that Jesus was and is now.

So the verse basically says put aside your pride and false belief that you can do anything on your own. Put aside your fears and failures. Put aside your attempts at trying to please God with good works. Take up your freedom that was provided and given freely to you at the cross. Understand the finished work at the cross that ended all judgment and the fear of God’s wrath being poured out on you. You must view the cross through the lens of grace and see it as a symbol of freedom rather than through the law and see it as a place of burden.

One last thing about taking up your cross. A piece of wood has no power whatsoever. The only thing you can do on a cross is die, and in effect that’s what happened because of what Jesus did. So it isn’t the cross that set you free or provided your salvation. It is what was done on that particular cross and who did it. It is Christ and Him crucified – the FINISHED work on the cross that has the power. It is the blood of the finished work of Christ.

This is a good stopping point for Part 1. More on The Cross in part 2 as we move into the third element of this teaching which is to Follow. Grace and Peace.