Denying Self
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What is something youโve had to do daily for some time to achieve a goal?ย
Share what happened.
โข Recall a time when you faced criticism or doubt in pursuing something important to you. How did you respond to it, and what did you learn?
โข Have you ever been part of a supportive group or community that helped you stay on track with a personal goal? How did they encourage you?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง? ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด.โย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ต:๐ฎ๐ฏโ๐ฎ๐ฒ
Jesus calls His followers to live a life of self-denial, where personal desires and comforts are set aside to align with Godโs will, even in the face of hardship or suffering. He warns against the futility of gaining worldly success at the expense of oneโs soul and cautions that being ashamed of Him or His teachings will result in separation from His glory. Today, we will look at the posture that Jesus is calling His disciples to have: denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Jesus.ย
๐ญ. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต.โ ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ต:๐ฎ๐ฏโ๐ฎ๐ฐ
Denying ourselves completely involves abandoning self-centered desires and ambitions to fully follow Jesus. It is not simply denying ourselves of certain things, but denying control of our own lives. This means setting aside personal convenience, surrendering every aspect of our lives to align with Godโs will. Jesus warns that those who strive to preserve their lives through self-reliance or worldly pursuits will ultimately lose what truly matters. In contrast, those who willingly let go of their own interests for Jesusโ sake will find true and eternal life, both in this life and in the next. What are some of the things you had to give up completely to follow Christ?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ฝ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ง๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ง๐ฆ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง?โย ย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ต:๐ฎ๐ฏ, ๐ฎ๐ฑ
Crucifixion was the most horrifying, excruciating, and humiliating form of death during the time of Jesus. As His followers, we are to embrace Godโs will no matter what the cost, even if it leads to rejection, suffering, and even death. Jesus perfectly modeled this when He faced the cross, enduring suffering without defending Himself and fully submitting to Godโs plan. His sacrifice motivates us to live like Himโhumbly, sacrificially, and faithfully. We may not presently face the threat of death, but there are many costs that we are to pay to follow Jesus. What does taking up your cross daily mean for you?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฆ. . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด.โย ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ต:๐ฎ๐ฏ, ๐ฎ๐ฒ
Following Jesus is not a one-time decision but an ongoing journey of obedience to His words and commands. We are called to align every aspect of life with His teachings, regardless of situation or season in life. This reminds us that true discipleship involves steadfast devotion, boldly living out our faith, and obeying Christ wholeheartedly every day, knowing that our faithfulness will be honored in His kingdom. How have you seen the importance of staying connected with other believers?
Motivated by Jesusโ sacrifice and the promise of eternal life, we are invited to walk in His footsteps, surrendering our desires and trusting His plan. This journey with Christ is not a solo endeavor; it is something we share with fellow believers where we receive encouragement, accountability, and support. Together, we pursue a life that prioritizes Godโs kingdom, living boldly and unashamed for His glory and purpose.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Is there an area in your life where God is asking you to deny yourself and take up your cross? What can you do to follow Jesus in this area?ย
โข Ask God to show you areas in your life that are not yet fully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus. Ask God for specific things you can do daily to grow in these areas.ย
โข Do you have people in your life that you can turn to in moments when you need to be strengthened in your faith as you follow Christ? Think of three things you can do to be more intentional in staying connected with other believers. Commit to start doing them this week.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for sending Jesus, the true and perfect representation of what it means to completely surrender to God and His will. Pray for grace to continue to follow Jesus even when it gets difficult.
โข Ask God for grace to carry the cross He is calling you to carry. Pray that you will be reminded of the gospel every day to help you live a life in light of Jesusโ cross.
โข Thank God for your friends in your church community. Take time to talk to them this week to thank them and pray for them.