Deny Your Dark Side Series

Trevin Wax writes, “Recent studies reveal 91 percent of Americans agree with this statement: ‘The best way to find yourself is by looking within yourself.’ In other words, if you want to discover who you are and what your purpose is, the place to look is inside your heart.”

When I googled the phrase, “Follow your heart,” 13 million results came up! Here are some other common catchphrases that make up this creed embraced by billions of people:

Go with your gut.

Do what’s right for you.

Pursue your dreams.

Believe in yourself.

You do you!

You be you!

While we might expect these kinds of mantras from those who don’t follow Christ, many best-selling books written for the Christian market espouse similar teaching. One very popular author makes this statement, “Trust your good little heart.” Another well-known author who professes to be a Christian, goes even further: “Maybe Eve was never meant to be our warning. Maybe she was meant to be our model. Own your wanting. Eat the apple.” BTW, her most recent book has sold over 1 million copies.

In essence, she’s saying sin is no longer what’s wrong with the world but rather, it’s our unrealized desires. This must be corrected because it is blatantly unbiblical. This is the dogma of Disney, not the doctrine of a devoted disciple. Or to say it stronger, these are lies from the pit of Hell.

Let’s listen to what the Bible says about the danger of following your heart.

• Genesis 6:5: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

• Ecclesiastes 9:3: “…Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live.”

• Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

• Mark 7:20-23: “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Jon Bloom writes, “Our hearts were never designed to be gods in whom we believe; they were designed to believe in God…don’t believe in your heart; direct your heart to believe in God.” Or we could say it like this: Don’t follow your heart; lead your heart!

In contrast to the pervasive and popular thinking which states life is all about you and me, listen to the words of the living Word recorded in Luke 9:23: “And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

As I meditated on this verse, I remembered another quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.” BTW, we posted a link to his book called, “The Cost of Discipleship” on Sermon Extras. As we’ve been learning in our Discipleship Matters series, every believer is called to lovingly follow Jesus and intentionally help others follow Him.

As we unpack this passage, we’ll begin by considering the call to follow Jesus. Then, we’ll contemplate four conditions of discipleship.

1. Desire

2. Denial

3. Death

4. Devotion

Because these words capture the heart of discipleship, I’m going to preach three sermons centered on just one verse. Allow me to read Luke 9:23 again: “And He said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” If the sermon last weekend was less than 20 minutes long, this one will last for three weeks! We’ll tackle Desire and Denial today.

One Call to All

We see Jesus’ call in the first part of verse 23: “And He said to all…” Before settling into our text, let’s set the context. In verses 10-17, we read Jesus withdrew with His disciples, but when the crowds figured out where He was, they followed Him. After teaching and healing all day, the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd away so they could find lodging and food. Instead, Jesus surprised everyone when He fed five thousand hungry men with a bit of bread and a couple fish.

After this, Jesus turned to the disciples in verses 18-20 and asked, “Who do you say I am?” Peter spoke up quickly and declared, “The Christ of God.” They weren’t prepared for what Jesus said next: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

After this intense teaching time, which according to Mark 8:33 included a public rebuke of Peter, Jesus called the crowd and the twelve together. The tense for the word, “said” can be translated as, “was saying over and over.” Apparently, what Jesus was about to declare about discipleship was repeatedly emphasized. The word “all” indicates the “whole,” meaning it’s intended for the curious crowd and the committed core. Mark 8:34 fills in some details: “And calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, He said to them.”