Death is inevitable for all life on earth. The Bible speaks of death as both physical and spiritual. The first recorded physical death of a human was Abel, who was murdered by his brother Cain (Genesis 4:8). However, death itself, in both the physical and spiritual sense, is first mentioned directly by God (Genesis 2:17). In the Fall of Adam and Eve, both physical and spiritual death comes as a result of sin (Romans 5:12-21). The Bible also reveals that physical death is a transition from one form of existence to another. Humans are more than a physical creature; they are also a spiritual being.
Since all humans have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, everyone is spiritually dead and therefore separated from God, who is the source of spiritual life (Romans 3:23). For this reason, Jesus came to unite every human being with God. The goal of Christianity is for every disciple of Jesus to become more and more like Him. When a person becomes Born-Again, a conscious decision was made to die to self and to the world.
The Paradox
God doesn't look at things like life and death the same way humans do.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)
The Christian life is full of paradoxes that seem like contradictions.
- Salvation is free, but it costs everything.
- Giving is getting.
- The last are first.
- Scattering is gaining.
- Holding is losing.
- Having nothing is possessing all things.
- Happiness is found when it is no longer sought.
- The clearest sight is of the invisible.
- Things which are not, bring to nothing things which are.
- Living by dying.
- Give to receive.
- See unseen things.
- Conquer by yielding.
- Find rest under a yoke.
- Reign by serving.
- Made great by becoming small.
- Exalted when humble.
- Become wise by being fools for Christ's sake.
- Made free by becoming bondservants.
- Gain strength when they are weak.
- Triumph through defeat.
- Find victory by glorying in infirmity.
The one paradox I want to focus on today is that a person must die before they can live.
I am continually baffled by how things turn out the opposite of what I hoped and prayed for. I simply don't understand, can't figure it out, and just get plain messed up as things head in directions I would never have chosen for myself. There have been countless humbling events throughout my life that came down on me like a ton of bricks and decked me flat so low that I had to reach up to tie my shoes! There was nowhere to turn but up. As I share this I am struggling with a new challenge that has no cure but God.
Over the 55+ years since I chose to become a disciple of Jesus and receive Him as my Lord and Savior, there have been both dramatic and traumatic events that caused me to go through levels of spiritual catharsis that brought me to a deepening realization and understanding of the inner way of the Cross and the meaning of walking in humility.
I have discovered that humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less. I have learned that it requires complete and reckless surrender and abandonment of my own will, rights, hopes, dreams, ambitions, aspirations, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, intellect, skill, experience, etc, etc, etc.... (see Proverbs 3)
Frustration, disappointment, and self-doubt have plagued me throughout my Christian walk. The vileness of my will and pride makes me nauseous. I look back over the years at my behavior as a 'Man of God,' and I grieve over the times I lacked compassion, grace, and humility.
I have struggled inwardly with wanting to love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, yet my worry, fear, apprehension, anger, concerns, and doubts prove I actually love myself by my lack of trust. I make me sick! I had been worshiping the unholy trinity of me, myself, and I.
In my early years of ministry, I behaved proudly and arrogantly as a self-described erudite leader. I thought that God sent me to use my advanced education to 'help' others so they would live victorious and abundantly. What I did not understand is that Jesus sent me to die; to come to that place of nothingness so that in my death to self I could be used as a vessel of honor for Him to bring life. I fell far short of having the genuine heart of a servant and esteeming others more highly than myself. I did not consistently walk the way of Gethsemane and the Cross. My behavior obscured the reflection of His marvelous light, and in reflection, I am deeply saddened and distressed over it. I MUST decrease if He is to increase.
My only consolation is that God promised to come alongside me and work through all the havoc and trash I created and produce good - which He always has! (Romans 8:28). I know and am persuaded that He who began a good work in me will completely FINISH the work BEFORE I am transported out of this life and into the next (Romans 4:21; Philippians 1:6).
The Gethsemane Prayer
Throughout the Christian walk, there may be those times when prayers seem ignored, and it feels as if God has walked away. A person may cry out in great agony and pain over their circumstances, wondering why He seems so far away. They may even feel that the burden of life is too great to bear. The hidden truth is that one must first go through the Garden of Gethsemane as they travel the wilderness-road of faith if they want to experience the power of the Resurrection in their life. However, no one will ever have to share in its torment because Jesus promised to never leave or forsake them (Hebrews 13:5).
The word 'Gethsemane' means oil press. Olives are crushed and squeezed, and the pure oil is filtered out. The oil was ignited to provide light in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. For there to be unity among churches, Christians must allow God to crush their self-life and squeeze them in His Gethsemane press by praying, "Not my will but yours be done" if they want to be a “light of the world” (Luke 22:42; Matthew 5:24 ESV).
The Old Rugged Cross
During the early years of my Christian walk, I anxiously cleaved to the Cross for the forgiveness of my daily sin(s) as I remained under the burden of trying to work my way to Heaven through good works. The song "The Old Rugged Cross" was my favorite. The Cross is where I found real life and liberty. I wasn't afraid of its cleansing power either. If "carrying my Cross daily" meant suffering, it didn't bother or concern me because I was clinging to it for dear life (Matthew 10:38).
There are some Christians who are afraid of the effects of the Cross on them and don't even want to get near it because crucifixion represents death and dying. They know they must die to themselves, but they often think that to do that, they must perform a kind of spiritual suicide or self-humiliation because they have to put their old ways to death.
What is misunderstood is that no one can crucify themselves. Imagine trying to physically do it! If you take a nail in one hand and a hammer in the other, you can pound a nail through your feet. If you hold a nail just right, you can pound it through one hand, but what happens to the other hand? There is no way to hammer a nail through it. It's impossible! Another person is needed to crucify them. They can't do it on their own.
Sadly, some think that "crucify yourself daily" means performing acts of penance or the emotional self-flagellation of putting themselves down or mentally berating themselves to keep their thoughts pure so that they can focus on what is holy and righteous and hopefully make it to Heaven when the 'Rapture' happens and avoid the Great Tribulation.
When I was a young Christian just starting out on my walk of discipleship, I used to verbally kick myself to sleep at night because I hated the things I did. I saw myself as a terrible hypocrite and decided to take a sabbatical from the church until I figured out how to crucify the fleshly old nature and become a 'good' Christian. My youth Pastor was very angry about my decision because I was one of the leaders in a very large youth group, and declared publicly that I was reprobate and told the church to stay away from me.
One day, after leaving the church, a close friend of mine who attended another church reminded me that "You can't crucify yourself! Jesus has to do it. He is the one who puts the old nature to death. The only way it can be done is for a person to surrender fully to Him by asking Him to fully be their Lord and Savior."
The truth is that every Born-Again Christian has already been positionally put to death in Jesus. The crucifixion of Jesus lasted for only six hours as He paid the ultimate price to guarantee access to the Father in Heaven and the forgiveness of all sins. Please understand that I am not discussing the benefits of the Cross because they last for all eternity! What often happens is that many tend to stay at - or constantly go back to - the Cross for things that have already been put to death by Jesus. When they do that they are perpetually re-crucifying Jesus so their sins can be forgiven once again. It did not then - nor does it now - take a lifetime of performing good deeds or living a pure and righteous life for any sin to be forgiven. Jesus forgave all sins on the Cross, once and for all! (Colossians 2:13-14)
From the Cross, Jesus went into the tomb. It was within the tomb that He experienced the transforming power of the Resurrection! He opened the way for human beings to receive eternal life. It is time to remain in Jesus and press on into His newness of life so that they might truly know the power of the Resurrection.
Carry the Cross Daily
The path to power begins in Gethsemane and goes through the Cross. The Cross is true power disguised in weakness. Jesus said;
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26 ESV)
Jesus demands that every disciple carry their cross daily. They must be prepared at any given moment for Jesus to put to death an area of the fleshly old nature that is hindering them from having a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. Resurrection power only comes after death. Living in the power of God's supernatural anointing begins when He rolls away the door of their tomb.
When a person becomes Born-Again, they died to sin, and their old self was crucified and then buried with Jesus and raised to live a new life (Romans 6:1-9). They must "consider" themselves "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" so they must not let sin "reign in" their "mortal body, to make" them "obey its passions" and not "present" their "members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present" themselves "to God as those who have been brought from death to life," and their "members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over "them since" they "are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:10-14 ESV). The Born-Again Christian is to take up their cross daily and be ready to lose another part of their life for Jesus (John 12:24-25; Luke 9:23-25).
"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4 ESV)
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20 ESV)
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:37-39 ESV)
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life - is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." (1 John 2:15-17 ESV)
If the Born-Again Christian is not in pain by the failings of their old nature and is afraid to die to self, then they will live in fear, anxiety, worry, and concern over money, relationships, provisions, possessions, and position. They must carry their own cross in order to die to the world by denying its empty distractions and abandoning pleasure-loving life.
"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4 ESV)
Renewing the Mind
Becoming a disciple of Jesus requires a renewing of the mind and death of one's old way of life. Yet, far too many Christians are allowing their old sinful life to control them.
"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4 ESV)
Intellectual knowledge ABOUT God is not the same as intimate knowledge OF God. The head always gets in the way of the heart. To get to the place of truly both KNOWING and LOVING God, a person must first be willing to pray (and live) the Gethsemane prayer, "Not my will Lord but Yours" then they must carry their cross daily until the day they graduate from this life.
A person can only encounter - and flow in – the miraculous Resurrection power of love AFTER they willingly go to the cross they carry and allow the pride of their old nature to be crucified as needed so that God can raise them from the dead in an area of life that is hindering their relationship with Him, and then move into the brilliant glory of His presence so that they can experience heaven - starting right NOW!
For years I couldn't understand why God wasn't showing me favor, and then one day, some Bible verses jumped out and slapped me silly;
"God OPPOSES the proud but GIVES grace (i.e., shows favor) to the HUMBLE." "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 5:5 ESV - emphasis mine)
I realized that it was my pride that hindered every supernatural move of God, both within and through me, and my ineffectiveness in spiritual warfare. The word “opposes” has the meaning of a soldier taking up full battle armor and standing in an offensive position. When a person walks in pride God actively resists them and will not show favor in any situation. When a person walks in holiness and humility, submitting themselves to God, He lifts them up so that they will be able to resist the devil who then has to flee from them.
By living in the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” there is found the “divine power to destroy strongholds” of “arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 1-5a ESV). Humility is what is able to help “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b ESV). Walking in humility is the secret to victorious spiritual warfare and the favor of God.
A. W. Tozer wrote, "Self is the opaque veil that hides the Face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction. One might as well try to instruct leprosy out of our system. There must be a work of God in destruction before we are free. We must invite the Cross to do its deadly work within us. We must bring our self sins to the Cross for judgment. We must prepare ourselves for an ordeal of suffering in some measure like that through which our Saviour passed when He suffered under Pontius Pilate..." "It is never fun to die. To rip through the dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross would do to every man to set him free..."
Spiritual Nourishment
When you contemplate Jesus, in all His glory, mercy, and loving-kindness, and place all your cares at His feet, you will find the passions of the flesh and the desire for this world, slowly dying and fading away. When you deny the passions of the old nature, the fruit of the Spirit will ripen and increase within you!
It is impossible for any human being to attain holiness on their own. They can only be made and declared holy by the shed blood of Jesus. If a disciple wants to develop spiritually, they must stop working at attempting to acquire a new heart and their constant asking for forgiveness of sins. Jesus forgave all their sins on the Cross and gave them a new heart of flesh for their old heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).
A disciple can only arrive at the state of not being of the world by letting themselves be crucified daily (John 17:14-16; Galatians. 6:14). The heart and mind of the Born-Again Christian are nourished and fed when they seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Nothing this world offers can fully satisfy the soul, except Jesus alone. The more they withdraw from what the world offers, the sweeter the blessings they will receive from their Creator. The spirit, mind, and body can't house both the Creator of the universe and the things of this world.
As a disciple grows in the knowledge of the goodness of God, the more they will come to realize the utter depravity of works that emanate from the old nature, and the less they will desire the things this world has to offer. The person who has Jesus as their treasure and reward will never be satisfied with the things of this world because they have the SOURCE of all things living within them.
Those who feed upon the spiritual gifts and not upon the giver of those gifts will never be nourished and satisfied. As long as there is the need to lean on one's understanding, it will stand as a stumbling block when attempts are made to reach God with no strings attached (See Proverbs 3:5).
The death of self is only painful to those who resist it. Those who are willing to carry their cross daily will experience a greater and more powerful anointing of God to do His will and experience His great pleasure.
It is because God loves us that He does not spare us from death on the Cross because it pierces "to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). Pain is only felt where there is life, and where there is the life of the old nature, that is the place where death is needed. It is only by a total death to self that a person can be lost and become truly alive in Jesus and be released in the full anointing of God’s power.
God’s ways are definitely NOT our ways and the lessons will continue until that day the lesson of the Cross is learned; if Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself for HIS meekness, mercy, and kindness will LEAD people to repentance (Romans 2:4).
"Oh God, teach us how to become lost in You....the abandoned lifestyle.. resting in Jesus alone.. giving up and giving in...finding that the abundant life only comes through death… first the stay in the Garden of Gethsemane, then the Cross, and finally, the wait for the Resurrection in our life .....empowered by the Holy Spirit ....living for You only...touching lives with Your hands, hearing with Your ears, and speaking with Your voice....It is all worth the wait..... "
