Serving our great God by the strength of His tender mercies

Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Introduction:

When we consider the above passage, Paul is writing in light of all he expressed in Romans 11:33-36. The word "therefore" indicates that what he is about to write follows from what he just wrote about - namely God's greatness. How a Christian serves God is the chief concern of Romans 12:1-13. When we serve God, we are not talking about some slavish, dutiful, drab, gritting-of-the-teeth type of commitment. To serve God is not something I just do out of my own strength or that you do out of your own ability. As Christians, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit Who brings down to us God's greatness in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Commentator Warren Wiersbe notes: "The motive for dedication is love; Paul does not say, “I command you” but “I beseech you, because of what God has already done for you.” We do not serve Christ in order to receive His mercies, because we already have them (3:21–8:39). We serve Him out of love and appreciation." Quite literally, to serve God is to serve with Him. So how is it that we serve God with His greatness? What does the Holy Spirit do in enabling Christians to serve the Lord in a lifestyle of worship? It all begins by noting how the Holy Spirit administers His "tender mercies".

The tender mercies of God - the strength for effective ministry and service

Paul again states in Romans 12:1 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Why are the Spirit's dispensing of tender mercies the power source in our service to God? 

1. The joy of Spirit-wrought tender mercies
What is there about these "mercies" that makes rendering oneself as a living sacrifice a joyful privilege? God's tender mercies are His deep and tender affections towards His people. Do not think of the term "mercies" as a weak term. To know that God is already for me in my service to Him means I have nothing to fear - no demon, no person and no situation. When a person realizes how much tender mercy and affection God has chosen to express towards them, that person will find service to God a delight rather than a drudgery. Coupled with the notion that the Spirit Himself is the One responsible for the dispensing of such mercies - we find service to God to be an empowering and enjoyable experience.

2. The power of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Philippians 2:1-2 gives us the perfect cross-reference to Romans 12:1. Notice what Philippians 2:1-2 says - "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind." The word translated "affection" is the same word translated in Romans 12:1 by the phrase "tender mercies". Clearly the tender mercies of God that are responsible for empowering our service to God are the result of the Spirit's activity in conjunction with our own. 

3. The provision of Spirit-wrought tender mercies

Scripture elsewhere testifies to how the Lord grants us mercies to do His work. Lamentations 3:22-24 reminds us - "The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,For His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” When I consider what Jeremiah wrote here in Lamentations, I often think about each day of the Christian life as having situations that have different costs attached to them. Some situations will be 50 cent situations, others one dollar and if its really big - ten dollars. Every morning, God lays out for me His tender mercies - that is - His grace empowered enablements by His Spirit. For simplicity's sake, lets say today the Spirit had laid out for me $5 worth of mercy to take care of $4 worth of problems. Whatever may come our way, we have more than enough to handle it. But now lets say at the last minute of the day something goes wrong that I have no ability to address until the next day. Now the question arises: do I panic or press into God? Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." In other words, God will have fresh mercies ready for tomorrow to address tomorrow's troubles. He gives us what we need for today. When we understand how His mercies work, and how the Spirit gives to us exactly what we need, we learn the secret to walking daily by faith in His service.  

4. The dependance taught by Spirit-wrought tender mercies
David for instance makes mention often of God's mercies at work in his life. 2 Samuel 24:14 records David in a time of great distress, looking to God's tender mercies - "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man." Here David draws strength from what are literally God's expressions of pity and compassion towards him. The manner of mercy which David experienced in his life was to such a degree that scripture elsewhere uses it as a standard way of expressing how God displays His power. The greatest example of the power of such mercies is found in Acts 13:34 "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David." It is because of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead that we have access by His Spirit to all the spiritual blessings of God, including His mercies. The great lesson of depending on God for everything in service to Him only comes through interracting with Spirit-wrought tender mercies in our lives. 

Closing thoughts:

It makes sense as to why Paul would urge his readers by means of the tender mercies of God. The strength supplied and worked forth by the Spirit in these tender mercies strengthens Christians to serve our great God. By these tender mercies spoken of in Romans 12:1, the Spirit does four things: 

1. Works forth joy
2. Works forth power in the Christian
3. Works forth provision 
4. Works forth dependance upon God. 

Such tender mercies from the Spirit of God are what makes service to God so empowering and enjoyable. To know that God is truly for us and on our side, to know that we already have His favor is motivation and power enough to serve Him most effectively. As the Bible Knowledge Commentary notes - "In the light of Paul’s closely reasoned and finely argued exposition of the mercies of God (Rom. 1–11), such an offering is obviously a desirable response for believers."

What is necessary to have a greater illumination of God and His work

Genesis 35:10-12 God said to him,“Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. 11God also said to him,“I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. 12“The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you. And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”

Introduction:
These last several days have focused upon a theme in scripture that is so central to the beginning and ongoing reality of the Christian life that without it, there can be no true Christianity. The twin concepts of "death to self" and "taking up one's cross" were studied in the Gospels and in yesterday's post we journeyed back to Jacob's wrestling match with God in Genesis 32. Today we pick up once more on Jacob's life, seeing his experience as the seed form of what would be the full-grown truth of the New Testament teaching on "self-denial". Unless the cross is included, all attempts to deny oneself will fail. The flesh (the expression of the self-life) cannot be reformed nor made religious. It must be put to death on the cross, everyday. Such radical truth begins at salvation and comes to be more pressing in sanctification. Below we will notice how these thoughts pertain to the Christian's increasing understanding and illumination into God and His work in their lives. 

Dying to self heightens your awareness of Christ's Ownership over your life
As we already noted, we saw in the life of Israel (formerly Jacob) that in dying to or denying his selfish, sinful drives, he was able to operate through tragedy after tragedy on the power of God.  When the self-life of the Christian is regarded as unimportant, and put back mentally and spiritually on the cross, the Lordship (the authority) of Christ goes from being a fact to an experience. 

Jesus does not become your Lord when you die to self.  When you are converted by grace through faith, Jesus Christ begins to exercise immediate authority as your Savior, Lord and Treasure. (compare Romans 10:8-10).  The truth of the fact is established by God's Word.  Yet in your daily experience as a believer, your awareness of Christ's control over your life can only come about when you die to self.  In other words, you come to appreciate, delight in and see Christ more clearly.

Jacob's life illustrates the positive benefit of dying to self - seeing God more clearly
In the passage quoted at the beginning of today's blog, The Lord is speaking to Jacob and re-affirming the promises he gave to his grand-father Abraham and father Isaac.  God also reminds Jacob as to why he changed his name to Israel, and that His calling and destiny could be now fully lived out as a result of him dying to self. 

This is why "dying to self" must be a daily reality in the life of the Christian.  Anytime the attitude of "when I want, how I want" rears its ugly head, unless I deal with that through regarding what God had said and rendering my former identity to be dead, in God I will never be able to move ahead.  The power to deal with tragedy comes as we die to self.  In the darkness of suffering, God's grace matches and exceeds with Him revealing Himself to us in a clearer way. 

What you truly gain in dying to self
Read the context of Genesis 32-35 and you will note two trends: Jacob's (newly named by God as Israel) trials increased and his understanding of God increased.  If God had not broken Jacob of his selfish pattern of running away from his problems in Genesis 32, then he would not had been ready for the clearer illumination of who the Lord is in Genesis 35.  Let us close today's blog with this thought from Philippians 3:8 - "than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ."

The only way you can live effectively for God

Genesis 32:24-28 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

Introduction:

We have labored the past couple of days to understand what Jesus meant when He spoke about "denying to self" or "dying to self" and "taking up one's cross". We ended yesterday's post with the following four life-applications as to the centrality of cross bearing and self denial to the Christian:

1. Central to saving faith

2. Central to sanctification

3. Central to supernatural ministry

4. Centers on the Son

Today's post delves back into the Old Testament to see how these truths were developed in seed form. Certainly Jesus' statements relied upon events contemporary to His day, however the thought behind the statements runs its course through God's revelation in the Old Testament. Our post today will center chiefly on the Patriarch Jacob.

What is necessary to live for God?
Jacob was the grandson of the well-known patriarch Abraham and father of twelve sons who would be the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. In Genesis 32 he is getting ready to face a fear that he has been running from for over twenty years - his brother. After receving word that his brother, Esau, was coming his direction with 400 men, Jacob responded and by the time we come to our text above, the Bible says: "Then Jacob was all alone". As we will see, Jacob would learn that in order to live for God, something about himself had to die.

Self must die if we are to live effectively for God
Jacob was getting ready to experience a work of God that is daily necessary in the life of every Christian if they expect to move forward in their Christian walk - dying to self. Self is that principle at work in our soul that fuels our sin nature to want what it wants, when it wants and how it wants. Dying to self, or self denial, is fundamental to what it means in being a follower of the Lord. Jesus states it plainly in Luke 9:23-24 - "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." '

In order to over come his enemies, Jacob had to be overcome by God
This episode in Jacob's life is intriguing, for he wrestles with an individual that is identified simply as "a man". Now scripture bears out that this was no ordinary man that met Jacob in the desert. Hosea 12:3-4, written over a 1,000 years after our account here in Genesis 32, gives an inspired commentary on just who Jacob was wrestling: "Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel And there He spoke with us,
5Even the LORD, the God of hosts,
The LORD is His name."

It was none other than God Himself that wrestled with Jacob in the form of this "unamed man". Other scriptures clarifiy that this mysterious "man" who is really "God" as an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly the Bible's dual identification of this figure in the Old Testament was foreshadowing what would be the complete revelation of Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man in the New Testament. As they wrestle, the Lord asks Jacob for His name. Quite simply, he was asking for Jacob's surrender, since the giving over of one's name was tantamount to acknowledging the superiority of your opponent. Jacob did that, and as a result he received a new name - "Israel". Why? Quite literally, the Lord states that he had prevailed against men, and strove with God, and by grace accomplished both. Jacob would never be the same again.

When you die to self, expect your walk with God to be different
When this epic battle was finished, it was clear that Jacob, formerly headstrong and strongwilled was now a broken man. However that did not mean he was weaker. If anything, Jacob had entered into a whole new realm of relationship with God. The Bible tells us at the end of this fight, Jacob walked with a limp. Jacob (Israel) was now more useful to God because he had to die to who he was as Jacob in order for the power of God to manifest itself. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

How do you die to self?
Let me give you three principles from this text in Genesis 32 that shows how Jacob died to his old identity:

1. Get in order with what God said. Genesis 32:24-29

2. Reckon your old identity to be dead. Genesis 32:30-32

3. Only then in God can you move ahead.

The benefits of dying to self
By dying to self, Jacob was positioned to receive further illumination from God on the nature of his calling. (Genesis 35). Additionally, by dying to self, the power of God could flow more freely through Jacob's life. Such power was going to be needed by Jacob to face tough tragedies such as the loss of his wife in Genesis 35:17 and his father in Genesis 35:29. May you and I understand and apply this essential truth for living for God.

The centrality of dying to self and cross bearing for the Christian

Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

Introduction and review
We ended yesterday's post on the meaning of the phrase "take up your cross", noting that the disciples of Jesus who were the Apostles in Acts ended up rejoicing in the face of persecution. They had taken up their cross in that situation, identifying with Jesus and loving Him above their own lives, comfort and self-preservation. 

We also discovered that when Jesus made these statements about "taking up the cross", there was a specific background event that would had stuck in the disciples mind. An attempted insurrection against Rome had taken place during or around the time of Jesus' childhood in Galilee. Thousands of Jews lost their lives and were crucified on crosses that lined the roadways of Galilee. In effect, that event would had been the "911" of their day. When Jesus told his disciples that they needed to "take up their cross" to follow Him, He was spelling out them that if need be, they would suffer the same end as all the followers of Judas the Galilean. How far are you and I willing to go and be in our discipleship journey with Jesus Christ? Today's post wants to look at all the instances Jesus makes this statement about "taking up the cross" to flesh out further insights. Unless Christians were willing to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow the Master, then they will fail to understand what it means to be a Christian who lives for and serves Jesus Christ.

1. Matthew 16:23-25  "But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me,Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."

Here we see the second occurrance of this phrase in Matthew's Gospel. It is in the context of Peter's grand confession of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi. One would think that after such an extraordinary revelation and confession, there would be no trouble. Yet, Peter is influenced by Satan and compelled to tell Jesus to skip the cross. It is at this point Jesus tells Peter the above statements. The cross alone can sustain the Christian, even in the midst of extraordinary illuminations received in seasons of insight from the Lord. Illuminations from the Spirit through the Word of God are needed and central to the Christian walk. Yet, the cross, not insights, is what enables the Christian faith to withstand the assaults of the enemy and move forward.

2. Mark 8:34-35  "And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it."


Mark's version of the scene at Caesarea Philippi includes an additional detail of Jesus addressing not only Peter and the disciples but the crowds. What are the requirements for following Him? Plain and simple: denying oneself and taking up the cross. Self-denial is so pre-requisite to following Jesus that it must be at the heart of saving faith itself. Some will try to pass off these verses on discipleship and Lordship as something one does after saving faith. However, the concepts of "self-denial" and "taking up one's cross" distinguishes genuine saving faith from its counterfeit version.

3. Luke 9:22-24 "saying, 'The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.' 23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." 

Not only does "self-denial" and "cross-brearing" characterize the beginning of saving faith, but it also marks the tone of the walk of faith in sanctification. How frequent ought the Christian aim at "taking up the cross" and "denying self"? According to Luke's text, daily.

4. Luke 14:26-28 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?"

Dying to self and cross-bearing also enter into the realm of counting how much it is going to cost to follow Jesus. The short answer is everything. Self is the chief enemy of the Christian in their spiritual growth. Yes, Satan and his minions wage war and thus we know that we are in a spiritual battle. However, the self-life and desire to put my needs, my drives, my relationships above Jesus Christ is the internal struggle with which every Christian must battle. Preachers can be towers of exposition and slay devils with their sermons. However, preachers can yield to the flesh and instantly become weakened and anemic. Churchs and Christians must yield to the "death of self" message and recognize it as the heart of the Gospel itself. 

5. John 19:16-18 "So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. 17 They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. 18 There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between."

Why was Jesus so insistent on this twin emphasis of "denying of self" and "taking up of the cross"? Certainly such truths would had caused people to think of the tragic event that lain at the background of these statements. However when Jesus taught the "death to self" message, He was also looking ahead to His own pending crucifixion. The time would come when He would take up His own cross in a literal sense, forever altering the significance of crucifixion. Jesus never thought of Himself apart from the cross. 

Concluding thoughts
In closing today I want to list out life applications that correspond to each of the verses above to enable the reader to see the significance behind "self-denial" and "cross bearing". Why are these truths so germane to the Gospel and the Christian life?

1. Central in saving faith. Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:22-24

2. Central in sanctification (what follows from faith) Matthew 16:23-25; Luke 9:22-24; 14:26-28

3. Central to supernatural ministry. Matthew 10:38-42; Acts 5:29,41-42

4. Centers on the Son. John 19:16-18; Hebrews 12:1-3

What it means to "take up one's cross" in Matthew 10:38

Matthew 10:38 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me."

Introduction:

Matthew 10 starts out rather positively with both the mention of the listing of Jesus' disciples and His sending forth of them on their first official mission. To their ears the initial instructions of Jesus seemed exciting and full of adventure. They were to avoid those places where no Jew would think of trodding, namely Samaria and the places of the Gentiles. Moreover the disciples main objective was to bring the message and power of the Kingdom to the "lost sheep of Israel". Matthew 10:1-15 sets the stage for the mission of the disciples to go to their own countrymen and deliver what would seem to be exciting news concerning the coming of Messiah and the Kingdom.

I'm sure the disciples were ready to head out the door on their first official ministry assignment. However Jesus was not finished. Matthew 10:16-42 portrays Jesus giving his disciples warnings about what to do when encountered by both external enemies and their own fears. The disciples had their mission, ministry and message. Yet Jesus realized that once someone is actively engaged in the challenges and opposition that often assails ministry and the mission itself, reasons for doing the ministry and the message can be forgotten. To avoid this and to ensure continual power for keeping focused on the mission, doing the ministry and preaching the message, the command to "take up one's cross" must be practiced.

The background and meaning of "taking up one's cross"

I've heard people over the years use this phrase "take up one's cross" to refer to the general burdens and frustrations of life that everyone bears and endures. Whether the situation be a flat tire or an illness, "taking up one's cross" is popularly taken to mean the lot of life cast against us, and that by bearing the load we are in some fashion appeasing God and taking on His prescribed trial for our moral improvement. The problem with this popular understanding is that there is no cross, no gospel and no grace. 

In contrast, whenever we begin to peer closer at the meaning of the phrase: "taking up one's cross", the exact opposite meaning from the above suggested interpretation is found. 

The Reformation Study Bible notes: "This is to obey and identify with Jesus even unto death, not simply to bear some particular burden imposed by the Lord." 

Identification with Jesus Christ in His life, death and resurrection is at the heart of this idea.  John Calvin in his commentary on Matthew 10 notes the following about the meaning of "taking up the cross":

"From particular cases he proceeds to general views and informs us that we cannot be reckoned as his disciples unless we are prepared to endure many afflictions. If we are vexed and tormented by the thought that the Gospel should set us at variance with our father, our our wife, or our children, let us remember this condition, that Christ subjects all of his disciples to the cross. Yet let us also bear in mind this consolation, that, in bearing the cross, we are the companions of Christ, - which will speedily have the effect of relieving all its bitterness."

Astute readers may make the observation that when Jesus made statements like this to his disciples, He was speaking "pre-cross". There had to had been some event prior to these statements that Jesus used in driving home the cost of following Him and the powerbase for all ministry, proclaiming the message and performing the mission. Pastor and scholar Dr. John MacArthur gives the historical context of the phrase "take up your cross" in a sermon he preached in 1981 called "P3-The Hallmarks of Discipleship:

"When He said - Take up your cross.., they knew immediately what He was talking about. He was talking about dying, just plain old dying. How they'd know that? They were from Galilee with the exception of Judas Iscariot, all eleven others were from Galilee. And very recently there had been an insurrection in Galilee lead by Judas of Galilee, and Judas had gathered a band together and decided to throw the Romans out. And the Romans won.

And the Romans crushed Judas and his insurrection, and the Roman general Varus, V-a-r-u-s, wanted to teach the Jews a lesson so he crucified over two thousand Jews. And he put their crosses up and down all the roads of Galilee so everywhere the people went they saw them hanging on these crosses along the roadside. And every Jew that was crucified carried the crossbeam for his own execution on his back as he marched to the cross. And these Galileans had seen all of that. And Jesus is talking to them in historical context and He is saying - He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. You need to be willing to die, He says...rather than deny Me." 

Note: the reader can view the entire manuscript of this sermon at: http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/2284/the-hallmarks-of-discipleship-part-3 

How the disciples "took up their cross" for the mission, ministry and message of Jesus Christ

In keeping the background rebellion of Judas the Galilean fresh in view, we fast forward over four years later to the scene in Acts 5 where one of the original Twelve, Peter the Apostle, is being charged by the Jewish Sanhedrin for preaching heresy. When asked to suppress their preaching, Peter and his companions reply in Acts 5:29 "But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'" 

As the Jews plot how they will respond to the Apostles refusal to heed their demands, one wise Jewish teacher, Gamaliel, makes reference back to the rebellion of Judas the Galilean that lain in the background of Jesus' statement "take up your cross". Acts 5:37-44 records the scene, the response of Jews and the reaction of the Apostles following their persecution:

"After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God. 40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. 41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching andpreaching Jesus as the Christ."

The disciples of Jesus who were the Apostles in Acts ended up rejoicing in the face of persecution. They had taken up their cross in that situation, identifying with Jesus and loving Him above their own lives, comfort and self-preservation. 

More tomorrow....

The Grace of Humility leads to Christ-likeness

James 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

Defining Humility
When you begin to study the subject of humility in the scripture, you will find rich meanings in the Old and New Testament words used to refer to humility.  The chief word for humility in the Old Testament literally pictures a servant bowing their knee in respect to a master or a king.  In the New Testament we see two main Greek words used to render the term "humility".  In the list of the nine fruits of the Spirit of Galatians 5:22, the word translated "meekness" in some translations could just as easily be rendered "humility".  The term used in that text speaks of striking a perfect balance between strength and control - thus meekness is a form of humility.  The other Greek word for humility is found in James 4:6, which refers to a person who desires to place others ahead of themselves.  I heard one preacher give this definition for humility: "humility is knowing what you are and what you are not."  At a Sunday School class I heard another person give this defintion of humility: "humility is not thinking less about yourself but thinking about yourself less." 

Certainly humility at one level can be expressed by all people - however non-redemptive expressions of humility will ultimately lead back to that person, even if unintentioned.  True Christian humility will result in the attention going away from the humble person to Jesus - since humility, next to love, is the best way for Christians to act, talk and think like Jesus. (Philippians 2:1-11)

Humility is a virtue
Humility is both a command given to believers and a Divinely given grace from the Holy Spirit.  Older Christians used to speak of what was called "Christian Virtues".  A virtue is anything that is Divinely given by God that in turn becomes a decision of of the will, resulting in that person drawing closer to God by their own choosing.  Case in point, humility is a Divinely given grace (John 13:15; Galatians 5:22; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) and yet at the same time it is a disposition of the human heart exercising such humility. (John 13:14; Ephesians 4:2; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 5:6)  Furthermore, humility results in a person drawing closer to God and being drawn closer to God. (Isaiah 57:15; James 4:7-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6)

So to sum up what we have said thus far - humility is both a responsibility of every Christian and a Grace given by the Spirit of God.  Without the grace of humility, a Christian cannot truly carry out their genuine responsibility to be a humble person.  Furthermore, the way I know I have successfully achieved Christian humility is when no one talks about me but rather talks about what Jesus has done. 

The Grace of Humility enables me to be like Jesus
James 4:6-10 is a remarkable text that shows how humility is given and acted out by Christians.  Furthermore, as you begin to look at James's series of commands in the text, you discover that they give you a working outline of Jesus' life and ministry.  Let me show you what I mean:

1. Jesus was given grace without measure due to His humility
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. "

Philippians 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Thus Christians are given a measure of grace in humility.
James 4:6 "But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”

2. Jesus' humble submission to His Father led to Him resisting Satan and Satan's fleeing
Matthew 4:10 10Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” 11 then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Thus Christians are able to resist Satan when they humble themselves to God
James 4:7 "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

3. Jesus' humility led Him to depend on His Father in prayer
Luke 22:39-41 39And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray.  (There are over a dozen examples of Jesus praying in the Gospels)

Thus Christians are to humble themselves in prayerful dependance upon the Father
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

4. Though Jesus was sinless in his humanity, He humbly drew near to God His Father
Hebrews 5:7 "In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety."

Thus Christians who are not yet sinless have even greater need to humbly come to the Father in prayer
James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

5. Though sinless, Jesus humbly went to the cross, bearing our sins and cried out to God
Mark 15:34 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which is translated, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

Hebrews 5:8 "Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered."

Thus Christians need to keep ever focused on the cross so as to hate sin and hasten more to Jesus
James 4:9 "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom."  As Christians, we ought to be heartbroken anytime we sin.   

6. Jesus humbled Himself to death, and God raised Him up to be exalted at His right hand
Philippians 2:8-9 "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (9) For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name"

Thus Christians who humble themselves under God's mighty hand will in due time be lifted up
James 4:10 "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."

Conclusion

The Grace of humility enables you and I to be like Jesus.  As we have seen in the above thoughts, whether we speak of Christ's incarnation (point #1), beginning of his earthly ministry (point #2), His prayer-life (point #3), His over-all daily life leading up to the cross (point #4), His crucifixion (point #5) or His resurrection (point #6), humility ran through the entirety of Jesus' earthly life, ministry, ddeath and reusrrection.  You and I as Christians are called to humility for the sake of being like Jesus.  May we operate in the grace of humility this day.   

How to die to the world, and live for God

Genesis 35:3-4 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

Dying to self in a nutshell
In these last several blogs we have covered the crucial concept of "dying to self"  We have discovered that in order to die to self, I must do three things: Get in order with what God has said; Reckon my former identity (before salvation) to be dead and third, understand that in God I want to move ahead.  We have also explored the benefits that come with "self-denial" or "dying to self": God's power is released to deal with trials and there is clearer illumination of who He is in your life. 

Where dying to self leads - "Dying to the world"
In the passage above Israel (formerly Jacob) makes a statement that demonstrates that he has truly died to his former identity of self-reliance.  His family had been trvaeling all over the land of Canaan with a bunch of idols in their possession.  When you read passages such as Joshua 24:1-2, you discover that these idols had been in Israel's family for centuries - stretching all the way back to the days of his grand-father Abraham.  God had certainly been working a lot of things in Jacob's life - with His great encounter in Genesis 32 breaking the strong will of Jacob. 

1 John 2:15-17 tells us this - "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

What in the world is "the world"?
When the Apostle John in 1 John 2:15-17 (just quoted) refers to not loving the "world", he is not referring to the people of our planet - rather he is referring to the system of human thought and satanic-inspired activity hostile to God.  The word for "world" is the Greek word "kosmos", from whence we get our English terms like "cosmopolitan" and "cosmetics".  It speaks of a certain arrangement of things.  Thus for instance when a woman applies "cosmetics" to her face, she is using a product that helps her "arrange" her appearance.  To hate the "world" means to not go with the flow, to hate what God hates, to oppose the system "arranged" against the God of the Bible.  In short, to die to the world means to love what God loves and hate what God hates.

The reason for dying to the world - Prioritize fellowship with God
When Israel told his family to "put away the idols", he was in effect declaring his left over allegiance to ungodly priorities to be at odds with his now-God-centered approach to life.  In the course of Israel's experience, God had made a "fellowship issue" with Israel and his family.  A fellowship issue is when God reveals to you that a certain thing in your life must go if you are to remain in close walk with Him. (please compare 1 John 1:6-7) 

God had to deal with other issues in Israel's life first, such as self-sufficiency, lying and stealing.  With those issues out of the way, Israel had this area he had to deal with - the family idols.  Unless Israel died to the world in this area, then he would only demonstrate that he had not died to self back in Genesis 32.  Fellowship with God had to take priority over his own comfort and preference if he were to move forward in his faith-walk.

Dying to self is the only means to dying to the world
What would had happened if Israel had not died to self back in Genesis 32?  He could not had carried out this bold initative to get rid of the family idols in Genesis 35.  Often when Christians hear about not being worldly, they think that dying to the world means wearing a longer skirt or adopting some type of legalism.  Whenever we try to escape the world without dying to self, we actually end up becoming more worldy!  Why?  Because legalism only deals with behavior, and not the heart. 

Dying to self deals with those deep seated, anti-God assumptions in my heart.  Unless I root those out by exposing my thought-life to God's word and surrender to God in prayer, I will never see the true need to die to the world. (compare 2 Corinthians 10:4-5). 

The cross is the only means to die to self
At salvation the cross is the place where I anchor my faith in the death, burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ.  In sanctification (the process whereby I am becoming more like Jesus Christ following my conversion), the cross is the tool used to bring-about Christ-likeness and death to self.  Co-crucifixion with Jesus Christ is where I daily identify my life with the cross.   Paul writes these words in Galatians 6:14 - "But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." 

When Israel told his family to "get rid of the idols", we see him building an altar to the Lord.  Israel was demonstrating an important truth - that only in identity with the blood can the Christian truly overcome the world.  That altar pointed to the ultimate event of Christ'as death, burial and resurrection. 

As we close this important blog series, I think it appropriate to give a verse from the last book of the Bible, Revelation 12:11, that captures the heart of faith that readily dies to self and the world: "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."

When God becomes clearer to you

Genesis 35:10-12 God said to him,“Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name.” Thus He called him Israel. 11God also said to him,“I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. 12“The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you. And I will give the land to your descendants after you.”

Dying to self heightens your awareness of Christ's Ownership over your life
Yesterday we saw in the life of Israel (formerly Jacob) that in dying to or denying his selfish, sinful drives, he was able to operate through tragedy after tragedy on the power of God.  When the self-life of the Christian is regarded as unimportant, and put back mentally and spiritually on the cross, the Lordship (the authority) of Christ goes from being a fact to an experience. 

Jesus does not become your Lord when you die to self.  When you are converted by grace through faith, Jesus Christ becomes your Savior, Lord and Treasure. (compare Romans 10:8-10).  The truth of the fact is established by God's Word.  Yet in your daily experience as a believer, your awareness of Christ's control over your life can only come about when you die to self.  In other words, you come to appreciate, delight in and see Christ more clearly.

Jacob's life illustrates the positive benefit of dying to self - seeing God more clearly
In the passage quoted at the beginning of today's blog, The Lord is speaking to Jacob and re-affirming the promises he gave to his grand-father Abraham and father Isaac.  God also reminds Jacob as to why he changed his name to Israel, and that His calling and destiny could be now fully lived out as a result of him dying to self. 

This is why "dying to self" must be a daily reality in the life of the Christian.  Anytime the attitude of "when I want, how I want" rears its ugly head, unless I deal with that through regarding what God had said and rendering my former identity to be dead, in God I will never be able to move ahead.  The power to deal with tragedy comes as we die to self.  In the darkness of suffering, God's grace matches and exceeds with Him revealing Himself to us in a clearer way. 

What you truly gain in dying to self
Read the context of Genesis 32-35 and you will note two trends: Israel's trials increased and his understanding of God increased.  If God had not broken Jacob of his selfish pattern of running away from his problems in Genesis 32, then he would not had been ready for the clearer illumination of who the Lord is in Genesis 35.  Let us close today's blog with this thought from Philippians 3:8 - "than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ."

God's power to deal with tragedy

Genesis 33:20 Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel

The Pattern of the Faith-walk following your conversion
A couple of days ago we began looking at Jacob's wrestling match with God in the earlier parts of Genesis 32.  We saw that God did a work in Jacob's life whereby he learned how to die to self.  If you were to survey Jacob's life for just a moment, it gives us a preset pattern for what would be the full and complete teaching about the faith-walk with Christ in the New Testament: Conversion by grace through faith in Genesis 28 and death to self and the world in Genesis 32 and 35. 

Today we want to look closer at Jacob's life following this incident where he died to self, and discover the benefits that come from submitting to this ongoing truth in the life of the believer.  Now as we look at the passage above, Jacob built an altar following his historic meeting with his estranged twin brother Esau.  Remember how we discovered Jacob running from Esau for twenty years?  God broke that tendency in Jacob's life, Jacob died to self in that area, and now was renamed Israel. 

How "dying to self" prepared Jacob to go from the mountain to the valley of faith
Jacob builds an altar, and names it "El=Elohe Israel" which translated means: "God, The God of Israel."  Undoubtedly Jacob's encounter with Christ (see previous blogs) would be termed by many a mountain top experience. He had conquered his greatest fear through the power of God.  The big meeting with his brother was over.  However for Israel (formerly Jacob), difficult times were around the corner.  In fact, when one considers what took place in Jacob's life over the course of 10 years (from Genesis 33-35), it is staggering:

1. His only daughter Dinah, a teenager, was raped by the mean of the land in Genesis 34:5
2. His sons kill those who violated Dinah, but in the process bring shame to Israel Gen 34:30
3. Deborah, Israel's mother's nurse, undoubtedly like a mother to him, dies in Genesis 35:8
4. Rachael, his beloved wife of 50 years, dies in Genesis 35:17
5. Reuben, Israel's firstborn son, committs incest, and Israel finds out about it in Genesis 35:22
6. Isaac, Israel's father, dies in Genesis 35:29

Anyone one of those events would had devestated anyone of us.  Yet Israel persevered.  God speaks to him in Genesis 35, while he is still reeling, telling him to go back to the spot where he had first met him.  Without hesitation Israel tells his family to pack-up - its time to do as God says. 

When self dies, The Lord's life can shine more clearly in and through you
I am convinced that when we are in God's will, trials and testings will actually increase. (please compare Romans 5:3-4; James 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7)  Why?  Because we have committed our hearts to intentional living for God.  Dying daily to your interests in favor of God's desires sets hell on high alert - that your faith-walk is poising itself to be empowered by God, rather than you.  Despite these trials that attended Israel's life, God's power was there every step of the way.  Jesus reminds us in Hebrews 13:5 - "Never will I leave you nor forsake you". 

Despite whatever horrendous circumstance you may be facing, the Lord is desiring to manifest Himself to you, so as to lead you through the valley of the shadow of death.  When self surrenders - it lays the believer's life into the arms of Jesus.  Paul writes as a man in prison these words in Philippians 4:13 - "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." 

Why self denial is at the heart of discipleship

Galatians 2:20 - “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

A disciple is someone who follows Christ by faith, and continues on in faith, acknowledging Him as Savior, Lord and Treasure.  Yesterday we began looking at the truth of "dying to self"  as essential to living effectively for God.  We saw this concept illustrated in the life of Jacob in Genesis 32.  Jacob would learn, like every believer, that in order to follow the Lord, you must die to that principle that daily rears its ugly head in your soul - self. 

How essential is "death to self" to the believer's faithwalk?
Without question the New Testament unfolds this truth most fully, since God typically unfolds all that He has to tell us in a progressive fashion.  We find out that "dying to self" or "self-denial" is at the heart of what takes place when one begins following Christ by faith.  Jesus states in Luke 9:23-24 - And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25“For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" 

Furthermore this teaching is affirmed most clearly by the Apostle Paul in the passage above.  The imagery of being "crucified with Christ" is a common image used to describe what it means to die to self, since the chief aim is intentionally identifying oneself with the life and work of Christ Himself. 

Self-denial is essential to the Christian's daily growth or "sanctification"
As a work of grace that accompanies the believer's saving faith at salvation, the notion of "dying to self" continues to unfold itself, like a rose, throughout the course of the believer's faith-walk or "sanctification".  The great apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:31 - "I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily."  So daily I must do what we saw in the last blog in dying to self:
1. Get in order with what God said
2. Reckon or consider my former identity (formed prior to conversion) to be dead
3. Only then in God can I move ahead

Paul writes these words in Romans 6:11 - "Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."  Only when I choose to regard "self" (the source of "self-centeredness", "selfishness", "self-seeking) as worthy of crucifixion, death, can I live more fully for God, and Him live more fully through me. 

Dying to live for God

Genesis 32:24-28  Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. 26Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.”

What is necessary to live for God?
Jacob was the grandson of the well-known patriarch Abraham and father of twelve sons who would be the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.  In this chapter he is 96 years old and is getting ready to face a fear that he has been running from for over twenty years - his brother.  After receving word that his brother, Esau, was coming his direction with 400 men, Jacob responded and by the time we come to our text above, the Bible says: "Then Jacob was all alone".  As we will see, Jacob would learn that in order to live for God, something about himself had to die.

Self must die if we are to live effectively for God
Jacob was getting ready to experience a work of God that is daily necessary in the life of every Christian if they expect to move forward in their Christian walk - dying to self.  Self is that principle at work in our soul that fuels our sin nature to want what it wants, when it wants and how it wants.  Dying to self, or self denial, is fundamental to what it means in being a follower of the Lord.  Jesus states it plainly in Luke 9:23-24 - "And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24'For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." '

In order to over come his enemies, Jacob had to be overcome by God
This episode in Jacob's life is intriguing, for he wrestles with an individual that is identified simply as "a man".  Now scripture bears out that this was no ordinary man that met Jacob in the desert.  Hosea 12:3-4, written over a 1,000 years after our account here in Genesis 32, gives an inspired commentary on just who Jacob was wrestling:
Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
         He wept and sought His favor.
         He found Him at Bethel
         And there He spoke with us,
5Even the LORD, the God of hosts,
         The LORD is His name.

It was none other than God Himself that wrestled with Jacob in the form of this "unamed man".  Other scriptures will further clarifiy that this mysterious "man" who is really "God" is an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ.  Undoubtedly the Bible's dual identification of this figure in the Old Testament was foreshadowing what would be the complete revelation of Jesus Christ as fully God and fully man in the New Testament.  As they wrestle, the Lord asks Jacob for His name.  Quite simply, he was asking for Jacob's surrender, since the giving over of one's name was tanatmount to acknowledging the superiority of your opponent.  Jacob did that, and as a result he received a new name - "Israel". Why?  Quite literally, the Lord states that he had prevailed against men, and strived with God, and by grace accomplished both.  Jacob would never be the same again.

When you die to self, expect your walk with God to be different
When this epic battle was finished, it was clear that Jacob, formerly headstrong and strongwilled was now a broken man.  However that did not mean he was weaker.  If anything, Jacob had entered into a whole new realm of relationship with God.  The Bible tells us at the end of this fight, Jacob walked with a limp.  Jacob (Israel) was now more useful to God because he had to die to who he was as Jacob in order for the power of God to manifest itself.  The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 - "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

How do you die to self?
Let me give you three principles from this text in Genesis 32 that shows how Jacob died to his old identity:
1. Get in order with what God said.  Genesis 32:24-29
2. Reckon your old identity to be dead.  Genesis 32:30-32
3. Only then in Good can you move ahead. 

The benefits of dying to self
By dying to self, Jacob was positioned to receive further illumination from God on the nature of his calling. (Genesis 35).  Additionally, by dying to self, the power of God could flow more freely through Jacob's life, the power Jacob was going to need to face tough tragedies such as the loss of his wife in Genesis 35:17 and his father in Genesis 35:29.  May you and I understand and apply this essential truth for living for God.