Now I want to start out by reading for you a very famous verse, Matthew 16, 24, which
reads, Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Again in Mark 8, 34, it says, 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.
Now look down at verse number 23 of Luke 9 where we just read, and you'll find that the
same statement, but there's another word that's added there.
It says in Luke 9, 23, And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
And that's what I want to preach about today, denying self and taking up the cross
daily.
Now a lot of people have mistakenly associated denying self or taking up your own cross
with salvation.
Now the proof that this has nothing to do with salvation is that the Bible is clear
here that this is something that needs to be done daily, whereas salvation is not
a daily thing.
Jesus said you must be born again to see the kingdom of God.
He didn't say you have to be born again and again and again and again and again.
And just as we were only born one time into our physical family, we only need to be born
one time into God's spiritual family.
Salvation is a one-time moment where we are passed from death unto life, where we shall
not come into condemnation because we have believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what salvation is.
But after we're saved, the Bible does call us to deny ourself and take up our cross
daily and follow him.
If we're going to be a disciple of Christ, if we're going to follow Christ and be a
great Christian, salvation is only the first step.
After that, God wants us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow him.
What does it mean to deny ourselves?
Well if you would look over at Luke 22 verse 42.
While you're turning to Luke 22, 42, I'll read for you from Matthew 26, 39, where
it reads, and he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed saying, oh
my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
Look down at Luke 22, 42 saying, father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from
me.
Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
That's what Jesus Christ is saying here as he prays to the father.
Not my will, but thine be done.
That is denying yourself, saying you know what God wants is more important than what
I want.
So I'm going to deny myself the things that I want in order to serve God more effectively.
Go over to John chapter 5, just a few pages to the right in your Bible.
John chapter number 5, and we'll see something similar where Jesus says in John
chapter 5 verse 30, I can of mine own self do nothing as I hear I judge, and my
judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the father which
hath sent me.
John chapter 6 verse 38, just right across the page there.
John 6 38, and it says, for I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me.
So if you're going to follow Jesus Christ, then like him, you're going to have to
say unto God, not my will, but thine be done.
You're going to have to be one that denies self and takes up the cross and follows
in the footsteps of Jesus by denying yourself and doing what God wants you to do.
Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 9.
1 Corinthians chapter number 9, and here the apostle Paul uses the illustration of
an athlete who denies himself physically in order to achieve greatness in the athletic
competition, in order to achieve the victory.
It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24, know ye not that they which run in a race
run all, but one receiveth the prize, so run that ye may obtain.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible.
I therefore so run not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air,
but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when
I have preached others, I myself should be a castaway.
So the illustration here is of an athlete who is temperate in all things, meaning that
if he's going to win, he has to be careful about what he eats, he has to be careful
to get enough sleep, he has to do the proper exercise and the proper training, even when
he doesn't feel like it.
If you were to talk to great athletes, I'm sure that they would tell you that there
are days when they don't feel like going running, or they don't feel like training,
they don't feel like exercising, but they do it anyway because they want to win.
And so they have to keep under their body, meaning that they have to be the boss of their body
and not vice versa.
They don't, they can't let the flesh control them, they have to control the flesh.
Now they do it for a corruptible crown.
You know, the athletic competition that they win is going to be meaningless a hundred
years from now.
I mean, who can name the great athletes from a hundred years ago?
You know, okay, I'm sure somebody will try, but anyway, you know, very few people,
it's like when you play the old Trivial Pursuit and you get in that sports category
and you're like, what in the world, you know, because it's all from the 1920s
and 30s and everything, and we don't know who the great athletes were from a hundred years ago.
Why?
Because athletics has no eternal value, that's why, none, zero.
And God is saying that what we do has eternal value.
Our life that we live for Jesus Christ, the soul winning that we do, the spiritual
decisions that we make will earn us an incorruptible crown in heaven, unlike the corruptible
crown that the winner of an athletics event will receive.
And so the Bible is saying we have an even greater reason to keep under our bodies.
We have an even greater reason to deny ourselves, to deny our bodies, to exercise
some self-discipline in our lives so that we can achieve greatness for the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Now go to Titus chapter 2, Titus chapter 2, and as you're turning there, let me remind
you what he said in 1 Corinthians 9, he said, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly.
So fight I, not as one that beateth the air, but I keep under my body and bring
it into subjection, lest that by any means would I have preached to others I myself
should be a castaway.
Subjection, what does it mean to be in subjection?
It means that you're not the boss.
And when the Bible says that Paul brought his body into subjection, he's saying my body
is not the boss.
The cravings of my body are not the boss.
No I'm going to tell my body what it's going to do.
It's not going to tell me what to do.
But many people are led by the cravings of their body, and let me just substitute
for cravings of the body, a biblical term, the lust of the flesh.
That's what it is.
When the Bible says lust, what is lust?
It's a craving.
It's a desire.
And what is the body?
It's our flesh.
And so when the Bible talks about the lust of the flesh, it's talking about your body
has certain physical cravings, and are you going to give in to those things if they dishonor
Christ?
Now look at Titus 2, verse 11, it says, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men.
And by the way, can somebody show this to the Calvinists of this world who think
that salvation is not available to everybody?
But it says the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching
us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously
and godly in this present world.
So after we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, after we're saved by grace, there are other
things that we should do.
This reminds me of Ephesians 2, 8, and 9, where it says, for by grace are you saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest
any man should boast.
That's salvation.
Then it says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Now notice what it says, we should walk in them.
Now there are many things that we should do, aren't there?
We should go to church, we should read our Bible, we should pray, we should live
a clean life, we should deny ourself, we should take up the cross, but what must
we do to be saved?
Believe.
Don't be confused, because you tell people that salvation is only by believing in Jesus
Christ, not by works, and you show them that great verse in Acts 16, what must I do
to be saved?
What do I have to do to be saved?
And it's just a simple answer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,
and that's it.
Now are there other things that we should do?
Of course, but we must not do those things.
We don't have to go to church to be saved, we don't have to be baptized to be saved,
we don't have to read our Bible every day to be saved.
We don't have to do the things that Christ commanded us to do in order to be saved, because
if we did, then no one would be saved.
Because no one follows all of Christ's commands.
There's not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sineth not, and if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
What does in vain mean?
It means there's no point.
Why would Jesus Christ need to die for us if we are so good we can just go to heaven
because we're good people?
The reason that he had to die for us is because we're all equally condemned under
the law because we've all sinned, and so therefore we need a savior.
This is a similar teaching that we have in Titus 2 as what we had in Ephesians 2
where he said, hey, salvation is by faith, but we should do works.
Here he's saying, you know, grace of God is what brings us salvation.
Grace means something we don't deserve.
Grace is something that's freely given unto us as a gift.
It's not something that we could earn.
But he says here that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Look again at verse 12, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should
live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
So what did Jesus mean when he said, hey, if any man will come after me, let him deny
himself and take up the cross and follow me.
You know what he meant when he said deny self?
He meant deny worldly lusts, deny the lust of the flesh.
He said deny, verse 12, deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.
And that's what he meant when he said deny self, because that's what dwells in our flesh.
Worldly lusts, you know, the tendency to sin.
Go to 1 Peter chapter 2, toward the very end of the New Testament, 1 Peter chapter
2.
And while you're turning there, I'll read for you from 2 Corinthians 10 verse 3 where
it says, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
Carnal means fleshly.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling
down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself
against the knowledge of God, watch this, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ.
So here he says that we have a spiritual war going on in our body where we are not
warring with flesh and blood.
We don't wrestle against flesh and blood.
I mean, we don't go out every week and, you know, get in physical fist fights and
physical gun fights and say, hey, you know, we're fighting the good fight of faith.
We're on the front lines of the fight and we're, you know, we're firing weapons,
we're beating people up.
You know, that's not what we're doing.
We fight a spiritual battle.
We don't war according to the flesh.
We war a spiritual warfare and a lot of that warfare takes place within us because
the Bible says that the weapons of our warfare will help us to cast down imaginations and
to bring every thought into subjection and every thought into the obedience of Christ.
Look down with that in mind in 1 Peter 2 where it says in verse 11,
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which
war against the soul.
So do you see the warfare that's going on between the flesh and the spirit?
Our sinful flesh, our body, wants to indulge in things that are wrong and our spirit
that's been saved by Jesus Christ wants to do what's right.
And so there's a conflict where on the inside, deep down, if you're saved today, even
if you're living a worldly and sinful life, if you're saved, if you're a believer, deep
down on the inside, you want to do what's right.
The inward man, the spiritual man, that new creature that was created in you wants
to do what's right.
But often the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.
So there's a warfare that's going on where your spirit wants to do what's right and
when your flesh wants to do that which is wrong.
You say, well Pastor Anderson, I have absolutely zero desire to do what's right, ever.
Well then you're clearly not saved because obviously anybody who's saved, they've
been made a new creature on the inside.
Now it doesn't mean that they're going to do what's right because often they let
the flesh be in the driver's seat and then they do all the wrong things.
That's why you'll see a lot of Christians who live a very sinful life because the flesh
is in the driver's seat and they're not listening to the Holy Spirit and they're
not listening to their spirit that wants to do what's right.
But Paul said, I delight after the law of God after the inward man, talking about his
spirit.
But he said, I find another law warring in my members, meaning in my body parts,
my flesh.
He said that's trying to pull them into sin.
So if you're saved, you have this battle going on in you between good and evil, between
the flesh and the spirit.
The Bible says that fleshly lusts are warring against our soul.
Go to Galatians chapter five.
Galatians chapter number five.
Back toward the front of your Bible, Galatians chapter number five.
And we'll look at a classic passage about this because we're talking about denying
self this morning.
And I'm going to get into some specific applications of denying yourself but I'm just
laying the foundation here.
Look at Galatians five verse 16, it says, This I say then, walk in the spirit and
ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5 17, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against
the flesh.
And these are contrary, the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that
you would, but if you be led of the spirit, you're not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?
So you say, well Pastor Anderson, when you say I'm supposed to deny myself and follow Jesus,
when you say I'm supposed to deny worldly lust, when you say I'm supposed to
resist against and abstain from fleshly lust that war against the soul, what kind
of wrong desires are you talking about?
What are these fleshly lusts?
What are these things that I need to deny in my life?
Well here we get a list as to what the works of the flesh are.
Now the Bible says the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these?
Adultery.
There you go, right there, an example of something that is a worldly lust that we should
abstain from.
He says adultery, that is a married person who would be unfaithful to their spouse,
and they would have a physical relationship with someone outside of that marriage.
But then also Jesus Christ talked about the fact that if you just look on a woman
to lust after her, you've committed adultery with her already in your heart.
So that in and of itself is the lust of the eyes when you're looking upon a woman
with lust in your heart.
Then he says fornication.
Now what is fornication?
Now the difference between fornication and adultery is that adultery has to do with
someone who's married, that commits adultery.
Fornication is when unmarried people have a physical relationship with each other that's
reserved for marriage, they have that outside of marriage, that is fornication.
That is one of the works of the flesh.
That's not a spiritual thing, that's not a godly thing.
Now it's very godly to be married and have a physical relationship with your wife
or your husband within marriage.
That's very godly.
The Bible says marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled.
But whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge.
And so one of the primary works of the flesh that we need to deny and one of the
main lusts, I mean listen first, adultery, fornication, and even the next two, uncleanness
and lasciviousness, are in that same category of those types of sins.
You say why uncleanness?
Because fornication does involve uncleanness when you see how people are just going from
one person to another to another.
It becomes unsanitary and it becomes a disease carrying activity.
But let me say this, adultery and fornication are major sins that God condemns throughout
the New Testament.
In fact he seems to bring them up more than other sins, just over and over and
over and over again.
He's warning us.
Why?
Because these are things that our flesh will tempt us to engage in and we must deny
self, we must deny that lust, and we must follow Christ and take up the cross.
Now let me say this about fornication.
You know it's a very serious sin in so much that the Bible even says that it can get
you thrown out of the local church.
First Corinthians five reveals that those who are in fornication should be thrown out
of the church.
I mean it's a major, major sin and you say what are you talking about?
If you're living together and you're not married, you're living in fornication.
I'm talking about a man and woman that are living together and they're not married.
You say well what are my options?
Here are your options.
Get married or stop living together and you say well I'm just not ready for marriage.
Then you're not ready to be living with somebody.
Well I'm just not ready for marriage.
Then you're not ready to be sleeping with somebody.
Because the Bible teaches that we should only have that within marriage and within
marriage it's godly, it's holy, it's honorable, and outside of marriage it's a
major sin that needs to be denied.
You say but I want to deny self.
Deny the desire to commit sin and do what's right for the sake of Jesus Christ.
That's what the Bible teaches.
That's what it means to deny self.
It means that when you get to the point where you don't want to stay with your spouse
anymore, you stay with your spouse anyway because you don't want to be an adulterer
or an adulteress.
You get to the point where you desire someone other than your spouse, you deny that wicked
ungodly lust and you stay true and faithful to the one to whom you said your vows.
When you get to the point young person where you're tempted to commit adultery,
you deny that lust and you keep yourself pure and holy and virgin until your wedding
day.
You say well I've already blown that but you know what from this day forward you
need to be pure until you get married.
Until you say I do.
And by the way, so many women today are in relationships where they'd like to get married
and the guy won't marry them.
Well let me give you a little saying.
Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?
You're sitting there and giving away your body to someone without demanding a ring
on the finger, without demanding a commitment in marriage.
You know what you're doing?
You're cheapening yourself.
You're worth more than that.
You have more value than that.
Save yourself for the one that will make a commitment unto you.
Save your body for the one who will say I'll be with you until death.
For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer.
Not the one that's here today gone tomorrow.
It's hypocrisy to say oh we're committed to each other then you'd be married.
It's hypocrisy to say oh I'm not ready to get married then you're not ready
for that either.
You know our society condones it, I don't.
The Bible doesn't.
Faithful Word Baptist Church doesn't.
Let's keep going though.
Those are some main things in verse 19.
Then in verse 20 we have idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, and really I mean each of these could be a whole sermon in
and of themselves.
You know you could preach a whole sermon on just each word here and on each sin.
These are just the type of sins that people are tempted into committing.
It says in verse 21 envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, just anything
like that.
And then he says this, of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time
past that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Now a lot of people will say you know well if you do any of these sins on this
list you're not saved but again that's not true because of the fact that they'll
point to this and say well you don't inherit the kingdom of God but the Bible also says
you know all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.
And not only that it says here and such like.
So even if you say well I don't do any of the sins on that list but if you just did
something like that then you're not worthy of the kingdom of God.
But of course that's where salvation comes in.
That's where forgiveness comes in.
That's where being washed in the blood of Jesus Christ comes in.
Just as all liars you know have to be washed all these sinners also need to be.
But the point is that these are the lusts of the flesh.
These are the temptations that we need to deny if we're going to follow Jesus Christ
and be a good Christian.
You know just to focus in on one of them drunkenness in verse 21 there drunkenness
you know that's a temptation for a lot of people drinking.
Now a lot of people will say this well I drink but I don't get drunk.
I've never met one yet who that was true.
You know what I mean is oh I drink but then why do you even drink?
Oh I just drink a little bit but you know I see people who say I can name for you
all the people I know who've ever said well I drink but I don't get drunk and I'm not saying
that there's not somebody out there who really does drink and doesn't get drunk.
I've just never seen it because you know what usually it is it's just people who just
use that as a cop out like well I just never get drunk I just like the taste or
whatever and they drink and you see them drink one two three four but I don't get
drunk and here's what's funny you'll call somebody on the carpet and say you know well
you just had four drinks.
I thought you never get drunk but here's what they'll say oh I can I can handle
four drinks no problem but you know what that means if you can handle four drinks no problem?
It means you drink a lot because you have tolerance to alcohol you know because somebody
who doesn't drink a lot if they drink four drinks is going to be drunk.
If you say oh man I can drink a six-pack it doesn't even affect me that just means
you're an alcoholic.
That just means that you build tolerance to alcohol.
That's one of the signs of being a drunk that you drink that much that your body is
just impervious to it.
Not only that a lot of people like to focus on the commandment in the Bible not to be
drunk and they'll say well it's okay to drink just don't get drunk but actually what
they're ignoring is all the multitude of scriptures that say be sober.
You know what I mean?
So even if you're not getting drunk if you drink one or two beers you're not sober.
You've ceased to be sober and the Bible says teaching us that denying ungodliness
and worldly lust we should live soberly the Bible says righteously godly in this present
world we should be sober and you know drinking is not going to do anything good for you
in your life.
It's only going to lead you into sin.
The Bible says that when you drink your eyes shall behold strange women.
Your mouth shall utter perverse things.
I don't want to say perverted things.
I don't want to cast my eyes upon strange women and so therefore I abstain from drinking
alcohol whatsoever.
And so the Bible teaches here that drunkenness is one of those lusts of the flesh.
Now go if you would to Deuteronomy chapter 21.
Deuteronomy chapter 21.
Deuteronomy chapter number 21.
And I want to point out this scripture because this is a scripture that a lot of people
will often misquote and a lot of atheists if you ever talk to somebody who is an atheist
who really hates the Bible they like to take this scripture that I'm turning to
and twist it and misquote it.
And it has to do with drunkenness but it also has to do with gluttony.
You know again when we're talking about just denying ourself but they'll quote this
and here's what you'll hear atheists say.
The Bible tells you to stone a disobedient child.
Who's ever heard an atheist say that?
The Bible says to kill your disobedient child.
The Bible says to stone you.
And they'll laugh at this and mock the Bible and say oh you believe the Bible?
The Bible says to stone your disobedient child.
The Bible says to kill your disobedient child.
Now if the Bible said that if your child disobeys you kill it you know that would
be ridiculous because you know what then every child would be dead.
Every child is a disobedient child.
Has there ever been a fully obedient child ever?
The Bible says foolishness is bound in the heart of a child but the rod of correction will
drive it far from him.
So we know that children do disobey and make mistakes but that's not what this scripture
teaches.
Let's read it together and let's see what the scripture actually teaches under the
old covenant under the laws of the land of Israel there.
It says in Deuteronomy 21 18 if a man have a stubborn and rebellious son which
will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother and that when
they have chastened him will not hearken unto them then shall his father and his
mother lay hold on him and bring him out unto the elders of his city and under the
gate of his place and they shall say unto the elders of his city this our son is stubborn
and rebellious he will not obey our voice he is a glutton and a drunkard and all the
men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die so shalt thou put away
evil from among you and all Israel shall hear in fear.
So what the scripture is actually teaching is these people have a child that is not
just it doesn't say disobedient.
Where does it say disobedient?
What is it saying?
It's saying this child is just completely rebellious to his parents and then dad disciplines
him he still won't listen.
Mom disciplines him he still won't listen.
Then they take him and drag him before the authorities.
They take him the elders of the city I mean they take him for the authorities they
look we have disciplined him we've tried everything this is just a bad kid he will
he's a glutton he's a drunk he won't work he's living in sin he won't respond to discipline
and then they say okay we'll stone him with stones.
You say oh I don't think that's right I can't believe it.
You know what this would just get rid of just worthless wicked people before they
go out and just commit all kinds of acts of rape and pillage and murder.
Just some kind of a horrible bad scene now here's the thing I don't think they had
to do this very often because notice look at the lot the key is at the end of verse
21.
So shalt thou put away evil from among you and all Israel shall hear and fear.
This is something that just it's just good to know that it's there saying look
you're going to obey your parents you know you're going to live a godly life you're
not just going to go out and just become a lazy drunken glutton that just completely
despises your parents and won't listen to them.
You know this is just putting some backing basically what this is it is the state backing
the parents against the child.
Now what we have today is the government will not back you up against your child
today.
You know now today we live in this weird backward society where children divorce their
parents you remember that when I remember that what 20 years ago when some 12 year
old kid divorced his parents just because they didn't let him have enough fun and they
you know and here today if you want to discipline your children you know the authorities
want to sometimes get in the way of that and stop you from disciplining your own
child you know or you have children that are 16 17 years old they call the police
on their parents my parents are disciplining me my parents won't let me go to the prom
my parents are telling me I can't leave the house and then they'll tell the parents
well you have to let your child leave the house like people try to you know and I don't
I don't use groundation as a form of discipline but a lot of parents do right you know my
parents didn't ground me either you know my my parents whipped me and didn't ground
me but I don't ground my children but here's the thing parents will try to ground
their child and say like you know you can't go anywhere you didn't do your work you
didn't obey so you're not going to go out with your friends on Friday night you're
not going to go out with your friends you're grounded and then basically they'll just say
like oh you know call the police and say I'm being kidnapped I'm being held against my will
I'm being imprisoned and then the cops will come and say you know well no you have to let
them go as long as they're back by curfew you know what it is is the the government wants
to take the place of the parents and make the rules and and they decide what time the
kids should be home and they decide what's acceptable and what's not and you know basically
what we have is a government that wants to take the place of God also and they decide
what's right and wrong okay we don't have a society today where the the government backs
up the parent a lot of times the government is there to make sure that the parents aren't
disciplining too much or to make sure that you know they're letting their child
live a normal life and get out and socialize and you know go to school and do all the
things you know whatever so what I'm trying to say is that this scripture is just showing
that if the worst came to worst the elders of the city are supposed to back up the parents
and not side with the child against their parents you know the man is the king of his
castle the wife is is the boss of those children as well and and they need to be
honored and respected and you know when you have someone who is this worthless and
wicked as what we have described in Deuteronomy 21 the Bible is just saying just put away
that evil from Israel and again we're not under this today this isn't what but I'm not against
this at all this is still God's law it's a good idea but it was something that they were
under back then as their actual law but I doubt that they were just constantly stoning
these drunken gluttonous young people because you know what I think the parents just told
them hey you better straighten up or else we'll take this down to the elders of the city and
you'll be killed and that was probably a powerful threat because it had the force of the law
behind it now the children are threatening their parents if you spank me I'll call the
police that's the day we're living in now the opposite you know hey all the kids
saying you know he calls 911 calls the elders of the city my parents spanked me with
the paddle they spanked me with the hairbrush you know whatever and so this is a righteous
commandment in the Bible but why are we turning to this in a sermon about denying
yourself because when God's trying to describe somebody who is so rebellious and so wicked
that they need to just be put away from Israel what are the two things that are brought
out you know they're a glutton and a drunkard now that should show you that a person
who does not deny themselves at all has the potential to become a very ungodly person
because a person who just gratifies every lust you know just I mean what is gluttony
gluttony is just a completely unrestrained just I'm just going to eat whatever junk
I'm going to eat whatever amount just whatever feel I'm not going to deny myself any food
and what's drunkenness just just an uninhibited just drinking what you want to drink just
enjoying drunkenness and whatever the Bible says in Proverbs twenty three twenty one
for the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty the Bible talks about people
in Ecclesiastes ten seventeen who eat for strength not for drunkenness you know
they don't just eat and gorge themselves in an unrestrained way the Bible talked
about a man by the name of Eli who was a gluttonous man he was a very heavy man talked
about him just gorging himself on fat and then he was very fat but then his children
were they were fat also the Bible says from gorging themselves and then the Bible
said this they also went into fornication okay so what I'm saying here is that we
need to live our lives in a way and go to first John chapter two in a way where we
restrain our flesh where we restrain our flesh and where we don't just just
whatever we feel like eating we just eat it and whatever we feel like
drinking we just drink it and whatever we feel like doing we just do
it and whatever we feel like watching we just watch it and whatever we feel
like looking at we just look at it and whatever we feel like reading we
just read it no we need to deny self and say I don't care what you want to
read I don't care what you want to look at I don't care what you want to eat I
don't care what you want to drink this is what you're gonna do because you're
not the boss listen flesh you're not the boss I'm the boss I'm gonna tell
you what to eat I'm gonna tell you what to drink I'm gonna tell you what
to do I'm gonna tell you well I don't feel like reading my Bible says
the flesh well you're gonna read it anyway says the spirit because you're
not the boss that's what it means to deny self to deny the lust of the
flesh and look and again you say well you know skinny guy getting on people
that you know eat but you know what honestly honestly I know I'm not one of
these that thinks everybody needs to be skinny because I'm not into this
Hollywood image where you know only skinny people are beautiful and
everybody needs to be skinny you know God made us all different and not
everybody's designed to be like what Hollywood puts out there real skin so
I'm not saying hey everybody needs to be skinny because honestly you know what
there are different body types and honestly there are people who are you
know beautiful people of all shapes and sizes and obviously Hollywood you know
portrays a certain way that we're all supposed to look and I don't believe it
I think God's made us all different okay and different people look some
people if they eat a normal healthy diet are going to be more plump than
those who eat a normal healthy diet and they're just gonna be thinner I mean
that a lot of that's just genetic but let me say this though there are people
who do gorge themselves on on junk food you know and so it is important
that we do take care of ourselves and eat healthy food you know my
philosophy is you know you're gonna eat healthy food and live an active
lifestyle and you know everybody's not gonna come out looking the same you
know what I'm saying so I'm not saying hey everybody has to be this but but
you know what I am saying though gluttony is a sin even if you never hear
that preached in most churches that is a biblical teaching the Bible does
mention it so we should take care that we don't just eat to always tickle our
taste buds and that we don't just have a pack of ho-hos by the bed and a
pack of Twinkies by the bed and get out of bed and start drinking you
know soda pop and junk food and look you say oh you know Pastor Anderson
you're getting on me because you saw me eating junk food the other day but
here's the thing I'm not because honestly what I'm what I'm telling you is
just for your own good because you're gonna you're gonna be unhealthy and
you're gonna die young if you eat a lot of junk and there's a lot of junk
food out there today a lot of chemicals and a lot of additives and a
lot of junk and you know what if you leave this sermon and say you know
pastor Harrison I don't care what you say I'm gonna need a McDonald's on
Monday Burger King on Tuesday Jack in the Box on Wednesday you know I'm
gonna eat ho-hos after after I go to bed at night every time I wake up for
the bathroom I'm gonna get a ho-ho and eat it and I'm gonna wake up in the
morning and pour myself a big gulp of diet Pepsi and I'm gonna you know
go ahead but you know you're hurting yourself you're it's not good
for you and so we should take care of our body which is the temple of the
Holy Ghost which is in us and and take care of our health I mean does
anybody here think that I'm wrong if I say hey eat nutritious food and take
care of your health is anybody really gonna challenge me on that no pastor
Anderson little Debbie's are there and by the way and by the way the Seventh
Day Adventists are the ones who put out little Debbie's did you know that
all that Ellen either cult leader Ellen G white with all her talk about
eating healthy and all this and then they put out little Debbie's thou
hypocrite Debbie G white you know but anyway that's just a piece of
trivia for you where did I have you turn first John chapter 2 so let me get
off your your food thing and then look by the way every once in a while
indulging in in treats and and you know every once in a while indulging
in in stuff that's maybe not the healthiest thing in the world great
but you know in America today a lot of people just have a steady diet of
junk food and say and and you know sometimes we might just need to deny
myself and eat the vegetables or you know or eat the the whatever that's a
little bit of a healthier option but first John chapter 2 says this in
verse 15 it says love not the world neither the things that are in the
world if any man love the world the love of the Father's not in him for
all that is in the world the last of the flash we covered that in we and
the last of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father but is of
the world so another lust that we need to deny is the last of the eyes you
know we don't need to just look at everything that we want to look at and
you know I I find that when I take my children out to a restaurant when
they're small children there'll be a TV screen sometimes in the lobby of the
restaurant and it's like their eyes are sometimes is drawn to it like a
magnet and I have to constantly tell them you know don't look at the TV
don't look at the and we'll try to position ourselves where their back is
to the TV just because it's just something that you know just kind of
catches your eye I mean all of us have a tendency to just I mean it's
designed that way to get your attention so it takes self-denial to say
I know that I'm having a physical reaction to want to look at that and
watch that but I'm not going to because I'm not really interested in
what the devil has for me today on the TV okay or you know you go to the
store and there's the magazine rack and there's some indecent scantily clad
pictures of women and you know your tendency is to want to look at that you
have to say no I don't want to look at that deny self what I'm saying is don't
live your life in such a way where it just if it feels good do it you know
just whatever I feel like doing what do I feel like doing today no it
should be what should I do today you know what's gonna what's the best use
of my time today not just what do I feel like doing necessarily and then
lastly this go to Philippians chapter 2 we saw the lust of the flesh the
eyes but I want to give you another aspect of denying self I think another
aspect of denying self is just looking out for the needs of others not our own
needs what does it mean to deny self well it's it's lust when lust is
compelling us to commit sin we deny that what's what's what self-denial you
know when we want to look at something we shouldn't look at we deny ourself
but also what about when it comes to what we want versus what other people
want sometimes we need to deny ourself and do what's best for other people not
just what's best for self all the time look down at verse 2 it says fulfill
ye my joy that you be like-minded having the same love being of one accord
of one mind let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves look not
every man on his own things but every man also on the things of others don't
just care about your things care about the things of others look upon their
thing he says in verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal
with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form
of a servant and was made in the likeness of men according to the Bible
Jesus mentality was one of serving others he said the Son of Man came not
to be ministered unto but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many
he said I didn't come to be served I came to serve and God's saying don't
just think about your own things think about the things of others get
the mentality of Christ where you are a servant unto others you know when
you go out soul winning here's what you're saying others matter other
people matter because see I'm already saved so even if I never go soul
winning I'm going to go to heaven but you know why I go soul winning so that
other people can go to heaven because I care about them okay what about in
your marriage are you do you live your life when it comes to your
marriage in a way where it says well I just want everything what's
best for me just please self just what can I get for myself out of this
marriage no our marriage should be where we want to care for the other
person you know every wife should want what's best for her husband and every
husband should want what's best for the wife and you say wait I thought the
husband's the leader I thought he's the boss but wait a minute yes he's the
leader yes he's the boss but he should use that power to please his
wife and to do what's best for the wife because he loves his wife not to
just selfishly say well I'm the boss I have all the power therefore I'm just
going to do everything to gratify myself and nuts to her you know that
would be a very unloving husband indeed wouldn't it that's why the
Bible says husbands love your wife so both husband and wife should think
about the other person and if the husband puts his wife as number one and
the wife puts her husband as number one they're probably gonna have a great
marriage probably gonna get along pretty well huh if he's always looking out
for her and she's always looking out for him they're gonna get along great
where's the strife come from selfishness only by pride cometh contention
it's pride and selfishness that says I matter it's it's about what I can get
out of this and even when you can even see people even before they're married
just when they're looking for someone to marry sometimes they're really
selfish in the way they make that decision you know they're not looking
for someone that they can love and and do something for and be a blessing
to they're looking for somebody who can do the most for them and you
know what it's selfishness so what does it mean to deny self it means to
deny lust and it means to put other people first Jesus then others then
you spells joy right j-o-y Jesus others you that should be the priority one
last place Ecclesiastes chapter two Ecclesiastes chapter two there's a
famous quote from Shakespeare to thine own self be true but that's not what
the Bible says the Bible says deny your own self deny self the one thing I
want to point out in Ecclesiastes chapter two is that if you live your
life without denying self what's the opposite of self denial self indulgence
just when you indulge the every appetite that your flesh has you
fulfill it every food you want to eat you eat it everything you want to look
at you look at it everything you want to do you do it without regard for
Christ without regard for others you just indulge self you will be a
miserable person if you live your life that way even if you're saved because in
Ecclesiastes 2 we find a man who was saved King Solomon he was a godly
man but the power of being King went to his head and he started to just
indulge himself look what it says in verse 10 and whatsoever mine eyes
desired I kept not from them I withheld not my heart from any joy for my
heart rejoiced in all my labor and this was my portion of all my that
what's he saying there if I saw it and I wanted it I took it I withheld
nothing from myself I mean this sound like a guy who's denying self no way I
mean this is a guy who had 700 wives why because he had the power to
have 700 wives he had the money and the power to eat whatever he wanted to
be with whatever woman he wanted to have whatever entertainment he wanted he
talks about having men singers and women singers he brought in apes and
peacocks and all you know just just cool stuff that he wanted to have he
had swimming pools orchards I mean this guy had a wouldn't you expect me
the happiest man money power riches respect wisdom intelligence surrounded by
beautiful women surrounded by beautiful orchards and pools surrounded
by beautiful and tasty foods that he could dine on and yet he says in verse
11 then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought and on the labor
that and the labor to do and behold all was vanity vanity means it's
worthless and he said and vexation of spirit what does it mean to be vexed
it means to be irritated to be bothered to be annoyed it bothered him
you say well I can't understand that look at verse 17 therefore I hated life
now here's a guy who has all the money all the power all the pleasure
everything he wants and he hates life why because he's spoiled this is what
it means to spoil a child he's spoiled what a spoiled means ruined
getting everything you want ruins you total indulgence will ruin you as a
person the more you learn to deny yourself you'll be a better person and
listen to this you'll be a happier person because this is a miserable
person and that's why constantly in Hollywood people are miserable
constant just this week everybody's I go Robin Williams committed suicide
why because he's miserable you know why because he doesn't follow Christ
because he doesn't deny self because these Hollywood actors have everything
and indulge everything and they just it's all about selfishness and then
and you say I don't get on it don't get on Robin Williams you know what I
haven't even started getting on that cross-dressing freak yet you want me
to get on Robin Williams and I'm sick and tired of Christians who sit there
and exalt you know what the Bible say you know what the Bible says they
forsake the law praise the wicked but such as keep the law contend with them
and it's a sad day when Christians today are eulogizing and praising and
saying rest in peace Robin with Robin Williams is burning in hell and the
Bible says they have no rest day nor night in hell that's a hateful thing
it's not a hateful thing it's just a statement of fact I don't hate Robin
Williams Robin Williams is burning in hell today because he did not believe on
Jesus Christ and he stood up as a stand-up comedian and mocked the Lord
Jesus and made money by mocking Jesus mocking Jesus mocking the Word of
God mocking the scripture for money then he gets up on screen and plays
homosexuals he plays cross dressers he plays all kinds of other wicked
parts I mean what I mean I don't really know a lot of his movies but the
one movie I remember when I was a kid he spends the whole movie in drag
dressed up like an old woman that's not cool that's an abomination and so
you know people today they praise and they eulogize and then oh you know
what about all the other people that died that day I mean why don't we
just get a newspaper and pull open the obituary and I guarantee you we can
find a better person in the obituary any day than Robin Williams if you want
to just be sad I mean if you just like to be sad about people who die let's go
by the obituary page and find a nice person for you to be sad about
maybe we can even find a Christian person maybe we can find somebody that
didn't blaspheme Jesus and that didn't dress up like a woman and it
didn't promote homosexuality and then we could get sad about that but you're
sad about your your actor hero because you're worldly and you know why he
hanged himself like Judas Iscariot because he was miserable because he
indulged himself and you know what if you child in this room that's hearing
me or teenager or young person if you live your life where my life is just
me me me ice cream cake candy play play play fun fun fun if you live your
life like that you're gonna end up the same way that Robin Williams and Judas
Iscariot ended up why because it's miserable way to live your life and you
kids now need to learn to deny yourself and learn how to work learn
how to force yourself to read the Bible learn how to get something done
learn to obey your parents and say to your parents not my will but thine be
done mom and dad why so that someday you can look up to God and say now my
will but thine be done because he's your father in heaven and we need to
today learn that if we want happiness in life it's gonna be through denying
self not indulging self and that if we want to be a true disciple and
follower of Christ you gotta deny self now I know you're already saved if
you believe in Christ I get you know ninety some percent of people in
this room already are saved hopefully a hundred percent believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ as their Savior but if you really want to be a disciple I
mean think about it how many people believed on Jesus when he came how many
people do you think yeah how many disciples did he have right different
number isn't it and you know one of these Jewish rabbis that I talked to a
couple weeks ago he made fun of Jesus you only had 12 disciples like
nobody believed in him yeah that's why we're still talking about him
right that's why more books have been written about him than any other
human being who's ever walked on the face of the earth that's why he's the
most famous that's why the year 2014 is based on his birthday 2014
years after he was born I mean those 12 people must have had a lot of cloud
when it came to making calendars and stuff but no that's not true
multitudes believed on him thousands and thousands and thousands and
thousands believe but only very few people were willing to deny self take
up the cross and follow him so be one of those few today and deny self and
follow Christ those powers in that word of prayer father we thank you so
much Lord for your your spirit Lord we thank you also for making us a new
creature but Lord we still have the flesh the flesh has not changed Lord
and so help us to deny self to die daily Lord it's Lord we want to do it
our spirit is willing Lord but our flesh is weak help us Lord to to
live a life that would be pleasing to you that denies the flesh and in Jesus
name