Bible sermon: What is self denial? (Matt 16:24)

Read: Matthew 16:24-25

Although several athletes participate in a race, not all receive the prize (1 Cor 9:24-27). Apostle Paul said in order to win the race, he kept his body under. Under what? Under his spirit. As long as your spirit man is in charge, your flesh will have to submit to you. I tell my body, ‘You do not dictate to me’. Somebody recently asked me how I was able to fast for 40 days and nights and I said it was very easy. The day the fast was to start, I go to the calendar, count the number of days, and mark the day the fast would end. Thereafter, I told my stomach, ‘Look at that date very well: That is the next time we will be talking about food’.

In those days, we had a group of people called Bible study leaders. When we were about to hold Christ the Redeemer’s Congress, we would fast for 30 days, including staying away from meeting with our wives. On one occasion, when we gathered shortly before the Congress, we looked at each other’s faces to identify those who were fasting and those who were not, by the gift of discerning of spirits. On this occasion, I picked a man out and told him he did not fast.

He argued he did and normally broke his fast by 6.00pm. Then he asked me, ‘How did you know I did not fast?’ I told him, ‘ You slept with your wife and as a result you are not going to perform your assignment during the Congress’. And that was how it used to be. Today, when some people declare a fast, it affects only food, not love making. In the process, they may not position themselves through self denial to receive the benefits of the fast. Self denial may be as simple as saying ‘No’ to a bottle of coke.

It also means knowing your worth, yet ignoring it for the purpose of God’s Kingdom. Jesus denied Himself by making Himself of no reputation (Phil 2:7). It is pride that will make you not to deny yourself. But when you know that you are nothing, it would be difficult for you to be angry. If a messenger flares up with his Managing Director, you can be sure he is on his way out of the organization. If you want to follow Him, realize you are nothing without Him.