"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34)
Following the experience of Christ supreme on the mountain at the beginning of Mark chapter 9, the disciples descend the mountain to be confronted by a case of: 'Demonic Possession and Dirty Tricks' in the midst of their failure when confronted with the power of Satan they learn that the solution to their problems lies in "prayer and fasting" (Mk9:29) - fasting that puts self out and prayer that brings God in! The solution to their failure was very simple:
- More of Christ (Prayer)
- Less of Self (Fasting)
Despite a Glorious Vision of a Glorious Christ the disciples remain caught up with self! Often times Christian ministry and Christian preaching and Christian service can be a thinly veiled covering for self promotion, as religion had become to the Pharisees of Matthew 23.
Self comes to the fore in Mark chps 9 to 11:
- Pre-eminence of Self (9:34) - "by the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest"
- Prominence of Self (9:38) - "he followeth not us" - it wasn't about following 'us' the Lord has to remind the disciples, not about following our Church, or our system or our way the issue was all the Glory of "My Name" (9:39)
- Problems of Self (9:42-50) - The hand, the foot and eye to be cut off, how often my Works (hand) or my Way (foot) or what I Watch (eye) can hinder my usefulness to Christ!
- Place for Self (10:35-45) - "grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand and the other on the left" - a place for self, a relationship with Christ can at times become corrupted to being a means to promotion of self.
What is the solution to all of this?
"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34) - the 3 fold call of discipleship:
- Self Denial "Deny himself"
- Self Death "take up his cross"
- Self Discipline "follow me"
Yours in Christ
Stewart
www.newcumnock.org
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