WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DENY CHRIST 🤔

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. -Luke 9:23

For one, we can verbally deny Christ as Peter did.

We can also deny Christ by omission. Which is a sin not of something we have done. But of something we haven’t done…

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. -James 4:17

We can deny Christ by projecting ourselves, our own persona instead of Him.
We can do that by manicuring our appearance. Or by our wardrobe & war paint (cosmetics), by honing our physique. By boasting of ourselves when we could be glorifying Jesus Christ.

I can never take a ministry seriously if it’s in a persons name, E.g: “John Smith Ministry”

I can’t take a “Christian book or website seriously that is plastered with images of the author … Because the motive is obvious and the evidence is clear … That they haven’t yet been to the cross, haven’t yet had a personal Gethsemane where they denied themselves and died.

CRUCIFIED LIFE VERSES UNCRUCIFIED LIFE

I remember as a young pastor of a fast growing independent fellowship, growing by prayer, fasting and daily worship and spiritual warfare ... I was badgered by this group that they firmly believed we required this particular apostle of theirs to be a father figure to me and to lead us forward under his authority. Although it surely seemed that the Holy Spirit was doing a very good job already without him... It seemed like Sauls armour to us. 

Regardless, I felt to allow him to come stay in our house on the Saturday night and preach on the Sunday morning... On arrival, getting out of the car, before greetings were even exchanged I perceived that this elderly and very sharply dressed man had nothing that he could tell us, that Christ had not already taught us. Why? Because there was zero hint of the myrrh and aloes that Nicodemus brought for Christs burial. And when he opened his mouth, the strength and assumed authority confirmed the discernment. I thought, that it was going to be a long evening. And it was as he boasted of all his church plants and all the ministers under him that looked up to him as their apostle ... sigh 🥱

Next morning at breakfast, the time was again filled with boastings intended to impress me to hand over to him the reigns of leadership of our beautiful group. No way was that going to happen. 

The time came to leave for the service ... It was a windy day and at the front door, he screamed at and berated his dear "young" wife BECAUSE the car was too far from the door and the wind would mess up his obviously blown dried hair 😳😨😱

The car, by the way, was a mere 5 metres from the door, she could only have moved it 2 more metres closer. 

Well, not that it made a difference as that local North eastern had him looking more like Wurzel Gumage than a high flying charismatic leader... 😁

I should have told him there and then to drive straight home and forget coming to our gathering. I guess, in shock and lack of experience I let this angry man continue on to lecture our sweet group with an hour of more boasting as to why he was essential for our spiritual growth... It is my experience that EXAMPLE of an uncrucified persona among "so called leaders" of that which believes itself to be church, is a plague of endemic proportions on a world wide scale. Which disease Christ IS RIGHT NOW purging from His TRUE CHURCH like I have never seen before...

The uncrucified man does not project the resurrection life of Christ because HE CANNOT. HE HASN’T DIED YET. Instead there is the stench of carnal pride… It emits its odour through the dress code, the body language, the preening & posturing, the countenance & of course the words & the tone…

The crucified one is no longer like that, in their contrite brokenness, their lowly anonymity the fragrance of Christ is sweetly evident.

John the Baptist said “He MUST increase and I MUST decrease”…

In our pursuit of humility, meekness and lowliness may we heed Christs counsel..,

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. -Matt 11:29

Are we learning of Him?
This can only happen through a voluntary daily denying of ourselves through the death of the CARNAL man

THE CONSEQUENCE OF DENYING CHRIST…

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. -Matthew 10:33

Best Regards

George
London Office