Why We Rather Deny The Cross Than Deny Ourselves?

One of the saddest confusions in spiritual formation is to take “denying ourselves” to mean “rejecting ourselves”. We do not reject our position in Christ and who we are in the kingdom of God. However, we do need to get “ourselves” and our will and personal agenda out of the way, so that Jesus can show us His will and agenda.

Let’s explore further the deeper meaning of “denying ourselves” by looking at Luke 9:23-27:

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The two requirements that Jesus has made clear for all His disciples – the first is to deny themselves and the second is to carry their own cross. The idea of discipleship becomes blatantly clear – Jesus did not die on the cross so that we can just go to heaven. Going to heaven is already a guaranteed notion and it did not come at the instant moment that we were saved. There is another aspect that we may have to learn and that is Jesus died on the cross so that while we are living here on earth, we have the opportunity to learn how to die to ourselves.

THE CALL TO DIE TO SELF
Even though we have been justified by the death and resurrection of Christ, there is still the sanctification or transforming process that the Holy Spirit has to work within our lives. God accepted us as who we were before we were born again but He does not want us to remain in our old carnal selves. He wants us to be like His Son, Jesus Christ. He wants to get rid of our selfishness, self-centeredness, and self-focus, and so He said to take up the cross and not just one time but to take it up daily. God is actually asking us to lose our life permanently for the sake of the gospel. Just as Deitrich Bonhoeffer in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

Like most believers, I am much happier to preach “how to deny the cross” not “how to deny myself”. I prefer to pick myself up daily instead of picking up the cross. It is hard to follow the instruction of Jesus to deny myself and pick up the cross because I like myself too much. However, taking up my cross daily is the message that I need to hear and you need to hear because it is the most important message from the Lord.

There is seldom a big moment whereby we will be martyred like Peter being crucified upside down or like Paul who had his head cut off. For most of us, it is not that one big moment of being a martyr for Christ. It is more like every day, every moment, every action that we do, every conversation, every discussion. It is our entire life, that we must choose whether we would deny ourselves or that we would deny our cross.

WE DON’T LIKE THE CROSS
The chances are that we would very naturally deny the cross. We don’t like the cross because we don’t like to die to ourselves. I am writing from real-life experience, and I think you can identify with me. And so, the decision that I am going to make for myself is a moment-by-moment decision. As I begin to focus on the moment and live for the “now” and that means that I am very aware of the presence of God, then all these little moments when I add them up, become my whole life. So, for us to have a spiritual life, we must take care of the little moments. And by carrying our cross in those little moments, we are learning to walk towards the heart of God, learning to become like His Son, Jesus Christ.

How do we know that we are really denying ourselves? We do so by listening to what we are saying and how we are speaking. If we talk a lot about our successes, achievements, glories, and trophies then it is obvious that we are carrying “ourselves” and not the “cross”. Once we focus upon Christ, we have begun the process of denying ourselves. The very moment, we drop this burden of carrying “ourselves”, we can then carry the cross. As in Matthew 6:24, Jesus said that no man can serve two masters. We have to hate one and love the other – so as long as we are carrying “ourselves”, we will hate the “cross”.

HANDING-OVER PRAYER
Even though in some unguarded moments, we may fail to deny ourselves and carry the cross, the Holy Spirit will remind us to do so. We may react to some unhappy events, have certain unhealthy conversations that will trigger our anger, stir our bitterness and drive us to the cliff of hatred. In those moments, the still small voice of the Holy Spirit will speak and guide us back to the cross.

That is why we recommend “Handing-over prayer“. It is a good praying approach as you learn how to embrace all the hurts of criticism and then gently hand them over to Jesus. You are saying to the Lord, “Your will be done”. You are learning to deny yourself the right to be angry or upset with another person. The Holy Spirit will encourage you, “I want you to release that bitterness to the Lord because you don’t have the capacity to hold this bitterness; keep this hatred; sustain this jealousy or carry this envy; you have to hand over.”

What a privilege to have the Holy Spirit guiding us at all times. Here is a message by Rev Albert Kang that may help you in your spiritual journey of transformation.

Part 5 – Why Some Are Healed And Others Are Not? [The Belief That Miracles Have Ceased]

A Lutheran missionary to Cambodia visited me in Phnom Penh to ask for some advice about casting out demons. He did not know what to do with a demon-possessed person in his congregation at Siem Reap. He said he was never taught how to cast out demons during his missionary training. After showing him how to use his God-given authority and power to cast out evil spirits, he went back to do so by faith. After a week or so, he returned and happily informed me that he had successfully cast out the evil spirits from the afflicted person. My question to this missionary was why did his organization send him to Cambodia without teaching him how to engage the enemy. Did they really think that there would be no demonic activities in the mission field? No wonder, we read about “defeated” missionaries returning home totally discouraged and disillusioned.

Do we really have a correct understanding of what ministry and mission is all about? Have we been hoodwinked into thinking that we can just hide in a little corner and do our little ministry peacefully while the whole world is powerless in the face of an evil onslaught? So, can we can cast out demons or not? Can we heal the sick in the mighty name of Jesus or not? Can we do what Jesus did or not? Is the Church empowered to confront the enemy or not?

CAN WE HEAL THE SICK?
A pastor from the Philippines warned me not to say that we, the disciples of Christ, can heal the sick in the name of Jesus. His belief was that only Jesus can heal and that we are all powerless except by praying to Jesus to do the work. Now, this pastor has changed his approach and is healing the infirm in the mighty name of Jesus. Why? Because right at the airport, I ministered healing to his injured legs and he walked without pain. Then I showed him Luke 9:1-2.

 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

That was the convincing factor for him – the Lord had given power and authority to His disciples so that they could do what He did. And that applies to all modern disciples too. The Filipino pastor believed and applied the kingly authority accordingly. Now his ministry is not only with powerful preaching of God’s Word but is confirmed with signs and wonders. This is in accordance with what Jesus said in John 14:12

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. 

By simply believing what Jesus has promised, my life and ministry have been thoroughly transformed too. From the early years of my ministry as a Pastor, I prayed to Jesus and asked Him to heal the sick, if I remember correctly only 10 people were healed. Since, learning from Pastor William Lau of The Elijah Challenge in 2005, of not asking Jesus to be the servant and do the work of healing, instead, I became the servant and dId the healing in the mighty name of Jesus, more than 10,000 people have been healed.

HAVE MIRACLES CEASED?
Today, some churches believe that miracles have ceased in spite of much evidence and testimonies of unexplained instant healing cases reported not only from the churches but in news portals and various social media channels. The anti-miracles Christians explain all these away as false miracles and call them “lying wonders.” They based their understanding on 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. This portion says that Satan will deceive people who do not love the truth by using signs and lying wonders. They also refer to Revelation 13:13 that describes the false prophet as having the ability to cause supernatural fire to come down from heaven.

Then they invoke the serious warning from Jesus found in Matthew 7:21-22, misquoting this portion to mean the Lord is against all so-called prophets. However, a closer examination of the scriptural context reveals that the Lord had already identified the false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20. And He had indicated that the way to recognize true or false prophets is by identifying their fruits. So, this portion can hardly be used as biblical proof that miracles have ceased and that anyone ministering in signs and wonders is a false prophet.

DID MIRACLES CEASE AFTER THE WRITING OF THE NEW TESTAMENT?
Another reason that some churches give as to why God performed healing miracles only in the past is that those incidents were primarily for the purpose of writing the New Testament. Since that task has already been completed, miracles should cease by now. For the same reason, not only miracles have ceased but the spiritual gifts, particularly speaking in tongues and prophesying, have also ceased. Their favorite supporting verses are found in 1 Corinthians 13:8-10.

Let us read verse 10: “But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.” (NKJV) or in the NIV translation: “But when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.”

They have taken the Greek word, “tevleio” which means “completion” to refer to the “Completion of the Bible” as written words of God rather than the “Completion of the Age.” Did Paul actually write about the completion of the Bible or was he referring to something else?

The context of this scriptural portion has no indication that Paul even had the “Completion of the Bible” in mind when he wrote to the Corinthian Christians. In fact, Paul did not even realize that God would use his epistles to become an integral part of the New Testament. How could he write something that he had no idea at all? How could he add an idea that was outside the context of his explanation?

WHAT IS THE CORRECT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION?
A good basic rule that governs biblical interpretation is that the Bible should never be interpreted to say what it never did say. Why then is this traditional argument that depicts the “Completion of the Bible” as the reason for the cessation of healing miracles accepted by most Evangelical believers? Could it be due to the lack of miracles in their churches that have forced them to find an excuse?

It seems that once a certain theory is repeated long enough, it is then believed to become synonymous with Biblical Truth.

Today, most believers are aware of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The time for obedience is even more critical because there is still much work to be done. Jesus is very concerned about our obedience: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

Doing what Jesus instructed is crucial not only to our spiritual growth but to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We cannot choose to obey only portions of His instruction and be effective. There must be a reason why the Commander-in-chief has instructed us in such a way and also given us the Kingly Authority to encounter the evil one. Soldiers must submit to the Commander-in-chief and do what He desires. To obey only when it is convenient is not the correct attitude of a faithful kingdom warrior. Let’s respond to the Commander-in-chief and march according to the order of the heavenly herald. To victory in the mighty name of Jesus.

Here is my recent video message on YouTube of why some people are healed and some are not:

Dead Woman Raised To Life

In 2015, we conducted a five-day Healing Encounter Ministry (HEM) Training Seminar in Bandung Trade Center, Bandung, Indonesia. Among the seminar trainers was an Indonesian minister, Pastor Elijah (This is not his actual name. To protect these brothers and sisters who are ministering in very sensitive areas of Indonesia, their real names are not used in this article) who was trained by Pastor William Lau, the founder of The Elijah Challenge International. Pastor Elijah was used by the Lord to initiate the raising of a young woman from the dead. Our seminar participants had the privilege of meeting this young believer, Rene, and here is the story of her resurrection.

Pastor Elijah prayed for Pastor Albert and Pastor Grace at the Healing Encounter Ministry (HEM) Training Seminar in Bandung.

Since her conversion, Rene was very faithful in attending church in Bandung. However, as she felt that age was catching up with her, she hurriedly got married but to an unbeliever. In her new role as a wife, she became too busy and subsequently, she stopped attending church completely. Pastor Elijah was her pastor and he felt sad that he could not get her back to church. Moreover, Rene had moved away to a village far away from his church.

Two years later, Pastor Elijah received the bad news that Rene was extremely ill. She had developed a cancerous cyst in her womb and it had burst. Her relatives rushed her to Immanuel Hospital in Bandung – a two-hour drive from her village. By the time, she arrived, her body was badly dehydrated as she had not been able to drink water for ten days. After the medical examination, the diagnosis of her ruptured ovarian cyst was not good. The medical team felt that they could not do anything to help her and told the family to give her the best comfort at home and get ready for her funeral as she would die very soon.

The two-hour drive back to the village was excruciating for Rene who was in extreme pain. Apparently, the infection had spread and her emaciated body could hold on longer. She promptly passed away at around 5:00 PM. According to her husband’s religion, she was to be buried as soon as possible. As the relatives prepared her dead body for the burial ceremony, Rene shared later that at that moment, her spirit was moving through a very dark tunnel.

When Pastor Elijah received the news of Rene’s death, his spirit was very troubled. He told us that he was very “unsatisfied” with this outcome. He immediately prayed to the Lord and received a stunning instruction from on high. He was to raise Rene from the dead and at a distance. Human reasoning started to bring doubt into his mind but he overwhelmed it by what he had learned from Pastor William Lau through The Elijah Challenge. He had heard from the Lord and he was to activate his mountain-moving faith to raise the dead. And he was to do it with “distance healing” through the kingly authority given to him by the Lord.

Pastor Elijah telephoned one of his Christian elders who lived in that village to visit Rene. He told this elder to “wake” Rene up so as to meet him at Immanuel Hospital in Bandung. The elder was puzzled at the request. He told his pastor in no uncertain terms, “Rene is dead”. He continued to explain that he was a little busy collecting funds for Rene’s funeral. Pastor Elijah assured him that he understood that Rene had died and that was why he was requesting the elder and his wife to go and raise Rene up on his behalf.

During the training seminar, we met up with this elder and his wife. We asked him why did he and his wife simply obey and go. The humble brother said that because he considered himself a soldier in the kingdom of God and when God’s pastor gave him an order, he had to obey. And so without a doubt, the elder and his wife rushed to Rene’s house. The elder’s wife managed to get in to see Rene’s body. All the mourners were around the body, chanting their prayer and they were wondering what this woman was going to do with the dead body. With mountain-moving faith, the elder’s wife took Rene’s hand and commanded, “Rene, get up in the name of Jesus!” The power and authority of God began to flow into Rene and she started to move her fingers. Then Rene opened her eyes to the great surprise of all the mourners. The Elder’s wife told Rena, “You have to meet Pastor Elijah at Immanuel Hospital.”

The village was in commotion. They had never seen or heard of anyone being raised from the dead. As the relatives drove Rene to meet Pastor Elijah, almost all the villagers followed them in their own vehicles. Pastor Elijah was surprised to see so many villagers at the hospital. The medical team examined Rene and found her to be very much alive and all she needed was hydration by means of intravenous solution. The next day, Rene was able to leave the hospital because the medical team had discovered that the ovarian cyst had miraculously vanished and the infection was gone. This was a double-miracle. After being raised from the dead, the Lord had also given her a clean bill of health.

When we met Rene at the training seminar, it was already three years since her resurrection from the dead. Today, our dear sister is living in good health, and the best of all is that she has become a dedicated handmaiden of the Lord. Her resurrection had also caused the people from the other religion to respond positively to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the last count, there were more than 2,700 people who gave their lives to Jesus Christ because of this incident. All glory to Jesus.

We thank God for Pastor Elijah who received a prompting of the Holy Spirit and was willing to take this step of mountain-moving faith. Here is a sermon that will encourage your faith to expect great things from God.