Die to Self!

24"I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest." (John 12:24)

 

Dying to self daily is what Paul spoke of so often. It is how we walk in the "Spirit" and not in the "flesh" as we are instructed in Romans 8 and Galatians 5. The whole issue of dying to self daily is the absolute key to living a victorious life in Christ. It literally means that you have to die to self DAILY! This is why so many people who are saved, love the Lord, live beneath their blessings and in constant turmoil. This is how people who know Christ as their Savior end up committing adultery, cheat people, lie, get in bondage to drugs, alcohol, food, sex, gambling, shopping, greed, and anything else people become enslaved to. They don't die to self each day and end up walking in the "flesh" and NOT the "Spirit." Maybe you are wondering how you could be raising your hands to Jesus, speaking in tongues, and being used by God to touch lives one day, and sinning against God the next. The answer is when you fail to die to self each day; you are walking in the "flesh," not the "Spirit."

 

Jesus speaking to his disciples, he was telling them about his forthcoming death but amidst the multitudes, the bible tells us that there were some Greeks who had come to worship at the festival and Jesus knowing that they wouldn't and they knew not the mission of Jesus, He spoke to them in a parable and He spoke to them about the Seed. Jesus was a seed that God sent to the earth that needed to die, so that it could reproduce more fruits of itself. We all know the principle of planting seeds, germination, growth, multiplication and harvest and you and I are one of the fruits that the death of Jesus on the cross bore. We too know about seed and harvest time... and Jesus being the seed, his mission was to die on the cross, be buried (as the seed is buried on the soil) and resurrect with increase of souls which were saved. This is evident in the book of Matthew where he records that when Jesus rose from the dead, saints who had died were seen ascending to heaven.

 

What am I saying? If Jesus didn’t die on the cross, we wouldn’t be saved, we wouldn’t attain our salvation. Jesus said... ‘if a seed doesn’t die, it remains SINGLE... but once it dies, it replicates itself...” and because of the death of Jesus, we are saved and called Christians which means "Christ-like' When a seed dies, it replicates itself meaning that the outcome of the seed resembles the seed that died. And when you and I accepted Christ into our hearts, the same DNA that was in Jesus is in you and me today. That is, the power to multiply, increase and have more "Christ-like" people in this earth... but this will not happen till we die to self. We are so filled with selfishness and we do not want to release ourselves to die so that we can be a blessing to someone else. We are called to be a blessing to each other. This can only come if we die to self Jesus continues in vs. 26 and says… "Whoever loves his life will lose it, but who ever loses his life will gain it” Are you ready to lose or to gain your life?

 

Get your 'self' out of the way so God can work! “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30) John the Baptist was talking about Jesus. At first glance, you may think he is talking about their respective popularity or ministries. He may have. But it must also happen in our individual lives. Jesus must increase in our lives and worldly thoughts that we have must decrease. You must know that our wants and desires as fleshly people are directly contrary to God's desires  and In order for your spirit to grow, it must become unencumbered by your flesh and soul (Mind, will, emotions).

 

The question that needs to be addressed today is HOW does a person "die to self?" The first step is an action, something that you must do. Dying to self is a conscious choice that you must make, one nobody can make for you. It is the act of surrendering your life completely to Christ. The reason why God's word talks about dying to self DAILY is because it is something that we must do each and every day. Our life with Christ is not for an hour or two on Sunday, but literally 24/7. It is critical to make the choice to die to self each and every day. When we get saved, we not only ask Christ into our heart and life by faith, but we give our very lives to Him. In dying to self each day, we are reaffirming that our life doesn't belong to us any longer, it is His.

 

As you surrender your life afresh to Christ at the start of each day, you are allowing your life to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and not by your flesh. It is no longer you but God that is in complete control of your life. You have traded in your thoughts and desires for God's thoughts and desires. It is not YOU that is living; it is Christ living in you as Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20. All of the benefits in God's word exist and are available to those who believe, but there is a price to pay and that price is our very life surrendered, yielded to the Lord. It is a choice, an act that nobody can force you to commit.

Spiritual maturity will happen or be evident as a result of removing the obstacles between you and God. Just like when you were a kid, no conscious effort could make you grow one inch; you eat right, get exercise, and growth happens; same with your spirit. With spiritual growth, as with a healthy body, there are things you need to eat and there are things you must stop eating. The spiritual things you need to 'eat' are many. The basic food groups are: study your Bible, fellowship with other Christians, and be helpful and charitable. In other words, live as godly a life as God give you the grace.

 

Major things to get rid of (with God's help and guidance. You cannot do it alone):

a)    Flesh must die: Dying to self is not physical death. You must consider yourself dead to your flesh. If you are thinking about fleshly things - things of this world - you are not thinking about God. Jesus said that in order to follow Him, we must deny our flesh, and take up your cross daily. (Matthew 16:24)

 

b)    Rebellion or Disobedience: Follow your conscience. If you know something is wrong, don't do it. But remember to het guidance from God through the Holy Spirit. The bible reminds us that “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

 

c)    Deliberate Sin: This is the most commonly recognized block to God. (Colossians 2:21) God cannot look upon sin. Sin is forgivable though if you are repentant (sorry for what you have done and turn from that activity) but that doesn’t give you a license to keep on sinning. God's grace is not a license to sin, but a way out. Accept it and He will remove not only the sin, but even the very desire. It is awesome. An old sage once said; a clear conscience is the softest pillow.

 

d)   Resentments and Un-forgiveness: A mind that is thinking about how badly they were treated is not thinking about God (God is very polite. He will not yell and scream in your face.) Forgive the wrongs others have done to you. Even if they are not sorry they did it. Resentments only do you harm. I've heard it said that un-forgiveness is like taking poison hoping the other person will die. It's that important. How to forgive? Pray for the other person. Not just some generic prayer for their well-being; but pray that they get all the good things that you wish for yourself. After a few weeks, or even month or so, you will begin to truly feel like you want good things to happen to them. It really works. Also, thinking upon all the things you have been forgiven for is a big help.

 

e)    Fear: The opposite of fear is not courage. Courage is doing what needs to be done even when you are afraid. The opposite of fear is faith. If you have faith in almighty God, what can there possibly be to be afraid of?

 

f)     Guilty Feelings: Confess your sins, and Jesus is just to forgive. (1 John 1:9) if you have confessed your sins and have turned form that sin, and still feel guilty, it is probably just the devil trying to steal your peace. Just keep reminding yourself (out loud is best) that you are forgiven by the blood of Jesus, and it will go away over time.

 

Brethren, in few words, I am saying; let’s die to self. Some things which are stumbling blocks in our lives exist because we have not died to self. We ought to be willing to offer ourselves. Paul said, "Put to death the deeds of the flesh' Colossians 3:5. These deeds are what make us not yield to God and these block our blessings! Once you have died, you replicate yourself and above all, you live in the spirit and you will be able to say like Paul Said... “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me.” Choose to die to self today and rise up to be a blessing to many others! The key to living a victorious life in Christ lies in you waking up each morning and making the conscious choice to die to self and allow Christ to control your life. If we don't do this each and every day when we wake up, we will soon find ourselves walking in the "flesh" and not the "Spirit." This is a season of becoming a blessing to others, being the change that you want to see in someone's life...

 

Amen!