Self

Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

It is a curious thing that one of the first things the Lord requires us to deny, if we intend to follow Him, is self. I can see why He would say that. There is no way to follow Jesus without first being one with Him. Your soul must be joined with His Spirit, and His Spirit must reside in your body. You follow Jesus by allowing the life you live to be by the Faith of the Son of God.

Self is the enemy of oneness. When there is any regard for self, there is disregard for your true identity in Christ Jesus. The truth is, when we received the Holy Ghost, everything about us was given over to God. We gave Him our lives, which He bought with a price. Yes, He purchased every aspect of us – this includes our ‘selves’.

Self is what He took and buried in His Spirit, thus creating a new creature in Christ Jesus. Henceforth, our identity should only be Christ. We should always give Christ free access to our bodies to live the life He deems fit. This is our oneness manifested.

What are the things we identify with? Is it what our parents taught us? Our culture? Our race or society? The truth is, if we identify with anything other than Christ, we have failed to manifest our salvation.

Galatians 3:26-28

26. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Pause for a moment and consider the scripture above. According to the flesh, the members of the Body of Christ unequivocally differ. Note however, that the scripture says that in Christ, these differences do not exist. This is because in the Spirit we are all the same. We are all one in Christ. It means we should never for a moment see the sons of God after the flesh – this is also true when we are examining our own selves.

To be plain, self is an identifying factor. It makes one unique or recognizable. It makes one stand out among the rest. However, is this the heart and mind of God for His Church?

Ephesians 2:14-15

14. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

This reminds me of Jesus’ prayer when He asked the Father to make the church one! God answered that prayer. However, consider the extent to which Jesus went to ensure that the Church became one. He died on the cross, a terrible death, so that we all could be a part of the same Body. All souls (selves) are placed in one Spirit; thus, removing the uniqueness.

He broke down the middle wall of partition between us. A wall is that which separates or that which creates enmity – that middle wall is self. God took us all and baptized us into the same Spirit. This would ensure that we all have the same mind, purpose, heart and love for one another. However, if we build that wall again, we will no longer see each other after the Spirit, but as threats to our personal agenda.

There is no recognition of self without having selfish agenda. Selfishness becomes the drive that motivates action. Where there is self . . . there is comparison, envy, strife, and dissimulation of love. It will cause us to move from the agenda of Christ and create our own. This is followed by a personal analysis of the individuals in your territorial sphere of influence whether they are for your agenda or not. If they are, they will be treated with care, but if they are not, with venom.

As leaders we must walk in self-denial. We cannot disciple the flock to somewhere we are not. We must disciple with our lives. Whether we believe it or not, the sheep will follow what we do more than what we say. This is extremely important to understand, because if we are not careful, we could be building a selfish attitude in the hearts of those we lead.

We must manifest the love of God for all saints and be proof of the mystery of Christ. We must totally disregard self, because a regard for self is a disregard for Christ.

SELF-PITY – THE GREAT SERPENT

I was in fellowship one day and the Lord showed me a vision. I saw a young man being squeezed to death by a huge snake. The snake had wrapped his body around the individual numerous times, and it seemed as if it was impossible for the young man to escape. It was obvious that the young man had a great fear of death, however, he was not afraid of the snake. This did not stop the snake from tightening its hold on the young man. When I looked at the snake it seemed so relaxed and calm, almost as if it was a loving friend of the man. Similarly, when I looked at the young man, though he knew he was dying, he never tried to fight or get away from the snake.

When I came out of the vision the Lord revealed to me that the snake represented self-pity. For the first time in my life I saw self-pity through the eyes of God. Shortly after, He began to break down its operation, and to reveal the great evil that it is.

I found it interesting that the snake was so familiar with the young man, but I realized that this was a reality concerning self-pity. It is an operation that so many saints walk in, but they do not realize the danger they are in. They do not realize the evil intent of the devil ultimately is to sear their conscience.

Immediately before the vision, my mind was on the leaders God has allowed my life to impact. I was asking the Father, what it is that keeps some leaders stuck in unrighteousness even though they know the truth and can deliver themselves. What keeps them stuck in an unrepentant state?

The Lord responded to me:

Many are sorrowful because I have not allowed their selfish agenda to be successful, while others have deemed themselves useless and sorrow because of it. However, both are rebellious, because they refuse to obey the words I have spoken to them. They reject My words and would rather pity themselves than obey them. It is satanic to sorrow over obedience. Their lack of trust for me has been even as spit in My face. They have sought their own means of satisfaction.

The truth is there is no way to pity self without first being selfish. One must totally deny the purpose of Jesus Christ in their lives to do so. Self-pity justifies a person in their wrong, rather than encourages repentance. Self-pity encourages selfish agendas and serves as a platform for the devil to further compound the necessity of that agenda.

REBELLION

In order to enter into self-pity, one must have already undergone rebellion. Let us not forget that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft! What is it that the Father required from you and you hardened your heart to it? What is it that He has asked you to do and you refused to do? What is it that He has said to you and you do not believe? Let us not forget that for a son of God, sin is performed by choice. In the Spirit is righteousness, peace and joy; so, if one has moved to self-pity, they must have denied the Spirit first.

ENCOURAGED IN REBELLION

Self-pity is a sermon to self that encourages you in your rebellion. It causes you to believe that your rebellion is fair. It hardens the heart to the voice of God and it compounds your rebellion. It then motivates you to act upon your rebellion, by doing other sins, or simply ensuring that your agenda is realized.

In doing this, there is a total disregard for the individuals involved. It no longer matters if Christ is seen or not. All that matters is that you are justified in your eyes. You will tear down who you need to tear down. Believe what you want to believe. Do anything that gives you a sense of security. However, all this is powerless against the Word of God that is constantly going to manifest in your heart, rebuking your actions. Nevertheless, one can choose to rebel even the more and hold onto self-pity.

SATISFACTION IN NON-REPENTANCE

In truth, self-pity never leads you to repentance. It steals your joy and builds pride in the heart. One can operate in self-pity so long that they become callus to the Word of God - it will no longer have a convicting effect. They will become able to pursue their agenda without fear. Things that were once secret in the heart are now publicly acted upon. Manipulative words are spoken without any regard for the Holy Ghost. These things simply set us in position for judgment and a searing of the conscience.

This is a sad reality because many saints of God today operate in self-pity – even leaders. When what others send our way does not match our image of ourselves it causes discontentment in the heart. When we think more highly of self, we are subject to be abased. God is sure to establish circumstances that will sorrow the heart, but this is for the salvation of your soul. The key is to agree with God and obey Him.

Now is the time for the church to rise. Let us wipe selfishness from our lives. Instead of delaying obedience, let us obey. Let us believe instead of pity. We are who God says we are, and God has called us to walk in that reality. Do not forsake your ministry, holding onto a private agenda. Instead glorify God by choosing to fellowship in the sufferings of Christ.