Life and Death and Resurrection of self

Resolution is something you may or may not do.

Resolve is a determination.

“But the Lord God helps me; therefore, I have not been disgraced; therefore, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭50‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Flint is a hard stone, and it represents determination during hard times. Like Jesus who lived with rejection and persecution, arrested, questioned, beaten, crucified and yet he was fixed on completing his purpose.

“I am not Jesus how can I be like him?”

Matthew 11:28-30 THE MESSAGE

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Yoke - a wooden crosspiece that is placed and fixed over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull.

Matthew 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, (convert), and when he becomes a proselyte, (convert), you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

UNHOLY TRINITY

1. They taught about God but did not love God – they did not enter the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor did they let others enter.

2. They preached God but converted people to dead religion.

3. They taught the law but did not practice some of the most important parts of the law – justice, mercy, faithfulness to God. They obeyed the minutiae of the law such as tithing spices, but not the weightier matters of the law.

4. They presented an appearance of being 'clean' (self-restrained, not involved in carnal matters), but they were dirty inside: they seethed with hidden worldly desires, carnality. They were full of greed and self-indulgence.

5. They exhibited themselves as righteous on account of being scrupulous keepers of the law but were, in fact, not righteous: their mask of righteousness hid a secret inner world of ungodly thoughts and feelings. They were full of wickedness. They were like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but full of dead men's bones.

Why the Woe?

exclamation of grief, indictment and means great sorrow or distress from God.

The woes criticize the Pharisees for hypocrisy and perjury and illustrate the differences between inner and outer moral states.

Matthew 16:24,25

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

How Do I Deny Myself and Take Up My Cross Daily?

1. By surrendering fully to the Lord daily.

2. By daily imitating Christ.

3. By daily sacrificing for others.

4. By loving others.

5. By breaking away from sin.

6. By spending quality fellowship time with God in prayer and reading His word.