“The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrants. The decline of the knowledge of the holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them” (A. W. Tozer).
People and churches are either seeking themselves or they are seeking God. Our own honor is a very tempting morsel that is dangled in front of us on a continual basis. But one cannot follow Christ and self. One cannot seek the glory of God and the rediscovery of the majesty of God and seek self at the same time. It takes self-denial to follow Christ and seek God. The denial of self is not what it is normally thought; it is the very denial of self as the center and core of all that I do. Christ has set out in the clearest of terms that men must deny themselves if they are going to follow Him. The Church, therefore, consists of those who deny self and only those who deny self. When the Church (visible) is seen to be lovers of self and follow after the ways and honor of self, it has clearly lost the vision of following Christ. When the Church is greedy for money and prestige in the world while it is fighting and quarreling within itself, we can know that it has lost sight of the majesty of the living God.
“Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 “Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” (Luke 14:25-33).
We must notice from this passage that large crowds were going along with Jesus. Instead of tickling their ears and treating them as the center of the universe, He turned to them and gave out some very strong teaching. Why did Jesus do this? Didn’t He know that these people could make or break His ministry? Didn’t He know that the money purse was getting low and He needed these people to support Him? Didn’t He know that we are to speak easy with people and not run them off? Didn’t He know that He had a product to sell and that these people were the consumers and He needed to package His product better? Instead of all that nonsense, Jesus knew what it took to be a disciple of His. He knew that an easy message would not turn these people from following self to be a real disciple of His, so He told them the truth. Jesus taught and preached what was good for the souls of the listeners and not necessarily what they wanted to hear.
Jesus told these people to count the cost. He told them what it would take to be a true follower of His. A person must be prepared to hate the dearest people in his life and even his own life if he is going to be a disciple. Surely, some might say, Jesus did not mean that literally. But Jesus was very clear in that a person cannot be His disciple if he does not do those things. He did not say that it would be hard, but that a person cannot be His disciple if he will not do this. He went on to say that if a person is not willing to take up his cross and follow Him that he “cannot be My disciple.” Jesus then tells the huge crowds to count the cost. Then, speaking directly to the crowd, “none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” What would Jesus say to the masses in the mega-churches today? Would He have the same message that got the people there in the first place? It seems to me that giving up all of one’s possessions is the opposite of the prosperity message so prevalent today. It seems that hating your life is the opposite of the message to love yourself that is heard so much today.
If the Church is to rediscover the majesty of God today, it must learn the message of Jesus Christ. No one has seen the majesty of God who is still enthralled with self. The message of self-denial must ring out in the churches in this land or men will seek the world and religion out of self-love. If the Church continues to preach and teach its self-centered and ear tickling messages, it will continue on without the majesty of God. But if the Church desires God in His majesty to be present, then it must begin to see itself and its selfishness with abhorrence. Self-denial is an absolute must since God’s majesty is not seen when man is caught up with his own majesty and self-worth.
God Loves... Himself 
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