In the last 2 weeks, we mentioned that there are 4 milestones which we will be following throughout this series. Today, we continue to look at the first milestone at Gilgal.

The final stage of cutting the flesh at Gilgal is to deny our self-life to follow the Lord. Jesus gives us three steps.

Come, listen closely to Luke 9:23:

Then [Jesus]said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

• “Let him deny himself”

To deny ourselves is to be aware of the efforts of the old man, the sinful nature or the flesh to come back to life — and take action to prevent this. For instance, when we become envious and jealous, hypocritically condemn in others what is also in ourselves, forcefully assert our will or constantly put ourselves down. That is the old man trying to revive itself. The solution is not to beat ourselves up, return to condemnation or think that we cannot serve because we are unworthy. Rather, Paul’s advice is to “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

The explanation is found in Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

To deny the self-life is to consider our flesh or human nature as crucified, and ourselves as dead to sin. This means that in every situation and circumstance, we do not respond firstly in our sinful nature. Instead we count ourselves first as being in Christ and respond as He wants us to.

• “Take up his cross daily”

The cross is a cruel instrument of crucifixion and death. This is a reminder of the death of our self-life so that the life of Christ can be seen in us. To take up the cross daily is to submit to the ever-present intervention of God in our lives, and the discipline of the Holy Spirit. It is to let God deal with our life issues and shape our characters accordingly. This involves dealing with our daily trials, struggles and issues faced — such as unmet needs, unhealed hurts, difficult relationships and activities. It boils down to the struggle between our carnal nature and Christ in us. Jesus spoke of each one taking up “his” cross — not “each other’s’ crosses”. Our cross is not the cross of Christ. Only He can bear that cross — the sins of the world. We are not to compare crosses among ourselves, for our cross is not our brother’s nor our sister’s cross. Our own cross is always unique and personal.

Pastor Daniel Foo sees each person’s cross as the combination of people in that person’s life, and the circumstances he/she is in. These, and how we, as individuals, respond to them, are what mould us. Examples include our relationships with parents-in-law, children who constantly rebel and antagonise us, or even cell group members who constantly wear us down through criticism. The Lord allows these people and circumstances in our lives. The life of Christ is increased or manifested to the extent that our self-will, the ‘I-me-myself’ way of thinking, is decreased. God knows every struggle I face, and all I need to do is to invite Him into every circumstance. This is taking up my cross daily, and living by the grace of God in every circumstance. The time when I fail to take up the cross is the day, the moment and the situation when I lose my temper, fall into sin or get onto the performance treadmill to serve God. That is when we end up doing all the wrong things. If I take up my cross daily, with God’s help, I will not fall.

• “Follow Me”

Finally, the Lord calls us to yield to the Holy Spirit and to circumcise our hearts. As Paul explains in Romans 2:29:

… but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

True circumcision takes place in the heart. It is a spiritual surgery of allowing the Holy Spirit to cut away our hearts of flesh. The book of Acts speaks of Peter’s listeners being “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) which led to their salvation. As we resolve to daily take up the cross and follow the Lord, it will lead to our personal transformation. We will revere our calling as sons and daughters of God, and bask in the realization that we are completely forgiven, deeply loved, highly favoured and blessed with divine wisdom. We are priests and kings of the Most High God, and we are overcomers. If we do not revere our calling, we will trivialise it, minimising and mocking our calling by our words and lifestyle. In doing this, in a sense, we spit on our salvation that has been bought by the precious blood of Christ. To follow Jesus is also to submit to His Lordship. The word ‘Lord’ in Hebrew is Adonai, meaning ‘master’. If Jesus is our Master, we must obey and serve Him.

Gilgal is the first stop on the prophets’ road: it involves spiritual circumcision and the cutting of the flesh — our fallen human nature, which demands to direct our lives in place of God (Romans 7:14). At Gilgal, we cut away the flesh by first coming to true brokenness and repentance. We bring our past under the blood of Christ, and seek His cleansing and forgiveness. We then appropriate the divine exchange, where we acknowledge that Christ has already paid the price for our sins. As we place our past and ourselves before the Lord, in exchange we will receive the righteousness, grace and provision made available through His death. Finally, cutting the flesh involves the action of denying the self-life (Luke 9:23), where we consider our flesh crucified and ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6:4). We take up our cross daily and follow Him. In summary, Gilgal is to put off the old man and put on the new man. This is an intentional and deliberate act which we must constantly engage in, all the time. As we cut the flesh, God will lift our reproach, giving us the confidence and boldness to come into the presence of God. This boldness is based not upon ourselves but in Christ, because He has paid the highest price (Hebrews 10:19).

What aspect of the flesh is holding us back from experiencing God? If we are constantly stumbled by or plagued with problems in the area of relationships, finances, marriage, work or family, perhaps some aspect of our flesh is not dealt with. If there is no cutting of the flesh in our lives, we will constantly be struggling — because the flesh blocks the working out of God’s grace in our lives. Cutting the flesh is to progress from carnality to spirituality, where our lives are yielded and directed by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16). The focus shifts from self to God who enables and empowers us. We move from being sin-conscious to being God-conscious. It is as we move from carnality to spirituality that we are ready for a direct encounter with God Himself at Bethel.

As you journey through Gilgal, what aspects of the flesh are holding you back from experiencing God? How can you become less sin-conscious and more God-conscious? In our next episode, we’ll explore the second milestone – Bethel.

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