Starting with the natural, our planet, the earth, orbits around the sun because of the gravitational pull of the sun and the speed of the earth traveling in space.  In the above illustration, one's life may orbit around SELF because of the pull of SELF upon one's life as it travels through time.

    When SELF is on the throne in your life, everything evolves around self.  We can see a vivid example of this in the description of the Lucifer who is the devil.  "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:   I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14).  The pronoun "I" is used five times.  You may also note that he said it in his heart.  The thoughts in the heart is where the problems begin.

    We can also see another good example of this with king Nebuchadnezzar.  "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30).    Here we see the pronouns "I" and "my" used.   The kingdom of self is centered in pronouns of "I", "me", and "my".

    The orbit around self is manifested today in:

1. My business.
2. My associates.
3. My interests.
4. What I have accomplished.
5. My dreams.
6. My goals.
7. My rights.
8. My freedoms.
9. My music.
10. My friends.
11. My possessions (my car or my house).
12. My family.
13. My feelings or my wounds.
14. My past.
15. My experience.
16. My successes.

    There is often a war from within.  We fight for our rights.  There is anger when "My right to _______ " is threatened or removed from us.  Bitterness, revenge, guilt, and depression usually follow the anger. We sometimes say that a person has become "Irate".  The word starts with the pronoun "I".  The person "rates" himself above everyone else.  In more extreme cases, there may be thoughts of suicide or even attempts of suicide.

    The is only one way to truly break this cycle and that is by Putting Self On The Cross.

1. One must have a broken spirit and contrite heart.

  "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise"
 (Psalms 51:17).  This means that one has come to the end of self.

"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:10).

"And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand"  (Exodus 4:2-4).

When he picked up the rod by direction of God it became the power and authority of God in his hand. Note: it was no longer Mose's rod, it became the rod of God.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

Note three D's:  destitution, detached from self, but dependent upon God.  One must walk through these three d's before he can enter into kingdom living.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" (John 12:24-25).

The Greek word translated "life" could be translated "SELF".

"And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:34-35).

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.    And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.    Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.  And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.  And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.  And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.  And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen"  (Genesis 22:1-14).

"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin"  (Romans 6:6).

Notice: Here we can see self as the "old man" which must be crucified with Christ.  Why? So that the body of sin (that which pertains to self) might be destroyed, so that we have victory over sin.

"It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him" (II Timothy 2:11).

Again, death must come before resurrection.

"For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh"  (II Corinthians 4:11).

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:8).

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world" (I Peter 5:7-9).

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved"  (Psalms 55:22).

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it" (Jeremiah 18:1-4).

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Holding on to self wears us out and destroys our mental, emotional, and physical health.  It also destroys our relations with others.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it" (Luke 17:33).

"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head" (Mark 14:3).

OVERVIEW:

1. God is ultimate control.

"See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

2. God destroys but restores life.

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.    After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.    Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth"  (Hosea 6:1-3).

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"  (Romans 6:23).

1. To purge our conscience from dead works that we may serve Christ.

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"  (Hebrews 9:14).

 2. To be free from sin to become in life servants of righteousness.

"But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you"  (Romans 6:17).

1. In Adam all die, in Christ all are made alive.

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive"  (I Corinthians 15:22).

2. Life is given based upon God's Word.

"My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word"  (Psalms 119:25).

"I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word"  (Psalms 119:107).

3. It only occurs by the work of Spirit of God.

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you"  (Romans 8:11).

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit"  (I Peter 3:18).

4. The words of Jesus are spirit and life.

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"  (John 6:63).

5. We are to conclude ourselves dead to sin, but alive unto God.

"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord"  (Romans 6:11).

6. We are to take off the old man and put on the new man.

"That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;    And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;    And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.    Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.    Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:    Neither give place to the devil"  (Ephesians 4:22-27).

7. We must be willing to forsake all.

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33).

1. Nebuchadnezzar.

"And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation"  (Daniel 4:34).

a. He lifted up his eyes to heaven (had to take his eyes off himself).
b. He blessed the LORD.
c. He praised the LORD.

2. Jonah (In the belly of the fish, Jonah's soul fainted).

"When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.  They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD" (Jonah 2:7-9).

a. He made a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
b. He committed himself (at least in part) to pay the vow.
c. He declared "Salvation is of the LORD" an expression of praise.

3. Job.

"I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee"  (Job 42:2).   "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes"  (Job 42:6).   "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before"  (Job 42:10).

a. He Magnified the LORD.
b. He repented. (Did an "about face".)
c. He prayed for his friends.

4. The prodigal son.

"And he said, A certain man had two sons:    And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.    And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.    And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.    And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.    And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.    And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!    I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,    And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.    And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.    And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.    But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:    And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:    For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.    Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.    And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.    And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.    And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.    And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:    But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.    And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.    It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found" (Luke 15:11-32).

a. The son come to himself.
b. The son humbled himself to serve.
c. The Father exalted him and invited him to make merry and be glad.

5.  Paul

"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:    Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;    Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.    But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.    Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,    And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith"  (Philippians 3:4-9).

1. Acknowledge God's work in the affliction.

"All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15).

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).

2. Understand that God continues to work within the life of the Believer.

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ"  (Philippians 1:6).

3. Understand the God works all things together for the Believers' good.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose"  (Romans 8:28).

4. Give thanks for all things.

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"  (Ephesians 5:20).

5. Offer the sacrifice of praise. (Praise Him even when it hurts.)

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name"  (Hebrews 13:15)

6. In everything give thanks.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"  (I Thessalonians 5:18).

7. Bless the LORD and remember His benefits.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.    Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:    Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases"  (Psalms 103:1-3).

8. Remember that God disciplines us because He loves us.

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.    If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?    But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.    Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?    For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.    Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.    Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;    And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed" (Hebrews 12:6-13).

a. Acknowledge the chastening.
b. Yield to righteousness.
c. Praise with lifted hands.
d. Begin to walk in righteousness.
e. Be healed.

9. Hope in God and praise Him for the help and health of His countenance.

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance"  (Psalms 42:5).

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God"  (Psalms 42:11).

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God"  (Psalms 43:5).

10. Learn to walk in His grace.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

11. Live by His will and His power.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure"  (Philippians 2:13).

12. Be strong in the Lord and put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand in battle.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.    Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.    For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.    Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.    Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;    And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;    Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.    And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:    Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints"  (Ephesians 6:10-18)