Self-Denial – The Rx For
Success
Luke 9:23
And he said
to them all,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 4:4
And Jesus answered him, saying,
It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
In this message we will look at what it means to deny oneself. Most folks do not like those two words, “self-denial” and will run the other way when it is mentioned. But if a person really wants to follow after Jesus, that is exactly what they will have to do – deny themselves. A truly devoted Christian life is one of self-denial on a daily basis. Many say they want to follow Jesus, but they are not willing to give certain things up. How many times have we heard people say, “Well, I will do this and that for the Lord, but when it comes to this____, no way!” It is sad but true.
What would our lives be like if Jesus had taken that attitude? We would be in deep trouble. (Pun intended!) His Word from His mouth clearly states that “if” we want to follow Him, we “MUST” deny ourselves in order to do that. When the flesh is screaming out to have its way, we have to shout out the Word of God (apply His word!) even louder and tell it to shut up. Paul talked a lot about putting his flesh under (control) and advising the rest of the church to do the same.
What does it mean for you and me? It means to avoid doing anything in our life that Holy Spirit tells us not to do. Also, we are saying that the thing we have been addicted to is really the lord of our life. We might not want to say it with our mouths because we do not like the way it sounds, but the truth comes out in our actions. What we actually do shows who or what we really serve.
The two verses indicated above go hand in hand. The Lord gave them to me to use the day I wrote this and told me exactly that. They go together like bread and butter (pun intended, LOL!). Think of Bread as Jesus and butter like oil = Holy Spirit. Nice, huh? We cannot live on the outer things in this life. When the scripture says that man does not live on bread alone, it really means more than just food. We have talked a lot about this by now.
We have to be willing to let go of what has been holding our feet bound in stocks so we can follow Jesus. We cannot walk after someone when we are bound up, can we? We have to be free to go where Holy Spirit is leading us. We cannot let food, or anything else hold us down. The more we fill up on that, the less we will feel as if we need a supplement of some kind.
I have come to understand a little more about what it means to deny myself. I have to follow God’s plan for my eating every day – we know that. I can look at that as a ticket to freedom, or I could look at it as bondage. It gives me a healthy body and the ability to do God’s work by encouraging people just like you! I know what it is like to have an addiction that is like a stronghold around the neck. It is a terrible place to be! All of this is to reinforce what we have been learning in this program.
We simply must keep our flesh under control. If we don’t, it will not bring out God’s best in our lives.
Do I have to look at the things that distract me from my calling every day that I might like to have, but know that I cannot if I want to stay on the right path? Of course I do. But I have become very accustomed to listening to the voice of Holy Spirit inside of me. I have become more sensitive to Him. I do not want to be out of God’s will. When we miss it, seek forgiveness and get right back on track. Am I perfect at what I do? Not yet – but the Lord promised that He would perfect that which concerns me (and you!) and we are on our way to Christ-like perfection. That was actually a finished work at the cross, and now we are in the sanctification process, day by day.
Why not use this message to take some time right now and allow the Lord to tell you how much He loves you and wants to do for you and through you? As you do that, I promise from my own experience that He will lift you up in the spirit so you can do all things through Him – because He is the One who will strengthen you in the inner man. Will you make a firm decision today to take up your cross by denying yourself the pleasures of sin in this life so you can do the great work that God had prepared in advance for you to do? You will be so glad you did my sweet friend.
By now, if you stayed with this program, you should be experiencing a lot of changes, even if they are little steps, any step forward is a good thing – both on the inside and on the outside. This progress alone should make you want to shout His praise. If you had not started somewhere, where would you be now? Salvation is free. Now we work it out by His Spirit day by day.
That is what this program is designed to do. It is meant to
shepherd us into the presence of the Lord to receive all that He has for us (True
riches) and be all He created us to be. This may be the time and the solution
that you have inwardly been longing for all your life. Maybe now you are seeing
the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, and you realize that it really
is Jesus.
You should have enough armor and tools in your shed by now to really be a threat to the enemy and a blessing to those God wants you to minister to. What will really draw people to Jesus in the end? Will it be fancy sermons and potlucks, and more religious activities? No! It will be the signs, wonders and miracles that He can do through us so that people get healed when they are around us.
They see His love for them when they know that though they may not have been living right, He loves them enough to do a miracle in their life and draw them closer to Him. After all, that is the purpose of the miracle - so people can see Who Jesus really is and how much He loves us. After they have their own personal revelation of Jesus, it is all done but the praising – and they will be the ones doing it.
Wouldn’t you like to be a part of the end time miracles that God
is doing in the earth? Wouldn’t you like to see your family, marriage, kids and
everyone who comes your way be transformed into the likeness of our Creator? I
believe you said yes! Congratulations for staying with this program and taking
it from here to walk into your very own awesome destiny with your Lord. Praise
His name forever! I love you dearly in the Lord and I look forward to hearing
your awesome testimony!
Some Bottom Line
Questions to Consider…
· Ask yourself the following question: “Do I really want to be a disciple of Jesus?” We are talking about someone who is not just a convert, a believer and a part time follower. We are talking about someone who is willing to really lay down the pleasures of this very temporary life to take up the riches that can be deposited in your heavenly bank account that will pay dividends that last forever.
· Jesus had a lot of followers in His time on the earth. We can see that plainly in the gospel accounts. However, once they started to follow Him there eventually came a time when He would call them into a deeper commitment – a life of full devotion. That would mean forsaking all to follow Him. Not everyone wanted to do that. One day in the garden He talked of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. This represents taking all of Who He is and forsaking all that we are. On that day, many turned and went back home. That was the end of their time following Him. They thought it was too hard and gave up.
·
How about you? What are
you holding on to today that you know the Lord has asked you to let go of? What
is stopping you from making the commitment to go all the way with Him? Why not
take some time to walk in the garden with Him today and let Him talk with you?
If you will take one step, He will take two! Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Never
give up! Keep getting back up and keep following!
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Love and blessings!
Denny & Hanny Stearns
Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.
Multiplying God's Word around the globe!
Website: www.Fishnloaves.org
Blog:Fishnloavesministries.blogspot.com
Email: Denny.Stearns@gmail.com
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