“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 9:23
To deny yourself means to not do what you want to do, but to do the will of someone else.
Someone who exercises knows what this means. In order for someone to lose weight, they need to deny themselves certain foods that have too many calories. They need to spend time working out and exercising to burn off those excess calories. Unless they exercise or eat less consistantly, they will not lose weight. They need to deny themselves what they naturally want to do, and exercise.
“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. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38
It’s like a young toddler. Most toddlers love candy or cookies. Sometimes a parent will put a candy bar on the table in front of their child and tell them that they cannot eat it until a certain time. If they make it without eating it until the set time, they will get TWO candy bars. Now if the child gives in to the urge and temptation of the candy in front of them, will they get the second bar? No. If they want an additional treat then they need to deny themselves what they really want to do, which is eat that candy right now!
Just like that toddler, we need to deny ourselves what we want to do, as normal carnal, sinful people, and live as Christ wants us to. When our carnal body wants to steal something, the Spirit tells us that we shouldn’t. When someone punches or hurts us, the Spirit in our life will cause us to instead show love towards that person, and not retalliate or avenge ourselves.
Being a Christian is a daily process. You cannot take a day or a week off from Christianity. True Christians live each day for the Lord and for His glory. They deny themselves the ways of the world and are focused on the kingdom of Heaven.
Remember when Jesus gathered together the 12 disciples? Jesus went out and found Peter and Andrew busy fishing in the sea. He told them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. They immediately left their occupation to follow Christ. That is the true meaning of denying yourself and taking up the cross for Jesus.
Are you ready to deny yourself for Jesus? Are you willing to take up your cross for Him?
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 