Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
As Jesus taught on what it is to be one of His Disciples, we learn that first of all, it begins with our desire be a follower. In the next phrase, Jesus talks of surrendering ourselves to Him. He said, let him deny himself
To deny oneself is not to live a lifestyle of asceticism but rather to deny one's own capability to succeed at anything. Jesus called the Disciples to follow Him and totally depend upon Him for everything. They left their homes, families, and work to devote their lives to following Jesus and supporting His Ministry.
This Call of God has not changed to this day. In those days, followers of Christ literally followed Him everywhere He went. They traveled with Him and sat under His Teaching. They personally witnessed an untold number of Miracles, Signs, and Wonders. The crowds grew in number by the thousands as the people clambered to be in the Presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, their Teacher, Healer, and Messiah.
For three and one-half years, Jesus ministered to the people everywhere He went. He Healed every person who came to Him. He cast out every demon of Satan He came across. All the people had to do was ask and have the desire to be Healed and Delivered.
When Jesus was crucified on the Cross He completed this Work for all of mankind everywhere if they would only believe in Him. When He gave up His Spirit and uttered the words, It is finished, He meant it. In that instant, His Ministry in the Flesh ended, and His Ministry in the Spirit began. This is the New Covenant. Jesus IS the New Covenant.
ANYONE who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, was crucified in their place and rose again on the Third Day, is saved and has this Call on their life. The Call is not only to believe in who Jesus was but to deny their own ability and power, follow after Jesus, and take up His Power through the Holy Spirit of God.
Jesus died so that we can have this Power and Minister in His Holy and Mighty Name. He told us that when He said, Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:19)
He gave every believer the authority to minister in His Name through the Power of the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus, we have been given the Power of God to defeat ALL The power of the enemy, Are you walking daily in that Power and Authority which has been given to you? If not, you are suffering needlessly. It’s not because you don’t believe in Jesus. It’s because you don’t understand the Power and Authority He gave you.
You cannot do this on your own. A mere human being is not capable of healing the sick or casting out a demon. This is the Work of the Holy Spirit of God made possible by the Finished Work of Jesus on the Cross. This is the most powerful teaching of the New Covenant. This is what it means to be a Disciple of Christ in today's world. God is calling YOU to be a follower of Jesus, a Disciple of Christ. He has a great work for you to do, but you can’t do anything until you deny yourself and walk in the Power and Authority Jesus died for you to possess.
Today is the day to deny yourself and take up the Cross of Christ. When you do, your entire life will change! You are in for the ride of your life as a Disciple of Christ. All you have to do is understand and believe in what Jesus said and did, and say “Yes” to this Call on your life!
Denying yourself will......turn the tide ........in your life.
In a permanent state of self-denial, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
