Deny! Deny! Deny!

Good morning brothers and sisters. Man oh man is my heart heavy. I am in need of a revival. Not the revival that you are thinking of but a revival of my heart. But where to start? Well, I didn't have to wait for very long for that answer. Jesus answered quickly. Matthew 6:24- Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone DESIRES to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." See it all starts with a desire to seek Jesus. Something has happened that we just don't know what to do. His answer is to DENY myself. How do I deny myself? I deny my wants, my desires, my plans, my words, my thoughts, my actions. It is not about me anymore. It is all about Jesus' wants, Jesus' desires, Jesus' plans, Jesus' words, Jesus' thoughts, Jesus' actions. And when I saw it this way, I was reminded of the words of Nehemiah 1:4- So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the the God of heaven. Revival in my heart starts with my repentance heart. Then is calls me to action. It calls me to fast and pray. One of the most basic things we need is food. But fasting is not just about food. It is denying yourself that one thing that sustains you. You put the sustaining in Jesus' hands. Once the denying of myself is done, oh wait, denying myself is never done as long as I live in this physical world. It tells me to take up my cross. What is my cross? To show the world Jesus. That is every believer's cross. And believe me when you start to deny yourself, Jesus reveals more and more of Himself. And we WILL follow Him. We will desire more and more of Jesus. But first, deny yourself. Rise up child of God, rise up!