16/10/2021 - DENY HIMSELF

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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. Matthew 16.24

Renunciation of oneself and one’s dreams is one of the most difficult actions a person can take – there is no doubt about that. However, anyone who doesn’t have such attitude cannot go after Jesus, but will wander through life as if he were a spiritual indigent. Then, quickly his faith will go cold, and he will accuse the Lord of not having fulfilled His Word in him. The worst thing anyone can do is to accuse the Most High of not being true (Romans 3.4).

Abraham’s departure was a renunciation of comfort. Going to a land he didn’t even know where it was and living away from his family members would be very risky, to say the least (Genesis 12.1). The Lord will call those whom He has prepared from their mother’s womb to serve Him. No one can be a minister of the Gospel without the divine call. And those who receive it will be perfected by God (1 Peter 5.10).

To give up one’s profession to which one has committed years of dedication, in order to do God’s will, is only for those who love Him above everything and, in fact, few accept to do that. The battle to fulfill the divine plan is one of the biggest that an a person can face, especially if he is married and his spouse doesn’t agree with such a decision. The man of God will serve the Lord first (Matthew 6:33).

When we give our best to God, we understand that He is the one who is giving His best to us, placing us in a position of importance and responsibility – never seen in any area of life. Christ gave Himself fully, so that we might be saved. Therefore, nothing that we offer Him will be of equal value, but infinitely less. It is about exclusive dedication to the Lord, leaving projects that many times are almost fulfilled.

Whoever doesn’t deny himself will never follow after the Lord. After we are called – if we accept, we will prove our love for Him.  God doesn’t promise us a sea of roses, a life full of luxury and possessions. Just like Him, many times we will not even have a place to lay our heads (Luke 9.58).  Single people should tell the person they are thinking of marrying the fact that they feel an invitation to the ministry. To serve means to be at the Lord’s disposal!

Besides what the Master taught, the time had come to clearly say what those called by Him should do. Deny oneself means putting an end to personal desires, offering to go wherever the Lord wants and completely dedicating himself to carrying out His will. It also means taking up your cross – your mission – and following Him. Now, great will be the reward in eternity.

Once you have made your decision, stand firm – then you won’t go astray. Just as it happened with Jesus, the devil will show you the riches of the world, the power of the nations, and the other things (Matthew 4.1). To be in the ministry is to “die” to the world and be ready to follow the One who had nothing, but possessed everything. It is worth being faithful to the call!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares