| Luke 9:23 23 And he said to them all, "If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [To follow is to be led by the Spirit. To be led, you must persistently and patiently sit in humble silence to wait on the Lord, as you listen for his word within your heart to speak to you; then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's commands you hear instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is the inward cross of self-denial. First, He will lead you out of darkness to a sinless state; to then guide your thoughts, words, and works; which works show His glory and love to the world.] | Matthew 10:38 38 He who does not take his cross, and follow after me, is not worthy of me. [To follow after Him is to expose yourself to the Lord's commands and then obey Him; to obey all of his commands, you must love the Lord more than you love your family; so, despite their opposition, you obey his commands — that is following Him. To follow Christ you must sit in humble silence to wait on Him as you listen for Him to speak to you from his word within your heart; when you hear Him, then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's commands heard instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is to take the cross — the inward cross of self-denial. From the Word of the Lord within: "There are many that deny the cross and all that is necessary. He who is not on the cross is not worthy of me. The purpose of this website is to teach you how to carry your cross."] | Mark 8:34 34 And when he had called the people and his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Whoever would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [To follow Jesus we must first seek to hear the Lord speak to us by patiently and persistently listening in humble silence. To obey what we hear Him command us to do is to follow Jesus. From the Word of the Lord within: "Stop following men. Everyone listen to what the Spirit says; this you follow. Master following. Follow precisely; do not deviate."] | Luke 14:27 27 And whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.4 [The blind guides of Christendom ignore the cross and tell their followers that they are already saved just by believing in Jesus; but unless you carry the inward cross of self denial to crucify your selfish lusts, passions, and desires, you will be banned from heaven at death. To come after Christ you must wait in humble silence, listening for Him to speak to you from the Word within your heart; faith is to hear Him, and then you must obey Him. Self-denial occurs by obeying the Lord's spoken commands instead of your will, (His will, not your will); this is bearing the cross — the inward cross of self-denial.] | ||||||