Deny Yourself and Find Life Beyond Hidden Sin

That when we lay down our lives, when we deny ourselves, we live in denial, and we do for others, and we we turn our lives into something that is for others, the value of our life always increases. When I lay down my life for the good of others, the value of my life always increases. You thought you were valuable before you had kids? You know that when you lay down your life for your kids and set aside your hopes and dreams and desires and some of those things, you give life to another person? When you put others before you, you lift them up and your life becomes more valuable? I've heard this said a bunch of times, but you're too small a thing to live for. I'm too small a thing to live for. [01:02:26] (42 seconds)  #ValueInSacrifice

I'm just telling you, the more hidden sin you have in your life, the more it's gonna hold you back from what God wants you to do. The more hidden sin you have in your life, the more guilty you're gonna feel when you go try to help other people. The more secrets you have in your life because you haven't been living in denial. You've been indulging. You've been doing whatever you want. Whatever feels right. Whatever feels good. I'm chasing drinking it. I'm smoking it. I'm saying it. I'm yelling it. I'm screaming it. The more you do that, the more you live in in just absolute indulgence in life, the more you have hidden in your life that you don't want anybody to know about. And the less you're able to live out what God has called you to live out for the good of the world. [01:06:59] (39 seconds)  #NoMoreHiddenSin

What if I lived my whole life for just me, and it was all about me and me and me and me? At the end of the day, the my reach would be here. This would be all the further I reached. But if I I deny myself and I lay my life down, I I impact my wife, my kids, and my neighbors, and my friends, and my community, and the hurting, and the broken, and the scared, and the nervous, and the teenager, and the high schools, and the middle schools, and the elementary schools, and the dads in my community, when I lay down my life and I say, I don't want to get up and do this, I don't feel like doing this, but because I can have impact on others, I'm gonna set aside my desire for more sleep, my desire for notoriety, my desire for whatever it is. I'm gonna go do things for others. [01:03:09] (55 seconds)  #ServeToMultiply

I mean, if you're one of the early followers of the 12 and he's going through this and you're reading through this, you're on, you know, Matthew's recording it and he's in this part of the conversation and Jesus goes, let me tell you something guys, if you wanna really follow me, you gotta deny yourself, pay every cross and follow me. I'm going to persecution. I'm going to pain. I'm going to suffering. I'm going to brokenness. You wanna follow me? Come follow me to that. Why in the world would I would I ever do that if it means denying myself? Well, the reason being is that Jesus, for whatever reason, and I'll tell you the reason here in a minute, Jesus decides while he's in heaven, you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna deny my rights as God. [01:00:50] (41 seconds)  #TakeUpYourCross

I'm gonna set them aside. Jesus could have said, you guys screwed it up. Sorry. Figure it out. Instead, he said, I'm gonna lay aside my my deity. I'm gonna lay aside my rights. I'm gonna lay aside my my power, and I'm gonna come to Earth. I'm a lay down my life so the whole world can have life. There's nothing more valuable in the universe than the free pass that Jesus created for you and me to have access to God. His value increased because he laid down his life for the world, And he invites you and I to do the same. [01:01:31] (55 seconds)  #RedeemedBySacrifice

Where are we going? And Jesus is is he's warming up his followers of where he's going and he says, I'm gonna go to the cross and I'm gonna die. Where are going Jesus? I'm going to the cross to die. You want to join me? You wanna follow me? Let me tell you where I'm going. I'm going to the cross to die, to lay down my life. You guys think you wanna follow me? You you know who I am? I'm the Messiah. I'm the son of God. You know what that means? You know what the son of God does? You know what the messiah does? You don't know, do you? The son of God goes to a cross, climbs up on the cross, and lays down his life for the world. I'm going to the cross to die. You guys wanna come with me? You wanna do that? [00:57:20] (48 seconds)  #FollowToTheCross

we all live in a little bit of denial, don't we? Like when people ask you how you're doing, what do you you don't tell them the truth. What are you, not some kind of psycho who's gonna tell them the truth. Right? If you told people the truth about how you're really doing somebody said to you, how are you doing? You know? You're like, well, honestly, I'm a little depressed. I'm a little discouraged. I'm a little angry. I got in a big fight with my spouse last night. I'm a little sexually frustrated. [00:43:18] (24 seconds)  #BeRealAboutIt

other people. And so I I I deny that my sin is even that big of a deal. And the problem with that the problem with that reality is that no matter what it is, your sin, my sin, the things that we are doing that aren't right or good or healthy for us, they have to live somewhere, don't they? And where do they live? They live in our minds, and they live in our hearts. The lies, the deceit, the the lust, the anger, the hatred, they have to live somewhere. And here's what I would imagine. If we could go around this room and if we were brave enough and we were bold enough. Right? Right? To go around the room and by the way, what a fun Sunday that would be. Right? [00:48:08] (39 seconds)  #FaceTheDenial