Thank you God, God bless you. Welcome, everyone, to The House of The Lord! It's good to share another Sunday, another day in the house of the Lord, to share with all those who are in the fight, with all those who have been called by the Lord, all of those whom the Lord is calling into His presence. Time is short; time is drawing near. How many know that the Lord is coming soon? How many still remember that? It seems that the world has already forgotten that the Lord will return soon, that He will fulfill His promise, that He will keep His Word. He will not delay His coming. He will come soon for us. Amen.

Over the past few weeks, as we have studied the Word of the Lord, we have seen how God repeatedly and consistently points out a specific matter. We see it throughout the Bible- from the Old Testament to the New Testament. He is issuing a warning to His people to beware of hypocrisy. From the Old testament to the New, Jesus said directly to His disciples, "Beware, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." With hypocrisy, we need to be very careful.

The Lord has been speaking about this from the beginning. We must be very careful about this. Why? Because we have been seeing that the Lord is coming for the fruit of the Holy Spirit. You can find this in Matthew 7:16. It says, “Be careful, not everything is as it seems.” It’s like the saying we have, “Not all that glitters is gold.” Right? Not everything that shines, not everything that appears to be actually is. We must test the spirits. We must test whether the fruit is from God. And how do we know if it is from God? We know by whether or not it remains connected to the Lord.

Further on in that same passage, specifically in Matthew 7:21, the Word says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” But who will enter? “Only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord.” Who is He talking about there? Is He talking about those outside the church? Is He talking about us? Is He talking about those who cried out to Him? Later He says, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ But then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” He doesn't know them. They were never born again. They lacked true intimacy with the Lord. They did things merely for the sake of doing them.Therefore, Jesus warns them, “Beware of hypocrisy, of that situation of appearing to be something you’re not, of doing things without truly being transformed, without having experienced a genuine change, and a deep transformation within your heart.”

We've been talking about God's will. Because that verse says that only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom. So it is very important for us to know the will of God. Amen? Do you think it's important to know it then? Because it says that only those who do the will of God will enter the kingdom. Only those who do it, so we must know it. And this week we have been learning what God’s will is. Because God's will is not always what we want.

Many times we want our desires, our plans. We call them the will of God. We want God to do things our way, but it's not always like that. The Bible has specifically been telling us what God's will is. God's will is that we would be sanctified. That we may be holy. That's God's will. What else does the word say about God's will? It says that God wants us to always live joyfully. Imagine that. That's God's will. That we have joy in every situation. That we pray at all times and that we give thanks at all times. That's God's will.

So what else is God’s will, as our Father? His will is to see us grow, to see us mature. Not to remain the same as we were 20 years ago, in the same situation. To stay the same is impossible. We talked about this a few weeks ago. If we have a child and after 20 years he's still so small, we would say, "There's a problem there, right?" Because that's life, you're born and you grow. God's will is that we all grow. To what extent? Until we become like Christ Jesus. That's the goal, to be like Christ Jesus. So what is God's will? It is God's will that I get married, that I work, that I have a house, that I have a car? Is that His will? No, God's will is that every person knows His Son Jesus Christ and follows Him.

"God's will is that every person knows His Son Jesus Christ and follows Him."

But Jesus also said, “Whoever seeks first the kingdom of heaven, my Father will give him everything he needs.” Ah, that's different. But God's will is to follow Christ Jesus. The Word is clear, and His will is always given to us. Not only that, but the Father gives us His Holy Spirit. The Word says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in whom? In me. Say it. The Spirit of God dwells in me. What can that Spirit do? It raised Christ from the dead. What then can it not do? That's the power of the church. That's why when people say, "I can't do this," or "I can't do that," of course, they can't. But the Holy Spirit can.

We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because He raised men from the grave, from the dead. So, that same Spirit transforms man. It takes him out of any condition, no matter what it is. Look, The Holy Spirit is so powerful that when Christ resurrected, the people who walked with Him didn't recognize it was Him. Those who walked with Him, the Word says that the women came and asked Him, "Lord, have you seen the Master? They took Him away." Jesus, I imagine, was kind of joking with them. He said, "No, I haven't seen Him," waiting to see their reaction. But something was happening.

Then He appeared to the disciples, and Peter and John were in the boat. There was someone there, someone cooking a little fish, who could it be? They didn't recognize Him. Why? I think He looked different, because now He had the glorified body that Paul talks about. Even His appearance, I believe, was different. There was something about that man that they couldn't recognize. Do you know what? I believe that's what the church of God is like. When you receive the Holy Spirit and are transformed, those outside won't be able to recognize you either. Your friends, you go up to them and talk to them, and they just stare and say, "Who is this? This isn’t the same person!" Why do you talk like that? Why do you do this? Why don't you do that anymore? Ah, because my friend I have been resurrected from the dead. Before, I was in darkness, but now Christ has given me life. That is the church of God. That is true Christianity, that is being born again.

You’re a different person. Do you believe that? Like in other religions, they believe in reincarnation, right? They believe that if they do something good in this life, they will be reincarnated, perhaps as a better person. But if they do something bad, they will be reincarnated as something ugly, as an animal, I don't know. Imagine being born again only to live a worse life, to live badly twice, no.

Christ came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly, but a new life. But that life, as we have been saying, is one life for another. It's my life for His. It’s giving Him my life, surrendering my life to have God’s life. That’s the power! The Word of God says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Salvation, my friends, is not just at the end of our life. Salvation begins today. Salvation is power!

So the transformation and that new life begins today, the Lord begins to act today. Today you are here to make the most important decision of your life. To respond to God's call, to follow Him or not to follow Him. Do you know even the atheists have made their decision? Every person has to make a decision, whether they believe in Christ or not. Atheists have decided not to believe, they made their decision. Remaining neutral is also making a decision. But today we are here to make the most important decision of our lives.

"Today you are here to make the most important decision of your life. To respond to God's call, to follow Him or not to follow Him."

But as we have also been learning, the world is judging the church. That's how it should be, it's okay. Because the Bible, the Word of God, the message of Jesus is the standard of justice, of morality, of love. So, the church is obviously under attack. The pure church of God will always be attacked for that same reason, by the enemy and by the world. But of course, as we have been seeing, the church today isn’t so much attacked, it’s criticized.

We're going to talk specifically about our country. Honduras, a country that claims to be 50% Catholics and 49% Christians. Where there are churches on every corner. There are more churches than convenience stores. Yet, it is the third most violent country in the world, and for many years we had the most violent city in the world, ahead of Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the third most corrupt country in Latin America, the third country with the greatest social inequality in Latin America. But we are all Christians. Yet you see corruption on the street. On every corner you see lies, violence, and theft. But everyone is Christian, everyone goes to church, everyone knows about God. So what is happening? Why do people no longer trust the church? Why do people criticize the church? They say, “Because you are just like us,” and they’re right. That's why the Bible says, “Beware of hypocrisy.” Because you don't practice what you preach, the world tells the church, and you're right. In church we talk about holiness, about doing good, about love. But out there, you can’t tell who is a Christian, you really can’t.

I've always said, you 'll see a video of someone getting into a fight because of a car accident, and I bet both of them are from the same church. Fighting with baseball bats in the street. You can’t tell the difference. There is no love, no tolerance, no peace. There is no peace in this society. What is one of the fruits of the spirit? Peace, love, joy. Do you see that in the streets? Do you perceive it? Do you perceive love? So where is it then? Let's be careful. Now, why does this happen?

Let’s talk about one of those reasons why this happens. Because the Word is there to warn us. If someone is on that path, they can correct their course. The prophet Isaiah told the people, “Straighten up!” “Straighten your lame foot and walk on the right path.” So, why does this often happen in churches? I'm going to give you an example. Sometimes when a child is growing up, they don't know many things, right? The parents know this. So a child's experiences and habits depend on what their parents do. While they are young, while they are at home.

I've seen children who don't eat certain things just because their parents don't like it. For example, if the Mom doesn't like potatoes, then she doesn't give potatoes to the child, right? If the Mom doesn’t like chayote, she doesn’t give chayote to the child. Just because. Even if it's good, even if she knows it's good, she doesn't give it to them. So the child learns that.

So, when they are little they learn what they see at home. Because of their parents' preferences, the children pick up those habits. Now, this is when they are little and don't have many options, right? But as they grow older, they have more options. Because there are people who offer them other things outside of their home. Before they could only have what was in the house, but then they get older and go out with their friends. What will they buy with their friends on the street? Are they going to the corner store to ask for broccoli? Are they going to the corner store to ask for cooked chayote? No, of course not. That’s where they learn, if they haven’t already learned it at home. It's almost always sweets or junk food.

Who knows what's good for the body? Who knows which is better, an apple or a churro? Let's talk about healthier, not tastier. What’s healthier? Ok, let's stick to that. Because if you tell me, “No, I like the churro better,” that’s true. But what is healthier? A plate of vegetables or greasy fried chicken? We’re talking about health. But we know these things, don’t we? But when it comes to choosing, what do we choose? Not me. I've been with people who choose lettuce, but that’s because later at midnight they're taking out the greasy fried chicken at home, and reheating it.

I'm going to tell you a story. This week my daughter received candy, sweets, and all sorts of treats as gifts. My daughter is 5 years old and we try to eat as healthy as possible at home. So all her life she has eaten fruits and vegetables, she hasn't eaten junk food. She has never tried soda, soft drinks. She hasn't tried coffee, she hasn't tried any of those things. Obviously she has had the sweets, because everything has sugar in it, right? Even the juices. But everything has sugar. My daughter has gotten used to eating vegetables so much that she eats onion, raw onion. She eats it like this. Ok?

So this week she was given a bag of candy and she's not used to eating candy because we never buy her candy. The candy she has eaten, she’s been given as a gift. But since she was given them and she knows they are there we have to give her a little bit at a time. So her mom gives her one every day. Because they’re there. She is not used to eating a piece of candy every day. So the weekend arrives, and we sit down at the table. On her plate, as usual, there is a serving of vegetables. Vegetables she has always eaten, along with other things that she has always eaten. She tasted them and said, “I don't like them, I'm not going to eat them.” She left them there on her plate.

Were the vegetables different? Had they been prepared badly? Had her mom used a different recipe? No, what do you think happened? Her taste has changed, right? She has already tried other things. I want to tell you this, church, that's how this world is. That's how sin is. Because she’s already tasted other things, little by little. So her taste, her desire, what her body craves, has already changed. Her body is already asking for other things, she sees the vegetables there and they no longer look appealing anymore. Why? Because they are not sweet. Doesn’t sweetness cause the brain to release dopamine? That makes you feel good, it makes your body feel good. Vegetables, I don't think they have the same effect, do they? But they’re good for the body. So that's how sin works, that's how the world is, and that's how the Christian is.

Last week we were singing during worship, that He is our desire, that He fills everything. But sin works like this, church, it changes everything that God has designed. Everything that God gives us. God gave man life, and sin has transformed it into death. That's what sin offers, death, just like sugar does. Who doesn't know what is harmful to their health? But still, we keep consuming it. That's what sin is like.

The Word clearly says that the wages of sin is death. There's nothing in between. Nothing at all. Let's look at Ephesians 2:1-3 in the New International Version. The word says, “Life in Christ. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” That was us, it’s talking to the church, right? “At one time, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” This confirms what we are talking about doesn’t it? What does sin bring? Death. Verse 2 says, “In which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”

Who rules over those who disobey the Word? It’s not God is it? Verse 3 says, “All of us also lived among them at one time” All of us lived like them. Like who? Like those who are in darkness. Like those who deliberately practice sin, who have not been redeemed, who have not made the decision to follow Christ, who have not been reached, those who have not been born again. We used to live like them, and how do they live? Driven by our desires. Imagine that. So this is the old self, the one who lives driven by his desires. It says there that those desires are sinful. Because that's how man is, that's the heart of man, following our own will and our purposes.

This verse is incredible, isn't it? Because now it's like a new philosophy. I don't know how, the word just slips out. That's what's being preached, right? Motivating people. This carnal and humanistic philosophy has entered the church, hasn’t it? These speakers are going around telling people, follow your desires. You’ll achieve the dreams you have. Just set your mind to it and you’ll achieve everything your heart has desired.

But the Word of God says that what my heart desires is sinful. That everything is far from the will of God. That all those who follow their own will, their own desire, their own purposes, are people who still live in disobedience, in darkness. Why? Because the Word of the Lord says, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, not mine.” May God's will be done, not ours.

"Because the Word of the Lord says, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, not mine."

So, we sing the song, “I desire you, you are my fullness.” It's not true, I no longer desire you. Because when the plate is in front of you, you don’t eat it. Do you understand what I'm saying to you church? We allow ourselves certain things during the week, and then the main course comes. What we should be eating, we no longer find it appetizing. We no longer find delight in it, we no longer find delight in the presence of the Lord.

People are in churches and they say, “The churches are dying. It's because the pastors aren't anointed. It's because the worship leaders don't pray.” Or is it that you have changed your desire? It's because you came already full, you came already full from outside. Whatever is given to you, you won't receive it in the same way anymore. Last Sunday we were specifically talking about that, the desire that is in us. But if I'm trying other things, if I take anything else during the week, then we have opened a door to the enemy. It is more difficult, then, to go back to what we were doing before.

Let’s open our Bibles to Malachi 1:12. This is the moment when the people are complaining to God. He says, “But you profane the Lord’s table when you say that it is defiled and the food is contemptible. And you exclaim, ‘How tiresome!’, and you treat me with contempt.” If you look back in your Bible, in verse 7, it says the same thing. It says, “Because you bring defiled food to my altar, and you still ask, ‘How is it defiled?’ Because you treat the Lord’s table as something contemptible."

In verse 13 it says, “How tiresome, how barbaric, how boring. How awful, it doesn't do anything for me anymore. It's not like before.” It was in the old days, wasn’t it? The churches and this and that. You’re right, you know? In part, there is some truth to that. Because before people prayed. Before people surrendered themselves. Before people lived on their knees.That's why there was revival in the churches. That's why there were miracles. But now, people are comfortable.

People come to churches looking for something, but they come with full stomachs. Then they say, “How boring. Not this anymore, not what they are offering. Nothing’s moving anymore.” But in reality, whatever it is they have I don't receive it because I'm already full. My desire has changed. When a person is really hungry they eat. Have you ever seen someone truly hungry? Have you ever been in that situation?

Well, I've told you this story before. I love it. It was back in 1970, when I was with my friends Pablo and Junior. For some reason, we hadn't eaten all morning. We were working in the workshop under the sun, sweating. I don't know what we were doing but we were exhausted. No one had brought anything. Suddenly Pablo appeared with a piece of chicken. Just one! It was a drumstick, not even the breast. But it came with a bag of tortillas. He said, “Well, this is all we can get right now.” Typical chicken, from the chicken shop, you know? There we were out in the open. Junior was little, he was all messed up, he was about to faint. Our hands were covered in grease. But when he opened that little bag and we smelled that aroma, I assure you that I've never eaten a chicken in my life more delicious. Never.

Then his brother came and cut it up and he gave us some nice tortillas. When we tasted that chicken we were in heaven. It was something. Wow! Why do you think we feel that way? I don't know where he got that chicken, but I assure you that to this day it's the best chicken I have ever eaten in my life. It was incredible. Why? Because I had a need.

Another time Pablo thought it would be good if we went to do a job at 5:00 in the morning. So we got up at 4:00. No one brought anything because we were going to stop to eat. Well, that didn't happen, did it? To make a long story short, for those who don't know, we were lost all day in one place. But we had to cross a mountain. So at night, after not having eaten anything all day, Junior and I decided to escape to freedom.

Motivated by, well, many things. We crossed through a forest and we couldn’t see anything. We only heard things moving around us. But the desire was so strong that I just told him, “Junior, don't look. Just keep walking, don't look around.” I just imagined that something was going to pull that kid away, deep into the forest. We weren’t looking at anything, but our desire and everything we had made us walk without stopping.

It didn't matter what was around us, or who we had left behind. We had abandoned them. Finally, we arrived at the village and what did we buy? A white bread and butter. Junior asked me, “Shall we go back?” I told him, “We are in the glory of the Lord. I’m not moving from here.” And that white bread once again tasted like heaven. Because when you're in need, you really receive things with longing. Because you desire them, not because of how good it is.

It was one of those hollow white loaves, with nothing in them. But it was the need we had, and you know what? I think that has been lost in the church now. When there is a shortage, when there is a need, you enjoy and appreciate things. But to enjoy things like that, we first had to have experienced need. First we had to be broken. What does that mean? Simply put, stripped of what was ours. We have nothing. We no longer have anything.

So what came was incredible. When there is no alternative, when there are no options, we’ll take anything. But today the church has too many options. Today people have many options. I trust in God. But if something happens, I have this, I have that, whatever. When there are no options, God begins to act. But you know, sadly, I have also seen many people who say they're in need. I'm going to put it in quotes, “In need.”

There are things being given and yet somehow they say strange things. You know what things we have heard? When we are going to give something to a person in need, who doesn't have food, who doesn't have basic resources, someone who hasn’t eaten, their children have not eaten, right? They say something like, “I don't like cheese, I don't like ham.” Do you know what I've come to hear? “I don't like chicken,” from a person who doesn't have any. And then they say, “You know what? The food thing is fine, but why don't you just bring me the cash? You know, I have some expenses and I don't want to bother you.” What are those expenses? Can you guess? Yes, junk food, soda, phone credit so they can watch TikTok all day.

They want the money to buy brand name clothes and shoes. Sometimes they don't even have a window in their house, but they're wearing brand name sneakers. You will say, “Come on.” Relax, we’ll keep talking about the church. We’ll keep talking about how we need God. How the world needs God.

The church, instead of asking and being filled with the presence of God, the church comes and talks about anxiety and depression. Because they don’t have the things of the world. Because instead of coming and kneeling and asking God, “Fill me with your spirit, Lord, so that the world can see that you are real. So that the world continues to see the miracles that are done in your Word. So that the world can see that you continue to transform lives. That there is still love. That a family can still rise up in joy. That there can be peace in a family.” Will you believe? That seems like a fairy tale, it's a story. How could a family have peace? “But Lord fill me up to show them. To be that reflection, that light in the world.” But that’s not what the church does. The church asks for material things. Now the church doesn't preach the Word, it goes around helping people.

That's what churches are about now, helping. Giving aid, bringing food, and yes, we understand that those things need to be done. We have done it since the church was born. We’ve given food, we’ve given clothes, we’ve given everything. But that's not the purpose of the church. The purpose of the church is to preach Christ because only in Christ is there salvation. It doesn't matter if a person's stomach is filled if their soul is going to be lost.

"The purpose of the church is preach to Christ because only in Christ is there salvation."

Christ is the center of the church and of our lives. That's what saves us. But everything has changed because our tastes have changed. In Psalms 42:1-2 it says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God.” I thirst for God. I need God. My soul longs for you, my soul needs you. How many of us could say that today? How many people in a church could say, “My soul longs for you My soul needs you? It needs you more than any other need I have.”

Does everyone have needs? Of course they do, everyone has problems. Everyone has something they are lacking, or a situation in their life, of course they do. But in the midst of all that, the psalmist says, “I need you, I long for you, I desire your presence, Lord. I want to be with you.” That is what the church is lacking today. That is why we must be careful with what we do, with what we see, with what we hear. Let us not be fooled by the lie of saying, “This won't hurt you.” We know that's the devil because if we go back to the beginning of this message we said that God's will is that we, the church, may be sanctified.

I love this verse, Romans 6:16 it says, “Do you not know that when you offer yourself to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one to whom you obey. Whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness?” When you start little by little, you say, “I’ll control it.” That's how all vices start, right? All vices, pornography, drugs, friendship, gossip, all of it starts little by little. everything, You think you can control these things, but let's make something clear, you don't play with sin.

We think we can play with sin, control it, but you can’t. Paul said, “Don’t you know that when you touch that, you become slaves to sin?” So when you think you can control it, it controls you, and you can't stop doing it anymore. You can't stop seeing, you can't stop hearing, you can't stop talking. You can’t stop feeling that hatred, that resentment. Why? Because we are slaves of sin. It all starts little by little, but it enslaves us, it binds us. It’s the chains that form in our lives.

People, you see, we're back to the same thing. We can't, but The Holy Spirit can. The Holy Spirit helps man to do everything we can't do. So who can give up sugary things? You know I've always joked about this, right? But there are levels of vices, but falling into the vice of sweet bread is one thing, right? Bread with coffee, once you get in to that you can’t get out. But I know people who have gotten out of that, they have given up the sweet bread.

Now, I know people who have not only left the sweet bread, but drink coffee without sugar. They say it’s delicious but they wrinkle their face when they drink it. But it can be done. Now, most of you know my grandmother, right? Do you remember that she was diabetic? She carried sweets hidden in her purse. But do you know what she did at coffee time? She said, “I'm not going to add sugar because I can't eat sugar.” So she’d add some stuff that she bought, supposedly to sweeten the coffee, something for diabetics. Because she couldn’t have sugar.

But, she’d drink it with the semita on the side. She didn’t add sugar to the coffee but there's the semita with it. That's what today's church is like. Legalistic in some things and permissive in other things. People today are more concerned about telling a person not to dress like that, instead of the condition of their heart. That doesn't mean that we're going to come dressed as we want, but today the church doesn't care about the state of a person's heart. It’s like saying it doesn't matter if she is in adultery, as long as her dress is long enough when she walks into the church. But that's today's church. Drink the coffee without sugar, but have the semita with it.

The Lord is saying, “All those who want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me.” We talked about this last week in Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be my disciple, what does he have to do? Deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’” Many of us may look at this verse and say, “Wow! Jesus is asking for all that. It's too much. Deny myself what I want. To my plans. To my wishes. It's too much.

Take up the cross. The cross is a symbol of shame, of death. Only the thieves, the worst of the worst, were put on the cross.” That maybe came to the mind of some of those who were there listening. How can the Lord ask us for this? How can He tell us to deny ourselves, our families? Then he said to them, “Do you think that's hard? Well, whoever doesn’t deny their father, mother, children, and all they have and leave everything behind, can't be my disciple either.” The fact that He was going to ascend the cross shocked them and changed their life. But now He is saying to them, you also must carry your cross.

This reminds me of the story of the rich young man. What do I have to do to inherit the kingdom of heaven? He fulfilled all the law. Sell your possessions and give it to the poor. Why didn't he do it? The Bible says that he got sad. He loved his wealth, his possessions, his desires. How could he give that up to follow Jesus? There are many people who get to this part and say, “Wow! That seems like too much. It seems like they’re asking for too much.

When I read this verse yes it says you have to deny yourself. But there is also an invitation to follow Christ. Who am I that He's inviting me to follow Him? Is what I have more valuable? Are my things more valuable? Is what I have to leave more valuable than what He gave up to die on the cross? Ephesians 2 says that He emptied himself of His glory. The Word is telling us, get rid of the sin that leads you to death. Leave that aside. Leave the things that are going to kill you. Leave the things that hurt you.

However, Christ emptied Himself of something glorious. Of all His glory, of all His majesty, of all His kingdom. He came to this earth and died alongside those two thieves. So that you and I today could say, “Yes Lord, I also want to follow you. I also want to follow that same path.” The King of Kings had no need to descend from His throne and empty Himself from His glory. But we feel offended when we hear that we need to deny ourselves and pick up our cross.

The cross is such a great symbol of love. As Christians we have learned to love the cross. But back then it was something horrific. But when we see the cross today we see your Savior. It is the symbol of self denial for His sake. Even Peter did not want to be crucified like Christ. He was sentenced to death by crucifixion and he said, “I am not worthy of dying in the same way as my beloved Jesus.” Today we have a responsibility. To choose whether or not we are going to follow Christ.

That path is the way of the cross. The way of denying ourselves to have the life in abundance that God had promised. A true life, not the life we have been taught. Not the absurd life that our parents and our grandparents, and many times ourselves have lived. A new life. Tell Him today Lord I will follow you. It’s impossible how blessed we are!