We’re going to go through two principal passages to study the Holy Spirit and also have a test of application. I really love this. You’ve all seen this before:

There is a "Spirit" realm and a "World" realm. We’re challenged as Christians to live in the Spirit while we are in the World. Before Christ, you were living in the world. Your brain was scrambled. God wants to renew your brain and transform your mind to grow and be like Christ. We see this over and over in Scripture. We are to be conformed in His image. We are to have the mind of Christ. We are supposed to grow in Christ and become more like Christ. That’s what the "upward" arrow means. Many people become Christians but stay on the "flat line." They don’t grow in Christ. They say, "Well, I’m saved. That’s all I need." They don’t grow. They’re Christians and they’re going to Heaven, but they need to grow.

I’m going to add to this this morning. If a Christian is living in the world, they’re maintaining the scrambled chaos in their life—confusion, bewilderment, disorder, turmoil, "I never seem to get it right," "I don’t have the peace that other Christians have," "I don’t have joy," etc. Do you get the point? This is a Christian living in the world.

I want to show you that if you live in the Holy Spirit even though you’re living in this world, everything is clear. There is a clear purpose for your life. There is peace. You have a peace that the world doesn’t understand. You don’t even understand it, but you have it. You have joy (no matter what the circumstances are or what state or condition you’re in, you are still content). As a Christian, you experience all of this through your life in the Spirit even though you’re living in this world. Above the line is life with the Holy Spirit. Below the line is life without the Holy Spirit. We’re going to see that it’s the Holy Spirit who allows us to have this "abundant life" kind of thinking instead of the chaos of worldly thinking. Through the Holy Spirit, your purpose in life is clear. Without the Holy Spirit, your life is confusion and turmoil. That’s what I want you to see this morning. That’s why it’s important to know that you need to rely on the Holy Spirit to understand the 40DOP.

I cannot tell you how important it is for a Christian to rely on the Holy Spirit. There are way too many Christians who don’t understand how to rely on the Holy Spirit. When I say, "rely on the Holy Spirit," I mean TOTAL reliance on the Holy Spirit. That’s what we’ll see this morning: What do you need to do to allow the Holy Spirit to be part of your life?

What do people think about when they think about the Holy Spirit? They think about Baptism of the Holy Spirit. They think about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We will talk about these later. Toward the end of our study with 40DOP, we will give you some information that will allow you to determine your spiritual gift. That’s part of it. Using your spiritual gift produces peace and joy in your life. Some people think about Baptism and Gifts of the Holy Spirit and associate this with Charismatics or Pentecostals. But everyone in the body of Christ should be aware of the Holy Spirit: Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc. This morning, we’re going to focus on the Work of the Holy Spirit. All Christians should be aware of what the Work of the Holy Spirit is and what He does.

We’re going to start in John 13 this morning. This is the last week of Christ. Last week, we talked about Mary of Bethany and her anointing Christ the week before He was crucified. She broke a very expensive alabaster jar of perfume and poured it on Him. That was significant because she understood what He was going to go through while others (including the disciples) did not. We’re still in that "last week." They’re in the Upper Room and Jesus is talking to His disciples. What makes this significant is that, being the last week, Jesus is telling His disciples the most important things they should be aware of. One of the things He talks about is the Holy Spirit. It is therefore important for us, as Christians, to know what the Holy Spirit is about.

He’s talking about Judas Iscariot. This is the Last Supper. Jesus has already identified Judas as His betrayer.

He’s saying, "Now the clock is starting." Judas is going to go and eventually betray Jesus. That will precipitate His mock trial and eventual crucifixion. Jesus sees it. This is the culmination of forgiveness of sins—His dying on the cross for our sins.

Well, how much longer? If it’s the Last Supper, it’s only hours. He says, "I have to go." This is the picture: Jesus must leave. If you were a disciple and listening to this, you would want to hold onto Him. You’ve seen Him perform miracles. You’ve seen Him love people who were unlovely. You’ve heard unbelievable preaching and teaching. You don’t want Him to leave because when He’s around, you feel like things are in control. He calmed the storms on the sea. You’re very comfortable with Him.

Listen to that, people. He says, "I’m going to give you a new command." If you read John 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17, you’ll see that even in the Garden of Gethsemane, He says, "Here’s what I want you to be about: loving one another." That’s about us—all of us. When someone steals our parking space, says something to hurt us, or lets us down, Jesus said, "Love them. I want you to love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." That is a command of Christ. Those are Christ’s words to every one of us. We cannot negotiate, compromise, or rationalize around that. He says, "Love one another as I have loved you."

How did Christ love you? He died for you. He gave His life. "No greater love has any person than he lay down his life for someone else." You have to look at everyone else around you and say, "I’ll give my life for you." I’m not talking about physical life. I’m talking about time, money, purpose, effort, exercise, sensitivity, etc. You love one another.

This is how the world knows that we’re different: by how we love one another. When we don’t love each other before other people, do you know what we’re doing? The exact opposite of what Jesus commands. Shame on you if you do that. You can’t leave here and gossip about other Christians. What are you doing? You’re not being a disciple of Christ. You’re doing the exact opposite.

He says, "Later you’ll join me."

See that? What kind of love did Peter have? He thought he had unconditional love. Jesus knew Peter had conditional love but that he had to go through a trial.

In other words, when it came to the bottom line, Peter denies Him three times.

So we have the Last Supper. Jesus says that He’s going away. You, as a disciple, want to hold onto Him. You don’t want Him to go away.

In other words, He sees what they’re going through. He sees that they don’t get it. "OK, disciples, you may not understand everything I’m about to go through, but don’t let your hearts be troubled."

That’s a New Testament principle right there, not an Old Testament principle. In the Old Testament, the Jews were expecting a kingdom even before the Messiah. John the Baptist even questioned Jesus, "Are you really the Messiah? We don’t have a kingdom yet." They were looking for an earthly kingdom. Here’s a New Testament principle with Jesus saying, "I’m going to return to take you with me." That explains a lot about the kingdom that will exist on Earth (in Revelation) during the Millennial Reign. It will be for the Jews. We will be in Heaven. We’ll get to that later.

There are two different things here. Thomas was thinking in the World, "Show us the way. Where’s the roadmap?" Jesus is talking about a spiritual way. He’s saying, "The way to God is spiritual. There is no roadmap." Look at verse 6.

Jesus says, "I am the way."

Skip down to verse 15. This is where our lesson really starts.

He’s speaking to His disciples again. He’s just given them a new command: love one another. Then He says, "If you love me, you will obey me and love one another."

The word for "Counselor" there is "comfortis," which looks like "comforter." Some of you may have translations that say, "Comforter." Do you understand why he used the word "Comforter" in this situation? What were they doing? Fretting. He’s talking about leaving. Peter’s worrying about disowning Him. Jesus just said, "Don’t let your hearts be troubled." "I will ask the Father to send you a Comforter…" (Hold onto this. This is where we get into this.) "…to be with you forever." This is different from the Old Testament where the Holy Spirit came and went. In the New Testament (1^st and 2^nd Corinthians) we’ll read that the Comforter, the Counselor, the Holy Spirit comes on a Christian at the time of salvation and dwells with him or her forever. It’s non-conditional.

When you accept Christ, you don’t get to say, "Well, God, I do accept Christ. I know that He died on the cross for my sins. I admit that I cannot stand before you in purity and righteousness without the forgiveness of my sins through the blood of Christ. BUT, don’t give me the Holy Spirit yet. Wait. I’m not ready for the Holy Spirit." God says, "It’s non-negotiable. If you accept Christ, the Holy Spirit comes into you right then and stays in you forever." It doesn’t matter what you do as a Christian. It doesn’t matter where you go, what you think, how you act, how much you grovel in the pig pen, or how much you live in the World. Where is the Holy Spirit? In you. The Holy Spirit is still dwelling within you. You can quench the Holy Spirit (and we’ll talk about that later) but Jesus said, "the Counselor will be with you forever."

Listen to this. The world cannot accept the Holy Spirit. Only Christians can. When you accept Christ, you have the Holy Spirit. The world cannot accept Him.

That’s a promise to the disciples and that’s a promise to us. If you’re a child of God today, you have the Holy Spirit in you. All of us who have accepted Christ have the Holy Spirit within us.

The Greek word used there is another word that comes from "comfort." Some translations say, "I will not leave you comfortless."

Of course He’s talking about His death, burial, and resurrection. We are reminded of this during baptisms. We die with Christ, are buried with Christ, and are raised to walk in newness of life.

Here we go with "revelation." Remember that I said that God reveals Himself to each one of us. God will reveal Himself to each one of us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the only connection we have with God in terms of power, knowledge, truth, and spiritual understanding. The Holy Spirit will reveal something to you, uniquely. You can’t look at your brother, your sister, your husband, your father, or anybody else and say, "I hope you heard that!" Right? We can’t do that. Why? Because if what Jesus said is true, the Holy Spirit within you is going to reveal things to you for you to grow. He’s going to reveal something to you just for you.

Here is a command of Christ—to love one another. That command could mean forty different things to each one of us right now. The commands are there but the application is unique through what the Holy Spirit reveals to you. That’s where you are with your walk with Christ. That’s where you are in your growth with Christ. That’s what we need to be working on. As humans, we want to look at everybody else, not what He has for us.

Again, where is Judas’ thinking? He’s thinking of the worldly kingdom, isn’t he? He’s saying, "The only way you’re going to establish the earthly kingdom is for the Emperor in Rome to know what you’re doing. He’s got to know, so how are you going to do this?" Do you see that?

How can it be clearer? How does the world know that we are disciples of Christ? Because we love one another. That’s what we just read. That is a command of Christ. Love one another. If we love Him, the Father, God, the Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within you through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s go to chapter 15.

I tried to figure out a way to draw this. It’s like a pinball machine. God has a path for you in your life that He’s mapped out. I believe that. He has a path mapped out for you. As you bump into these things, they are opportunities to grow in Christ. There are incidents: financial situations, pressures, health problems, sin in your life, etc. These incidents are opportunities to grow in Christ, or not. If we magnified one of these "bumps," it’s like there is an entry point and two ways out of it. One way allows you to grow in Christ. The other way says, "I’m still going to do it myself." As soon as we choose our own way, we’re off God’s path again. We’re not listening to the Holy Spirit. We’re not doing what He wants. At each incident, the Holy Spirit will tell you God’s way. He’ll reveal to you which direction you should go.

Let’s say we’re talking about work, our jobs. A specific example may be with an Expense Report. You have an opportunity. No one will know just how much you spent on a meal. While you’re filling out your expense report, you have a decision to make. What’s the decision? The Holy Spirit is pounding on you, "Give unto Caesar what’s Caesar’s. Give the company what’s the company’s. Give God what is God’s." He may remind you of that. But you have a choice to make. You could say, "You know, no one will ever know," and go off in your own direction. That’s not being led by the Holy Spirit, always doing your own thing. With every "bump," incident, or opportunity, God has a path for you in life. When we try to get off His path, He’ll put another bumper in there and say, "Wait a minute. I want you back on the path." That’s what God does with us. We are always off saying, "I want to do my own thing."

Here’s another example. Jesus told us to love one another. God’s way says to love someone who even if they abuse you (in other words, forgive them). This is opposed to the world’s way, "If people abuse you, avoid them." If we choose God’s way, other people will see the love we have for that person. We’ll produce spiritual fruit in our lives. It’s not fruit that says, "OK, now I can rest on weekends or during the night." It’s spiritual fruit. That’s what Jesus is saying here about bearing fruit.

God will extend our pinball table. Then He’ll extend it again and again. That’s His grace. He keeps adding bumpers, giving people all the chances in the world. But let me tell you what I think happens (and this Scripture supports it): God gets to a point where He says, "Christian, you have not grown in the Spirit. You have not grown to be Christlike. You have not. I have been patient. I have waited. I have given you all these opportunities to grow, to do what is right, to obey my commands, and to show that you love me, but you have not done it." You’re going to Heaven, but here’s what He’s going to do: He’s going to allow you to drop into a big, black hole. I think that’s what chapter 15 says. He says, "That’s it. You’ve lost your witness. You’ve lost your effectiveness as a Christian."

Some of you, though, are making the right decisions. He says there, "I’m going to prune you. I’m going to put some things in your life to make you even more fruitful, more productive." Those are things that we don’t like but as a Christian, we realize that when we have peace during trials and tribulations, what’s going on there? We understand that God’s in control. God says, "As a Christian, you understand that you can have peace and joy even at times when the world says that you should be upset with people and with life. Choose to be led by the Holy Spirit. Experience peace and joy in your life. Understand that I am in control. You will produce fruit in your life. I will prune you and make you more Christlike. Prune, prune, prune."

Do you see what Jesus is saying right at the end? He says, "I must go away but I’m going to send a Counselor and Spirit of Truth to you." He’s going to be more specific in just a minute. "I’m going to send that Counselor/Comforter to you. Don’t be comfortless. I will take care of you. I’ll do things for you. But in the meantime, love one another. Produce fruit. Don’t be stagnant. Don’t be dead. Don’t be bouncing around on your own. I have a path and a plan for you." Every one of these incidents is for you to grow in Christ. And guess what? That other person is to grow in Christ, whatever the incident is. "Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it."

Skip over to chapter 16. Remember that this is the time of the Last Supper. They’re gathering their possessions and coats, walking downstairs from the Upper Room, and heading toward the Garden of Gethsemane. That’s where this is taking place: the night of His betrayal. He’s taught them in the Upper Room. He continues to teach them as they walk along the streets of Jerusalem, heading toward the Garden of Gethsemane (in chapter 17).

Is that clear? We know what He’s talking about. "Hey, I’m headed toward the cross. I’m headed toward death, burial, and resurrection. I’m going back to the one who sent me, God, the Father."

See? What is their reaction to a spiritual purpose here? God’s spiritual purpose was for Christ to die on the cross. The Old Testament portrayed it with the unblemished lamb. All throughout the New Testament, Christ’s death is the spiritual purpose. What are the disciples worried about? Losing their friend. Losing their Lord. Losing their companion, teacher, etc.

Listen to that!

Now I don’t understand that spiritual statement there—that Jesus has to go before the Holy Spirit comes, unless I look at it as the whole, entire Church Age, meaning, how the Church is to grow. How did the Church grow at the Day of Pentecost? What came upon them? The Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who gives power. If you go back and read the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was there at the Creation of the world. For some reason or another, when we look at the Trinity (one God, three parts), the power and force of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. I don’t understand that. Don’t ask me to draw it up. It just looks like that whenever the power is involved, it’s the Holy Spirit.

As a Christian, how do you get power? The only way you’re going to have power in your life is through the…Holy Spirit. If you don’t know what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life and if you have never asked the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you, "God, lead me and guide me through the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, I know you’re going to give me the power when you choose," what kind of life have you been living as a Christian? You’re down in the scrambled, chaotic world. I can’t see it any other way. You’re not growing in Christ. The only way you can grow in Christ is through the power of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, and through the spiritual understanding given through the Holy Spirit. I want you to be so involved with the Holy Spirit that you say, "You know, I don’t know how I existed as a Christian before I understood that the Holy Spirit is the one who does everything, not me."

Listen to what Jesus says. Those are all parts of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do? We can’t say that He’s a "conscience" because people have a conscience before the Holy Spirit. A child will know that he’s done something wrong. That’s just moral law that God has placed inside each person. It is God-caused. "Morality" is not an accident. God caused all of society to have this. All people of all tribes of all societies, anywhere and anytime, have moral laws. That’s morality. What does the Holy Spirit do? The Holy Spirit says, "I have a purpose in your life. My purpose is to make you more Christlike. So I am going to convict you, Christian, of your sin so that you can confess it to the Father. He is already ready to forgive you (1^st John 1:9).

I’ll also convict you of righteousness. When you do something right, I’m going to say to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ I’m going to convict you of that. You’re going to know that you’ve done something good, not to be boastful but to turn right around and say, ‘Thank you, God, I never would have thought to say that. I would never have thought that would have turned out that way. I never would have sent that card or letter or made that meal in a million years, had not the Holy Spirit impressed upon me to do it. I wouldn’t have done it of the flesh.’" That’s what He’s talking about there with conviction of guilt and sin.

And I do too right now.

Here’s the Holy Spirit again. You cannot—it is physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally impossible for you—of your own thinking figure out the Word of God. It is impossible. You can’t do it. A lot of pastors and people with PhDs become disillusioned because they think they’ve figured it out but all they had was head knowledge. When it comes to applying it to life, guess what happened to them? Their little brains just went stir crazy. They said, "Wait a minute! What’s going on here? It doesn’t fit. It doesn’t work. I thought I had it all figured out and mapped out." Do you hear that? "A man will plan his ways but God will determine his steps." We cannot figure it out. It has to be God. Do you hear me!? When you read the Bible, attend Sunday School, or sit in a sermon, it’s one thing to listen and take notes but it’s quite another to say, "Wow! God, is that something that’s going on in my life?" Do you see the difference? I’m using head knowledge in one place but applying it in the other. What do you think God is interested in? You applying. You can’t apply it without the Holy Spirit. You cannot. You can try but you’re going to be frustrated.

This is a personal thing—I have something against the Holy Spirit because He won’t speak on His own. We all hear about Baptism and Gifts because that is visible activity (speaking in tongues, being knocked down by the Holy Spirit, etc.). That gets all the attention but what does the Holy Spirit really do? Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will give you all the power, lead you in all truth, convict the world of sin, etc., but He will never speak on His own. What does that tell you? When we talk about humility or somebody who’s not going to be seen or heard from, it’s the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit is going to be talking to you, prompting you, and reminding you, but when it comes to making a decision, guess what? It’s yours. He’s not going to make it for you. You have to make it. "He will not speak on His own."

This is the key that couldn’t be any clearer. If you want to know something about God, something about Jesus, or something about spiritual living, you ask the Holy Spirit, "Holy Spirit, tell me." And guess what the Holy Spirit will do? Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will tell you. The Holy Spirit sees God, the Father, and God, the Son, and He will give it to you. But only the Holy Spirit can give it to you.

God intended these words for His disciples and for you—everyone from the start of the Church Age to today, all the way through, equally. He was looking at the Church. The Old Testament was the ministry to the Jews. The New Testament is the ministry to the Gentiles through the Church Age. That’s who He’s talking to and about. "A new command I give you." It’s God’s way of saying, "Let me explain to the world, again, what I’m all about. I explained it to the Jews in the Old Testament. The Jews were supposed to tell others about me but they didn’t do a very good job. Now I’m going to give it to the Church." Each one of us is a member of that Church, the body of Christ. God’s Word (through Jesus, Paul, and others) is very clear about what we are supposed to be about.

Turn to 1^st Corinthians 2:9. Paul has been talking about a "secret wisdom" and "mystery"—the Church.

Do you hear that? That says that we’ll never know. We can’t know it, but…

If you want to know about your resurrected body at the End Times, if you want to know what it means to walk two miles when somebody asks you to walk one, and if you want to know what any spiritual thing means, ask the Holy Spirit. He reveals it to us. It’s back to the revelation of what God has for us through the Holy Spirit.

You do not know what I’m thinking. Only I know what I’m thinking and the Holy Spirit within me. That goes for you, too. You know what you’re thinking about. Whatever you’re thinking about this afternoon, tomorrow, or next week, the Holy Spirit is right there with you. He’s in you. You can’t deny it. Remember that. Get that fact down. He’s there. Guess what He’s trying to do? He is trying to interrupt your worldly thoughts and say, "Hey, remember this verse. Remember when you said that or did this." What does Satan want to do? Rob you of that. He wants to convince you not to listen to the Holy Spirit, "You’re a lousy, good-for-nothing sinner." You tell Satan, "No, I’m not. I’m saved by grace. Get out of here."

Hear that. Can it be any clearer? How can you understand anything spiritually? Through the Holy Spirit. Don’t be afraid to say it. You cannot understand anything unless the Holy Spirit tells you.

If you talk to a non-Christian about spiritual things (e.g., joy and peace during trials and tribulations), they’re going to think you’re weird and crazy. "How can you have peace at this time with what you’re going through!?" You say, "God has sent the Holy Spirit and He gives me peace. God, through Jesus Christ, has forgiven me of all my sin. That’s what I stand on. That’s what I live on, day after day after day." You’re producing fruit. You’re living the life you’re supposed to.

How do we have the mind of Christ? Through the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "Everything God has, He’s given to the Holy Spirit." Where is the Holy Spirit? He’s within each one of you. Guess what the Holy Spirit wants to do? Give it to you. But what has to happen? God doesn’t say, "You’re going to get it whether you like it or not." God says, "Just like you freely accepted me, you have to freely accept the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. You have to ask. You have to be willing to accept it. It’s not something I’m going to push on you, force on you, or make you believe."

Let’s apply some of this. Turn over to Matthew. See how this relates to us. Practice reading Scripture and asking the Holy Spirit to show you what it means to you. You can read for head knowledge but the Holy Spirit must show you how to apply it.

Tell me. How does that apply to your life, as a Christian? He renewed your life. When we read in John about Nicodemus, what did He tell Nicodemus? He said, "Unless you’re born of the Spirit, you cannot see the Kingdom of God." What about you? When you accepted Christ and were saved, guess what happened to you? You were born of the Spirit. Does that not give you chills? You read about Mary, "Mary conceived through the Holy Spirit." And guess what happened to you when you accepted Christ? Can you admit it? What happened to you? You were reborn how? By the Holy Spirit! Read it. Am I making this up here? How were you born again? By the Holy Spirit. God caused the Holy Spirit to conceive with you a new creation, a new birth.

Do you understand how we need to understand that in order to have peace and joy in our lives? When you understand that God has conceived in you like Mary conceived to have Jesus, you know that when you accepted Christ, God conceived in you a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new. You are a new creation. We call it "born again," a rebirth. When you realize that, you see the significance of God’s Plan for you. He’s saying, "Unless this happens and you’re reborn of the Spirit, you won’t understand anything. So I’m going to rebirth you. When you accept Christ, I am going to conceive in you a new creation." Think about that. That’s you. That’s not the uppity-up theologians. That’s you, as a Christian. Is that good or what? Let’s try another one.

How does this apply to you? What does the Spirit do to you? He leads you, into what? Into those things that will prune you to become more Christlike, just like He did to Jesus. Listen to what it says there: "Jesus was led by the Spirit." Jesus did not do a thing without the Holy Spirit. Whenever Jesus performed a miracle, taught, or preached, (if you read very carefully, you’ll see) He relied on the Holy Spirit. Do you understand that? Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate, on this earth, said, "I’ll do nothing of myself. I’ll only say what the Father tells me to say and I’ll do it all through the power of the Holy Spirit." Jesus did nothing except what the Father told Him to do and through reliance on the Holy Spirit. Read your Bible and you’ll find that to be true. That is significant for you as a Christian. How do you live a Christian life? Do you think you’re stronger than Christ, saying, "I can do it myself. I can do everything myself. I don’t need the Holy Spirit. I know exactly what to do in this situation." Jesus never said that.

Jesus said, "I rely on the Holy Spirit. Where He (the Holy Spirit) leads me, I’ll go. I’ll do whatever the Holy Spirit says." That’s why you need to rely on the Holy Spirit. Being led by the Holy Spirit is a life of freedom. When you get up in the morning, you say, "I know what my plans are in my human being mind, but God, through your Holy Spirit, you show me." I guarantee that on your way throughout the day, the Holy Spirit will put someone or something in your mind that you’re supposed to do that day that you never would have thought of. You have an opportunity to quench the Holy Spirit or do what the Spirit says. And I mean you’d better do it. If you don’t do it, what’s He going to do? God’s going to give you another chance and another opportunity until you start producing fruit in your life and becoming more Christlike. That’s what the Holy Spirit is about.

There are too many Christians walking around here, relying on their own intellect, their own knowledge, and their own physical, personal, natural strength to try to be a Christian when God says, "Wrong! Throw it out!" What did John the Baptist say? "I must decrease so that He can increase." "When I am weak, He is strong." All the principles in the Bible yell and scream for us to be nothing. Romans 12, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." Jesus said in Luke 9:23, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Deny yourself.