Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Luke chapter 9, verse 23, and Jesus said to all,

if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

I want you to think about the beginning and the end of this passage.

The beginning and the end of this verse.

So Jesus says, if anyone would come after me.

So this is introductory teaching about what it means to follow Jesus. This is not like for the mature.

This is not for a certain level of Christian. Like this is for anyone who would call themselves

a follower of Jesus. So this is introduction to what it means to follow him. If anyone would come after me,

let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. So I emphasize daily because it's

not just an introductory lesson about what it means to follow Jesus.

It's an ongoing lesson about what it means to follow Jesus.

The implications here are massive, one for coming to faith in Jesus.

For anyone to come to faith in Jesus means to deny yourself, to die to yourself, take up your cross,

to confess your sin before God, to turn from your sin and not just your sin, but from yourself,

from your every attempt to earn the favor of God.

This is totally trusting in what Jesus did on the cross.

And it's turning from your ways, your desires, your thoughts, saying, Jesus, I'm dying to all

of those things.

This is Galatians 2.20.

I've been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. This is an entirely new life. This is not just

believe some truths and say a prayer and kind of move on with your life as you know it. No, this is

...