You Could Be Closer to God, But You Need to Stop Having Control

You could be so much closer to God, but you need to stop hesitating. Everything that God desires for you to do and to become is found in living the crucified life. That is a life laid down, a life that says, God, whatever you want from me, you can have it. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it. And I know you want that. And so this message, I believe, will challenge you to do just that. Don't turn this off because I truly believe that God divinely appoints these words. Luke 9:21, Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things, he said. He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the 3rd day, he will be raised from the dead. Then he said to the crowd, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way. Take up your cross daily and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. If you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world, but are yourself lost or destroyed? Or what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man Will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the kingdom of God. And of course, we understand that the kingdom of God was established and is now ever expanding. And so you and I today, as we examine those words of Jesus, must check our hearts. Now, let me say something here, because I think it's important. We have to be careful about putting religious filters over our eyes as we look at the scripture or the words of Jesus or the teachings of Paul the Apostle. We have to be careful because religion twists truth. Religion will take something pure and godly. It will take something whole and helpful, and it will twist it into something that becomes an unnecessary burden that causes you to live in this joyless experience of Christianity, where you equate misery with holiness. And you think that experiencing the love of God or the joy of God is somehow a compromise. So I don't wanna go there. So I wanna challenge you here in the way you see this, because here's how many Christians look at this verse, this challenge to take up your cross daily. They think that taking up your cross means I have to be miserable on this side of eternity. And the more miserable I am here, the happier I'll be there. The more miserable I am on earth, the happier I'll become in heaven. Now we understand that when God requires something of us, when the Lord asks us to obey him, and that obedience is sacrificial, of course, there will be times when we have to give up something here and now for God's glory. But here's the truth. Many Christians are carrying a cross that God did not call them to carry. For example, let's say a young man is dating a beautiful servant of God, and she's everything that he prayed for. Now, religion will tell that young man, you know what? You're too happy in this relationship. You know what? She's becoming a priority to you. She's becoming important to you. And you need to give up that relationship just for the sake of proving that you would give it up for God. Or perhaps you're someone who's working a job that you found that you actually now enjoy. Maybe you worked at a previous job, they didn't pay you so well, they were mean to you. You gave that up, you find the job, it's paying well, you like the people you're working with, the atmosphere is godly. And the enemy may, through religious thinking, try to get you to think that because you're now blessed with a good job, that you should feel guilty for being well-paid. You should feel guilty for having it a little easier. And so the enemy will try to make you feel guilty for being blessed with property, being blessed with a good meal shared with a friend. He'll try to make you feel guilty for experiencing any form of entertainment, even if it's godly entertainment. But here's the reality. When Jesus told you to pick up your cross, he told you to obey him. When Jesus told you to pick up your cross, he was talking about sacrificing your will for God's will. He's not saying, whip yourself on the back over and over again and try to be as miserable as possible, or else you're not a true Christian. So now that we've established what he's not saying, let's take a look at what he actually is saying when he says to pick up your cross. If this is blessing you, this is opening your eyes, it's challenging you, and you think other Christians need to hear this kind of teaching, then make sure to leave a like on the video right now. And by the way, while you're at that, If you wanna continue to receive my sermons and teachings, then make sure you subscribe right now so that you don't miss any of the content. Do click that notification bell when you subscribe so that you can get notified when I put out new teachings. Okay, so we know that picking up your cross is not just being miserable for the sake of misery. We know that picking up your cross is not just trying to have a joyless existence on this side of eternity so that you can have a joyful experience in heaven. Rather, what Jesus is talking about is laying down your will, laying down your desires when they contradict God's. So when the Lord tells you to do something, you obey him. Far too many Christians see God as their genie. They see the gospel as a message of self-help. They see prayer as just a means of acquiring what they desire. But the truth of the matter is, we're servants, and we've chosen to lay down our lives. God wants to use you. God wants to use you to impact your family, to impact your spouse, to disciple your children, to be a blessing to your local church. Amen. To minister to your coworkers, to minister to fellow students, to be a light shining brightly in a dark world everywhere that you go. And in order to become that, you must decrease and he must increase. The crucified life is simply the obedient life. I'll simplify it. Trust and obey. Trust God's word and obey God's word. Amen. Trust the voice of the Holy Spirit and obey the voice of the Holy Spirit. You see, if we try to do things our way, because we're so afraid of missing out, or we're so afraid of not having a fulfilling life, if we try to do things our way, we're basically clinging to what we think we need. And in clinging to what we think we need, we often neglect the voice of the Holy Spirit because we're so afraid of letting go of control. We neglect the voice of the Holy Spirit. And in neglecting the voice of the Holy Spirit, we fail to receive what God wants to bless us with. We fail to become who God wants us to be. And so the Holy Spirit will speak to you. And maybe you're doing this now. Maybe there's something the Holy Spirit's speaking to you about, and you're trying to compromise. You're trying to negotiate with him. You're trying to explain it away. Like, you know, deep in your heart, he's telling you to do something. You know, deep in your heart, he said, do this, stop doing that, go there, stay here. You know, deep in your heart, he's communicated a very clear message already. And you're fighting that, hoping that he'll change his mind. You're living in somewhat of a denial about what God has spoken. And you're trying to convince yourself that everything's okay. It's just as it should be. And all the while you are stifling the voice of the Holy Spirit, that needs to be crucified. Ego needs to be crucified. The need to be esteemed and celebrated has to be crucified. At least if it conflicts with God's agenda for you. The fits of anger, they have to be crucified. That inclination toward perverse acts and lust, that has to be crucified. The tendency to exaggerate or embellish or tell lies or withhold information to manipulate the listener, that has to be crucified. The unforgiveness has to be crucified. Listen, I know you've been hurt. I know it was painful. And it can seem so just, can't it? It could seem so righteous to desire punishment for the people who offended us. We call it justice. The scripture calls it unforgiveness. Crucify that unforgiveness. Let it go. Well, David, you don't know what they did. Let it go. Well, they never apologized. Let it go. Put that on the cross. The doubts, the questions, put it on the cross. The cynicism, Put it on the cross. Whatever it is that contradicts the nature of Christ, it needs to go on the cross. Now we face these obstacles when surrendering to God, and we'll put something on the cross, but then we don't let it die. We'll put it on the cross, take it right off, put it on the cross, take it right off. Or we'll get on the cross and then we'll jump right off. Maybe one week we're on the cross, the next week we're not. This is why Jesus says, you have to, You have to take up your cross daily. That means die to self daily. It's Jesus in the garden. Lord, if it's possible, please let this cup of suffering pass over me, pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. There is true surrender. That's the crucified life. Amen. And some of us, we face doubt, not knowing what will be on the other side of our obedience, not trusting that God has better plans. We wanna keep control because we sow doubt. Or we're afraid. We're afraid of what people will say. We're afraid of being misunderstood. We're afraid of pain and discomfort or peer pressure. Perhaps it's the pleasure of the world that's keeping you off of the cross. Let me read something to you. Galatians 2:20. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave himself for me. Every act of obedience peels away a layer of self. Every act of obedience weakens the sin nature. Every act of obedience chips away at who you were and reveals the image of Jesus. Every time you respond to the voice of God in submission, you shine brighter. And the light of Christ within you can shine a little more brightly through. You reflect him a little more. You become a little more like him to where you get to the point now where people start seeing Jesus in you. They can hear Him in your voice. They can see Him in your eyes. They can feel Him in your embrace. They can experience Him in the love that you demonstrate, the presence that you carry. That's the beauty of the crucified life. It's not a joyless, miserable, religious, complicated, tedious existence. It's one of life and life more abundantly. The crucified life is a life of color and joy and vibrant movement and everlasting love and peace that goes beyond all understanding. A confidence, an assurance of identity, of acceptance by God. That's the crucified life. The old going away. The crucified life isn't, I never laugh, I never smile, I don't do anything fun. Everything about my earthly existence is just miserable. That's not the crucified life. If anything, that's self-righteousness, and that's an uncrucified life. The flesh is allowed to grow in terms of its ego. Ah, but the crucified life, the true crucified life, that's a life of divine life. Flows from within to without. What is the crucified life? It's saying, Lord, let my hands be your hands. Heal through them. Let my eyes be your eyes. I want to see the way you see. Let my ears be your ears. I want to hear your voice. Let my mouth be your mouth. I want to speak your truth. Let my feet be your feet. Guide me wherever you want me to go. Let my heart beat as one with yours. Let my being be your being. Let my presence be your presence. Crucify my will. In its place, resurrect your own. Amen. That's what I want, and I know you want that too. And so let's pray right now and ask the Holy Spirit to give you that grace, that strength, that faith, that perspective that enables you to live that crucified life. Precious Holy Spirit, I pray for that one now who desires to surrender their life To you. Give them the strength and the grace and the childlike faith to trust and obey God. And Lord, when that old nature begins to seek influence in them, I pray that you would give them the boldness to submit to God. Precious Holy Spirit, Cause the light of Christ to shine brightly through them. Remove ego, remove fear, remove anger, remove cynicism, remove perversion. Anything that is not of you, we ask you to burn it away with your holy fire. Let it be said that when others see them, they can see Jesus. Let them be considered children of the Most High God. Amen. Let them even now begin to sense your presence upon them and within them. Cause them to become heavenly ambassadors. Help us, Lord, to daily take up our cross and follow after you. Help us to live the surrendered life, lives yielded to the voice of the precious Holy Spirit. Amen. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. And if you receive that, tell me in the comment sections that you receive it. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Now listen, that message blessed you, and you've received the word of God through this ministry. I want to give you an opportunity to honor the word of God and to sow into this ministry to help us continue with our mission. Our mission is simple. We want to win souls and build disciples through 3 simple means: media, like you're seeing right now; events— some of you have come to our events around the world— and church planting. So get behind what God is doing through this ministry. If you believe in what we're doing, you want to be a part of it, and you want to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit— maybe the Holy Spirit's speaking to you now, don't ignore him. and he's asking you to support his work, then do that today. Everything counts. There's no gift so small that it does not count. And there's no gift so large. There's nothing so large that someone could give to this ministry that we wouldn't have vision for it. God has given us a massive vision and we have a major opportunity. Right now is a spiritually significant time in history. People are hungry for the things of God. People are hungry for the power of the Holy Spirit. The harvest is ready. The harvest is plentiful. So help send our ministry. You can go right now to davidhernandezministries.com/donate to give a single donation, or you can go to davidhernandezministries.com/partner to become a monthly ministry supporter. Now, those monthly gifts help us to plan, and execute with much more accuracy because we can count on a certain amount to come in every month, no matter what. So consider signing up to become a partner today. Consider an amount of $25. Everything helps this ministry. And I know that as you sow, God's gonna bless you for it. Listen, we've gotta stop believing the lie that God doesn't want you blessed. We've got to stop believing the lies of the enemy that tell you, you'll never own a home. You'll never have a good paying job. If you're single, maybe the enemy's lied to you and said, you'll never make enough to where you can support a family. Those are all lies of the enemy. Your future is bright. Sow today into God's work. Believe God for the harvest of souls with us. And I believe God will bless you for it. One more time, davidhernandezministries.com/donate to give a single gift, /partner to become a monthly ministry supporter.