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Denying SelfMatthew 16:24 - “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Jesus has just shared with His disciples “that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day”. Peter did not like this and the Bible says, Peter began to rebuke the Lord and said, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Our Lord had a word for Peter. Matthew 16:23 “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Then our Lord looks to all the disciples and gives them our text verse about denying self. There is the sting! We live in a very selfish world and sometimes even though we are a Christian we can be so very selfish. We love looking after our own needs and desires. The world today has special centers for self-helps and self-esteem, but never have we seen a Self-denial Center have a grand opening! Our Lord’s way is always contrary to the world. Peter was not thinking about the will of God being done. Peter was thinking about himself. But we thank God for second chances! For later Peter would have a change of heart. If we as Christians aspire to totally obey God and do His will for our life, it will take an outright denial of self. Before we truly follow the Lord, we must pick up our cross, and before we ever really pick up our cross, there must first be a denial of self. Oh, how I have found so often that the greatest hindrance in my life to me serving Christ is me!