the words of Jesus. Do
you find there self-will, self-pleasing? Remember this: every time you
please yourself, you deny Jesus. It is one of the two. You must please Him
only, and deny self, or you must please yourself and deny Him. Then follows
self-confidence, self-trust, self-effort, self-dependence. What was it
that led Peter to deny Jesus? Christ had warned him; why did he not take
warning? Self-confidence. He was so sure: "Lord, I love Thee. For three
years I have followed Thee. Lord, I deny that it ever can be. I am ready
to go to prison and to death." It was simply self-confidence. People have
often asked me, "What is the reason I fail? I desire so earnestly, and pray
so fervently, to live in God's will." And my answer generally is, "Simply
because you trust yourself." They answer me: "No, I do not; I know I am
not good; and I know that God is willing to keep me, and I put my trust in
Jesus." But I reply, "No, my brother; no; if you trusted God and Jesus, you
could not fall, but you trust yourself." Do let us believe that the cause
of every failure in the Christian life is nothing but this. I trust this
cursed self, instead of trusting Jesus. I trust my own strength, instead of
the almighty strength of God. And that is why Christ says, "This self must
be denied."

Then there is self-exaltation, another form of the works of self. Ah,
how much pride and jealousy is there in the Christian world; how much
sensitiveness to what men say of us or think of us; how much desire of
human praise and pleasing men, instead of always living in the presence of
God, with the one thought: "Am I pleasing to Him?" Christ said, "How can ye
believe who receive honor one of another?" Receiving honor of one another
renders a life of faith absolutely impossible. This self started from hell,
it separated us from God, it is a cursed deceiver that leads us astray from
Jesus.

Now comes the third point. What are we to do to get rid of it? Jesus
answers us in the words of our text: "If any man will come after me, let
him take up his cross and follow me." Note it well.--I must deny myself and
take Jesus himself as my life,--I must choose. There are two lives, the
self life and the Christ life; I must choose one of the two. "Follow
me," says our Lord, "make me the law of your existence, the rule of your
conduct; give me your whole heart; follow me, and I will care for all." Oh,
friends, it is a solemn exchange to have set before us; to come and