Protocol has already been established
My topic is A new creation and denying yourself for God.
Turn with me to : 2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” The word “therefore” refers us back to verses 14-16 where Paul tells us that all believers have died with Christ and no longer live for themselves. Our lives are no longer” Worldly” they are now spiritual.

To understand the new creation, first we must realize that we created by God by God. The need for a new creation come as a result of our sinful nature. Psalm 51: 5 says” Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
(John 1:13)Tells us that this new birth was brought about by the will of God. We did not inherit the new nature, nor did we decide to re-create ourselves anew, nor did God simply clean up our old nature; He created something entirely fresh and unique. The new creation is completely new, brought about from nothing, just as the whole universe was created from nothing.
Secondly, “old things have passed away.” The “old” refers to everything that is part of our old nature—natural pride, love of sin, and our former opinions, habits and passions. Most significantly, what we were has passed away, especially the supreme love of self and with it self-righteousness, self-promotion, and self-justification. The new creature looks outwardly toward Christ instead of inwardly toward self.
As a young black male I face several issues from, drugs, alcohol, sex and gangs. Just to name a few of the issues in the world that try to pull me away from my relationship with God.

To “deny” yourself means to say “No” to yourself and “Yes” to God. Paul is not talking about — forgoing earthly possessions, not eating certain foods, ignoring the world, etc. To say it differently, the process of denial is “to humbly submit