Every single time I have gone to a meeting that IFES accommodates, God has blessed me without measure. The story I would like to share with you, friend of God, has happened during a spring retreat at youth for Christ about exodus. The first speaker spoke about Moses being a foreigner together with the people of Israel and how Moses chose God and to suffer together with His people, over the comforts of Egypt, which encourages us as foreign students to choose God over the world. The second speaker spoke about the name of the Lord, which God revealed to Moses in exodus 3:14, destroying lies and blessing us with the truth about the name of the Lord. During the third speech was actually when God blessed us with His presence mightily. We meditated on the verses from Matthew 11:28-30. At that time God poured His Spirit on us and that was the time God spoke to me giving me the connection between Matthew 11:28-30 with Matthew 16:24.
When God says to us if we come after Him, to deny ourselves and take the cross and follow Him, first He does not leave us to do this alone, He is with us always; and second, this is His yoke, that is easy and His burden that is light and He is working this in and through us. It is also written in the bible, it is pleasing to serve the Lord and also taste and see the Lord is good. Our task is then to abide in Him, He is the vine, we are the branches. If we love Him and live in Him, and He in us we will give fruit (which includes serving Him), but if the branch abides not in the vine it withers and is cast away in the fire (John 15).
You see I cannot explain it fully, but I pray that as you put these verses together, God may reveal this to you to the fullest.
Hope you understand now what I meant, when I said that God has blessed me through IFES. So, I can testify that God’s hand is upon IFES, He is working through them. May God our Father in heaven bless you with His peace and grace, in the name of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.