Luke 9:23-24 / Deny, Sacrifice, Surrender
Luke 9:23-24 / Deny, Sacrifice, Surrender
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
In this passage Jesus is talking to the disciples, and had just shared with them that he would soon suffer many things and be killed.
If that wasn’t sobering enough, He then says, if you are going to follow me – it is going to cost you something as well.
What’s it going to cost to be a genuine follower of Christ? Three things:
1. Self-Denial:
Anything that we are holding onto that might keep us from an all-out, passionate walk with Jesus has got to go. Any lingering desire to promote, protect, or gain for selfish reasons will compete with our desire to love and serve the Lord. Selfish desires and Kingdom Living don’t go in tandem together.
Is there anything in your life that needs to be denied so that “He can increase and you can decrease”?
2. Daily Sacrifice:
Jesus said you have to take up your cross and follow Him – daily. The cross is a symbol of Jesus’ humble sacrifice. It is the place where Jesus knowingly laid down His life for others. It represents a willingness to go and die for the sake of others, out of obedience.
If we are passionately following Christ, our lives are going to reflect the sacrifice He made on our behalf. As we dig into Christian community and love those in need of Christ, we will be confronted with opportunities to die to self and serve like Jesus. We will have those moments when we have to decide – is this sacrifice worth it? Does God really want me to serve this person again?
Yes, He does. Because He served You with the ultimate sacrifice.
Where do you need to serve others today?
3. Total Surrender:
As if the two other costs Jesus mentioned weren’t enough already, His last cost pushes it over the top. Jesus wants your total surrender. He wants you to commit your life completely to Him. He’s not interested in just getting your free hours in a week, or a Sunday morning service, or a serve event every once in awhile, He wants it all.
Losing our lives for Christ means that we are completely surrendered to His direction and calling on our lives. If God wants us to leave a comfortable job and head overseas to make Him known, so be it. If He wants us to sacrificially give so that someone else can go and make Him known, that is fine too. If He wants us to live in a hard city, a small house, have an awkward conversation about faith, be more bold at work, take a pay cut in order to stay in a more strategic ministry spot, whatever He calls us to do – we are doing it. Because our life is now in His hands.
We’ve accepted the loss of deciding our direction in life and given Jesus complete control. This is hard to do. He might call us to something that is new, scary, or very different than we had planned.
But Jesus is good, and His Father is too. And they know that whatever they call you to leave pales in comparison to the life you will gain through your obedience.
Is there anything you wouldn’t do, or anywhere you wouldn’t go if God asked you to? Are you willing to lay it down for the sake of Christ?
Following Jesus in an all-out passionate way is going to cost us something – but what we receive in the end will make it worth it!
Stay strong and passionate!
Pastor Dave
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