The Cost of Following: Self or Christ?Sample

Renouncing Everything: Part One

Anyone who does not renounce everything cannot be Jesus’ disciple. This may feel like quite an extreme statement. But it is required of all believers. We don’t hear this very often even though it is a basic premise of real and true Christianity. Anything less than this is not truly following Jesus.

Yes, renouncing everything is extreme. Leaving everything to follow Jesus is extreme. The requirement is a lot to take in no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord. As extreme as this may be, however, there is a blessing on the other end. When we voluntarily give everything that we love and care for over to the Lord, it is so freeing. Fear dissipates. Worry vanishes. Anxiety is done. We have “nothing” to lose, because we have given it all to the Lord, and everything is safely in His good hands. And He will look out for our best interests far better than we ever could.

So what does it look like to renounce all you have for Christ? The apostle Paul in his own personal circumstances said that he counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. He counted everything as rubbish in order to gain Christ. Many centuries later, the great revivalist and preacher George Whitefield said it like this: “I am not mine, but His! I give up my body, soul, blood, all, to Him! I am a child! I desire to follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth” (as quoted by Arnold Dallimore in his biography George Whitefield, vol. 1, p. 93).

What would this look like for you? What would it look like to really let go of all you have into His hands?

Consider all your God has done for you. Now consider everything you have (which is nothing in comparison to all He has to give). Add up everything you own. Survey your “holdings.” Open your treasure chest. Look to see what is there. Evaluate your potential. Whatever it may be. Think about what you could do with it all. Then lay it all down before the Lord. Give it all over to Him. Trust Him with your finances. Trust Him with your situation. Trust Him with your life. Let Him do what only He can do with all of these things. And follow Jesus with absolute abandon. By His grace.

PRAYER

O Lord, please grant me the grace to love you above all things, to treasure you, to find all of my identity in you, and to submit all of my hopes and dreams to your wise care. Please help me to renounce everything, even the things I don’t know I cling to. Help me to entrust everything in my life into your wise and loving hands.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen