Part 3 - The Cost - "Surrendering Our Lives"

Introduction:

Luke 9:23–25
23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

Jesus leaves no room for casual Christianity. His call is clear, weighty, and deeply personal. To follow Him is not to admire Him from a distance or fit Him conveniently into our lives. It is to surrender completely.  Casual Christianity is a dangerous illusion. It wants the comfort of salvation without the cost of discipleship. But Jesus makes it plain: following Him means denying ourselves, taking up our cross daily, and walking in obedience. This is not a half-hearted commitment. It is an all-in surrender.

Scripture warns us about lukewarm faith. God is not honored by divided hearts or empty professions. The call of Christ is total. We are not invited to add Jesus to our agenda. We are called to lay down our lives and follow Him fully.

Deny Yourself

Self-denial is often misunderstood. It is not self-hatred or diminishing your worth. It is the refusal to let self sit on the throne.
It means:

  • Saying no to your will when it conflicts with God’s
  • Laying down pride and selfish ambition
  • Releasing control over your life

Some things we carry—our gifts, passions, and even achievements—are not discarded, but surrendered and realigned for God’s glory. Jesus modeled this perfectly in the garden:
“Not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
That is the heartbeat of a disciple. Paul echoes this in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
Discipleship begins when we stop asking Jesus to fit into our plans—and instead surrender ourselves to His.

Take Up Your Cross Daily

In Jesus’ time, the cross was not symbolic—it was an instrument of death.
To take up your cross daily means:

  • Dying to sin
  • Dying to self
  • Dying to anything that competes with Christ

This is not a one-time decision. It is a daily surrender.
Every day you are faced with a question:
Will I live for myself, or will I live for Jesus?

Paul said it plainly:
“I die every day!” (1 Corinthians 15:31)
And Romans 12:1 calls us to live as a “living sacrifice”—a life of continual worship, surrender, and obedience.
This is what a grounded life looks like: steady, surrendered, and aligned with God.

Follow Him

Jesus doesn’t stop at surrender—He calls us into relationship.
“Follow me.”
Discipleship is not just about what you leave behind—it’s about who you walk with. To follow Jesus means:

  • Trusting His direction
  • Obeying His Word
  • Imitating His life
  • Submitting to His leadership

It means we no longer define truth, identity, or purpose on our own terms.
“Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6)
Following Jesus is not just believing in Him—it’s building your entire life around Him.

What Will It Profit You?

Jesus then asks a question that cuts through everything:
“What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?”
The world pushes us to accumulate—more success, more influence, more security. But Jesus exposes the emptiness of it all apart from Him.
You can gain everything outwardly and still lose everything eternally.
Surrender may feel costly—but resisting Jesus costs far more.
Paul understood this:
“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…” (Philippians 3:7–8)
When you surrender your life to Christ, you’re not losing what matters—you’re gaining what lasts forever.

Getting Grounded in Surrender

If you want to be grounded in Christ, it starts here.
Not with knowledge.
Not with activity.
But with surrender.
Before growth comes yielding.
Before formation comes submission.
Surrender is the doorway to everything God wants to do in your life.
And here’s the truth: when you lay your life down, you don’t end up with less—you discover something better.
His way is better.
His path leads to life.
His leadership can be trusted.
And His call—though costly—always leads to something greater than anything you leave behind.

Summary

Surrender is the foundation of true discipleship. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him—not casually, but completely. This means laying down control, dying to self-centered living, and choosing obedience every day. While the world promises fulfillment through gain, Jesus reveals that real life is found in surrender. What seems costly in the moment becomes an eternal gain when our lives are fully yielded to Him.

Closing Charge

Don’t try to follow Jesus at a distance.
Take an honest look at your life:
 What are you still holding onto?
 Where are you still in control?
 What have you not placed on the altar?
Bring it to the cross—fully, not partially.
Today, choose to surrender again. Not just in words, but in action.
Deny yourself.
Take up your cross.
And follow Him—wherever He leads.
Because a surrendered life isn’t a lesser life.
It’s the only life that truly lives.

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