How to “Let go and Live in Christ” (Matthew 16:24-28)

Introduction

Imagine that there two cross-paths in life.

A left side and a right side.

On the left side, there is a busy city filled with skyscrapers and a corporate ladder reaching high into the sky.

With gold, luxury items, sports car and designer goods.

This is the pursuit of wealth, status, and achievement that society often glorifies.

But, On the right side,

You see serene countryside scene with open fields, a bright blue sky, and a wooden cross standing tall on a small hill.

It is peaceful, symbolizing the rest and fulfillment

What do you choose?

What does God what you want to choose?

God wants you to surrender and set your eyes on the cross.

However, people misunderstand God.

They think God says ignore everything that is on the left side.

God allows us to enjoy what the world offers, to healthy extent.

But, our lives as Christians. Our duties as Christians is to first surrender ourselves and live in Christ.

But why? To live the blessed life that God offers.

The world celebrates self-advancement, but it requires sacrifice.

Jesus calls us to a life of surrender. An art of surrender. But, it offers peace, stability and blessing.

C.S. Lewis: "Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it."

In this sermon, we will examine Matthew 16:24-28 to learn how to let go and truly live our lives in Christ.

I. Why should we surrender

Before we dive deeper into the art of the surrendering.

You might ask yourself why should we surrender?

Why can’t I live the way I want to live?

Let me ask you this question first: How can you guarantee your future?

Has anything that you planned or you set your mind to occur exactly how you planned it?

Is there anything in this world that you can tell me is absolutely certain or secured forever?

Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

One thing is for certain: That God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is the only thing that is certain and occurs exactly how He said it would be.

So, TRUST in Him. There is nothing that is trustworthy except for the word of God.

Let’s first examine what the world teaches compared to God.

II. The Art of Surrender: START WITH YOUR MIND (Matthew 16:24)

Let’s first look at Matthew 16:24

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

For the longest time, when you hear of the story of the rich young man in Matthew 19, I always thought that the life of following Christ was to surrender all I had.

That I had to give away all of my finances. I have to poor and live in isolation from the world.

However, as God grew up faith in Christ. He has taught me otherwise.

He understands and provides for the needs in our lives. He is not telling us to give up our money or neglect the necessities in our lives to take care of our families.

No! He does not want us to WORRY about money.

He says do not LOVE money but at the same time, the lazy will not be fed, He says in Proverbs. He COMMANDS us to be diligent in our lives.

He wants us to focus on what truly matters, salvation.

We need to change the way or perspective of how we are reading the Bible.

We cannot take one verse and make our understanding of what we think the Bible is trying to tell us. God shows us a bigger picture.

How do we surrender, then?

The First art of surrender: START with your MIND.

CHANGE your mindset! Jesus was a rational being and he explained in rational ways when answering the Jews.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

SET!

It is an action.

Set your mind on above, where Jesus is at. The place where he is sitting on the right side of God.

Start with your mind and the way you are thinking about the Bible.

Convince your mind to start opening up the Bible.

I started this motto in Faith Tok and hope it sticks: Just Open your Bible. So many questions will be answered. So many truths will be revealed. So many problems will be solved if you just open your Bible.

Everything starts with your mind.

Tell yourself every morning - I belong to Christ.

Surrendering to God does not mean to give everything up. Surrendering to God means starting your life with God.

But, I want to ask you "What worldly ambition is keeping you from fully surrendering to Christ?"

II. ART OF SURRENDER: TRUST in GOD (Matthew 16:25-28)

The SECOND art of surrender: TRUST

Matthew 16:27–28 “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.””

The word faith sometimes can feel distant. So, we use the word Jesus instead.

I also like to use TRUST.

Trust in whom? Jesus and Trust God.

Trust that He will work according to how He promised through scripture.

Surrender Is Not WEAKNESS or is it Giving Up everything I have: It is placing trust in the ONE who KNOWS me best and LOVES us best.

C.S. Lewis said: "When we give up trying to control our life that we discover that God is there to surprise us with his fullness and Grace

Why waste time storing up riches for yourself so that you can enjoy only for 100 years?

Why not focus on what you can enjoy for eternity?

Every day when live in Christ, we are storing up our rewards in Heaven.

Jesus said so in verse 27, I will reward each according to what he has done.

Do not worry so much that you lose yourself.

Matthew 16:25–26

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?”

The more i grow in my faith. I am learning that maturity in faith means surrendering myself to Christ.

We waste so much energy, our time, our mentality trying to be recognized by this world.

If you try to save your life in this world, you will lose it. This means you think the high status and money will be yours? No, it will overtake you.

But, why would you want to do that?

If you stop focusing and worrying about that then you will find true life, Jesus teaches us.

To still enjoy and experience and do the things in this world.

But, to live with peace inside - the perfect inner harmony that God created us to live by.

Trust in God. God will take care of you.

III. Living in Christ: A Daily Practice (Luke 9:23, a parallel to Matthew 16:24)

I challenge all of you with the following: TRY this DAILY.

Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

In Luke 9:23, which is a parallel to our main scripture, you will find a word that is not mentioned in Matthew 16:24

the word DAILY is mentioned.

Denying ourselves and taking up our cross is not a one-time act but a DAILY decision.

What does taking up our cross mean?

Full-commitment to Christ in our daily lives.

I hear some people say - I am not Jesus. How can I live like him?

Exactly. You can’t.

None of us can live like Christ.

But, what does the Bible teach us?

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

How to live in Christ: Daily prayer and surrender.

When the Bible tells us to have the same mindset like Christ, it is teaching us learn what type of mentality Jesus lived by.

By just opening your Bible.

Challenge the congregation to spend 5 minutes every morning surrendering their day to Christ.

Reflection: "What areas of your life are hardest to let go of? Surrender them in prayer."

Conclusion: The Ultimate Reward of Surrender

To recap, I want to bring you back to those two paths we talked about earlier.

One is the path of the world—a busy, alluring road filled with promises of wealth, status, and achievement.

The other is the path of God—one of peace, fulfillment, and eternal purpose.

Jesus never said the path of surrender would be easy, but He promised it would be worth it.

Matthew 16:25 says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.”

This isn’t about giving up everything you love; it’s about reorienting your life around what truly matters—living in Christ.

C.S. Lewis said, “When we give up trying to control our lives, we discover that God is there to surprise us with His fullness and grace.”

Surrender is not weakness; it’s the ultimate act of trust in a God who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us more than we can comprehend.

Let’s commit to the art of surrender—not just once, but daily.

As Luke 9:23 reminds us, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Call to Action

To close,

I want to invite you to take a moment of reflection.

Take a deep breath and think about your life—your ambitions, your relationships, your fears, and your struggles.

Ask yourself this: What areas of my life do I need to let go of and trust Christ with?

Maybe it’s your career, where you’ve been striving to control every detail.

Maybe it’s a broken relationship you’re trying to fix on your own.

Or perhaps it’s a fear of the future that keeps you up at night. Whatever it is, identify it.

Be honest with yourself and with God.

Next, take it a step further—write it down. Grab your prayer request sheets, and write down the areas in your life where you need to surrender and trust Christ.

Make this your prayer request for the week.

Lift it up to God and ask Him to take it from your hands.

Surrender it fully in prayer and believe that He will guide you.

Finally, I want to challenge you to live out Matthew 16:24-28 this week.

Don’t let this message end here.

Make a deliberate choice each day to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.

Each morning, before you check your phone or begin your tasks for the day, take five minutes to surrender your day to God. Say, “Lord, I trust You with this day. Help me to follow You, to let go of what I can’t control, and to walk in Your will.”

As you go through your day, look for moments where you can deny yourself.

Maybe it’s choosing patience when you’re frustrated, showing kindness to someone who’s difficult, or prioritizing time with God over distractions.

These small, intentional acts of surrender add up and open doors for the gospel

Let me leave you with this question to reflect on throughout the week:

“What worldly ambition is holding me back from fully following Christ?”

Whatever it is, surrender it. Trust Him with it.

Watch as God brings peace, stability, and blessing into your life when you choose to walk His path.

You’re not doing this alone—Christ walks with you every step of the way.

Let’s go and live surrendered lives this week. Amen.

Prayer of Commitment

Let us pray.

“Lord, I surrender my plans, my ambitions, and my desires to You. Teach me to deny myself, take up my cross, and live fully in Christ. Help me trust You in every area of my life. Amen.”