Authentic Surrender

Authentic Surrender is Rooted in a firm understanding of the value of Christ’s sacrifice.

Authentic Surrender is Rooted in a firm understanding of the value of Christ’s sacrifice.

You cannot divorce this passage from the overarching journey of Christ to the cross.

Jesus had encountered pockets of people over the last three years. Some were intrigued by His teachings, some were enamored by His healings, others were inspired by His presence.

Now, as Jesus is turning toward the cross, He stops at Caesarea Philippi and takes stock of what His closest followers are thinking.

It is in this moment that Peter makes his famous confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”.

This confession is at the root of the verses we will talk about today. What does it mean for Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the Living God? What does that identity mean to us?

Almost immediately after his confession, Peter sticks his foot in his mouth and tries to rebuke Christ for announcing His destiny of the Cross.

Jesus was sharing that He was setting the example for us that there should be no limits on our willingness to follow His lead.

So what does Jesus say that real surrender looks like?

We must DENY OURSELVES

Sometimes it is about stuff

Sometimes it is about time

Sometimes it is about pride

We must TAKE UP OUR CROSS

Dying to our old ways of life

Dying to our ambitions

Dying to our prejudices

We must FOLLOW HIM

There will be an ultimate day of reckoning for each of us.

The time will come for our lives to be compared with His call.

How will it stack up?

Jesus doesn’t ask of us what He has not modeled for us.

Jesus has demonstrated His love towards us by laying down His life for our salvation.

Now we must lay down our lives for His service.