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True Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
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Connected by scripture or shared themes.
True Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Continue exploring
Connected by scripture or shared themes.
Following Jesus is more than belief—it is a daily surrender. There is a profound difference between being a fan and being a follower, and they can look remarkably similar on the surface.
When you're a fan, you have knowledge about the person you admire. You're aware of how they feel. You like them because you have an affinity for that person. You may express joy and tears based on their outcomes. But here's the crucial distinction: a fan is someone for whom the public precedes the private.
Sometimes we confuse the two. You declare your love for God on social media, yet you haven't secured a consistent time in His presence. It looks like you're a follower, but what you actually are is a fan. You might get goosebumps singing your favorite Christian song at church, but those same goosebumps don't arise during your quiet time alone with God. You praise God when your needs are met, when He shows up and shows out. But what happens in the moments when you're still crying out to God? It's in those moments you determine whether you are a fan or a follower.
The major difference between being a fan and a follower is found in discipleship—it's found in the space of a quiet rhythm with your heavenly Father.
Salvation establishes that your sins are forgiven. It means you have accepted the perfected work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. You are accepting a new relationship with Christ. But to be surrendered goes a step further—you are establishing His Lordship.
When we say the sinner's prayer and claim salvation, our hearts quickly align with it. Who doesn't want to be saved? Who doesn't want to be rescued? Who doesn't want to receive God's full and free forgiveness? But we go quiet on the term Lordship, because Lordship implies that you are giving over the ruleship of your life to somebody else—for Him to govern.
In Luke 9:18-20, Jesus asks His disciples a crucial question:
"Who do the crowds say that I am?" ... "But who do you say that I am?"
Jesus acknowledged the fans in the crowd. He didn't leave them out of the conversation. He included them, knowing fully that there will always be fans around Him. He's okay with their fandom, but He wanted to know what His disciples perceived. He made it personal: "Forget about the crowd. Now, what about you? Who do you say that I am?"
Jesus asks this after prayer because He wanted to establish that if they were getting ready to surrender their lives to Him, they needed to know whom they were surrendering to.
Sometimes with fandom, we don't know who the person of Jesus Christ is. That's why it's easy to fall into being a fan—because you have yet to recognize that Jesus is the Creator of the universe. He is the one who died and was resurrected for your sins. He holds the world perfectly in His hand.
Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus progressively revealed Himself:
Throughout this journey, He showed Himself to be King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega.
In Luke 5, Simon Peter encounters Jesus. Jesus is being followed by fans—it's the "in thing" to follow Jesus. But Simon Peter had been doing the same thing over and over again and catching nothing. Then Jesus shows up at the shore and asks, "Would you allow me to enter into your space, to take up residence in your space so that I can preach the gospel to the fans, so that the fans may become followers?"
Jesus asks Simon Peter to allow Him to use his boat. As Jesus teaches with the depth and wisdom He exemplified as a child—wisdom that had probably matured by this time—Simon listens to the Word of God being preached. He sees God being manifested. The promises of the Messiah show up. Then Jesus turns to him and says, "Cast your net at the other side, and you will draw fish."
Simon Peter says: "We've caught nothing, but nevertheless, at your word."
This is the start of followership: obedience. "Nevertheless, at your word, I will choose to obey what you have told me to do." He casts his net and catches so many fish.
You might think this would settle everything in their minds, but for Peter, this was just the start. He began through obedience.
God is asking us the same question today: Who is Jesus Christ to you? Have you settled for knowledge that's been passed down to you? Are you okay with regurgitated words about Jesus? Are you okay with hearing from people of old that Jesus is good, but you are yet to experience His goodness? Are you okay with church traditions instead of intimacy? Are you okay with going with the flow instead of discipleship?
Are you okay with an anemic perspective of Jesus Christ that has caused you to surrender—to wave the white flag instead of truly surrender, giving Him your all? Moving from "God, I don't have it, and I'm giving up" to "God, You have it, and I'm giving it all to You."
In 1 John 2:3, we're told:
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands, is a liar. And the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
It's not okay to have the appearance of godliness and holiness without having that same commitment truly on the inside of you. The surrender to the one whom you acknowledge as Lord is how you are determined to be a follower and not a fan of Jesus.
Luke 9:23-25 says:
And he was saying to them all, if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world and yet loses or forfeits himself?
Jesus whittled down what discipleship looks like into three steps:
Denying yourself means picking up the person of Jesus Christ more than you pick up your preferences. You have a preference for a particular TV show, a kind of music, a kind of friendship. They've been your "A1" from day one, and they will not lead you into the presence of God, but they're your preference.
Jesus is saying: "First, deny the things that don't necessarily look like Me. Deny the spaces that don't have My presence. Deny the way that you think you've been processing your life."
Taking up your cross daily is simple. It looks like opening up your Word and having a set time in your day where you spend time with your heavenly Father. It means you don't walk out of your house until you have talked to Jesus—until you have had an intimate conversation with Him.
He says: "Take up your cross. Not sometimes. Not when it's convenient. Not when it looks good. Not when someone has said something and you're ready to post. Not when you had a random thought that was uncorrelated with what God is trying to do in you and it's just an epiphany and you post. No. Take up your cross daily. It might be mundane. It might look boring. But take up your cross."
This culture is saying the most exciting thing is the thing we all want to be part of. How does that work in discipleship? It doesn't. God is saying, "Seek Me daily. Look for Me daily because I want to be found by you. Take up your cross. Follow Me."
Christ is the model. People ask, "How do you live this Christian life?" Look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Start there first and walk through Scripture as Christ would walk through it. Look at His example. Look at what He said. Look at how He did it. That example still stands. It doesn't change from generation to generation.
The result is the loss of oneself for Him. I find it interesting, especially in this day and age where we are all searching for individual identity. How can I define myself when I didn't create me? How is it possible that I am finding fulfillment and purpose in me? How about finding purpose and fulfillment in the One who knit me together, who knew me in my mother's womb?
Can we define ourselves through the lens of Jesus Christ? Sometimes we're looking for identity and affirmation in spaces that God did not intend for us to find it in. It says: lose yourself so that you can find yourself in Him.
Your surrender will define you. Peter couldn't have predicted that in one instance his career would change. Sometimes we're looking for a career, and God is saying, "I'm looking for a calling. There's an anointing on your life. But you want to be fulfilled by man paying you when God ultimately can pay you."
Surrender will redefine what is important. A surrendered life reprioritizes you. It will take the things you thought were so important—your reputation, your money, your skills—and reprioritize them in the face of God, in His presence.
Where can I go from Your presence, O God?
That will become your natural language. It will redefine what you think is so important. That marriage you're trying to pursue—but are you marrying for companionship when God is saying, "I need you to marry for kingdom"? Anyone can give you companionship, but those called to kingdom need the right kind of person.
Surrender will empty you. I'm a planner by nature. I dislike my plans to be interrupted. At one point, I didn't want God to disrupt my plans. And He met me in my plans and emptied my plans of themselves. I asked, "God, who am I without my plans?" He said, "You're My daughter."
Sometimes we have to be okay with the definitions that God gives us and not the definitions we give to ourselves. We have to be okay with simply being a daughter of the Most High. Being a daughter of the Most High means I am already royalty. The special privilege I am seeking, I already possess. It's almost as if you're seeking something as if God hasn't already paid for it. Now you look like a pauper in front of your King.
Surrender will cause you to seek to live a life that is selfless. Jesus prayed, "Not My will, but Your will be done." I imagine the amount of strength and humility it must have taken Him to say, "Let this cup pass from Me, but not My will—but Your will be done. That is a level of strength that I don't know if all of us can possess, but He's calling us to live a selfless life."
I have never seen anyone who serves somebody else who still concentrates on their own problems. Your problem begins to minimize in the space and in the face of your selflessness.
Surrender will empower you. God has said, "My strength is made perfect through your weakness. Therefore, I will be glorified through your weakness."
I have been fascinated by the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." This Christian hymn originated in what is present-day Meghalaya, India. The lyrics are based on the last words of Nokseng, a Garo man from Meghalaya who converted to Christianity through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary.
He is said to have recited verses from the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John as he and his family were being killed—as he was actually being martyred for his faith in Christ, he was singing. He was saying these words.
There was a transition for this man where he had to move from being a fan to a follower. It wasn't just in what he was saying—his actions lined up with his belief system. There was a willingness to be martyred for his belief system. It wasn't just being a good nominal Christian. He was willing to die for what he said he believed in.
I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.
Can you imagine what the heavens must have been singing—to the point now that we sing this song in honor of a man who penned it at his last breath?
"I have decided to follow Jesus. Not because it's popular to say. Not because it's good to say. Not because I want to get likes or followers. I've actually thought about it. And in the quiet consideration of my heart, I don't want to be a fan. I don't want to stand around the crowd and only seek Jesus for what I can get. I want to evolve. I want to elevate to the point where I say, 'I have decided to follow Jesus. Not because of what I can get. Not because of who is watching me. But because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.'"
What are the traits and hallmarks of a follower of Christ?
First, you're surrendered. That's the entire point of this message. In 2 Corinthians 5:14:
For the love of Christ controls me... one has died for all. Therefore, all have died. And he died for all that those who live may no longer live for themselves, but for him.
Second, a true follower sacrifices. In Luke 14:33:
Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciple.
There's sacrifice involved with a true follower. The word "disciple" means fully devoted, fully connected follower of Christ. It's almost the imagery of what marriage is supposed to be—where you are devoted to that person, come what may.
Third, a true follower of Christ serves others. In John 13:12-15, Jesus takes a cloth and decides to wash His disciples' feet. That is symbolic of what He wants to do with us. We think He's coming with a hammer. We think He's coming to condemn. No, He wants to wash you clean. He wants to wash the dirtiest parts of your life. He wants to have access to parts of your life that are so unseemly that nobody else should see.
He says, "Give Me that. I want that. Don't hide it from me. Don't keep it away from me. That's what I desire."
A true follower of Christ serves those that do not deserve to be served and makes themselves available to them.
Finally, a true follower of Christ sets the example. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 11:1:
Follow me. Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.
There is an opportunity for each and every one of us to be the example—on your job, in your family, with those around you—where your life screams and yells, "Follow me because I follow Him. Follow me because I know what it means to be a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, and I want to help shift you from being a fan to becoming a follower of Christ."
The problem with some of us is that we set up barriers. We say, "God, I surrender to You, but only this much." God is saying, "Some of you, I want to use incredibly, but your lifestyle has spaces where the doors are locked. And I've been trying to access those doors, and you're wondering to yourself, 'God, why won't You take me to the next level?' And I'm saying, 'I don't have access to all of you, so I can't trust you.'"
And we're looking for trust without giving Him access. God is saying, "I want to access you. It's all or none. You dabble in shades of gray. And I don't understand shades, first of all, because in Me it's light. And there is no space for darkness. So you're asking Me to dabble in spaces that I normally can't go into because of My nature."
In Romans 12:1, Paul appeals:
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
He wasn't changing the terminology. He said, "Your body. Your physical body. Your soul. Bring everything to Me. Present it to Me as a living sacrifice." The word "sacrifice" means consecrated. Anything consecrated and offered to God. But not just a dead sacrifice—it's a living sacrifice.
A dead sacrifice means you have already done it before and it's no longer there anymore. Sometimes we like to present to God dead sacrifices, dead works. And God is saying, "I need living sacrifices because it means it is continual. It's an active progression of presenting yourself to Me."
In Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
God is saying, "You live in this world, but you don't have to act like them. You can be different. You can be the example."
This is present continuous. But be transformed by the active renewal of your mind. You will have stinking thinking. You're still in this human flesh. But it's still your responsibility to have the Holy Spirit work on your mind to transform it.
You are not helpless to the way that you think. You are not helpless to your thoughts. You have the ability through the Word of God to have your mind transformed.
Some of us—not even daily, but second per second—have a negative thought about ourselves. "God, I present my body to You. I present this mind to You for You to transform and shift it. I don't have to take how I think. I can transform it."
In 1 John 2:15-16:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves this world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
He is clear that this is what you need to separate yourself from. Practically, the things my flesh desires—the addictions, the fear, the anxiety, the pursuing of success at all costs, the lies, the notoriety—I can bring those things to God for Him to conform.
In 1 John 1:5:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
What Scripture is saying is: if you walk in the light, you've been saved, but there's still ample opportunity to still be in this body to walk in the light as He does. He purifies you.
So you can be saved and not surrendered. There is a cost of surrender. And there are no shortcuts to surrender.
You can be a fan or a follower. The choice is yours. But know this: salvation may be an instant decision. Surrender is a daily, lifelong journey. It will cost you everything, but it is the only path to a life fully empowered, transformed, and aligned with God's purpose.
The question is not whether you believe in Jesus. The question is: Will you follow Him?
Following Jesus is more than belief—it is a daily surrender. There is a profound difference between being a fan and being a follower, and they can look remarkably similar on the surface.
When you're a fan, you have knowledge about the person you admire. You're aware of how they feel. You like them because you have an affinity for that person. You may express joy and tears based on their outcomes. But here's the crucial distinction: a fan is someone for whom the public precedes the private.
Sometimes we confuse the two. You declare your love for God on social media, yet you haven't secured a consistent time in His presence. It looks like you're a follower, but what you actually are is a fan. You might get goosebumps singing your favorite Christian song at church, but those same goosebumps don't arise during your quiet time alone with God. You praise God when your needs are met, when He shows up and shows out. But what happens in the moments when you're still crying out to God? It's in those moments you determine whether you are a fan or a follower.
The major difference between being a fan and a follower is found in discipleship—it's found in the space of a quiet rhythm with your heavenly Father.
Salvation establishes that your sins are forgiven. It means you have accepted the perfected work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. You are accepting a new relationship with Christ. But to be surrendered goes a step further—you are establishing His Lordship.
When we say the sinner's prayer and claim salvation, our hearts quickly align with it. Who doesn't want to be saved? Who doesn't want to be rescued? Who doesn't want to receive God's full and free forgiveness? But we go quiet on the term Lordship, because Lordship implies that you are giving over the ruleship of your life to somebody else—for Him to govern.
In Luke 9:18-20, Jesus asks His disciples a crucial question:
"Who do the crowds say that I am?" ... "But who do you say that I am?"
Jesus acknowledged the fans in the crowd. He didn't leave them out of the conversation. He included them, knowing fully that there will always be fans around Him. He's okay with their fandom, but He wanted to know what His disciples perceived. He made it personal: "Forget about the crowd. Now, what about you? Who do you say that I am?"
Jesus asks this after prayer because He wanted to establish that if they were getting ready to surrender their lives to Him, they needed to know whom they were surrendering to.
Sometimes with fandom, we don't know who the person of Jesus Christ is. That's why it's easy to fall into being a fan—because you have yet to recognize that Jesus is the Creator of the universe. He is the one who died and was resurrected for your sins. He holds the world perfectly in His hand.
Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus progressively revealed Himself:
Throughout this journey, He showed Himself to be King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega.
In Luke 5, Simon Peter encounters Jesus. Jesus is being followed by fans—it's the "in thing" to follow Jesus. But Simon Peter had been doing the same thing over and over again and catching nothing. Then Jesus shows up at the shore and asks, "Would you allow me to enter into your space, to take up residence in your space so that I can preach the gospel to the fans, so that the fans may become followers?"
Jesus asks Simon Peter to allow Him to use his boat. As Jesus teaches with the depth and wisdom He exemplified as a child—wisdom that had probably matured by this time—Simon listens to the Word of God being preached. He sees God being manifested. The promises of the Messiah show up. Then Jesus turns to him and says, "Cast your net at the other side, and you will draw fish."
Simon Peter says: "We've caught nothing, but nevertheless, at your word."
This is the start of followership: obedience. "Nevertheless, at your word, I will choose to obey what you have told me to do." He casts his net and catches so many fish.
You might think this would settle everything in their minds, but for Peter, this was just the start. He began through obedience.
God is asking us the same question today: Who is Jesus Christ to you? Have you settled for knowledge that's been passed down to you? Are you okay with regurgitated words about Jesus? Are you okay with hearing from people of old that Jesus is good, but you are yet to experience His goodness? Are you okay with church traditions instead of intimacy? Are you okay with going with the flow instead of discipleship?
Are you okay with an anemic perspective of Jesus Christ that has caused you to surrender—to wave the white flag instead of truly surrender, giving Him your all? Moving from "God, I don't have it, and I'm giving up" to "God, You have it, and I'm giving it all to You."
In 1 John 2:3, we're told:
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands, is a liar. And the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
It's not okay to have the appearance of godliness and holiness without having that same commitment truly on the inside of you. The surrender to the one whom you acknowledge as Lord is how you are determined to be a follower and not a fan of Jesus.
Luke 9:23-25 says:
And he was saying to them all, if anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, he is the one who will save it. For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world and yet loses or forfeits himself?
Jesus whittled down what discipleship looks like into three steps:
Denying yourself means picking up the person of Jesus Christ more than you pick up your preferences. You have a preference for a particular TV show, a kind of music, a kind of friendship. They've been your "A1" from day one, and they will not lead you into the presence of God, but they're your preference.
Jesus is saying: "First, deny the things that don't necessarily look like Me. Deny the spaces that don't have My presence. Deny the way that you think you've been processing your life."
Taking up your cross daily is simple. It looks like opening up your Word and having a set time in your day where you spend time with your heavenly Father. It means you don't walk out of your house until you have talked to Jesus—until you have had an intimate conversation with Him.
He says: "Take up your cross. Not sometimes. Not when it's convenient. Not when it looks good. Not when someone has said something and you're ready to post. Not when you had a random thought that was uncorrelated with what God is trying to do in you and it's just an epiphany and you post. No. Take up your cross daily. It might be mundane. It might look boring. But take up your cross."
This culture is saying the most exciting thing is the thing we all want to be part of. How does that work in discipleship? It doesn't. God is saying, "Seek Me daily. Look for Me daily because I want to be found by you. Take up your cross. Follow Me."
Christ is the model. People ask, "How do you live this Christian life?" Look at Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Start there first and walk through Scripture as Christ would walk through it. Look at His example. Look at what He said. Look at how He did it. That example still stands. It doesn't change from generation to generation.
The result is the loss of oneself for Him. I find it interesting, especially in this day and age where we are all searching for individual identity. How can I define myself when I didn't create me? How is it possible that I am finding fulfillment and purpose in me? How about finding purpose and fulfillment in the One who knit me together, who knew me in my mother's womb?
Can we define ourselves through the lens of Jesus Christ? Sometimes we're looking for identity and affirmation in spaces that God did not intend for us to find it in. It says: lose yourself so that you can find yourself in Him.
Your surrender will define you. Peter couldn't have predicted that in one instance his career would change. Sometimes we're looking for a career, and God is saying, "I'm looking for a calling. There's an anointing on your life. But you want to be fulfilled by man paying you when God ultimately can pay you."
Surrender will redefine what is important. A surrendered life reprioritizes you. It will take the things you thought were so important—your reputation, your money, your skills—and reprioritize them in the face of God, in His presence.
Where can I go from Your presence, O God?
That will become your natural language. It will redefine what you think is so important. That marriage you're trying to pursue—but are you marrying for companionship when God is saying, "I need you to marry for kingdom"? Anyone can give you companionship, but those called to kingdom need the right kind of person.
Surrender will empty you. I'm a planner by nature. I dislike my plans to be interrupted. At one point, I didn't want God to disrupt my plans. And He met me in my plans and emptied my plans of themselves. I asked, "God, who am I without my plans?" He said, "You're My daughter."
Sometimes we have to be okay with the definitions that God gives us and not the definitions we give to ourselves. We have to be okay with simply being a daughter of the Most High. Being a daughter of the Most High means I am already royalty. The special privilege I am seeking, I already possess. It's almost as if you're seeking something as if God hasn't already paid for it. Now you look like a pauper in front of your King.
Surrender will cause you to seek to live a life that is selfless. Jesus prayed, "Not My will, but Your will be done." I imagine the amount of strength and humility it must have taken Him to say, "Let this cup pass from Me, but not My will—but Your will be done. That is a level of strength that I don't know if all of us can possess, but He's calling us to live a selfless life."
I have never seen anyone who serves somebody else who still concentrates on their own problems. Your problem begins to minimize in the space and in the face of your selflessness.
Surrender will empower you. God has said, "My strength is made perfect through your weakness. Therefore, I will be glorified through your weakness."
I have been fascinated by the hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." This Christian hymn originated in what is present-day Meghalaya, India. The lyrics are based on the last words of Nokseng, a Garo man from Meghalaya who converted to Christianity through the efforts of an American Baptist missionary.
He is said to have recited verses from the 12th chapter of the Gospel of John as he and his family were being killed—as he was actually being martyred for his faith in Christ, he was singing. He was saying these words.
There was a transition for this man where he had to move from being a fan to a follower. It wasn't just in what he was saying—his actions lined up with his belief system. There was a willingness to be martyred for his belief system. It wasn't just being a good nominal Christian. He was willing to die for what he said he believed in.
I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.
Can you imagine what the heavens must have been singing—to the point now that we sing this song in honor of a man who penned it at his last breath?
"I have decided to follow Jesus. Not because it's popular to say. Not because it's good to say. Not because I want to get likes or followers. I've actually thought about it. And in the quiet consideration of my heart, I don't want to be a fan. I don't want to stand around the crowd and only seek Jesus for what I can get. I want to evolve. I want to elevate to the point where I say, 'I have decided to follow Jesus. Not because of what I can get. Not because of who is watching me. But because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.'"
What are the traits and hallmarks of a follower of Christ?
First, you're surrendered. That's the entire point of this message. In 2 Corinthians 5:14:
For the love of Christ controls me... one has died for all. Therefore, all have died. And he died for all that those who live may no longer live for themselves, but for him.
Second, a true follower sacrifices. In Luke 14:33:
Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciple.
There's sacrifice involved with a true follower. The word "disciple" means fully devoted, fully connected follower of Christ. It's almost the imagery of what marriage is supposed to be—where you are devoted to that person, come what may.
Third, a true follower of Christ serves others. In John 13:12-15, Jesus takes a cloth and decides to wash His disciples' feet. That is symbolic of what He wants to do with us. We think He's coming with a hammer. We think He's coming to condemn. No, He wants to wash you clean. He wants to wash the dirtiest parts of your life. He wants to have access to parts of your life that are so unseemly that nobody else should see.
He says, "Give Me that. I want that. Don't hide it from me. Don't keep it away from me. That's what I desire."
A true follower of Christ serves those that do not deserve to be served and makes themselves available to them.
Finally, a true follower of Christ sets the example. Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 11:1:
Follow me. Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.
There is an opportunity for each and every one of us to be the example—on your job, in your family, with those around you—where your life screams and yells, "Follow me because I follow Him. Follow me because I know what it means to be a follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, and I want to help shift you from being a fan to becoming a follower of Christ."
The problem with some of us is that we set up barriers. We say, "God, I surrender to You, but only this much." God is saying, "Some of you, I want to use incredibly, but your lifestyle has spaces where the doors are locked. And I've been trying to access those doors, and you're wondering to yourself, 'God, why won't You take me to the next level?' And I'm saying, 'I don't have access to all of you, so I can't trust you.'"
And we're looking for trust without giving Him access. God is saying, "I want to access you. It's all or none. You dabble in shades of gray. And I don't understand shades, first of all, because in Me it's light. And there is no space for darkness. So you're asking Me to dabble in spaces that I normally can't go into because of My nature."
In Romans 12:1, Paul appeals:
I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
He wasn't changing the terminology. He said, "Your body. Your physical body. Your soul. Bring everything to Me. Present it to Me as a living sacrifice." The word "sacrifice" means consecrated. Anything consecrated and offered to God. But not just a dead sacrifice—it's a living sacrifice.
A dead sacrifice means you have already done it before and it's no longer there anymore. Sometimes we like to present to God dead sacrifices, dead works. And God is saying, "I need living sacrifices because it means it is continual. It's an active progression of presenting yourself to Me."
In Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
God is saying, "You live in this world, but you don't have to act like them. You can be different. You can be the example."
This is present continuous. But be transformed by the active renewal of your mind. You will have stinking thinking. You're still in this human flesh. But it's still your responsibility to have the Holy Spirit work on your mind to transform it.
You are not helpless to the way that you think. You are not helpless to your thoughts. You have the ability through the Word of God to have your mind transformed.
Some of us—not even daily, but second per second—have a negative thought about ourselves. "God, I present my body to You. I present this mind to You for You to transform and shift it. I don't have to take how I think. I can transform it."
In 1 John 2:15-16:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves this world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the pride of life—is not from the Father, but is from the world.
He is clear that this is what you need to separate yourself from. Practically, the things my flesh desires—the addictions, the fear, the anxiety, the pursuing of success at all costs, the lies, the notoriety—I can bring those things to God for Him to conform.
In 1 John 1:5:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
What Scripture is saying is: if you walk in the light, you've been saved, but there's still ample opportunity to still be in this body to walk in the light as He does. He purifies you.
So you can be saved and not surrendered. There is a cost of surrender. And there are no shortcuts to surrender.
You can be a fan or a follower. The choice is yours. But know this: salvation may be an instant decision. Surrender is a daily, lifelong journey. It will cost you everything, but it is the only path to a life fully empowered, transformed, and aligned with God's purpose.
The question is not whether you believe in Jesus. The question is: Will you follow Him?
