"So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant." 1 Kings 19:21
It is a hard lesson to learn, but saying “yes” to something inevitably means saying “no” to other things. For example, saying “yes” to our health means saying “no” to foods that are not healthy for us, and saying “yes” to family time means saying no to other things competing for our time and attention. We may not always see it this way, but committing to anything requires sacrifice in other areas. The same is true in our relationship with God. Saying “yes” to Him means sacrificing by saying “no” to many other things. The sacrifices we make to follow Him are always worth the cost.
When God called Elisha to be His prophet in 1 Kings 19, it was an honor, but the call also had a cost. Before he left, he went to tell his parents goodbye (verse 20). After saying goodbye, he left his family and home to obey God’s call and become His prophet (verse 21). He understood the cost of this call, and he was willing to sacrifice the life he knew and leave his family. However, the reward for obeying God and serving was far greater than the sacrifices he had to make.
Jesus taught listeners that following Him required sacrifice. He said in Matthew 16, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (verse 24). The cross was a Roman torture device leading to death. Jesus was brutally honest that following Him meant sacrifice, even being prepared to lose one’s life, whether literally or figuratively. Next, He reminded listeners that the sacrifices we make to follow and obey Him. are always worth it. “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 find it” (verse 24). In other words, He said, do everything you can to hold on to your life and save it, and you will lose it. Give up your life for the sake of Christ, and you will find it. Yes, this life holds suffering and sacrifice, but when we lay down and sacrifice our lives, we will actually find our lives. The sacrifices we make to follow Him are worth the cost.
Friends, following and obeying Christ does have a cost. There will be things and people we must leave behind and give up. But, as we obey and make these sacrifices, we will find true joy and contentment from obeying Him.
Saying “yes” to God’s call on our lives means saying “no” to the world. We cannot hold on to our faith in God and the things of this world. As you think about your life, is anything you have been holding onto keeping you from fully committing to Him? It could be friends who you need to let go of. It could be fear of rejection because of sharing your faith. It could be a desire to “fit in” with the rest of the world by living like the world instead of like Jesus. Confess the area of God you have been holding on to and give it to Him today. Ask Him for the boldness to let go and fully commit to Him.
Matthew 16:21-28 (NLT)
"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
©2024 Sagebrush Church
