Let Go of Self! Hold On to Jesus!

To become and remain Christ-centered, we must surrender totally to God and let Him be God in our lives. For this to happen, we must deny self, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus. Death to self is the foundation of spiritual transformation and the only way to become Christlike. “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature … you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Col 3:5,9-10) We must let go of self, take a hold of, and hold on, cling, to Jesus.

1. Deny Self, Die To Self

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Lk 9:23-25). Later Jesus put this in stronger words, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26-27)

Matthew puts it like this — “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:37-39)

The cross is an instrument of death. When we deny ourselves and take up our crosses, we carry our crosses to our own execution. We put ourselves to death. Bonhoeffer’s famous words, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” In dying to self we regard this life in this world as already finished. Dying to self means that in faith we apply the truth of Gal 2:20 to our lives — “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.” We no longer live but Christ lives in us.

Dying to self and following Jesus means that we let go of self and let Jesus be the Lord of our lives. We surrender and submit to Him. We trust Him with our lives; trust Him to lead us, teach us, and form us until we become perfect like Him. We now live for Christ, not for self. We put Jesus above and before everything and everyone else in our lives.

We surrender and nail to the cross all our obsessive desires and selfish ambitions. We let go of everything that is taking the place of Jesus in our lives — whatever is ruling our lives, our hearts, and minds. No exceptions — family, money, career, business, politics, ideologies, national, cultural, racial, or ethnic identity. Dying to self is to let go of human striving and human effort; to let go of securing myself, promoting myself, and indulging myself; to let go of our addictions — our screens, social media, hurry and busy-ness; to let go of our attempts at controlling everyone and everything. We must let go of anything that prevents us from loving God and others; anything that causes us to disobey our Lord and not put into practice his commands and teachings. What do you need to die to? What do you need to let go of? Where in your life do you need to die to yourself? Pray — ask the Holy Spirit to show you.

2. The Cost of Discipleship

Dying to self is counter-cultural in our “me first” world. It contradicts the deceiving lies of the world—Look out for self. Find and be your true self and you will be happy. Pursue your own dreams. Dying to self is radical. And this brings us to the cost of discipleship. What comes to mind when you think about the cost of discipleship? Yes, there is the cost of suffering when we are persecuted by the world. Some may think of the cost as the sacrifices we make by giving up all the fun things of this world, giving up our freedom and happiness. Isn’t that still self-centered thinking?

Dying to self is brutal and painful, especially from the perspective of the old self, our lost and ruined souls. We are giving up our selfish desires, self-centered attachments, our greed, our idols. Some pain is involved because the old self with its attachments is still there in our hearts and lives. However, ruined souls cannot be improved. They can only be replaced, and be born again. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (Jn 3:5) We are new creations in Christ — Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor 5:17)

Let us consider the cost of non-discipleship, the cost of not dying to self and following Jesus. It is a life enslaved to our selfish desires, our self-centered ambitions, obsessions, and addictions. It leads to destruction, to eternal death in hell. What is the cost of dying to self and following Jesus?

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Mt 13:44-46) Dying to self and following Jesus we gain a glorious treasure of immense wealth and uncountable value. We gain the kingdom of heaven. We become children of God. We gain the new, eternal life. We gain the new, healed, eternal self; the person and self God intended us to be when He created us. We gain true freedom and fulfillment in the life of God. And we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for we are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of our souls (1 Pet 1:8-9). This is the real cost of discipleship.“Whoever finds their life (soul) will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (Mt 10:39) You have a choice.

Dying to self is the only way to become disciples of Jesus; the only way to learn from Him to be like Him. It is absolutely necessary. If we do not practice it, we are not his disciples. If we do not die to self daily, we do not learn from Him, but from other masters. If we do not take up crosses daily and follow Him, we follow after the world, the prince of the world, and after our own fleshly minds and desires. Dying to self daily and following Jesus is the only way to live the kingdom life.

This is possible when we put on Jesus’ yoke which is light and easy. When we die to self and abide in Jesus daily, He becomes a greater reality in our lives. Our old self is gradually and increasingly being transformed into his image. The kingdom life becomes easier because of his grace and power that works in us, not because of our abilities or strength. If this is difficult then most likely there is something that we are still holding onto, that we have not yet let go of. Next week more detail about taking on Jesus’ yoke and abiding in Christ.

3. Let Go!

Dying to self we must let go and let God be God in our lives. This requires surrender and submission. These words our culture and world despise. Words our self-centered independence hate. To surrender and submit means to yield control and our desires to someone else, in this case, God. To let go involves total surrender and absolute trust in God; trust that God is God and is in control.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” “Be still” literally means “Take your hands off! Let go! Relax!” We like to be “hands-on” people and manage our own lives, but God is God, and we must relinquish control, let go, and let Him be God.

God is and has always been in control of all things — The LORD Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.” (Is 14:24) Sometimes God acts in human history and interjects his plan and will into our life stories. Sometimes God allows the world to take its natural course but He remains in control. He is not surprised by anything. History is moving towards its foregone conclusion and God will achieve his kingdom purpose. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)

Who is behind the steering wheel of our lives? We must let go of control and surrender the steering wheel to Him. Letting go and letting God be God requires that we must acknowledge that God doesn’t work for us. We are not his employer. We don’t call the shots. He is the Sovereign God. He is the Potter and we are the clay. Jeremiah 18:6, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.” God shapes, reshapes, refines, forms, and reform the clay at will. Alone, we, the clay, can’t do anything. We have no say in the shaping, nor do we have the power to shape ourselves. “When God shapes us, He has a vision in mind of who He wants us to be. He patiently works out the blemishes with His hands, and He shapes us by putting pressure in just the right places. Sometimes the reshaping occurs gently. Other times He firmly rebuilds us from a mound of messy mud. Whatever the approach, He’s always working a plan to bring His vision to life.” (Steve Grusendorf) God is the loving artisan. We are his hand-crafted creations. He is the loving Creator. Letting go is to allow God to do his work in us.

Letting go is to be still and to rest in the Lord. God will provide what we need in His time and in His way. Letting go is to be courageous, and to know that the Lord is always with us. Don’t be afraid. Do not fear. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)

Letting go is to love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength (Mk 12:30). Letting go is to die to our will, and to identify our will with God’s will. It is to live with abandonment and with single-minded and joyous devotion to God, his will, his purpose, and his glory. “The only haven of safety is to have no other will, no other wisdom than to follow the Lord wherever he leads. Let this, then, be the first step, to abandon ourselves, and devote the whole energy of our minds to the service of God.” (John Calvin)

Letting go is to let God be the ultimate reality of our lives. Our minds and thoughts are set and focused on God all the time as we live a life of worship as living sacrifices. That is why Col. 3:17 commands us, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” We do it all for the glory of God.

4. Cling to Jesus

However, dying to self is not just about letting go. We deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily, and follow Jesus. As we let go we also need to take hold of and hold on to Jesus. We must cling to Jesus, grasp Him, embrace Him, cleave to Him. Clinging to Jesus involves surrendering our will, our self as we have seen. It involves placing our life, our future, all of our hope, and all of our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior. Clinging to Jesus means that we are willing to follow Him wherever He leads because we are learning to trust Him above everything else.

Clinging to Jesus is the only way we can be his disciples, his apprentices, and learn from Him. It is the only way we can live the kingdom life. Next week — learn in more detail how to cling to Jesus, how to be his students, and how to abide in Him.

Practical actions to take — Take up your cross every morning and during the day, when you find that your focus has shifted, center yourself again on Jesus by surrendering to Him with simple, short prayers. When in crisis, spinning out of control, suffering — Look up, Look back, Look forward.