The Radical Call: Renouncing Everything to Serve God
Today, we confront one of the most challenging and transformative teachings of Jesus, a truth that cuts to the very core of our commitment and devotion. Our base text is Luke 14:33, where Jesus, with unreserved clarity, states: "In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
-- Ads --
This is a radical statement. Jesus teaches that no one can truly be His disciple unless they renounce, or give up, everything they possess. This isn't a call for symbolic surrender; it's a call for radical, unreserved, and total commitment. It means prioritizing Him above all else.
Let's explore this profound truth by examining biblical examples of those who truly renounced everything to serve God, seeing how their lives bore witness to this challenging command, and what it means for us today.
I. Abraham Renounced Everything to Serve God
Our journey begins with the father of faith, Abraham, whose life epitomizes radical obedience.
A. God commanded him to leave his homeland (Genesis 12:1-4): "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation...'" Abraham's call was a command to forsake everything familiar and secure.
B. Abraham obeyed, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8): "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." He left his home, his family, and everything he knew – the stability, the familiar culture, the ancestral lands – to embark on a journey of faith into the unknown.
C. God blessed him greatly (Genesis 24:35): Because of his total obedience and renunciation, God blessed Abraham immensely. He became "very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold." But more importantly, he became the father of a multitude, the patriarch through whom God's promises to the world would flow.
D. Total obedience brings blessing. Abraham's life demonstrates a foundational principle: when we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all other things are added to us, as promised in Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
II. Moses Renounced Everything to Serve God
Next, we look at Moses, who exchanged the glory of an earthly kingdom for the glory of God.
A. Heir to the throne of Egypt (Exodus 2:9-10): Moses grew up in Pharaoh's palace, effectively an heir to the throne of the most powerful empire of his day. He possessed immense privilege, wealth, and power. Yet, Hebrews 11:24 tells us that "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter." He renounced that incredible privilege.
B. He preferred to be mistreated along with God's people (Hebrews 11:25): Instead of enjoying the "pleasures of sin for a short time," Moses "chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin." He rejected temporal things for eternal things, understanding the warning in 1 John 2:15-17 that "the world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."
C. He considered affliction greater than wealth (Hebrews 11:26): Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." His perspective was eternal. He had his eye on the true, lasting reward, keeping his focus on heavenly things, as Colossians 3:1-2 instructs us: "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
D. He did not fear the king, for he saw Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27): Moses's decision was not driven by fear of Pharaoh's wrath, but by a deeper reality: "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible." He saw God, the invisible King, and that vision eclipsed all earthly power and fear.
III. Matthew Renounced Everything to Serve the Lord
From the grand stage of empires, we come to a seemingly ordinary man whose radical obedience transformed his life.
A. Matthew was a tax collector (Luke 5:27): This meant he had a lucrative and stable job, often despised by the Jewish people but financially secure. He was a man of means, comfortable in his profession.
B. When Jesus called him, he left everything (Luke 5:28): "After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. 'Follow me,' Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him." Matthew didn't think twice. He didn't make excuses. He didn't ask for time to settle his affairs. He rose and followed.
C. He was chosen as one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15): This ordinary tax collector, in an act of immediate and radical renunciation, was chosen by Jesus to be one of His closest disciples, one of the twelve apostles who would lay the foundations of the early church.
D. What would have happened if Matthew hadn't left everything? He would have missed the greatest privilege of his life. This begs the question for us: What blessings, what divine appointments, what profound experiences do we miss by not leaving what God asks of us, by clinging to our comfort, our security, our plans, or our possessions?
IV. Barnabas Renounced Everything to Serve God
From a life of personal profession, we turn to a man of quiet generosity and missionary zeal.
A. He sold his land to help the brothers (Acts 4:36-37): "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'Son of Encouragement'), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet." Barnabas showed immense generosity and selflessness, divesting of his personal property to support the nascent Christian community.
B. He was Paul's companion in missionary work (Acts 13-15): Having renounced his possessions, Barnabas later left the comfort of Jerusalem and Antioch to become Paul's initial companion on the first missionary journey. He left everything familiar to dedicate himself fully to the ministry, spreading the gospel to the Gentiles.
C. Are we fulfilling the mission? (1 Peter 2:9): Barnabas's example challenges us. Are we fulfilling our call as God's chosen people, "a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light"? This mission often requires renunciation, letting go of personal comfort to advance God's Kingdom.
V. Paul Renounced Everything to Serve God
Finally, the Apostle Paul stands as a towering example of radical renunciation for Christ.
A. He renounced his religious privileges (Philippians 3:5-8): Paul, once Saul, had everything a Jew could boast of: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, zealous for the law, blameless in legal righteousness. But after encountering Christ, he declared: "But whatever were gains to me I now consider as loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." He considered all his impressive human credentials as mere rubbish, so that he might gain Christ.
B. He didn't even care about his life (Acts 20:24): Paul's commitment was so absolute that he literally did not cling to his own life: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." Nothing could stop him, because he knew who called him, and the incomparable value of that call.
C. His surrender was total. This challenges us directly: Are we willing to renounce even our comfort, our security, our personal desires for the sake of Christ? Is our surrender to Him total?
- Preaching on Denying Christ
- Preaching on The People of God: Called, Chosen, and Transformed
- Preaching on Test the Spirits 1 John 4:1
Conclusion
The message from Jesus in Luke 14:33 and from the lives of these faithful servants is clear: God calls us to give up everything – our pride, our possessions, our comfort zones, our self-will, our own plans – to serve Him fully, without reservation.
This is not a call to legalism or poverty for poverty's sake. It is a call to a radical, unreserved devotion where Christ is supreme in every area of our lives. It is a call to love Him more than anything and everything else.
And what is the promise for such radical obedience? Christ promises a reward: a hundredfold in this life, and eternal life in the age to come (Matthew 19:29). "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."
May we, like Abraham, Moses, Matthew, Barnabas, and Paul, count the cost, and then count the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. May we renounce everything that hinders our full devotion, so that we may serve Him wholeheartedly and experience the abundant blessings that flow from radical obedience.
