HE MADE ROOM
WHAT WE GIVE UP TO JESUS BECOMES GREATER THAN WE COULD IMAGINE
Philippians 2:5-8, 5 “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Paul reminds us of the importance of sacrifice and the eternal impact that is made when we surrender our will to God’s plan. Jesus gave up everything for us willingly. He did not come as a conquering king, but as a humble servant. If the king of the universe was so willing to give His all for us, we can trust that whatever we give up for the sake of the Gospel, He will redeem in ways that are beyond our comprehension.
Luke 9:23-26, 23 “Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 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 save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.”
Jesus reminds us through the gospel of Luke that to follow Him, we must give up our way of life and thinking. We cannot live for the world and live for Jesus at the same time…we cannot serve two masters. Following Christ brings us to the end of ourselves and forces us to decide…do we choose to live for Jesus, or do we choose to live for the world? The importance of this message was so great that it is echoed by Matthew and Mark in their gospels.
James 4:4-10 “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. 5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say,
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. 9 Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
James reminds us that it is impossible to be friends with God and friends with the world. If we want to walk the goodness of God we need to walk in undivided loyalty to Him.
GOD IS IN THE MULTIPLICATION BUSINESS. OUR JOB IS TO OBEY, SURRENDER AND TRUST. WHEN WE HAVE WILLING HEARTS TO GIVE THINGS UP TO JESUS, HE WILL USE THAT TO BRING ABOUT THE IMPOSSIBLE. ASK HIM TODAY WHAT HE IS ASKING YOU TO RELINQUISH FOR HIS PURPOSES THEN STEP OUT IN FAITH AND WATCH HIM WORK.
John 6:1-13 “After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.
7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money[a] to feed them!”
8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?”
10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves.”
Jesus displayed God’s multiplication in action, through the feeding of the 5000, and again a bit later, with the feeding of the 4000 (note: only the men were counted, in total, the numbers were far greater). These miracles are fantastic examples of how what we give up to Jesus becomes greater than we imagine. If we do our part, we can stand on the promise that God will do His.
PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE
Has there been a time in your life that you have been asked to give something up for Jesus?
How did you handle this ask? Were you obedient, or did you try to cling to what you were asked to give up?
Read Philippians 2:12-18. What desire does Paul say God is working out in believers?
After sitting with the above passage, take some time to write a prayer asking Jesus to help you to allow God to work in you, as He brings your desires into alignment with His plans and purposes for your life. What is one step you can take today to move forward into greater alignment with God?
Read Psalm 37. Even before the example of Jesus, David knew that it was more important to focus on trusting God’s will for his life than on doing what he wanted to do.
What is God speaking to you? Pick out two verses to write out, memorize and post where you will see them this week that encourage you that God is trustworthy and will protect and guide you.
Share these verses with your small group. Why did you select them? How do they help you grow in understanding of how Jesus can do so much more than we can imagine with what we give up to Him?
Find another passage in Scripture that carries a similar message.
The author of Hebrews encourages us to persevere in our faith, and this is best done in godly community. When we spend time with others who are also surrendering what Jesus is calling them to give up, it encourages us to do the same.
Read Hebrews 10:19-39.
How is God asking you to trust Him today, to keep His promise of “greater?” Is this a concept that is new to you, or one you have been walking with for some time now?
Over this next week intentionally take time to ask Jesus for steps that you can take to walk in God’s truth that the author of Hebrews speaks of, and grow in faithfulness, so that you can be called one of the faithful ones, not like those who have turned away from God.
