Relinquishing The Rights To Your Life
Relinquishing the Rights to Your Life
Tuesday August 20, 2024
Brooke Mackall
Relinquish: to renounce, let go, yield, surrender, give up
Jesus told us many times in scripture that those who truly give up and let go of their life will not only save it but will be His true disciples
Luke 9:23-24 (NLT): 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.
Luke 14:33 (NLT): So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT): My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
“THY kingdom come; THY will be done.”
Everyday we are presented with a choice: thy will be done Lordor MY will be done?
Remember:
We are at HIS disposal
We are HIS Servants
We are to follow and obey what HE says and relinquish our life to our Father
Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV): There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
7 Common Areas Where We Struggle to Give Up Our Rights
1. Money and Possessions:
1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT): For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Mark 10:21-22 (NLT): Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions
Mark 12: 41-44 (NLT): Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Luke 12: 15 (NLT): Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
“Since all of my money is really yours, Lord, how would you like me to invest your money today?”
“I’m convinced that the greatest deterrent to our giving is this: the illusion that earth is our home. Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we think our home is. Those who think of earth as their real home will naturally want to pile up treasures here. Those who think of heaven as their real home will naturally want to pile up treasures there. It all comes down to the question, “where’s your home?” To the Christian, God gives a clear answer. The only question is whether we’ll live as if that answer is true.”
2. Family and Relationships:
Mark 10:29-30 (NLT): “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, 30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.
Have you surrendered your children, spouse, family or coworkers to God?
Luke 14:26 (NLT): “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
3 Our Mouths
James 3: 7-10 (NLT): People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!
Have you surrendered your tongue to God?
Psalm 19:14 (NLT): May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
4 Our Bodies
Romans 12:1 (NLT): And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him
In regard to sexual immorality - 1 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT): Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
In regard to gluttony – 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT) - You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.
Proverbs 23:12 (NKJV): And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.
In regard to laziness – Proverbs 23:2 (NLT): A lazy person is as bad as someone who destroys things.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT): Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So, you must honor God with your body.
5 Our Thoughts
Have you surrendered your thoughts to the Lord?
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT): We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
Romans 8:5 (NLT): Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
The mind can be a battlefield, but we can surrender our thoughts to the One who has never lost a battle.
6 Our Day
Proverbs 19:21 (NLT): You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
James 4:13-16 (NLT): Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.
Relinquish your day to God every morning
Psalm 143:8 (NLT): Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.
“Lord what would you like me to do with this day you have given me?
Psalm 5:3 (ESV): O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for youand watch.
7. Our Will, Ways & Habits
Jonah 1: 1-3 (NLT): Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
Jesus temporarily relinquished Heaven to come to earth:
Philippians 2:6-8 (NLT): 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 slaveand 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.
He relinquished His right to royalty:
2 Corinthians 8:9 (NlT): You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.
He relinquished His will
Luke 22:43 (NKJV): “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
He relinquished His life
Luke 23: 46 (NKJV): And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
