Live With Abandon

Live with Abandon

Luke 9:23-24, Luke 14:26-27

August 25, 2013

Morning Service

What does it mean to live with abandon?

Living with abandon means that we are giving our whole life over to the service of Christ. It means that we drop everything that we hold onto and give it over to Jesus for His glory. Living with abandon means that we answer His call on our life and we hold our commitment to Him above everything else in our lives. Nothing is held back and everything is surrendered to the person of Jesus. It means that we live each day with the attitude of No reserves, no retreat and no regrets.

If you’re not doing something with your life, it doesn’t matter how long it is – Peace Corps Commercial

What does it take to live with abandon?

Following Jesus is not for the timid, it is not for the faint of heart. Following Jesus will be the greatest challenge we could ever embrace. Being a disciple means nothing less than giving over your whole life, your whole heart, over to the control of Christ. Living ith abandon means that your all is given to the Lordship of Jesus. The call of Jesus is to live a life that has died to the world. It means living a life that is focused on the things of eternal nature instead of things of earth.

The Apostle Paul is an excellent example of living with abandon. Paul understood what it meant to live a radical life for Christ. Paul gave every part of his life to Christ and His service. He gave his incredible mind, his body, his heart and eventually his life to the cause of Christ. Paul turned the world upside down because he lived an abandoned life. Let me give a few examples:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, Christ lives in me Galatians 2:20

To live is Christ, to die is gain

1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:1-2

There is nothing that the world can do to a person who is lives fully abandoned to Jesus. There is no stopping them, there is no keeping them from their pursuit of Jesus. When we live an abandoned life, we find genuine freedom. Living with abandon means that we hold nothing back, we leave nothing undone that we are called to do, we go where we are called to go and we pursue the purpose of Jesus with great passion.

Jesus taught on the radical nature of living with abandon. Open your Bibles with me to Luke 9:23-25

23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:23-25

Jesus expects us to answer His call

Jesus called into the lives of people long ago and gave them the opportunity to follow Him. Jesus is still calling people to come and follow Him. Jesus is still seeking those who would answer His call and follow Him. We must decide if we are going to stand up and answer the call when it comes.

We are called to follow

The call of Jesus is rather simple – come follow me. The implications are anything but simple. The call to follow is a call to a transformed life. We cannot accept the call of Christ and remain the same. Following Jesus means that we give up everything else and make Him the priority of our lives. We are called to give our absolute best to the service of Christ.

We are called to be faithful

The call to follow Jesus is not a part time option. There is not a point of turning back. There will never be a point of retirement. Jesus expects faithfulness. If we are going to live with abandon, we have to give every moment and every breath to the service of the savior. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.

We are called to live in fullness

Jesus makes a radical promise, if we give our lives over to Him, he will give us a better life than we could have on our own. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. To gain this full life, we have to give over everything we think gives us a full life now. We trade our emptiness for the fullness of Christ. We trade things of earth for things eternal. We give up the things that leave us empty for things that bring us a fullness we cannot contain.