"The "GO" of Renunciation" what does that mean?
Taken from the Oswald Chambers devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest"
My words are in YELLOW
“The “Go” of Renunciation”? In the back of my mind I kinda knew what the word “renunciation” meant, but I had to be sure before I could even begin to understand what that whole phrase meant, so I looked it up. Webster’s told me first to; “see Renounce”, I went to the word “Renounce” and this is what I found; It means to “Give up, Cast off, disown”.
Okay! So by the title only, Oswald Chambers is telling me to “Go” and “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”, but what? I think as you read through, that by the end you’ll realize what he’s talking about, don’t miss it, it’s good!
September 27, 2006
The "Go" of Renunciation
(Oswald Chambers Devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest")
. . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’ —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, "for He knew what was in man" ( John 2:25 ). We would have said, "I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!" Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of "what was in man." If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Wow! That’s a pretty heavy first paragraph don’t ya think? What does Oswald mean when he says; “The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended.”? My personal opinion? There is something inside us that causes us to hurt or offends us as human beings; it’s called “Pride”.
One of the main things about our Christian life is that we need to empty ourselves of ourselves, and to be refilled with His righteousness. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a long way to go in that area! Think about it, if we were to let Jesus right this second, point out things in our lives that might be ugly, or dark, how many of us whole heartedly are going to say on a consistent basis, “Yes Lord! Your right, that’s me!” And if we again whole heartedly took the next step and asked Him to remove those things COMPLETELY from us, wouldn’t you think the next time He spoke to us about those things we wouldn’t be “offended”?
Here’s how Jesus answers the man:
Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, ". . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
“These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do.” Think about that statement for a minute. Jesus is telling the man; “Hey! Are you ready to sleep out in the cold? Are ready to be in danger of wild animals? Can you handle not knowing where your next meal is coming from? How many times have we said; “Yes Lord I will follow You!” because it “was the pleasant thing to do” and didn’t think about the costs? A great example is Peter; he didn’t take into consideration what he was getting himself into before the “cock crowed”, but after the cock crowed and the Holy Spirit got a hold of him, he was then willing to count the costs, and truly follow Jesus even unto death.
Then another man shows up on the scene…
Luke 9:59 . “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Oswald says; “This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father.” That’s a tough decision to make wouldn’t you think? You hear the call of the Lord, but you’ve been with your father all your life. Actually if the man didn’t go back to bury his father who would have really been effected? The father was dead, the young man does want to go with Jesus. Do you think maybe his main thought was that the right thing to do is to go and bury his father, because after all, “if I didn’t go back what would people think of me?” I don’t know! Jesus told him to “let the dead bury the dead!” Do you think the young man knew what that meant?
On the other hand what if he took the approach as some of us do? We wink at God’s Holiness, and don’t take His call on our lives seriously. We say things like “Hey! Wait a second; I thought you were a God of love and compassion! So here’s what I’m gonna do because I know You’ll understand my motives and forgive me, I’m gonna go bury my father and I WILL catch up with you later!” It’s the same tact the devil took with Eve, “Did God really say…?” It’s like; did You really want me to come with You right now? But inevitably he made his choice and didn’t follow Jesus.
Then finally the third man shows up…
Luke 9:61 “And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
The person who says, "Lord, I will follow You, but . . .," is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
So to answer our original question: What is it that we need to “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”? I think the answer is ourselves!
In HIS Grip
Tony
Taken from the Oswald Chambers devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest"
My words are in YELLOW
“The “Go” of Renunciation”? In the back of my mind I kinda knew what the word “renunciation” meant, but I had to be sure before I could even begin to understand what that whole phrase meant, so I looked it up. Webster’s told me first to; “see Renounce”, I went to the word “Renounce” and this is what I found; It means to “Give up, Cast off, disown”.
Okay! So by the title only, Oswald Chambers is telling me to “Go” and “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”, but what? I think as you read through, that by the end you’ll realize what he’s talking about, don’t miss it, it’s good!
September 27, 2006
The "Go" of Renunciation
(Oswald Chambers Devotional; "My Utmost For His Highest")
. . . someone said to Him, ’Lord, I will follow You wherever You go’ —Luke 9:57
Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, "for He knew what was in man" ( John 2:25 ). We would have said, "I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!" Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of "what was in man." If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.
Wow! That’s a pretty heavy first paragraph don’t ya think? What does Oswald mean when he says; “The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended.”? My personal opinion? There is something inside us that causes us to hurt or offends us as human beings; it’s called “Pride”.
One of the main things about our Christian life is that we need to empty ourselves of ourselves, and to be refilled with His righteousness. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got a long way to go in that area! Think about it, if we were to let Jesus right this second, point out things in our lives that might be ugly, or dark, how many of us whole heartedly are going to say on a consistent basis, “Yes Lord! Your right, that’s me!” And if we again whole heartedly took the next step and asked Him to remove those things COMPLETELY from us, wouldn’t you think the next time He spoke to us about those things we wouldn’t be “offended”?
Here’s how Jesus answers the man:
Luke 9:58 “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, ". . . the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
“These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do.” Think about that statement for a minute. Jesus is telling the man; “Hey! Are you ready to sleep out in the cold? Are ready to be in danger of wild animals? Can you handle not knowing where your next meal is coming from? How many times have we said; “Yes Lord I will follow You!” because it “was the pleasant thing to do” and didn’t think about the costs? A great example is Peter; he didn’t take into consideration what he was getting himself into before the “cock crowed”, but after the cock crowed and the Holy Spirit got a hold of him, he was then willing to count the costs, and truly follow Jesus even unto death.
Then another man shows up on the scene…
Luke 9:59 . “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.
Oswald says; “This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father.” That’s a tough decision to make wouldn’t you think? You hear the call of the Lord, but you’ve been with your father all your life. Actually if the man didn’t go back to bury his father who would have really been effected? The father was dead, the young man does want to go with Jesus. Do you think maybe his main thought was that the right thing to do is to go and bury his father, because after all, “if I didn’t go back what would people think of me?” I don’t know! Jesus told him to “let the dead bury the dead!” Do you think the young man knew what that meant?
On the other hand what if he took the approach as some of us do? We wink at God’s Holiness, and don’t take His call on our lives seriously. We say things like “Hey! Wait a second; I thought you were a God of love and compassion! So here’s what I’m gonna do because I know You’ll understand my motives and forgive me, I’m gonna go bury my father and I WILL catch up with you later!” It’s the same tact the devil took with Eve, “Did God really say…?” It’s like; did You really want me to come with You right now? But inevitably he made his choice and didn’t follow Jesus.
Then finally the third man shows up…
Luke 9:61 “And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
The person who says, "Lord, I will follow You, but . . .," is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.
So to answer our original question: What is it that we need to “give up”, “cast off” and “disown”? I think the answer is ourselves!
In HIS Grip
Tony
posted by In His Grip at 3:21 PM
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