Jesus is either the Lord of all of you or He is not your Lord at all. Is Jesus Lord of all of you? Is He Lord of all that you are—Lord of everything you say, are, and do? Is He Lord of your work, Lord of your marriage, Lord of how you raise your children, Lord of how you spend your money, Lord of your hobbies, Lord of your houses and cars and property, Lord of your relationships, Lord of all of you? Lord means that He is Master. You own nothing. Nothing belongs to you. It is all His. Nothing of His is to be used to distract you from Him. Nothing of His is be used to keep you from fellowship with the people of God. Nothing of His is simply and only to be used for your “self-pleasure and ease and comfort and fun” but the Lord is always calling you to look first to the needs of others, exalting others above yourself, especially when the Lord gives to you a surplus of more than you need. The Lord has given to you your mind, your abilities, your life. And what does God require of you? To lay it all down before Him, as you say, “Lord, I am Yours. Lead me in Your will and way. I do not want to just live for myself. I don’t want to gain this world. I don’t want just more vacations, more things to buy, more stuff, I don’t just want to live my life trying to take care of my own health, my own possessions—but I give myself wholly to You. You are the One who has given it all to me anyways. And I willingly and humbly give it all back to You. I give to You my life, my spouse, my children, my house, my money, my possessions, my job, my past, present and future. I lay it all down before You.” The church is not to blend in with the culture. Rather, the church is to be so radically different from the culture that there would be no question that we who believe are indeed different. Christ told us to be the light of the world, to be the salt of the earth. Stand out. Lay yourself down. Let Christ Jesus shine through you. Even at the expense of your life, your health, your money, your reputation, even your family. No matter what it costs you, don’t conform to the pattern of this world. It is not worth it. Follow Christ Jesus, lay yourself down before Him—do it even if it costs you your money, your position, your marriage, your children, your relatives, your job, your possessions, your life. Do not, do not, do not refuse to conform to the ways of God and instead conform to this world simply so you don’t lose something in this world. If anything is getting in the way of your surrendering your all to Christ—LET IT GO. It’s not worth it. Only Christ is worth living for and dying for. “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. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:1-2) Click on the link to listen to this sermon: