Before There Is A Coronation, There Must Be An Abdication

When Jesus called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35)

The meaning of abdication is to relinquish control or authority. Another word closely associated with abdication is renounce to give up or resign one’s right or position.

The most profound truth every believer must embrace is this: we are not meant to be the masters of our own lives and destinies. To grasp this is to acknowledge that the One who gave us life is the only One worthy to direct it.

Long ago, the Spirit of the Lord made it clear that for Jesus to reign in His Church, He must also reign within each believer. This means Jesus Christ must be given ultimate authority; all control and influence over ourselves must be surrendered entirely to Him.

This act of surrender, though it may appear daunting, is the key to a life transformed by His divine will.

Every work that the Father accomplishes through His Word and by His Holy Spirit is to establish within the believer the revelation of being in Christ and, even more significantly, having Christ in us, indwelling our regenerated spirit through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

This divine presence empowers us to become the people the Father has ordained us to be, assuring us that we are not alone in this journey of surrender and transformation.

The will, design, and purpose for our lives is that we be effective witnesses and ministers of who Jesus Christ truly is, and of what He has accomplished for humanity.

The greatest revelation for every believer is this: we must surrender our own will, abdicate the throne of self, and enthrone Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

The Lord makes known that He can only fill us to the degree that we are willing to empty ourselves.

We will never live successfully for Jesus, nor attain to our full potential in Him, without first coming to the place of experiencing the death of our self-life. By laying down our claim to rule ourselves, we discover the freedom of Christ’s lordship.

When we abdicate the throne of self, we are crowned with His life, His power, and His purpose. Therefore, we must not hesitate, delay, or cling to what cannot save us.

Our lives belong to Him.

Our future belongs to Him.

Our will belongs to Him.

And in that surrender, we will live not by our own strength, but by Christ who lives in us.  Before the crown, there must be the cross. Before Christ reigns through us, He must first reign in us.

When we ourselves are dethroned, the King takes His rightful place. And when He reigns, we live not by the strength of self, but by the power of His indwelling life