What You Lose in Following Jesus, You Will Gain by Becoming It

Introduction

During Women's Camp 2026 (WC26) at ICC Montreal, on Pentecost Sunday, Dr. Modestine Castanou preached on a text everyone knows: the encounter between Jesus and the rich young man, in Mark 10:17-22. The title of the message is direct: what you lose in following Jesus, you will gain back by becoming what he called you to become.

This is a message about discipleship. Not simply accepting Jesus as Savior, but the daily walk behind him, the willingness to obey, to let go, to be led where you never thought you would go. A man came to Jesus with all the outward marks of a good disciple. He left sad. Why? Because he was not ready to lose what he loved in order to become what God wanted.

This text concerns you. Whether you are a new believer or a longtime believer, the question remains: are you really following Jesus, or are you only admiring him from a distance?

Outline of the message

1. There is a difference between admiring Jesus and following Jesus

The rich young man arrives and kneels down. He has all the outward markers of piety: respect, language ("good teacher"), morality, knowledge of the law. He could pass for an ideal candidate for discipleship.

But God distinguishes between admiring someone and following someone. You can get down on your knees, you can weep under the anointing, you can know the Bible verses, you can come to church every week. The question remains: are you a disciple of Jesus? Do you follow him when he asks you for something you do not feel like giving?

Following Jesus means following his instructions. It is not a compliment you pay him, it is a road you walk.

2. Discipleship means a shepherd, a household, an order

Dr. Castanou points to what she calls a "disorder" of our times: Christians who move from one church to another according to their Sunday preferences. One Sunday here, the next Sunday over there because apparently there is a conference, another Sunday somewhere else entirely, on social media.

When God places you in a household, he gives you a shepherd. And he expects you to follow that shepherd, who himself follows Jesus. The spiritual world is structured. The disciples who followed Jesus did not have several shepherds; they had only one.

Ask yourself: who prays to God for you? Who will give an account to God for your life if something happens to you? Do you have a pastor, or just the names of preachers you follow on a streaming app?

3. Jesus does not look at your resume, he looks at your becoming

The young man pulls out his spiritual resume. "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." While he is speaking, Simon Peter and the others wonder if they even belong there. They had nothing: fishermen who were struggling, a rejected tax collector, broken men.

Jesus is not impressed by your resume. Not by your position, not by what you earn, not by your education, not by your standing in society. What impresses him is your becoming. When he looks at you, he sees what you can become, beyond what people see.

That is why he did not speak the same way to every person he met. He did not say to Peter what he said to the rich young man. To each one, he addresses a precise word, calibrated to touch exactly where it hurts, because he wants to provoke your future, not coddle your present.

4. Jesus loves you, therefore Jesus stirs you up

The text says, "And Jesus, looking at him, loved him." That is not flattery. Jesus' love is a love for your destiny, for your future. When you love someone, you want the best for their life; you are not comfortable with their comfort, you are comfortable with their destiny.

That is why God has raised up shepherds in the house of God: not to coddle, but to stir up. Like a coach telling a good player: you can do more, you can go further.

Jesus accepts you as you are, that is almost his slogan: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden" (Matthew 11:28). But he immediately adds: "I will make you become what you must be." He takes you in 1,000 pieces and he makes you become.

5. The price to pay: letting go of the hidden idol

Jesus sees an idol in the young man's heart. It is not written on his forehead. It is hidden. It is money, social status, pride, the need to control everything. His joy depends on his possessions, and so does his security.

So Jesus puts his finger right where it hurts: "Go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor... and come, follow me." It was not necessarily that Jesus literally wanted him to sell everything, just as God ultimately did not take Isaac from Abraham (Genesis 22). He wanted to see whether this man was ready to give his heart.

The young man goes away sad, for he had great possessions. The disciples, on the other hand, had left everything: their trade, their nets, their boat, their security. They looked like they had lost everything. And yet it is to them that Jesus would give authority, the Holy Spirit, a ministry reaching multitudes.

6. Anointing has a cost: the road of Abraham

Abraham's anointing did not fall out of the sky. It is not just God's favor; it is his sweat, his obedience, his suffering. It is what Abraham gave up in order to receive the name God gave him.

You never become without following. You never become without obeying. You can show up, you can be present in a church, but you will never reach the dimension where God wants to take you without walking in obedience.

When God asks you for something, it is because he is about to make you greater than the thing you are about to give up. Discipleship begins the moment you are ready to follow Jesus without expecting anything in return, without applause, without a title, without public recognition.

Key takeaways

• Being a Christian is not enough: Jesus calls you to be a disciple, not merely an admirer.
• God places you in a household, under a shepherd. Spiritual "channel surfing" from church to church is a disorder.
• Jesus is not impressed by your spiritual resume; he looks at your becoming and your heart.
• When Jesus loves you, he stirs you up. Comfort is not the measure of walking with him.
• Everyone has a hidden idol. Discipleship begins when you agree to let it go.
• What you lose in following Jesus, you get back (multiplied), by becoming what he called you to become.

Personal application

1. Are you committed to a local church with a shepherd who prays for you, or do you go from one channel to another according to your Sunday preferences?
2. What is your hidden idol today: money, security, image, control, a relationship, a status?
3. When Jesus puts his finger right where it hurts, is your spontaneous reaction to reason and negotiate, or to obey?
4. Do you serve God for visible reward (title, recognition, applause), or because he is the one who gives the breath of life?
5. Is there something specific God is asking you to let go of right now, and that you are resisting?

Verses cited

• Mark 10:17-22 · Jesus and the rich young man (main text)
• Isaiah 9:6 · A child is born to us, dominion rests on his shoulders
• Matthew 11:28 · Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden
• Genesis 22 · The sacrifice of Isaac
• Genesis 12:1-3 · The call of Abraham: "Go... I will make you"
• Ruth 1 · Ruth chooses to follow Naomi without any promise
• Ephesians 4:11-13 · The ministries given for the building up of the body

FAQ

What is the main message of this sermon by Dr. Modestine Castanou?

That following Jesus necessarily means losing something (a comfort, a security, a hidden idol), but that what you lose is always recovered, and greatly surpassed, by what you become as you walk with him. Discipleship is not optional: it is the very heart of the Christian life.

Do you literally have to sell everything to follow Jesus?

No. Just as God did not take Isaac from Abraham once his heart had been tested, Jesus does not ask all his disciples to sell all their possessions. He puts his finger on whatever, in your heart, is occupying the place that belongs to him. For the rich young man, it was wealth. For you, it might be something else: a status, a relationship, a project.

Why does Dr. Castanou insist so much on having a single shepherd?

Because the spiritual world is structured. A Christian who bounces from church to church, from conference to livestream, deprives himself of real pastoral covering: someone who prays for him, who knows him, who can give an account to God for his life. This is not an administrative constraint, it is a protection and a framework for growth.