SEEK = Finding TRUTH you need
SURRENDER = Choosing to WALK in that truth
We can say that
CHRISTIAN SURRENDER = Faith In Action
Surrender is NOT seen as a POSITIVE word
don’t want to be the one who has to give in
Let’s think this through…
Many Times, Surrender is actually a positive thing
There are many times when we willingly surrender to gain something by choosing to lose something
Almost any agreement or covenant comes with a certain aspect of surrender
<EXAMPLES OF POSITIVE SURRENDER>
>>Getting Married
You choose to surrender certain freedoms of singleness
No more single people living
Proverbs 18:22
A man who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
But you gain…
Companionship
Love
Life partner
Family
etc
>>Becoming a Parent
Surrendering certain rights as an individual
Sleep
Personal Space
Time
Nice things
Psalm 127:5
Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. They will never be put to shame when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.
But you gain…
A legacy
purpose
joy of parenting
>>Buying a Can
Surrendering financial resources
But you gain…
The ability to get to wherever you want
no walking
What about NEGATIVE EXAMPLES OF SURRENDER
>>Debt
Surrender yourself over to someone else finically
Can be difficult to get out of – Requires much sacrifice
Proverbs 22:7
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a slave to the lender.
Key Question:
Am I able to do what God is asking of me, or am I incapable because of my debt?
>>Hatred/Bitterness
Surrender to your hurts and negative emotions
Become a slave to them
Ephesians 4:31-32
31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
Key Question:
Am I able to move past my hurts/hangups with others so that God can use me to minister to them?
So we can say this…
Proper surrender requires wisdom
That wisdom is the ability to know what to surrender to, and what not to surrender to
The Christian idea of surrender is not a negative thing, but certainly is a difficult thing.
Verse for this series and 21 Days of Fasting
Luke 9:23-24
”Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.“
Let’s talk about this statement
…LET HIM DENY HIMSELF…
Struggle to diet
“I’ve done well today, I deserve…”
Sin does not work like treating ourselves to a snack
The follower of Jesus must deny himself (not just his sins, himself; he cannot be self-centered)
There is nothing self-indulgent about being a Christian.
…TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY…
The disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, and they knew what it meant. When a man from one of their villages took up a cross and went off with a little band of Roman soldiers
He was on a one-way journey. He would not be back
Taking up the cross meant the utmost in self-denial.
This is not something that can be finished and got out of the way: It must be done daily
…WANT TO SAVE HIS LIFE TO LOSE IT…
Fight or flight reflexes
Adrenaline flowing
We all have an instinct for survival
Jesus is saying that those who choose their own instinct for survival will actually lose what they seek in the end
Survival pulls you into yourself
Survive by any means necessary
…LOSES HIS LIFE BECAUSE OF ME WILL SAVE IT…
Willingly give their life for the LORD
Not necessarily physically (but could be)
These people save their life
Why?
Because Jesus is the LORD OF LIFE
It is HIS LIFE in OUR LUNGS
We have the MOST LIFE when living our life for the GIVER OF LIFE
Let’s look at TWO (2) Stories about Surrender
First is Abraham
Father of our faith
First, to whom God gave the Promises of Jesus
Genesis 12
1 The Lord said to Abram:
Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated, and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan.
What was God asking?
Abraham had to:
Leave his homeland
Leave his family
Even left his parents
Everything he knew
Didn’t even know where he was going
Hebrews 11
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and set out for a place that he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents as did Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.
Surrender is FAITH IN ACTION
Putting it to work
Do you really have faith if you are not willing to surrender?
Here’s the Next example…
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
Matthew 26
36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he told the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 Taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 He said to them, “I am deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus was surrendering his life
Knowing what faced him, we asked the father for another way
“NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS”
This is the ultimate statement of surrender
What does surrender look like?
Sometimes, it means to GIVE UP
Sometimes, it means to GIVE IN
Sometimes, it means to STOP
Sometimes, it means to START
Sometimes, it means to Go
Sometimes, it means to STAY
Sometimes, it means LEAVE BEHIND
Sometimes, it means TO TAKE WITH YOU
Surrender 2024
Over the next two weeks, Ask God what it is you need to surrender
Prayer of Surrender for 2024
Our Father in Heaven
Thank you for being my father – a father who loves me unconditionally, who only wants the best for me, who will never leave nor forsake me, and will never stop loving me. I acknowledge and agree with Jesus that you, and you alone, can do anything – nothing is impossible with you.
“I surrender to you today with all my heart and soul. I say “Yes” to you today. I open all the secret places of my heart to you and say, “Come on in.” Jesus, you are the Lord of my whole life. I believe in you and receive you as my Lord and Savior. I hold nothing back.”
Father, I acknowledge that my love for You is not as strong as I would like it to be. It is my heartfelt desire to present myself as a holy and acceptable sacrifice to You in body, soul, and spirit. I want to live a life that is pleasing to You in every way.
I ask that you help me to keep my old selfish life in its place of death. May I grow in grace, mature in the faith, and draw ever closer to You with every passing day. And as I rest in You, I pray that day by day I may be increasingly transformed into the likeness of Your Son, my Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Today, I choose to surrender all to you: my time, my treasures, my talents, my health, my family, my resources, my work, relationships, time management, successes, and failures. I release it all and surrender it all to you.
I surrender my understanding of how things ‘ought’ to be, as well as my choices, and my will. I surrender to you the promises I have kept and the promises I have failed to keep. I surrender my weaknesses and strengths to you. I surrender my emotions, my fears, my insecurities, my sexuality. I surrender my whole life to you, the past, the present, and the future.
In sickness and in health, in life and in death, I belong to you. I surrender to Your will. I will do what You want me to do; I will go anywhere You want me to go; I will be available when You tell me to do it; and I will approach and speak to anyone You tell me to.
Father, Today I choose to specifically surrender… (Take a moment and fill in what you specifically need to surrender)
Father, forgive me for the many times when I have made things all about me; my way, my will, my plans, my dreams. I surrender my will and cry out for Your will only in my life.
Lord, I do not know what this prayer will bring, but I know that whatever comes, it will be for Your glory and my good and growth. I trust You, Lord, with whatever You allow into my life and whatever Your will brings.
Thank you in advance for what you are going to do in this new year. May I have the faith to believe and trust in you in all things.
Amen