Untitled Sermon (2)

Unconditional Surrender:

Who is running your life?

In his book Not Yet Christian, Les Goertz mentions a conversation with a young man who

came up with a question about their walk of faith.

The young man asked, "I prayed to receive Jesus as my savior, but until now I feel like

nothing has really changed in my life. Why is that?"

Les asked him, "Who is running your life?"

"I am," the man responded.

"Has anyone ever told you that Jesus wants to be the Lord over your life and to govern your

everyday affairs?"

The man said, "No, I haven't."

When Les inquired whether the young man was willing to pray and give Jesus complete

control over his entire life, the man accepted. Following this surrender, the young man's life

was transformed. He later testified that he had received a new desire to spend time in

prayer, to share the word of God with other Christians, and to share his faith.

In a study published around 2018, the Pew Research Center found that 90% of Americans

believe in some higher power, with 56% believing in the God of the Bible.

So submit to [the authority of] God.

James 4:7 AMP

SUBMIT TO GOD

You would expect that such advice from the Bible wouldn't need much pressing. Is it not

wise? Is it not reasonable for we creatures to be submissive to our creator, from whom we

owe our existence and without whom we would cease to exist?

All of nature is subject to the law and direction of God. He commands the sun and the stars

and they obey Him. The stars appear in the heavens at his behest. Angels willingly bow to

God and delight in worshiping and serving him. If God were a tyrant or unjust, it might

have been perfectly reasonable to resist His Lordship. But he is a father who loved us and

sacrificed everything to retain his love for us.

Therefore for man to oppose the Lord is like chaff trying to fight with the direction of the

wind. And yet God is still infinite in his patience.

Who would set briers and thorns Against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn

them together. Isaiah 27:4 NKJV

Isaiah underscores the truth that any rebellion against God never succeeds and always

ends in utter defeat. But even knowing that our rebellion will end in defeat, some of us

behave like unbelieving Christians. An unbelieving Christian believes in God but acts and

lives like God doesn't exist.

CUSTOMIZED CHRISTIANITY

As a result, many people have what we might call customized Christianity. We want to pick

and choose what part of the faith to live by and what not to believe.

● We want God's love but not his wrath.

● We believe Him, but we don't fear Him

● We believe in God, but we don't want his control to go overboard

● Essentially we want his blessings, but we don't want to take up our cross.

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all. In their

blind conceit, they cannot see how wicked they really are.

Psalms 36:1-2 NLT

This seesaw relationship means we treat Jesus more or less like an errand servant. The

same way Saul treated David. An obedient servant who slays our giants and sings the

distressing spirits away when we don't really want him to be the king over all of our lives. (1

Samuel 16)

Brethren, all of us who believe in God must ask ourselves, "Who is really running our

lives?" If it's not Jesus then we need to submit our life to Him.

Our submission and yielding are the prerequisites for accessing the benefits of God's love.

God resists the proud but uplifts the humble. The moment he notices signs of submission

in us, his compassion emerges through Jesus Christ, and his abundant mercy pardons all

our sins.

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and]

only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but

have eternal life.

John 3:16 AMP

To live in unconditional surrender, we must then realize three truths.

1. The fear of God is a continuous ongoing attitude of

the heart.

Fearing God is an inward response and attitude of humble reverence towards God. As

believers, this is a healthy thing to have. Fearing God involves our actions, obedience, and

trust in his care. When we fear the Lord in our hearts, we will watch what we say, where we

will go, and to whom we say it.

And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or

reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your

time here as "temporary residents."

1 Peter 1:17 NLT

2. Our daily lifestyle must reflect what we believe.

But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!

Revelation 3:16 NLT

The oxymoron of any believer is to be a lukewarm Christian.

● A lukewarm Christian craves attention from other people over God

● A lukewarm Christian rationalizes sin and rebrands it often to fit his circumstances.

● A lukewarm Christian only turns to God when they are in need.

● A lukewarm Christian rarely shares their faith with others.

● A lukewarm Christian thinks more about their life on earth than where they will

spend their eternity.

And when we get too busy to focus on our personal relationship with God, we can easily fall

into the trap of lukewarmness. But there is still hope for any person who wishes to repent.

God loves you just as you are. He wants the best for all of us. But sin is what keeps us from

having a relationship with him.

3. We must kill sin at its root.

The third thing we can do to get unstuck from a life of reckless abandonment is to kill sin at

its root. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus must deny himself and take up his cross daily.

Surrendering is not meant to be easy. It instead demands us to beat our flesh and life to

align with God's word. Whatever that thing might be which pulls you away from a holy life;

you must deal with it. It might be an addiction, pride, sins of the flesh, immorality, etc.

Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don't

repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Revelation 2:5 NLT

YOUR RESPONSE.

Brethren, would you say that your life is surrendered to God? If not, then it is time to;

1. Remember and recognize how far you have fallen.

2. Repent your current sin and God will forgive you and give you a fresh start.

3. Repeat the things you used to do that pleased the Lord.

What do you have, if you don't have Jesus to guarantee anything today, tomorrow, next

year, or until death? If you genuinely believe that, give Him your life today. Give Him your

entire being. Surrender to God and allow Him to bless you to the fullest extent of His

power.

You can trust Him to run your life!