SURRENDER: All For Jesus

New Year, New you… right? So we set new goals… fitness, financial, relational, spiritual, goals to read more books, beginning plans to read the Bible through in a year.

We see the old year is now down… last chapter has been closed and written… we can not go back and change anything.

With our new year being upon us we have a renewed hope, a rekindled focus, a new excitement and anticipation for 2023… at least, that’s what we hope but…

Unfortunately, the reality is that it’s just another day on the calendar. Our same problems just carry over to the next year. Our relationships issues, our bad habits, our financial situation, our miserable circumstances…

The reality is that nothing from 2022 just disappears and everything recalibrates to becoming all being good.

Even as we are in a new year we will still encounter the same problems we did the year before. The only person we can change is ourselves… we can make new improvements, set new goals, and have a new fresh perspective on life.

Our habits, our schedules, our disciplines… those are on us but with a new year, let’s have a new surrender to Jesus. When we face making good changes in our life, taking God out of the process will only make us frustrated and self serving.

Let 2023 be the year of a renewed surrender to Jesus as we learn and become better image barriers of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul is writing to the church about life and death, about being fully present with Jesus in heaven after we die. Even though now we live in a broken world, when we die after following Christ on earth, we will spend the rest of eternity in the presence of Jesus.

Paul reminds us that we are living in this tent called the human body that is mortal, that is temporary, that groans and longs for heaven but God has called us to something more as we live in this tent here on earth.

Our life on earth matters greatly to God that’s why surrendering to Jesus daily is critical in our faithful walk. When God is done with us we will know it because HE will say well done good and faithful servant and we will spend the rest of eternity with Jesus.

Paul wrote this to encourage and remind the church that we have a lot of good days live for in 2023.

2 Corinthians 5:6–10 ESV

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

PRAY

Be of good courage as we walk in faith.

Always aim to please the Lord.

And live to receive our eternal reward

None of that can happen unless we surrender all for Jesus. This world has so many attachments but we must stay focused on Jesus daily because we live in this temporary tent. Don’t get attached to the tent, our eternal reward comes when we daily surrender all to Jesus.

Surrendering to Jesus requires courageous faith.

We want to hear stories of courage. A firemen… a police officer… a soldier…

But, every story on courage requires, tension, tragedy, and a selfless act. When we believe that life is bigger then ourselves… that we are not all that attached to this world… that other things are more important then me, courage is possible.

When we surrender to Jesus HE will give us the boldness, the courage, and the faith to stand for Jesus. The longer we walk by faith in Christ, the more natural courage becomes.

2 Corinthians 5:6–8 ESV

6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

There will be times when our own strength will fail us, our own wisdom will be foolishness, our own talents and abilities will come short.

It takes courage to surrender, to recognize our weaknesses, to relinquish our own desire to control and believe that God has a better plan.

It takes courage not to try to fix everything. It takes courage to confront sin and believe that God has better plans then our own.

When we surrender to God it takes faith and courage. When we willingly let go of our own self made resources and rely on God’s resources.

As we courteously surrender to Jesus we are promised victory.

God has given us the courage to trust HIM even when life is shabby, stinky and bad.

Our courage doesn’t come in our own strength, it only comes through our faith in HIM.

Surrender takes Faith in the things unseen

2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

When things aren’t going well, when life is a train wreck, when people in your life make dumb and destructive decisions and you have to clean up the mess. Through loss, hurt, pain, confusion… always remember that as Christians, we walk by faith not by sight.

God promises that HE will never leave you alone, HE will always be with you.

The truth is that we will not be able to control others but we can determine where our faith will be planted.

As we walk this life journey we may be walking alone down a lonely road. We may be going uphill… God will never leave us alone. God never guaranteed that the road will be easy. But, the journey would be amazing as long as we surrender everything to Jesus every single day.

You can’t always believe what you see. The news… social media… the statistics… church attendance on the decline…

Many Christians are asking, where is God in the dark days that we live?

It seems like the church is becoming a relic from the past… the church is on the verge of falling off the cliff.

Church… God’s church is moving forward, God is very present in these dark days that we are living.

The light of Jesus is shining bright, but as the church… we must surrender to Jesus, abide in Jesus, and courageously live for Jesus… daily.

That’s how we are going to be victorious and be strengthened through faith.

Surrendering to Jesus requires aligning our goals to please the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:9 NLT

9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him.

We will spend eternity pleasing God… worshipping Jesus so let’s begin now.

What are we aiming for? If we aim for nothing we will hit the target every time. Who are we pleasing? Are we pleasing ourselves or are we pleasing others. Do our goals align with being physically fit… making more money… paying off debt. Those are good goals but is the bigger, overarching goal to please God?

In this new year let us recalibrate our target, our goals, and our habits to align them all to become that person who aims to please God.

When we set our goals physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, financially, are we putting Jesus at the center? What’s or motivation? Do we do it for the approval of others, for our own self, or are we putting Jesus at the center of our goals? Is it all about the Kingdom of God and not our earthly kingdom.

Physically - be a good steward of the body God has given you. Make sure our tent is well maintained so we have the strength to serve Jesus in the years God has given me.

Emotionally - Being emotionally healthy so I can converse with others. Setting and guarding a sabbath so you can love others represent Jesus in a holy and healthy way.

Spiritually - That it’s not done out of duty and legalism but a love for Jesus. “It starts out as a discipline but it becomes a delight.”

Relationally - Set up boundaries that protect my family and my integrity. That I have a healthy Marriage, that my wife knows that I love her like crazy, my kids know that they are more important then the church. and that people know that they are valued.

Financial - Are we giving to God and setting faith goals in our giving?

Align our goals with pleasing the Lord and not pleasing ourself or others. Put Jesus above everything else requires complete surrender to HIM.

Surrendering to Jesus, doing life knowing we will gain an eternal reward.

We will be judged by God by what we do, not by our intentions.

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 ESV

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

What we do matters to God. Eternal life is a free gift given on the basis of God’s grace. Salvation is never obtained by works, and so this judgment before Christ will not determine believers’ eternal destiny. At this judgment, Christ will reward Christians for how they have lived on earth. All Christians must give account for how they have lived in this body.

We will be judged for every action, every word, every thought… God sees it all, whether good or evil. Let’s live this year with a renewed awareness of God’s presence. Knowing that HE is always present with us but that can only come when we are consistent in spending time with Jesus daily. Praying daily, in HIS Word daily, setting it on our schedule,

We will have to stand before the Lord and give an account for all that we have done for HIM. What are we doing? Don’t be overwhelmed with adding another thing to your schedule. We just need to reprioritize the things that are important, the things that are worthy of an eternal reward.

Busyness is the most effective tool the devil will use to distract us from doing those things that God will reward us for. His Kingdom, the least of these, ministering Jesus to our family, serving in ministry at church, giving and supporting the church, ministries, and missions.

We will be stand before the Lord and give an account for the things we have done. How do we respond… by surrendering all to Jesus.

TAKE AWAY: