Surrendering Everything to God
By Dr Mark
The standard of practical holy living has been so low among Christians that very often the person who tries to practice spiritual disciplines in everyday life is looked upon with disapproval by a large portion of the church. And for the most part, the followers of Jesus Christ are satisfied with a life so conformed to the world, and so like it in almost every respect, that to a casual observer there is no difference between the Christian and the pagan. (Hannah Whitall Smith, 1875.)
God calls us to surrender everything to Him. Andrew Murray called it "Absolute Surrender". So what does it mean to surrender all to God? There are two sides to the equation. First, we must be willing to do whatever He desires for us - in others words we must be willing to be obedient to whatever He commands. Second, we have to learn to allow God to do whatever He wants to do in and through us. This second part is the one that from an intellectual position seems to give some people problems. The question arises, can we really keep God from doing whatever He wants to do in our lives. The answer is Yes we can.
Let's look at a couple of areas where we see this illustrated in scripture:
MK 6:4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
From the two passages that we've just looked at we see that there were times when Jesus wanted to do miracles and He wasn't able to because of the peoples lack of faith. Also, we see in the second passage that God wants everyone to be saved, but it's not going to happen. So from these two scriptures we see that there are certainly times when God wants to do things in people lives, but because of choices each person makes, He may be limited in what He will do.
We need to examine ourselves and be sure that we are not doing, or believing anything that might limit what God can (or will) do in our lives. We can ask questions like: Is there any on-going sin in my life? Is it possible that there are things God wants to do in my life that my lack of faith would hinder Him from doing? If so, what can be done to increase faith? Begin by confessing the lack of faith and asking God to remove it.
MK 9:17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
MK 9:19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
MK 9:20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
MK 9:21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
MK 9:23 " `If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
MK 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
When Jesus was talking to His disciples He told them that it was important to count the cost. Listen to what He said:
LK 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
LK 14:28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
LK 14:31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Surrendering our will to God is very difficult for many of us because we want to be sure that we are in control and we think that we know what's best for ourselves, so surrendering our will is often tough. However, God has called us to surrender everything to His care.
As we consider some passages that deal with this process we'll note that in many places we're told things like: put off one thing and put on something else. What I'd like for us to spend the next few minutes doing is going through the book of Romans and examining just a few of the places where Paul dealt with this concept of surrender.
Romans 3: 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Romans 3: 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
RO 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
RO 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Romans 6: 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
RO 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
RO 7:1 Do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
RO 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
RO 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Romans 10: 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 11: 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 13: 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
These passages teach us that we are to die (spiritually) to the world, to sin, to self, to the law and that we are to live for God. We are called to focus on God's grace and His amazing willingness to reach out to us when we were still living in sin and when we were still His enemies. We're to get rid of the flesh and to clothe ourselves with Christ.
Have you surrendered everything to Jesus as both Lord and King? If not, what are you waiting for?
* * * * * * *
The Beauty of Surrender to God
by Sharat Thakur
Faith is giving Divine a chance to act. We all say that God is omniscient and omnipresent, but when it comes to surrendering everything on to Him, we tend to question his existence. In this matter, the atheists are better as they do not believe in God’s presence at all. Whats the point in believing on someone, and yet not having faith on Him. When we say that God is there, why cant we give Him a chance to bestow his love. We create images of God in our own mind, and try to believe that these are mere images, and nothing more.
How will God bestow his Love on to us? A very simple principle that works here is we have to follow the divine principles that God has laid down for us. Belief in God should stimulate us to know His virtues and his manifestations. We need to keep remembering God all the time. Many people complain that inspite of doing Spiritual practice and following the company of saintly people, they have not realized God. This is because of lack of faith and reverence for God, and also because of lack of remembrance of God.
We need to bestow and surrender all that we have onto Him, be it good or bad. A deep trust has to be birthed from the inside of us that recognizes that whatever happens to us, whether it is good or bad, God is in control and He can make something good out of it that would align to His will and purpose. Complete surrender to God’s will is the answer to have his blessing bestowed on to us. We have to realize the ever transcendental nature of God. We have to realize that God is all encompassing. God is all pervading, he knows everybody’s thoughts and action, he is supremely compassionate, supremely loving. God is the Supreme person, the Supreme Reality and the Supreme Spirit.
Surrender everything to God and see how life becomes full of meaning and purpose. All the actions, all the thoughts, all the feelings – bestow on to his Supreme feet. Have faith that whatever he has given or whatever he will give, is all that we require. Open your heart to receive His love. He is always there for us, we have to give him the chance to act, we have to have complete faith in His love.
Surrendering to God does not mean that we should stop doing what is expected of us. Rather it means, that we should keep doing our duty, without getting perturbed by life’s ups and downs. In everything we should be thankful to Him. There should be no need to worry about anything when you have surrendered everything to God.
So rise, awake, act, surrender and give God the chance to act.
By Dr Mark
The standard of practical holy living has been so low among Christians that very often the person who tries to practice spiritual disciplines in everyday life is looked upon with disapproval by a large portion of the church. And for the most part, the followers of Jesus Christ are satisfied with a life so conformed to the world, and so like it in almost every respect, that to a casual observer there is no difference between the Christian and the pagan. (Hannah Whitall Smith, 1875.)
God calls us to surrender everything to Him. Andrew Murray called it "Absolute Surrender". So what does it mean to surrender all to God? There are two sides to the equation. First, we must be willing to do whatever He desires for us - in others words we must be willing to be obedient to whatever He commands. Second, we have to learn to allow God to do whatever He wants to do in and through us. This second part is the one that from an intellectual position seems to give some people problems. The question arises, can we really keep God from doing whatever He wants to do in our lives. The answer is Yes we can.
Let's look at a couple of areas where we see this illustrated in scripture:
MK 6:4 Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
From the two passages that we've just looked at we see that there were times when Jesus wanted to do miracles and He wasn't able to because of the peoples lack of faith. Also, we see in the second passage that God wants everyone to be saved, but it's not going to happen. So from these two scriptures we see that there are certainly times when God wants to do things in people lives, but because of choices each person makes, He may be limited in what He will do.
We need to examine ourselves and be sure that we are not doing, or believing anything that might limit what God can (or will) do in our lives. We can ask questions like: Is there any on-going sin in my life? Is it possible that there are things God wants to do in my life that my lack of faith would hinder Him from doing? If so, what can be done to increase faith? Begin by confessing the lack of faith and asking God to remove it.
MK 9:17 A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not."
MK 9:19 "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
MK 9:20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
MK 9:21 Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?"
"From childhood," he answered. 22 "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
MK 9:23 " `If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
MK 9:24 Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
When Jesus was talking to His disciples He told them that it was important to count the cost. Listen to what He said:
LK 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
LK 14:28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
LK 14:31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Surrendering our will to God is very difficult for many of us because we want to be sure that we are in control and we think that we know what's best for ourselves, so surrendering our will is often tough. However, God has called us to surrender everything to His care.
As we consider some passages that deal with this process we'll note that in many places we're told things like: put off one thing and put on something else. What I'd like for us to spend the next few minutes doing is going through the book of Romans and examining just a few of the places where Paul dealt with this concept of surrender.
Romans 3: 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Romans 3: 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
RO 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
RO 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Romans 6: 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
RO 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
RO 7:1 Do you not know, brothers--for I am speaking to men who know the law--that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
RO 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
RO 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Romans 10: 4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 11: 5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 13: 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
These passages teach us that we are to die (spiritually) to the world, to sin, to self, to the law and that we are to live for God. We are called to focus on God's grace and His amazing willingness to reach out to us when we were still living in sin and when we were still His enemies. We're to get rid of the flesh and to clothe ourselves with Christ.
Have you surrendered everything to Jesus as both Lord and King? If not, what are you waiting for?
* * * * * * *
The Beauty of Surrender to God
by Sharat Thakur
Faith is giving Divine a chance to act. We all say that God is omniscient and omnipresent, but when it comes to surrendering everything on to Him, we tend to question his existence. In this matter, the atheists are better as they do not believe in God’s presence at all. Whats the point in believing on someone, and yet not having faith on Him. When we say that God is there, why cant we give Him a chance to bestow his love. We create images of God in our own mind, and try to believe that these are mere images, and nothing more.
How will God bestow his Love on to us? A very simple principle that works here is we have to follow the divine principles that God has laid down for us. Belief in God should stimulate us to know His virtues and his manifestations. We need to keep remembering God all the time. Many people complain that inspite of doing Spiritual practice and following the company of saintly people, they have not realized God. This is because of lack of faith and reverence for God, and also because of lack of remembrance of God.
We need to bestow and surrender all that we have onto Him, be it good or bad. A deep trust has to be birthed from the inside of us that recognizes that whatever happens to us, whether it is good or bad, God is in control and He can make something good out of it that would align to His will and purpose. Complete surrender to God’s will is the answer to have his blessing bestowed on to us. We have to realize the ever transcendental nature of God. We have to realize that God is all encompassing. God is all pervading, he knows everybody’s thoughts and action, he is supremely compassionate, supremely loving. God is the Supreme person, the Supreme Reality and the Supreme Spirit.
Surrender everything to God and see how life becomes full of meaning and purpose. All the actions, all the thoughts, all the feelings – bestow on to his Supreme feet. Have faith that whatever he has given or whatever he will give, is all that we require. Open your heart to receive His love. He is always there for us, we have to give him the chance to act, we have to have complete faith in His love.
Surrendering to God does not mean that we should stop doing what is expected of us. Rather it means, that we should keep doing our duty, without getting perturbed by life’s ups and downs. In everything we should be thankful to Him. There should be no need to worry about anything when you have surrendered everything to God.
So rise, awake, act, surrender and give God the chance to act.
