Let s pray to ask the Lord s blessing on HIS message to our hearts and minds today.

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1 SURRENDER Preparing My Heart to Be a Woman on Mission for Jesus Message given by Mrs. Audrie Sifuentes of Daughters of Christ Ministry, Inc. at Overhills Community Baptist Church February 20, 2011 I want to thank Ms. Dot and all the Women on Mission ladies for the opportunity to share a message with you from God s word today. The message that has been on my heart to share in recent weeks is on the topic of Surrender and why this must precede a commitment to serve Jesus. So, I will talk with you today about what surrender is, why we need to surrender, and finally, how to surrender. First, I want to share with you that when I feel inspired by the Lord to share with women on a particular topic, it is because I am currently or have just come through a period of training from the Lord in this area. Today s topic is one I will continue to be challenged by for the rest of my life on earth. The Lord is helping me to see more and more clearly that I must press on and purpose daily from my heart to stay lovingly surrendered unto Him. Let s pray to ask the Lord s blessing on HIS message to our hearts and minds today. I. What is surrender? SURRENDER. Noah Webster s dictionary defines the noun surrender as, The act of yielding or resigning one's person or the possession of something, into the power of another; [such] as the surrender of a castle to an enemy; [or] the surrender of a right or of claims. Throughout God s written word, there is a repeating theme of surrendering unto God and His Lordship. According to Webster s definition of surrender, this would mean, in the Christian experience, that we yield to God s power in and over our life. We cease from living for ourselves and yield our personal rights to have things our way, unto the Lordship of Jesus. In the New Testament, Jesus is revealed as God s Messiah (the Savior) in fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6, which says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. When we meet Jesus as a real Person, and then believe upon Him as the Savior and the only One Who has the power to save our soul from eternal damnation, then we are faced with the life or death choice of accepting or rejecting His free gift of salvation to pay the death penalty for our sin. If we choose to reject Jesus as Savior and Lord, then we go on with our daily life while on earth as though Jesus does not exist. But, when this life has ended and we come face to face with eternity, we cannot enter Paradise with Jesus and are forever separated from Him because of that one choice we made to reject Him as Savior and Lord God Almighty. However, for those of us who do accept God s free gift of salvation by believing upon Jesus as Savior and Lord, we are the only ones who have the assurance that we will be with God for all 1

2 eternity. The Apostle John makes clear in John 1:12 that as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name. For those of us here today, who want to be Women on Mission for God, this is our starting point. According to Romans 10:9-10, we must believe upon and by faith confess Jesus as the Savior and Lord Who died for our sins and was raised from death three days later. Once we have believed upon, received and confessed Jesus as Lord, then we are faced with the next, big choice of whether or not to surrender our life unto His Lordship. Before I continue with this thought, I am going to give you ladies a quiz. This is a pass or fail quiz. There is only one right answer, so be sure to pay close attention to the examples I am going to give you. Here s how the quiz works: I will demonstrate two examples to you using body language, and at the end of the second example, I will ask you to answer the quiz question. Here is the first example: (arms folded with a defiant, rebellious expression on my face). Okay, now, here is the second example: (arms outstretched and face looking heavenward in surrender to God). Okay, here is the quiz question: which of the two examples demonstrates an attitude of surrender? (Pause enough for them to answer.) For those of you who agree that the second example is the answer, you are correct. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us that a person s behavior follows what is in their thought life. So, our body language as part of our behavior reveals what is in our heart. And, Jesus s words in Matthew 12:34 and Luke 6:45 tell us that what is stored up in our heart will be evident by the words that come out of our mouth. As you observed from my body language in the two examples I gave you, the first example demonstrates a heart attitude of willful defiance and rebellion. The second example I gave you demonstrates an attitude and disposition of surrender. Likewise, the words you and I choose when speaking to God and other people AND the way in which we choose to use those words demonstrate whether or not we are surrendered unto the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Let s put this in everyday terms according to the opportunities we women may have on a daily basis to demonstrate a heart attitude that is surrendered unto God. Example: Let s say someone you care about said or did something that deeply hurt your feelings. While their offensive words or actions may stir up anger and other emotional pain in your heart, you would demonstrate a heart that is surrendered to God if you were to choose to forgive that person immediately instead of holding a grudge of bitterness toward them. Then, if you are still carrying hurt feelings in your soul, you would turn to the Lord and ask Him to minister His healing to the hurt in your heart and fill you with His love for that person who offended you. 2

3 In this example, a surrendered heart to God would choose to show respect to that person, even when their behavior is disrespectful. We do this because our righteous attitude is a deliberate choice we make to honor Jesus instead of fulfilling the desire of our flesh to return evil for evil. A surrendered heart is willing to do the right thing even when it does not feel good to do so. A person with a surrendered heart unto Christ s Lordship is willing to walk in humility despite the difficult and oftentimes painful circumstances we experience. II. Why do we need to surrender? What is its purpose? Alright, so why do we need to surrender, and what is the purpose of surrendering to God? The Welcome to Women on Mission website presents the question: Where does your heart beat for missions? It goes on to explain that Women on Mission is ongoing missions involvement and learning that extends across the globe. As a part of Women on Mission, ladies have the opportunity to participate in missions and ministries that enable them to experience a variety of ways to serve Christ. Ultimately, the purpose of all Women on Mission activities is that every person have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel. Hopefully, your heart IS beating for doing and/or supporting the work of missions both within our borders and abroad. Understanding the goodness of God makes our heart full of gratitude, which makes us want to serve Him. The ultimate purpose of the Women on Mission activities is to carry out the work of God s Great Commission, which ought to be the heart of every Christian ministry and activity. Since we know this to be true, each of us must ask ourselves the question: what am I doing to prepare my heart, my mind and my life to be used of God in completing His will in ministry? Galatians 2:20 says, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. We need to ask the LORD to show us whether we have the cart before the horse in life by thinking God is here to serve us and meet our needs versus us being here to serve Him and bring Him glory. We may not want to admit that we believe this way, but we need to pay attention to our behaviors and see if that is how we are choosing to live. If I want God s anointing, favor and blessing upon me at the start of every day so that my work for Him will have eternal value, then I need to reverently approach Him at the start of each day to fully surrender my heart to Him and ask Him for His direction, wisdom and guidance. Then, I must keep choosing to do His will in light of all the circumstances I face each day. Only as we walk in the Spirit of God will our works glorify Him and produce eternal fruit. All of this is accomplished as we choose daily to die to self and stay surrendered unto the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, in the human, carnal experience, this is not a once-for-all choice we make. It is a day-by-day choice that produces blessing and spiritual fruit as we willingly surrender to Jesus as often as we remember to do so. 3

4 Addressing his comments to the born-again believers at Colossae, the Apostle Paul told them in Colossians 3:3, For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Acts 17:28 tells us that in Jesus we live, and move, and have our being for we are His offspring. In light of these and other Scriptures like them, Ladies, what right do we have as daughters of Christ to dictate and plan how we will live our life apart from the will of God? The obvious answer is that we, who are in Christ, do not have that right. 1 st Corinthians 6:19 tells us that once we surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our life, we are no longer our own property. Verse 20 says that we are bought with a price and that our body and spirit belong to God. So, we know that we should surrender to God because it is the right thing to do, but what s the whole purpose behind surrendering our life to Him? If you are fast with your sword drills, you can turn to Romans Chapter 5 and follow along as I read the first eleven verses from that chapter in answer to the purpose behind surrendering to Christ s Lordship. These verses say: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only [so], but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Ladies, do you agree with me that this is reason enough for us to be willing to surrender unto Christ Jesus and serve in His Name for the remainder of our time on earth?! I want to read the lyrics to a contemporary Christian song entitled, I Surrender All. Verse one says: (LEFT PAGE) Galatians 2:15-16 help us understand that no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. We read in Galatians 2:21 where Paul the Apostle said, for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Instead, 1 st John 5 tells us that the commands of God are not burdensome and that His children who love Him obey His commands BECAUSE they love Him. 4

5 Surrendering unto the Lordship of Jesus Christ should never be burdensome or oppressive to the child of God. It is a joy to surrender to Jesus when we love Him. We will not experience true spiritual freedom until we fully surrender unto His Lordship and are obeying God out of a sense of love versus duty. True joy and spiritual freedom follow our obedience. So, when we choose to obey God in the small and big choices in life from a heart that is surrendered to Him, then His joy and spiritual freedom are the resulting experience in our heart following our obedience to Christ. Simple, everyday tasks can be meaningless or they can be meaningful. They will be meaningless if we do them with an attitude of duty or drudgery. But, this causes our service to God to be mundane and without joy, and our work does not produce fruit unto God s kingdom, as a result. However, our work for God will be wonderfully meaningful and eternally blessed when each activity, chore and overall responsibility is dedicated as an act of loving service and worship to God s glory. We need to focus on our relationship with God in an intimate way all day long. And, we need a fresh filling of God s Holy Spirit at the start of each new day to enable and empower us to do His will in the small and big activities of life. Isaiah 26:3-4 and Galatians 5:16 assure us that the result of keeping our mind stayed on the LORD and being filled with His Holy Spirit will grant us the motivation, power and strength we need to serve God in ways that bring Him glory and cause our hearts to overflow with His joy and peace within. Next, until we are fully surrendered unto Jesus and His Lordship, making a commitment to serve Him will be in vain. We can make commitment after commitment to God and even desire to hold true to those commitments. However, if our heart is not first surrendered to God and the power of His Holy Spirit in our life, we are kidding ourselves to think we will be able to follow through with those commitments and have them produce eternal fruit for God s glory. Romans 14:23 clarifies for us that whatsoever is not of faith is sin. For years, my mother tried to quit smoking cigarettes in her own strength, to no avail. After Mom got saved, she desired to quit smoking because now she felt convicted in her soul that this sinful habit would keep her from demonstrating Christ Jesus effectively to others. Mom made a choice to fully surrender her will and desire for nicotine to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and trust in His power to set her free. As a result, God delivered Mom from bondage to that addiction. Hers is a very sweet testimony to God s goodness and power. My daddy was a very regular drinker for all of my childhood and early adulthood. Dad eventually reached a very low point in his life where he knew he needed to change. When it finally occurred to him how the alcohol was destroying his life, he surrendered his heart to Jesus in the quietness of his home and pleaded with God to take away the taste of alcohol from him. 5

6 Marvelously, God saved and delivered my daddy on the spot of his sincere confession of faith in Christ to save and deliver him as needed. My parents had to come to terms with their inability to deliver themselves from the bondage they were in. This is a true picture of what needs to happen in my life and yours in order for us to be free from the grip of sin and be free to serve Christ Jesus in newness of life. (Both of my parents want me to share their respective testimonies of God s healing and deliverance in their lives.) So, we know that until we are fully surrendered to the Lord, it is pointless to make a commitment to serve Him lest we exhaust ourselves through our self-efforts. III. How do we surrender? Okay; so HOW do we surrender? What does surrendering look like? If I were to challenge you to take The Nestea Plunge, who here would know what I am talking about? (Pause to see a show of hands.) The Nestea Plunge commercials show a person falling backwards into a very inviting pool of water behind them. Surrendering our whole being to the Lord looks metaphorically like The Nestea Plunge. It demonstrates complete trust in the One to Whom we surrender. God s nature is like that pool of water in which we plunge our whole self. When we immerse ourselves in God through our attitude of complete surrender, He becomes the One Who refreshes our soul with His goodness and love. Isaiah 26:3-4 make this point clear. These verses say, Thou wilt keep [him] in perfect peace, [whose] mind [is] stayed [on thee]: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH [is] everlasting strength. Ladies, we don t have that kind of strength within ourselves, do we? That everlasting strength is only found in the LORD, and that is why we must daily tap into Him for His strength. Unfortunately, surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus is rarely an easy thing to do. This is true because we have the obstacles of our carnal nature, the wicked influences of this world in which we live, and the ongoing attacks of the devil with which we contend on a regular basis. While these three adversaries pull us toward self-centeredness, God s Spirit within His children, pulls us toward Him for the strength, power and freedom we need to do His will. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus said, the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak. And, Paul explained in Galatians 5:17 that the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 6

7 We must not allow our carnal nature to discourage us from doing the will and work of God this side of eternity. While we need to be aware of our sinful nature, we must not let our awareness of it entrap us into the bondage of self-defeat. Oswald Chambers said, God does not give us overcoming life He gives us life as we overcome. 1 st John 1:9 reminds us that If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Likewise, we must not allow the world system to derail us from serving God as we should. The Apostle John said in 1 st John 5:4, For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith. Ladies, perhaps you know that you have the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life, but at some point, you allowed your focus to shift to the cares of this world, thereby choking out the effect of God s word in your life. When our spiritual well has run dry due to not feeding on the wellspring of our Heavenly Father and His written word, we must confess our sinful heart attitudes, repent, and then get back on track spiritually by drawing close to the Lord, inviting Him to be our joy and strength again. There s a quote in the introductory notes of Habakkuk in my Life Application Bible that I want to share with you. It says, God wants us to come to Him with our struggles and doubts. But His answers may not be what we expect. God sustains us by revealing Himself to us. Trusting Him leads to quiet hope, not bitter resignation. Trusting God is the whole point of surrendering unto Him. Whenever God reveals Himself to me, my heart gets very full of joy. Nehemiah 8:10 says, the joy of the LORD is your strength. So, I need to actively and frequently seek the Lord while He may be found, seek Him with my whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and then choose to yield my will to His Lordship. This will cause me to regularly experience His presence with me, which in turn causes my joy to overflow. As my joy overflows, it touches the lives of others who desperately need to be filled by the Lord. Precious sisters here today and for those of you who still need to confess Jesus as Savior, what burdens are you carrying that Jesus wants you to surrender to Him? Is it the weight of believing you have to do everything in your family life or it won t get done? Do you carry the pain and hurt for the broken and unrepaired relationships in your life? Perhaps you carry the weight of the regret of sins past and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel for truly experiencing the forgiveness and grace of God in your life. Are you willing to surrender every part of your heart and life to Jesus and truly trust Him as Lord of all in your life? A sermon title says it all: Is Jesus Lord of All, or Is He Lord at All? Oswald Chambers said, Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ s idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others. And, about God, Oswald 7

8 said, He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. Ladies, let s be devoted to God so that serving Him will be an automatic desire and holy reaction in our hearts. If we find ourselves serving God out of a sense of duty instead of love, let s STOP, reflect upon why we are serving, and then put the horse before the cart once more. Let s get back to our first love of Jesus and simply begin again. I have a plaque that hangs on my wall at home that reads, Oh, God of second chances and new beginnings, here I am again. Let s be those surrendered saints of God who are constantly ready to do His will and work until He calls us home. Remember, even the mundane chores in life will be great works unto God s glory when we keep a heart that is surrendered to Him because of our love for Jesus. I want to close by reading to you the lyrics of the historic hymn entitled, Take My Life And Let It Be. See if you can relate to the attitude of surrender penned by Frances R. Havergal in February Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise. Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love. Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee. Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King. Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee. Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold. Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose. Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne. Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee. 8