Total Surrender

Total Surrender

From: Utmost.org

March 12, 2017

Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” —Mark 10:28

Our Lord replies to this statement of Peter by saying that this surrender is “for My sake and the gospel’s” (10:29). It was not for the purpose of what the disciples themselves would get out of it. Beware of surrender that is motivated by personal benefits that may result. For example, “I’m going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.” Being delivered from sin and being made holy are the result of being right with God, but surrender resulting from this kind of thinking is certainly not the true nature of Christianity. Our motive for surrender should not be for any personal gain at all. We have become so self-centered that we go to God only for something from Him, and not for God Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don’t want you; I want myself. But I do want You to clean me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I want to be on display in Your showcase so I can say, ‘This is what God has done for me.’ ” Gaining heaven, being delivered from sin, and being made useful to God are things that should never even be a consideration in real surrender. Genuine total surrender is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.

Where does Jesus Christ figure in when we have a concern about our natural relationships? Most of us will desert Him with this excuse— “Yes, Lord, I heard you call me, but my family needs me and I have my own interests. I just can’t go any further” (see Luke 9:57-62). “Then,” Jesus says, “you ‘cannot be My disciple’ ” (see Luke 14:26-33).

True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs, which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.

The Piercing Question

The Piercing Question

From: Utmost.org

March 1, 2017

 

Do you love Me? —John 21:17

 

 

Peter’s response to this piercing question is considerably different from the bold defiance he exhibited only a few days before when he declared, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35; also see Matthew 26:33-34). Our natural individuality, or our natural self, boldly speaks out and declares its feelings. But the true love within our inner spiritual self can be discovered only by experiencing the hurt of this question of Jesus Christ. Peter loved Jesus in the way any natural man loves a good person. Yet that is nothing but emotional love. It may reach deeply into our natural self, but it never penetrates to the spirit of a person. True love never simply declares itself. Jesus said, “Whoever confesses Me before men [that is, confesses his love by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8).

Unless we are experiencing the hurt of facing every deception about ourselves, we have hindered the work of the Word of God in our lives. The Word of God inflicts hurt on us more than sin ever could, because sin dulls our senses. But this question of the Lord intensifies our sensitivities to the point that this hurt produced by Jesus is the most exquisite pain conceivable. It hurts not only on the natural level, but also on the deeper spiritual level. “For the Word of God is living and powerful…, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit…”— to the point that no deception can remain (Hebrews 4:12). When the Lord asks us this question, it is impossible to think and respond properly, because when the Lord speaks directly to us, the pain is too intense. It causes such a tremendous hurt that any part of our life which may be out of line with His will can feel the pain. There is never any mistaking the pain of the Lord’s Word by His children, but the moment that pain is felt is the very moment at which God reveals His truth to us.

Surrender To God's Will

1. Is it easy to surrender?

2.  Did Jesus surrender to God's will?

3. Can good things happen to surrender to God?

4. Can you name someone in the Bible who allowed God's will to be done?

5. Does true victory come in surrender to God?

Garden Talk

By: Joe Stowell, From: Get More Strength.org.

Feb

02

2016

“Not what I will, but what you will” Mark 14:36

Okay, I have to confess . . . I like gardening. There, I said it. Sorry guys, but I do! So, liking gardens, I have often thought about how wonderful the Garden of Eden must have been. Absolute satisfaction and joy in the most fragrant and lavishly beautiful place the world has ever known! And add to the beauty of it all the unhindered intimacy that Adam and Eve, in perfect harmony, enjoyed with each other and their God. In spite of the fact that there were no high-tech toys, sports, or flashy cars there, it’s safe to say that what went on in that garden was an experience beyond our fondest dreams.

But as you probably know, something bad happened, and the super-blessed pair were left with a fallen world full of weeds and pain—all kinds of weeds and pain if you know what I mean.

But the God who lost His prized possession on that day planned to someday reclaim Eden and its unhindered joys. In Revelation 21:1-27, He describes this new Eden in terms of the “new heaven and new earth.” Everything in this old fallen place will be gone and there will be a new city where God will dwell, where we will be His people and He will be our God. There will be no more tears, no death, no mourning or crying, and no pain. All of that will have passed away. PTL! The tangled thorns of broken relationships, sickness, pain, and sin will be no more. And, better than the first garden, in this Eden there will be no possibility of failing and losing it again. By His grace we will all be locked into righteousness—forever.

But between the experience of these two gardens, there is another garden. A garden where the new Eden became a certain reality—a reality in which we can find hope and courage in the fact that this creepy, fallen world is not all that we have, that there is a better world to come! It is the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus agonized over going to the cross. And it was His surrender in that garden that makes the coming Eden an assured reality for all who embrace the Jesus of Gethsemane as Savior and Lord.

Recently it occurred to me that, like Jesus, we live between the two gardens—in a hostile and threatening world full of weeds and pain. And between the two gardens, “surrender” is still the password that produces the victory we long for in the midst of the weeds of fallen relationships and personal failure. Surrender to a forgiving spirit. Surrender to patience and long-suffering. Surrender to God’s principles even in the face of rejection and misunderstanding. It’s surrenderthat keeps the weeds from choking out the strength and joy in our hearts.

So let me ask you: When was the last time you knelt at the rock by Jesus’ side, knowing that God’s will for you was a tough assignment, and heard your heart say with His, “Not my will but yours be done”?

That’s garden talk!