Surrender

Surrender is giving your all and taking only that which is given from our Lord Jesus and then giving it back to Him again. To live a surrendered life is not easy by no means, but it is a choice that we must make willingly to our Lord Jesus to have one of the greatest relationships we can have. In Psalms 51:17 it says:  “The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

 

Below we find our Lord Jesus humbling Himself prostrate before the Father with a broken spirit and contrite heart pleading with the Father that He would not have to do what is laid before Him, but here comes the surrender, the letting go, the absolute best we can give, “… nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt ]…”. This is one of the hardest things for use to do, but is needed.

 

Matthew 26:36 – 46

“³⁶  Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ³⁹ And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]. ⁴⁰ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak. ⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.  ⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take [your] rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.”

 

Mark 14:35 -36

“³⁵ And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”

 

 We find in the following scriptures what we must do to obtain a surrendered life style and to have a relationship with the God Head (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), it is a requirement.

 

Matthew 16:24 – 26; Mark 8:34 – 37; Luke 9:23 – 25

²⁴ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ²⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. ²⁶ For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

 

 

We also find that we cannot be ashamed of Who Jesus is and What we must do to please Him in a public and private setting.

 

Luke 9:26

“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and [in his] Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

 

Mark 8:38

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

 

So many “” so called Christians refuse to live a surrendered life in a public setting, except in a church, then they become all holier than thou. There are those who pray, read the Bible and help other people, go to church every Sunday and yet have no relationship with Jesus, they are not living a surrendered life but trying to find a way  through works to be accepted by Jesus, but the works are not pleasing to Jesus.  Living a surrendered life means it is Jesus whom you live for, not yourself or others. Does this mean we cannot approach the Lord with our hearts desire, no it does not, but it does mean that when we rise up from our prayer we must say, “okay Lord whatever You want for my life, to lead and direct and guide, to have and to hold, to do thy will through, to bring you praise, honor and glory” a surrendered life.

 

 

In the following scriptures we find that obedience is better than sacrifice or works. God is not after what works we can do, but a relationship with you, to surrender to His Perfect Will.

 

1 Samuel 15:22

“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.”

 

Psalms 51:16 -17

“¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

 

In Genesis 22 we find another example of a surrendered life to God, Abraham giving up his son Isaac to God the Father as a sacrifice. Abraham held nothing back.

We also find in the following scriptures that Jesus tells us that we can not love anything before Him, not our parents, siblings, children, husbands or wives, nothing can come before the Lord Jesus!

 

Matthew 10:37 – 39

“³⁷ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

³⁹ He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”

 

Luke 14:26 – 33

“²⁶ If any [man] come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]? ²⁹ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him, ³⁰ Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. ³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? ³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. ³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

 

Everything in this life must be surrendered to the Lord Jesus and trust Him for everything no matter what.

 

Matthew 6:24 -34

“²⁴ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. ²⁵ Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? ²⁶ Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? ²⁷ Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? ²⁸ And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: ²⁹ And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  ³⁰ Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? ³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? ³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. ³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. ³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.”

 

 

Conclusion

We have a choice if we want a relationship with our Lord Jesus and it takes a surrendered life. Holding on to nothing, but giving all that you are and have to our Lord to do with as Him Wills, not as you will. That is what it means to have someone to be lord over you, they decide what is needed to live life.

 

Amen and Amen!!!