The way to a blessed life is to allow God to take control, when we invite Him into every area of our lives.
• In Rom 12:1 Paul says, “...I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship.”
• Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
The picture here is one of SURRENDER. But people do not like to this word. They replace it with another word COMMITMENT. Let’s make a commitment to God.
• But they are not the same. The unfortunate thing is that the word “commitment” puts too much emphasis on self, on self-efforts.
• At the last retreat, in his last message, Rev William Soh shared about the difference between commitment and surrender:
COMMITMENT
1. What I want to do for God
2. What I can or have achieved for God
3. Focus on your diligence
4. Self-centred living
5. See my sacrifices for God
SURRENDER
1. What God wants me to do
2. What God has done; I can do nothing
3. Focus is on obedience
4. Christ-centred living
5. See only the Cross, His sacrifice for me
The weakness of "commitment" is that we are in control; we are the ones making the decisions. We can still decide what and how much we want to commit.
• The truth is it is more important to know what God wants us to do, than to focus on what we want to do for God.
• The focus should be on Him and not on us; on what God wants and not what we can do, on God’s will and desires, and not my plan and wishes.
At first, it sounded the same – commitment and surrender, but they are not.
• Scripture speaks of surrender, not commitment.
In The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority there is an account of a conversation between the late Adrian Rogers and Rev Josef Tson, the Romanian pastor, author, and president of the Romanian Missionary Society who survived years of persecution and exile under cruel Communist rule. Rogers asked Dr Tson for his perception of American Christianity.
Josef said the key word in American Christianity is commitment. This is not good.
"As a matter of fact, the word commitment did not come into great usage in the English language until about the 1960s. In Romania we do not even have a word to translate the English word commitment. If you were to use commitment in your message tonight, I would not have a proper word to translate it with.
When a new word comes into usage, it generally pushes an old word out. I began to study and found the old word that commitment replaced - the word surrender."
What is the difference between commitment and surrender?
“When you make a commitment, you are still in control, no matter how noble the thing you commit to. One can commit to pray, to study the Bible, to give his money, or to commit to automobile payments, or to lose weight. Whatever he chooses to do, he commits to.
But surrender is different. If someone holds a gun and asks you to lift your hands in the air as a token of surrender, you don’t tell that person what you are committed to. You simply surrender and do as you are told… Americans love commitment because they are still in control.
But the key word is surrender. We are to be slaves to the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Today, people are usually asked to make a commitment to follow Christ, to go to the mission field, to give financially, or pray for certain things - but we are in control.
• We decide what and how much we want to commit. The decision still lies with us. It puts a lot of emphasis on us.
• Being in control also means that you CAN CHOOSE not to do them. That’s why most people cannot keep to their commitments, even in marriages.
• Resolutions made at the beginning of the year, usually die off over time because we are focusing too much on ourselves.
No wonder life has been less than good or abundant. We’ve been running our life. We’re still on the driver’s seat.
• The Bible speaks of surrender, not commitment. We are to submit to God (James 4:7)
• He is the Boss, we listen to Him, we obey Him, we need Him and He is in control.
WHAT DOES SURRENDERING TO GOD MEANS?
(1) Surrender means YIELDING CONTROL or ownership to what we consider ours – our lives, our possessions, our time and our “rights”.
We are acknowledging that what we "own" actually belongs to Him.
• We are admitting that He is ultimately in control of everything, including our present circumstances.
• That means, all trust and expectation of anything working out is solely dependent on Him.
(2) Surrendering to God means taking up God’s BEST or God’s plan, and dropping ours.
It’s not about “what I want to do” but what “God wants me to do”.
• In surrendering, we give up the notion that we know what is best and therefore LETTING GO of whatever that has kept us from God’s best for our lives.
• We are left with “no choice”. It is not for us to decide what we want to do with our lives, our possessions and with our future.
When I pray the Lord’s prayer -“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10) – that includes me – my life, my marriage, my family, and my career.
This is actually the way to a happy, blessed and peaceful life, because we’ve relinquish all control to God.
• The truth is, He is always in control. It’s just that it has not taken place in our thinking. We have not submitted to Him. We have not surrendered to Him.
• Only God knows what is best. In surrendering to Him, we are inviting Him to take the wheel and chart my life, in the way He has planned it to be.
Developing such a MINDSET is necessary, otherwise, chances are, we are going to take the wheel (or retake the wheel) into my own hands and do life our own way.
• It is only in surrender that God can do with us what He wants to do.
• Whatever you commit to, you are controlling and putting in efforts to make it succeeds. Whatever you surrender, you’ve given up control to the One who CAN make it succeeds.
Jesus: "24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (John 12:24-25)
• You let go and it will bear fruit. You cannot produce fruit, only God can. It is the work of God. We let go and God will bring forth fruit.
• Blessings come when you give up control. And what a relief that is, when I am not in control – not my problems, not my circumstances, not my sickness - that’s where my joy and peace comes. Even in the midst of trials.
• When I give up control, I feel less pressured to perform, I do not have to struggle to solve every problem, I do not have to fight to protect what I have, I am less concerned about the future and enjoy today more.
Surrender takes ’me’ out of the equation.
• C. S. Lewis says in Mere Christianity: "The more we get what we now call ’ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become."
• You are only truly fulfilled in life when you surrender this life back to God.
Without surrender, we are at best, living second-best lives, or third-best lives. You cannot beat the Creator’s plan for your life.
• Or worst still, without surrender, you may end up not living God’s will for your life, most of the time, because you are in control.
HOW DO I SURRENDER TO GOD?
(1) DECIDE - tell Him. It’s a conscious choice you need to make.
Pray and acknowledge Him as your LORD. Ask Him to take over. Give Him the key.
There is a hymn that we used to sing many years ago – “All to Jesus, I Surrender”.
• “All to Jesus, I surrender; all to Him I freely give… [chorus:] I surrender all, I surrender all, all to Thee, my blessed Saviour, I surrender all.”
• Second stanza: “All to Jesus I surrender; humbly at His feet I bow, worldly pleasures all forsaken; take me, Jesus, take me now.”
• I remember a brother told me once, that we should not sing this hymn because we are not being truthful. Most of us aren’t really surrendering all.
It’s true if you take it literally. But this is what we need to be – fully surrendered to God.
• We need to sing it. Sing it as a prayer. Sing it to remind ourselves. Sing it to renew your mind. Sing it to express the desire of our heart. Sing it because it is right.
• Surrender is an ACT OF FAITH – saying, “Lord, I am trusting you.”
(2) DAILY - Surrendering to God is not a once-and-for-all experience.
Luke 9:23-24 "23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
This “letting go and letting God” takes over happen everyday, sometimes many times over in one day. Each time we’re confronted by an issue, a choice, a need, seek God and let Him takes over.
• PRACTICE this daily - "Lord, I’m going to leave it to you."
• Remember, it is not about how committed you are, but how surrendered you are.
• Each day when you are confronted with an issue or problem, bring it to Him and simply say, "How? What should I do now?"
Bob Butler shared in Discipleship Journal (NavPress):
I once served in an exceptionally difficult ministry situation on the island of Maui. (I know what you’re thinking, but it really was tough.) After a couple of years, I decided to get out, and put my name in my denomination’s candidate pool to be considered for a different situation. Nothing happened for more than a year.
One day, after whining to God about it, I just gave up. I said, “Lord, if you want to leave me on this rock for the rest of my life, that’s up to you.” I did not decide to stay or leave; I just left it up to God. I believe God was waiting for me to pray that prayer. My commitment in that place had long since expired, but my surrender to the Lord opened the door to joy and peace and effectiveness.
I served in that position for two more years—joyfully—until I was called to another congregation.
Looking back, I now see the damage that could have been done to my family, the Maui church, and the new church, if I had insisted on forcing my will into that situation.
Bob Butler: "Surrender has become a new perspective for my faith... God has called me deeper and closer to Himself."
COMMUNION – As we take the communion this morning, let us remind that THIS LIFE BELONGS TO HIM. Surrendering to God is not a harsh DEMAND; it is a rightful offering to the Saviour who has given up His all to you. It is our most appropriate act of worship.
Gal 2:20-21 “20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Let us sing I SURRENDER ALL. We will distribute the cup and bread as we sing (stand).
Take an inventory of your life and see what or where you need to surrender to God.
• Are there areas that you are controlling and trying very hard to make them work?
• Tell it to God and invite Him to take over. Acknowledge Him as Lord over this issue.
