Saturday, May 17, 2014

Surrender

The following is an excerpt from a book I read. I don't necessarily believe in all the author believes, but the following really struck a chord with me.

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"There are some definite rules, moreover, for real Christian living.

First of all we must surrender our whole selves to God, both their conscious and the subconscious constituents. This takes time.

A very prominent professor in one of our seminaries confessed that after four hours of trying to find full surrender, a few spiritual leaders became very much discouraged. They were still not much different in their feelings and thoughts.

Total surrender takes at least a lifetime.

When our present self finds surrender, moreover, God lets us have ever larger selves to surrender!

Certainly Jesus had to keep surrendering to the end, through Gethsemane and Calvary.

The saints know that years of self-offering are involved.

As one area is won they have found that God lets us find another to be used for him.

Spiritual pain and sense of failure must be no source of worry, for guilt feelings always accompany the growing life.

When God declares present attainment inadequate His judgment makes us feel guilty about it; but how else could we ever keep growing?

Be concerned, rather, if you feel that your life has attained its fulfillment. Especially be concerned if you suspect that you are a saint.

Surrender is the hardest thing life offers and uses up all the time we have.

Surrender, however, is not negative but positive. We should, perhaps, instead of surrender, call it the constant acceptance of God's gracious will.

Surrender, however, is the opening of the door which God will not break down.

Surrender is our job.

Our surrender is made to God who gives us freely all things.

We surrender the narrow, shut-in self to find the wide-seeing and free self. We surrender the self that is feverishly and vainly set on its own way to find God's life satisfying way.

We surrender the self that nourishes its own hurts and prejudices to find the self of fellowship which rejoices in other people's joy and finds redemptive gladness in helping their hurts.

Surrender is the door, the abundant life beyond it is the heart of the Christian faith.

Surrender becomes cheap and evasive, nevertheless, when it is merely or mostly an emotional formula for feeling secure with God.

Real security does not come about that way, for God is no dispenser of comforts to pious prigs.

Surrender to God means genuineness of life, first of all.

It is self-acceptance. It is seeing oneself as one is, in need of being remade."

(Strengthening the Spiritual Life- by Nels F.S. Ferre. )

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Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

We need to be REMADE- we need to be BORN AGAIN.

We have to accept needing to be born again.

We have to realize that we truly do have a new life in Christ when we are born again.  And that surrendering ourselves DAILY to Christ is a way of life, of understanding that it is HIM remaking us.  Truly we must open the door that Christ knocks at. We must desire Him in our lives.

Surrender.

Rom 6:1  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so WE SHOULD WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Rom 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth WE SHOULD NOT SERVE SIN.
Rom 6:7  For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:12  LET NOT SIN THERFORE REIGN IN YOUR MORTAL BODY, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Rom 6:13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but YIELD YOURSELVES UNTO GOD, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Surrendering to Christ. Surrendering ourselves. And it's true that this surrendering takes a life time because day by day we surrender to our SAVIOR. Day by day we make the conscious choices of obedience or disobedience. We are born anew in Christ, through Christ and Christ alone we have hope of obedience, He gives us this hope that we can yield ourselves servants to HIS righteousness which is holiness.  We choose constantly, life is an unending series of choosing.  And surrendering to Christ is choosing Christ, choosing to obey, choosing to open the door so Christ may enter our lives. Choosing to accept the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD.  Choosing to be remade by our Savior.

Truly we must surrender self, all by HIS GRACE! All in HIS LOVE!

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