John Lloyd - Total Surrender
/Strengthen Your Core Series
Total Surrender
October 27, 2019
Pastor John Lloyd
Our physical bodies are made up of several core muscles. If kept in shape through exercise, they will function properly. God’s goal for followers is to make us more like Jesus. This happens when we think like Jesus, CORE beliefs, act like Jesus, CORE practices and be like Jesus, CORE virtues. We need to exercise our CORE in order to glorify God. The journey of becoming like Jesus begins by thinking like Jesus. When we start thinking like Jesus, we are well on our way to becoming like Jesus. Today, we will consider the core action of total surrender. This action brings true freedom to our souls.
Luke 9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Memory Verse: Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Key Question: How do I cultivate a life of sacrificial service?
The purpose of these practices is freedom. It is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our way. Richard Foster
Key Idea: I dedicate my life to God’s purposes. Total surrender to God brings freedom!
I. Total Surrender is possible through the example of __________.
Matthew 26:39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
John 8:29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
“The enemy knows that without surrender, we will never experience the freedom that God offers us. Without surrender, we will remain spiritually malnourished, ill and confused. Without surrender, our foxholes become prisons of the enemy's making. Our lack of full surrender limits God's ability to both work in our lives and through our lives. God's call to surrender is not an intimidating, angry bark heard from the other side of a battlefield. God's invitation to surrender is expressed through the example of his Son, Jesus, as described in Philippians 2:5-11.” Katherine J Walden
Philippians 2:7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus surrendered through his life, death and resurrection so we could experience His life in our lives.
II. Surrender is not ________________ nor easy.
Luke 9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The cultural norm will always be to fulfill our own desires as much as possible-which is the opposite of our key idea. It goes against the grain of the self-centered human nature. But note our key idea has a goal and purpose-to dedicate our lives to God’s purposes. Frazee
God is continually calling me to surrender to Him. Total Surrender brings freedom!
III. We daily open our hands and _________________ all we have to God.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The way to self-fulfillment is through self-denial.
“As God wills, what God wills, when He wills is my prayer.” Kempis
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
“If with courage and joy we pour ourselves out for Him and for others for His sake, it is not possible to lose, in any final sense, anything worth keeping. We will lose ourselves and our selfishness. We will gain everything worth having.”
― Elisabeth Elliot, The Path of Loneliness: Finding Your Way to God
John 13:15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Total Surrender to God brings freedom!
IV. Offer every moment, thought and activity of our life as a _________________ to God.
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Daniel 3:16-18)
Surrender to God, to His Word, to your loved ones, to your neighbors and people you will meet in the course of the day, to your believing community, to the broken and despised, and finally to our world. Richard Foster
Acts 20:24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
The decision to dedicate our lives to God’s purposes is a daily practice. Jesus instructed his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow Him. God expects this kind of dedication from us as well. Part of this dedication includes being a ‘living sacrifice,” which requires a daily decision to crawl up on the altar. We can find comfort from the life of Peter, who denied Jesus three times in some of the most critical moments of Jesus’ life. Because of the unconditional love he had for him, Jesus restored Peter. And he will do the same for us! Frazee
Total Surrender to God brings freedom!
Total Surrender: Use a scale of 1-6 to rate how well you are living out the statements below. (1 = not living out at all, 6 = living out completely)
_____ I am living out God’s purposes for my life.
_____ I give up what I need to meet the needs of others.
_____ I give away things I possess when I am so led by God.
_____ I serve God through my daily work.
Spiritual Growth Questions for October 27, 2019
(Take one question each day and grow deeper in Bible study)
Total Surrender: Use a scale of 1-6 to rate how well you are living out the statements below. (1 = not living out at all, 6 = living out completely)
_____ I am living out God’s purposes for my life.
_____ I give up what I need to meet the needs of others.
_____ I give away things I possess when I am so led by God.
_____ I serve God through my daily work.
1. Read Exodus 20:1-7. The first three of the ten commandments govern our relationship with God. Why do you think it is important to get in right relationship with God in order to keep the rest of God’s commandments?
2. Read Daniel 3:1-28. How can you relate to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? What qualities do you see in them that you would like to possess? What verse/s stood out to you?
3. Read Acts 21:4-14. What verse/s stood out to you? How does Paul model total surrender?
4. Philippians 1:12-21. Even though Paul is in prison, how does total surrender bring freedom to his soul in time of great uncertainty?
5. Read Acts 7:51-60. What stands out about the total surrender modeled by Stephen?
6. Which one of the above passages (questions 2-5) inspires you and helps you in your current situation?
7. We have read about people making bold decisions to fulfill God’s purposes. Where does boldness come from? Is it a personality trait? Is it generated through willpower? Is it given by God? Or is it developed over time?
8. Not everyone is called to vocational ministry. What does total surrender look like for a school teacher, plumber, artist, business owner or you?
9. What does it take (mentally, spiritually and emotionally) to be a person who is completely surrendered to God’s purposes?
Memory Verse: Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.