ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER

Part 1

 

We sing a song called All to Jesus I Surrender in on our songbooks on page 662. I want you to notice the words:

 

1.

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

 

2.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

 

3.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

 

 

REFRAIN

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

 

When sing this song, I just wonder how many of us actually are willing to surrender all to Jesus. For our time this morning, I would like to give you some ways in which we should be surrendering all to Jesus.

 

The first thing we should be willing to surrender to Jesus is our time. It is something that all of us can give and should give. We must realize that we only have a short time on this earth because James says our life is but a vapor (Js. 4:14) and Jesus said:

 

John 9:4 "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

 

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.

 

As we consider giving our time to the Lord, we need to think about how short our time is here on this earth and as Paul says:

 

Ephesians 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,  16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

 

One thing that can help us to make sure that we use our time wisely for the Lord is to pray for wisdom in the area as Moses did in:

 

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

 

One area that we should be willing to surrender all to Jesus is when it comes to making time for assembling with saints and coming together for Bible class. What better way can you possibly spend your time than worshipping God with your brothers and sisters in Christ or having Bible class with them so that you might learn more about God or have opportunities to teach others more about God with the comments you share in class.

 

This idea of making time for the kingdom of God is not new because Jesus said:

 

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

 

The writer of Hebrews writes:

 

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,  25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

I want you picture yourself on the day of Judgment and think about Jesus asking you this question, What was so important in your life that you were only willing to assembly on Sunday morning for worship? Could you imagine telling Jesus that a ball game, mowing the grass, a nap, or TV program was more important than He was?

 

Many want to sing our song all to Jesus I surrender, but they want to add the phrase “except for” in their. They will say I will surrender my time to Jesus except for time that belongs to me. I will give Him Sunday morning, but not Sunday night and if He is lucky I might give Him my time for Sunday morning Bible class if I feel like getting up that early, and I might give Him my time on Wednesday night as long as nothing else is going on.

 

Does the describe you? Do you have this attitude when it comes to assembling with the saints and attending every Bible class? If there is nothing hindering you from making it to all the services and you choose not to come then you cannot sing All to Jesus I surrender and mean it. You can cannot claim that you are seeking the kingdom of God first because you are not making Jesus or His kingdom your priority.

 

Friends it should cause us great concern when we look around on Sunday night and see fewer people who don’t love God enough to come worship Him on Sunday night. The same thing is true when it comes to Sunday Morning and Wednesday night Bible class. It wasn’t all that long ago when I was able to say that we at the Lone Grove church were above the average when it came to attendance outside of Sunday morning worship, but here lately we have been like the dow, our attendances outside of Sunday morning has been dropping.

 

Sunday morning Bible class might start out with 10 - 15 adults when it first starts, but before the class is over it will usually double. Now I know that is hard to get out bed sometimes, and I would certainly want someone to be late instead of not being here on time, but when we are consistently late, we are not being good stewards of our time. Many of those who make a habit of being consistently late most likely are not consistently late when it comes to their jobs or other events. If they are not, they need to ask themselves, why can I make it to work and other events on time, but I can’t make to church on time? Is our jobs and other events more worthy of our time than the Lord?

 

Our Wednesday night Bible class has also been decreasing. We used to average around 50 on Wednesday night, but for the last 2 weeks we have only had 36. We must understand that coming to Bible class is important and falls under the command of:

 

Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.

 

The Elders of any congregation have a big responsibility of making sure that you are prepared for heaven. This is what Bible classes are for and since we are to obey the eldership when it comes to spiritual matters we should be here for Bible class.

 

Besides, Bible class is a great way for us to spend our time, because the more we learn about God the better off we will be. If we continue on our downward trend and treat Bible class as some used rag we through in the trash, it won’t be long until God says:

 

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

 

I hope you will sit down and really think about your priorities. Think about why you have chosen not to attend every service that you can. Think about why you can’t make it to the services on time, but you can make to your job on time. After you think it over, I hope you pray to God for wisdom that you might learn to use your time more effectively when it comes to worship and Bible class so that you can truly say All to Jesus I surrender.

 

Another area we should be good stewards of our time is our personal Bible study. Yes you can learn a lot about God in a Bible class setting, but it should not be your only Bible study. We should follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17 and study the Bible daily so that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

 

As Paul told Timothy:

 

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

 

Not only does God approve of us studying His Word, it is necessary if we want to be able to prove to people from the Scripture why we are Christian and why they should become one:

 

1 Peter 3:15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

 

Those in the church of Christ used to be known for their ability to know what the Bible says, but this is not a reality anymore because more and more Christians are not taking the time to study God’s Word even though it is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16).

 

In the physical world, mirrors are a wonderful tool because we can look at them and make an assessment of our physical condition. Some of us don’t like to look in the mirror because we don’t like what we see, but it becomes a daily reminder to us. For example if certain foods cause us to break out if we too much of them and we see the rash or the blotches they produce, then it will remind us to lay off that food for a while.

 

If we keep burning the midnight oil, we will be able to see the tiredness on our face and how the black circles under our eyes are getting worse, which will remind us that we need to start sleeping more.

 

Oh how I wish we had mirror we could look at that would show us our spiritual condition. If we could be reminded daily of our spiritual condition, it would serve us well because when we begin to starve ourselves from the Word, we would see a pathetic looking person in that mirror. We would look like death warmed over, and this would encourage us to start partaking of that spiritual food that comes from the Word of God.

 

Think about your life right now. How much time do you surrender to Jesus when it comes to studying your Bible? Do you find some time each day to read the words of life, or is the only Bible you get is when you come to worship or Bible class? If you are not studying your Bibles as you should ask yourself why? What is preventing you from studying God’s Word on daily basis? When you figure out what is keeping you from studying, ask yourself if it is more important than putting the words of eternal life into your heart?

 

I don’t know what your answer would be, but I cannot think of anything more important in this life than growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord as Peter commanded us in 2 Peter 3:18.

 

We should all the attitude of the Psalmist in:

 

Psalm 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD!  2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!  3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.  4 You have commanded us To keep Your precepts diligently.  5 Oh, that my ways were directed To keep Your statutes!  6 Then I would not be ashamed, When I look into all Your commandments.  7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart, When I learn Your righteous judgments.  8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!  9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.  10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!  11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!  12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes!  13 With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth.  14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.  15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.  16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

 

We could keep on reading this Psalm all the way through because it continues to show the importance of making God’s Word a part of our life and how it can save our soul and prepare us for heaven. As James said:

 

James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

 

If we really are willing to surrender all to Jesus, then we should be willing to surrender time each day in His Word so we can grow from it and become more fruitful for Lord, but it doesn’t stop there because we must also be willing to live by what we study. Learning is great, but putting it into action is far better. As servants of God, we should have no problem living by His precious words, if we do not, James tells us:

 

James 1:23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;  24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.  25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

 

As you examine yourself, if you see that you have become lax in your Bible study or that you have become lax in being a doer of the Word, I hope you start making God’s Word your priority so that can grow from it and be encouraged from its enduring message because it is a great thing for you to surrender your time to Jesus.

 

Another area we should be good stewards of time is with our prayer life. I am afraid that sometimes the only prayers that some of are involved in are those prayers that are prayed in the assembly or Bible class. These are certainly wonderful prayers to be a part of, but we must also have an active prayer life outside of the assemblies.

 

As Paul said:

 

Colossians 4:2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving

 

It amazes me how much we take prayer for granted sometimes even though this privilege came at a high cost.

 

Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Since God loved us enough to send His only begotten Son to the earth to die in our place and become our high priest, we have been blessed with avenue of prayer. Not only can we praise God and let him know about our troubles, we can do so boldly. We can know that Jesus will know the best way to help us because He became like us and walked in our shoes, yet sometimes, Christians don’t seem to find the time to pray to God in secret as Jesus told us to do in:

 

Matthew 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 

 

He also said:

 

Matthew 6:7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

 

The Pharisees were guilty of trying to sound more holy than everyone else by their long prayers and their smooth words, but their prayers were empty and meaningless. We should never turn our prayers into a show because they are to be sincere and from the heart.

 

Another important reason to have an active prayer life is found in:

 

 Luke 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,

 

When we pray, we can gain strength and wisdom from God and this keeps us from loosing heart, but we have to choose to surrender all to Jesus when it comes to our prayer life.

 

Again, I want think about your prayer life. How often do you pray? Are you more like Daniel who made it a habit to pray 3 times a day, or our more like an atheist who does not pray? Is something keeping you from praying to God? If so, is it more important than speaking to your God and gaining spiritual strength from Him? Again, I cannot think of anything more important that take time out to praise God, make request of Him, and turning your problems over to Him through prayer. I hope that if you have not been praying as you should that you will make the change the morning and commit to making it a habit to pray to God, which was made possible for us today through the death of His Son.

 

I have more to say about our song All to Jesus I surrender, and I hope you will choose to come back tonight to hear the rest. If you don’t come back tonight when you could, can you really say all to Jesus I surrender.

 

In our lesson this morning we have examined how we should be willing to give of our time for assembling with the saints, Bible class, personal Bible study, and prayer. These are things that we should be glad to give our time for when we consider what God gave to us through His Son even though we did not deserve it. So, I hope you will examine yourself in these areas and change your priorities so you can say All to Jesus I surrender.

 

 

 

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER

Part 2

 

This morning we began our lesson by reading the words of All to Jesus I surrender and I said, I wonder how many of us are actually willing to surrender all to Jesus. The main point we looked at this morning was how we should surrender our time for the Lord by attending all the services, arriving on time, studying our Bibles, and praying to God.

 

Tonight we are going to examine some other ways we should be willing to surrender to Jesus.

 

We should be willing to surrender our energy for the Lord by being involved in church work as Paul said:

 

Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;  7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;  8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

Every person is unique and has different talents that God blessed them with, and we should be willing to use our talents to help the church grow. We cannot be lazy in this area, so use your energy for the Lord.  For example, if you are good at encouraging others, then make an effort to encourage people. If you have the ability to teach a Bible class, then do it.

 

It is easy for Christians to get lazy in this area because it easier to let someone else do the work, but we should not be like that. Doing work in God’s kingdom is worth surrendering our energy to Jesus. If you have a church full of lazy Christians, then nothing much is going to get done because everyone will want to pass the buck and not take on any responsibilities.

 

When you choose to use energy for the Lord and you roll up your sleeves and work hard for the Lord, you can know that your labor will not be done in vain as Paul said:

 

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

 

The last thing we should want to be guilty of is neglecting the kingdom of God by being lazy and self-centered. The book of Haggai describes people like that:

 

Haggai 1:2 "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people says, "The time has not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built." ' "  3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying,  4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?"  5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!  6 "You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes."  7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!  8 "Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD.  9 "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.  10 "Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit.  11 "For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands."

 

These people were using their energy to work for themselves and they were neglecting the house of God. So, when they tried to build new things or grow crops, God would cause them to fall down or He would hold back the rain. This was God’s way of getting their attention to stop focusing on themselves and to starting focusing on the house of the Lord.

 

Of course the work we do for the Lord is not limited to the building we meet in. For example, when we go to our work places and we do our best to be good honest employees we are letting our works glorify God as Jesus said:

 

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

When you and I refuse to invest our energy into the kingdom of God, we are no different then these people during Haggai’s day. So, I hope if you have not been using your energy and talent to serve God that you will start because God is worth the investment, and the rewards are far greater than any retirement fund you can have.

 

Another area we can surrender all to Jesus is with our money. Money is a sensitive subject for some, and none of is this room are rich enough that we don’t have to have some kind of budget set up whether it be in writing or in our head, but we must not allow our money to become an issue when it comes to giving to Lord. As Jesus said,

 

ESV Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

 

It takes money to keep a church working. You have to have funds to maintain our meeting place, and we need funds to be able help with benevolence, evangelistic efforts, and other works. Giving to Lord is not an option, but also not grudging responsibility.

 

 

1 Corinthians 16:1  Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:  2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

           

2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

I am reminded of the story I heard about the conversation a dollar bill had with the a 20 dollar bill. The one dollar bill was pretty ragged and well used, but the 20 dollar bill was is good shape and did have much wear. The one dollar bill started bragging to the 20 dollar bill about how he has been all over the place and how he has seen hundreds of churches and this made the 20 dollar bill sad because he spend most his time tucked away in a billfold and had only seen one church.

 

When is the last time you have sit down and considered how much money you can give to the Lord and His cause? I have had Christians tell me how much joy it brings them to give to the Lord. Some of them will give more if they happen to get more because they understand the joy of giving and how important it is to the Lord’s church.

 

How about you? Do you consider a joy to give to the Lord, or does it hurt you to let go of your money? If you have this attitude you need ask yourself, why? You may discover that your making your money one of your masters. When you do this, it will make you greedy and stingy when it comes to giving to the Lord. If this applies to you, you cannot say all to Jesus I surrender.

 

Not only are we taught to give to the Lord, we are taught to have a giving spirit to those in need:

 

James 2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

 

I know that it is difficult to do this sometimes because there are those who do not really need help, and they take advantage of any free handouts they can. All it takes is few bad cases to make people start thinking everyone is trying to take advantage, but I can promise you, there are many legitimate people that need help, and when we run across such people, we should do what we can to help them because that is what Jesus would do.

 

Some like to help others out so they can toot their own horn, but that should to be our motivation for giving or doing good deeds for others. As Jesus said:

 

 

 

Matthew 6:1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  3 "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  4 "that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

 

As you think about having a giving spirit like Christ, if you realize that you have not been giving as you should to the church or in helping others, I hope you will start giving as God would want you to give so that you can say all to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.

 

Another area that we should be willing to surrender to Jesus is similar to surrendering our money and that is surrendering our possessions. Once we have bought something, built something, or grew something, we become more attached to it, and some one might have to use a crowbar to pry it from our hands. We can become so greedy with our possessions that it can cause us to lose our soul. A great example of this comes from:

 

Luke 12:15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  17 "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  18 "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry." '  20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

 

We have to be careful they don’t make material things so precious to us that we put all our being into them. Unlike this greedy farmer who could only think of himself, it should be in our nature as Christians to want share what we have if it is needed. Of course your possessions are you own, and you can do with them what you want, but we should never get to the point where our possession become more important, than God or people. Jesus continues and says:

 

Luke 12:22 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  23 "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?  25 "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  26 "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  28 "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  29 "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  30 "For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  31 "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.

 

So don’t worry so much about your money or your possession. Trust in God and He will be there for you.

 

They say the number one cause of divorce is marriage, just kidding. One of the top reasons for divorce is money. One of the reasons people get themselves in such a bind is because they try to live beyond their means. They get a house that is more than they can afford, they go by expensive clothes, cars, and other household items. When you have the mentality that you have to have the best of everything, but you don’t have the money for it, but buy it any way, it is easy to see how this can cause friction in a marriage.

 

Having nice things can be fun, but when you don’t have the money for it and you start swimming in debt, and the bill collectors are calling your life is going to be miserable. As Jesus said one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

 

When it comes to someone’s possesses some will be like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus wanting to know how he might have eternal life in Mt. 19:16ff. The young man loved God and was willing to obey all of His commands, but one thing he could not do was let go of his possession as we read in:

 

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

 

As Christians, we should not allow our possession to become a stumbling block on our journey to heaven. If a situation calls for it, we should be willing share our possessions, which is what they did at the beginning of the church:

 

Acts 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,  45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

 

When we surrender all to Jesus, there shouldn’t be anything in our life that we find more important than serving God and keeping our eye on heaven as Jesus said:

 

Matthew 6:19 " Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;  20 "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Another area we should be willing to surrender to Jesus is our life, and Jesus is the greatest example of this because He loved us so much that He was willing to die for us on the cross, and He did this willing. Since Jesus was willing to give His life for us, we should be willing to give our life for His cause.

 

Paul was willing to surrender his life for Jesus as we read in:

 

2 Corinthians 11:23-Are they ministers of Christ? -- I speak as a fool -- I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.  24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.  25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;  26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness --  28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

 

Paul had to face many hardships and death to fight the good fight of faith. If anyone would have been motivated to stop surrendering all to Jesus it was Paul, but he never gave up because he understood that even if he had to give up his life for the cause of Christ, it would be worth it knowing that he was bringing glory and honor to God. As Paul said in:

 

Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 

I also like what he wrote to the Romans in:

 

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  

 

How about you? Are you willing to put your life on the line for God? Are willing to take stand against the sinful way no matter what the consequences may be? It not an easy thing to do, but we should have the same attitude as Paul, or we could look at Peter and John’s example who told the Jewish rulers:

 

Acts 4:19  Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.  20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."

 

While our life is important, upholding God’s truth is more important. Even if a man kills our body, they cannot touch our soul as Jesus said:

 

Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

As you think about your life, can you sing the song ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER and mean it? I hope that you can. If you cannot, start making changing in your life starting today so that you can, because until you are willing to take up the cross of Jesus and follow Him daily, you will never become the servant of God that He wants you to be.

 

I hope these lessons today have challenged you and made you think about what it means to surrender all to Jesus.

 

Adapted from “I Surrender All” by David Cambridge http://www.davidsplace.eu/