“Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house.” - Jeremiah 18:17
The Bible can be very paradoxical at times, especially the New Testament. For instance, the Bible teaches us that if you really want to live, you must die. Jesus taught us, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” The Bible also teaches us that the way up requires us to go down. “...whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Also, we are taught that if we wish to be victorious we must first of all surrender. I want us to focus on this last point.
“I Surrender All,” is an old hymn that is loved by many. It is sometimes used at the end of a church service, when people are called to surrender to the Lordship of Christ. Here's the problem. If people were honest, they would have to sing, “I Surrender Most,” or “I Surrender Some.” Some would even sing, “I Surrender Nothing.” Few could honestly say, “I Surrender All.” Yet unless you surrender all to Jesus, you aren't surrendered at all.
What about you? Are you fully surrendered to the Lord? Most of us would like to give a positive answer to that question. But if we dig deeper, we may discover that there may still be some areas of our lives that we still have not surrendered to Him.
We often feel uncomfortable about the subject of surrender. It is difficult to give up things that we cling closely to. While we want others to think of us as committed Christians, we could be hiding sins and idols in our hearts. We may have secret sins that we refuse to repent of. There may be unconquered areas of our lives that we don't want exposed or changed.
While we are quick to judge the guilt of others, we are very slow to confess our own. We have a “reputation” to protect. Sometimes this “reputation” is an idol of itself.
If we wish to reach the destination of victory, we must walk the path of surrender.
When Zedekiah asked Jeremiah for a word from God, he was in a desperate situation. He was facing an uncertain future with a formidable foe approaching. In his desperation, he sought a word from God. Just like many people today, he was probably hoping for some good news. People tend to look to the preacher to provide them with comfort or cheer.
God's word to Zedekiah was simple. “If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house.” In other words, if Zedekiah wanted to survive, he had to surrender. If he stayed where he is at, he would die. He had to surrender if he expected to live.
Zedekiah asked for a word from the Lord … and he received it. What did he do with it? Nothing. He stayed put where he was at. It cost him his life. If he had just heeded God's message, he would have lived. His fear and pride kept him from surrendering and surviving.
Most are making the same mistake today. They are fearful that surrendering to God will produce a miserable life. They are too proud to obey God publicly and surrender to Him. It is tragic that most people people would rather perish in their pride rather than experience life by surrendering.
True surrender consists of three things.
First of all, we must surrender our role. When we surrender to the Lord, we give up the throne and submit to the Lordship and reign of Christ.
Secondly, we surrender our rebellion. Pride is demolished. When we surrender, we quit resisting God. We lay down our arms. We end our willful disobedience.
Finally, we surrender our rights. We are no longer in control. The decisions we make, the direction we go and our response to circumstances are at the command of our Lord. Rather than seeking our own pleasure, profit and promotion, we seek the Lord and His kingdom. We seek to do His will rather than our own.
Most people find these requirements to be too stringent. Yet the essence of surrender comes down to this. When we are surrendered to Him, Jesus is Lord and we are His servants. Jesus is King and we are His subjects. Jesus is Master and we are His slaves. Yet He is not a taskmaster. He loves us supremely. He is worthy of our trust and devotion.
Can you honestly say, “I Surrender All”? If not, why not surrender your life to Jesus right now?
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