[Faith-talk] A Great Article

Tue Jul 25 12:52:47 UTC 2017

Hi All,

I received this in my inBox this morning, and thought I'd share 
it with you.  I hope it will encourage you and confirm you in 
your faith in God.

Blessings,

LindaKnowing God's Will Requires Surrender
July 25, 2017
 The following is from the ONE-YEAR DISCIPLESHIP COURSE

ISBN 978-1-58318-117-1.  This powerful course features 52 lessons 
in Christian living.  It can be broken into sections and used as 
a new converts' course, a discipleship course, a Sunday School 
series, a Home Schooling or Bible Institute course, or for 
preaching outlines.  The lessons are thorough and practical.  
There is an extensive memory verse program built into the course, 
and each lesson features carefully designed review questions.  
Following are some of the lesson titles: Repentance, Faith, the 
Gospel, Baptism, Eternal Security, Position and Practice, the Law 
and Grace, Christian Growth and Spiritual Victory, Prayer, the 
Armor of God, the Church, the Bible, the Bible's Proof, Daily 
Bible Study, Key Principles of Bible Interpretation, Foundational 
Bible Words, Knowing God's Will, Making Wise Decisions, Christ's 
Great Commission, Suffering in the Christian Life, The Judgment 
Seat of Christ, Separation - Moral, Separation - Doctrinal,
Tests of Entertainment, Fasting, Miracles, a Biblical Testing 
Mindset, Tongues Speaking, the Rapture, How to Be Wise with Your 
Money, the Believer and Drinking, Abortion, Evolution, and 
Dressing for the Lord.  8.5X11, coated cover, spiral-bound.  221 
pages.
____________

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

Knowing God's will begins with surrender of myself as a living 
sacrifice to serve Christ.

This refers to full surrender.  A sacrifice doesn't have its own 
will and plans.  It is dead to self and alive only to God.  But 
the large percentage of Christians surrender only partially.  
They reserve portions of their lives out of bounds for God.  They 
say they want to do God's will, but they aren't willing to go 
wherever He leads and do whatever He wants, without reserve.  
They don't put everything on the table before God.  They wouldn't 
dream of surrendering to such an extent that they are ready to 
leave their job, their property, their families, their friends.  
Large numbers of people have told me that they are desperate to 
find a sound church, but they aren't willing to relocate for that 
purpose.  The bottom line is that they aren't fully surrendered 
to God's will.  He has made it perfectly clear in His Word that 
the church is to be preeminent in the believer's life (Acts 2:42; 
1 Tim.  3:15; Heb.  10:25).  They are surrendered with part of
the heart, not the whole heart.  I don't know how many times 
people have told me that they couldn't dream of serving God in a 
place like Nepal.  There are few laborers in the Lord's great 
harvest fields because so few have surrendered unreservedly.

Surrender is a free-will decision.  God does not force us to be 
saved, and He does not force us to devote our lives wholly to Him 
after salvation.  He wants us to do this from a willing heart.  
Thus, there are hard choices that must be made for those who want 
to know God's will.  I must choose to dedicate myself to Christ 
rather than to the pursuit of selfish desires.  I must deny the 
flesh and pursue the Spirit.  Most people devote their lives to 
money, pleasure, ease, comfort, security, prestige, and such 
things.  The child of God has the privilege of pursuing a higher 
calling.

Surrender is a decision that is motivated by God's love.  We love 
God because He first loved us.  We do not pursue the will of God 
in order to be saved; we pursue it because we are saved and we 
want to please the One who has saved us by His grace through the 
great price that was paid on Calvary.

Surrender is a reasonable decision.  It is reasonable because 
knowing and serving God is the purpose of life (Ecclesiastes 
12:13).  It is reasonable because life apart from God's will is 
vanity.  That is the theme of the book of Ecclesiastes.  If I use 
my life for anything other than God's service, I am throwing it 
away.  It is also reasonable to dedicate my life to Christ 
because God's will brings great reward (Hebrews 11:24-27).  A 
missionary who was later martyred once said, "A man is not unwise 
to give up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot 
lose."

Surrender is a personal decision.  Young people are often deeply 
concerned about what other young people are thinking and doing.  
There is "peer pressure," but if I want to know God's will I must 
move beyond that and focus my attention on pleasing God alone.

Surrender is also a daily decision.  Dedicating myself to the 
Lord's will is not something that can be done once; it must be 
done repeatedly.  Many times a person will get fired up at a 
church meeting or a summer camp or a Bible conference, and he or 
she will surrender to the Lord's will, but due to the pressures 
of life and spiritual warfare this decision can fade away if it 
is not renewed daily.