I Surrender All
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A man was stumbling through the woods, totally drunk, when he came upon a preacher baptizing people in a river. He proceeded to walk into the water and bumped into the preacher. The preacher turned around and, though almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, asked the drunk, "Are you ready to find Jesus?" The Drunk answered, "Yes, I am." So the preacher grabbed the drunk and dunked him in the water. Then he pulled him up and asked him, "Brother have you found Jesus?"
The drunk replied, "No, I haven’t found Jesus." Shocked at the answer, the preacher dunked him into the water again, this time for a little longer. Then again, he pulled him out and asked, "Have you found Jesus my brother?" The drunk again answered, "No, I haven’t found Jesus." By this time the preacher was at his wits end, so he submerged the drunk once more, held him down for about 30 seconds longer this time until he began flailing his arms, whereupon he pulled him up.
Again the preacher asked the drunk, "For the love of God have you found Jesus?" The drunk wiped his eyes and caught his breath and said to the preacher, "Are you sure this is where he fell in?"
Have you found Jesus today? I pray that you have and that you’re life isn’t the same anymore!
In Romans 12:1-2 the Apostle Paul has just finished his great doctrinal teaching – 1 of the greatest sections in all the Bible - and now moves to the application of all he’s taught. And he begins with these 2 powerful verses…read…
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Here in this passage you’re told 3 things you need to do. 1st…
1. COMMIT YOURSELF FULLY TO GOD.
1. COMMIT YOURSELF FULLY TO GOD.
- Paul urges Christians here to present themselves (bodies) to God as a living and holy sacrifice!
- The picture here draws from the OT sacrificial system where a worshiper would bring a sacrifice to the priest and offer it up on the altar of God – a burnt offering that would be totally consumed.
- The word used here carries the general idea of surrendering your all – yielding up your all to God!
- In other words, TO COMMIT YOURSELF COMPLETELY TO GOD! Not half-hearted! As I emphasized last week: we need to get serious about what it means to be a follower of Christ!
- Notice that he qualifies this in 2 ways: To present yourself…
(1) As a living sacrifice – contrasted with a dead sacrifice!
(2) As a holy sacrifice – totally consecrated to God!
- This is what is acceptable to God = when you give yourself to God this way.
- And he notes: this is your reasonable spiritual service of worship! Meaning: when you understand what God has done for you…it’s only reasonable for you to commit yourself fully to Him!
TS – And this leads to the 2nd thing you need to do…
2. RESIST CONFORMING TO THE CULTURE.
2. RESIST CONFORMING TO THE CULTURE.
- He says “And do not be conformed to this world…”
- The word used here for world actually means age – don’t be conformed to this age = the world system that is dominated by satan. 1 John 5:19 CSB: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world is under the sway of the evil one.”
- Understand this today: the forces we are battling are trying to make us conform to their beliefs and life style choices!
- Our culture is seeking to CONFORM us educationally, politically, judicially, socially, economically and quite frankly religiously to its views/beliefs!
- Wiersbe says: “The world wants to control your mind, but God wants to transform your mind.”
- We (Christians, the Christian community) are being told today we are wrong and we must change our beliefs.
- In fact, there is a strategic agenda these forces are implementing:
1) They cry intolerance – say we are being intolerant of them and their lifestyles. And…
2) They cry bigots – say we are intolerant of any ideas other than our own, especially religious beliefs. And…
3) They cry rights – say we have rights – rights that are being violated. And…
4) They cry discrimination – especially racial.
- And strategically they keep saying these things LONG ENOUGH and LOUD ENOUGH until they simply wear down all the resistance until society just finally accepts it!
- Same sex marriage, transgender changes, multi-partner cohabitation, pedophilia!
- But God tells us to RESIST and DO NOT CONFORM!
- John Phillips captures it best here when he translates this “DON’T ALLOW THE WORLD TO SQUEEZE YOU INTO ITS OWN MOLD.”
- The force of the form of this word says to stop letting the world squeeze you! And it further emphasizes that this is something we allow to be done to us.
- Paul’s command indicated this was happening in his day and to the Roman Christians! It is a battle in every culture!
- Christians…church…we must stand against the tsunami of the culture today and not conform to it!
TS – This leads to the 3rd thing you need to do…
3. BE TRANSFORMED IN YOUR MIND.
3. BE TRANSFORMED IN YOUR MIND.
- “…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
- The word used here for transformed is the word that gives us the English word metamorphosis = and it means a total change from inside out = a transformation!
- The key to this change is the mind = the control center of one’s attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and actions.
- Where is the great spiritual battle in our lives? The mind! And we need for our minds to be transformed/renewed! In fact, Paul gives it as a command!
- The force of the word here means to continuously let your mind be transformed! And I want you to see that it’s not something you do per se…no, the one who does this work is the Holy Spirit!
- Now you do need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in His transforming/renewing work!
- How? By spending time pouring into God’s Word and letting it pour into you, praying, and fellowshipping with other Christians!
- When you do these things constantly – not just a little here or a little there, your mind will be continuously transformed, renewed!
- As you memorize and meditate upon God’s word, your way of thinking changes. Your mind becomes first informed, and then conformed to the pattern of God - the pattern for which we were originally designed.
- And this will lead to a transformed life – where you will know what God wants and will want to do it for it is good, and pleasing to God, and perfect for you.
Conclusion
So do you want to please God today? Surrender your all to Him!
1. Commit yourself totally to God!
2. Don’t let the world conform you into its pattern!
- Don’t let it squeeze you into its mold!
3. Immerse yourself in the things that will work to renew your mind!
- Reading/studying your Bible every day, praying, gathering for worship regularly and fellowshipping with Christians