Surrender

            During the Civil War, there was a general named Robert E. Lee. In 1859 he suppressed John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Lee had freed his own slaves long before the war began, and he was opposed to secession, however his devotion to his native Virginia led him to join the Confederacy.   He was defeated at Gettysburg, and finally surrendered in 1865 at Appomattox (http://members.tripod.com/~jrw6/leebio.htm)

            So you may be wondering why I am giving you this history lesson, but there was something that happened to Lee, that happened to many generals during wars, that is not happening in our churches today.  It is called surrender.  God calls us to surrender ourselves to Him every day.  The Lord says in Revelation 3:20, says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” He is standing at the door of our hearts, knocking and asking for us to say yes to Him, to allow Him to live in us.

What parts of our hearts are closed to Him today? What parts of our lives are locked doors to God?  So many of us proclaim to be Christians, but as you’re walking along, do you see people surrendered to God?  Do you proclaim to be a Christian? Are you surrendered to Him? Are there areas in your life that are closed to Him? Maybe a boy or girl, maybe money problems, maybe you are fighting with your parents, or kids? 

So what do we do? We say, “Here I am Lord”. We say, “Yes Lord, take me over.”   David cries out in Psalms, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…” (Psalm 139:23) David asks God to search, and cleanse his heart, but what was needed, was surrender in his heart.  Think about Robert E. Lee, having to surrender his whole army to the North. Think about a war, when somebody surrenders.  It is saying that they do not have what it takes, so they give themselves up.  They stand there stripped, and vulnerable to anything. 

That is where God wants us.  He does not want a servant that is not willing to surrender him/herself to Him.  He needs somebody that he can freely work for.  He needs somebody with humility, but we won’t have humility unless God gives it to us.  Jesus says in Matthew 21:22, “All things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”  James says in James 1:5 “…if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  God gives generously, and without reproach. In Philippians 4:19, Paul explains that, “…my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  The words “according to His riches” paint a great picture. We know that God owns everything.  He is so rich, and yet He is willing to give according to those riches.  Those riches are in mind when he gives.  Think of somebody who has a million dollars, and he gives ten thousand dollars of it to somebody.  If you think about it that is only one percent of what this man has.  If he were to give one hundred thousand dollars, or even five hundred thousand dollars, then he would be giving according to his riches. See what I mean? God is willing to give ten percent, twenty percent, or fifty percent.  He is willing to give according to His riches. So if we ask, He will give accordingly.

That is why we must be in constant prayer, emptying out our hearts of the filth, and allowing God to fill it with what He wants to fill it with. That is why surrender is so important to a believer’s life.  And I end with a final verse, of Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” That is surrender.