After Surrender -- What?

After Surrender, What?

"I have finished the work which You have given me to do." John 17:4

Did you ever stop to think how many things we SING that we really don't mean? Think about it next time you crack open your hymnal, or sing a song from the wall -- do you REALLY mean what you are singing?

How many of us have sung together:

I surrender all!
I surrender all!
All to Jesus I surrender!
I surrender all.

What happens after we surrender all? What does that look like? Well I think that Oswald Chambers addresses this quite profoundly in the September 13th reading from MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . " (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. ". . . another will gird you . . ." (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death" ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.

So, my brothers, are you willing to take the next step after singing I SURRENDER ALL? -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 22-24; 2 Corinthians 8

Great Quote: When you can help someone, don't expect your pastor to do it. Anonymous