Matthew 10:38-39                        Mark 9:35

Intro:

Each of us carefully plan our lives as we feel best. We want to be real Christians and follow Christ. We want to live lives in accord and harmony with God’s Word, yet many times the concepts of success and victory are closely tied to what the world around us calls success.

To be blessed is having life’s finer things. A nice house, a new car, fine clothes, a great job, and LOTS of Money.

To have victory is when everything goes our way. When everything works out as we wanted and planned for it to. Victory is overcoming obstacles to get where we want to be or to become what we desire.

Often however the disciples were surprised at the way Jesus spoke about the matters of life, success and victory. Jesus spoke and taught a powerful but little understood concept,…

“THE VICTORY OF SURRENDER”

I. The way we look at life

A. Physical life

1. Our possessions

a. Very dear to us

b. Misplaced Priorities

c. A source of Pride

2. Our attitude about the physical

a. Back to Greece, body was worshiped

b. Physical excellence rewarded $$$

c. Ball players making 120 million for

a 5 year contract

B. Spiritual life

1. Our priorities

a. Often not on the spiritual

b. Often not on our relationship with

the Lord Jesus Christ

c. Often not on being in the house of                                                                                                   God

2. Our attitude about the Spiritual

a. It’s good when needed

b. It works if it works for me

c. It is great when it’s convenient

d. It cost more than it pays – Not true

e. If it interferes with our plans

II. The Biblical examples we have

A. Paul

1. Had a lot going for Him both physically

and spiritually

a. Pharisee

b. Learned at the feet of Gamaliel

c. Had notoriety for his zealous fight

against the Christians

2. Had a powerful experience which                                                                                                                changed his life forever

a. On the road to Damascus to                                                                                                              prosecute more Christians

b. God got his attention

c. God made him look at things                                                                                                                         differently by blinding him

d. When he changed his thinking and

decided to look at life the right way

God restored his sight, washed his

sins away, and filled him with the                                                                                             Spirit of God

e. He then went into the desert to be

alone with the Lord for a period of

time before he returned to                                                                                                         Damascus and then on to Jerusalem

e. When he began to serve God it was                                                                                                not easy, he was rejected and feared

f. Barnabus alone believed him at first

and brought him before the leaders

and spoke in his behalf

g. Paul went through a lot in his service

to the Lord but considered it a                                                                                                   privilege to serve God

We hold much of the things of this life dear to our hearts. If we lost everything we had attained and still have God, how would we react. I wonder if I could say like Paul in Phillipians 3:7-14

PHI 3:7 -14 “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

 

B. Job

1. Had a lot going for him, he was truly                                                          blessed of God, Physically & Spiritually

2. God was proud of Job, wouldn’t it be                                                         great to have your name mentioned

by the Lord as an example of someone

who loves God and serves God

3. The enemy of our soul had to get God’s

permission to touch Job. God gave it.

4. Would we be someone God could trust                                                                                         enough to give Satan permission to afflict us and know we                                              would still love and serve God even in difficult times?

5. Job lost all that he had in a series of                                                                                                 tragedies. He was forced to re evaluate

his life and came to this conclusion…

JOB 1:20-22 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

6. Could we do as well if it happened to us?

7. It’s easy to look back and say Job ended up with 2x as much in the                                      end, but so often we gripe with God when one circumstance of                                    our life doesn’t go just the way we planned.

C. Jesus

1. Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s                                                                                                Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be

done…”  yet we really want our own                                                                                      way

2. Jesus had to fight a similar battle but He

emerged “Victorious by surrender” to                                                                                    God’s will  –

MAT 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

III. The Conclusion

A. Are we willing to surrender to God’s will or will we still push for our own                          regardless of the consequences?

B. Will we surrender to the Lord in order to be

Victorious in this life?

C. Everything we receive from God comes through surrender

1. Grace and Forgiveness by Repentance

– comes by changing our thinking and

way of life and submitting to God

2. Remission of Sins by Baptism

– comes by a willingness to be buried

by baptism under the water… Placing

our lives in the hands of the one doing

the baptism as well as in God’s hands

3. The Holy Ghost

– comes by surrender to God’s Spirit

allowing Him to speak through us and

giving Him the control of our lives

4. Our answers to prayer come by our                                                                                               surrender to his will and his service

Let’s yield ourselves today to the moving of God’s presence in this place as we either for the 1st time or the 1000th time place our lives in God’s hands once again. Let’s make Jesus the real Lord and Master of our lives!