All To Jesus - Part 1

When we hear the word “surrender”, the first thing that comes to our minds is an unpleasant event where the victor of a battle forces the enemy to back down. The enemy gives it all up in hopes that their lives would be spared. But biblically, surrender is so much more than that. The rewards are far greater than a spared life; in fact, it is eternal life that is granted.

In Matthew 26:39,42 and in Luke 22:42, we see a vulnerable moment between Christ and Almighty God. Jesus had a difficult and painful task in front of Him, but He still prayed. He still surrendered. He uttered the famous words that every Christian should have on their lips:

THY WILL BE DONE.

If Jesus, knowing what all He was about to go through, had to surrender to the Father, how much more should we?

Surrender is not an option if we are to follow Jesus. It is a lifestyle characterized by three things:

1) A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. Our very salvation hinges on whether or not we have a relationship with the Lord. We must come to terms with the fact that we cannot make it to heaven, let alone surrender, if He is not first and foremost in our lives.

2) PRAYER. In the Scriptures given above, we see the need for prayer. Jesus prayed. Why shouldn’t we? If even the Son of God saw the need for prayer, we are called all the more to converse with the living God. When we pray, we surrender our time and our efforts to glorify God. We surrender those requests, those thoughts, those deepest desires to the very heart of God.

3) SACRIFICE. Ultimately, we know that after this scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ gave Himself up as a sacrifice. Not just to please the wrath of a vengeful, jealous God, but to save sinful souls such as ours. He was God-focused first, and then He was others-focused. We may not need to sacrifice our very lives for someone else, but we can consider giving up something for the sake of someone else, such as our time, our talents, even our prayers.

FOUR THINGS THAT SURRENDER REQUIRES:

A Crushing.

Historically, the garden of Gethsemane had been used for the production of olive oil, which was a very sacred oil in Jewish custom. Olives were brought here to be crushed, to create a valuable necessity to temple worship. How fitting that Christ would come here to this very garden to be crushed by the weight of the impending crucifixion. Surrender first requires a crushing moment that would push us to pray for mercy, that would drive us to the foot of Heaven’s throne.

A Conviction

Surrender would also require of us a conviction in some area of our lives that we need to let go of. Is it ministry? Is it family? Is it finances? Is it ourselves or a particular sin?

When we are convicted, we respond with a desire to change. We respond with a desire to follow in His footsteps instead of our own. We must come to an understanding that His ways are not ours.

A Cross

In Matthew 16:24, Christ lays out the third requirement: a cross. He set the example by carrying His own cross to a lonely hill called Golgotha. Surrender often requires us, as mentioned before, to sacrifice something. In order to follow Jesus completely, we must be willing to step out of our comfort zone. The Christian life was not meant to be comfortable. It was meant to pave the road to Jesus.

A Commitment

Surrender requires us to be committed. We’re either in it or not. We can’t straddle the fence. I’ve heard my pastor say that the Christian life is not a buffet; we can’t pick and choose what’s available. To be committed means to persevere, even when it gets tough. Christ stood and faced His battle after praying in the garden; now THAT’S commitment.

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Today begins a five week series on the hymn I Surrender All. It is a timeless prayer that reminds us that our lives are not our own. I pray that this series blesses you. Read on for part 1.

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All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.

The writer of this hymn opens with clarifying to whom we are surrendering. Notice it is not a worldly god, such as money, a home, a child, or a celebrity. Often we put our energy into things that have no eternal value, but the author says that we must surrender all to Jesus. He alone deserves our praise.

He then stresses that we are to give ourselves FREELY just as He did for us. He laid His own life down voluntarily (John 10:18). Another hymn writer would say, “Freely, freely, you have received; freely, freely give”. But this is not limited to giving all for Christ. We are called to extend that generosity to others, especially the gift of salvation (Matthew 10:8).

The first verse of this hymn challenges us to make a choice:

A CONSCIOUS CHOICE

I will ever love and trust Him” denotes a conscious choice. I will love Him. I will trust Him. Surrender requires a level of love and trust that transcends beyond human understanding. We must love and trust Him more than we would our own loved ones.

A DAILY CHOICE

Surrender also requires a daily choice. When you wake up in the morning, make a conscious and daily choice to follow Jesus no matter what. Surrender doesn’t just happen at the altar the day you get saved. It is a daily choice to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

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How will you respond? What choices will you make this week to surrender everything to Jesus?