Surrender-5
Series Thesis: Surrender is a big word for giving up, letting go, losing control. And here’s the big idea for this series: When we give up our lives, we end up finding TRUE LIFE. Jesus says this very thing in Matthew 16:25.
Lesson Thesis: A common lie that is told to many Christians is that if they try hard enough and if they work hard enough and if they just try to be perfect then they will receive eternal life, but the truth is that we need to remain in Christ.
Main Body: John 15:4-10
- John 15: 4-10 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s Glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
- REMAIN: Stay in the same place or with the same person or group.
- ABIDE: To continue in a place, to endure without yielding, to accept without objection, to conform to.
- MENO = Hebrew word for ABIDE/REMAIN
- Remain and abide in Christ. Live according to his ways and yield to His calling on your life. Galatians 3: 28 “As Christians we are one in Christ Jesus. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
- When we surrender our lives to Christ we become one with him like a husband becomes one flesh with his wife. We are the Bride of Christ and we have become one with him.
- You are one in Christ and it is not because of anything you did, but it is because of everything Christ did. You have surrendered your life to him and in a sense in this act you have yielded the control of your life to the Lord. All you have now is CHRIST! All you have now is GOD! This is scary? BUT God is faithful!
- We are giving our lives to the creator of our lives!
- 2 Timothy 2:8-13 “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”
- He cannot disown Himself. Christ is living inside of you because you are remaining in Him and He is remaining in you. When God looks at you He sees Christ not your mistakes, sins or shortcomings. You have been made new in Christ Jesus not because of anything you have done, but because everything Christ has done.
- Story: When I was a little kid probably like 2 or 3 years old. I remember my dad wanted to take me swimming. We were at my grandparent’s house and they lived in this big two story house and my family was staying upstairs. So my dad took me upstairs to get my bathing suit on and He was just with me and loving me and cherishing me. I was so happy to be with my dad and with him and around him. He got me into my bathing suit and picked me up with his strong loving arms. He held me close to his chest secured and safe. I remember as my dad started to walk down the steps he started to slip. He was starting to lose his footing and he began to fall… instead of dropping me and grabbing the railing to support himself from falling all the way down… instead of letting me go to fall on my own down the steps… my dad embraced me even though it meant that he was going to take the hits on each step and that he was going to take the pain. He brought me in even closer and held me even tighter… instead of protecting himself he protected me and both of us together fell down the steps. I was completely unharmed without a bruise or blemish, but my dad was definitely hurt… you see remaining in Christ is a lot like this.
Application:
- Stop trying and start trusting.
- Surrender you life and remain in the loving arms of the Father.
- When times are good remain in His love.
- When times are bad remain in His love.
- You will find life amongst the chaos, loneliness, tears, and pain.
- Not in yourself but in Christ.
- Your salvation was lost because of what you did, but it was found because of what Christ accomplished. Remain in Him.
- When we surrender our lives we become vulnerable, naked and exposed. We reveal our pains, hurt, short comings, failures and much more, but we point to the cross as Christ ambassadors… God sees us in our state and He protects, provides, and loves us through the pain. In Christ nothing can touch us.
- Romans 8:37-39 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demon, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
