Surrender- week 4
I want to start off by being honest. Many times, surrender is not evident in my life.
Question: What are some things in your guys’ life that you love a lot? What are the things you love? Do you love these things more than God?
Series Thesis: The idea of this series is SURRENDER (Matthew 16:25). When we give up our lives we find TRUE life!
Lesson Thesis: There is a battle going on between our flesh and our Spirit; a battle between our sinful nature and our life in Christ. Are you willing to surrender the loves in your life that come before God?
Main Body:
Story of Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19)
- God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and unlike Jonah, Abraham obeyed.
- “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” (Genesis 22:2)
- He placed Isaac on the altar and right before he sacrificed his son God intervened and provided a ram to be sacrificed instead.
- “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:12)
- Do you fear God? Do you understand what God calls you to do? Do you understand what it means to be a Christian?
- Abraham obeyed God, because he trusted God and knew that God would provide.
- Abraham was willing to sacrifice his one and only son in order to obey God.
- He could have listened to the desires of his own heart (flesh) and not have obeyed God, but died to his own desires and listened to the will of God (Spirit) and obeyed.
- Abraham was confident that God would provide. He trusted God with everything and knew that God would be faithful to Him and God was.
- God ended up providing another sacrifice and blessed Abraham by making his descendants as numerous as the stars.
Application:
- When we follow God and surrender our lives over to Him we find life.
- It doesn’t mean that life will be easy when we say we are a Christian aka followers of Christ. It means that we are willing to die to ourselves and live for Christ. It means that when God calls us to do something we obey even if the world says that it is crazy and we obey, because we trust God and we know that He is faithful in all things.
- So be like Abraham and surrender everything and God will provide.
- “And through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18)
- We must lose our lives, to find life.
- Share with them example of how they can do this in their lives.
Thought for the Week: Surrender the loves in your life that come before God.
