Embracing Surrender: The Path to True Victory

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Paul is saying, listen, I'm going to, I'm going to become what I need, I'm going to surrender what I need to surrender. I'm going to, I'm going to give up what I need to give up, so that I can reach this person because of the importance. I'm going to give it up. If you don't know the history of Paul, his name was actually Saul. He was from Tarsus. Saul was a Pharisee, and in the Jewish community, he was like an, he's like a, he's like a big deal, right? He had authority over people. As such, he would have probably also had some, some, I don't know if he was rich, but he definitely had means. Like, like he had a good life. He had authority. He had all this. But when, when he met Jesus, when he gave that, he gave that up, all of it. He became weak so that he could reach the weak. [00:39:05] (44 seconds)


He surrendered because Paul knew this truth. And this is, this is awesome. Paul knew this truth, that in order to win, in order to win, he needed to surrender. That's a paradox. Our church was founded on paradoxes. A paradox is a statement that sounds contradictory, right? In order to win, you have to surrender. That doesn't make sense. But it hides a deeper truth. That's what a paradox is. And that's what, what Paul was, was living by example. Like, he knew, I gotta, I gotta give up. I gotta, I gotta give up so that, so that I can win. He also said this in Galatians chapter 5. Paul says it this way. He says, for you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love, there's that word, through love, serve one another. [00:40:47] (52 seconds)


In my life, I've been able to experience that and do it only because, only because, and I believe this is true, I've given, I've surrendered to Jesus first. Let me say it this way. In order to be able to surrender to others, we first need to surrender to Jesus. In order to be able to truly know what that looks like and surrender to others, we have to be able to surrender to Jesus first. That's what Saul did. [00:48:32] (24 seconds)


Ananias' surrender and obedience leads directly to Saul's, renamed Paul's, obedience. And the world changed because of what Paul did. Like Paul was, Paul was the, the premier, the greatest voice to the Jews and really to the Gentiles, those outside the faith. We would not be here today, it's safe to say, well, God would have found another way. But we're here today because of he was obedient to what, to what God said. Isn't that amazing? Right? [00:50:32] (31 seconds)


Here's the thing. Paul was, was obedient to God. It's hard to do. Here's, here's the thing. Surrender. Let's talk about the word surrender, right? What, what context do we most think about surrender? We think about war. We think about conflict. Nations or people at odds against each other. Usually in war, what's going on? There's a battle over some different ideology, land, authority, whatever. Like, something I have in you, but we're at odds. And I'm planting my flag on this. And you're planting your flag. And we're at odds with each other, right? Here is the reality. [00:51:28] (39 seconds)


We want to do what we want to do. And God wants for us what's better. And we're at war with him over that. When you surrender in war, it's, it's, it's, it's what you're really saying when it, when a, when a group comes and surrenders. Is, is, is that you're giving up. But it's not a bad thing. There's been lots of times in history, you can go read about it, where, where, where armies have come together in a battlefield and, and almost the entire one side has almost immediately surrendered. Why? It happens in history because they're coming to war and they're like, they're better. That king, that ruler, that, that, that group, like, we're going to surrender because our guy is nuts. Right? [00:52:53] (42 seconds)


Surrender to God means laying down our will and picking up his will. Think of it like giving up your playbook, right? We all live by kind of like, hey, this is my, this is how I live. This is, this is, this is my playbook. God has a playbook. Right? And he's saying, follow my way. I will, I will lead you to paths of glory. I will lead you into righteousness. I will lead you into joy and peace and hope. And we have a playbook. I have a playbook. Right? It's right here. It's really short. It's one page. It's very simple. [00:54:01] (35 seconds)


Surrender to God is total. It's total. In Deuteronomy, we have, Moses was his name. Why am I blanking on Moses' name? Gosh, it's Moses. Moses, quoting God, said, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with, say it, all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [00:57:23] (28 seconds)


Surrender to God is inevitable. It says this. Isaiah says this. Again, he's quoting God, telling him to say this. God says, turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, and by my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return. And here's God's proclamation. He is saying this is it. To me, every knee shall bow. Every tongue shall swear allegiance. It's inevitable. Every single human who's ever lived, and is living, and will live, will have a time when they have to face the Lord. It's just, it's inevitable. [00:59:14] (44 seconds)


Surrender to God is actually victory. That's the paradox. Correct? Paul said this. I said, I said that, you know, earlier, 1 Corinthians, we read that Paul, you know, I've become this to this to this. This is what he says in verse 23. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in the blessings. Paul loved people, and he was, but he wasn't just going and spreading the gospel because it was a good thing to do. He was doing it because he knows that it's victory. He knows that there's more to life than just this life. [01:00:25] (34 seconds)


Jesus tells the story of sheep and goats, and he says he's going to come to me, and he's going to say to those who have loved other people well, he's going to say to them, well done, good and faithful servant. In another place, he says, you've been faithful in much here. I will set on you much in the kingdom of heaven, right? We have throughout the Bible God telling us, surrender to me now. Let's work together now. Yours is the victory now and in the life to come. Paul also said this. Listen to what he said. This is in 1 Corinthians, same letter, but earlier in the letter. Paul says, and I love this verse, right? This is one of those verses, write it down, say it to yourself every day. [01:01:02] (46 seconds)


What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. Think about that. I got a pretty vivid imagination. I don't know about you. I can imagine some pretty amazing things. Paul is saying, you can't even. No man, no eye or ear has seen, your heart cannot imagine. What God has prepared for you, for those who love him, who surrender to him. Victory is ours. Access to God is ours. Life eternal with the God who made everything is ours. All we got to do is give up and take it. [01:01:48] (53 seconds)


Here's what Jesus, here's what Jesus did when he came from, I'll read these quickly. Philippians. Listen to this. Paul writes this. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who through, who though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself. Jesus emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of a man, and being found in human form. [01:04:03] (37 seconds)


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