Stop Controlling That // Been There // Part 1 // Pastor Elijah Clark

Devotional

Day 1: Crushed in Gethsemane

Jesus knelt in the olive grove, sweat mixing with blood as soldiers approached. He told Peter, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.” Three times He prayed, “Father, if possible, take this cup from me.” Each prayer ended with surrender: “Not my will, but Yours.” His face pressed into dirt, He modeled raw honesty before obedience. [12:15]

This moment reveals God’s Son choosing trust over control. Jesus felt every human fear but still yielded to the Father’s plan. His surrender wasn’t passive resignation—it was active faith in a love greater than agony.

Where do you face a “cup” you’d rather avoid? What makes surrendering it feel like death? This week, when anxiety rises, whisper Christ’s prayer: “Not my will.” What area have you been clutching that Jesus invites you to release?

“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”
(Matthew 26:39, NKJV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus for courage to voice your fears honestly, then add “Your will, not mine.”

Challenge: Write one sentence naming what you’re trying to control on a sticky note. Place it where you’ll see it daily.

Day 2: Sleeping Through the Struggle

Peter snored under gnarled trees while Jesus wept. Christ had begged, “Stay awake with Me,” but exhaustion won. When Jesus returned, He didn’t scold their weakness but warned, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Even in His anguish, He extended grace to their limitations. [14:23]

Human strength always fails; divine strength meets us there. The disciples’ sleep reminds us our best efforts can’t match God’s power. Jesus didn’t need their vigilance—He needed their reliance.

How often do you beat yourself up for spiritual fatigue? What if today’s failure became an invitation to lean harder on Him? Where are you striving instead of resting in His sufficiency?

“Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour?’”
(Matthew 26:40, NKJV)

Prayer: Confess one area where self-reliance has drained you. Ask for strength to depend on Christ’s endurance.

Challenge: Set a phone alarm for 3:00 PM. When it rings, stop and pray: “Jesus, I trade my striving for Your strength.”

Day 3: Sword and Surrender

Peter swung his blade, slicing off Malchus’ ear. He’d defend Jesus with violence rather than trust the Father’s plan. But Christ rebuked him, sheathing the sword and healing the wound. Control masqueraded as loyalty, but surrender was the true weapon. [25:16]

Our attempts to “fix” things often deepen wounds. Jesus refused earthly power because His kingdom advances through yielded hearts, not forced outcomes. Every act of control risks harming others.

Where have good intentions led you to grasp for solutions? What relationships or outcomes are you “swinging swords” to protect? How might surrender bring deeper healing?

“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”
(Matthew 26:52, NKJV)

Challenge: Identify one conversation where you’ll listen instead of argue. Let go of needing the last word.

Day 4: Empty Tomb Confidence

Mary approached the grave expecting death’s stench. Instead, an angel declared, “He isn’t here!” The stone rolled away proved God’s power works best when we release control. Resurrection came not through human effort but divine reversal. [27:29]

Surrender doesn’t guarantee easy outcomes—Jesus still died. But it unleashes God’s life where we’ve buried hope. The empty tomb reminds us His plans exceed our worst-case scenarios.

What “dead” situation have you given up on? How might surrendering it to Christ open space for resurrection?

“The angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.’”
(Matthew 28:5-6, NKJV)

Prayer: Thank God for a past situation He resurrected. Ask Him to breathe life into one current struggle.

Challenge: Text someone: “God’s not finished yet. Can I pray for your ‘impossible’ situation?”

Day 5: Yada Trust

Solomon wrote, “In all your ways acknowledge Him.” The Hebrew word yada means intimate knowing—not just nodding at God’s existence, but letting His presence shape every decision. Jesus exemplified this in Gethsemane, trusting the Father’s heart when the path felt unbearable. [24:54]

Partial surrender is an oxymoron. We either lean on our limited understanding or embrace His limitless wisdom. Every area we withhold becomes a breeding ground for anxiety.

What practical decision—a financial choice, a relationship boundary, a career step—have you been analyzing without consulting God? How would yada trust change your approach?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV)

Prayer: Confess one specific decision you’ve handled alone. Ask for clarity to see God’s roadmap.

Challenge: Memorize Proverbs 3:5-6. Repeat it aloud when control tempts you today.

Sermon Summary

Jehovah Jireh takes center stage and supplies every need. Jesus has been there in the hurt, in the loss, in the bills that do not line up, and his nearness becomes the ground for a bold call: stop controlling that. The claim lands hard and clear: a person does not always have the power to control, but always has the power to surrender. Control is named in plain clothes: schedules, money, people, image, the house vibe. Then the diagnosis cuts to the root of spiritual vulnerability: whatever a person tries to control the most often reveals where that person trusts God the least. Hallelujah is not used as filler here; it is the sound a heart makes when control is pried loose by trust.

Matthew 26 carries the weight. Gethsemane, the place of crushing, shows Jesus sorrowful to the point of death, face to the ground, praying, Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken. The honesty is not sin; it is the anatomy of surrender. Yet not as I will but as you will becomes the turn. The disciples sleep, and the text quietly teaches that surrender may take more than one attempt. Culture shouts take charge, but Jesus chooses yield to the Father.

Wisdom gets practical with three questions that break control’s spell: is it worth my concern, is it mine to control, or is it for God alone. Proverbs 3 answers the wobble: trust in the Lord with all your heart. There is no partial surrender. Yada means know him in all your ways, and he will make a straight path where anxiety kept looping. When Peter swings a sword and slices an ear, Jesus heals it and refuses to seize control, even though legions of angels stood ready. The cross follows, not a comfortable outcome but a faithful one. The sinless Lamb is crushed, prays Father, forgive them, commits his spirit, and then the third day opens the tomb. Surrender looked like loss and became life.

Jesus then names the paradox in Matthew 10:39: cling to your life and lose it, give it up for him and find it. Surrender is not a one-time flare but a daily choice. The call lands close: write down what control grips, hand it off, and know him in the need. He is friend to the lonely, peace to the depressed, Jehovah Jireh to the anxious, Jehovah Rapha to the sick, the Good Shepherd, the Light, the Bread, the Living Water, the Rock and Shield. Know him, and the hands that clutched control will lift in praise.

Key Takeaways

1. Surrender beats control every time Surrender does not shrink agency; it redirects it toward trust. Control tightens and reveals the very place trust has thinned out. Yielding brings a peace that striving never purchases. The paradox is real and reliable. [11:50]
2. Jesus chose the cup, not control Gethsemane names the pressure and honors the honest prayer, yet hands the outcome to the Father. Surrender sometimes requires another pass at the altar. The Son trusted through the crush and walked a path strength alone could not carry. [13:17]
3. Ask three questions of desire Is it worth my concern, is it mine to control, or is it for God alone clarifies next steps. Some matters call for action, others for release. Discernment keeps obedience sharp and anxiety from masquerading as responsibility. [21:16]
4. Trust is whole-hearted, not partial Proverbs 3 refuses split loyalties and invites knowing God in all ways. Knowing, not merely nodding, straightens paths that self-understanding keeps crooked. Partial surrender keeps the soul in pieces; whole-hearted trust gathers it back together. [24:01]
5. Resurrection proves surrender is gain Jesus did not pick the easy road, and it did not look like success on Friday. But Sunday answered the question every sufferer asks. In the kingdom, loss given to God becomes life multiplied by God. [27:29]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:16] - Jehovah Jireh will provide
[01:06] - There is something about that name
[02:49] - Been There series introduction
[03:23] - Stop controlling that
[03:43] - You can always surrender
[04:12] - Regent University announcement
[06:06] - Power in the name of Jesus
[07:13] - Naming control in everyday life
[10:59] - Control reveals where trust is thin
[11:50] - Surrender over control in Matthew 26
[13:17] - If possible, take this cup
[16:22] - Surrender may take more than one attempt
[21:16] - Three questions that free control
[24:01] - Trust in the Lord with all your heart
[25:16] - Peter’s sword and the healed ear
[26:07] - The cross is not comfort
[27:29] - The stone rolled away
[28:49] - Lose life to find life
[31:40] - Know him as Provider and Healer
[34:48] - Prayer of surrender
[35:48] - Salvation invitation and surrender
[38:21] - Praise and hallelujahs

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 26:36-46 (ESV)
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Matthew 10:39 (ESV)
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Observation Questions

In Matthew 26:39, how does Jesus express both honesty and surrender in his prayer?
What three practical questions were suggested to discern whether something is worth controlling or surrendering? ([21:16])
According to the sermon, what does Jesus’ healing of the ear (after Peter’s act of control) reveal about his response to human attempts to force outcomes? ([25:16])

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus’ repeated prayer in Gethsemane (“not as I will, but as you will”) be significant for believers facing situations that require multiple acts of surrender?
How does Proverbs 3:5-6 challenge the idea of “partial trust” in God, especially in areas we try to control?
The sermon states, “Surrender looked like loss and became life” ([27:29]). How does Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection illustrate this paradox?

Application Questions

What is one area of your life (schedule, relationships, finances, etc.) where you consistently feel the urge to control? How might this reveal a need to trust God more deeply? ([10:59])
This week, practice asking the three questions when faced with a stressful decision: Is it worth my concern? Is it mine to control? Or is it for God alone? What practical step will you take to act on your answer?
Reflect on a time when surrendering to God led to unexpected peace or growth. How does that experience encourage you to release control in a current struggle?
Jesus’ surrender in Gethsemane included raw honesty (“take this cup”) alongside submission. How can you model this kind of vulnerable prayer in your own relationship with God?
The sermon says, “Resurrection proves surrender is gain” ([27:29]). What “loss” are you being called to surrender today, and how might trusting God with it lead to new life?

Sermon Clips

35s

“if you clinger to your life, if you try to control it, if you always try to be in charge, if you always if you clinge to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up if you give your life up for me, you will find it. In other words, surrender isn't just one time decision, but it is a daily choice to follow God. To really follow him is to surrender control. And what are you trying to control that God wants you to surrender? If you ask me what is it that I'm gonna surrender,”

35s

“Because most of us, we wanna believe then we wanna believe that whenever we surrender our lives to Jesus, whenever we trust God that he's gonna give us a happy and a healthy and a comfortable and a trouble free life. That's what so many people believe today. But Jesus doesn't invite us to a life of comfort and ease, but to a life of sacrifice and surrender. So I ask you the question, and I want you to think about it.”

28s

“So I have a question for you. I want you to think about this and it's just a little bit more complicated than you might first think. I'm curious. Don't raise your hand. But how many of you would rather have your will or God's will? What do you think? Would you rather have what you want or what God wants? And a lot of you spiritual people go, I want what God wants.”

36s

“If you ask me what is it that I'm gonna surrender, I'm gonna surrender you because my heart is so heavy. I have prayed so much nonstop for you. And for thirty five minutes, I get a shot at you to help you experience the goodness and the grace and the power of our God. I surrender you because I can't convince you. And I can feel the pain of what so many of you are facing right now. And, I mean, like, I can feel it and it's so difficult out there.”

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Stop Controlling That // Been There // Part 1 // Pastor Elijah Clark

Devotional

Day 1: Crushed in Gethsemane

Day 2: Sleeping Through the Struggle

Day 3: Sword and Surrender

Day 4: Empty Tomb Confidence

Day 5: Yada Trust

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Stop Controlling That // Been There // Part 1 // Pastor Elijah Clark

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