SURRENDERED SOULS" | Colossians 3:1-4 | Dr. Bill Sims, Sunday AM, 7/19/2026

Paul turns Colossians from doctrine to devotion. Colossians one and two deal with those doctrinal issues like legalism, asceticism, and mysticism, but Colossians three begins pressing the question of a devoted life. Paul says, “If ye then be risen with Christ,” and that risen life must keep seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Surrender stands right in the middle of it, because God wants life, time, talents, treasures, everything.

Colossians 3:3 gives the definition of surrender: “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Surrender is not easy, not popular, and not for everybody in the casual sense, but the born again child of God cannot exempt himself from total, absolute surrender. The old hymn says it plainly: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.” That song came from a man who ran from God’s call for five years, then finally shut one door and opened his heart to the will of God.

Paul commands the believer to pursue the upper. “Keep seeking” means give attention to those things above, and the great enemy of that pursuit is self. Self is selfishness, envy, misplaced loyalty, and the flesh. Self says, “This is my time,” “I belong to myself,” and “I deserve this,” but Christ alone demands 110 percent loyalty. When self is crucified, the Savior becomes dominant on the throne room of life.

Paul also commands the believer to participate in the upright by setting the affection on things above, not on things of the earth. Paul does not forbid earthly homes, joys, work, meals, or responsibilities. Earthly passions must not rob the affection that belongs to the Lord. The call is to minimize the secular and maximize the spiritual, because life is only a vapor and this world is not the believer’s permanent home. Even work, grocery trips, meals, and household duties can be done unto the Lord.

Colossians 3:4 brings the uplifting hope and holy warning: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Christ will appear, and every life will be laid before Him. The Lord will either receive the work or reject it. Time has no resurrection, and once today is over, it is in the books of Almighty God. The question presses hard: how long will surrender take? Thirty eight minutes was enough for a nation to surrender in war, but many souls hold out for years against Jesus. The right answer is not tomorrow. The right answer is, “Take my life. Lead me, Lord. I surrender all.”

Key Takeaways

• 1. Seek the things above Paul’s command is not a gentle suggestion but an imperative: keep seeking what is above. The surrendered life gives attention to Christ before self gets the throne in the morning. Self will always argue for convenience, delay, and private rule, but surrender begins when the Savior becomes dominant. [46:08]
• 2. Self is surrender’s great enemy Self hides behind respectable language like “my time,” “my week,” and “I deserve.” The flesh does not always roar against God; sometimes it simply rearranges loyalty until Christ becomes secondary. Surrender names that inward rival and crucifies it, because only Jesus can occupy the throne room of life. [47:18]
• 3. Affection must be set upward Paul does not deny earthly responsibilities, joys, or homes, but he refuses to let earthly things steal the heart’s direction. The world can disappear like sand slipping through the hand, but devotion to Christ endures forever. The spiritual life grows when the secular is minimized and the affections are deliberately fastened above. [50:16]
• 4. Ordinary work can honor Christ The life set on things above does not escape daily work, meals, errands, or family duties. The difference is that ordinary responsibilities are no longer done merely for self or survival, but unto the Lord. Even hidden labor becomes holy when love for Christ governs the motive. [54:44]
• 5. Time has no resurrection Life is a vapor, a puff of smoke, here one minute and gone the next. Once a day is spent, it cannot be called back, and one day the books of Almighty God will be opened. Surrender cannot safely be postponed, because delayed obedience quietly spends the very life Christ is calling for. [62:25]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:20] - Colossians Moves From Doctrine To Devotion
• [36:22] - The Question Of A Surrendered Life
• [37:43] - Risen With Christ, Seeking Above
• [40:40] - The Story Behind I Surrender All
• [42:30] - Practical Surrender: Pursue The Upper
• [46:29] - Self As The Enemy Of Surrender
• [50:02] - Set Affection On Things Above
• [51:55] - Minimize The Secular, Maximize The Spiritual
• [57:20] - Christ Will Appear In Glory
• [58:16] - Giving Account Before Holy God
• [62:50] - How Long Will Surrender Take
• [64:37] - Tomorrow Or I Surrender All
• [66:47] - Invitation To Receive Christ

1. In Colossians 3:1-2, what two commands are given to believers, and what are they told to seek and set their minds on? [46:08]
2. In Colossians 3:3, what words are used to describe surrender, and what does the verse say has happened to the believer’s life?
3. What were some of the specific ways self was described as resisting surrender—especially in the areas of selfishness, envy, loyalty, and flesh? [47:18]
4. What ordinary parts of daily life were named as places where a person can still live unto the Lord? [54:44]

1. Paul says, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” What does that seem to mean for a believer’s identity, priorities, and sense of ownership over life?
2. Paul does not say to ignore earthly responsibilities, but he does say to set the affection on things above. How can a person tell when good earthly things have started taking too much of the heart? [51:08]
3. Christ’s appearing is both a comfort and a warning. Why would the promise of appearing with Him in glory encourage believers, and why would it also press them to examine how they are living now? [58:16]
4. Life is described as a vapor, and time has no resurrection. How does that truth change the way a person should think about delay, procrastination, and “I’ll deal with that tomorrow”? [01:02:25]

1. Self often speaks in very respectable ways—“my time,” “my week,” “I deserve this.” Where does that kind of thinking most often show up in life right now, and what might it look like to surrender that area to Christ? [47:57]
2. “Keep seeking those things which are above” is an ongoing command. What would it look like this week to give Christ the first attention of the day instead of letting self take the throne immediately? [49:21]
3. Earthly responsibilities are real, but affection still belongs first to the Lord. What earthly good thing—work, rest, home, hobbies, possessions, even family concerns—has the greatest power to pull the heart downward? How can that affection be reset upward? [51:55]
4. Ordinary work can be done unto the Lord. In what daily task this week—job duties, cooking, cleaning, driving, errands, caregiving—would it help to consciously say, “I am doing this for Jesus”? [55:07]
5. This world is not the believer’s permanent home. What is one practical way to minimize the secular and maximize the spiritual in the coming days? [53:41]
6. One day each person will stand before the Lord and give an account. If that truth were kept clearly in view this week, what conversation, habit, or priority might need to change? [57:20]
7. Surrender is often delayed with the word “tomorrow.” Is there anything known already that needs to be yielded to Christ now rather than later? What makes that surrender difficult? [01:04:37]