Posted on 09/13/2006 3:08:39 AM PDT by .30Carbine
True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.
Surrender for Deliverance. "Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest" ( Matthew 11:28 ). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— "Come to Me." And it is a voluntary coming.
Surrender for Devotion. "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . " ( Matthew 16:24 ). The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, "If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me." And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Philippians 4:19).
Surrender for Death. ". . . another will gird you . . ." ( John 21:18-19 ). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being "united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death" ( Romans 6:5 ) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.
And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God.
In 1910 Chambers married Gertrude Hobbs. They had one daughter, Kathleen, who still resides in London (as of 1992).
In 1911 he founded and became principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London, where he lectured until the school was closed in 1915 because of World War I. In October 1915 he sailed for Zeitoun, Egypt (near Cairo), where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops as a YMCA chaplain. He died there November 15, 1917, following surgery for a ruptured appendix.
My Utmost for His Highest, his best-known book, has been continuously in print in the United States since 1935 and in this, the last decade of the century, remains in the top ten titles of the religious book bestseller list with millions of copies in print. It has become a Christian classic. [from the flyleaf of the book]
THX
THX.
LIKEWISE, 4 Sure
Amen, amen.
The little things in life are silent distractions, trying to convince me I can do this or that on my own. So every day, seemingly all day long, I confront them, confess them and surrender anew.
I keep thinking of Psalm 68, the opening verse of which Quix has been using as a tagline lately, for it shows the proper formation of our procession:
...The chariots of God are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.When you ascended on high,
you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men,
even from the rebellious—
that you, O LORD God, might dwell there.Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.
Selah
Our God is a God who saves;
from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death....Your procession has come into view, O God,
the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
with them are the maidens playing tambourines.Praise God in the great congregation;
praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.... Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth,
sing praise to the Lord,
Selah
to him who rides the ancient skies above,
who thunders with mighty voice.Proclaim the power of God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose power is in the skies.You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary;
the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.Praise be to God!
Lead, kindly Light,
Amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever after earthly strife
In the calm light of everlasting life.
John Henry Newman
AMEN! AMEN!
- - - -
Only tangentially related: From another thread, FWIW and to those interested, I found the old hymn:
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Joy_Unspeakable/
I have found His grace is all complete,
He supplieth every need;
While I sit and learn at Jesus’ feet,
I am free, yes, free indeed.
Refrain:
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Full of glory, full of glory;
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Oh, the half has never yet been told.
I have found the pleasure I once craved,
It is joy and peace within;
What a wondrous blessing, I am saved
From the awful gulf of sin.
I have found that hope so bright and clear,
Living in the realm of grace;
Oh, the Savior’s presence is so near,
I can see His smiling face.
I have found the joy no tongue can tell,
How its waves of glory roll;
It is like a great o’erflowing well,
Springing up within my soul.
I Love that, DieHard! Awesome Post!
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you All! (2Cor.13:14)
Thank you for the beautiful passage! Praise God!!!
Thank you all. God keep you blessed and a blessing.
Likewise.
Gidday Alpha,
Back from Honolulu after a few days of absence. You write:
> CHAMBERS WAS STATING WE SHOULD SURRENDER TO THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND NO OTHER,INCLUDING OURSELVES.
I will volunteer to serve under his Lordship. I will never surrender: He does not demand that of me. Allah demands that of his followers.
That is the difference between Christian Soldiers and Militant Muslim Dogs. They have surrendered: we haven't. They are at war by the Edict of Muhammad: we are here because we volunteered. They serve out of fear: we serve for Love of Our Lord and Master.
He *never* demanded us to surrender. He Himself took on *that* indignity on our behalf at Calvary so that we would never have to.
We are volunteers, not conscripts or surrendering POWs. And our battle cry is "Skin the Devil!"
*DieHard*
Gidday .30Carbine
Back from Honolulu now, sorry for not responding sooner. You write:
> Dear DieHard, I hope you will be patient with me and read my whole post, though it is a long one. I do love you and so I took extra time with this for your sake!
What you say is true and right: I guess I am triggering off on Oswald's use of the word "Surrender". Christ does not require surrender from us: we are volunteers, not POWs.
This is in keeping with Divine Intent: God wants His creation to worship Him of our own Free Will: that is why He made us free will agents, rather than robots and automatons. That is why He gave Adam and Eve the power to choose His way or the other way.
As with Adam, so with us: He wants us to voluntarily choose His way. Surrender plays no part in this choice: He isn't going to beat compliance out of us until we capitulate.
Allah, on the other hand, is quite content with surrender. If you aren't stupid enough to mindlessly follow Allah's Militant Muslim drivel, then it is perfectly OK to surrender and Obey. If you do neither, then off with your head!
Surrender, my arse! I will *never* follow anybody who requires my surrender as a pre-requisite to service. Such a "leader" would not be worthy of the burden of Leadership, and certainly not worthy of leading Christian Soldiers.
Fortunately, Christ does not require Surrender from us. In the finest tradition of all good Leaders, Christ says "Follow Me!" impying Leadership "from the front". He's going first, we follow in support.
Christ does *not* say "Stick 'em up!" -- as He would do if He required us to surrender.
Christ wants His Lads to be like Jehu, son of Nimshi. And He calls us: "Who is on my side? who?" (2 Kings 9:32)
Unless Christ is one's enemy, one ought not draw back from submission to HIM, to His Word, to His Spirit! But I trust that you do not consider Christ your enemy, but your Lord.
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
~Romans 10:3But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“ God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
~James 4:6-10Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for
“ God resists the proud,Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
But gives grace to the humble.”
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
~1 Peter 5:5-8Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
Wives, be subject (be submissive and adapt yourselves) to your own husbands as [a service] to the Lord.
For the husband is head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the church, Himself the Savior of [His] body.
As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands.
~Ephesians 5:21-24
Submission, by definition, is a willing giving over to a greater authority. If it is forced, as you cite with the mention of the terrorists, it is not called submission, but oppression.
Submission n. About 1390 submission act of submitting; a lowering, sinking, yielding, from submers-, past participle stem of submergere to sink, SUBMERGE.No man can serve [submit to] two masters," said Jesus. So we must choose, and as you rightly say, we are given freedom to do so by the Creator - will we serve, submit to, God and resist the devil, or will we serve, submit to, the devil, God's enemy, and resist God?
~The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology
Perhaps you did not intend it so, but your posts make it appear that you are not willing to submit [willingly submerge your will] to God.
Indeed, God does command [require, expect, will] our surrender!
> Indeed, God does command [require, expect, will] our surrender!
Nope. There is a heap of difference between submitting and surrendering.
I *never* surrender. Not even once. "Surrender" is not in my vocabulary: I do not have a white flag and I *never* quit: I'd rather die than surrender.
I will, however, voluntarily recognize higher authority and submit to it. This is what God wants from us. I am but a lowly Private in the Lord's Army, and that involves taking orders and doing what I'm told. But I'm a volunteer, not a conscript.
And I do not have permission to surrender arms, ever. Not the sword of the spirit, not the breastplate of righteousness, not any part of it, not to anyone under any circumstances.
Surrender? It will *never* happen. Dunno what the word means. Allah and his followers might. If God wants surrendering folk, maybe He doesn't want me on His side. I'd rather prefer to think He'd want me as a bodyguard, because I won't surrender, ever, to anybody, under any circumstances. And I fear nobody in Heaven or Hell or in the dominions between: respect, yes -- but fear, no.
*DieHard*
Having now been educated on the meaning of "Surrender" I must now confess that I will never do so. I'm not made that way.
> You said also that you would never surrender any of the weapons God has entrusted to you. Specifically you mention the Sword of the Spirit (with all due respect, I can't recall seeing you use it)
Indeed, very few people ever will: and those who have need never tell. I prefer to do my works quietly and in private.
> Not long ago, on another thread, you stated many times that you would voluntarily lie to prevent your being put to death for the testimony of Jesus Christ. That would constitute a voluntary surrender not only of your armor called The Belt of Truth, but also a willing surrender to the enemy, the Father of Lies, for the sake of sparing your life.
Or more probably the lives of others. I prefer to live to fight another day. Better a live Dog than a dead Lion.
Rahab the Harlot told lies at Jericho and (else I'm mistaken) she is a lineal ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Jacob tricked Esau. Even St Peter, who denied Christ thrice, was not condemned for doing so.
If I can fool the Devil by telling Him lies -- and if by doing so cause Him injury -- I do so with a perfectly clean conscience. And if I can take one or two of 'em with me, better still.
That is what Casuistry was invented for.
*DieHard*
Far better for the noble man who dies with blessings to Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, on his lips than to be one who betrays the Son of Man for a very temporary gain.
I prefer to do my works quietly and in private.
Except here, it appears. And in your own manish reasoning rather than in Truth.
> Except here, it appears.
OK, fine -- quite happy to never mention again any details of what I see on the streets if doing so causes you offense.
> And in your own manish reasoning rather than in Truth.
Not quite sure what you mean with this, .30Carbine. Is it an insult? To be "manish"? OK fine, smite me with the accusation of being a MAN: I care not, because *that* is what I am. Made in my Maker's Own Image, a Son of Adam and a Follower of My Lord Jesus Christ, a Volunteer and not a Conscript. A Crusader on a mission to Skin the Devil.
> Far better for the noble man who dies with blessings to Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, on his lips than to be one who betrays the Son of Man for a very temporary gain.
Are you speaking here of St Peter or Judas Iscariot? (or me?)
In the case of St Peter and Judas, both committed the same crime of betrayal. St Peter's crime was aggrivated by having been warned aforetime by Jesus that he would do so. In the case of Judas, it was mere opportunistic treachery. And for that he is and will be dam'ned.
St Peter lived to fight another day (Praise be to God!) by telling lies. The difference between St Peter and Judas was intent.
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