Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Surrender?!

In the worship services last weekend, I mentioned that the prelude to influence is surrendering your life to the Lord.  If you want to have influence that lasts and makes a positive difference, it happens not through striving, conniving or some other rhyming word.  It starts with a heart that yields to God.  A life that gets rid of idols, false gods and distractions that turn your heart from God’s best for you.

But what does it really mean to surrender?  A significant number of people stood and surrendered their hearts to the Lord in our services last weekend.  What did they do... and is that it (or will they need to ever do it again)? 

Surrender is not giving up or quitting as much as it is giving in to the Lord and His will for your life.  It is tied to a willingness to believe and follow, trust and obey.  And it is something that a follower of Jesus Christ needs to persist in doing.  Surrender, like following, is something that you do once and then continue each day.  It is saying "yes" to God, every day, no matter what others do or don't do. 

Surrender isn't just for those making a first time commitment to Christ.  It is something that I need to do and want to do.  Today.  Every day. 

Recently, I came across a brief video that describes this concept really well.  I hope you like it and find it helpful.

What does it mean to truly surrender to God? from Margaret Feinberg on Vimeo.