S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

 This world is a battleground. Since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:17-19), the world God created has been in conflict with Him (Romans 8:20-22). Satan is called the "god of this ...

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July 01 2013 • 4 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Grant Abbott Supporter Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit

As the bible uses surrender, it is both a spiritual battle and a decision of the will. Who will be in control of our life? Do we want to be in control? Will we allow God to be in control? Is it really Satan who is in control when we think we are? Whoever is in control decides how our life will unfold.

When we hear the gospel message and the Father draws us to receive his salvation, then surrender is an issue for the first time. Why so? Let's look at the process in reverse. 

In order for us to receive God's salvation when need to recognize our need for a saviour. To need a Saviour we need to be saved from something. Once we understand that God is our creator and he alone has the right to tell us how to live, we realize how much we have rebelled against his will for our lives. God is completely justified to punish our rebellion (sin). But Jesus came to earth as a man and willingly laid down his life to pay the penalty for our sin, and therefore, save us from God's judgment and punishment. Through the gospel God offers us this salvation as a free gift. All we have to do is accept it by faith in what Jesus has done. 

That acceptance comes in the form of repentance and belief. To believe is an act of the will based on the truth of the gospel messsge. To repent is to acknowledge our rebellion and then forsake it. When we confess our sins and tell God we are sincerely sorry for our rebellion, God is pleased to forgive us. But he also wants to know that we are prepared to forsake our old life and begin a brand new life. That's called repentance - to change our mind and heart to begin living God's way.

This is the first surrender. Confessing our sins to God, telling him we are sorry, and demonstrating our repentance by giving up control of our life (forsaking our old life) so the Holy Spirit can lead us into the new life God has prepared.

Once we begin this new life, surrender is a daily act of the will. It is also a spiritual battle. Satan does not want us to grow up in this new life to become the people God created us to be, so he will tempt us to return to our old way of life. That battle is constantly saying No to those temptations. 

But the daily surrender as an act of our will is also required. We still long to be in charge of our life, because that's all we've ever known until we are saved. As we daily surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our life, we gain experience and understanding of God's plan and purpose for our lives. We come to realize and trust that God's will is good, pleasing and perfectly suited for us.

As we grow in our faith and the intimacy of our relationship with God, surrender gets easier; some days it feels almost automatic, until the next temptation comes.

Surrender means we are willing to do life God's way. We choose to follow his owners manual (the bible), ask him for directions (prayer), and complete the good works he has prepared by his strength (Holy Spirit power).

June 14 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

vivian lipari Supporter

The dictionary states surrender means to yield possession of or power over to another, give up; abandon, as hope. The act of surrendering is giving your life to jesus. You have heard the expression it feels like hell on earth, when you surrender your life to jesus you get heaven on earth. Life is hard disappointing, scary sometimes you feel alone, you don't know where to turn your heart is breaking and you may feel why me. When you surrender your life to jesus he brings you through the why me feeling and gives you a wonderful taste of heaven on earth. In the bible you will find scriptures that reveal your life hardaches and you will find peace. Jesus said peace be with you my peace i give you. The bible has the answers, you just have to ask questions follow the road to peace. 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

March 25 2014 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report