The Substance Of Faith Part 4

WARM-UP

Whether we admit or not, we want to be in control of everything.  We want to control our subordinates: we want to control our  wife; want to control our husband; we want to control our

children; we want to be able to control our future, but when was  the last time that you told the Lord, “Let Your will be done. I  surrender to Your will.”

ONE BIG IDEA

Surrender is self-offering of one’s will to God, offering the

heart and mind to Him that He may transform us.

STUDY (Judges 6:11-15)

“11Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great  tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer.  Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12The angel of  the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is  with you!” 13“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has  all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our  ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us  up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and  handed us over to the Midianites.” 14Then the Lord turned to him  and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from  the Midianites. I am sending you!” 15“But Lord,” Gideon replied,  “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole  tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”” (NLT)

LEARN

SURRENDERING TO GOD MEANS:

ACCEPTING THE RISK OF THE TASK

For a long time, risk was something that was weighed on a daily

basis by everyday people because it simply was a part of life. You  picked one thing over another because you had weighed the risk  and came to a conclusion that one risk was more acceptable than  another. Society’s safety features seem to be taking us rapidly  toward becoming obsessed with living safely over living  faithfully. “Does God want us to take risks?” God does not wish  us to be reckless in taking unnecessary risks, but there are risks  that He does want us to take. However, when God brings us into  a situation that requires thoughtful deliberation and a faith-filled  heart, we tend to cower away in fear.

So when God calls upon us and places us into a risk-filled  situation, we need to realize that we always have two choices: 1)  We can pray for strength and take the risks He has put before us  and be obedient; or 2) we can weigh the risks and decide to walk  away in disobedience. However, if we choose to walk away in  disobedience we will not know the blessing and perfection God  has reserved for those willing to obey and follow Him.

If we are fully surrendered to God, it means that we have to be  willing to take the risk associated with our obedience. For us to  surrender to God, it can be a risky venture on our part! There are  times when God will ask us to do things that might bring us hurt  and pain. Our life in Christ is not a life free from pain, but it is one  free of eternal worries and anxiety. We must understand that in  and of ourselves we are powerless. We are like Gideon, we are  the least of the least, weak and helpless; but with God on our  side, we can do whatever it is God desires of us!

GOD HAS A GOOD PURPOSE

How often do you find yourself in a dilemma with God because

you simply cannot see His promises to you? He asks you to do  something and you automatically consider it to be impossible. So  many times do we think with a ‘small potatoes’ mentality when  we think of success in the kingdom of God. We think about one  or two new souls—this is not to disregard that when one soul  surrenders to Christ, there is a party in Heaven! But we think like  ordinary humans…with limited and finite minds when it comes to  the ministry and missions of God. We simply do not believe that  we can move past these ‘small potatoes’ goals. Many may believe  that each one of these 300 men were scared, but I don’t believe  it was the fear of battle but a fear of being disobedient to God  that frightened them. These men had been chosen by God to win  a victory! They had been chosen to meet this enemy regardless  of how things looked or what happened, and we can see that  they were totally obedient to God’s call on their lives! They did  not know what to expect but they were obedient, they  surrendered to God’s will.

All of us have to be like Gideon and the 300 men who worked hard as  God’s vessel to make God’s vision happen. We often see the enormity  of God’s vision and forget the ability of God. So many times, we see

what life shows us and we cannot focus on what God will do for us.  There are times in our lives when we believe God can do something,  but the results we look for are so short-sighted and small compared to  what He has in store for us. We will never see God’s promised victory  unless we submit and surrender to Christ in obedience to His call on  us.

GROW

Application Questions

1. What is one area of your life that has ended up ruling you because of a lack of surrender to God? (e.g. relationship problem, unbelief, stubbornness, faithlessness)
2. Share out of your personal experience the blessing you  have experienced through giving up control of some area  of your life to the Lord.
3. Do you have any reservations or fears about giving your  life over to God? Share what  you have learned  or  experienced that has relieved your fears of that kind of  surrender.