This document discusses the concept of surrendering to God. It notes that since the fall of man, creation has been in conflict with God. However, God promises that when we seek Him with all our heart, we will find Him. Surrendering to God means setting aside our own plans and eagerly seeking His plans instead, as His plans are always for our benefit. There are different levels of surrendering to God, from initial salvation to greater intimacy through filling our lives with the Holy Spirit. The goal is to no longer live for ourselves but for Christ, which results in the greatest fulfillment and ultimate rewards in heaven.

1. Surrendering toGod – 30th
May 2016
“Youwill seek me and findme when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah29:13),.
Thisworldisa battleground whereeveryouturnto.Since the fall of man inthe Garden of Eden, the
worldGod createdhasbeeninconflictwithHim.We can learnfrom Romans8:20-22, “Forthe creation
was subjectedto frustration,notby its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it,in hope
21
that[a]
the creation itselfwill be liberated fromits bondage to decay and broughtintothe freedom
and gloryof the childrenof God.22
Weknowthat the whole creationhas been groaningas inthe pains
of childbirthrightup to the present time”.
Satan iscalledthe "godof thisworld" because fromthe fall of man in the Gardenof Eden mankindhas
increasinglydetonated anddistancedourselvesfromGodspresence. We can learnfrom 2 Corinthians
4:4, “The godof this age hasblindedthe mindsof unbelievers,so that they cannotsee the lightof the
gospel that displaysthe gloryof Christ,who isthe imageof God”. Insteadof aneverincreasing
relationshipwithGod, due toAdam'ssin,we are bornon histeam as we learnfrom Romans 5:12,
“Therefore, justas sin entered the worldthrough one man,and deaththrough sin,andin this way
death came to all people, becauseall sinned”.
Whenwe reach the age whenwe can make moral choices,we mustchoose whethertofollow ourown
sinful inclinationsortoseekGod.God promises throughthe bible that whenwe seekHimwithall our
hearts,we will findHim aswe can learnfrom Jeremiah29:13, “Youwill seek me andfindme when you
seek me with all your heart”.Whenwe findHim, we have a choice to make:do we continue following
our owninclinations,ordowe surrendertoHis will?
Surrenderisa battle term.It impliesgivingupall rightstothe conqueror.Whenan opposingarmy
surrenders,theylaydowntheirarms,andthe winnerstake control fromthenon.SurrenderingtoGod
worksthe same way. God hasa planfor ourlives,andsurrenderingtoHimmeanswe setaside our own
plansand eagerlyseekHis.The goodnewsisthatGod’splan forus isalwaysinour bestinterest .We
can learnthisfrom Jeremiah29:11, “
For I know the plansI have for you,” declares the LORD, “plansto
prosper you andnot to harm you,plansto give you hope anda future”. We must realize thatmost
oftenourown plansleadtodestruction aswe can learnfrom Proverbs14:12, “There isa way that
appearsto be right,but in the end it leads to death…” Whenwe surrenderourlife toGod,unlike inthe
case of conflictsthatgoeson inthe worldtoday, whenGod isthe victor the ultimate benefitwill always
for us;because He conquersto bless,protect,save andprovide forus.
There are differentlevels astohow we surrendertoGod, all of whichaffectour relationshipwith Him.
Firstwe needto knowthatthe initial surrendertothe drawingof the HolySpiritleadstosalvation.We
mustknowas statedin John6:44,“No one can come to me unlessthe Father who sent me draws them,
and I will raise them up at the last day”.Againwe can readin Acts 2:21, “Andeveryone whocalls on
the name of the Lord will be saved”. Whenwe letgo of our ownattemptsto earnGod's favor and rely
uponthe finishedworkof JesusChristonourbehalf,we become achildof God: “Yetto all whodid

2. receive him,to those who believedin hisname, he gave the right to become childrenof God”(John
1:12).
But there are timesof greatersurrenderduringa Christian'slifethatbringsdeeperintimacywithGod
and greaterpowerinservice. AsChristianswe mustknow thatthe more areasof our liveswe surrender
to God, the more room there isforthe fillingof the HolySpirit andreceive greaterblessingsthrough
Him.We can learnof an advice foundin Ephesians5:18, “Donot get drunk on wine, whichleadsto
debauchery.Instead, be filledwiththe Spirit”.Whenwe are filledwiththe HolySpirit,we exhibittraits
of God’scharacter as we learnfrom Galatians5:22, “But the fruitof the Spirit islove, joy,peace,
forbearance,kindness,goodness,faithfulness, 23
gentlenessandself-control…”The more we surrender
to God, the more our oldself-worshipingnature isreplacedwithone thatresemblesChrist :“Therefore,
if anyoneis in Christ,the new creation hascome:[a]
The oldhas gone,the new is here! (2 Corinthians
5:17).
We can learnin Romans 6 that God demandsthatwe surrenderthe totalityof ourselves;He wantsthe
whole commitment, notapart: “Do not offer anypart of yourselfto sin as aninstrument of
wickedness,but rather offeryourselves to Godas those whohave been brought fromdeath to life;
and offerevery part of yourselfto himas an instrumentof righteousness.” (Romans6:13). We can
learnof anothercall to surrenderwhere Jesus saidthatHisfollowersmustdenythemselves and
steadfastlyfollow Him.We canlearnfrom Mark 8:34, “Thenhe calledthe crowd to him alongwithhis
disciplesandsaid:“Whoeverwants to be my disciplemust denythemselves and take up their cross
and followme”.
The goal of the Christianlife canbe summedup whenwe read Galatians2:20,"I have been crucified
with Christand I no longerlive,but Christ livesin me. The life I now livein the body, I live byfaith in
the Son of God,wholoved me and gave himselfforme." AsChristianswe mustknow that sucha life of
surrenderispleasingtoGod,resultsinthe greatesthumanfulfillment,andwill reapultimate rewardsin
heaven:“Blessedare youwhen people hate you,when they excludeyou andinsultyou and reject your
name as evil,because of the Son ofMan. 23
“Rejoiceinthat day and leapfor joy, becausegreat isyour
reward in heaven...” (Luke 6:22-23).

3. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me
with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13),.