I Surrender
I have just completed my final Easter experience with my Cross Church Family. This past weekend was very difficult for me personally. After thirty-three consecutive Easters with the same church family, Easter weekend will never be the same for me. When I preach my final Sunday here on May 19, I will enter into my new calling formally and wholly.
One morning a few weeks ago in the midst of immense personal struggle, God used a song in my life. The reason this song has so resonated with me again and again is because its words represent what God has already done in my heart in calling me. There was no plan to hear it, nor was it a song someone suggested I listen to.
One morning while my wife was playing a series of tunes by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, this song came on. I had never heard it before, even though it has been around for a number of years. The song is called, “I Surrender.”
Doing God’s will is not easy; in fact, sometimes it is very difficult. The moment you rise up to submit to God and surrender your life to His will, you face reason upon reason not to do it. But while tempted to walk away and choose the road of personal comfort, sameness, and familiarity where risks are minimal and the future seems secure, God calls you again to surrender to Him. Yes, “Here am I Lord, send me.”
Speaking of this song, “I Surrender,” perhaps the words of the first verse and chorus will minister to you as they have to me and still do today:
I know Lord Your plan for me is right
I need You to fulfill
Your purpose in my life
I submit to You my King
Be my everything
I’m coming to You again
Lord here I am
I surrender I surrender
Lord I surrender my life
Give it all to You
I surrender I surrender
Lord I surrender my life
Give it all to You
Until we surrender to Jesus fully, we will have little to no prospect of a revival in our hearts, limited to no stirring of the Spirit in our churches, and little to no spiritual awakening in our land. True revival is nothing less and nothing more than the manifest presence of God in our lives.
A surrendered Christian, a surrendered pastor, and a surrendered church will experience spiritual revival.
God does not will that our life and leadership are spiritually powerless, lukewarm, ineffective, and purposeless. He does will this for you and me:
1. Give 100% of yourself to Jesus daily.
I often pray these words regularly and more often now, daily: “Lord, I give 100% of me to 100% of You so that 100% of You will work through 100% of me.”
Spiritual power is not found in holding on to what you have; spiritual power is discovered and released when you release yourself to God. We will never choose to let God have His way with us if we continue to hang on to our own desires, our own dreams, and our own bondage. Just go ahead and pray it now, “Lord, I surrender.”
2. Trust God really knows what is best for you.
Surrendering to God is abandoning all that we have in order to receive all that God possesses and has for our future. When we enter God’s gateway to supernatural power for living, we begin to learn what a surrendered life looks like.
Right now in my life, I am trusting God really knows what is best for us. It is not easy; if fact, it is very difficult.
Back to the song again… I don’t know how many times I have listened to it. In fact, Jeana remarks at times, “You have played the song several times today, are you okay?” I reply, “Yes, I just need to be reminded again and again what I have done in prayer already.”
So, I guess I feel as if I am the one singing this second verse of its lyrics:
Humble and broken I come to You
I’m trusting and waiting
To see what You will do
Lord You know what’s best
And at Your feet I find my rest
I’m coming to You again
Lord here I am
Again and again, and yes, even again, I go to God and surrender. He does know what is best for me and that is why I keep coming to Him.
I believe this is God’s will for my life and ministry. Do you believe this regardless of your vocation? I hope so. Join me now: “Lord, I surrender my life to you.”
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
A Divided America: 3 Responses for Christians
Government cannot fix us. Politics will never heal us.
Those who follow Jesus Christ and identify themselves as Christians need to understand and believe the first two sentences of this article or you will live a highly disappointed life.
Disunity is triumphant in our nation today. Some pride themselves over creating it while others grieve when our nation experiences it.
Division does not honor Jesus Christ. Jesus is always right. In Luke 11:17, Jesus said, “Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.”
America does not get an exception to this basic principle. Neither does a family, church, business, or even a long-term friendship.
Therefore, how should we respond as Christians when America is divided like it is today?
Response #1: Christians Need to Pray for America
Many Christians are so disappointed and fed up with matters about America, they struggle even to pray for our nation. Is this right? Is this justified?
Absolutely not!
Because where America is today IS the reason we DO need to pray. If all was perfect and unity abounded across our nation, we may enjoy praying for America more regularly, but whether we enjoy it or not, it is needed.
Praying for America should be our first choice, not our last choice!
God is our hope; our last, great, and only hope. Therefore, we need to pray like we believe this with all we are.
The alarm clock is going off in our nation and this is not the time to push the snooze button. America needs to experience the next great move of God.
That is why we pray. That is why we will prioritize praying for America on our upcoming National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 2. Will you join us?
Prayer precedes every great movement of God biblically and historically. Therefore, we need to pray and ask God for a mighty, great spiritual awakening across America. That is why the National Day of Prayer is a nationwide movement of prayer for America.
Response #2: Christians Need to Love One Another
Christians need to follow Jesus’ teaching of loving one another. John 13:34, “Love one another, just as I have loved you.” This what we are calling our nation to do on Thursday, May 2.
We need a Love One Another movement that begins in the church of Jesus Christ. Christians should never take pride in being filled with skepticism or criticism of other people. We should love all people just like Jesus did and does: willfully, sacrificially, and unconditionally.
Love One Another needs to become a movement that also infiltrates every part of American life when the church is experiencing this movement within their own fellowship.
Followers of Christ need each other more than ever before. While certain secondary doctrinal differences will exist, we need to unite around the beliefs that:
- The Bible is God’s infallible Word; it is Truth without any mixture of error.
- Jesus is the Son of God and the hope of the world; therefore, salvation is faith alone in Christ alone.
- We must focus our lives, churches, and futures on taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in America and across the world.
We need to stop fighting over secondary issues and rise up together to become the spiritual light in this darkening America and World. The church needs to model loving one another or we forfeit our right to speak into the future of our nation. It is time to come together in unity.
Response #3: Prepare for the Future
What will the Church become in the future of America? Will we lose our freedom or have it affirmed?
We need to prepare for the future realistically, but also with great hope. Regardless of the present cultural tide that is rising in direct opposition to the ways of God, we are a gospel people committed to Christ alone.
Our future is not in the hands of the United States government; our future is in the hands of our Sovereign God. Yes, our times are in His hands!
We need to prepare future generations spiritually and vocationally for what God wants them to be and how He wants them to live for Him.
That is why I believe our greatest hope lies only in Jesus Christ, His Gospel, and the advancement of this Good News message reaching every corner of America and across this world.
While we call out to God for His Church to be revived by the Spirit and begin to love one another, resulting in coming together in unity, we need to simultaneously pray extraordinarily for the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. I believe this is our greatest hope in America.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.