Sermons
All To Jesus I Surrender
Series: The Way Of The CrossALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / September 16, 2018
We are using eight words to discuss what it means to travel the way of the cross.
Thus far we have spoken about sincerity and about single-mindedness.
Today we want to speak about surrender.
A dairy farmer went to buy a new pick-up truck. He had seen an ad in the paper about discounts and factory rebates,
so he decided to trade in his old clunker. He chose a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount.
The salesman said, “Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet.” The farmer said, “Isn't it the price I saw in the paper?”
The saleman said, “No, that's for the basic model, all the options are extra.” So after the options were added, the farmer reluctantly wrote a check and drove off in his new pick-up. A few months later the car salesman called the farmer because he wanted to buy a cow for his son's 4-H project. The farmer assured the car salesman that he had several good milk cows for sale for $500. The salesman drove out and selected a cow and took out his checkbook.
The farmer said, “Wait, I haven't given you the final cost yet.” The he handed the salesman a bill that read:
BASIC COW/$500 … Two-tone exterior/$45 … Extra Stomach/$75 … Milk Storage Compartment/$60 …
Straw Recycle compartment/$120 … Four Handy Spigots @ $10 each/$40 … Leather Upholstery/$125 …
Dual Horns/$45 … Automatic Rear Fly Swatter/$38 … Natural Fertilizer Attachment/$185 … GRAND TOTAL: $1,233.
When we shop for something big in our lives, be it a car or a cow, it's important to get to THE BOTTOM LINE.
So, what is the bottom line to following Jesus?
Many suffer from sticker shock when they discover the high price of following Jesus.
We live in a society that loves deals. Everybody loves a bargain.
There something exciting that comes over us when we feel that we have gotten a lot for just a little.
Bargain hunters are everywhere.
On a leisurely ride (a date) in NW PA not long ago Jeannie and I encountered a ten mile community yard.
We didn't stop, but lots of people did and it created a traffic jam in sleepy New Wilmington if you can imagine that.
(We've finally reached the point where we're looking to lighten our load rather than continuing to enlarge it).
Some search the classifieds ads looking for bargains; some shop of ebay hoping to find an exceptional deal.
And some wait patiently for the sales in the big stores.
The mantra of the bargain hunter basically goes like this:
What is the least amount I have to pay in order to get as many benefits as possible?
How can I sacrifice a little and still get all the good stuff?
The problem comes when this bargain-hunting mentality extends beyond the material to encroach upon the spiritual.
Some people seem to want all the benefits of heaven, but with the least amount of sacrifice possible.
What is the least amount that I have to do and still receive all of the good things of God?
Luke's gospel (Lk.9:51), states,
As the time approached for (Jesus) to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was the place where Jesus would ultimately die on the cross.
Jesus knew what awaited Him, but His followers were clueless.
To them, Jesus was: a Miracle Worker; a Healer; A powerful Teacher and Preacher;
Someone who would lead them out of the oppression of the Romans and into freedom.
They presumed that Jesus was en route to the building of a great new empire.
He was, but the EMPIRE He was erecting was not exactly what they imagined it to be.
Thousands of people thronged to follow Jesus.
Lk.14:25 notes, Great multitudes were going along with Him...
One might think that this would have pleased Jesus - - that He would have been thrilled with such a following.
But large numbers didn't matter so much to Jesus.
The thing that mattered most to Him was COMMITMENT.
The words of Jesus that follow (Lk.14:26ff) seem to be designed to “thin the herd”.
This text has given birth to the all-important concept of “counting the cost”.
As William Barclay writes (The Gospel Of Luke, pg.196) - -
“In the most vivid way possible He (Jesus) told them that the man who followed Him
was not on the way to worldly power and glory, but must be ready for a loyalty which
would sacrifice the dearest things in life and for a suffering which would be like the agony
of a man upon a cross...It is one of the supreme handicaps of the church that in it
there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so few real disciples.”
It is possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple.
Once someone was talking to a noted scholar about a younger man whom he
understood to have attended he classes. The teacher answered with painful candor:
“He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students.”
So Jesus begins the winnowing process - - weeding out the often fickle followers from the real disciples.
True discipleship has always been costly.
It was especially so in the first century, but it remains costly for every new generation.
It requires a paramount love for the Lord - - a love for Him that is even greater than one's love for family (Lk.14:26a).
It is all-demanding - - it if a LIFE commitment. The word for “life” speaks of one's total being (Lk.14:26b).
True discipleship must overshadow a love for one possessions (Lk.14:33).
True discipleship necessitates a kind of commitment that should be carefully thought out in advance.
Jesus provides two parables - - tower-building and going into battle (Lk.14:28-32).
In ancient days some salt was mixed with sand (its value was subsequently “watered-down”, so to speak).
This mixing rendered it essentially worthless, making it good for nothing except to be thrown out (Lk.14:34-35).
Surrendered discipleship is three dimensional.
A SURRENDER OF THE PAST
Many would-be disciples come to Jesus (even in tears) but have the hardest time letting go of the past.
Some old sins are deeply rooted and keep rearing their ugly heads.
Paul talks about these in Col.3:5f - - therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead
to immorality, impurity, passions, evil desire, greed ...anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech.
Put them all aside! (vs.8).
Some old sins are hard to be forgotten. A few old sins make it difficult to accept total forgiveness.
A complete surrender does not mean we can't look back, but we mustn't return to or dwell upon the past.
A SURRENDER OF THE FUTURE
We sing a song about how “God holds the future in His hands”. We must come to truly believe it.
Genuine surrender is seen when we come to entrust our future to Almighty God.
If you are overly anxious (Mt.6:25) about what lies ahead, you need to surrender the future to God.
A SURRENDER OF THE PRESENT
Some of you have learned to excel in this regard while others of us are struggling to surrender.
In dealing with an illness that is life-threatening; In learning to grow older with grace;
In facing life in the absence of a dear loved one who has passed away;
In being confronted with a change in jobs and having to re-tool;
And in becoming a new mother or father and having to do on-the-job training.
Jeannie and I were shaken up by some events of late.
In the midst of such discomfort (and angst) we discovered a peace that passes understanding (Philp.4:7).
Peter writes in 1Pet.5:6 - -
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
Judson Van DeVenter wrote the song, I Surrender All - - this morning's invitation song.
He was raised on a farm near Dundee, Michigan.
After graduating from Hillsdale College he taught art in the public schools in Sharon, PA.
He was very active in the church he attended and was urged by many to leave teaching and go into preaching.
He wrestled with this decision for about five years, before he announced his intentions to preach full time.
He wrote the song while preaching in a meeting in East Palestine, while staying in the home of George Sebring.
He left behind this written account of the progression of his thought process.
“At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life.
I became an evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me.
God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, He caused me to sing.”
All to Jesus, I surrender, All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live.
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
Baptism into Christ Jesus signifies a surrender.
But seldom do any of us comprehend the full magnitude of following Jesus at our baptism.
We could correctly say that baptism is the start of a surrendered life,
but a complete surrendering of our lives is an ongoing process.
Paul once penned a three-word phrase, “I die daily” (1Cor.15:32b).
Living a surrendered life requires a steadfast and relentless determination to imitate Jesus in word and deed.
Truly, it is a never-ending quest.
