THE LIFE OF SURRENDER AND EFFECTIVENESS

 

     I love to read, and there are some books that I read at least once a year and some even more frequently than that. Most of the books in the re-reading category are the ones that inspire me and stir up the flame of God’s Spirit within me, pushing me toward God’s purpose. They remind me of the goal of the high calling of God in my life. Many of the books are life stories of some of the great men and women of God. So, they give me real-life examples of people who were nothing according to this world, but God chose to use them in a powerful way because they were available to Him. They listened for His voice and believed what He said, enough to act on it. One such book is “The D. L. Moody Collection” compiled by James S. Bell. I want to share with you what God has been speaking to me as I re-read this book.

D. L. Moody was raised in a poor home and there was no early indication that he would ever amount to anything. Even when he became involved with a Sabbath School and had a teacher that took an interest in him, the teacher didn’t really think he could amount to much. Here is what that teacher said about those early days: “I can truly say (and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon Mr. Moody), that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker when he came into my Sabbath-school class, or one who seemed more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear, decided views of gospel truth, still less to fill any sphere of extended public usefulness.”

Yet D.L. Moody became the greatest evangelist of his time both in America and overseas. People flocked to his meetings and were born again because the presence of God was there. They didn’t leave the meetings talking about what a great orator he was. Some actually criticized his poor grammar. But people left with changed lives. And that was D.L. Moody’s motive; to see as many people come into the kingdom of God as possible. So, it wasn’t just during his meetings that he extended an invitation for people to know Jesus Christ. Regardless of where he was, whoever happened to be around him would hear the gospel message. And many were saved that way…on trains, in homes, in barber shops or on the street. He never took a count of those saved in his meetings. He wasn’t concerned about numbers, but about souls.

            I don’t know who you are or what your standing is in the eyes of this world, but you can be used of God if you will surrender your life completely to Him. Yes, you can make a difference in every life you touch. You may ask “How?” One of D. L. Moody’s closest ministry companions was R. A. Torrey. He wrote about the attributes that allowed God to use Moody as He did. If we want to be used of God, there may be some things that need to change in our lives.

First, we need to repent and be born into the kingdom of God. We need to be fully surrendered to Jesus, not to other people and not to ourselves. What is in us that needs to be emptied so we can fully serve God? We need to remove anything that separates us from God’s presence. If we reserve part of ourselves, we are not fully surrendered to Him. So, we need to empty our selfish ambitions and take on the form of a servant. Jesus said if we want to be great in His kingdom, we need to be the servant of all - just like Jesus. If Jesus had clung to His “rights” instead of being wrongly treated and wrongly murdered; If He had been like the Pharisees and wanted to be noticed and served, we would have no hope of salvation. But Jesus gave up His rights and majesty in complete humility and obedience to the Father. When God speaks to us, we need to obey. If we are obedient and selfless, He can use us in extraordinary ways and He will be with us. We can’t trust our own understanding, so we need to be led by God. It is imperative that we know when He is speaking to us, and we need to be listening.

That means we need to be people of prayer and come to recognize the voice of God. Prayer is a two-way conversation between us and God. We are not to spend all our time asking Him to do our will but asking Him what His will is for us. Are we spending time with God and actually listening to His voice? If we are open to Him, His Spirit will speak to our spirits. We will have a knowing within us as to which direction we are to go, what to do or who we are to speak to.

Another way we can hear God speak to us is through His Word, the Bible. If we want to grow in our Christian walk, we need to know what God is like. We need to be diligent students of His Word. When we are born into the kingdom of God, the Bible becomes our light in the darkness of this world. We can understand the Word of God because we have come to know the God of the Word and He will enlighten us to its meaning. If we want to make a difference in our world for Christ, we need to read and obey His Word.

Humility is another characteristic that seems to be very difficult for people to accept these days. Everybody wants to be looked up to. They want to make sure they get their fair share of attention and applause for their lofty deeds. Humility is not like that. Neither is it thinking of yourself in a negative way. It’s simply not considering self at all because we are considering the purpose of Jesus Christ. If we think of ourselves more highly than we ought, we are not much use to God. Let’s look at the humility of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-10: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” Imagine God taking on human flesh so He could redeem us! Why was Jesus willing to do that? Because He loves us and because it was the will of the Father.

The Apostle Paul suffered so much persecution, but he didn’t let it stop him from proclaiming the gospel. He never stopped preaching God’s Word regardless of whether it was accepted or rejected. His passion was to carry out the great commission. He did it because it was the will of God. We need that same passion in walking with God. His passion should be our passion. His desires and goals, our desires and goals. We need a renewed passion for the salvation of the lost. There are only two eternal destinations – heaven and hell. They are both endless destinations, so it is vitally important that everyone hears the gospel message so they can make a decision for Christ before it’s too late. That’s our job.

 Another important element of being useful in God’s kingdom is to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples to wait for the promise of the Father. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, He knew they would not be able to do the work He had called them to. He knew they needed the Holy Spirit to empower them and lead them in the way they should go. Many messages are good, but few change lives without the power of the Spirit of God being present. We need the Holy Spirit if we are to obey Jesus’ command to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.” Paul said he did not bring the message of Jesus Christ in word only, but in “demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” If a person is a great orator and can move a crowd with their words, their message will point to the speaker. If a person is empowered by the Holy Spirit, their message will point to Jesus Christ. During a writer’s conference some years ago, one of the presenters made it very clear that they were an inspirational publication. They did not mention the name of Jesus in any of their publications. I marked them off my list of publishers to submit articles to in the future. I didn’t care how well known they were if they did not lift up the name of Jesus, the Name above all Names. We need the power of the Holy Spirit if we are to make a difference. We need to speak the Truth of God’s Word and let people know how to be saved. If they don’t know what it is to be saved, they will be deceived into believing they are going to heaven when they are not. If you have not taken the first step toward Jesus, which is repentance; turning away from sin and turning to Jesus as Lord and Savior, you can do that right now. If you are not born again and following Jesus, you are not saved. John 3:3 says, “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Works will not get us into the kingdom of God. Our knowledge of the Bible will not get us in. Our good intentions won’t get us in. Our sincerity in believing the wrong thing won’t get us in. We must hear the Word of God and obey in repentance and surrender to Him. If we sincerely believe in another way to heaven, we will be sorely disappointed when we stand before God and hear, “I never knew you…depart from Me.” Just any way is not THE Way. We must be born of the Spirit. We can be wrong about many things, but it is eternally destructive to be wrong about the way to heaven. Read the Bible.

Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”