Surrendering Life

DATE: MAY 13, 2020

TOPIC: "Surrendering Life" Romans 12:1, 2 The apostle Paul asks the brothers to seek to dedicate themselves totally to God, to surrender totally, that it be similar to the burnt offering on the altar, that it be a living, holy, and pleasing sacrifice to God. That it be giving God our bodies, our entire lives. By us believing and being members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, this sacrifice is live since it is not offered with death, but with life; it is holy since it is offered in union with Christ and, therefore, it is acceptable, pleasing to God. That's you! "...your rational worship." Rational, which is with reason, with reasoning for true and clear spiritual worship. We do not come to God like the bodies of dead animals, but with the spiritual sacrifice of lives surrendered. This is what we are for God, and we should know it very well!

I. (Vs. 2) "Do not conform to this century..." Let us not adapt to the ways of this world.

A. Let us not let the world compress us (oppress us) into its own mold.

1. If you came to Jesus, you were welcomed into the kingdom of God; so, we should abandon the mental guidelines (models or rules) and lifestyles of the world.

2. The world has built and worked to make themselves happy without God.

3. The world tries to attract and retain people through what is sinful, worldly and appealing to the eyes, the flesh and the arrogance of life.

4. But, Christ died to set us free from this world!

5. We have been crucified to the world!

6. It would be an absolute disloyalty on our part to love the world.

7. If you love the world you are an enemy of God! “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father's love is not in him.” 1 John 2:15 “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

8. Be transformed through the renewal (return to the first state) of our mind. It means that we should "think as God thinks," as revealed in the Bible.

9. Then God will lead our lives.

10. Then you will see that His will is good, accepting (well received, pleasant, warmly admitted) and perfect.

11. Three keys to know the will of God: A SURRENDERED BODY; A SEPARATE LIFE; A TRANSFORMED MIND.

B. Matthew 16:25 Here we see that the Lord contemplates two obstacles for one to achieve good discipleship.

1. The first is the natural temptation to seek "to save oneself", yes, to save oneself from the discomforts (from displeasure and from all annoyance), to save oneself from pain, loneliness and loss.

2. The second obstacle is for one to seek how to get rich.

3. Jesus warned that those who embrace their lives for selfish purposes, and this is proper nowadays, will never find plenitude (perfection)

4. In turn, those who abandon their lives to the Lord Jesus without seeking any human prudence, without counting the cost, THOSE WILL FIND THE REASON FOR THEIR EXISTENCE!

C. Matthew 19:21 “Jesus answered: If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Of the previous this is a good example, the rich young man!

1. This man's failure is about LOVING HIS NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF!

2. Jesus says to him: "Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor."

3. And then, after doing so, go back to Jesus and "FOLLOW HIM".

4. This does not mean that he could have been saved by selling his possessions and giving his price to works of charity, because there is only one way to be saved: "faith in the Lord".

5. But, the rich man did not love his neighbor as himself! That was his problem! If he had the desire to surrender completely, he would have said to Jesus, "If this is necessary, I’ll do it.”

6. This way he would have recognized that he was a sinner and that he could not be saved by what he had, and then he would have asked Jesus to save him! And Jesus would have shown him the way to salvation!

7. It didn’t happen this way, we can understand that the rich man would never have agreed with Jesus, with His mission, since he was only looking out for himself!

D. 1 Corinthians 10:24 "Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others."

1. In all the decisions we make, we should not only be thinking selfishly about what would benefits us, but rather we should think about what benefits others, their well-being.

E. Philippians 2:4 "...look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."

1. When we come to God, we are no longer the way we were created; we come to God formed by the eye, by what we have already seen of this world, always looking for how to please ourselves.

2. By giving our lives in devout, fervent, unconditional and pious sacrifice for others, IT IS THAT WE RISE ABOVE THE SELFISH AMBITIONS OF MEN.

3. Charles D. Meigs said: The others, the others, Lord! May my motto be this: "Help me to live for others, so that I may live for You."

4. GOD LIVES FOR US! LET'S LIVE FOR GOD! THEN WE WILL LIVE FOR THE OTHER! Amen.