One More Surrender

“That’s not me,” I thought while trying to keep a mental distance from ‘those people.’  I found comfort in thinking that I had somehow become better than people who sinned in this way or that. When I heard of some Pastor who fell into sin of one kind or another, I told myself, “Not me, I’m too disciplined, careful, prayerful …” pride forms long lists that distinguish ‘us’ from ‘them.’  But, truth is, it is revealed that I am completely capable of sinning and I always have been.  But, even as I professed my trust in the grace of Christ to save me from my sin, I was blinded to my sin of spiritual pride – the very sin I thought I hated most!

Humiliation is not enjoyable, in the least. But I am beginning to understand that it strips away our pretensions and teaches us to cling to Christ. Only then is it even possible for us to love the lost, the lonely, the broken, the bruised, the fallen, the failing – like Jesus did! Paul, a man who was a proud Pharisee, lost his reputation, became a despised man.  If you know the New Testament, you probably think I’m talking about his loss of stature among the Jews following his conversion. That is true, but there was a greater humiliation in store for him.  Even the Christians he brought to Jesus came to despise him!  God allowed him to be accused, attacked, and rejected to rip pride out of his heart.  He writes - "If I have to “brag” about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus." (2 Corinthians 11:30, The Message)

Will you allow God to humiliate you?  Do not rush to answer that question too quickly!  But, hopefully, in full faith, you can eventually say, “Yes, Lord, whatever it takes for me to be like You.”  (My body shudders even as I write those words because there is such a cost wrapped up in them.) 

American Christianity is about becoming powerful, enjoying status, having respect, claiming a place as a ‘King’s kid.’  But all that misses what the Bible shows about becoming like Jesus. He could not be our Savior until He submitted Himself to humiliation, gave away all of His divine rights, and stood alongside of us who were sinners. "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being." (Philippians 2:5-7, NLT)  He went further!  He submitted Himself, in the will of God, to the ignominy of crucifixion.  Stripped of respect as well as His clothes, He hung naked on a cross, identified with the outcasts, reviled by the respected.  On the Cross, He became the Bridge of God’s grace to sinful humanity.

There is a cross for each of us. Paul, whose humiliation I spoke of, said - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:20-21, NIV)   The Message, a contemporary translation of the Bible, says it with these words:  “I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.”

Do you want to love like Jesus?

Do you want to be a person through whom He is able to show His love?

Then, there’s a cross for you.  He invites you to “turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (Luke 9:23-24, NLT)

The wonder of all this is that when we have lost all we treasured here on this earth, we then find the treasure that is most precious.  We cannot possess the latter until we have let go of the former.

Here’s the word from the Word.  May it keep us in the trials of humiliation that make us like Jesus.  Because of His submission, "God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining." (Philippians 2:9-14, NIV)

__________

I Surrender All

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give.

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow.

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me Jesus take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Make me Savior wholly Thine.

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

I surrender all!

I surrender all!

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

Judson Wheeler Van DeVenter | Winfield Scott Weeden

© Words: Public Domain
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I'm taking a break. Lord-willing, I will publish CoffeeBreak again next week. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love my team!

Our church’s gym was full of children and their parents for an event last night.  With fresh perspective, sharpened by adversity, I realized how many amazing people are part of the ministry team at Faith Discovery Church. They are good men and women who care deeply about His work. They are ‘volunteers’ but in reality give countless hours to service. I am blessed to lead this fellowship.

A church that is functioning as God intended is a team of dedicated people who work to advance the Kingdom of God on earth. It is not a theatre where many gather to watch a few perform! It is a community where many are gifted, in dozens of ways, to work to bring about a mutual benefit, all for the glory of God. Our fellowship has a simple statement of purpose. We exist to 'help people discover God's purpose for their lives!' When you know how to discern the will of God and live in the center of His plans - that is life lived to its richest potential!

So, we are committed to giving people the skills, the support, and the opportunity to say "yes!" We do it in many ways-
-the Sunday morning corporate worship experience that includes a teaching of the Word,
-in a Christian school that educates children in a Christ-centered setting,
-in student ministry and a downtown teen center,
-with material published on the Internet that reach out to the wider world,
-in specialized outreach such as prison and nursing home work,
-in food pantry that offers tangible expressions of Christ's love, and
-in small groups that pray, share, and learn how to please the Father!

Can a single pastor do all that? A team of people make it happen!
Leaders, lead. Singers, sing. Musicians, make music! Those with creative gifts, create! Teachers, teach! There are many with less public roles - changing light bulbs, printing literature, pushing a vacuum cleaners, driving mowers, running tech support, interceding in prayer, giving money... that are just as much a part of the work as I am, even though everybody sees me standing front and center on Sunday morning! The team is the greatest resource the church has, apart from the Spirit Himself.

An oft-quoted proverb, attributed to the Chinese, says:
If your vision is for a year, cultivate wheat!
If your vision is for a decade, cultivate trees!
If your vision is for a lifetime, cultivate people!

Let me encourage you to find a place to serve God actively - whether in a 'recognized' ministry of the church or in some place in the community. If you want to be one of God's MVP's (Most Valuable Players) there are a few choices to be made.
-Know your service will be effective when you are equipped by the Spirit, not just because of your talents.
-God's glory is the issue, not your sense of accomplishment. Set aside any need to be recognized and/or rewarded.
-Play the position He puts you in without comparing yourself to others. He calls each of us to our place and our eternal reward is for faithfulness, not visibility.
-Serve humbly, doing your best while thanking God for the privilege of being on His team.

"You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same.
Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. . . . He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

No prolonged infancies among us, please. ... God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." (Ephesians 4:4-16, The Message)