Surrender...Absolute Or Obsolete?

     The Bishop of London, hearing of John Wesley’s unconventional revivals and feeling that ritualistic religion was being threatened, once said, “Those young rawheads—what can they attempt?”  Wesley’s reply was a good one: “We can attempt to be that in the hands of God what a pen is in the hands of a man.”  Andrew Murray spoke of the same thing when he said, “You know in daily life what absolute surrender is.  I have a pen in my pocket, and that pen is absolutely surrendered to my hand if I am to write properly with it.  If another holds it partly, I cannot write properly.  And now, do you expect that God can work His work, every day and every hour, unless you are entirely given up to Him?”

     Though Andrew Murray is known for this term, “Absolute Surrender,” and it is even the title of one of his books, it was actually coined by another.  One day, in Scotland, while engaged in conversation with some others concerning the condition of Christ’s church, Andrew Murray asked a man, “What would you say is the great need of the Church today, and the message that ought to be preached?”  The man answered very quietly, simply, and determinedly, “Absolute surrender to God is the one thing.”  This man went on to say that he had found that the Christians with whom he had to deal, if they were sound on this point, they were willing to be taught and helped, and therefore grow and go deeper with the Lord.  But those who were not sound on this, would very often go back and even leave the faith.  Through the years, I have also found that to be true.  But even more than that, I have found many to simply compromise, twisting the Word of God into their own—making it much more to their liking.  Surrender—absolute or obsolete?

     God, of course, knew all about this problem and often tried to change His people.  One such time was as they were about to be exiled into Babylon due to their insistent sin and rebellion.  The closing chapters of Jeremiah focus on the crescendo of His judgment upon the pagan nations around Israel.  Last year, our family read through the entire Bible and we all wrote devotional readings for every day of the year.  Writing on these last chapters, my wife, Cindy, penned, “WOW!  What an awesome grand finale Jeremiah gives us as he pronounces the mighty and righteous judgments of God!  Do you see the glorious fireworks of our glorious God in these final chapters as they explode His awesome wrath and purity upon everything that is contrary to His holiness?  Does the proclamation of total destruction bring you to despair?  Praise the Lord, we all do despair until God’s precious Grace brings us into agreement with His awful judgments against our sinful selves.  In that place, where we have revealed unto us the total corruption of our hearts and lives, when we come to see we only deserve Hell and destruction, then, and then alone, does the gracious Lord open our eyes to the cross and the redemptive power of the Blood of Christ.  Oh, what a glorious revelation!  Now we can rejoice in the terrible judgments of a holy God, knowing He will utterly destroy us in order to bring us into new and holy life in Him!  All praise to our Deliverer!”     Indeed, what a glorious God we do have, that He would love the world that much!

     With that in mind, imagine the love that He has for those who have already seen their sinfulness, repented, and surrendered to His pure and holy Lordship!  Shortly before these chapters, the Lord warns His own people: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.” (Jer. 48: 10)  Yes, of course, it is an abomination for the world to sin, but how much the more for His own people, who are supposed to be allowing Jesus to live His life within them?  So much of “Christianity” today is a matter of being about Him, but deceitfully and fraudulently, and the problem is that many are trying to keep back the sword—denying that judgment even exists.  Case in point—one of the hottest selling books in Christian circles today is Bruce Wilkenson’s “The Prayer of Jabez.”  It is so popular, it can even be found on the shelves of our local Wal-Mart.  It is based on the prayer spoken by Jabez and recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, which reads, “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!  And God granted him that which he requested.”  Wilkenson claims that he has recited this prayer, word for word, every day for over thirty years, and, as a direct result, has been greatly blessed.  On Dr. James Dobson’s radio program, “Focus on the Family,” Wilkenson declared that anyone who did so for even two weeks, would see his life transformed, intimating that God has to do it for everyone who says the words.  By the way, he didn’t receive any objection, even from his host.  The fact is that many of the assertions made in this book are false and totally unbiblical.  Much of it is based on the Charismatic “name-it-claim-it” theology, which is, at best, a twisting of the truth, and at worst, heresy.  In our day and age, it is extremely enticing to be handed a prayer that God always answers with great blessing and no judgment against sin, irregardless of obedience to His will.   God’s word has become a mantra to be repeated endlessly, not unlike the mindless gurus of the Eastern religions and even the New Age movement.  In this, faith is turned from God to a formula.  Wilkenson calls it a “strategy,” but Jesus calls it “vain repetition” (Matt. 6: 7-15) and condemns it as a twisting of His word.  Yes, this book encourages submission to the will of God, but when you totally compromise His will, submission to it is devastating.

     Another case in point:  the Alpha Course.  This intensive week-end course, a direct offshoot of the error put forth at both the Toronto and Brownsville “revivals,” focuses on “getting” people filled with the Holy Spirit, even though many are not even saved.  The Alpha Course endorses the same un-biblical manifestations of the Holy Spirit as before, including howling and twitching.  One gigantic red flag should be that Robert Schuller, the proponent of “possibility thinking,” endorses it.  He also claims that there is no need for repentance any longer.  Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey calls the course “superb,” and at the same time, tolerates gays in the Church of England, seeks full unity with Catholicism, and believes that Hindus share a common spiritual walk with Christians.  Tragically, there are many so-called evangelicals who are saying the same things.  Surrender—absolute or obsolete?

     And it isn’t only all this “weird stuff,” either!  At this time of year, Vacation Bible Schools abound, but most are emphasizing entertainment.  A tremendous amount of time and energy are being poured into VBS’s like “Beach Trek” and “Marketplace,” but often the focus is on getting as many kids as possible together in order that they may have a good time.  Be honest—are the children seen as needing salvation and are, therefore, being called to repentance and surrender, or is it just assumed that because they are associated with the church, that all are fine and only need a little instruction?  Actually, the latter is the message I hear coming from most churches all through the year—“Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, and therefore, all are now fine and considered to be on the way to heaven.”  Yes, Jesus did this, but nowhere in the Bible is salvation considered automatic.  Even earlier on in Jeremiah, we see the truth concerning the human heart—“deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (17:9) Later, right after Jeremiah states that much of the work done for the Lord is done deceitfully, he declares, “his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.” (48:11)  So many today are insisting that there is no need for repentance and surrender; no need for a changed heart and changed life; no need for a new “scent.”  But true Christianity is not just fun and games—it is a turning to the Lord and His Kingdom and allowing Him to reign over every aspect of your life.  This is the truth!  Oswald Chambers put it this way: “Once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over me.  It is complete and effective domination, in which I acknowledge that ‘You are worthy, O Lord.’”   The Lord told Ezekiel, “If the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” (33:6) I must give you the truth—eternal souls are at stake, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God.” (1 Peter 4: 17)  Will you be surrendered into His hand, even as a pen—sharing and living only truth?  Surrender—absolute or obsolete?

 

Throughout the year 2001, we will be providing you with readings from Genesis to Revelation to help you see your need for true surrender.

 

 

August 1          Obadiah                                  16                        Matthew 5-6

2                      Jonah                                       17                        Matthew 7-8

3                      Micah 1-4                               18                        Matthew 9-10

4                      Micah 5-7                               19                        Matthew 11-12

5                      Nahum                                    20                        Matthew 13-14

6                      Habakkuk                               21                        Matthew 15-16

7                      Zephaniah                               22                        Matthew 17-18

8                      Haggai                                    23                        Matthew 19-20

9                      Zechariah 1-4                                                24                        Matthew 21-22

10                    Zechariah 5-8                                                25                        Matthew 23-24

11                    Zechariah 9-12                    26                        Matthew 25-26

12                    Zechariah 13-14                    27                        Matthew 27-28

13                    Malachi                                   28                        Mark 1-2

14                    Matthew 1-2                           29                        Mark 3-4

15                    Matthew 3-4                           30                        Mark 5-6

                                                                        31                        Mark 7-8

 

September 1    Mark 9-10                               3                        Mark 13-14

2                      Mark 11-12                             4                        Mark 15-16