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Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: **Summary:** Life has two kinds of battles. The kind where, when you surrender you lose, and the kind where, when you surrender you win. There was only one general that threw fear into the mighty warriors of the Roman Army, and that man was Hannibal of Carthage. Carthage was in North Africa and was the rival of Rome. It was the only power great enough to keep Rome from ruling the world. For over 60 years they fought a desperate struggle, and Rome was winning. Then in 218 B.C. Hannibal took command of the armies of Carthage, and for 16 years he out-fought and outwitted the Romans. One of his key weapons was a herd of 80 trained war elephants that would charge the enemy lines and soften them up for defeat. Rome could not believe the success of Hannibal. He captured a good part of Italy and began to plan the taking of Rome itself. All of history would have been changed if a Roman general named Scipio had not gotten a good idea. When Hannibal's elephants charged in the battle of Zama, which could have decided the fate of the world, he had loud trumpets blown that scared the elephants and sent most of them back into Hannibal's lines, disrupting them and giving the Romans a chance to attack. Hannibal lost that decisive battle, and Rome went on to conquer the world. Hannibal never surrendered but went on trying to fight Rome for the rest of his life, but he never regained enough power to make a difference. Hannible is one of the heroes of history because he never gave up. And then there is the Japanese soldier Lieutenant Hiro Onada. He fought as the last Japanese soldier for 29 years after WWII had ended. He would not surrender, he would not back down or give in. At some point, his bravery had turned to madness. Somewhere along the way, his pure loyalty had become a lonely hell; and we feel nothing but pity for the prematurely aged 52-year-old. That’s exactly what Christians who have surrendered think of you if you have not surrendered. Why fight a battle you cannot win? Why continue to kick against the prods from the Creator? Why not open the door and find what you’ve been looking for all this time? We find Jacob at the point of surrender in Genesis 32:24-31. He has been a conniving trickster who has made enemies of his family – but that’s all about to change. He wrestles with the Angel. During this encounter, he surrenders – something Jacob has never done before. He waves the white flag. He throws in the towel. Only to find it is the greatest decision he’s ever made, because from that day on, he would be different -much different! It is legitimate to never surrender, even if you cannot win, when the battle is against evil. There are some battles that cannot be won. The battle with sin and forces of evil is never over in this life, therefore, it is an ongoing battle. We are not to surrender and give up, but like Paul, press on fighting a good fight to the end. Many scientists and doctors have fought against disease, and died before they found the answer, but they did not surrender, and those who came after them built on their foundation and won the victory. Thank God for those who never surrender. On the other hand, it is folly not to surrender when you are fighting with God. The first man, Adam, ran from God when he had sinned, and tried to escape from admitting his sin, and surrendering to God. This has become the pattern ever since, and we see it clearly in the life of “the rich young ruler”, in the parable in Matthew 19. This young man was basically a good guy, and from his youth he had been religious, and tried his hardest to please God. Jesus said only one thing thou lackest. Wouldn't that be great to lack just one thing? That would be easy to solve, and you would be complete. Except, the one thing he lacked was the ability to surrender. For him his problem was his wealth. He clung to it and depended on it. It was his idol, and he just could not surrender and yield to Christ as his Lord and give him his all. It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor. The real battle of life is in deciding, can I surrender to Christ or not? This is the kind of battle where the only winners are those who surrender. Life has two kinds of battles. The kind where, when you surrender you lose, and the kind where, when you surrender you win! From a young age, we are taught not to be a quitter… “Never give up!” We think surrender is weakness – but really, it’s wisdom. Most compare surrender with failure, but in reality, it’s success. It’s not letting go, it’s holding on to the right things. Surrender is not defeat – especially with God – it’s victory in the truest sense. -Surrender your control. Loosen your grip of the circumstances and be honest with God about who you’re not. -Surrender your pride and independence. Partner with God for encouragement and accountability. -Surrender the glory. When something in life goes right, when success finds you… give God the credit He deserves! The first step to sobriety in AA is to acknowledge your life is unmanageable and in your own power you cannot stop drinking. In other words, the first step to victory is surrender. You must give up on yourself, and say I can't win, for as long as you think you can and keep fighting in your own self-sufficient strength, you will keep on losing. But when you surrender, and yield yourself to God's power, then you begin the journey to victory. Some men can stop drinking on their own, but no man can be saved on his own. The only way to be saved in your own strength is to never have sinned, and that is not possible, for as the Bible says, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It is always too late to save yourself, because you are always a sinner, and no one has the power to not be what he is. To go on fighting trying to save yourself and make a meaningful life in your own power is to fight a foolish battle. It is doomed to failure. The only way to win in this war is to surrender. But man is by nature stubborn, and that is why man is his own worst enemy. If you kick the man in the seat of his pants who gives you the most trouble, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. Most men just can't let go and let God. They are proud and feel they must save themselves. They are like the man shipwrecked in the ocean. A rescue boat found him, and they threw him a lifeline. But he says, "I have been swimming since my youth, and have done exercises every day. I'll swim to shore and save myself." But they shout at him," one thing thou lackest, the humility to recognize that you need a Savior. You need to give up depending on your own strength and surrender to the power of the rescue boat." But he, in his stubbornness, refuses the lifeline. And they must go on to find others, knowing he will never make it. God does not crush us into submission. He gives us a choice, and we can choose to fight, or we can choose to surrender, but it is our choice. History is full of examples of men and nations who refused to surrender to Christ, and they always go away disappointed. History is also full of stories of surrender which has led to victory. Sometimes surrender leads to immediate change. It is happening somewhere every day. People are hearing the good news of the Savior, and they are saying to themselves, what folly to go on fighting an unwinnable war. I will surrender and be at peace with God and myself. These people do not go away sorrowful, but they go away rejoicing, for by surrender they gain the victory. Jesus recognizes that people are all different. People are like a deck of cards. You cannot have all kings and queens; you must have a variety to have a deck, and so there are tens, nines, eights, and so on. Jesus knows people are all different, and so He does not ask of all what He asked of the rich young ruler. The one thing He does asks of all, however, is that we surrender; that we take up the cross and follow Him. Taking up the cross is dying to self and surrendering our pride and determination to do it our way. It is letting Him be Lord of our life. There is no way to win without this kind of surrender. HOW DO WE SURRENDER? 1. ADMIT you are a sinner and lost without a Savior. As long as we cling to our own self-sufficiency, we will be a rebel. 2. SUBMIT. Humble yourself before Christ, and yield to His Lordship. This means we cease to direct our own life and seek His will and guidance. 3. COMMIT. You say to Christ, "Here am I Lord use me." We surrender our life as an instrument to be used for His purpose. We switch armies, for we no longer fight for our own cause, or the cause of the world, we become a soldier of the cross and fight for Christ, which is a battle to bring others to the point of surrender. FEARS OF SURRENDER People fear to surrender because they are not sure they can keep surrendering. They know they are sinners, and they have tried to stop bad habits, and just cannot do it. They know the facts of life, in their own weakness, and so they are afraid to surrender, because they know they will rebel again. They just don't want to be hypocrites so they don't surrender. It almost sounds noble to be so honest about their own weakness, but the fact is, it is still folly not to surrender. Unless our rebel spirits come to the point where they will surrender to Christ in some moment, there is never a beginning of the process of salvation. Salvation begins with surrender, but it must continue as we fight with our old nature to bring it into submission. In the Colorado River, the big danger is getting caught in the whirlpool that sucks you under. Most try to fight to get to the surface, and they drown. The key to survival is to let go and surrender to its superior power. It is scary but it will take you and bring you out about 20 feet downstream. Here is a case where you can only be saved by surrender, and so it is in being saved by Christ. You are not saved by fighting and struggling to do it yourself. You are saved by surrender, and letting Christ do it, for the only way you can win the ultimate war is by surrender. Being saved is, at its root, a humble act of surrender. It is admitting that you can’t win the war against sin. It’s surrendering to what Jesus did on the cross instead of trying to fight the battle of righteousness by yourself. It is throwing in the towel of self-effort and, by faith, resigning to God’s grace. 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. For complete surrender to happen we must be very honest with ourselves. We also need to be ready to give every single, detail, and emotion of our lives to Jesus. Are you ready to take this step? Are you ready to experience intimacy with God? Are you ready to leave your old life behind and begin a new life with God? Loving Father, I surrender to You today with all my heart and soul. Please come into my heart in a deeper way. I say “Yes” to You today. I open all the secret places in my heart to you and say, “Come on in.” Jesus, You are Lord of my whole life. I believe in You and receive You as my Lord and Savior. I hold nothing back. Holy Spirit, bring me in a deeper relationship with You, Jesus. I surrender all to you: my health, my family, my resources, occupation, skills, relationships, time management, successes, and failures. I release it, and let it go. I surrender my understanding of how things ought to be, my choices and my will. I surrender to You the promises I have kept and the promises I have failed to keep. I surrender my weaknesses and strengths to You. I surrender my emotions, my fears, my insecurities, my everything. I surrender _________, _________,___________. (Continue to surrender other areas as the Holy Spirit reveals them to you). Lord, I surrender my entire life to You, the past, the present and the future. In sickness and in health, in life and in death, I belong to You. “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Give me Your Love and Your grace, for this is sufficient for me.” Father God, let your will be done in my life. Let it give You honor and glory. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever. On earth as it is in Heaven. In the Name of Jesus Christ my Savior and King. Amen.
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