00:00The journey of surrender is the Christian journey, but it's the most rewarding, fulfilling journey
00:05because in giving up what many of us are clinging to, that's where we'll truly find what we are
00:14looking for. Thank you so much for sharing. I have one question with regard to surrendering.
00:29I would like to be guided in terms of the whole process of surrendering. Is it that it's something
00:36we should do once and for all or it's a continuous process? Thank you, brother. Thank you. So it's a
00:45language that is quite common in Christianity. You know, I surrender all, you know, it's a very
00:50well-known song. And we talk about that a lot, like you must surrender. So what does that mean? I
00:55think
00:55you are, you are right. Practically, what does it mean to surrender? And immediately I would say to
01:01you, brother, that it is not just a one-off events. It is not just a destination that you reach.
01:08It is
01:09a day-by-day process of choosing voluntarily to use what God has given you to serve him.
01:21That is surrender. Jesus said, if anyone must follow me, he must take up his cross daily.
01:33That's where you talk about the consistency. Daily and follow me. Now, the great truth in that statement
01:42is that God frees us to give us the freedom to follow him. In other words, he doesn't force his
01:56will
01:56on anyone. He doesn't force us to surrender. Many people today have experienced God's power,
02:04setting them free from something. But afterwards, they return back to the very thing God freed them
02:13from. People who have been, you know, let's say addicted to alcohol, they receive prayer, they break
02:21free from that addiction. But one month or three months later, they go back to the very thing that
02:29God freed them from. Now, that does not mean the testimony was not real or the power of God did
02:36not
02:36touch them or set them free. But the greatest gift God has given us as humans is the ability to
02:44choose
02:44between right and wrong, that discretion. And surrender is using that discretion, the power of
02:53decision, the power of choice to voluntarily submit to God's word, to God's standard, to the truth,
03:01not to falsehood or deception. So that is something we must recognize is a journey all of us are in
03:11as far
03:11as we're in this world. It's a journey of dying to sin more and more and living for righteousness
03:19more and more. Dying to pride more and more and living in humility more and more. Dying to anger more
03:29and more. Living in peace more and more. Dying to offense more and more. Living in forgiveness more and
03:39more and more. It's a process because this flesh is weak and in the journey of surrender, we often make
03:45mistakes. But the key thing is that we don't wallow in our mistakes and justify our wrong, but we quickly
03:56accept, acknowledge, get back on track with God and keep moving. And that is the process of
04:04sanctification where we are drawing closer to him and moving further from sin. So brother,
04:11I would tell you directly that the journey of surrender is a process that we must choose to pursue
04:20each and every day. It's that process of prioritizing your relationship with God, recognizing that by
04:28voluntarily using what he has given you for the purpose of glorifying him, that is when true
04:36enrichment, fulfillment and contentment arises. That's the beautiful journey. Now, everyone is in
04:43different situations. Everyone has different responsibilities in their journey of life and
04:49so many things are trying to take us away from that path of surrender. But what matters is if we
04:56prioritize our relationship with God, what I'm saying today is seeing your relationship with God as the
05:04most important thing, because it's the only thing that will truly be sufficient for you, then if you are
05:12working, you are working unto that relationship. If you are engaging in recreational activities, you are
05:20doing so unto that relationship. If you are engaging in relationships with others, it is unto that greater
05:30principle of your relationship with God. So everything in your life is to be in reference to God, not in
05:38comparison of him. That is the path of surrender, to surrender your own will. Because many times what you want
05:48is not actually good for you, that you desire something does not mean it is good for you or that
05:55you must get it. On the contrary,
05:58we may often want something that will be harmful for us and bad for us. So submitting your will is
06:07using that gift of
06:10discretion God has given us to voluntarily give back to him, asking him for direction, asking him for revelation, asking
06:19him for
06:19instruction, recognizing his word is the standard and his spirit is the guide as we navigate the ups and downs
06:27and the
06:27temptations and trials that life brings. So the journey of surrender is the Christian journey, but it's the most rewarding,
06:35fulfilling
06:35journey. Because in giving up what many of us are clinging to, that's where we'll truly find what we are
06:44looking for.
06:47What we are holding on to, I still want to do my will. I still want to have it my
06:52way. I want to do it in my time.
06:54This is actually holding many of us back from walking in the true fulfillment God has promised us as Christians.
07:01So it's in surrender that we truly enjoy satisfaction, because it's in line with him. There is a correlation
07:10between satisfaction and sanctification. Because you can only be truly satisfied when you are engaging in whatever you are doing
07:20in a manner that honors God and glorifies him. So it's not just a one day affair. It's not just
07:27something that you
07:28achieve by a certain time frame. It's a journey we are all on. And I believe that question you have
07:36asked will help others
07:38understand that issue of surrender.
07:45I really believe in a Christian home, even if our flesh may respond at first and we resist, when the
07:54truth
07:54of God's word is spoken in love and with peace, you will see the Holy Spirit will touch the hearts
08:01of the other person
08:02and to accept it. Resolution will come and you move forward.
