Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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Please join us today on Pressing
Into His Presence to learn
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how we can walk in
the power of surrender.
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Welcome to
Pressing Into His Presence.
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This is a series that
is teaching us how to have
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a more intimate
level of prayer with God.
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And last week we began on
the segment of supplication.
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Today we will be continuing
that, and we will learn how
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we can walk through the steps of
surrendering to God's control.
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If you're following
along in your companion book,
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Pressing Into His
Presence, we're starting
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today on Page 143.
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What does the word
surrender mean to you?
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You know, judging by audience
responses that I've received
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over many years,
I think I can guess.
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If you're a typical man, you'll
most likely think of surrender
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as a sign of weakness, of
giving up, the war is over,
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you're being taken captive.
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And if you're a woman the word
surrender might send a shudder
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down your spine, accompanied
by visions of someone
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controlling your every action.
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Is this along the
line of your thinking?
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For most people it is.
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Yet we Christians tell the
poor worldly soul to whom we are
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witnessing that all they
have to do is surrender to God.
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How can we better explain this
in a way that sounds inviting
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to their carnal ears?
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What steps do we
offer as instruction?
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You know, several weeks after
God identified the obstacle
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to my Christian advancement
as a wall of self-preservation,
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I still
struggled with surrender.
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Oh how I desired to fully
submit my life to the Lord.
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I just didn't know the way.
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And one morning I was
paraphrasing 1 John 2:6
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and said, Thank You, Father.
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Thank You that because I
abide in Jesus that I walk
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just as He walked.
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Well, I knew I was calling
things that are not as though
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they already were, but my eyes
were threatening tears because
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it was so painful to recognize
how little progress I'd made.
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It was time to wrestle
with the Lord just as Jacob did.
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And just as Jacob prayed, I
prayed, Oh Lord I'm returning
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Your word to You. You promised
it would not return to You void.
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You promised to
watch over, to perform it.
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Please Lord, show me how to walk
in surrender as Jesus walked.
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I will not let You
go unless You bless me
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with a changed character.
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Cause me to follow
in Christ's footsteps.
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And instantly, as I was praying,
in my mind I saw this gigantic
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elephant, and next to him was
this very tiny little, teensy
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weensy sugar ant.
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You know, it's hardly visible.
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And I thought,
What does this mean?
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And the Lord impressed
this thought on my mind:
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He said, Shelley, the greatest
strength that you can muster
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is like that of the tiny ant.
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Whereas My power, by comparison,
is like that of the elephant.
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Why would you want to walk
in your limited human strength
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when I make all of My
power available to you?
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When I ask you to
surrender, child, I'm asking you
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to accept My power.
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Suddenly Galatians
3:3 came to my mind.
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This is where Paul
said, Oh are you so foolish,
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you foolish Galatians?
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Having begun in the Spirit,
are you now trying to perfect
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your walk by the flesh?
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Yes, yes I had been so foolish.
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Trying my utmost to walk with
God, I'd been drawing only on
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my own sugar ant strength.
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It was like that tiny
little insect trying to roll
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a boulder up a hill.
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And now I realize each morning,
every morning that I wake up
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I face a decision, and
that decision determines whether
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I walk as a pitiful or a
powerful Christian that day.
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If I attempt to perfect my walk
by the strength of my flesh,
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I am to be pitied as
I limp along hobbled by
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self-destructive habits.
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But if I choose to walk
in the power of the Spirit,
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I can run the
race of faith with joy.
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You know in 2 Corinthians 12:9,
Jesus told Paul, My grace is
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sufficient for you,
for My power is made
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perfect in your weakness.
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Now I was receiving
much the same message.
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His grace, His divine
assistance, His supernatural
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power unto
salvation; that's what I needed.
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So I cried out and I
said, Father Your word says in
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Psalms 16:11 that You will make
known to me the path of life.
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And You will cause me to
experience joy in Your presence.
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And then I said, How
do I walk as Jesus walked
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in the power of surrender?
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Suddenly this thought came
to my mind: If you will to walk
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as Jesus walked, you must
follow the path of His passion.
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Now these were the only
words that the still small voice
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of the Lord impressed upon
me, but it made perfect sense.
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The gateway to
salvation is the crucifixion.
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And when we use the word
passion, as applied to our
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Savior, it refers to
His suffering of the Calvary
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plan on our behalf.
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So what I did was immediately
immerse myself in Bible study,
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determined to learn
the mystery to walking
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in Christ's footsteps.
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Do you ever weary of
the old three steps forward,
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two steps backward
routine in your Christian walk?
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You know, the way to overcome
this is to learn to walk in the
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power of surrender.
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And it is not that
mysterious after all.
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The Spirit's advice
was to follow the path
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of Christ's passion.
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And I know Micah 4:2 says
that He will show us His ways.
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He said, He will teach
us how to walk in His path.
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You know, three great events
along the path of Christ's
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passion intrigued my interest,
and highlighted symbolic
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significance from
my quest to surrender.
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First we must come to that place
where we are like Jesus in the
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garden of Gethsemane.
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Secondly, we advance to the
point where our actions resemble
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Christ's with respect
to the hill of Calvary.
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And finally, we embody
and celebrate the power of
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resurrected life as
Jesus did the morning He arose
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from the garden tomb.
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Let's look at how these
three steps teach surrender,
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and the Scripture promises
that we can plant in our hearts
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to be transformed.
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So step one: in the garden
of Gethsemane Jesus prayed,
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and this should be our prayer
every morning, Luke 22:42.
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The first step of surrender is
to pray exactly as Jesus prayed,
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asking for God's will to
be done rather than ours.
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When first learning the steps
of surrender, I was quite humble
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in my supplications.
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But one day I became
a little full of myself,
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and I stepped out ahead of
God, and I boldly said, Oh Lord,
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I'm willing to do Your will.
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And suddenly I heard
just that still small voice,
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and this thought was
impressed upon my mind.
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He said, No, you're not!
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Startled, and momentarily
silenced by His words,
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I mulled this
thought over in my mind.
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And then I realized,
I thought I was willing,
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but I had an
important lesson to learn.
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If I were truly willing,
I would already be walking
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in perfect obedience to what
God had previously taught me,
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which I was not. So I
cried out and I said, Oh Father,
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I am willing to be made willing.
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And He responded,
That's all I ask of you.
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Philippians 2:13 tells us this:
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You see, we need God's
power to even change our will.
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For us to be willing, God first
must do a work in our hearts.
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And once that has been
achieved, when we step out,
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take that first step of
faith, we can know that God will
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infuse us with power to act
in a manner pleasing to Him.
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In Psalms 40:8 David prayed,
Oh I delight to do Your will,
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Oh my God. Your law is
written within my heart.
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And I always pray this when
I'm seeking to surrender to God.
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At first it was spoken
in a spirit of faith only,
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calling things that did
not exist as if they did.
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Because let's be honest, not
everything God asks of us to do
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appeals to our natural mind.
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But as I prayed this
affirmation, as I prayed God's
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word back to Him,
it did not return void.
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He has truly
performed a work in my heart
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that makes His will a delight.
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Now Psalms 143:10 is one
of my favorites. David prayed:
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This cry of David's is a
powerful supplication that we
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can include in our prayer
of surrender each morning.
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Just pray that God
would teach you His will.
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And then I loved the
promise that is found
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in Isaiah 30:20, 21 which says
that our teacher will not hide
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Himself, but our eyes will
constantly behold our Teacher,
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and our ears will hear
a voice behind us saying,
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This is the way, walk in it,
when we turn to the left hand,
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or to the right. You see, when
we ask God to teach us His will,
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we can count on
Him doing just that.
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Pray you will respond to
the promptings of your Teacher.
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And then Paul said
this in Philippians 2:5-8.
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He said, Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ
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Jesus, who made
Himself of no reputation.
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He humbled Himself and became
obedient to the point of death,
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even the death of the cross.
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We need to pray
for the mind of Christ.
00:12:41.79\00:12:46.03
Christ loved
sinners, but He loathed sin.
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Sin was an abomination
to His holy character.
00:12:51.36\00:12:54.42
We must despise sin and
desire to avoid it at all cost.
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There is a cost to doing this.
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To walk in absolute humility
like Christ, we must be willing
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to die to self,
which takes us to step two,
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which is the hill of Calvary.
00:13:12.97\00:13:16.38
In Luke 9:23 Jesus...
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How often? once a
year, or when we're baptized,
00:13:30.25\00:13:34.63
or once a week when we
come to church? No. Jesus said:
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Have you ever heard this
saying, Oh, we've all got
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our cross to bear.
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Bless her little heart; that no
good man of hers is out running
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around again drinking.
00:13:54.15\00:13:55.68
You know, typically when
someone says that type of thing,
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Oh, we've all got
our cross to bear,
00:13:59.25\00:14:01.22
it describes some
kind of earthly burden
00:14:01.25\00:14:05.40
that doesn't seem fair.
00:14:05.43\00:14:08.38
But that's not what
Christ referred to when He said,
00:14:08.41\00:14:11.61
Pick up your cross daily.
00:14:11.64\00:14:13.02
In 1 Corinthians 15:31
Paul said, I die daily brothers.
00:14:13.05\00:14:18.38
I mean it. The apostle Paul
understood what Jesus meant by
00:14:18.41\00:14:22.42
taking up his cross daily.
00:14:22.45\00:14:24.27
In fact every person to whom
Jesus spoke knew that to take
00:14:24.30\00:14:28.41
up the cross meant that
you were on your way to be
00:14:28.44\00:14:31.79
crucified unto death.
00:14:31.82\00:14:33.63
The secret of Paul's
victorious walk with the Lord
00:14:33.66\00:14:37.47
is that he understood
how to die to self daily,
00:14:37.50\00:14:41.85
and how to live for God.
00:14:41.88\00:14:44.24
I warn you in advance,
this step is difficult.
00:14:44.27\00:14:47.88
It isn't achieved in an instant.
00:14:47.91\00:14:50.10
We so little understand
the principle of dying to self.
00:14:50.13\00:14:53.93
Earthly things excite
the lust of the flesh.
00:14:53.96\00:14:57.51
They excite the lust of our
eyes, and the pride of life,
00:14:57.54\00:15:02.02
but their
pleasures are only passing.
00:15:02.05\00:15:04.72
To be friends with
the world, James says,
00:15:04.75\00:15:08.68
is to be enemies of God,
and we break our Father's heart.
00:15:08.71\00:15:14.16
We must set our
mind on things above,
00:15:14.19\00:15:17.49
not on the things of this earth.
00:15:17.52\00:15:19.65
This requires
self-denial at every step
00:15:19.68\00:15:23.38
to walk this
victoriously with God.
00:15:23.41\00:15:25.90
Who can do it? You know,
Jeremiah 13:23 says, Can an
00:15:25.93\00:15:30.88
Ethiopian change his skin,
or a leopard change his spots?
00:15:30.91\00:15:34.98
Then may you also do good who
are accustomed to doing evil.
00:15:35.02\00:15:39.06
We have no better chance
of changing our carnal nature,
00:15:39.09\00:15:43.89
by our human strength, than
the sugar ant has of rolling
00:15:43.92\00:15:48.67
a boulder up the hill.
00:15:48.70\00:15:50.09
But don't become discouraged.
00:15:50.12\00:15:53.15
God knows, and He is waiting
for us to draw on His power.
00:15:53.18\00:15:59.46
That's His plan. In
fact, Romans 8:13...
00:15:59.49\00:16:03.27
Just absolutely
love this Scripture.
00:16:03.31\00:16:07.05
Romans 8:13 says:
00:16:07.09\00:16:09.78
Did you notice that Romans 8:13
clearly states, by the Spirit
00:16:27.88\00:16:34.01
working within us, we
put to death our misdeeds.
00:16:34.05\00:16:38.81
See, when Jesus said to
take up our cross daily,
00:16:38.84\00:16:43.53
He knew we didn't have the power
to crucify our own flesh nature.
00:16:43.57\00:16:48.20
He knew we
needed a coexecutioner.
00:16:48.23\00:16:51.34
We need the Holy Spirit.
00:16:51.37\00:16:53.72
It's a joint operation.
00:16:53.76\00:16:56.06
We must cooperate, cooperate
with the Spirit of God,
00:16:56.10\00:17:01.17
counting on His power.
00:17:01.21\00:17:03.52
Our heart cry should
be, Oh Lord, help me pick
00:17:03.56\00:17:06.61
up my cross today.
00:17:06.64\00:17:08.00
Help me die to self.
00:17:08.04\00:17:09.36
Case me, by the power of
Your Spirit to put to death
00:17:09.39\00:17:12.42
the misdeeds of my flesh.
00:17:12.45\00:17:14.92
You now, Paul said in Galatians
5:24, 25, Those who are Christ's
00:17:14.95\00:17:22.34
have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires.
00:17:22.37\00:17:26.82
And if we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit.
00:17:26.85\00:17:33.62
Paul knew the only way that we
can keep in step with the Spirit
00:17:33.65\00:17:39.08
is if our flesh
has been crucified.
00:17:39.12\00:17:41.67
Only then will we not lag
behind Him, or run ahead of Him.
00:17:41.70\00:17:47.83
He also said in Galatians
2:20, he said, I have been
00:17:47.86\00:17:52.44
crucified with Christ.
00:17:52.48\00:17:54.18
It is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me.
00:17:54.21\00:17:58.90
And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by faith
00:17:58.93\00:18:03.51
in the Son of God who loved
me, and gave Himself for me.
00:18:03.54\00:18:08.08
When Christ lives in us, we
enjoy abundant life on earth,
00:18:08.11\00:18:14.64
and then we receive
an inheritance that won't
00:18:14.67\00:18:18.56
fade away in eternity.
00:18:18.59\00:18:20.50
Now that's a life well spent!
00:18:20.54\00:18:23.09
And, finally, in Galatians 6:14
Paul said, God forbid that I
00:18:23.12\00:18:28.69
should boast except in the
cross of my Lord Jesus Christ,
00:18:28.72\00:18:34.29
by whom the world
has been crucified to me
00:18:34.32\00:18:37.70
and I to the world.
00:18:37.73\00:18:39.54
Do we find our boast
in the Lord's salvation?
00:18:39.58\00:18:44.60
Is the world crucified to
us, or do we still respond
00:18:44.63\00:18:49.04
to its siren song?
00:18:49.38\00:18:50.62
What profit is there Jesus
said, if we gained the whole
00:18:50.65\00:18:54.43
world and lose our own soul?
00:18:54.47\00:18:56.74
Paul declared to fellow
believers in Colossians 3:3,
00:18:56.77\00:19:00.59
He said, for you have
died, and your life is hidden
00:19:00.62\00:19:04.28
with Christ in God.
00:19:04.31\00:19:06.30
Christians are
to be dead to self,
00:19:06.33\00:19:09.36
dead to the lure of the
world, and its decaying force.
00:19:09.40\00:19:13.11
Our true life is in Christ.
00:19:13.14\00:19:16.40
We are secure in His love.
00:19:16.43\00:19:19.25
And because He
lives, we will live also.
00:19:19.28\00:19:23.19
The angel's message to the
woman at the tomb was this:
00:19:23.22\00:19:29.66
Do not be alarmed.
00:19:29.69\00:19:31.53
You seek Jesus of
Nazareth who was crucified.
00:19:31.57\00:19:37.05
He's not here. He is risen.
00:19:37.09\00:19:39.52
And that's what
I'm telling you today.
00:19:39.56\00:19:42.54
Don't be alarmed at the
thought of dying to self.
00:19:42.57\00:19:45.83
Christ didn't stay in the tomb.
00:19:45.86\00:19:48.02
He's alive and
so, too, will you be.
00:19:48.06\00:19:51.75
More alive than ever!
00:19:51.78\00:19:53.77
Don't be afraid of dying
to self, because there's a
00:19:53.81\00:19:58.15
better life to be enjoyed.
00:19:58.18\00:20:01.01
As Paul proclaimed in
Philippians 3:10, He said,
00:20:01.04\00:20:04.89
It is once we are conformed
to Christ's death that we can
00:20:04.92\00:20:09.18
finally know the
power of His resurrection.
00:20:09.21\00:20:13.07
Which leads us to our third
step of this surrender process.
00:20:13.10\00:20:17.93
And that is to arise
with resurrection power.
00:20:17.96\00:20:22.46
How do we do that?
00:20:22.49\00:20:24.13
Well, Jesus gives us the answer
in Luke 11:9-13. Jesus says:
00:20:24.16\00:20:32.23
You see, these verbs: ask, seek,
and knock, here in verse 9,
00:20:54.14\00:21:01.17
they're linear verbs
in the Greek language.
00:21:01.20\00:21:04.06
This means that they
are a continuous action.
00:21:04.10\00:21:06.92
We are to ask
and keep on asking,
00:21:06.96\00:21:09.63
to seek and keep on seeking,
to knock and keep on knocking,
00:21:09.66\00:21:14.46
not because
we're begging the Lord,
00:21:14.49\00:21:17.32
but as a result
of our constant need.
00:21:17.36\00:21:20.12
How do we receive resurrected
life after we have died daily?
00:21:20.16\00:21:26.22
It is the Spirit who gives life.
00:21:26.26\00:21:30.61
We ask for the
Holy Spirit daily.
00:21:30.64\00:21:34.45
We earnestly seek the Lord
to pour out His Spirit on us.
00:21:34.49\00:21:40.01
We knock on the door of heaven,
in acknowledgment of how much
00:21:40.04\00:21:46.97
we need the Spirit.
00:21:47.00\00:21:49.38
Ephesians 5:18 commands
us, and in the Greek it's very
00:21:49.41\00:21:55.11
obvious this is a
continuous action.
00:21:55.15\00:21:57.83
It's saying, ever be
filled, ever be stimulated
00:21:57.87\00:22:02.54
by the Holy Spirit.
00:22:02.58\00:22:04.37
Like I said, in the
Greek this verb, to be filled,
00:22:04.40\00:22:10.59
means it's a continuous action.
00:22:10.62\00:22:13.49
It's a continuous
filling that we need.
00:22:13.53\00:22:17.46
We need to be baptized, to
be immersed in His Spirit daily.
00:22:17.49\00:22:24.59
It is the Spirit's power
that causes us to bear the fruit
00:22:24.63\00:22:30.74
of love, joy, and peace within
our hearts, and to develop
00:22:30.78\00:22:36.86
the patience, kindness,
and goodness toward mankind,
00:22:36.89\00:22:41.39
and to express faithfulness,
humility, and self-control
00:22:41.42\00:22:46.54
in our walk with the Lord.
00:22:46.57\00:22:48.42
That's the fruit of the Spirit.
00:22:48.46\00:22:50.62
Scripture tells us,
it's actually Romans 5:5,
00:22:50.66\00:22:56.51
that God pours His love into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
00:22:56.54\00:23:02.91
And only those who are led by
the Spirit are God's children.
00:23:02.94\00:23:09.31
The Spirit is our teacher.
00:23:09.34\00:23:12.54
Without Him we cannot
understand the things of God.
00:23:12.57\00:23:18.12
It is through the power of the
Holy Spirit that God works in us
00:23:18.16\00:23:24.60
to will and to act
according to His good purposes.
00:23:24.63\00:23:27.92
And it is by the
Spirit that we are sealed
00:23:27.95\00:23:32.03
for the day of redemption.
00:23:32.07\00:23:33.61
Without His power at work within
our lives, we are nothing more
00:23:33.65\00:23:39.67
than sugar ant
substitutes for Christians.
00:23:39.70\00:23:42.35
Our hour of triumph will
come when we understand that we
00:23:42.38\00:23:49.39
cannot save ourselves,
recognizing that the glory
00:23:49.42\00:23:54.04
of our salvation belongs to God.
00:23:54.08\00:23:57.27
You know, Acts 5:32 tells us
that the Spirit of God is given
00:23:57.30\00:24:05.29
to those who obey Him.
00:24:05.32\00:24:08.11
Only one man ever walked this
earth who was given the fullness
00:24:08.15\00:24:12.59
of the Spirit without measure,
and that was Christ Jesus,
00:24:12.62\00:24:15.99
who walked in perfect obedience.
00:24:16.02\00:24:19.02
The more we obey, the more
we are emptied of self, and the
00:24:19.05\00:24:23.10
greater the measure of His
Spirit that will be given to us.
00:24:23.13\00:24:27.17
Our responsibility is
simply to surrender to God,
00:24:27.21\00:24:31.17
to open up our hearts and
let the King of glory come in.
00:24:31.21\00:24:36.59
This is the most important
supplication that you and I
00:24:36.62\00:24:42.66
can make in our daily prayers.
00:24:42.69\00:24:44.96
Each morning when we get
up we should make earnest
00:24:44.99\00:24:49.63
supplication for the Holy
Spirit as our source of power
00:24:49.66\00:24:53.42
to walk in. We should pray to
walk in the power of surrender,
00:24:53.45\00:25:00.14
to run with endurance, to
be a light bearer to the world.
00:25:00.17\00:25:05.28
We need to seek God early.
00:25:05.32\00:25:08.23
This is absolutely the
greatest pursuit of day.
00:25:08.26\00:25:13.21
Please hear me! Praying for the
Holy Spirit morning by morning,
00:25:13.25\00:25:18.08
is the greatest
pursuit of the day.
00:25:18.11\00:25:20.18
The cause of God is crippled
in our lives when we lack
00:25:20.21\00:25:24.56
passionate, personal prayer,
and knowledge of His promises.
00:25:24.60\00:25:28.78
We need to pray for an
unquenchable desire to read
00:25:28.81\00:25:33.40
God's inexhaustible word.
00:25:33.44\00:25:36.22
We need to cry out to
be sanctified by His word.
00:25:36.25\00:25:41.58
It is by the word of God and
the Holy Spirit, that we develop
00:25:41.62\00:25:47.64
and intimate oneness with God.
00:25:47.68\00:25:50.22
Contemplation of His love
for us should awaken our awe.
00:25:50.25\00:25:56.65
We cry out, Abba Father,
and with faith we believe that
00:25:56.68\00:26:02.58
He will hear our supplications,
and that He will maintain
00:26:02.61\00:26:08.50
our cause as
each day may require.
00:26:08.54\00:26:12.11
Faith in His faithfulness
is essential to prayer.
00:26:12.14\00:26:18.48
You know, supplication is a
time of presenting our personal
00:26:18.52\00:26:28.48
requests before God.
00:26:28.51\00:26:29.98
We've had praise, repentance,
affirmation, intercession when
00:26:30.01\00:26:35.42
we're praying for
others, and now supplication.
00:26:35.45\00:26:39.60
We don't know how to pray as we
should, but when we come to God
00:26:39.63\00:26:48.59
and with an earnest heart,
the Holy Spirit will come to our
00:26:48.62\00:26:53.28
aid, and He will
teach us how to pray.
00:26:53.31\00:26:58.35
Having pressed in this
manner into His presence,
00:26:58.38\00:27:03.80
and supplication, going before
the King of kings, now God is
00:27:03.83\00:27:11.25
ready to hold out His
scepter of love, and He bids us,
00:27:11.28\00:27:16.39
Come a little closer.
00:27:16.43\00:27:18.19
And as we hear His command,
and this is His command,
00:27:18.22\00:27:23.42
Be still and know that I am God.
00:27:23.45\00:27:27.70
Now we are prepared
to stand in His presence.
00:27:27.73\00:27:34.03
I hope that you will
join us next time as we begin
00:27:34.06\00:27:38.70
considering how the Bible
says God speaks to His people.
00:27:38.73\00:27:44.55
We're going to identify
ten different categories,
00:27:44.58\00:27:48.63
ten different manners in
which God speaks to His people.
00:27:48.66\00:27:53.35
And now that we've pressed
in this far into His presence,
00:27:53.38\00:27:57.15
we're ready to step
into the Holy of Holies.
00:27:57.18\00:28:01.94
Our prayer for you today is
that the grace of our Lord and
00:28:01.97\00:28:04.95
Savior Jesus Christ,
the love of the Father,
00:28:04.98\00:28:07.19
and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit will be with you always.
00:28:07.23\00:28:11.15