SURRENDER
The word surrender in the
dictionary means, "To give or hand over voluntarily."
Gethsemane For
Jesus Mark
14:32-46 (Matthew 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46)
For Jesus Gethsemane was
a place of prayer, and we can find that it is often in prayer that we reach the
point of surrender in our own lives.
1. Knowing the One He
was surrendering to
Jesus was with the Father in the beginning,
before Creation, He knew Him intimately. He told the disciples that He and the
Father were one. He came to the earth in obedience to God's will, and knew that
this was why He had come John 12:27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what
shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very
reason I came to this hour." He knew the scriptures in the Old Testament that
spoke of His death and resurrection, and He knew that it was the Fathers will
that He should go to Calvary, and all that the cross would mean. (Isaiah 53)
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2. He emptied
Himself of His own will
When Jesus came to earth as a man He
emptied Himself of His own will, He voluntarily laid down His divine attributes
and emptied Himself of His glory. In His humanity, as a man, Jesus possessed a
will, and throughout His life here on earth He had submitted His will in
obedience to the will of God. But now, in Gethsemane, it was probably the
strongest inner struggle that Jesus had to face. His soul, (that part of us
that comprises of our minds, wills, and emotions) was troubled and distressed,
we read that His emotions were overwhelmed with sorrow. It was in His will that
there was a battle going on, He knew all that He would have to go through, even
though He was God's Son, the struggle was intense. Jesus knew that in taking on
the sin of the world, that He would, for the first time, be totally separated
from the Father. For the love of you and I He chose to empty Himself of His own
will.
Philippians 2:5-11) |
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3. He was fully
committed to obey
Jesus asked the Father if it was possible for the
cup of suffering to be taken from Him, yet He was fully committed to obey the
Father. He had taught His disciples to pray Matthew 6:10 "Your will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven." Here in Gethsemane Jesus prays "Yet not what I will,
but what You will." He had a choice and He had made the decision to be
obedient. In His surrender to the Father it was Jesus that was in control, not
the devil and his lies! Three times He prayed to the Father, and finally He won
the victory and gave His full and complete surrender to God's will. Gethsemane
was about Jesus submitting His will to His Father's so that when the hour of
temptation came He stayed and stood and did not try to back out. The conflict
between man and Satan was not won at the cross. It was won at Gethsemane, when
Jesus accepted the Father's will and drank of the cup. This is a case of a
battle being first won spiritually, the decision to endure the cross was then
already made. This knowledge did not lessen the pain that Jesus had to suffer,
in fact His pain was worse. We go through painful times knowing Jesus is always
with us, but He had to face it totally alone.
Gethsemane
It is interesting to note
that Gethsemane means 'the place of the olive press.' Olives were harvested
when they were ripe and crushed completely between two stones, so that the
rich, green olive oil, that spoke of provision, sustenance, and healing on a
physical level could be produced. That same oil was used for anointing in the
Old Testament of the Kings and the Priests. Isaiah 53:5 prophesying about Jesus
says, "He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us
peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." Like the olives Jesus
was 'crushed' at Calvary, so that the oil and the anointing of the Holy Spirit
could be poured out at Pentecost on those first believers. That same anointing
is available for Christians today.
Gethsemane For Us
Romans
12:1&2
1. Knowing the One we
are surrendering to
If we are to put our complete trust in God, and
surrender to Him, it is important that we 'know' Him. In Romans 10:9 Paul has
told us how we can come to know Him through salvation, by believing and
confessing "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved." In preceding chapters of Romans, he also speaks of God's mercy to
us, how we can know victory over our sin, how we can live our lives in the
power of the Holy Spirit, and of His incredible love for each one of us, that
nothing can separate us from. It is possible to have a religious system, but
never be changed on the inside. Salvation can never be through a system of
rules, but only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ who became
our Passover lamb, and shed His blood at the cross, so that our sins could be
completely forgiven. It is a free gift of God, not just a head knowledge, but a
heart knowledge, that is willing to give Him first place in our lives.
2. We empty ourselves
of our own will
Today we live in a world that is geared to
self-fulfilment, a generation where men and women put themselves first, above
God, and above their fellow men. So how can we empty ourselves of our own will?
How can we discern what God's will for our lives is? The answer is found in the
first verse of Romans chapter twelve. "Offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of
worship." Paul then goes on in verse two to tell the Christians in Rome
what that means practically "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be
able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect
will." To be able to discern God's will for our lives and surrender to Him
we have to get rid of the worldly thoughts and attitudes that have been
programmed into our minds. The emptying of self is a continuous process, and we
have to be willing to open ourselves up to God and allow Him to reveal areas in
our lives where we are allowing worldly attitudes to rule. As He shines His
light into certain areas, we have a choice, do we hold on to them or repent of
them and surrender them to God to work in those areas? Can we like Jesus be
willing to say "Yet not what I will, but what you will." Jesus won the
victory for you over your self will, in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the
Garden, God saw the struggle that Jesus was going through and sent an angel to
strengthen Him. In the same way He knows our struggle, but He Himself will come
to strengthen us.
3. Are we Fully
Committed to Obey?
The decision to obey has to be ours, for God will
never overrule our freewill, but if we have made up our minds before hand that
we are going to follow Jesus whatever the cost, that when He speaks we shall
obey, then surrender becomes much easier for us. For a while there will be a
struggle in our soul, (mind, will and emotions) just as Jesus struggled in the
Garden, but then, as we surrender to Him, we shall know His transforming power
at work in our lives. As we read the Word of God, we shall find it will change
us. As we ask Him to baptise us in His Holy Spirit, we shall begin to walk the
Spirit filled life that Paul talks about in Galatians 5:22-25 "But the fruit
of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and
desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
He will renew our minds. We can trust Him completely, because He loves us and
wants the best for us, He can see the whole picture, whereas we can see just a
small part. As we surrender our lives to Jesus, we shall experience more and
more of the power of God in our lives.
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