Totally Surrendered
Totally Surrendered!
Matthew 10:24-42
The story is told of a group of English farmers who had been complaining of hunters on horseback galloping through their fields.
They were determined to keep them out, so they separated the different fields with fencerows and gates, they locked the gates, and they posted men and boys at each gate.
One day a member of the Duke of Wellington’s hunting party (you remember the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo?) – well, a member of his hunting party came up on one of those gates, and there stood a little farm boy.
“Open the gate!” commanded the man.
“I must not,” the little boy replied.
The man was taken aback by the defiance of the little boy and by the time he gained his composure, the Duke himself had arrived on the scene.
The man explained the situation – he told the Duke that the little boy refused to open the gate.
The Duke looked down at the little boy and demanded, “My boy, open this gate!”
“I must not,” the little boy again stood his ground.
“Son, do you know who I am?”
“I believe you are Mr. Duke of Wellington, Sir.”
“That’s right. Now, open this gate.”
“But, Sir, my master told me to open this gate to no one.”
The Duke was so impressed with the little boy’s total commitment and surrender to his master’s command that he gave the little boy the equivalent of a five-dollar bill.
That little boy had done what Napoleon and the mighty French army had been unable to do – he had kept Wellington out of the fields!
Total surrender is what our Master (Jesus Christ) demands from us today.
Look with me at…
Matthew 10:24-39 (NASB95)
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! 26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
In these words, spoken by Jesus to His disciples, we find what it means to be totally surrendered to Jesus Christ.
1. Total surrender means fearing Jesus more than men (10:24-33)
Three times between verses 24 and 33 we find the phrase, “Do not fear.”
26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul….
31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Then, in the middle of verse 28, Jesus said, “But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
It was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”
But Jesus teaches us here that we should not fear any one or anything (not even fear itself), but rather we should fear only Jesus Himself!
Now, why should we fear only Jesus?
1) Because Jesus is the object of the world’s hatred
Matthew 10:24-25 (NASB95)
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!
¨ “If they called me the devil, they will certainly call you the devil! You don’t outrank Me! You won’t be treated any better than I have been treated! But, understand that I am the one they hate!”
¨ Now, as Christians, we should count it a privilege to suffer for Jesus and with Jesus.
Acts 5:29 (NASB95)
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
Philippians 3:10 (NASB95)
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
¨ We should fear only Jesus because He is the object of the world’s hatred.
2) Because Jesus is the executor of the world’s judgement
Matthew 10:26-28 (NASB95)
26 “Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 “What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
¨ Jesus will one day bring His judgement upon Satan and his forces.
¨ If you are more concerned about what the world (what people) think of you than you are of what God thinks of you, then you are enslaved to Satan and this world (they own you)!
¨ And, one day when Jesus sits in judgement over this world you, too, will be judged!
¨ But, if you will fear Jesus more than this world, and as a result, you surrender your life to Him, then on that day of judgement you will sit in judgement with Him over the world!
¨ We should fear only Jesus because He is the object of the world’s hatred and because He is the executor of the world’s judgement.
3) Because Jesus is the protector of our lives
Matthew 10:29-33 (NASB95)
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 “But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
¨ Very simply, Jesus is telling us in these verses that if we will identify ourselves with Jesus (by faith) and we will fear Him (be more concerned about what He thinks of our lives than what the world thinks), then He promises to protect us!
¨ Satan and the world can do nothing to us unless Jesus allows it!
¨ The perfect example of this was Job.
Job 1:7-12 (NASB95)
7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 “Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 “But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.
Job 2:1-6 (NASB95)
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” 3 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” 4 Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 “However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” 6 So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.”
Well, total surrender means fearing Jesus more than men.
2. Total surrender means loving Jesus more than family (10:34-37)
Matthew 10:34-37 (NASB95)
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 “For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Jesus is describing in these verses how great our love is to be for Him.
As much as I love my family (and, certainly, the Bible commands us to love our families), but Jesus says that my love for them is to be like hatred compared to my love for Him!
Now, why would Jesus want our love for Him to be greater?
Because there may be occasions (there may be times in our lives) when we will have to choose between another person and Jesus! – And Jesus demands that He come first!
There may be a time when someone says, “Denounce Jesus or we will execute your family!”
Jesus says, “You must choose Me!”
Now, how can He demand such a thing? What gives Him the right to ask so much of us?
Well, He has that right because He put us before His own life!
God the Father allowed His own Son to be executed at the hands of evil men so that we might have eternal life! So, He has the right to demand that we do no less!
The problem is that we tend to put not only family, but almost everything else before Jesus in our lives!
Most of us have never really considered the true cost of being a follower of Jesus Christ!
It is an incomparable love relationship that should grow with time, as we become more and more intimate with Jesus!
Well, total surrender means fearing Jesus more than men and loving Jesus more than family.
3. Total surrender means wanting Jesus more than life (10:38-39)
Matthew 10:38-39 (NASB95)
38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
The love in verse 37 is the motive for the cross in verse 38!
To carry our cross does not mean wearing a pin on our lapel or plastering bumper stickers on our car. Nor does it mean enduring some burden in life (like a nagging wife or a lazy husband).
To carry our cross means to confess Jesus and obey Him in spite of suffering and shame!
It means releasing control of our daily lives to Him!
But, there is a promise for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus!
He says in verse 39 that if we will die to self, then He will give us His life!
Martin Luther put it this way in his famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. He wrote…
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.[1]
And the Apostle Paul put it this way in…
Philippians 1:21 (NASB95)
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Total surrender means fearing Jesus more than men, loving Jesus more than family, and wanting Jesus more than life.
4. Total surrender means serving Jesus rather than self (10:40-42)
Matthew 10:40-42 (NASB95)
40 “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 41 “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
In these verses Jesus teaches us to serve others in His name.
When we die to self, we cease to serve self. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, out of deep gratitude and love, we begin to serve Jesus! (And, we serve Jesus by serving others!)
Look at the example we find in…
Acts 16:27-34 (NASB95)
27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.
Conclusion:
Now, having looked at what it means to be totally surrendered, do you see a progression in this list?
When we fear (or respect) someone, we can then love that person (you cannot love someone you don’t respect).
When we love someone, we begin to want what is good for that individual, and we begin to want to know that person more and more intimately.
When we want for them, we begin to serve them rather than being selfish!
This is true in our human relationships (such as the husband/wife relationship), and it is true in our relationship with God!
Total surrender means a total sell-out of our lives to Jesus!
Several years ago I read (as have many of you) the following statement. Some have indicated that a schoolteacher named Susan Benjamin from Kelly High School in Chicago, IL wrote it. Others claim that the author is unknown.
I am a part of “The Fellowship of the Unashamed.” I have Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals! I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now learn by faith, live by prayer, and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.
I can not be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up, until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get his own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.
Total surrender means a total sell-out of our lives to Jesus Christ!
But, when we sell out to Jesus, what we gain from that relationship is far more wonderful than what we lose!
Wouldn’t you like to be totally surrendered to Jesus today?!
He wants to be totally committed to you! He proved it by dying on the cross for your sins and rising again!
All He asks is for you to trust Him and Him alone!
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[1]Logos Hymnal. 1995 (1st edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.