To surrender means I will do as I am instructed! In Titus 1:1 Paul says he is a “doulos” of Jesus Christ. This word refers to a slave. It speaks of one who is in a permanent relationship of servitude to one whose will is swallowed up in the will of another. In the New Testament this word is often translated to the word “servant.” We can’t win the war of obedience until we surrender to the power of God that is released in our lives. Then and only then will it be easy to obey.
By James Holland, Sr.
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“All that the Lord speaketh, that must I do.”
Numbers 23:26
“Neither God nor Satan can use a disobedient servant.”
If you survived the last chapter on the “Battle for Authority in our Lives,” then you are a candidate for the “Boot Camp of Obedience.”
Obedience can be compared to the autobahn in Germany. On the autobahn you can travel as fast as you desire. There are no red lights, no stop signs, and no traffic jams.
Most of the Christian world, unfortunately is traveling on the expressway of “do it my way,” “it seems right to me,” or this one is really jammed, “God will understand”. There is a blessing in obedience that can only be experienced by being obedient.
Submission is a matter of attitude, while obedience is a matter of conduct. Matthew 7:24; “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.”
Often in our society today, the word obedience strikes at the heart and makes us uncomfortable. We resist the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our carnal nature wants to have its own way with complete control of our lives. Of course, this is not good.
When we are in control we give in to the cravings of the flesh and soon find ourselves in trouble with God. It would appear from the scripture that obedience is absolutely necessary if we are to have the authority of God’s Word released in our lives.
THE TEST OF SURRENDER
If you have ever gone to a real military boot camp you know it’s about as far from a church picnic as one could get. Yet, it is there that military forces are built! Many of them will defend us and this great land so we definitely want them to be acting in obedience to those who are over them. Obedience is all about surrender. Surrender is the next step after commitment.
Step 1: Commitment.
It goes without saying, if we are not willing to make a commitment we will not go far in God’s great army. What is commitment? h is agreeing to do something. We commit to prayer; we commit give and we commit to each other; yet, we are still in control!
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