Surrender

The third and final sermon in the series "Unleashing His Power"

all right, this morning's text. In the word of God, it's John. Chapter six turn to John, Chapter six this morning as we continue our Siri's unleashing his power. So far we have talked about belief, and I need to cry out to God to help us with their unbelief.

We have talked about faith and how faith is action that comes out of our belief that faith is in word, but it is still seen out early and that without it it's dead and that we do things on the outside by faith.

We believe in him. But we walk by faith today. We're gonna talk about surrender once you believe and receive Christ and begin to walk by faith. The life we live needs to be a life of surrender. I've heard and say this on a few occasions.

There's a difference between commitment and surrender, and she's right. There's a big difference between when you make a commitment. You are still in control of whether you do it or not. You haven't given yourself over.

One could commit to pray, but how many times have you committed to pray and what? You're pretty lifelike right now, You know we could commit to Bible study. We can commit to give money to this or that commits automobile payments.

We commit to lose weight on any times I've done that. But whatever you choose to do, whatever you commit to a commitment is something you can kind of back out of it any time. But when you surrender, I mean, think about it.

When somebody surrenders in the midst of war becomes a prisoner of war. Do they have a choice after that to stop being a prisoner of war? No, they don't, because they have surrendered themselves over to someone who will then control them rather than them being in control.

Is he surrender? Being different from commitment is actually doing as you're told, doing as you're told to me for the Christian surrenders, not the act of giving up as much of it is the act of giving in.

Clearly, it's both. But most of the time I find that Christ is calling me to surrender to his will, and I know you'll find this hard to believe. But I'm stubborn. You're supposed to laugh at that one.

Not many people here. So if you don't normally laugh. You gotta laugh. Today I've given my life up to Jesus. But Daley must give in to the will of Jesus that surrender. I think the problem for most of this is we like to choose what we surrender and what we hold onto for ourselves from surrender one hour on a Sunday morning, but not too some surrender Sunday morning, but not win so that I know that some reasons why you can't do these things and I get that.

But you know what I'm saying? Many surrender an hour on Sunday morning, but nothing more of their time throughout their weak at all. I never think about the Lord other than that some surrender their ties but failed to see everything that they have is really belonging to the Lord and on loan from God.

We like to control what we surrender and win, and I fear upon close examination. It's not much of a surrender at all. One of the things funny his memories I have of my Children is Alex Alex playing T ball now.

I was always Alex's coach when he played T ball. I was a novel. Brag a little bit. I'm an undefeated T ball coach. I have never lost a game, the only game any one of my teams lost. I was here teaching on Wednesday night, somebody else coach.

Our team lost, and I even let him have Alex and they still lost. Um, but Alex has always been a good athlete. Most of you know Alex and you know that he's a really good athlete and he's always played ball and he was on my team.

And so most of the time he played shortstop, and the reason I played him at shortstop was because I wanted him dead in the middle of the field. One. The dad thing. It was because I knew that he had a greater chance of being involved in the play if he was in the middle of field, not for my ego, but because he was just that good.

But Alex didn't quite grasp the complete concept of team, and if the ball got hit over his head to center field, Alex would turn around. He would run out to the center fielder before the he could throw the ball in and he'd say, Give me the ball and the guy would give him the ball.

Alex would turn around and run the ball in, and most of them beat the got to second base and tag him out. Now I gotta admit, that helped our team quite a bit. It wasn't the right way to do it, and I eventually kind of had to teach it out of him.

But the point is this. His teammate not once offered resistance. The moment he was asked to surrender the ball, he surrendered the ball. Maybe it's because Children tend to surrender, give in more easily than adults.

Perhaps that's what Jesus had in mind. Matthew, 18 334 when he said Unless you're converted to become like Children, you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Whoever that humbles himself is this child.

He is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In other words, whoever has the most surrendered spirit, whoever is the most surrender. To me, it's going as we said, Sunday school this morning will yield to me.

The fastest will be the greatest to be saved. We must surrender, give ourselves up as sinners hands raised up saying I'm yours, Lord. But that begins a life of walking as a Christian where we have to give in to the leadership of Jesus so that we do is we'll instead of our own.

Just because you surrendered unto salvation does not mean surrender no longer has to be a part of your life. It is a daily part of the life of a Christian inner text. This morning, starting with Verse one of John Chapter six.

We find a very familiar story, and we find one such child who was called upon to surrender all he had and trust Jesus with it says. After these things, Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias.

A large crowd followed him because they saw the signs, which he was performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the past over the face of the Jews was near.

Therefore Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, where are we to buy bread so that these may eat this? He was saying to test him for himself, knew what he was intending to do, Philip answered him 200 airy I would worth of bread is not sufficient for them for everyone to receive a little one of his disciples, Andrew Simon, Peter's brother, said to him, There was a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

But what are these for so many people? Jesus said. Have the people sit down there? There was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about 5000 Jesus, then took the loads. And having given thanks, he distributed to those who preceded likewise also the fish as much as they wanted.

When they were filled, he said to his disciples, gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost. So they gathered them up and fill 12 baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, which were left over by those who had eaten.

Therefore, when the people saw the sign which he had performed, they said, This is truly a profit. Who has come into the world? Jesus is trying to withdraw, as he often did, to try to renew himself to spend a little time with the father, but was as often the case.

He could not escape the crowd and he's along the Sea of Galilee, and this crowd comes along because they want him to, to heal them. They've seen it signs, and they want to be around him. So he does the acoustically good thing I called acoustically.

The thing is, I'm in the sound stuff. He gets to the high ground, you know, it's you wonder sometimes how people could here in the situation where they got passed along through the crowd, clearly and hopefully got to the last people.

It wasn't too altered, but But he takes to the high ground so that his voice literally could fall upon their ears. We talked. We're told in Verse four that the past over is near. It's the time of the Passover course.

The Passover is from the Old Testament, where during the time of the Egyptian slavery, the slavery of God's people, Moses was there and they had all that. The things come along, I'm looking for the word and I'm not finding it.

But the turned the Locusts and everything, and the last one was the death angel that would pass over, and they had to kill a lamb and put the blood over the door. And that was the only way the death angel would pass over.

And so that's what they're Commemorating and interestingly enough, there, Commemorating with one who was going to make really the next the next Passover after this one, the last one they needed to commemorate, which would be the one where he would die because he would be our sacrificial lamb on the Passover.

So it's the past over, and it was probably getting later in the day because there, Philip comes to him and says, Where do we buy bread for so many of these people? Were we going to get something for them to eat? And Jesus says to him, Hey, asked Philip that rather, where are we to buy Brits that these may eat? And we're told that he does this to test him.

Why does he do that? Well, Jesus tends to do that. He puts the practically impossible in front of us sometimes to show that our best option is far less than hiss to make us sit down and come up with the list of things we're going to do to try to solve it on Lee to realize that none of them will perfectly solve it.

Only he can do that. Philip gives the obvious response. The response that most of us would have given two dinari I worth of bread is not special with them for everyone to receive a little. In other words, it can't be done.

That would be our response times. We say that how many times we look at God basically, in our situation, it can't be done, Lord. But then, in verse eight, Andrew Simon, Peter's brother told, comes up, says, there's ladders.

Five. Barter loves to fish. What is this? For so many people, this was the only food they could find. We're told there's 5000 men there. That does not count the women, the Children, according to what I've always understood and been led to believe.

This is a huge crowd. This is a lot of people. I mean, this is bigger in a lot of sporting events in our country. This is like a Billy Graham crusade or bigger, all right? I mean, it's just huge, and they could only find one boy.

We have food. You thought about that? I'm not sure that was the case. I am more inclined to believe that this is the only little boy who made it known that he had who made it known that he had something to offer the Lord.

This type of bread that is mentioned here, these barley loaves and two fish, Remember there on the Sea of Galilee, this is the common meat, a fish and the common bread of a poor person's menu in that day in that region.

So this young boy is not in a wealthy family. They don't have a whole lot. This boy had very little, and this food was very valuable to him. Yet he willingly surrendered his food. All he had to Jesus.

Jesus hasn't sit down. He's preparing them e preparing. Listen, we're told how many people they were, and he gives thanks even for what seems to be inadequate. And then he distributed, and we're told he distributed as much as they wanted so much as they wanted.

There was not a lack this. This was hardly enough for the boy and his family. But in the hands of the Mestre, it fed well over 5000 people. Hardly enough for the boy and his family and I think and believe this boy had either shot worst family or his family was with him and was carrying their dinner home when they got caught up in the crowd following Jesus.

This was their evening meal, and the boy gives it without any obvious possibility of getting it back. Would you have done that? But there was a possibility. Look at verse 12 after they were done, he said to his disciples.

Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be. He just took. What was it again? Five barley lows to fish probably fed at least 7000 or more people and had basketballs left over beaches. 3 20 tells us Jesus is able to do far more bluntly beyond all that we asked, you think and here he proves it.

I find it interest. I've always found it interesting that there were 12 baskets full left over one per disciple. I'm not sure why, because we're not told what happens to the food. I think one of two things happen to them, either.

Each disciple carried that food to that little boy's house, and they have plenty of food for the next couple of days or it went to the ministry, and God provided for his disciples after they distribute.

Not sure which. But either way, the boy's surrender brought blessing to the people and blessing either back to him or to the ministry overall, which is what it should. Verse 14. When the people saw the sign which had been performed, they said, This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world.

Interestingly enough, that would like in him unto Moses, profit they were looking for was like unto Moses, who would be their deliverer, and they recognize him. It's such much like God supplied the mana and the quail.

The people gathered that day on that hillside beside the Sea of Galilee were hungry, not for food. They were hungry to know Jesus. Some were hungry for supernatural healing. Some were hungry for knowledge.

Jesus, by miraculously satisfying their physical hunger, revealed himself to be the one who could satisfy their every name. The key to seeing the power of Jesus unleashed in the situation was the willing surrender of one little boy.

He willingly gave all he had and was willing to go hungry to give Jesus what he needed to feed the boy to be the people. It was like Alex coming out and say, Give me the ball And the other boy not hesitating to give him the ball.

This little boy gave everything he had for his entire family. We're not even told his family was even in his midst at the time. There was possibly know Mom and Dad staying there, saying, We can't do that because they probably would have, because that's what we would have been doing.

We need that for you. Sell it. What compassion. This little boy had again the faith of a child. He wasn't intimidated by that huge crowd. He was in all of Jesus, I believe Children of listen, you're not gonna believe this.

But Children are far less selfish than adults. You may not think that because when a child displaced selfishness, it's much more obvious. But when an adult displaced selfishness, it's disguised as practical wisdom.

After all, if I give my food away, how will my family? That's what we would think it ISS. Let's be honest, makes sense to an adult, but to a child with childlike faith, it's more like Jesus needs, and I haven't let me give it.

That's holy things that's surrender. What we need to realize this. Christians in the hands of G says the little becomes much the insignificant becomes newsworthy. And when God takes what we have to bless others with it, we receive a blessing as well, although that should not be while we give it.

But we still do. If nothing else, we discover that when we have little strength he can supply. When we have little faith, he can still work. When we have little offer, he will take and use what we surrender and do great things of which we can't imagine.

We need to stop working within the confines of the possible and surrendered is almighty power. That's when we will see that with God, all things are possible. The most certainly have not experienced in the presence of power of Jesus is to keep everything we have to ourselves and refused to surrender it to the master for his use.

I'm gonna ask you a couple of very pointed questions and I want you to be internally honest. How do you see the things you possess? How do you view? This is what you have yours to protect, for God's to use to the benefit of others.

I'm not advocating to start just indiscriminately, giving way all that you have. I'm not saying that you have to give every person you see on a street corner because I don't do that. That's a Holy Spirit led thing.

You have to listen to the spirit of God when you do things like that. I'm saying that a Christian has been blessed with even a little needs to see. The Lord is the one who controls its use. Listen and obey that a concern for protecting our stuff.

In fact, according to this story, perhaps we're keeping ourselves from the greater blessing by refusing to see all that we have as being surrendered to the Lord first, Corinthians 10 31 says, Whatever you do do all to the glory of God, I think that includes not just what we do with ourselves, what we do with what we have and how we see it.

Hebrews, 13 to says, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for buying the sum of entertain angels without knowing it. You see, if we hold on to the things we have for ourselves, we may miss out on bless being a blessing to Jesus himself.

One night, a cobbler dream that the next day Jesus was coming to visit him. The dream seems so real that he got up the next morning and he hurried out to the woods and he got a bunch of greenery. He decorated his shop with the arrival of his special gifts that he believed was coming.

He waited all morning, but to his disappointment, his shop remain quiet except for an old man who limped up to the door ass again. Come in for a few minutes of war. While the man was resting, the cobbler noticed that his shoes were all worn out.

And so he took a new pair from the shells of salt to it that he was wearing them when he sent the man on his way throughout the afternoon. The cobbler just was waiting, but his only visitor was an elderly woman.

He had seen her struggling under heavy load of firewood because it was very cold. He invited her into a shop to get warm and made sure she had a nourishing meal before she went on her way. As night began to fall, the cobbler heard a child crying outside his door, lost and afraid.

Cobbler went out. Drive the youngsters. Tears took that little hand in his and walk child home. When he returned to his shop, Kabul was sad. He was convinced that while he had been away, he had missed the visit of his Lord.

In his anguish, the cobbler cried out, Why isn't Lord that your feet delay? Have you forgot that this was the day then soft in the silence of voice he heard lift up your heart for I kept my word. You know where I'm going.

Three times I came to your friendly door three times my shadow was on your floor. I was the man with the bruised feeds. I was the woman you gave food to. I was the child Home Street. I encourage you to hold loosely to the things you possess and instead hold tightly to Jesus have a surrendered heart for salvation and a spirit of surrender throughout each day of your life.

Everything you are and have is hiss. If you belong to him that everything you have belongs. If you live that way, you will see the power of Jesus. Work in a three to do great things. A glorified name.

Do it without worry and watch what God can do. Do it believing in him. Do with the faith of a child. Do it with the heart of surrender. That's how you can unleash his power in your life. Let's pray together, Father.

We thank you. And we praise you for your goodness toward us. How you bless us in so many, many ways. Thank you for our salvation. That blessed gift you've given us through. Jesus Christ. Thank you for all the material things you have blessed us with.

Lord Lord, we're stewards were not owners of those things. Help us to see it that way and to trust you with everything that you've given us. That Lord, we might give it back to you in full surrender and glorify your name.

Pray this now in Jesus. Hey,