Let us have a total surrender to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

(A message delivered to a congregation on 18th March 2011- an unedited version)

The recent tsunami and earthquakes at Japan is indeed a shocking news to all of us.   Such or similar incidents are happening in and around us. Failures and uncertainties are prevailing. This type of situations or incidents makes us to feel that the world is filled with lot of chaos, confusion and doubts. 

We as believers’ too at many times stumble upon seeing or facing the difficult or sad situations in our life as well as in others life, let me say in our close relatives or friends.

What next?

How things will take shape further?

Such uncertain situation continues how we can go forward.?

These types of alarming questions will come to our mind when things and situations move on a different direction or in an opposite direction.  

But take heart my dear friends!!!

In such situation the only solace a child of God can find is in his Creator’s Word, The Holy Bible.  And I am sure a child of God can find real comfort in God’s Word .and I am doubly sure that the one and only place were a child of God can find solace is in His Words.  That is so soothing that only a person who enjoyed or experienced can only explain it.  Though His disciples who where with him sometimes could not understand this fact and they doubted in their life.  I want to share one such incidents which His disciples faced in their life.

Though Jesus Christ taught His disciples to face boldly the life’s situations, they many times failed miserably and doubted in their lives.

Today I want to dwell upon one such incident and draw your attention how to deal such situations in our own lives. Yes, from this incident we can draw and adopt some lessons for our victorious Christian life,  I am sure  these lessons are very essential thing in a believer’s life when we live on this world of uncertainties.  Things happening around us are going or moving in an alarming way, which one cannot understand where will it end.  .

But in such pathetic situation there is a way out for a believing Christian,

what is that? 

You may sometimes curiously ask!

But at the same time, some of you, may be now thinking or got what I am going to say.  Yes, it’s nothing but putting your full confidence in the words of our Savior Jesus Christ.  Yes He has promised us that He never leaves us alone nor He will forsake us. 

Yes, He called each one of us from a wretched condition not to leave us on the middle of the journey, but He will carry us through till the end, to eternity.

Yes, He is able to carry us through in all our life threatening situations.

In the book of Gospel according to John chapter six, there is an interesting incident and an intimate conversation the Lord had with His disciples.

Through this incident Lord Jesus taught a good lesson to His doubting disciples.

The incident is of the feeding of the 5000 people in a gathering.  From this incident and the conversation between the Lord and His disciples, we can learn an important lesson which we need to practice in our daily life when we face problems.

In this incident we read that a large multitude was following Him seeing the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. (v.2)

Seeing the great multitude Jesus asked Philip “Where are we to buy bread that these may eat?  And this He was saying to test him;

Immediately Philip answered Lord’s question:

: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”

But Andrew one of his disciples said,  ”There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish but what are these for so many people?”

Here we see Philip and Andrew two of Jesus’ disciples expressed their vague or doubtful answers to Jesus’ question.  Though one of them pointed out to a boy who has five loaves and two fish, still he had doubt in his mind about its sufficiency.

We all very well know the later part of the story.

I would like to emphasis on one fact here about the little lad who was willing to give his food into the hands of Jesus Christ.  His willingness is more praiseworthy than His disciple’s attitude.

See here, actually the boy’s mother might have prepared this food for his son who is going to listen Jesus Christ’s preaching.  But see the willingness of this little lad.  He was ever ready to give or surrender all his food to Jesus’ hands.  He never thought of taking a part of it for his need.  Though a little boy he had the full faith in Jesus and he understood that Jesus can do miracle here too, because he was an eye witness to Jesus’ performed miracles.

Though Jesus’ disciples too were eye witnesses to many of Jesus’ miracles they do not have the faith of that little lad.  Instead we can see their doubts in Philips and Andrews answers.

Let us look into that, Look at verse 7,  Philip's statemen/doubt:: “200 denari worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little”, Read Andrew’s doubt: (though he pointed out the boy to Jesus about the availability of 5 loaves and two fishes in this boy’s hand) in verse 9 we read  his doubt: “what are these for so many people?”

But look at the boy, though the Holy Spirit is not mentioned much about this boy we can very well assume or understand that the boy was willing to surrender all his food (his mother very lovingly prepared for him to eat) in the hands of Jesus Christ.

Give what you have to Jesus.  Have full faith in Him.

The boy in this incident has this faith and mind of surrendering fully to the Lord.

Not with a half heart he gave that food to Jesus’ hand, but with a full heart of willingness he gave it to Jesus’ hands.

He did not even bothered to take a part of it for his appetite but he fully gave it to Jesus.

We can see the good result of a total surrender to Jesus Christ.

Yes a total surrender to Jesus Christ can do wonders even in our lives.

Not with a half hearted surrender.

So many people do things for the Lord with a half hearted mind.

This is not acceptable, and in such cases Lord can’t work or do a miracle.

Or you can’t expect anything extra by withholding something for your selfish interest.

Most of us are miserably failed in this area, isn’t it?

We do things for the Lord in our daily life in the Office, home or in the assemblies, but often times with a half hearted mind. Am I not correct when I say this?

Yes, you all will agree with me, often times we do things with a half hearted mind.  That is why in many of our areas are not showing any upward mark.

Yes, if we do the things for the Lord with a half heart, the result will be a big zero.

Yes, the Lord doesn’t want to work with a half hearted person, in fact He doesn’t like to work with such a person at all.

He expects us from a total surrender, nothing less than that.

Let us make note of this valid point here and go forward with our activities with a totally surrendered heart to the Lord.  Then Lord can do wonders in our life.

Let us practice this in our daily life and see the difference.

Let us examine where do we stand today in this aspect?

Do we have the mind of a complete surrender to the Lord Jesus?

Or, are we having a mind of ¼ hearts? Paavu (¼) manassu or a sakam  (½) manassu? that means one fourth (¼)  for Jesus and  ¼   I want to  give to my family and another ¼ part I want to give my children and the rest  ¼   I want to use it for myself!  Yes, most of us have this type of attitude in our doings.

If we have this type of mind in us nothing best can happen in our life.

When I say this, please don’t think that I am exempted from this.

No. never, I too miserably failed in this aspect many times.

When we talk of a total surrender it includes everything of you, your time, money, energy, talent, health or whatever we have or possess.

 

In this case sometimes even we need to surrender the things which we may hold it as so precious to us.  The time we spend for our pleasures or joy, we need to surrender it for Jesus’ sake.

Let us examine how we are spending our time, money, talent, health etc what the Lord has given to us to utilize for His glory.

Are we utilizing it properly as He pleases?

Let us ask ourselves and find an answer today.

If the answer is not a positive one, we need to check out things more seriously. 

The time is up!!!

The alarming incidents happening around us are no doubt the signs of His second coming. 

We need to do many things for His glory and for the extension of His kingdom in more speed than we were ever before.  For this we need to have a fully surrendered mind or heart.

Let us not to have the mind of our Jesus’ disciples, like Philip and Andrew.

Let us have full confidence in Him like the little boy had, and let us believe Him firmly that He is able to carry us through and do wonders in and through our activities or lives.

Yes, as I mentioned earlier, “Expect great things with a total surrender in the hands of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He will definitely utilize us as good instruments in his hands.

Remember!! Only when we have a total surrender to Him, then only He can utilize us.

That is what the Lord our creator and provider expects from each one of us

Yes, if we failed to do this, let us surrender ourselves today into the hands of our Lord.  

He wants only a total surrender not a one fourth or a half surrender.

May God help us to have a fully surrendered life to Jesus Christ our Savior in the coming days of our life.  

(A message delivered to a congregation on 18th March 2011- an unedited version)

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