TOTAL SURRENDER II
MEMORISE: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Luke 6:38
READ: 1 Kings 17:8 - 16
8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.
MESSAGE
My God is not a man that He should owe anyone; He is not a bank that 'keeps' your money but depletes it with charges. When you give God one thing, you can get a thousand in return. I am a living testimony of this. I surrendered my Ph.D, thriving career in academics and ambition to become the youngest Vice Chancellor in Africa to Him; in return. He raised me so high that many Vice Chancellors call me "Daddy". Whatever you surrender to God comes back to you in many folds.
The woman in the Bible reading for today surrendered her last meal to the prophet of God. That one meal became enough to feed three people for the rest of the famine. The boy in John 6:9-11 surrendered his lunch; five loaves of bread and two fishes. These were multiplied to the extent that twelve baskets of fragments were gathered afterwards. There is nothing you surrender to God that he does not multiply and return to you - absolutely nothing.
Many a time, God has something big He wants to give to you, but could ask you to surrender something dear to you first. If you could go ahead and surrender that thing, then you would get what He had already planned to give you, which is usually much bigger and better than what you gave Him. God wanted to bless Abraham the more, so He asked the man to sacrifice his son to Him. God didn't need the boy; my Daddy does not eat children. He just wanted Abraham to surrender totally to Him so as to open the door of blessing to himself irreversibly. Abraham passed the test and today, in his seed shall all the nation's of the earth be blessed (Genesis 22:16-18).
Don't short-change yourself. Don't hold on to crumbs, letting go,of great treasures in the process. If He specifically asked for that thing, you can be sure that He has something greater in mind to give you in return. You can either reject His offer or accept it - it all depends on your willingness to surrender all to Him.
KEY POINT
Whatever you surrender to God comes back to you in many folds.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Number 5-6
HYMN 21: STANDING ON THE PROMISES OF GOD
1 Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
Chorus:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
3 Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
4 Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
5 Standing on the promises I shall not fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call.
Resting in my Savior as my All in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
