4 Righteousness by Faith Surrender Morris Venden

Faith Dimensions invites you to understand more fully the subject of Righteousness by Faith This is a series of twenty Christ-centered messages from the dynamic new book and Study Guide entitled 95 THESES, by Morris Venden. Now with today's message on Surrender here is pastor Morris Venden. Our subject today deals with the topic that is very easily misunderstood in the Christian life and the Christian Church. It has to do with an oft-used word a term called -- surrender. The word itself really doesn't show up in the King James Bible. But it has the idea, again and again! And I'd like to call your attention to a passage in Romans, the ninth chapter. Starting with verse 30, it takes us immediately into the subject of surrender: "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? (Or why?) Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone". Now notice, Who the stumbling stone was that they stumble over: "As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed". Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected. Now the argument here, from the Apostle Paul, becomes even clearer in the next few verses. Romans 10: "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God". Here's the word that's probably close to 'surrender' -- submit. They have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth". Our major premise on this subject is that no one ever really accepts the righteousness of God, the righteousness of Christ until they give up trusting in their own righteousness. And the people of God in the days of Christ had a great misunderstanding because they were trying desperately to be righteous, to do what's right. It happens today. It didn't began and end two thousand years ago. It is very easy to think that in the Christian life if the primary issue is behavior that I must try hard to do what's right and live a good life and behave correctly in order to be a Christian. In fact, I find this misunderstanding again and again. Now this doesn't mean at all that the Scriptures are against good behavior but the Scriptures are diametrically opposed to a good behavior as the basis of the Christian life, because we can't produce it anyway. And that's one of the hardest things for us to try and get straight. Now, when it comes to this question of surrender you're going to define it again. It depends upon which glasses you look through. If you are preoccupied with behavior centered religion, then surrender means you're giving up things: give up this thing or that thing or the other thing that I'm doing wrong. I don't drink anymore, I don't carouse anymore, I don't lose my temper, I give up my impatience... And people will be wasting their time and effort all the time. In this method, until we understand that surrender through relational glasses is entirely different. The relations centered Christian who understands that the primary issuance in sin and righteousness is relationship with God, understand surrender to mean giving up on ourselves. Giving up the idea that we can do anything at all about changing our lives. We might be able to make an external change, and outward change, like the Pharisees in the days of Christ, but that doesn't count in Heaven. And so, no one really understands the righteousness of Christ by experience, until he gives up trying to produce his own righteousness. And that's what surrender is all about. Now, morality is not bad. Let's have all the morality we can get in this world. Someone stole my car not too long ago, and they took it right out of the church parking lot. If we have had some more morality around, why I'd still have my car. So, let's campaign for all the morality, or external goodness; or outward performances that we can get to make the world a safer place to live in. But morality is not righteousness and never has been righteousness. And there are weak people in this world, who can even be moral. And let's remember that if religion was a thing that backbone and willpower could buy, then the strong will live and the week will die. But we all have a title to a Mansion on High! So, here in the shadows somewhere, the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Himself is trying to convince everyone, that their own righteousness, and their own efforts, and their own backbone, and their own attempts to try and help themselves change are all feudal. And all we can do is give up. The Lord can't even do anything to change us and help us to experience His righteousness until we give up on our own. Let's take for instance the auto-mechanic. I suppose you have a problem with your car. And so you take your car to the auto-mechanic, and after he opens the hood begins looking under there, you poke your head in from the other side of the hood. And you interfere in his work. You say: "Wait a minute! Don't touch the distributor! I just put that on new, two months ago! And it's very delicate. And, keep your hands off the spark plugs! And stay away from the fan belt! And don't fool with the timing"! And after the mechanic has listened to you about so long, he throws down his tools, and throws up his hands, and says: "Take it. Fix it yourself". You see, there are two ways to fight the auto-mechanic: you can refuse to take your car to him in the first place; or after you take the car to him, you can interfere in his work. And this is precisely what happens often in our attempts to live the Christian life. We try to get ourselves into the presence of God. We try to come to Christ and then we interfere in His work. No wonder, a group of people of yesteryear came along with some interesting insights. They were the Keswick Convention people from England. And later, near Toronto Canada, used to meet some people, called them the holiness people. They were interested in the righteousness of Christ worked out in the life. And they claim sort of an expression that stayed with them: "Let go and let God". And the one that I remember reading in a book one time, that some people thought was just terrible, but not bad when you pause and think about it. It was called "Victory without trying". It sounds impossible but it is God's Way because God gives us His life and His power when we give up on ours. This is symbolized in Scripture by death of all things. And you can read about it in Romans, the sixth chapter, where the Apostle Paul uses that as an illustration of the life of surrender. Starts out by saying: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? ... Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life". Than he says something rather interesting in verse 7: "He that is dead is freed from sin". He that is dead is freed from sin? Let's get very literal for a moment. Some friends told me about a funeral that they attended one time, which was really unbelievable! This man who had died had many friends but he had one archenemy, that for some reason had a great deal against him. And he is showed up at the funeral of all things! And after the service and the people had gone by, he came down there, right there in front of the casket. And looked down at the man in the casket began to curse him and swear at him and yell at him! It was impossible to consider this happening at the funeral but it did. And my friends who were there said: "The man in the casket didn't even move an eyebrow". He that is dead is freed from sin. Well, you say, "I don't think, I want to get victory over sin that way"! No. I guess that's really not what we're choosing. But God has given us the choice of through surrender experiencing spiritual death to sin. And this means: we consider ourselves dead. In anyway capable of producing righteousness we have no manner, no way. It's impossible. We have come to the conclusion that "can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?" "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean"? We realize there are problems come from within, not from without. And that only God can deal with the heart. And then and only then, are we able to understand what He wants to do in us and for us. Now the Cross is used in Scripture as a Symbol of this death, or this surrender. Both, Jesus and the Apostle Paul use the Cross as a Symbol of surrender. And this is very significant because it tells us something about the methodology or how we surrender. Some people have thought that if surrenders were its all that we better start working on it and try hard to surrender. But wait a minute! If I wanted to kill myself there are a number of ways I could do it. I could take a loaded gun put to my head and pull the trigger. Some people have done that. I could kill myself that way. Or I could take the easier method and swallow great many sleeping pills - take an overdose. People have done that, have killed themselves that way. Or I could go the spectacular route and climb to the top of the World Trade Center in New York, and jump off and go splat on the sidewalk below. A few people have done that. There are number of ways I could kill myself if I wanted to, but there is one way that I cannot kill myself - I cannot crucify myself. Nobody can. How will they drive the nails? In order to die by crucifixion, someone else has to take us there. Even though we are the ones that surrender, only someone else can lead us there. And I like to remind you neighbor, that if you open the door to the Lord Jesus an ongoing relationship with Him, He is going to lead you to a more and more understanding of what it means to give up on yourself and depend on Him. He's the One that leads us to surrender. It's all His work. Our work is to open the door for Him to work, by inviting Him into our lives through His Word and through prayer day by day. Now when we do, and as He leads us, we become, as Romans six says later in the chapter, instruments. Instruments of righteousness. That's another interesting word! What is an instrument? It is something that is used by another. And in order for an instrument to be effective, in order for an instrument to be useful it has to find itself in the hands of the master, shall we say. Like the violin. The violin is an instrument. And it wouldn't do very well in my hands. But in the hands a great violinist, an instrument as a passive thing, that's significant, but it is a beautiful thing because of what the master does. An axe in the hands of a little five-year-old is not going to be very effective out in the woods. But when you put that same instrument, if you please, in the hands of Paul Bunyan or an equivalent, then the tree comes down. So, of all things the Apostle Paul invites us to become instruments of righteousness. Allow ourselves to come under the control of the Master. And this also suggests another interesting concept that some people resist. Did you know that we are either controlled by one or the other, of the two great powers in this world? The same Bible that speaks of God speaks of His enemy - the devil. And in the process of trying to discover ourselves in this world we discover sooner or later that we're not in control. I used to think I was. I thought there were three options: I can be controlled by God; or I could be controlled by the devil, maybe even become a Satanist; or I could be in control myself. That simply is not true. Study it carefully. Romans six is very good on this. We are either under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers. We are either under the control of God, or we are under the control of His enemy - the devil. And the only control I have is to choose which one of these great powers is going to control me. Is there effort involved then, in the Christian life? Other choices to be made? Certainly! But the choices and the effort are toward whether I want God to be in control of my life. Now the tragic thing is that if we do not choose to come under God's control, we are going to be the greatest slaves. Talk about slavery! Because, the control, that the enemy of God exercises on people, is the ultimate of slavery. At first, it looks like freedom. And I have met many of young person who decided in their early teenage years, "I'm not going to be controlled by religion. I don't want anything to do with the church, or God, or faith". I can remember a young fellow who left the Christian school one time. He had a six-shooter of all things. And one day he declared his emancipation. He walked down the front steps of the men's dormitory and shot six shots into the air. He was declaring his freedom and he left that institution went out into the world to be free. And found himself to be a slave ere law. One of the most tragic cases I've ever seen. A young lady, who decided the same thing, at age 14. "I'm going to be free", she said. And away she went. Away from church and God, and faith, and family. And in the process ended up on one the greatest slavery that I've ever seen. Because she discovered, that the devil is a poor taskmaster. And in the process she ended up wanting desperately to come under God's control, and found that she was held by a power that she could hardly be freed from. On the other hand we have the control of God, which brings with it the greatest sense of freedom. He has come to set us free, and He said that He came to bring life and bring it more abundantly. So, we have the choice to make. Will we continue to "be our own people"? "Do it ourselves"? Like the song says, "What's more I did it my way"? And find ourselves slaves in the end? Or will we admit that we are not big enough to face eternity, not even big enough to face life on this planet, and come to God and let Him lead us to the Cross and depend us upon Him, so that He can live His life in us. As the Apostle Paul said: "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live"- he said, "yet not I but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God Who loved me and gave Himself for me". If we're going to take a short version on the great theme of righteousness by faith when it comes to surrender, and human effort, and divine power in the Christian life, it will only take two texts from this Book. Two texts. So let's have a look at the short version of righteousness by faith. The first one is found in John 15, verse 5. Jesus said: "Without Me ye can do nothing". No, He's not talking about riches or fame. There have been people in this world who have got their name in lights. People, who have made the millions. All on their own without God, so they think. They forget that it's God that is keeping our heart beating. But what He is talking about is that without Him we can do nothing toward producing righteousness. Without Him we can do nothing toward making our way to Heaven, or saving ourselves from the problem of sin in the world of trouble. The other text is found in Philippians 4:13, where Paul says: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Now let's put these two text together and we have the answer on the question of divine power and human effort. If without Him I can do nothing, but with Him I can do everything - that leaves only one thing for me to do: get with Him. Get with Him and stay with Him. And that is all we deliberately do from beginning to end in living the Christian life. And the amazing thing is that is the one thing that most people don't do. Most of us are wasting our time and effort - trying to live a good life and hoping to be good enough when Jesus comes, and forgetting that we can't even get the first base. Finally, we see the light - something clicks, and when it does we're never the same. We understand that giving up on ourselves and trusting in His righteousness is the whole answer. At that point we're willing for Him to lead us to surrender. And then of all things, Philippians 2 verse 13 says: "It is now God that worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure". Now, the text just before says, work out your own salvation, and sometimes we read only that. Let's notice how the two go together. Work out your own salvation - Philippians 2:12. Sure, there's something for us to do - come to Christ. And keep coming to Him day by day. And if we do then verse 13 begins to be experienced. "God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure". I can still remember a brilliant oriental student at College. And she used to come by and talk to me because she was having a terrible struggle. Struggle with life and uncertainty and lack of assurance, and identity, and wondering about salvation. She didn't feel that God loved her or even knew her address and she'd try to talk to me about life. I tried to encourage her to read the Bible and pray and she would try and end up in frustration. Then she became so despot and so depressed that she said, "I'm... I've had it... I'm about ready to give up everything! I'm going to end my life"! And she began to threaten suicide. And as we were talking one day, I remember thinking about suicide. What does a person do when they commit suicide? They have already given up on themselves. Life is too much for them. So we began to talk about that and I asked her if she promised me one thing. When the day came that she already set and a method arrived - jumping off the bridge into the bay; would she please at least 10 feet before jumping, give God a chance and look up to Him instead of down to the water below. Because, really that's what surrender is all about - giving up on ourselves. Well she said she'd try. And then one day not long after that she was reading in Luke the fourth chapter. And there she read something that she didn't understand at first. Luke 4, Jesus' words in the village of Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor"... "Oh", she said, "the poor they are the people on the other side of the track. I'm not poor". And then it dawned, "wait a minute, I am poor, I am so poor in terms of resources for life, I'm so confused; you mean He came to preach the Gospel to me"? "He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted". "Oh", she said, "that's talking about people at the funeral chapel. People who are in bereave. No, no". "I am broken-hearted", - she said, "because I can't even get it together I don't know how to give my heart to God. I've tried. For He's come to help me". "To preach deliverance to the captives". "The people in prison? No", she said, "I'm a captive to my own self and I don't know what to do". And as she read this, suddenly the text jumped out of her and she realized it was written for her. And then she said, "The whole room was filled with God's presence". Why? Because she come to the end of her own resources. The end of trying. And right here I'd like to conclude with a phrase, that maybe you've heard before. God doesn't help those who help themselves. God helps those who cannot help themselves. In fact, those are the only people that God can help. Are you interested? Are you to the end of your own resources? Are you ready to turn it over to God and let Him control your life? You're safe there! I'm interested. Let's pray about it right now. Dear Father in Heaven! We're thankful that You've made provision for resources that we do not have. Please, help us as we try to understand this by experience. We know that you said they that the whole not need a physician but they that are sick. No, you didn't come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners. We come that way just now asking for You to take over. And thank You for Your Love! In Jesus Name! Amen. Well, that's the good news for the planet Earth, where there are four things that God does not know: God does not know a sin He does not hate; God does not know a sinner who does not love; God does not know a sin He won't forgive; and God does not know a better time than now.