THE INHERENT DANGER OF SURRENDER
One of the noteworthy places to visit in Illinois is Starved Rock. Legend has it that back in the 1760s, a small tribe of Indians (known as the Illiniwek) had a village near Starved Rock. One day, the chief of the Ottawa tribe, Pontiac, was paddling through the Illiniwek's territory, on his way downstate to negotiate a trade agreement with the French. Suddenly, he was ambushed and killed by the Illiniwek.
When word of Pontiac's murder got back to the Ottawa tribe, two other Indian tribes controlled by the Ottawa tribe, hunted down the Illiniwek to avenge Pontiac's death. Those who survived the onslaught sought refuge atop Starved Rock. But the tribes quickly surrounded the base of Starved Rock, and laid siege to the Illiniwek. Morning and night, anyone who tried to escape was immediately killed while those remaining atop the rock starved to death.
The Illiniwek were "besieged." They were stuck between two equally horrific choices. If they surrender to their enemies, it would mean certain death. If they surrendered to their hunger, it would also mean death. When besieged, the choice is not whether you die, but how, and how soon. ... fast, slow, by sword, by hunger...
One of the most horrific books of the Bible is Lamentations. In Lamentations, the Israelites face much the same dilemma as the Illiniwek. Their great city Jerusalem is surrounded on every side by the mighty Babylonian army--one of the most brutal regimes in all history. Those escaping the city were immediately slain while those staying in the city were subject to a different kind of savagery.
Lamentations graphically portrays life in the besieged city of Jerusalem. The streets are disserted. A widow weeps bitterly, tears streaming down her cheeks. Even her friends have betrayed her, and become her enemy. They have overrun her home for food, clothing, water--anything they could find to survive. In the city the finest gold and choice gems became as worthless as gravel. There is no comfort to be found. The widow wastes away. Her skin shriveled on her bones. Lamentations 4:10 describes how "with their own hands compassionate women have cooked their children, who became their food. . ." Horrific suffering. Outside the city death by sword. Inside... unspeakable weeping and gnashing of teeth.
They were besieged on every side. When besieged, to whom do you surrender?
They are many ways we can become besieged--not just in a literal sense like the Illiniwek and Israelites. You can be relationally besieged... culturally besieged... politically... morally... financially... occupationally... spiritually besieged. When besieged, you feel stuck as if there is no way out! Death or death is the choice...
Inevitably, we all surrender to someone or something. Surrender is a battle term that implies giving up all rights to the conqueror. When you surrender to your enemies, you are consumed by them. When you surrender to your hunger, (i.e. your flesh), you are consumed by your evil desires and cravings and thoughts. Neither type of surrender is pretty!
Psalm 22 graphically describes what it's like to be consumed by our enemies:
Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, you lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing."
On the cross, Jesus was consumed by his enemies, just like Psalm 22!
Now we may think our greatest danger is being consumed by some existential threat like Bulls, Dogs, Indians, or Babylonians... or Al Qaida, ISIS, Russia, or China. But the greater danger is the sinful nature of the person staring back at us in the mirror.
Romans 1:18ff describes what it's like as a person is consumed by their own hunger. STEP 1: THEY DENY GOD. "suppress the truth by their wickedness..."
STEP 2: THEY MISDIRECT THEIR WORSHIP. "21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
STEP 3: THEY WORSHIP SENSUALITY. "24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.
STEP 4: THEIR SENSUALITY DESTROYS THEM "God gave them over to shameful lusts... their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones... the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
STEP 5: THEIR SENSUALITY INFECTS SOCIETY "...they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."
SO... At the base of the mountain the enemies of God encircle. And atop the mountain, the insatiable hunger of sensuality has begun to take hold of one's soul.
The Illiniwek lived the sad story of being destroyed... The Israelites lived the sad story of being destroyed... But suppose we wanted to live a better story? The Bible speaks of yet another kind of surrender.
The REDEMPTIVE POWER OF SURRENDER
There are two types of surrender. The first we've already described. There is the kind of surrender where God says, "Have it your way." It's Romans 1. It's Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death." It's a surrender to one's cravings and desires. The result of this first kind of surrender is death by soul hunger.
But the Bible speaks of a second kind of surrender. It's the Matthew 6:10 kind surrender when we say to God, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done." It's the Galatians 2:20 kind of surrender when we say: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
It's Galatians 5:16-18, "So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the cravings of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want."
This third kind of surrender is absolute surrender to the Spirit of the Living God!
The nature of absolute surrender is spelled out in Galatians 5:19-26. Listen! "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."
The nature of absolute surrender is also spelled out in Romans 8:11, "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."
The other night I was laying in my bed, thinking about this idea of absolute surrender, and what it looks like in my life as Jon Morrissette, a pastor.
(1) So first of all, absolute surrender means I acknowledge Jesus is a great King.
He has conquered all my enemies. He has entered the great city. He has conquered the power of sin and death, the hungers of the flesh that once lay claim to my soul. Jesus took up that cross. He died in my place, that I might not die but have everlasting life. And all he's asked, is that we make him our king... that we surrender, and yield, saying, "not my will but thy will be done." He asks that we live by his Spirit. That we not let sin and death reign in our mortal bodies, but that his Spirit would reign supreme. Surrender is giving up all rights to new conqueror!
(2) I thought, how does Jon Morrissette have a relationship with a King? It's simple. I absolutely surrender to Jesus. So one morning at 5 am I woke up and posted a meditation to facebook... what it looks like to worship the King for me:
When you can't fall asleep, just worship! To everyone I know... sorry, but I'm not Jesus. I can be "like" Jesus but I am not Jesus. No matter what other people expect or demand of me, He is the vine and I am always just another branch. He is sustainer, I can just abide. He is Lord, I can just surrender. He is sovereign King, I can just obey. He has given all authority, I can just defer. He is all-knowing, I can just walk by faith not sight. He is all-powerful, I can just trust. He is healer, I can just have more faith. He is life, I can just die to self. He is shepherd, I can just follow his voice. He is the word, I can just listen more. He is the light, I can just hope more. He is the way, I can just abandon my own. He is the truth, I can just swallow my pride. He is my strength, I can only lean on him more. He is my defender, I entrust my reputation to him. He is love, my inadequacies can never change that. He is gracious, so I can have room to keep on growing! He is sanctifier, who I am today is forgiven history tomorrow. I come to Jesus "just as I am" and he is faithful to help me become more like himself. But I will never be the vine, just a branch that bears fruit. Yet this is enough for Jesus even if it's not enough for others. He is our peace, we can joyfully rest well in this amazing life he's given us all. Worship just brought me to that rest I've been seeking!
Those ready explore surrender to God, we have three opportunities:
- TRUTH PROJECT (21)--Really root yourself in Biblical understanding of God.
- PASTA WITH PASTORS (21)--Take first step toward being part Lakeside.
- Pathway CLASS (28)--Take steps necessary to get in right relationship with God.