I Surrender All

All right, y'all, we just sang, you are the same God.

And there's no truer words than God is the same God now that he's ever been.

God is capable of all of it.

I think the only difference is how much you and I get in his way.

So that's what we're going to talk about this Sunday

as we conclude our series on new life,

a fresh beginning with Jesus.

I'm going to run back through the previous weeks

in case you're a guest with us this morning,

and you can get a very small summary of what we've covered in this week,

beginning with the verse you just saw in the video a moment ago,

2 Corinthians 5, 17,

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away, and see, the new has come.

We began our series talking about how God is clearly doing a new thing in our church

as we see the evidences of that all around us.

And then we moved on to say we, you and I,

have to have a change of mind in that we stop trying

and start training and understanding that God is training us

to be who he wants us to be.

When we fail, it's part of the training,

not us continually trying on our own strength.

Then thirdly, we covered that we do what we do

because of what we think of who we are.

Our identity comes from who we think of ourselves,

and our identity breeds our behavior.

So we do what we do because of what we think of us.

Then we jumped into Hebrews chapter 12 and Philippians chapter 3,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention Philippians 3 · chapter mention

and we had a three-part series that said,

first of all, lay aside the weights,

and the weights can slow us down.

We had a very visual foot race

that showed just how much the weights can slow us down.

And we said, what are we holding on to?

Is there something in our life that is slowing us down

that we need to lay down, lay aside?

Or is there something or someone that is holding on to us,

and we need to forget what lies behind

and reach forward to what lies ahead,

which brought us into the next portion of that sub-series,

which was let us run.

First, lay aside the weights, and then let us run.

We had these two statements.

First, start moving.

Reach forward to what lies ahead,

to what God has for you.

Reach forward to that.

Sometimes we just have to start moving,

and then secondly, run with endurance,

so we have to keep going.

Keep going.

Don't quit.

The only difference between a white belt in karate

and a black belt in karate

is the white belt never stopped training

until he became a black belt.

So we must keep going and run with endurance

to see the fulfillment of who God is training us to be.

Then, we got into the third part.

Lay aside the weight.

Let us run.

And finally, look at Jesus.

Look at Jesus.

We simply have to put our eyes up.

Eyes up.

When we look all around us, we get distressed.

But when we look at Christ, we are at rest.

And then secondly, we press toward the prize.

What is the prize?

It is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is ever calling us upward.

Someday, we'll all go home upward

to be with him in heaven forever.

But until that day, he's drawing us ever upward,

closer to himself, more in the image of who he is.

The world wants to drag you down.

Jesus is calling you upward.

And so we press toward that prize.

Then, last week, we said that God is a God of continual change.

And he has called us, you and me, to be agents of change.

He is changing us from the inside out.

If you and I are in the same place with our walk with God

as we were last year or six months ago

or five years ago or ten years ago,

we're not walking closely with Jesus

because God wants to change us

ever upward, ever more into his image.

So he's a God of continual change.

And we must embrace the change that he brings to us,

not push back against it,

which brings us to where we are this morning.

Now, let me ask you this question.

How many of y'all have ever met a celebrity?

Would you raise your hand?

Anybody ever met a celebrity?

There's quite a few.

Like a bona fide, been-on-TV celebrity, right?

Not just that one time they interviewed you

on a news station or something.

I'm saying like a real celebrity, you know?

They got a Wikipedia page and everything, okay?

I met a celebrity one time.

There we go.

That was downtown Nashville.

Anybody have any idea who that is?

Yeah.

So, I mean, he's not like an A-list celebrity, all right?

But, hey, there was a time when he was on TV a lot.

His name is Marcus Limonis.

And he was a celebrity for me

because I used to really enjoy his show.

So, here's a little thing about that.

There's no way you're going to be able to read

what those words are.

But that's all right.

It said,

40,000 businesses want him to come to their rescue.

So this guy was a famous businessman.

In short, he started Camping World,

which is the nation's largest RV retailer.

And became a billionaire doing that.

And he got his own show on CNBC

about coming in and rescuing failing businesses.

And he would come in.

It was called The Profit.

There's a little tagline,

My Millions, My Rules.

See, that was the thing.

He would come in and put up a large amount of money

by half of their business.

But he would say,

I am 100% in charge.

And for the first week,

you have to do everything I say

because there's a reason you're failing.

It's all these bad business practices that you've had.

And so he would rescue business after business like this,

except for some of the times,

the owners just didn't want to give up control.

And Marcus Limonis was non-negotiable about that.

He would say,

I am 100% in charge.

Since I've bought half your company,

technically we're 50-50 partners.

But for this first week,

it's not going to look like that.

I'm going to be 100% in charge.

That was the deal from the very beginning.

But inevitably,

there would be an occasional owner

who would push back.

And I literally watched an episode of this

to get this back in my mind last night.

And I literally heard this owner say,

I don't care if he's a billionaire or not,

doesn't mean he knows how to run a popcorn stand.

I'm like, well,

he might be able to wrap his head around that concept.

I don't know.

And sure enough,

that business ended up not doing well.

But what I realized is,

none of us like to give up control.

It's easy when you're watching that television show,

and you know the background of the host,

the star there,

and you know what he's capable of

and all that they're missing out on

because you've seen how he's helped these other businesses.

You know all they're missing out on

by not listening to his way.

But it's really hard to put yourself in their shoes

when they started that business from scrap,

built it from the ground up,

have thrown their lifeblood,

their savings, their retirement,

borrowed money from family sometimes.

They are completely all in to this business,

and they're terrified that somebody else

who is not as invested as they are,

if it went under,

it wouldn't hurt them at all.

They're scared that that person is going to fail them.

So they're scared to give up control.

Right?

When the money's on the table,

and he says,

I have to be 100% in charge,

they might be willing to shake his hand

and say,

okay, we have a deal.

But when it comes to,

you've got to change this,

you've got to fire this person,

you've got to stop doing it this way,

all of a sudden,

they don't want him to be 100% in charge anymore.

That's not the problem.

The problem is,

I just don't have enough resources.

The problem's not with me.

The problem's always with somebody else.

So we never want to give up 100% control.

In this scenario,

First Baptist Church,

Henrietta, Texas,

you and me

are the business owners.

And I don't think God's ever been compared to Marcus Limonis,

but in this scenario,

God is the expert,

the all-time expert,

we'll never find anyone

who knows more about what we ought to do

than our Creator.

And He's coming in saying,

I have to be 100% in charge.

Because if I'm not,

I can't guarantee the success

that I want for you so badly.

It's more than just earthly success.

Number one,

it's forgiveness of sins.

It's an eternal destiny in heaven.

And if you're not willing to give up

100% control of that to God,

and if you're still holding on to hope,

saying,

I think I can get there.

I think I'm good enough.

Nobody's perfect,

but I think I've lived a pretty good life,

and I think I can get there

by my own strength.

You'll never get there.

You'll never win.

You'll always end up falling short.

Romans 3.23 reminds us.

So,

our topic for today

is I surrender all.

The business owner I watched last night

desperately needed to give up.

She didn't need to walk away from the business,

but she needed to hand over control.

She needed to wave the white flag

and stop fighting

against the man who was trying to help

with all of her business acumen,

all of her experience,

all of her resources,

saying,

I'm invested in this as well.

I've now invested a whole bunch of money into this.

I want this to succeed,

so I get a return on my investment,

plus my TV show can look good.

But she just wouldn't stop fighting.

You and I

might need to surrender something

today.

Today

is the day

of surrender.

Throughout our history,

surrender has never been looked at

as a good thing.

Surrender has always been failure.

But oftentimes in life,

especially the Christian life,

surrender is not failure.

Surrender is victory.

Surrender is wisdom.

Surrender is giving up

to someone greater than you

who in his goodness,

in his righteousness,

in his justice,

and his grace and mercy

says,

I want to help you win

the victory

that you can't win yourself,

but you've got to stop fighting me.

I surrender all.

I read this quote,

choosing joy

involves spiritual surrender

and sometimes

we would rather

hold on to the pain

than surrender

our own egos.

Isn't that true?

We found ourselves there

probably more times

than we'd care to admit,

but the truth is

sometimes our ego

just won't allow us

to let go

and let God.

Now let go

and let God

is not in the Bible,

but the concept

of giving up control

to God

is absolutely there.

And sometimes

we fight,

fight,

fight

to do it our own way.

We'll justify it.

We'll try to twist

a verse of Scripture

to fit what we want to do,

but in reality,

we know we're fighting

against God Himself.

And He says,

just surrender.

Spiritually surrender

to me.

And then you'll find

that joy.

You'll find that release.

You'll find that freedom.

And ironically,

you'll win the victory

that God so badly

wants for you.

One of the great heroes

of our Christian faith,

founder of the Salvation Army,

William Booth,

said,

the greatness

of a man's power

is the measure

of his surrender.

Now if you went

and polled the men

of Clay County,

I don't know

how many times

we would get that answer,

right?

What's the measure

of a man's power?

You'd find all sorts

of answers,

but probably not that one.

But I believe

that is absolutely true.

And it's biblical.

How much you and I,

especially talking

to you men right now,

how much we surrender

and bow before God

and humble ourselves

and admit

that we are not enough

to our God,

then He can make us

enough.

Then He can remind us

that He is enough.

That His Spirit

can lift us

where we can't go.

His Spirit

can save a relationship

that we can't seem

to save.

His Spirit

can help us

be the parents,

the fathers,

the dads

that we can't figure out

how to be.

So the greatness

of a man's power

is the measure

of his surrender

to God.

Let's look at Romans 12,

1 and 2.

We're ending our series

kind of with the verse

that we've been going back

to time and time again

throughout this.

And it's our text

for today.

Romans 12,

Romans 12:1

verses 1 and 2.

Would you join me

in standing

if you're able to?

If you need to keep

your seat,

that's fine.

But Romans 12,

1 and 2,

if you're able,

let's join together

and read this.

You follow along

as I read.

I'm reading

from the New Living Translation.

And so,

dear brothers and sisters,

I plead with you

to give your bodies

to God.

That's surrender

right there,

isn't it?

Because of all

he has done

for you.

Let them be a living

and holy sacrifice.

Don't miss that word.

The kind he will find

acceptable.

This is truly

the way to worship him.

Don't copy the behavior

and customs

of this world.

But let God

transform you

into a new person.

Talked about that

last week.

By changing

the way you think.

Then you will learn

to know

God's will for you,

which is good

and pleasing

and perfect.

Let's pray together.

God, I pray that you

would show us

how to surrender,

how to sacrifice,

what it means today

and give men

and women

and children

in this room

the boldness

to come forward

and lay something

down

in Jesus' name.

We'll give you

the glory.

And it's in your name

we pray.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Thank you for standing.

A living sacrifice.

In your bulletins,

if you're filling in

the blanks there,

that is our first blank.

A living sacrifice.

This is what it comes

down to for you

and me.

A long time ago,

we're not going to

spend a whole bunch

of time on this,

but God instituted

animal sacrifices

to cover the payment

for the sin

of his people

many years ago.

Now that did not

truly atone

for their sin.

That was simply

looking forward

to the one final

atonement,

which was the blood

of his son,

Jesus,

the spotless

lamb of God.

So they would take

a spotless lamb

without blemish

years ago

and they would

kill it

to pay for the sin

of all the people.

The priest would do this.

Well now,

since Jesus died,

no more sacrifices

have to be made.

He was the one sacrifice

for all those

who came before,

all who were alive then,

and all of us

who have come after.

He is the atonement

or the sacrifice,

the substitutionary

replacement

covering for

our sin.

So God is not asking

for a dying sacrifice

today.

God is asking

for a living sacrifice.

Just like Jesus

laid down his life

unto death,

God is simply asking

you and me

to lay down

our lives

as a sacrifice

for him

and say,

God,

my life is yours

to control.

I give you

my body and soul.

Do what you want

with my life.

That is the secret

to victory.

It is surrender

through sacrifice.

So,

there are notes

about this sacrifice

right here

in Romans 12.

Give your bodies

to God

because of all

he's done for you.

Let him be a living

and holy sacrifice,

the kind

that he will find

acceptable.

This is truly

the way

to worship him.

So,

I want to draw

these key words

from that verse

to your attention.

Acceptable

to God.

See,

back in Genesis 4,

Cain made

a sacrifice.

Y'all remember

Adam and Eve

and their sons,

Cain and Abel,

and Cain and Abel

just couldn't get along,

could they?

Why was that?

Because Cain

wanted to do

what God wanted

his own way.

Abel

decided to do

what God wanted

the way God

wanted it done.

And so,

Abel brought

a sacrifice

to God

of the animal,

exactly what

God had asked for.

Cain

made up

his own plan

to sacrifice

to God.

Now,

he certainly did.

He didn't run away

and say,

forget God,

I'm not going

to sacrifice

to him.

No,

he absolutely

brought

what appeared

to be

a sincere

offering

to God

of his fruits

and vegetables

and all

that he had

labored

and he brought

it to God.

But it wasn't

acceptable to God

because it wasn't

what God

had asked for.

Church people,

please listen to me.

Church people,

non-church people,

whoever's in here

right now,

so many times

we find ourselves

doing things

for God

that God,

got to be careful,

doing things

for God

that God

never wanted.

We try

to please

God

our way.

God

is very,

very plain

on how

to please

him.

He's very,

very plain

on what

the church

should be.

And often

times,

the church

is not

making the

difference

in the world,

it's not

being a light

in the darkness

because we're

doing all the

things that

we think

a church

should do,

not what

the scripture

tells us

God wants

the church

to do.

And God

founded the

church

to do.

I thank

God

that we're

seeing

fruits

of the

labors

of this

church

through parents

raising their

kids

to love

and follow

Jesus.

Through

children's workers,

Sunday school

class teachers,

our children's

minister,

all throughout

this church,

people are

working together

to help

instruct our

younger generations

of God's

goodness,

His salvation,

His grace

that's available

for them.

And as they

come to this

understanding,

God opens

their eyes,

and we've been

seeing them

making the

decision to

follow Jesus

for themselves,

and then they

come up here

and they testify

it through

baptism.

That is what

the church

is called

to do.

The church

is called

to fulfill

two commands.

The great

commission,

which is go

out everywhere

and teach

the gospel

of Jesus

to everyone

who will

listen,

and then

secondly,

the great

commandment,

which is to

love one

another as

God loved

us.

Those are

the missions

for the

church.

Those are

the two

things that

God wants

us to do.

Sometimes,

often,

our church

is no

exception,

those are

the two

things that

churches find

themselves doing

the least.

We'll do

all kinds

of other

things.

We'll have

all sorts

of committees.

I'm not

bashing

committees.

They can

be valuable.

We'll have

all sorts

of structure.

We'll have

all sorts

of pageants

and decorations,

and we'll

do all the

things that

we equate

with church.

In a reality,

those things

were always

meant to

enhance the

mission,

and not

distract

from it.

So,

is our

sacrifice

for God

acceptable

to Him?

Or are we

going to be

like those

who stand

before God

someday and

say,

God,

I did all

this in

your name.

I did all

these things.

Look at

this.

I kept

a list.

Look at

all these

things I

did for

you.

And heaven

forbid,

God look at

us and say,

I never

knew you.

Or at

the very

least,

do you

look at

us and

say,

it's not

what I

told you

to do.

It's not

what I

gave you

to complete.

That was

never the

task.

The task

was love

your neighbor.

The task

was tell

others about

the only

way of

salvation.

That is

how we

truly

worship

Him.

We can

come and

sing the

songs.

We can

set our

radios in

our car

to Christian

radio.

We can

worship Him

on the

surface as

much as we

possibly can,

as often as

we possibly

can.

However,

John 4

will not

go away.

John 4

is still in

the Bible and

it says,

true worshipers

will worship

the Father in

spirit and

in truth.

The Father

is looking

for those

who will

worship Him

that way.

You know

why He's

looking?

Because

they're hard

to find.

True

worshipers

are hard

to find.

Y'all look

around this

church.

So many

of us

struggle

with true

worship.

What is

true worship?

God is

spirit.

So those

that worship

Him must

worship Him

in spirit

and in

truth.

Spirit

and in

truth.

What are

we talking

about when

we say

spirit and

in truth?

Worshiping

God in

spirit and

in truth

involves

giving the

heart over

to God's

spirit and

then letting

the light of

His truth

shine in the

dark places

of our life.

That is

worshiping in

spirit and

in truth.

Spirit deals

with the

heart.

And then

light deals

with truth.

The truth of

God's word will

expose what's

wrong with us.

What we're

doing wrong.

That might mean

you need to quit

going out and

getting drunk.

that might mean

you need to quit

running around

on your wife.

That might mean

you need to get

off social media.

Or it might mean

you need to stop

being so grouchy.

It might mean

you need to stop

giving in to fear

so much and

rest in God's

power and His

goodness.

Whatever it is,

the light of

God's truth will

reveal the dark

places in us

that He wants

to change.

And when we

turn that over

to Him,

when we shine

the light,

that is worship.

That is an act

of worship.

Saying,

God, I know

that I am not

there yet.

I know that

you're training

me.

So shine the

light in and

show me what

I need to

change.

What needs to

change in me.

So,

acceptable to

God,

that's our

true worship.

Number two,

a new person.

a living

sacrifice and

a new person.

Verse two

of Romans

12.

Don't copy the

behavior and

customs of this

world, but let

God transform you

into a new

person by changing

the way you

think.

Y'all, do you

think that maybe

it's time for a

new you?

Maybe we should

ask your spouse

that question.

Ask your kids

that question.

Ask your friends

or coworkers

or boss

or employees

that question.

Maybe it's time

for a new you.

Maybe a less

selfish, maybe

less self-absorbed,

self-centered you.

Maybe God wants

you, he wants to

train you

to fit his plan

instead of you

trying to fit him

into yours.

God can change

you.

He's changed

way harder

cases than

you.

Case in point,

me.

God's changed

me and if he

can change me,

he can change

you too.

What does this

look like?

God's will

versus the

world's way.

That's described

right here in

Romans 12.

Don't copy the

behavior and

customs of this

world.

Now we do

that and maybe

that's going out

and just living

for yourself

and living all

wild and crazy

and you're the

talk of the

town because

you're such a

mess.

But more likely

it's not that

extreme.

More likely

it's internal

as opposed to

external.

What are we

talking about?

Sometimes

worldliness is

more inside,

hidden,

but the fruit

of it comes

out.

You might look

like you're all

cleaned up,

buttoned up,

you got it all

together and

you're a Jesus

person, you

know?

You're one of

them church

people.

You might look

like that, but

the reality is

you and I are

rotten to the

core.

The encouraging

message you came

to church to hear

today.

You're rotten to

the core and so

am I.

In our flesh there

is no good

thing.

The only good

that is in us

comes from our

Father.

So the closer

we fly to the

sun, the more

of his light we

reflect.

The closer we

walk with Jesus,

the more closely

to his will we

find ourselves.

So, Proverbs

Proverbs 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

My dad drilled

this verse into

me growing up.

My dad was a

pastor and this

was a verse that

he would just not

stop with over

and over again.

Trust in the

Lord with all

your heart.

Do not lean on

your own

understanding.

In all your

ways acknowledge

him and he will

direct or make

straight your

paths.

Jeremiah chapter

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

29 and verse

11.

I know the

plans I have

for you declares

the Lord.

Plans to prosper

you, not to

harm you.

Plans to give

you hope and a

future.

So, if you

trusted the Lord

with all your

heart, if you

acknowledge him

and you don't

lean on your

own understanding

of things, then

he will make

your paths

straight.

He will prosper

you, not harm

you.

He will give

you a hope and

a future.

That is God's

will versus the

world's way.

The world's way

never ends in a

straight path.

The world's way

never ends in

hope and a

future.

The world's way

always ends in

destruction.

It always ends

in grief.

It always ends

in heartbreak,

dissatisfaction,

bitterness.

God's will

always ends in

prosperity, hope,

and a future.

That doesn't

mean your bank

account's going

to look as

prosperous as you

want it to

look.

It means your

heart will be

filled with the

joy of God.

That's the

prosperity we're

talking about.

That's the

fulfillment that

nothing will be

able to rattle

you.

Nothing will be

able to come

between you and

God.

You might

experience sadness.

You might

experience grief.

You might

experience tears.

But Jesus

wipes those tears

away.

Joy comes in the

morning.

joy comes in the

world.

So, that's the

joy.

Let's turn over to

Luke chapter 9 and

Luke 9 · chapter mention

we'll be done.

For sake of time, I'm

going to go ahead and

read.

Luke 9 and verse 23.

Jesus is speaking to

the crowd.

He says, if any of

you wants to be my

follower, just imagine

him up here speaking to

this crowd today.

It's Father's Day.

we've got a good

crowd here.

Jesus is standing up

here in place of me.

How great would that

be?

And he says, if any

of you, First Baptist

Henrietta, whoever

else is in the room

today, if any of you

wants to be my

follower, you must turn

from your selfish

ways.

And you're looking at

my selfish ways?

You don't know me

very well.

Oh, I dare say he

does.

You must turn from

your selfish ways,

Sam Bunnell.

Take up your cross

daily.

It wasn't just enough

for me to take up my

cross and say, okay,

God, you want me to be

a pastor?

I'll be a pastor.

There, I took up my

cross.

I've got to take up my

cross every day.

So do you.

Take up our cross

daily and follow him.

What does it mean to

take up your cross?

It means be willing to

endure whatever comes

your way just like

Jesus did on that

cross.

It means understanding

it's not always going

to be easy.

There is going to be

hardship.

But he said, take up

that cross daily and

you'll be able to make

it through whatever I

have for you and trust

me, it's going to be

worth it all.

Verse 24, because if you

try to hang on to your

life, if you're not

willing to surrender,

you're not willing to

sacrifice, you're going

to lose it.

But if you give up, if

you give up your life

for my sake, you'll save

it.

Jesus said if you give

up your life for his

sake, you'll find new

life.

You'll find better life.

You'll find that salvation.

salvation.

First, that means salvation

from your sins.

But then after that day,

it means finding that new

salvation in God that

saves you from who you

will be without God.

Every day, we've got a

choice.

Am I going to take up my

cross?

Am I going to surrender

and sacrifice?

And then where's God

going to lead me?

Down that path today.

Or am I going to run on

the much wider, much

more populated path with

everybody else out trying

to live for themselves?

Too often, you and I as

followers of Jesus find

ourselves on the wrong

path and Jesus is always

calling us back.

He's saying, no, no, no.

You left your cross over

here.

Go pick up your cross and

get back on that narrow

way because God has

something great for you,

for this church.

So, it's better to lose

your life than to waste

it.

John Piper, one of the

great pastors that our

country has right now,

says it's better to lose

your life than to waste

it.

He even wrote this book

called Don't Waste

Your Life.

It's so much better to

lose your life for Jesus

sake than to waste it on

the pursuits of this world.

Let's read it one final

time.

Can we read it together?

Father, don't copy the

behavior and customs of

this world, but let God

transform you into a new

person by changing the way

you think.

Then you will learn to know

God's will for you, which is

good and pleasing and

perfect.

Now, this time, I'm going to

have us read this verse

second.

Dear brothers and sisters, I

plead with you to give, let's

pause, up.

I put that in parentheses

there because up is not in

the text.

So I looked up the Greek

word for, you know, the

Bible, the New Testament was

originally written in

Greek, so I look back at

that Greek word.

What's it talking about when

it says give, or your

Bible might say present?

It's talking about giving

an offering, making an

offering, offering something

up to someone who deserves

it.

So I just took the liberty of

putting that in, saying

that's me, that's not the

Bible, but I think it's

consistent with what the

message is trying to tell

us.

I plead with you to give up

your bodies.

Give up yourselves.

Give up your bank account

to God and quit being so

stingy.

Let God pass that money on

to bless somebody else.

Quit being so stingy with

your time, your energy, and

let God use the breath that

he gives you to bless

somebody else and further his

kingdom on this earth.

Give up, fill in the blank.

Give up, fill in the blank.

Surrender, sacrifice it to

God because of all he's done

for you.

Let these things be a living

and holy sacrifice, the kind

he will find acceptable.

This is the way to worship God.

So here's our takeaway for

today.

God, teach me the joy of

surrender and sacrifice.

God, teach me the joy of

surrender and sacrifice.

Y'all, would you bow your

heads with me?

I'm going to challenge you to

do something today.

I'm not always going to push

this hard, but today I

believe it's appropriate.

If we have the front of this

room filled with families who

are praying for God to show

them how to surrender and

sacrifice.

Men, I'm going to challenge you

on Father's Day to lead your

sons, daughters, even your

wives down to the front and

kneel down here before God

and just say, God, I

surrender and then you fill in

the blank.

God, I sacrifice, then you

fill in the blank.

A long time ago, God asked

Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.

Of course, he didn't take

Isaac's life, but he wanted to

show Abraham, are you willing to

give up everything in your

trust of me?

I believe that I will take

better care of what you have,

what I've given you, than you

can.

How's your faith this morning?

Are you willing to give up?

Are you willing to surrender?

Are you willing to sacrifice?

I've got to ask myself that

every day because you and I

always hold something back.

So God, in this moment right

now, when you've taught us from

your word, God, this isn't the

opinion of Sam Bunnell, this is

the words of God, and I pray

that you would instill those

deep in us.

I'm going to ask just the organ

to play right now, very

softly.

Y'all don't need to sing.

We might join in in a little

bit, but I'm going to sing the

words to this song over you.

All to Jesus I surrender, I

surrender all.

All to him I freely give.

I will ever love and trust him.

In his presence I will daily

live.

Would you take this moment to

pray?

And I pray that there's somebody

who would be the first to stand

up and come down here.

There's nothing special or

magical or holy about kneeling

down here in the front, but I

think getting up and leading

your family down is an act of

worship before God and instills in

our younger generation what it

means to humble yourself and bow

down before God as a family and

pray.

So I challenge you families

across this room, make use of

this open area at the front of

the room as I begin to sing.

Thank you.

Thank you.