The Surrendered Life

Good morning.

So our theme this month is resurrection living, and I

believe the Lord wants me to start by sharing a

word he's given me for at least one person. So

we're going to start by reading from Song of Solomon,

chapter two Versus eleven to twelve A. And I'm reading

from the Home in Christian Standard Bible, Song of Solomon

two eleven to twelve A. For now, the winter is past,

the rain has ended and gone away, The blossoms appear

in the countryside. The time of singing has come. This

is for someone who feels like they're just going through

the motions day after day, doing what needs to be done,

but their sense of purpose is really limited.

There's a lack of vision for the future.

I believe the Lord is saying, this is a new season.

The winter is past, the rain has ended and gone away.

There is newness of life in your life. You will

start to see beauty again. It feels like your senses

are being retrained to notice life in different ways and

around you, as if your outlook on life is being

expanded and you'll see in greater technicolor. Whilst the rain

represents a difficult season in your life, it's actually necessary

for the blossoms to appear. It's necessary for new beginnings.

The time of singing has come. Joy is your portion.

Take it by faith. Singing is something that you can

choose to do, and the Lord wants to encourage you

to keep singing to him because he loves to hear

you sing, even if that thought makes you laugh, because

you're not exactly gifted in that department.

But he loves to hear you.

And as you choose to sing to him, whether you

feel like it or not, you'll find new songs rising

up in your heart. I also need to say that

the word translated singing here also means pruning. Both are

true for you. It's a time for singing and also

for pruning. There are elements in your life and thinking

that are either no longer needed or useful. Our heavenly

Father is the gardener. As it says in John fifteen,

surrender to his loving pruning. Trust him even when it

feels strange letting go of things which you've held on

to for so long. You're making room for newness of life,

for blossoms.

Moving on.

Like I said, the theme this month is resurrection life

and the title of the message this morning is the

surrendered life. Resurrection living means that someone or something has

to die for there to be a resurrection. Because Jesus died,

he sacrificed his life to take the punishment for our sin.

Because Jesus died and rose.

Again, we can live.

We can really live if we'll accept what Jesus did

on our behalf repent of everything we've done wrong, and

surrender our hearts and lives to God. We can live

not just eternally with God in heaven, but with God

on earth, as He comes to live inside us by

his Holy Spirit. For us, the sacrifice is that of

our self will. The surrendered life paves the way to

live in the power of the resurrection, life in abundance

to the full till it overflows. As it says in

John ten ten, that's what Jesus came to give us.

I came across a lovely children's book recently. I'm actually

going to read it almost in its entirety. It's The

Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt.

So are you sitting comfortably now? I'll begin.

Once upon a mountaintop, three little trees stood and dreamed

of what they wanted to become when they grew up.

The first little tree looked up at the stars twinkling

like diamonds above him. I want to hold t treasure,

he said. I want to be covered with gold and

filled with precious stones. I will be the most beautiful

treasure chest in the world. The second little tree looked

out at the small stream trickling by on its way

to the ocean. I want to be a strong sailing ship,

he said. I want to travel mighty waters and carry

powerful kings. I will be the strongest ship in the world.

The third little tree looked down into the valley below,

where busy men and women worked in a busy town.

I don't want to leave this mountaintop at all, she said.

I want to grow so tall that when people stop

to look at me, they will raise their eyes to

heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest

tree in the world. Years past, the rain came, the

sun shone, and the little trees grew tall. One day,

three woodcutters climbed the mountains. The first woodcutter looked at

the first tree and said, this tree is beautiful. It's

perfect for me. With a swoop of his axe, the

first tree fell Now I should be made into a

beautiful chest, thought the first tree, I shall hold wonderful treasure.

The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said,

this tree is strong. It's perfect for me. With a

swoop of his axe, the second tree fell. Now I

should be made into a beautiful chest, thought the first tree,

I shall hold wonderful treasure. Excuse me, the second tree,

I shall be a strong ship, fit for kings.

I shall sail my waters.

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last

woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and

pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up.

Any kind of tree will do for me, he muttered.

With a swoop of his axe, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought him to

a carpenter's shop, but the busied carpenter was not thinking

about treasure chests. Instead, he fashioned the tree into a

feedbox for animals. The second tree smiled when the woodcutter

took him to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ships

were being made that day. Instead, the once strong tree

was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. Every

day he brought in loads of dead smelly fish. The

third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into

strong beams and left her in a lumber yard. All

I ever wanted to do was stay on the top

of the mountain and point to God, she thought. Many

many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot

their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the

first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby

in the feed box. I wish I could make a

cradle for him, her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his

hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth

and sturdy wood. This mater is beautiful, as she said,

And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the

greatest treasure in the world. One evening, a tired traveler

and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The

traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out

into the lake.

A storm arose. The little tree shuddered.

He knew he did not have the strength to carry

so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain.

The tired man awakened he stood up, stretched out his

hand and said peace. The storm stopped as quickly as

it had begun, and suddenly the Second Tree knew he

was carrying the King of Heaven and Earth. One Friday morning,

the Third Tree was startled when her beams were yanked

from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she carried through

a hostile She was carried through a hostile, jeering crowd.

She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her.

She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on the

Sunday morning, when the sun rose, the Third Tree knew

God's love had changed everything.

It had made the first tree beautiful.

The second Tree is strong, and every time people thought

of the Third Tree, they would think of God. Sorry,

I wasn't expecting that. Jeremiah twenty nine eleven to thirteen

is a well known passage, and I'm going to start

with this reading from the NIV. So Jeremiah twenty nine

eleven to thirteen. For I know the plans I have

for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you are

not to harm. Ye plans to give you hope and

a future. Then you will call on me and come

and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek

me with all your heart. When something inside of you

dreams of significance, like the Three trees, or whether the

concept is alien for you, God's word is true for

all of us. I read this recently. Significance is a

God given desire. Living to be famous is its counterfeit.

Significance is a God given desire. We've been designed to

make a difference whilst we're here on earth, and we

want to glorify God in the process.

Like the Three Trees, how we.

Do it and where we do it doesn't always add

up to the life we imagined for ourselves. When we

live a life surrendered to God. We touched on something

akin to significance in the online Bible Study on Tuesday.

It was a teaching by a guy called Erwin MacManus.

He referred to greatness. He said, greatness is what you

do for others. People hesitate to speak of greatness with

regard to themselves because of concerns about arrogance. But it

depends on your definition of greatness. Humility and greatness can

go hand in hand. We only have to look at Jesus,

our servant king. It's recorded in Luke twenty two that

the disciples were arguing about who would be the greatest

in the Kingdom of Heaven. So let's look at that

Luke twenty two, verses twenty four to twenty six, and

just reading excerpts from it to illustrate the point. So

Luke twenty two, twenty four to twenty six. A dispute

arose among them as to which of them was considered

to be the greatest. Jesus said to them, the greatest

among you should be like the youngest, and the one

who rules like the one who serves. It's worth noting

that Jesus had no issue with the disciples desire for greatness,

It just needed reshaping. Whoever wants to be great should

serve others. There can be greatness in a moment of servanthood.

I would like to suggest that the selflessness necessary for

true servanthood is one aspect of the surrendered life. A

friend has lent me a great book called theo of

Golden by Alan Levy.

I don't know if any of you know it.

It's Christian fiction, beautifully written, and as it says, in

the synopsis, it's about the power of creative generosity and

the invisible threads of kindness that bind us to one another.

At one point, THEO is talking to someone and says,

I would guess that you've read mister Wordsworth, the eighteenth

century English poet. He once wrote that the best portion

of a good person's life is the little, nameless, unremembered

acts of kindness and love. I think that's such a

lovely illustration of true servanthood. Like I said, some of

us have inside of us those dreams of significance, like

the three trees.

But I'm also aware that.

Some people have never had real dreams for themselves for

different reasons, and the thought of significance is an alien concept.

Rob Parsons, in his book What They Didn't Teach Me

in Sunday School says this, so often we feel like

we have so little to offer. It was Abraham Lincoln

who said God loves ordinary people.

He made so many of them.

And the story of the Bible is of God using

those who so often felt they had little to give

to change the world. As it says in one Corinthian's

One Verses twenty seven to twenty nine, but God chose

the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.

God chose the weak things of the world to shame

the strong, so that no one may boast before him.

The three trees had their dreams years past, the rains came,

the sun shone, and the little trees grew tall. Everyone,

or at least most people, seemed to have a season

or seasons that, looking back, we feel can simply be

described as years past when seemingly nothing of great consequence happens.

From where we are to our destiny to fulfilling God's

plans and purposes for our lives, there's a journey. We

may have dreams in seed form that don't materialize as

or when we anticipated for lots of reasons. There's the waiting,

the persevering, where we can choose to do what we're

doing with excellence and a right attitude whilst God prepares us.

It can be hard to keep going, But as it

says in Philippians four thirteen. Phlippians four thirteen, I can

do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The Living

Bible puts it this way. I can do everything God

asks me. I can do everything God God asked me

to with the help of Christ, who gives me the

strength and power. If we mess up and admit it

to God, God is faithful to forgive us, it says.

In one John one, verse nine.

Then we get up and carry on, and God continues

to grow us like the trees, ready to fulfill the

plans and purposes for His plans and purposes for us.

Because it's God, none of this time is wasted. I

would actually say that we can be fulfilling God's plans

and purposes for us on the journey to a specific goal.

God is very interested in process, not just the end result. J. John,

the English evangelists and author, wrote Heroes of the Faith,

which is a great book of short biographies of people

from different races, cultures, and generations who all accomplished great

things for God. There are people I've heard of and

those of no heard of before. As far as I

can tell, all of them had these periods of I'm

going to call them preparation and development, these years before

the events or activities for which they became known.

Even Jesus did.

Very little is written about him after his early childhood,

apart from one incident when he was twelve until he

began his ministry at the age of about thirty. Those

silent years are summarized in Luke two fifty two Luke

two fifty two, and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature

and in favor with God and Man. If Jesus needed

to grow in favor with God and Man because he

was living here as a human, we really do.

So.

Clearly those years, and seemingly nothing of great consequence happened,

were fruitful in terms of preparation and development. That can

be really helpful for us to remember if we or

anyone we're close to or in one of those seasons.

I would like to suggest that these seasons are actually

foundational to the surrendered life. How our characters develop, how

we mature can be significant, but not readily measurable by

anyone other than the Lord, from whom nothing is hidden,

and to some degree by those closest to us. We're

not always the best at self assessment, are we We

may look at ourselves through rose colored glasses in some ways,

not truly recognizing or maybe acknowledging aspects of our nature

which are not yet fully submitted to the Holy Spirit. Equally,

we can be overly critical of ourselves. It can be

a bit like weeding in the garden, where all we

focus on are the weeds that still need removing, and

don't acknowledge how much weeding has already been done with

our cooperation by our Father, who is the gardener. As

Jesus says in John fifteen, the truth is probably a

mixture of the tea. But the simplest approach is to

praise God that he's changing us from one degree of

glory to another, as it says in Two Corinthians three eighteen,

and pray that it'll help us to address any issues

as He points them out to us, and not overthink it.

Like the three trees.

Often, not always, but often years pass or at least

a long time from our perspective, before we start moving

towards fulfilling the dreams that God places in our hearts.

We may have big dreams and also various smaller ones

which may or may not be related to the bigger ones.

Jeremiah twenty nine eleven to thirteen is a well known

passage about God's plans and purposes for us, but it's

worth noting what it says immediately before that I'm abbreviating

to illustrate my point. But in Jeremiah twenty nine, verse ten,

it says, this is what the Lord says, when seventy

years are completed, I will come to you and fulfill

my good promise to you. That probably felt like a

long time, but God had a purpose in not fulfilling

his promise straight away.

Waiting for God.

To fulfill his promises to us is not easy, and

we need to consider how to manage that time.

Well.

What helps us to persevere and not give up? That's

a question for table talk. That these are just a

few thoughts. We need to trust in God's character, which

is love, as it says in John three point sixteen,

for example, for God so loved the world.

There's nobody excluded in that. For God so loved the

world that he gave his.

One and only son, that whoever believes in him shall

not perish but have eternal life. We need to trust

in God's character, which is love. We need to trust

in God's wisdom, which is perfect. Isa Ia fifty five,

verses eight to nine, for example, says, for my thoughts

are not your thoughts, neither are your ways. My ways

says and declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher

than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

We need to trust in.

God's word, as it says, for example, in Isaiah fifty five,

verse eleven, so is my word that goes out from

my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but

will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for

which I sent it. We need to decide to make

God's word the last word in our lives and circumstances.

Many many days and nights passed, and the three trees

nearly forgot their dreams.

Broadly speaking, the dreams.

Of the first two trees represent worldly success, being the

most beautiful treasure chest in the world filled with precious stones,

and the strongest ship in the world carrying powerful kings.

There are many different definitions of success, but one I

like is to fulfill your God given potential and destiny.

It doesn't have to be distinct from worldly success, but

it's about fulfilling your potential and destiny and the attitude

of the heart that goes with it. We may have

dreams for ourselves when we're younger, and sometimes, like the trees,

Lord takes the essence of them and makes them greater

and or quite different to how we imagine them for ourselves.

This is just a small example that I grew up

in Derby, about two and a half hours north of here,

and in my twenties I had a desire to work

in Windsor. I couldn't tell you why, and had no

inkling in what capacity I wanted to work. But I

remember applying for a standard graduate job and I don't

recall what, but the first round of interviews involved answering

a multiple choice questionnaire and only those who answered a

minimum number of questions got through to the next round.

But they didn't tell you what the minimum number was

until after time was up, and I fell.

At that first hurdle.

However, a few years later, after I'd qualified as a

social worker, I went to work for the Royal Borough

of Windsor and Maidenhead and I was based in Windsor.

And it helped.

I remember thinking about that on and off over my

time there. How God had given me that desire to

work in Windsor, and it also helped me when things

were tough. We can't expect living a god given dream

to always be easy. What matters is that we live

it in Him, with him, and for him. Sometimes God

answers our prayers regarding our destiny in ways we don't expect,

in ways that are bigger and greater and harder than

we would have chosen or thought of for ourselves. But

He sees the bigger picture we don't. We can trust

in His unfailing love. Like it says in Psalm thirteen,

verse five, it's a choice. We can choose to make

that decision. I trust in your unfailing love. In fact,

let's say that together. I trust in your unfailing love.

The last trees dream was to serve God, but her

dream was much smaller than God's dream for her, as

can be the case for us. I know I've given

this example before, but it's relevant. I once knew someone

who was a primary school teacher and really happy in

her job. She cried when she found out that she'd

have to teach the reception.

Class, the littlest ones. She was so upset.

But this is where the sacrifice of self will comes

in the surrendered life. She did it because she prayed

and felt that God wanted her to do it, and

she loved it.

God knows us better than we know ourselves.

I realize it doesn't always turn out like that, But

as the old song goes, trust and obey, because there's

no other way to be happy in Jesus but to

trust and obey. In my opinion, the Three Chew's is

such a beautiful story, and at one level it illustrates

the surrendered life, as it says in Galatians two twenty,

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me. The life I now live

in the body I live by faith in the Son

of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live,

but Christ lives in me. One way of explaining that

is to look at the second part of the verse

in the amplified version of the Bible.

Just to explain.

The Amplified Bible aims to reveal the full meaning of

the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts by expanding upon

keywords the life I now live in the body I

live by faith by adhering to, relying on and completely

trusting in the Son of God who loved me and

gave himself up for me. I'm aware this is a

lingering service, so let's just say and a little time

quietly before the Lord listening to him. Here are a

few thoughts. Just to take hold of whatever. Just take

hold of whatever resonates with you. If you search your heart,

what dreams have you perhaps pushed deep down because of

the busyness of life, because of circumstances, or for whatever reasons,

take courage and offer these up to the Lord. Perhaps

you're waiting on the Lord to find out what dreams

he has for you. Maybe the Lord's already been speaking

to you about something. Let's pray and take time to

offer up to the Lord whatever's on our hearts, and

let's also listen to him. If God gives you a

word for someone, or lays it on your heart to

pray for someone, feel free to move around. If it's

awkward because of where you're sitting, then maybe stand at

the back and pray, but don't miss the moment. Let's pray, Lord,

thank you that you have plans and purposes for each

one of us. We offer up to you any dreams

that we've set aside, and open up our hearts to

all that you want to say to us, Holy Spirit,

we welcome you, lead and guide us in this time.

Thank you Lord,