I Surrender || It's Time to Come Home

Hello Everyone!

You all are going to be hit with a double whammy this week. I'll include a recap of First Lady's Sermon in addition to this past Sunday's message. Don't worry, I'll condense them both so that it's not too overwhelming (i.e. no long scripture listings).

First Lady spoke to us about surrendering and told us that in order to truly overcome, we're going to have to surrender.

2 Chronicles 20: 1-15

Long story short, all these people came to fight Jehosaphat and some other people went to him to inform him of what was coming. Jehosaphat was naturally afraid and decided to declare a fast throughout Judah. So they fasted and sought God together. While everyone was gathered Jehosaphat led a prayer that got God's attention causing Him to respond saying,

 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 

Verse 15 basically tells them to:

...not to the enemy, but to God. Essentially, when we surrender to God, we're able to win the war against the enemy. This gif is perfect, in my opinion, because all the weapons are laying on the ground in front of the army, but none of them look hurt. When we surrender to God, there is divine protection involved.

"When you surrender, you surrender to the One who already won"


How/What to Surrender:

• Heart
• Job 11:13-15 NLT
• “If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear.
• It takes work to surrender our hearts. I've never seen anyone prepare for anything without having to do something. In the case of surrendering, it will most likely require letting something go. The scripture tells us to let go of the weights of the world that we decide to pick up and instead, "Lift up your hands to [Him] in prayer!"
• No need to fear a fight you're not required to fight.

• Unforgiveness
• 1 John 1:9 NLT
• But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
• Why do we expect God to forgive us, but we won't forgive others. The same way God forgives us, we need to at least put forth the effort to do the same because, for us, it'll take the unnecessary weight of holding a grudge against someone else off of our shoulders.

• Guilt
• Romans 8:1 NLT
• "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus."
• If you belong to Jesus, stop taking the guilt trip

• Mind
• Philippians 2:5 NLT
• "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."
• In this section, FL showed us a picture of the child's pose that's usually done in yoga. The pose is a bowing position where the head is slightly below the heart making it easier for the heart to pump blood to the brain because it no longer has to go against gravity. It has many benefits including removing the pressure of blood flow to the brain, it calms the mind, it opens your stance allowing you to stand more firm and flat-footed, it lowers your center of gravity making it harder for you to be pushed around and easier for things to fly over you, etc.

• Way
• Luke 22:41-43 NLT
•  He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him.
• Jesus made known His human desire to no longer suffer, but he also acknowledged that God's will was more valuable and yielded to God's will. 
• There's strength in your surrender
• Surrender what's draining you

Finally, we were given the white flag, which signifies surrendering. When the white flag is waved, it's a sign that you have given up the power to defend yourself and you can no longer open fire. Overall, it's recognized as a sign of protection from whoever is fighting you.

FL Carmen also painted a surgical picture and related it to the process of surrendering. Please go listen to it again on Facebook Live (click the link below).

Facebook Live: Sunday, July 28, 2019

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This past Sunday, we were told about how It's Time to Come Back Home. This is similar to the Father's day sermon where we focused on the Love of the Father. Dr. Brock came from the scripture Luke 15:1-2, 11-20, which is the story of the Prodigal son. 

A few points that were mentioned (without rewriting the Father's day blog over again):

• "Far Off" isn't always measured in distance. This is important to consider, especially when you feel a distance from God (not praying as much, not reading as much, did something "bad", etc.). However, there's hope in the fact that you're realizing that there is a distance and hopefully a desire to come back. However, on the other side of that coin, we shouldn't think we've got it made when we're close to Him because we can trick ourselves to the point where we end up getting complacent because we're "good" and then we're not so good. 
• You can be close in proximity, but not have a relationship
• You can be away from home, but the heart is still connected

• Dr. Brock addressed how we robe up well, but don't our insides don't match the outsides. 
• This makes me think about Romans 10:9-10, where it talks about belief being in our hearts and confession coming from our mouths.  Our heart can be in the right place, but if our exterior doesn't reflect what's in our hearts concerning Christianity, we become walking confusion.

• Because God loves us and accepts us with open arms when we decide to return to Him, there is always an opportunity for restoration.

Facebook Live: Sunday, August 4, 2019

Til next time,

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