No Less Than Our All
True surrender to God requires a free and willing resignation of our lives, trusting him completely and accepting no less than our all.
David Wilkerson emphasizes that true resignation to God's will requires a genuine act of faith, not just empty words. He illustrates that many people only surrender when they are at their wit's end, but God desires a willing and complete surrender from the start. Using examples from the Bible, such as Pharaoh's reluctant submission and Ananias and Sapphira's deceit, he stresses that God demands our all without reservations. Wilkerson encourages believers to trust in the Lord wholeheartedly, acknowledging that surrender is a daily commitment. Ultimately, he reassures that living by faith allows God to guide us through life's challenges.
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Resigning yourself into God's care is an act of faith. It's easy for Christians to say in a general way, "The Lord's will be done," but it's another matter entirely for us to resign ourselves into the Lord's hands about a specific circumstance. In the Bible when someone approached this walk of self-resignation, it was done with great seriousness of thought.
Merely saying the words, "I trust the Lord completely," isn't sufficient to prove that we have total trust in him. It must be a free and willing surrender. Consider Egypt's Pharaoh: Only when he couldn't hold out against God's plagues any longer did he resign to let Israel take their wilderness journey toward the Promised Land (see Exodus 12:29-32).
Likewise, many people living today have said, "I give in, I commit, I trust," only after they have seen no other way out of their situation. But true resignation, the kind that pleases God, is done willingly, prior to our coming to our wit's end. We are to act in covenant with the Lord, giving him a blank check and letting him fill it in.
God will accept no less than our all. If we resign our lives to him only half-heartedly, with any kind of reservation, we are as guilty as Ananias and Sapphira. They pretended to give their all to the Lord, but in reality they held back a part and they paid with their lives (see Acts 5:1-11). There can be no deals or restrictions placed on our Lord.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him" (Psalm 62:8).
Although the psalmist says we're to trust in God at all times, our pride always makes us want to keep control of our lives. It is surprising how stubborn and willful we can be. Our surrender to him -- in our thoughts, our actions, our desires -- is by nature a daily, ongoing work.
We are reminded, "The just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). How reassuring to know that as we reach to him in faith, our Master will carry us through all hardships and natural impossibilities.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Resignation
- The Consequences of Half-Hearted Resignation
- The Daily Work of Surrender
- Our surrender is an ongoing work
- It requires trust in God at all times
Key Quotes
“God will accept no less than our all.” — David Wilkerson
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” — David Wilkerson
“The just shall live by his faith.” — David Wilkerson
Application Points
- We must be willing to surrender our lives to God completely, without reservation or condition.
- Our surrender to God is an ongoing work that requires daily trust in him.
- God will accept no less than our all, and we are as guilty as Ananias and Sapphira if we resign ourselves to him half-heartedly.