The Path of Surrender
The sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering one's heart and will to God, and living a life of obedience to His will.
David Wilkerson emphasizes the transformative journey of surrender through the example of Paul, who was dramatically converted on the road to Damascus. Paul, initially self-assured and misguided, encountered Jesus and realized the emptiness of his previous ambitions. His heart's cry became one of total surrender, seeking to know and please Christ above all else. Wilkerson reminds us that true success in God's eyes is not measured by worldly achievements but by the condition of our hearts and our willingness to follow His will. Ultimately, the sermon calls believers to evaluate their lives and ambitions in light of their surrender to God.
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God begins the process of surrender by knocking us off our high horse. This literally happened to Paul. He was going his self-assured way, riding toward Damascus, when a blinding light came from heaven. Paul was knocked to the ground, trembling. Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4).
Paul knew something was missing in his life. He had a knowledge of God, but no firsthand revelation. Now on his knees, he heard these words from heaven: "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" (9:5). The words turned Paul's world upside down. Scripture says, "Trembling and astonished, [Paul] said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (9:6). Paul's conversion was a dramatic work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul was being led by the Holy Spirit into the surrendered life. He asked, "Lord, what would you have me to do?" and his heart was crying out, "Jesus, how can I serve you? How can I know you and please you? Nothing else matters. Everything I've done in my flesh is dung. You're everything to me now."
Paul had no other ambition, no other driving force in his life, than this: "That I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:8). By today's standards of success, Paul was a total failure. He didn't construct any buildings. He didn't have an organization. And the methods he used were despised by other leaders. In fact, the message Paul preached offended large numbers of his hearers. At times he was even stoned for preaching it. His subject? The cross.
When we stand before God at the judgment, we won't be judged by our ministries, achievements or number of converts. There will be but one measure of success on that day: Were our hearts fully surrendered to God? Did we lay aside our own will and agenda and take up his? Did we succumb to peer pressure and follow the crowd, or did we seek him alone for direction? Did we run from seminar to seminar looking for purpose in life, or did we find our fulfillment in him?
I have but one ambition and that is to learn more and more to say only those things the Father gives me. Nothing I say or do of myself is worth anything. I want to be able to claim, "I know my Father is with me, because I do only his will."
Sermon Outline
- I. The Process of Surrender
- A. God knocks us off our high horse
- B. We are left trembling and in need of revelation
- C. We cry out to God for direction and purpose
- II. The Surrendered Life
- A. We lay aside our own will and agenda
- B. We seek God alone for direction and fulfillment
- C. We find our purpose in Him
- III. The Measure of Success
- A. Our hearts are fully surrendered to God
- B. We are judged by our obedience to God's will
- C. We are not judged by our ministries or achievements
Key Quotes
“Nothing I say or do of myself is worth anything.” — David Wilkerson
“I want to be able to claim, 'I know my Father is with me, because I do only his will.'” — David Wilkerson
“That I may win Christ” — David Wilkerson
Application Points
- We must be willing to lay aside our own will and agenda to seek God's direction and purpose.
- Our hearts must be fully surrendered to God in order to live a life of obedience to His will.
- The measure of success in God's eyes is not our ministries or achievements, but rather our obedience to God's will.