Surrender: The Moment of Letting Go

Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

March 26, 2006

Rev. Eddie Smart

Luke 9:18-27 (NRSV)

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" ¹⁹They answered, "John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen." ²⁰He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "The Messiah of God."

²¹He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, ²²saying, "The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised."

²³Then he said to them all, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. ²⁵What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? ²⁶Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷But truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."

I was having one of those nights a week or so ago. Some of you have had a night like that. I was tired, but when I went to bed I could not go to sleep. I tossed and turned. Shifted to every comfortable position I had ever known, but I couldn’t get to sleep. Finally about 3:00 a.m., I got up, went into the living room and turned the light on. There on the table next to my chair was the copy of Preaching Magazine I had just received. The guy on the cover was a Texan–someone many of you know. The editor of the magazine had interviewed Max Lucado, and he was on the cover.

The conversation was mostly about the role of stories in preaching. Certainly Lucado is a master story teller. In the interview he shared that he loves to use funny stories to make a point. He then shared a story that is his current favorite. I would say it must be a favorite. Diana and I heard him tell the story to those of us gathered at the Christ UMC in Memphis this past January.

I’ll share it with you just as if it happened to me although it is Max’s story.

I am eating some cookies that I found on the island in our house–you know, on the kitchen island–that I thought my wife had bought for me at the bake sale the day before.

I ate three or four of them, and I must admit they weren’t very good cookies. I think I even caught myself taking another bite at the same time I was thinking, “These are nasty!” I guess they were ok. After all they were probably baked by some amateur for the bake sell, and I was hungry. How could I complain? But then I learned they were home-made dog biscuits!

That explains why, for the rest of the day, every time when I scratched my belly my leg would kick.

Max would then say, “You know, it’s important to talk to the maker.”

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Deny yourself! If you want to follow Jesus you have to let go. We cannot hang on to our ways and our will. It’s important to listen to the Maker.

Remember Jesus gave us the example as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest and passion. Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

Paul would say to us that we should not be surprised by that. In that passage from Philippians we have been using during this lenten season, Paul says this about Jesus:

“though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

⁷but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.” Philip. 2:1-11 (NRSV)

In his book ‘The Purpose Driven Church’ Rick Warren suggests that we should not ask God to bless what we do, but we should do what God is already blessing. I like the way that thought was presented in a website for Lutheran youth in Australia. They said, “Do we ask God to bless what we are doing, or do we ask God to show us His will, so then we can be blessed as we do that?”

Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves...” Let them ignore their own desires and seek to do only what God desires.

The church I served in Arlington had this huge sanctuary with a long center isle. At the front were seven or eight steps leading to the platform area. As a result it was a “dream setting” for many brides. We did lots of wedding in that sanctuary, most for people who were not members of that church or any other church.

We associate pastors got to officiate at any of those weddings were there was not another United Methodist pastor involved. We also then did all the pre-marital counseling. You know most of those couples never thought in terms of doing what God was blessing, they only wanted God to bless what they were doing. Rarely were they doing things that God is blessing. My greatest regret about my service there is in not sharing with all those couples how they were not doing what God blesses, so why should they expect God to bless what they were doing.

“Let them deny themselves...For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” Jesus is calling us to surrender, to let go, to yield.

In the field of engineering, we studied about the properties of materials. Among others we studied about the properties of metals. One of the defining properties of a metal is its “yield point.” Below the yield point the metal is said to be elastic. [Demonstrate] In other words, when you stretch or bend it, it returns to its original shape. [Demonstrate] Above the yield point the metal is said to be plastic. In the plastic range you can change its shape and it will not return to its original shape. Engineers take advantage of the yield properties to make something useful out of ordinary wire. [Show coat hanger]

It is when we go to the point of yielding ourselves to God that we can be useful to God. It is when we deny those things we want and leave ourselves open to what God wants that we can be called followers of Jesus.

He said, “...deny yourself and take up your cross daily.” In an ideal world as God intended, we might deny ourselves and take up our cross only once, but we don’t live in such a world. James Harnish, in the lenten study I am using as a guide, says he is so glad that Luke included that word “daily” – deny daily – take up cross daily. It is normal for us to constantly yielding ourselves to God – daily letting go – daily surrendering ourselves.

We could pray for God to bless our church’s finances, but continue to give as we choose rather than asking God what God chooses. In other words, ask God to bless our doing.

Or we could listen to the maker. In the Old Testament, the standard for their giving was 10% of what God had given them. But Jesus in affect told a rich, young man to give until he loved his neighbor more than he loved his money. Jesus was impressed with the widow who gave all she had. I have come to believe that for Jesus the standard was giving until “in God we trust” rather than in our money we trust. Doing what God is blessing.

In that interview with Max Lucado, Preaching Magazine asked him about all those stories he tells. How many are from his personal experience? He said about 75 % of the stories are personal. He then admits that there have been times, especially in his early ministry, that he might get carried away with embellishments. Then he said he does not want to add even the slightest embellishments. “I don’t think that pleases the Lord. I don’t think He needs my dishonesty to convey His gospel.”

Not my will. Not my way. I hardily yield. I surrender to your ways. I deny myself.

While Lucado feels that the slightest embellishment is being dishonest, Fred Craddock, another wonderful story teller, tells stories that sound personal, but you know they didn’t really happen. For Craddock I think his honesty and your remembering lies in his exaggeration. Let me share with you a story that is mostly Fred’s.

I remember one night, sitting in a little rural church on a Sunday night. It was a summer meeting, so it was hot, and the window was open beside my pew. The minister was preaching on his favorite text, “Be not the first by whom the new is tried, because a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and it’s better to be safe than sorry, because fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

I was listening to him drone away when a man came by the church building and stopped by the window and said, “Psst, psst.”

I said, “What is it? I’m listening to the sermon.”

He said, “Come with me.”

I said, “Where are you going.”

He said, “I know a place where people will forgive another for doing the meanest of things to them.”

I said, “There’s no such place.”

He said, “As a matter of fact in this place a person will call someone brother or sister when they don’t even have the same color skin, or think just like they do.”

I said, “You’re kidding.”

He said, “Where I’m going, bums are invited to sit down at the king’s table.”

I said, “I can’t hardly believe that.”

Well, I listened to the rest of the sermon and after it was over, I told the preacher about how I was disturbed, and that I hoped it didn’t upset him during the sermon.

He said, “Who was that?”

I said, “I don’t know. Telling me all this fancy stuff.”

He said, “Well, was he getting anybody?”

I said, “Well, none of our crowd went, but I noticed he had about twelve with him.”

“You know a fella would have to forget all about himself to follow him.”