Total Surrender

Jesus loves us so much that He came to teach us how to live a surrendered victorious life. Jesus lived a life of total surrender. He is our example of how we must live in order to be saved. If we want to have eternal life we must live a life of total surrender.

Jesus stayed connected and surrendered to His Father by abiding in Him. Remember in Gethsemane in Luke 24:41 where He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will but thy will be done.” That, my friends, is total surrender. When we give up our will for God's will we experience what it means to have total surrender.

We must give up our will so Christ can live out His will in us. When we totally surrender, we give up by recognizing that the only way we can have victory is by putting the focus where it belongs which is on God. He is the one who has to save us, but He can only save us if we surrender our will to Him. We must give our lives completely over to Him. We must surrender any and every cherished idol, vice, or sin to Him or we will be lost.

Listen to what the book Marantha says...

“God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer…Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus…Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.”

It is very clear in order for us to be translated and receive the latter rain we must surrender all sin.  Ellen White goes on to say:

“I also saw many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully. I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of “refreshing” and the “latter rain” to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter…I saw that none could share the “refreshing” unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action. We should, therefore, be drawing nearer and nearer to the Lord and be earnestly seeking that preparation necessary to enable us to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. Let all remember that God is holy and that none but holy beings can ever dwell in His presence.” (Ibid., p. 41)

So we cannot be holy if we are holding on to sin or holding on to bad habits, which is sin because it destroys the temple of God. If we want the Holy Spirit living in us we must turn away from all these things. Total surrender.

How do we surrender?

Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all he that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and he shall find rest unto your souls for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

So how do we surrender?  First, we must first come to Jesus and give Him our burdens, our sorrows, our habits, our sins, our  plans, and our lives, trusting that He will give us rest and peace for our weary souls, and that He will forgive us and cleanse us from all sin as we repent and turn away from all things that displease God.

So Jesus meets us where we are at, but Jesus does not accept us where we are at. He does not accept us living in sin and Jesus loves us too much to leave us where we are at so He calls us to come unto Him and when we come unto Him, He gives us rest for our weary souls as we trust and surrender to Him. We must believe that He will change us and deliver us from all evil as we surrender all to Him and that He will sustain victory in us to overcome all sin. This is total surrender.

13 years ago I was living a life completely away from Jesus. I was lost living a sinful life in the world doing my own pleasure. I had taken my eyes off of Jesus for many years and was deceived thinking that the world had something better to offer me than Jesus. I pretty much was breaking all of God’s commandments and was breaking Gods heart, but I continued to push Him aside. 

During those years, I led many people away from Jesus and therefore like Paul I can say that I was the chief of sinners and if there was ever a person that Jesus would be completely just in not forgiving it was me, because I knew Jesus as a child. I loved Jesus. But I let the music and pleasure of this world and choosing the wrong friends corrupt my mind and it crowded out my love for Jesus. But in His infinite incredible amazing love for me, when I cried out to Him to come rescue me, He came in like a mighty warrior, a conquering champion and performed miraculous miracles to change my life forever! 

Praise the Lord! He brought me back into His family like I had never left His side. He draped me with His robe of grace and covered me. There was a great feast in heaven as all of heaven rejoiced over me! For I was that little sheep who ventured away from the fold and got lost. I fell over the cliff and was caught in the thickets, but the great Shepherd came and rescued me and brought me back to His fold. As he put His arms around me, He said to me, my beloved daughter you are Mine. I learned just how precious and special I am to Jesus and to my Heavenly Father and that God through the power of His Holy Spirit was transforming me forever. 

How do we surrender? Secondly, we must be constantly connected to Jesus. Without Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5, 7, 8).. Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of the Holy Spirit, a life of unreserved surrender to His will and His service. As we cling to Him He will perfect our character, rid us of sin and He will produce fruit in us for His glory.

How do we surrender?  Lastly, just like Jesus, if we are to be like Jesus we must fully surrender to God. Jesus came down from heaven not to do His will, but the will of His Father.

Only through the surrender of our will to God is it possible for Him to impart life, eternal life to us. Only by receiving Jesus through self-surrender is it possible to overcome. We never know what tomorrow will bring. If we aren't living a surrendered life to Christ today there might not be tomorrow. Today is the day to surrender completely to God.

The question I ask today, is for each of you to search deep in our hearts and ask yourselves, what changes do you sense the Holy Spirit is calling you to make in your life today? Ask, “What must I do to be saved...and obey what the Holy Spirit says?” This is total surrender.

JeAnn Davis, Bible Worker 

CENTRAL CORNER

This Week (August 1 to 6): 

• Tuesday @ 10:00 AM – Women’s Bible Study

• Tuesday @ 7:00 PM – Prayer Meeting with Pastor Fred Dana

• Wednesday @ 7:00 PM - Spanish Group Prayer Meeting 

• Various L.I.F.E. groups (in-home small group Bible studies) take place across Sacramento. To locate one near you contact our small groups’ coordinator, Richard Anger @ (916) 681-3990

• Friday @ 6:00 PM – AFCOE-To-Go Training (chapel)

• Sabbath @ 9:00 AM – Morning Manna with Elizabeth Rengifo

• Sabbath @ 9:30 AM – Central Study Hour with Pastor Chris Buttery + Children/Youth/Adult Sabbath School Classes

• Sabbath @ 10:50 AM – Worship Service with Chuck Holtry, Director, AFCOE

• Sabbath @ 1:00 PM – Guest Fellowship Lunch 

• Sabbath @ 2:00 PM – AFOE-To-Go Training (chapel)

Upcoming Events

AFCOE-To-Go will take place right here at Central, starting Friday, August 5 from 6:30 PM (onsite FREE registration begins at 6 PM) and running all day Sabbath, August 6. Plan to join us for fellowship lunch.  Supper will be provided.

Collegiate Sabbath School will be starting August 6 in the North Upper Sanctuary Room here at Sacramento Central Church. This class will be for collegiate students ages 18 to 25.

Calling All Members! A church business meeting has been called for Tuesday, August 9 at 7 PM in the chapel. We look forward to seeing you then! 

Princess Tea has been rescheduled! This is a social setting for young ladies who are ages 10-15 and their moms. It will be held in the Camellia Room Sunday, August 14 from 11 AM to 1 PM. Please RSVP by August 8 to JeAnn Davis at jeanncherie@sbcglobal.net. 

Family Matters

Looking for Apartment to Rent & Car: This came in from one of our members: “We are looking for a place to live [in or near the greater Sacramento area] where it is relatively quiet, has basic functioning facilities for three people (mother, sister and myself), and open to accommodating a pet (we have a small mixed breed female dog -- though this is not essential as we'll find her a loving home if it is necessary). Willing to pay $6-700/month.

“Additionally, I am looking for a new car as the one I currently own is in bad shape. Anyone who has a vehicle they are looking to part with can contact me at (669) 350-9673 or through email at RLAllen86@gmail.com, so we can discuss price and payment.

Sacramento Central Prayer Ministry has conference calls open to the entire church twice daily, at 5:30 AM and 7 PM, for approximately 30 minutes. If you happen to log in during the prayer time, please do not say your name. Call 712.770.4010, access code: 361097.

Podcasts Available! If you didn't know, every Central Study Hour and worship service can be viewed and downloaded by going to our website (https://zqh.orf.mybluehost.me/saccentral/sermons). This is an easy way for you to invite friends and family to listen to important Bible messages coming from Central church. The podcasts are uploaded a week after the live presentation.

Watch Us On Television! Enjoy viewing Central’s flagship program, Central Study Hour, every Friday night at 7 PM (NEW TIME) and Sabbath morning at 6 AM (PST) on 3ABN Proclaim! Also enjoy our Receiving the Word, 30-minute programs weekly on Sunday at 11 AM, Tuesday at 11:30 AM, Wednesday at 8:30 PM, and Thursday at 9 PM on Sacramento Faith TV. These can also be viewed on our website (www.saccentral.org) and our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/thecentralconnection). Let everyone know where they can receive timely Bible messages!

News & Events From Elsewhere

Tell the World. After years of planning, fundraising and production, Tell the World, which tells the history of the global denomination’s pioneers, is finished. Tell the World was produced by Hope Channel, the official broadcast network of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in Australia. It is also the largest media production in the denomination’s history. IT will air on October this year. To watch the trailer, go here. 

NEWS HEIGHTS

Resources

Shadow Empire is returning Sept. 15 to17, 2016 and you can host the series in your home! Last spring, hundreds of churches hosted the Voice of Prophecy’s Shadow Empire series. This series, which addresses modern-day religious freedom by exploring the life of Constantine the Great, was filmed on location in Europe and the Middle East and offers a fresh, Bible-based perspective on historical and current events. You can find all the details they need at www.ShadowEmpire.com/Event 

Breath of Life is a valuable resource for uplifting and spiritually based media. The ministry, led by Carlton P. Byrd, senior pastor of the Oakwood University Church, features an online Breath of Life media store offering CDs and DVDs of Byrd’s timeless and Bible-focused message. There is also a selection of books and music discs to encourage growth and learning of the everlasting gospel. Click here to learn more - http://breathoflife.tv/

Be Inspired 

Eat Healthy! Watch this quick video and try this simple yet refreshing salad this summer. You’ll be glad you did. John 3:2

If you want others to enjoy receiving this e-newsletter as much as you do, please invite them to sign up by going to www.saccentral.org/central-happenings