“I’m In, Now what?
Acts 9:1-6
By: Bro. Stacey Shiflett
October 01, 2018 – MN
True surrender does not wait for the orders.
True surrender is surrender without seeing the future and knowing the details of your life.
It is walking by faith.
People do not surrender because of the uncertainties of their future.
Noah had no idea what his life held for him.
Abraham knew nothing of his future, but he surrendered anyway.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know if God would bring them through the fire, but they surrendered to God and never went back on it.
Daniel trusted God even though he faced being thrown into the den of lions.
Look at Elijah and Elisha.
God does not tell you up front what is going to happen in your life if you surrender to Him.
You are to just say “I’m in, now what do you want me to do with my life Lord?”
When all these surrendered in the Bible they had no idea all that God had in store for their lives.
What about Isaiah, he surrendered without knowing.
What about the disciples. They followed not knowing anything. They did not ask a single question, they just dropped everything and following Him.
True Biblical surrender says “you are all in.”
- There was an assessment of his life.
His whole life had been backwards up to this point in Paul’s life.
Everything he had done was wrong.
Everything he did was a waste of time, it was for naught.
Paul was kicking against God all of his life.
He fought and kicked at everything God did to him.
Acts 8:1-4 Paul consented to the death of Stephen.
Paul got satisfaction out of persecuting the church, and arresting believers, and from killing Christians.
Before you surrender you have to do an assessment of your life now. What is your life like now?
Colossians 1:15-16
No person is more miserable than the one that knows the will of God for their life and they do not do it.
There is no place like being in God’s will.
Taking an assessment of your life will cause you to get your priorities right in your life.
Philippians 3:5-8
- An awareness of his Lord.
He is Lord whether you recognize Him or not as Lord.
He became aware that Jesus is His Lord when he said “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”
As long as you re the one calling the shots for your life, you are not seeing the Lord as the Lord of your life.
Have you asked the Lord what He wants to do with your life?
- An acceptance of his lot – v. 7-20
He did exactly what he was told to do by the Lord.
He never walked away from God’s plan for his life for the rest of his life.
Paul went from being the worst enemy of the church to the greatest proponent for the church.
The drastic change in Paul’s life was because he said “I’m in.”
Whatever it meant, he did not care.
Are you in?