For just a few moments think about the most worthless person you can think of… Don’t be harsh and judgmental; just think of some rotten person. Perhaps he is a murderer or a druggie, or someone that beats his wife and children. Do you have him in mind? He is a reprehensible person. Probably stinks and looks and acts like a bum. Now imagine the love of God filling that person and transforming him into the most kind and lovable person that you can imagine.

Having done that, you now see God’s plan for mankind!

Now imagine God taking you where you are and transforming you into the kindest, most loving, caring and giving person possible. (Oh, you are already there!) Now give yourself the resources to accomplish your wildest dreams.

Now you understand Ephesians 3:20: “… He who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” Now it is time for a reality check! Would  you like to be a kind, loving, caring person with the resources necessary to do all the good work you would like to do? God would like to make that happen!

            These things are possible, but there is a price to pay. Nepal is a small country that is between India and China. Pastor Tir Dewan’s desire was to have a permanent church building in which to worship. For years his congregation moved from one rented room to another. So the man faithfully prayed for a permanent building… and prayed. Things were very tough at times. He was beaten and imprisoned many times for his faith. Yet he never gave up and he never stopped praying.

            Forty years later, when he was 86 years old, a family in the United States came alongside the pastor and his church and provided the necessary money. God allowed Pastor Dewan to see his dream come true before his death.

             Listen to Ezekiel 22:29-31:  “The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice.  I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.  So I will pour out My wrath on them and consume them with My fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.”

            I do not pretend to know all that there is to know about God. If I fully understood His logic then I would probably agree with Him. So, by choice I just do.

            Here He talks about the problems of Ezekiel’s time. They faced the usual problems that we face in the USA today. There was extortion, robbery, oppression of the poor, mistreating aliens, denying people justice.

            If I were God I would just zap the bad folk. In the Old Testament He did that a few times. However, we live in the New Testament, and God expects us to do something about the situation. Ezekiel gives us a glimpse of how God wants to do things. “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it. But I found none!”

            We often do not take action because we do not feel a “call.” However the scripture teaches us that if we see a problem that needs to be addressed, we have just received the “call.” Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

Let’s look at what happens when we totally sell out to God.

            – One man left everything he had to seek a country where God was sending him… now he did not have a clue where that country was. He could not Google it, could not buy a map of the country, and he could not call the Chamber of Commerce for literature. So he, his wife, and his nephew Lot packed up everything they had and took off! He became the Father of Faith. Abraham

            - A red-headed teenager, the youngest boy in the family, was always stuck with the dumb jobs. He had to watch sheep and live outdoors. He killed time by playing his harp and writing poems and songs. But he totally sold out to God and became a giant killer. He also became a king. David

            – Another teenager had a dream about how God would use him. He was really misused. His step brothers hated him, and finally just threw him into an empty well. They planned to murder him, but God saved his life “one inch at a time.” His brothers sold him as a slave. His owner “boss” put him in charge of his entire household. The owner’s wife got the “hots” for him and wanted to sleep with him. When he refused, the wife lied about him and he wound up in the dungeon. But he stayed faithful and ended up as the second in command in Egypt. And you wonder if God can use you? Get a life! He used Abraham, David and Joseph. Turn God lose and watch what happens!

            Then there was a religious ruler in the New Testament. He had it all; money, power, prestige, education. He hated Christians and was doing everything he could to destroy them. Evidently God found a man to stand before God on behalf of the Christians, for God decided that it was time for the persecutor to change. God knocked the man off his horse and left him blind. The poor man went without food or water for three days God sent a faithful Christian to pray the prayer of faith for healing over the man that we know as the Apostle Paul.

            Our army son is up for a promotion. If he gets it he will become the First Sergeant at his new assignment. I asked him if he was tough enough to be a 1^st Sgt. He said, “Actually you don’t have to be tough. I just don’t know if I have the patience.”

            I have thought a lot about that. He is right on target. True leadership takes patience, particularly in religious circles. God does not boss us around; Jesus is a ‘gentle shepherd.’

            We are all called to Christian leadership. Some just have more to lead than others. If you do not think you have the patience to serve God in leadership, consider a certain impulsive fisherman. This dude thought he had all the answers. One day he smarted off and Jesus said to him, “Get behind me Satan!” Another time this man denied Jesus three times in the same night. Of course he did walk on water during a storm. But when he received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost... Wow! The world has never been the same! Peter was an amazing man!

            These are great stories, but we have to ask ourselves, “How can I reach that level of faith and success?” Glad you asked! All we have to do is make a few gifts to God!

1.      Our time and energy

2.      Our money

3.      Our talent, family and careers

4.      Our thoughts

5.      Our attitudes

If you are thinking that God wants it all, you have the picture!   Actually, it’s a good trade. When we give it all to Him then He gives us the desires of our hearts. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Any area of our lives that we withhold from God is an area where God cannot fill with His Spirit. At the Evangelical Convocation in North Carolina one of the preachers asked a powerful question. It was a rhetorical question…

Can Dirt Say “Father?”

            Let me explain…

            Psalm 103:14, “For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” And Matthew 6:9, “Our Father which art in heaven…”

            As a matter of fact, we can! Romans 8:15, “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, "Abba, Father."

            God looks on sin as rebellion; He looks on rebellion as witchcraft. He asks us to give Him all of our heart… thus not to do so is an act of rebellion. Having said that let me read the small print so as to take off some of the pressure. When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior we are “saved.” We become Christians on our way to heaven. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus calls us to perfection. However, those of us that are saved know that salvation is not an instantaneous thing. We have to grow up in Christ. Maturity (another word for perfection) is hard to come by. A perfect 3-year-old is not the same as a perfect 10-year-old. “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” - 2 Peter 2:2, 3

            The question is simply, how is my maturing process going? If we totally surrender to Christ all of that will fall into place. Surrendering to God does not mean defeat; it does not mean sitting in prison some place. Rather it means that I have accepted who I am in Christ. It means that I have accepted God’s will for me – and that I am doing everything that He asks me to do.

           Some of us see God as sitting on a throne of judgment looking for an opportunity to correct or punish us. That simply is not true. First of all, the Holy Spirit dwells in us at all times, and is always willing to speak with us. He wants to answer our questions. He wants to give us a sense of direction, and He wants to minister to us.

 When we wonder where God is, the hold-up is in our heart and mind, not His presence.

 When Peter Marshall was a young man he was walking through the woods near his home in England. As night fell a fog moved into the area. He was satisfied that he would be safe because he had walked this way many times. However he heard something that frightened him, so he took off running.

 He heard a voice call him. “Peter! Peter!” He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just kept going. Suddenly he tripped and fell. As he anxiously started feeling around the ground to orient himself, he reached ahead of him and felt exactly nothing! Startled he just laid there thinking. He realized that God had caused him to fall. Had he gone just a few steps further he would have fallen into a large ravine to his death!

To surrender to Christ is to allow Him total access to our lives.  Will you do that today?