Momentum: Surrender

At Gateway Church in Austin we continued our new series Momentum which is about overcoming our issues and struggles.  This week John Burke shared.  Here are some of his insights:

“There is a God, and I’m not Him. This is a simple truth, but we fight against this.

Have you ever made a mistake but allowed your pride to keep you from admitting it? Have you ever done this in reference to God?

God created us to live with Him in a house called “life.” Instead we try to make our own house away from Him. When our house catches on fire due to the choices we make, we respond by saying “What fire?!” or we point at others saying: “You think this is a fire? Look at his house!”

We don’t have to keep trying harder & harder without new results (Romans 7-8)! God invites us back into His house and pursues us to connect with us (Revelation 3:20 & John 14:23).

Once we let go of control of our own lives and allow God to become our guide and leader, He rebuilds the relationship and changes us. On a daily basis we need to be willing to surrender (not just once).

Serenity Prayer:

God,
Grant me the serenity;
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage, to change the things I can;
And the wisdom, to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen

What does this prayer teach us about making a change?

1. Let go of playing God.
Often the things that stress me out are none of my business (Matthew 6:31-34)! My responsibilities include only those things that I can control. 

God doesn’t force us to do the right things. Instead He wants us to learn how to do the right things on our own but with His help.

2. Let go of my will and surrender to God’s will.

Sometimes the difficult moments we experience are the direct result of our unwillingness to fully surrender to God. Other times we are damaged by the mistakes of others and then take matters into our own hands or we stop trusting God when we experience tough times.

God can take the most tragic moments in our lives and uses the ashes to grow a beautiful garden.

We need to learn to seek God’s will to guide us moment by moment.

3. Let go of unreasonable expectations.

We expect this life to be heaven, and we are disappointed when it isn’t. God begins to guide our desires towards what is best for us when we allow Him to do so.”

You can watch this message here in a couple of days and the rest of the series at http://www.gatewaychurch.com/podcast.

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ebryant@churchleaders.com'
Dr. Eric Michael Bryant serves with Gateway Church in Austin as the team leader for Central and South Austin and as part of the teaching team. Eric previously served at Mosaic in Los Angeles and his books include Not Like Me: A Field Guide to a Influencing a Diverse World and A Fruitful Life: Becoming Who You Were Created To Be. Eric coaches church planters and campus pastors, teaches on Post Christian Ministry, and leads a cohort for a Doctorate of Ministry in Missional Effectiveness through Bethel Seminary where he earned his Doctorate of Ministry in Entrepreneurial Leadership.