Lesson 8 - Yielding to God

Spiritual Strength for Daily Living (Part 1)

Lesson #8:
Yielding to God

Scripture Texts: 1 Peter 2:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:6-7; James 1:21-25; Matthew 13:23; Luke 11:28

All departments of one's Christian life are empowered by God. Our part is to die to the flesh and self, dedicate our life to God, and daily yield to His leading. It is not an easy road. But it is surely better than the road of sin and has a much greater hope for that which lies at the end of this life. When the way seems hard, it can be made easier. Jesus said, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). David wrote, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psalm 34:7). Help is just a prayer away.

MEMORY VERSE: Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey (Romans 6:16a).

A Daily Battle

Second Corinthians 5:17-18. All things are become new. God's people are new creatures. The old self-life is gone, replaced by the life of Christ. This is accomplished through salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now all things are of God. God fills the heart. The impulses and desires are inspired by God. A saint lives not unto himself but unto God. This is accomplished by yielding to the Lord. It is the daily surrender of our wills to God's will. The greatest duty before each saint every day is that of defeating self and standing over him with the sword of truth to keep him down.

For all things to be of God does not make a saint a robot controlled by another without his will being given. He is responsible for his every act. Jesus said. "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). In what ways is a saved person free? Free to obey God and do that which is right. How is he bound? Bound in the yoke of the Lord. Read Matthew 11:29-30. Is yielding one's will to another an act of weakness? It depends on to whom it is surrendered or yielded. Think of persons who have fully yielded themselves and their wills to God. Are they weak? Yielding our wills to God's will proves to be a strength for great victory over the enemy of our souls.

First Corinthians 7:23. Ye are bought with a price. The decision to yield must be made each day anew; it is never ended. Each day must be lived in accordance with it. Decisions must be made recognizing that we are bought with a price—the blood of Jesus Christ. Grow in grace. Ask God's grace to perfect the yieldance. Saints must not be servants of men or of self. Only by the grace and power of God can one win this battle against his greatest enemy, self.

Live by Faith

Galatians 2:20. I am crucified with Christ ... and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. Paul's experience should be that of all. When we take Christ, we, as Paul, become "comformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10). Jesus took up His cross to die to Himself on it; so must we. The self-life must die that the life of Christ can live. See Matthew 10:39. Where there is self-will, there will be self-effort. This must go. It is by faith. When one's life is consecrated to God's will, a better life comes in. The fruit of the Spirit is produced. Read Galatians 5:22-23. Have you experienced the joy of which Paul spoke as he said, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me?

When daily yielding to Him is grievous, consecration is not complete. The death of self is not finished. Die out, give up all freely, open the heart to the Holy Spirit. Then although pain, suffering, and difficulty may be met on the outside, joy will be on the inside. Read Psalm 40:8.

A Fight to the Finish

Galatians 5:24 ... crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. One who is surrendered and living in Christ has crucified the flesh. The fleshly or human nature is not a sinful nature. As long as one has physical life, the nature of the flesh will attempt to have its way ahead of God's way. If this were not true, there would be no way for us to be tempted, and only through temptation can we prove our love for God by taking His way. "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17). If we live in the Spirit, the fleshly nature will not predominate. Jesus had to battle the flesh; so do we. Read Romans 8. "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (Romans 8:8-9). What does it mean to crucify the flesh? Let yourself know that it does not have preeminence; that you are not, by the grace of God and faith in His Word, going to allow the human to crowd out the divine into an ineffective position.

John 12:25-26. He that loveth his life ... To love one's life is to seek to enjoy this life at the expense of eternal life. To hate one's life is to be ready to sacrifice it and earthly interests to the will of God. It is to love God more than physical life. This is the only way to obtain life eternal.

A Gift to God

Romans 12:1. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. We can give to God a gift He will cherish. It is our bodies, our lives. They must be prepared daily for Him. Our lives are not to be wasted, destroyed, or hidden behind walls of uselessness. The gift God craves is a living sacrifice, clean, holy, strong, free, active, and serving. The body may be strong or held by affliction, the mind brilliant or limited. It matters not, just so God has ALL of it yielded to Him and controlled by Him. "Yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness" (Romans 6:19b). This is our personal responsibility. When God's Law is in the heart, duty and desire do not conflict. The flesh may shrink back from suffering, outside conditions may make obedience difficult, but the heart's desire says yes, Lord.

JUST A THOUGHT

Satan will always see that man has an excuse
for not FULLY serving God.

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Spiritual Strength for Daily Living (Part 1)

Lesson #8: Yielding to God

Lesson #8:
Yielding to God