In our daily life we come up against situations that we cannot overcome in our own strength, or with our own wisdom. We need a strength and a wisdom that comes from Above, that comes from Beyond, that comes from Another outside of us and yet rises up from within us.
If you are truly born-again then you have experienced this at least once in your life, in at least one area of your life. At least once you have come to recognize your inability to save yourself, and so you surrendered to Christ and trusted Jesus to do in you and through you what you could not do on your own. That surrender was, in essence, “taking up the Cross” with respect to your salvation. I have died to saving myself. I cannot save myself; and since I cannot, I will not. I will only trust in the Life of the Lord to do what I have (at last!) learned that I cannot do. This is what is means to “embrace the Cross” in the area of salvation. And we see that when the death to Self is thorough and complete – that is, when we stop trying to save ourselves and cast ourselves upon the grace of God, then God raises us from the dead. That which was impossible before is now accomplished by God. We are thankful recipients of His grace, and He receives all the praise and the glory since we have done nothing and He has done everything. This is the principle of the Cross.
It does not matter what your situation is; the Cross is sufficient. If the Cross is the power of God for salvation, then the Cross is also the power of God for your relationships, your spiritual growth and development, your life’s purpose, your encouragement and strength, and your victory over everything which hinders and distracts and comes against you. At one time in your life you learned you could not save yourself – that was the work of the Cross. Now, accept the work of the Cross and learn that just as you could not save yourself, neither can you love God, love your neighbor, forgive those who have sinned against you, cast out devils, be a bold witness for Christ, or fulfill your destiny in your own strength. Just as you once relied upon Christ to save you, so now you must rely upon Christ to live through you every day. Just as you continually rely upon Christ for salvation, so you must continually rely upon Christ for everything else.
“As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord…” That is the Gate. “…So walk in Him.” That is the Path. If you can admit defeat, if you can surrender yourself over to God in the area of “salvation” then you can (and should) do the same thing in every other area of your life. Walk in Him as you received Him: by unconditionally surrendering to His Will, His Purpose, His Power, His Lordship. Embrace the Cross! The sooner the better!
When we cease doing what we cannot do, then He begins to do what we cannot. This is the fruit produced by those who are truly born again. Our works are not religious works at all, they are simply the works of Him Who now lives in us. When we cease struggling and surrender to crucifixion then He comes forth in power and glory to raise us from the dead. This is what it means to be a Christian and a disciple of Jesus.
A brother came to me who suffered from a bad habit. He had tried every means known to man to break himself from this habit. No stone was left unturned. First he tried all the “Christian” cures: prayer, fasting, binding and loosing, exorcism, positive confession. He had made vows to God and had threatened himself with dire consequences if he ever broke his vows. But break them he did. When all these attempts to address the problem spiritually failed, he tried some psychological remedies: visualization, counseling, psychotherapy, self-help courses, motivational speakers, natural remedies, prescription drugs. He even wore a rubber band around his wrist so that he could snap it against his skin whenever his thoughts began to go astray. In this way (he had been told) the pain would interrupt his thought patterns and he would “snap” back into reality. He had red welts on his wrist from snapping the rubber band over and over. Obviously the rubber band trick wasn’t working. In fact, nothing had worked. This is the condition he was in when he sought me out.
“I have tried everything, and I cannot break this habit! What else can I do?” he asked.
“Let me repeat what I just heard you say,” I answered. “You said you cannot break this habit.” He nodded. “Then you asked, ‘What else can I do?’” He nodded again.
“Listen to what you just said,” I replied. “You said, ‘I cannot… what else can I do?’” He didn’t understand, so I tried again. “What you are saying is, ‘I cannot, I cannot, I cannot.’ Then, in the same breath, you are asking, ‘What else can I do?’ And the answer is: nothing. There is nothing else you can do. You have done it all. So if you really believe that you cannot do it then stop trying to do it. Every time you try, you are expressing a belief that you still think you can do it. Clearly you cannot.”
He thought on this and said, “Yes, but if I stop trying, then it will surely defeat me.” I answered, “You are already defeated. Now you must admit your defeat so that you can overcome. What do you have to show for all your trying? Nothing but a series of disappointing failures. Do you see that if you cannot, then all the trying in the world is pointless? If it is impossible for me to lift 1,000 pounds then I should not even attempt it. This habit is 10,000 pounds to you. Can you lift it? No. Do you still think you can? Then God will allow you to keep on trying, and will wait for you to give up trying. Sooner or later you must learn to stop trying to do what you cannot do. The purpose of these multiple failures is to teach you one thing: you cannot. If you will learn this lesson then it is worth failing a thousand times. If you have truly learned it this time then go to God and tell Him that you quit. Tell Him that you have tried to do it your way but you are powerless. Surrender it all to Him. Give up trying and admit that apart from Him it cannot be done. Go to the Cross and die with respect to this thing and see what God does with it.” He thought on this and wanted to disagree but his experience had proved that the more he tried the more often he failed.
Then something happened. He finally saw that there was no use in trying to do what he could not do. “I cannot,” he said, “Therefore, I will not!” A new hope had dawned within him: he saw that “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Lk. 18:27). But now he understood that in order for God to do what is impossible for man to do, man must first realize that it is impossible for man to do it! He saw for the first time that God can do more for him in five seconds of “giving up” than he could do for himself through a whole lifetime of “trying.”
So together we prayed, and his prayer went something like this: “Today, Lord, I am finished. I give up. I have tried everything and nothing has worked. This is impossible with me, but not with You. With You all things are possible! Therefore, I trust You to do what I cannot do. If you do it then I will overcome; if You do not do it then I will forever be defeated. Just as I trust in You to save me, so I trust in You to overcome this thing. I cannot, but You can.” Without realizing it, this brother had embraced the Cross. He “died” to all his efforts and God “raised him from the dead” with a tremendous deliverance.
Embracing the Cross is not a once-and-for-all act, but a daily attitude of knowing our insufficiency in order to know the sufficiency of Christ. Jesus asks us to take up the Cross “daily” (Lk. 9:23) and Paul said “I die daily” (1 Cor. 15:31). Since we daily meet with temptations, tests and trials, so we must daily affirm and re-affirm who we are in Christ: the crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended and seated Branches of the crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, ascended, and seated Vine. As disciples, we take up the Cross daily, which means we are always in a state of surrender and submission to the Lord Jesus, constantly forsaking our own way for His Way. This moment-by-moment yielding to Him is summed up in this saying: “Not I, but Christ” (Gal. 2:20ff).
 |
This excerpt taken from the book, Embrace the Cross, by Chip Brogden |
Amanda
6 months ago
Chip-this is such a great post. Truth so often bypassed in religious circles, as your friend found out. And very timely as so many are falling prey yet again to New Year’s resolutions to do something they’ve failed at many times by trying to ‘do it’ the same way again. Nothing wrong with setting goals etc but your friend sounds like so many I know who’ve vowed around this time of year to quit smoking, lose weight, start a regular quiet time, whatever it may be…and intend to do it through will power or dicipline of their own strength and will again fail and feel defeated and guilt-ridden. Why is surrender so difficult for us? Me included….this year I think I shall allow myself to learn it through much practice! I have a whole list of things I know I can’t do but He can. I QUIT! ha
Thanks for all you do and blessings in the New Year.
Amanda
Stephen Perrone
6 months ago
Chip,
Great post and thanks for the insights. Many times we struggle to overcome our flesh when the only thing God requires is that we come to the Cross and let it do its work. And truly we must “die daily” but, we overcome through the grace and mercy of the Pattern Son, who also endured the cross and set an example for us.
Blessings,
Steve
Yvette Diaz
6 months ago
There is another thing that hinder us when we don’t have the problem of bad habits and that thing is worrying. Worries grow in the soul like a thousand tiny hard red veins. We take charge, and we don’t realize that is due to worry. Like Abraham laid it down on the altar, because he realized that is not taking charge but to have faith. We must learn to trust our Lord, and laid it all on the altar at the foot of the Cross.
Tara Dorroh
6 months ago
Amen! And isn’t that what the enemy of our souls loves to do, wear us put? That is why the 10 virgins ALL fell asleep, worn out from striving. Let us be those who are at rest seated with Him in Heavenly places that know when He is ready to move and be the ones that cry out the message that the Bridegroom is coming to visit, wake up and stop striving…very well said Chip!
Tara Dorroh
6 months ago
sorry that should say wear us out!
Kim
6 months ago
I love this article. I always know something is what God wants me to hear when it is relatively simple yet I cannot grasp it completely. My question is: Then what? What does “surrendering to God” look like? I know I have done this in other areas of my life (relationships, money, education, parenting). But I have a major obesity problem and I have tried everything and I don’t feel there is in any hope but in Jesus. I just don’t know what that practically looks like. I am so obese that it effects my everyday life. I don’t have major health issues yet, but I know that is around the corner if I don’t do something. So, does “surrender” mean that I just stop trying to be accountable for what I put in my mouth and just “let it go” over and over again? That’s what we do with other heart-issues. Do I just trust God that even if I never lose weight,He will take care of me. And if I die at a young age because of this, He will take care of my husband and children? Why is that one so hard for me to believe? I think it’s guilt and my sense of responsibility that tells me I need to keep being “accountable” . Or does it mean to just take things one moment, one decision, at a time, focus on the obedience to God with food/exercise and not the result we are seeking? Can someone please help me see this a little more clearly?
LOWRY WILKERSON
3 months ago
KIM LIFE IS HARD BUT IF WE LET GOD TAKE CONTROL HE WORKS EVERYTHING OUT FOR OUR GOOD
DONT WORRY JUST TRUST GOD AND HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH YOU CONCERNS
Cynthia
6 months ago
Gal. 2:20 Not I but the Christ in me. I surrender! trying to put a circle in a square, a square in a circle; pleasing man instead of God – the simplicity of Christ is so hard to hold on to. “Man” is not looking for simplicity. I have found that The Way becomes complicated when I surrender yet again to the ways of man and not Christ.
I will surrender to Christ daily.
Do I understand the whole revelation that you are saying in this article. I do understand Gal 2:20 – But not I, but the Christ that is in me. Thank God.
I thank God for Jesus, the Holy Spirit and this website.
To God be the glory.
Kim Gallovich
6 months ago
The Lord gave us the revelation of the cross about 8 years ago. It has totally changed our life… humbling ourselves each day under the mighty hand of God that He might transform us to be more like Him and less of us. I have also come to know that the cross will help the believer to discern between truth and error. False teaching, cannot stand up to the message of the cross. By embracing the Cross we are able to overcome the deception, trials and spirit of Anti Christ in the last days. I am praying that many eyes and ears will be opened through your School of Ministry. Thank you for hearing the voice of God and proclaiming the Good News of the cross!
Keith Yale
6 months ago
God has called us to be Holy and He is Holy. This (teaching)is with out a doubt the piece of the puzzle that is necessary to accomplish that level of living. With out worry as Yvette mentioned and is stated in Phil 4:6, in victory in Christ Jesus, surrendered to the work of the cross. How many of us do not accept the finality of the work of the cross when it comes to sin? Sin is an old habit you once walked in (1 Pet4:3), and like all habits they can be replaced, our flesh can be retrained. Surrender to the work of the Cross of Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary. Like an alcoholic in AA, we have to make the commitment to “stay clean and sober” only unlike an AA member it is not something we have the ability to do, but something that God does in and through us.(Lk 18:27) We entered into a covenantal relationship with God. His part… cleanse us, forgive us, empower us with every spiritual blessing. Our part, be dead to sin and alive to God(Rm 6:11-14) Enter into a covenant with Him to “Be strong and courageous” (Jos 1:9) Your shield of protection against the temptations of Satan is that covenant, that commitment of faith, that level of experiencial knowledge that comes from the finality of the work of the cross. Satan will temp you, that is certian, he is not going away just because you entered into this commitment with Jesus. Take your sword (the verse the Lord gave you that applies to your situational sin) and swing it everytime satan temps you. Want to lose weight, everytime you touch the refer door, quote your verse, have an impure thought, quote your verse. After enough swings of your sword, after enough declarations of your faith, after enough of following Jesus’s example, he defeated satan with the Word of God, satan WILL go away only to return at a more oportune time (Luke 4:13) Remember 1 Cor 6:19b-20, “you are not your own, you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God, in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s”
Roy Waldrom
6 months ago
To die is against human nature, but to live we must die, there was a time in the life of Jeremiah when the message he was told to tell the people was, fight and you will die, surrender and you will live.
Julie
6 months ago
thankyou Jesus…
Belinda
6 months ago
Thank you! This is sooo where I am at. I surrender! “All to Jesus I surrender…”
frank pytel
6 months ago
Your message is the story of every genuine seeking believer, and surely a part of my experience. We are (I am) so complicated.
I appreciate the example of the brother, who with one breath said “I cannot,” and with the next breath said, “what can I do?”
It sounds like Romans 7, when we try to do what we cannot do, until we confess, “o wretched man that I am, who will deliver me?”
In John 15, Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”
Paul echoed this thought in Philippians in a positive way,
“I can do all things in Him (Christ) who empowers me.”
Thanks, brother! Keep letting the light shine in your words!
aline
5 months ago
thank you very much jesus for chip
Maris
5 months ago
Amen! I’m happy to find someone with the same Spirit. I was reading and thought to myself:have I written this.
Maris
5 months ago
Just to add a thought. As God told to Paul that His grace is sufficient for him. Likewise it is with me. God’s strenght is made perfect in our weakness. There was a time I was terrified to death of my weakness, but He has done such a miracle in me that now I can rejoice in my weakness.
Brenda Meinert
6 months ago
Oh the years that I struggled and tried so hard to live the Christian life, to do what I was supposed to do and to not do what I shouldn’t do. How long it takes us to come to the end of ourselves. How easy it is to fall back into trying to do it in ourselves, even after we have experienced what you have written so succinctly.
Thank you for sharing this message. We need to be reminded of this on a regular basis. How marvelous and wonderful are the ways of God!
Joy
6 months ago
This is where Christ has been trying to get the church for years. And you see how He is patiently and continuously reaffirming His truth through other brothers and sister in Christ througout the years; from the initial apostles until now. That’s mind blowing LOVE. Thanks for the Words of Life.
Bruce
6 months ago
Yes… I like this approach that Kieth has mentioned… It confesses and trusts in the truth, but picks up the weapons of our faith and uses them with diligence.
The Israelites were told, “I have given you the land…” but they still had to go in and wage war to possess it… AND, they were required to help one another to gain each others possessions….. (don’t neglect the power of prayer and encouragement from one another in the battle…) They also did it surrendered to “The Captain of the Host” as their commander.
Just a thought….
Deedee
6 months ago
I can’t do this Keith. Sounds like a plan i would make, once again, to solve some problem. I can see myself failing now. Sometimes i wonder if our idea of holiness is our own. I mean, whereas Jesus talked about being holy in our love toward all, unjust or not,(and thank God for that since i fall into the first category!) maybe we think holiness looks like perfection in our own way. The proper weight, no weakness, etc. I find that sometimes i am so ashamed of my weaknesses. But Jesus sees opportunity there – not to scold me into doing better or even in making me strong, but in being my strength – once again demonstrating His goodness, His kindness. For a long time i wanted to experience the POWER of God and He had to show me His character – His Kindness. I have found often that issues, problems, fall away rather when i am preoccupied with Jesus beauty and how much He’s done and all the love He’s giving me and others today. Hmmm. Maybe part of dying to the world is being so caught up with Jesus that i get away from looking at the problems i think i need to defeat in my worldly existence. Just some thoughts.
Bruce
6 months ago
Hi Kim,
I personally don’t have any quick answers for you, but I appreciate your honesty in sharing your struggle and desire to be free. Answers I do not have, but what I have I give to you….
Father in heaven; I lift up my dear sister Kim to you. You have searched her, and You have known her, You have loved her and desired her, You have understood her thoughts from afar off and are intimately acquainted with all of her ways…. and you have not left her as an orphan, but you have come to her. You say to her,
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isa 41:10
In agreement with Your desire for her to be changed into Your image, I simply ask that you would grant to her the power of the Holy Spirit to break the bonds that hold her down and keep her back from your desire. May You impart to her a new perspective and understanding of You and herself that will bring true liberty and lasting freedom. May you do the surgery as she trusts you to do things that she cannot even comprehend. Keep her heart as she keeps it fixed on You, and bring her into the true comfort and peace that comes from wholeness. Through the whole process, may she trust in Your unfailing love and faithfulness to complete the good work You have begun in her. Amen
Jan Larkin
6 months ago
I’m right there with you, Kim! The whole surrender thing in the article sounds so simple. It sounds like he just surrendered and then, right away, deliverance!
I, too, have struggled with obesity for many, many years. In 2004 I surrendered my struggles and many failures in this area to Him. It was an extremely difficult thing to do, as I faced the fact that my weight could get much higher (already in the 300’s) and my health much worse as I waited on Him for deliverance. That’s exactly what happened, but I stood my ground against well-meaning relatives and honestly confessed that I did not have the ability to lose the weight–that God would have to provide the way. They, of course, thought it was a cop-out, but a little persecution never hurt anybody!
In 2007 I came across a diet I decided to try because it promised extremely rapid weight loss. I told myself that, if God was in it, it would work; if not, it wouldn’t. I lost 180 pounds in 15 months (before that I hadn’t lost any appreciable weight in years). I felt great, was doing things I hadn’t done in years, and gave Him all the glory. I really thought He was in it, as the whole process was such a breeze for me. Shortly after reaching goal and reading a lot of man’s wisdom on how to maintain the weight loss, I started rapidly regaining the weight, eating as I always had. As of now I’ve gained back over half the loss.
So I’ve reflected a lot on what went wrong. First of all, God didn’t tell me to follow that plan. I believe He gave me just enough rope to hang myself! Now, I believe I’ve got to go back to square one and re-surrender this issue, addressing again all the issues of trust both you and I referred to.
Then, I go to a conference taught by a woman I very much love and respect, and she says, basically, “just take off the old man and put on the new.” Wait a minute! What happened to “without me ye can do nothing?” (John 15:5) Then I read I can just reckon myself dead to sin and alive to Christ (Rom. 6:11). Just saying that until I believe it kind of sounds like Word of Faith, which I was for years before I left church. Does “deny yourself” mean I can actually push away the chocolate cake, or does it just mean to deny my “self,” knowing I can do nothing? How about Romans 6:1,2: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin (yep, I know gluttony is a sin), that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
I know the Scriptures don’t contradict themselves, but I, like you Kim, am in need of some very concrete example. I liked this article, but I still don’t “get” it!
Keith Yale
6 months ago
Deedee,
just last Sunday I preached a similar message and had a young man come to me and said the exact words, “I can’t do this’ Let me tell you, you can do this, you cannot be a hearer of the word only and not a doer. You have to take these wonderful teachings that you recieve, and put action behind them. James was very clear, show me your faith by your actions, not your mouth. Demonstrate your love of Jesus, don’t just tell me about him. Jesus said if you do not obey my commandments you cannot be my deciple.
You are correct in your assesment that when you become “preoccupied with Jesus beauty…” all else falls away and we get lost in His love, but you have to come down to earth and live here amonst the heathens with Satan tempting you at every turn. Chip was teaching on allowing the Victory we have in Jesus to become a reality in our lives. You have to live that out. Obesity and impure thoughts are two of the toughest battles that are waged against us. Satan is going to attack us, over and over again. You have recieved the Victory, Jesus. And He has given you every spititual blessing. The key is how do I make that a reality in my life. How do I stop having impure thoughts, lose weight, or what ever the issue is and walk in the victory that Chip is talking about. The answer is found inside the words commitment, discipline, obedience, surrender, trust, and prayer.
Have you made the commitment to follow Christ at all costs? Even at the cost of your fleshly desires? There are dozens of verses that talk about considering the costs, putting your hand to the plow and then looking back, etc…
Are you willing to discipline your flesh to bring it into obedience of the cross? Paul talked allot about discipline, using a soldier of war as an example. Discipline is nothing more than a habit with a purpose backed up by a commitment to do what ever it takes to accomplish the goal.
Have you surrendered your will to His will?, Are you on the path to you decreasing and Him increasing? This is the main stay of Chip’s teachings
When God says X do you obey completely or do you mostly obey like King Saul did and justify your near obedience with sacrifices of your disobedience. 1 Sam 15
Do you trust God? I mean do you really trust Him? A person does not obey whom he does not trust. He will give them lip service, he will will obey in open, but behind closed doors and in their heart they disobey those they don’t trust. If God told you to to put your son on the alter and hold a knife over him and to kill him, would you? You would say that in today’s world God does not ask those things of us, but what he does ask is to believe that knows better than we do, so when he asks you to enter into a covenant with him, to be Holy as I am Holy, which is a commitment to purity, do you? Or do your eyes still enjoy the looking at the many sensual things that pervade our society, Victoria’s Secret, Abercombie and Fitch, R rated movies, the quick glance you take when a woman bends over. Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes”
I ask these questions, not to offend but to challenge you as God has challanged me to absolute and complete surrender. Remember the purpose of war is to win. And God is the general of generals, He knows the best stradegy, and best of all He knows the enemy’s next move and reveals them to us!!!
My favorite verse in the Bible….
For my determined purpose is
(ponder those two words for a few days!!)
that I may know Him,
That I may progressively become more deeply and intimantly aquainted with Him.
(progessively, the journey, not the destination)
Percieving and recognizing and understanding the wonder of His person, more strongly and more clearly. (volumes there)
That I may in some way come to know the power that flows out from His resurection (the cross) which is exerted or He exerts over His believers
That I may so share His sufferings AS TO BE
continually be trasformed in spirit into His likeness even to His Death, in the hope that if possible I may attain the spiritual and moral resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead even while still in the body.
Philippians 3:10 & 11 Amplified
Because of Him
Keith Yale