Fearless surrender

I have had this message sitting on my heart for several weeks now. At first, I was irritated with myself for being lazy - for not taking the time to think through how to word it, but now I realize God had me in a holding pattern for a reason. I needed to take a step back. To look at it with fresh eye and a calmer heart.

About a month ago, we had an all-day conference to learn more about the Holy Spirit and how we can strengthen our walk with Him. I was privileged to be part of that leadership team and the day was truly a blessing. It was free and open to everyone. There were no ties to any particular church or denomination. The whole idea was to reach the masses.

Since my name was listed as a contact on the social media posts, of course I received some emails and phone calls. And one particular phone call sat very heavy on my heart.

A woman called saying she lived a distance from the event and asked if I knew of anyone from her area travel to the conference. I knew we did, so I gave her some names and numbers, hoping that would help. But she still seemed very hesitant about going or asking anyone for a ride. After talking for a bit, the truth finally surfaced. Her true fear was having anyone in her church find out she was attending the conference. Her church didn't believe in any of the gifts of the Spirit and "if anyone from my church finds out I'm going, there will be consequences."

Seriously? Is this the world we live in now? That our churches have become so full of rules and unspoken policies that we are ostracizing those that look outside our doors for Biblical growth and fellowship? What happened to WE are the body of Christ (1 Cor.12:27)? Those four walls might be protecting us from the elements, but they are NOT the church... WE ARE THE CHURCH.

Men divided us into different denominations and variations of beliefs. God had nothing to do with that. From Genesis to Revelation, all He's ever asked of us is to believe in HIM! No other gods, nothing more than Him - just trust Him and believe Him to do what He says He'll do. Believe in Him and His word. Not just the parts of His word that are convenient for us. Not just the parts that make our life easy and pretty. Not just the parts that fit neatly into our Sunday morning messages about hope and happiness. ALL OF IT!

And I'm sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, you either believe ALL of it or NONE of it. Picking out one piece of scripture and saying THIS chapter is for today, is for us, and preaching about it for 2 months and then turning around and saying THAT chapter of scripture was just written for the people of Jesus' time and doesn't apply to us now, is like saying girls never fart. Just because you WANT to believe it, doesn't make it true. You have to accept all of it!

From the moment I walked into the doors of the conference, God kept whispering "Nicodemus" to me. I didn't give it much thought at first. I was busy getting things organized and set up. But then we starting praying. It was like a weight on my heart that He wasn't going to let me set aside until I dealt with it. At one point I was actually praying with someone else - praying for someone - and I spoke the words "fearless surrender" over them and as soon as the words left my mouth, like a lightening bolt, I knew those words were for me!

When I got back to my seat, I found the verses that spoke of Nicodemus. John 3:1-2 NIV Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a religious leader. The name "Pharisee" means "separated one." The Pharisees separated themselves from society to study and teach the law, but they also separated themselves from the common people because they considered them religiously unclean.

Who did Jesus walk with? Why did He walk this earth? To seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). The Pharisees would never have associated with fishermen, tax collectors, or prostitutes... the unclean. Pharisees looked at the common people and saw judgment. Jesus walked with them and offered mercy and grace - offered love and salvation. The Pharisees saw huge crowds of people following Jesus, looking at Him for answers and they got jealous. THEY were supposed to hold the keys to everyone's questions. THEY were supposed to get all the glory.

So, how could some common person, some carpenter from Nazareth, stroll in, claim to be the Son of God, and steal their thunder... and everyone just BELIEVE Him?

Because He was honest and authentic. He wasn't afraid to walk among them, eat with them, live with them, laugh with them, suffer with them. He knew their sorrows and their burdens. Yes, Jesus spoke truth to them. He called sin a sin, but He also let everyone know that EVERYONE was a sinner and He was there for EVERYONE. He taught instead of judging, He loved instead condemning.

And what strikes me most about Nicodemus' words - “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God." Apparently, Nicodemus wasn't the only Pharisee that secretly believed Jesus was the Messiah. But he wasn't going to admit that, and he wasn't going to risk anyone finding out that's what he believed. He snuck around in the darkness of night to let Jesus know he was a fan, a believer. He had the chance to be an example to the others, to be bold in his faith, but instead he chose fear.

Fear. That is what divides us. The fear of someone or something other than ourselves having a say in our lives. We want full control. We want the last word... even in the church - so much so that we are willing to hurt the body of Christ to stay in control.

We will all have to choose - to make a choice someday. I choose fearless surrender. I will fearlessly walk into the world every day and surrender my pride and my ego so that Jesus has the last word. Because "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1