Take My Life and Let It Be

Introduction

You’re in trouble. My watch battery is dead.

I know there’s a lot of talk on the wall. I understand. You know, you really haven’t sung, oh, spread the tidings round until you’ve done it with a group from Harlan County, Kentucky. The first group where I labored in Indianapolis, Indiana, all those folks were from Harlan County, Kentucky. And boy, there is a country twang you can put on that song. Oh boundless love divine. How shall this heart of mine to wandering mortals tell the matchless grace divine? What an awesome thought that is. That I in earth’s decline should end his image shine. That’s what this is all about today, folks. The marvelous love and grace of God, and how privileged we are. We who are the people of God. That we should in earth’s decline be those called to end his image shine.

And may what we do in this place and the words that I speak today, may they assist us in this great endeavor. May we truly shine in his image as we live our lives. But there is a catch to doing that. The short two-word phrase, hostile environment, gets thrown around a lot, especially during football season. Jill has been asking me forever to put up a picture of Kyle Field in my slides. I could have done it today, but Kyle Field was anything but a hostile environment yesterday to the Alabama Crimson Tide, especially the offense. Sometimes Holdenfield advantage is pretty powerful in sport. When you have to go in the midst of 80 to 100,000 screaming lunatics and try to compete. But perhaps the term is better related to the climbing of a mountain.

There’s a recent article in Reader’s Digest called, interestingly enough, the mess at the top of the world. Can you imagine with all the people that are climbing Mount Everest now? I guess if you want to do something and it’s on your bucket list, one thing you want to accomplish, climb the tallest mountain in the world. Climb Mount Everest. You know what goes with that? After decades of people trying to fulfill the bucket list and go to the top of Mount Everest. Trash. There is trash everywhere on top of Mount Everest. And even more, there are dead bodies. The latest climbers pass by four dead bodies. It’s hard to get dead bodies off of Mount Everest, and they don’t decompose at the normal rate of death because it’s so cold.

I want to tell you, people dying on Mount Everest. I mean, that’s a hostile environment. And in regard to what we deal with spiritually, sometimes it feels like climbing Everest. It is an uphill climb. And I know I’m speaking to people in this audience this morning who feel that spirituality right now is a difficult climb. Not sure if I want to persevere in it. Not sure if I want to get started in it. Because it feels rugged. It seems rugged. Not sure I’m cut out for that, like the climbers who didn’t have experience and thus died in the harsh conditions of Everest. How are we going to survive spiritually in a very hostile environment? Oh, there are worse places, I guess, than Tom Ball and Magnolia, Texas.

1. Survive With Frequent Thought of God

Try New York City. Try Chicago. Oh, try Houston for that matter. But I don’t care where you live. This is the devil’s domain. This is where his sphere of influence monopolizes the lives of people by the countless thousands. So no matter where you work or where you go to school or what you do, you need to realize that out there is a very hostile environment to faith. And the only way you are going to survive is with frequent thought of God. How often do thoughts of God cross your minds today? Right? That’s a good thing. How much beyond that? How much time do you spend in this hostile environment of our world meditating on the things of God, meditating on the fact that my thoughts and my affections and my will and my character must be brought in tune to the will of God?

How much measurement of that goes on in our day-to-day life? How much effort and work do we put into that? That may suggest how we’re climbing spiritually. How often do we have thoughts of glory? Thoughts of heaven. That may reveal a lot as well. And how often does the activity of Satan cross our minds? I’m so thankful for the study that we’re engaged in the auditorium right now as we think about the activity of our adversary. Colossians chapter 3. Verses 1 through 4 tells believers of the first century and certainly relevant to us in the 21st century. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above. Why say that, Paul? Because many who have been raised up with Christ, stop seeking the things above.

Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and He’s still there. Set your mind or fix your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Or you have died. And your life is hidden with Christ in God.

That’s what the hostile environment does not want to allow you to do. Those who have been raised with Christ and are seeking the things above, they have died to self and died to sin, and our lives are now hidden with Christ, all wrapped up in him that I in his image should shine. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. And my how we need to anticipate that great moment. Without the practice of Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 through 4, you’re not likely to feel anything. And in a worship, in a worship assembly like this, you will likely not find any success in defeating the adversary, the devil.

Are you still with me this morning? Have you already been distracted?

2. For to Me to Live Is Christ

Think about your soul’s spiritual condition before God. And I want you to read with me, Philippians chapter 1, verses 21 through 30. In this text, Paul is explaining what his life is all about and what our lives as Christians should be all about. If we have indeed set our affections on things above and not on things of this earth, he said, For to me to live is Christ. You want to endure in a hostile world, in a hostile environment, you must possess this attitude. For to me, to live is Christ. We don’t have to make decisions about whether or not we’re going to wake up on the Lord’s day and assemble with the Lord’s people. Or if at all possible, attend with the Lord’s people at other occasions when they’re assembling together?

Because to me, to live is Christ. And to die is gain. If I am to live on in the flesh, Paul says, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Is that what it will mean for us? He goes, I don’t know which to choose. I’m hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ. And then underscore this. If you don’t have this underlined in your Bible, you should. If you don’t like writing in your Bible, you should still underscore this. Or write on your iPad where your Bible is being read. Mark it. For that is very much better. And it will always be so. And don’t ever be tempted to believe that it is not better. This is a hostile environment.

Here it is an inferior environment to what Christ has planned for us. It is surpassing. That is very much better. Yet to remain on in the flesh, as he did for a little while, but he, of course, he no longer is, yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Again, fruitful labor while I remain. And convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all. For your progress and your joy in the faith. Folks, that’s why we preach. That’s why we teach. That’s why our elders lead and shepherd us. Because of your progress and your joy in the faith. So that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

He wants to see those brethren in Philippi. But he says, Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. So that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. In no way alarmed by your opponents. There’s that hostile environment again, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me and now here to be in me. And so as I read these two texts in Colossians and in Philippians, and think about our response to God in the midst of a hostile environment, I think what perfectly captures those thoughts is the hymn that Tim led before I spoke.

Take my life and let it be.

Conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. We say to Jesus, our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Those of us who have been raised up with him, we are saying to him, Take my life, and let it be.

3. Cultivate and Maintain the Sense of Indebtedness

Faith in Jesus Christ. What does this mean to you, the recipients of the gospel of grace, who have been baptized into Christ and have risen to walk in newness of life? What does it mean in your circumstances? He says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies. A living sacrifice, a living debt, a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service. Why is it reasonable to say to the Lord, take my life and let it be? Well, first of all, you only exist because of Him. That’s a good reason. As we saw last week, in Him, we live and move and have our very being. We are dependent upon God whether we want to acknowledge or realize that or not.

You can say, Oh no, I’m a very independent being. No, you’re not. You’re dependent upon your Creator for survival, whether you like it or not. Instead, you should acknowledge it and rebel in it. And not only is He your creator, He is your redeemer, as He would say in verse 28. In no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you and that too from God. How do you make this offering and continue to set your affections on things above and to conduct yourself striving? And that involves some sweat and effort and difficulty. Continue on striving, he says, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, standing firm in one spirit with one mind, together striving for the faith of the gospel.

How do you maintain that? May I suggest that you must constantly cultivate and maintain the sense of indebtedness. I’m a debtor. That’s what Paul said. The one who said, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gained, he said in Romans chapter 1, I am a debtor to preach the gospel. As we saw in our text last week in 1 Timothy chapter 1, because he had received mercy. And God had demonstrated his patience, and if grace had been poured out to him, Paul was thus indebted to preach the gospel. It’s the key. Indebtedness is a sense of indebtedness. It is the key to a submissive response to God and productivity in his cause.

It was a February night 30 years ago.

When I made the decision to preach the gospel.

4. To What Extent Should I Surrender Myself to God?

As the passage that motivated me to choose this course in life was Romans chapter 1, Paul saying, I am a debtor to preach the gospel. And while there have been times that I wanted to quit, if you think you could do it better, just do it. Fine. The times that I’ve wanted to quit. Make tents, do something else, secular work. I toyed with it. I keep coming back to. This is what the Lord wants me to do. I’m a debtor. And once you maintain that sense of indebtedness, the question must be raised to what extent should I surrender myself to God? And that’s what I like about this hymn. Now I noticed our hymn in RJ’s book has only three verses. This has four. There are actually five.

I want to share with you one verse that’s not in either of these compilations. But first, take my life. What does it mean to surrender ourselves to God? Take my life and let it be. My life, my moments, let them flow in ceaseless praise. That’s more than just a first day of the week. Take my hands and my feet. Let them move at the impulse of thy love. Verse 3 that is not in this hymn is about our voices. My voice and my lips let me sing always only for my king, filled with messages from thee. My will, my heart, it shall be thy royal throne. My love, myself. At thy feet, its treasure store ever only all for thee. You know what I think the problem is?

We want to hold out on God. We don’t want to give him all of that. We’ll give him a little bit of that. We’ll give him some of that. On the first day of the week, we’ll give him a few hours of that. But we think we’re giving up too much. If we really say to God, as we have said to God in song that we will do, take my life and let it be. Daily devotion, daily effort to be, to shine in his image, that I and earth decline, should in his image shine. We hold out on God because we realize when we say, take my life and let it be, that we become vulnerable. As I did when I decided 30 years, I didn’t know how vulnerable I would be, but when I decided 30 years ago to preach the gospel, you when you make a step like that, when you decide I’m going to serve the Lord, if you say to God, take my life and let it be, when you don’t know all the circumstances that are going to unfold in your life, it’s a very vulnerable thing.

5. One Successful Day Does Not Guarantee Heaven

It’s vulnerable. When Jesus emptied himself and took upon himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. Philippians chapter 2, 5 through 8. But we must rely on God’s promise. Matthew 23, 11 and 12. If I humble myself, I shall be exalted. He who exalts himself shall be humbled. We have to know the payoff that is coming for this extent of surrender. And I would make this observation about this psalm and these thoughts this morning, that one successful day as a Christian does not heaven guarantee. You doing pretty good today? I’m doing pretty good today. I’ve had spiritual thought. We’ve engaged in a rousing study of Satan’s activity, our adversary trying to defeat him, and we’ve had some wonderful hymns together, and we’ve thought about God, and we prayed to God, and we’ve been encouraged, we’re going to walk out of this place feeling better spiritually about ourselves.

And well, we should. But this isn’t all of it. If Sunday and Wednesday are the only days I think about God and righteousness, listen. Those are the only days that I’m truly a Christian.

If these are the only days that we ever think about God and his righteousness, these are the only days that we’re really a Christian. And yet, Paul would say later in Colossians 3, where we were reading, and whatever you do, in word or indeed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus on the basis of all that he is and all that he means to us, whatever you do in word or indeed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to the Father through him. It’s more than just a one or two day a week. A four to seven hour offering to God. I’ve always loved Jude 20 and 21. I’ve decided in recent years, when I go into gospel meetings and people take me out to eat, I try to send a note of thank you to the people for their kindness and graciousness to me.

6. Assemblies as a Stepping Stone

And I always sign at the end with my name, Jude 20 and 21. I don’t write it out. I hope they go look it up. But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, which may have a peculiar application to a first century audience. Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. That’s not just a Sunday verse. That’s not just a Wednesday night at 7.30 verse. That’s an everyday verse. Build yourself up in the most holy faith. Keep yourselves in the love of God. And one final point. We need to see assemblies as merely a stepping stone or a facilitator of spiritual growth. This isn’t the end.

Check. We’re going to talk about that next week, Lord willing, if I get that sermon written. Check. Is that all we’re doing? Going through the motions. We sang the right songs. We prayed the right prayers. We listened to him go on for 30 to 35 minutes. We endured it. We’re done. Checklist. Let’s go eat. Is that what it is? Or did we wake up this morning thinking, I’m coming here to offer something to God, which is consistent with an offering that I’m making in my day-to-day life. And I’m going to do this with as much zeal and enthusiasm I can muster because he’s deserving. And I’m here to encourage all these people. And in the process of that, I’m going to get built up, and I’m going to learn some things and hear some things that are going to help me to continue to set my affections on things above.

For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Did we see this activity not as an end in itself?

But as a stepping stone.

That I and earth’s decline should end his image.

I don’t know that I knew that, Tim. Dear Lord, hear my prayer. I’m glad I was here today to pray that prayer with you. You know, sometimes before the Lord’s Supper, I get amused. It’s hard to officiate at the Lord’s Supper table. We say things like, oh boy, that probably wasn’t the best thing to say. But here’s what you hear a lot. Remove all worldly thoughts from your mind and focus now. Look, we should have done that when we came in the building. Maybe we ought to move that up to the elders’ announcements at the very beginning. But if we said it every time, oh, he said that before, he said it last week, the week after that. But removing the worldly thoughts from our mind, that ought to take place right as we come into this building.

Conclusion

We’re here to focus on spiritual things. We’re here to do things that are consistent with me saying to God, take my life and let it be. Why don’t more people make that awesome decision? Why do people want to hold out on God and not do what these scriptures say one must do to be saved and really have life? Why aren’t more people say? Take my life and let it be. Have you said that to the Lord? Well, I think there’s some answers. Some people don’t say that because they don’t see themselves as lost. If heaven looks down now and has sin on your account, you stand in danger of the judgment. If you die in that condition, you’re going to be lost with the devil and his angels in hell forever and ever.

But you’re not going to respond to the saving of your soul if you don’t see how lost you are. I tell you, a lot of folks just want to take someone’s word for it. You think you’re saved? You’re saved. Really? What kind of confidence is that? Are you sure that’s what the book has said about your soul’s condition? So many people just want to, somebody, a slap on the back, somebody say, ah, you’re good, you’re good. You believe in Jesus, you’re good. You said the sinner’s prayer, you’re good. But what about this book suggests that you’re saved? Have you done, as I’ve said more than once this morning? Been baptized into Christ, a reflection of the fact that you’re dying to self and repenting of sin, changing your course.

Have you confessed the name of Jesus unto salvation? Have you been baptized into Christ and risen to walk in newness of life? Have you truly been raised up with him because of what you know this book says? Have you investigated that thoroughly enough? Can we help you investigate it further? And people don’t obey, I think. Perhaps even more than the first two reasons. Whoa. You’re asking for a commitment. Nasty word in our society. I’m already overcommitted. I want to stay here where I’m comfortable. And when we hold on God, again, that’s no. Don’t interfere with my comfort here. People don’t obey the gospel. Because they think the cost is simply too great. If you don’t hate your own life, mother, father, any earthly relationship.

And take up your cross and follow me. Jesus said, You can’t be my disciple. I’m not going to sugarcoat that. There’s a cost to following the Lord. And so many balk at the cost. And I get it. But you know what they don’t see? The greater cost of saying no.

You’re going to lose more. It’s going to cost you far more significantly to hold out on God than to say, take my life and let it be. Where are you? Did you say it in the past? Are you re-energized to say it again? You said it in song. I heard you sing it. Take my life and let it be.

Or are you saying, Don’t take my life and leave me be. If that’s your choice, you’re choosing less. You’re hurting yourself. You’re depriving yourself of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. The living King. The helper, our high priest. Whoever lives to make intercession for his people. He is able to save forever those who draw near to him. Well, my watch may be broken, but I can still see the clock on the wall. What is your response to God?

Don’t take my life, leave me be. Or take my life and let it be. Holy. Consecrate to the Lord. Make the wise decision while we stand and sing.