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INTRODUCTION
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:7,8.
To submit is to give over or yield to the power or authority of another; to subject to some kind of treatment or influence; to present for the approval, consideration, or decision of another or others: to submit a plan.
Submission is the act of submitting. Submission to God is the act of submitting in obedience to God’s word, will, command, leading etc. It is loyalty to The Lord. Quite often it involves being loyal to God’s chosen or ordained servants.
“But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.” Genesis 16:6-9
This subject shall be discussed under two sub-headings:
The call and demand to submit to God
The call and the counsel…
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:7,8
“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:13
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1,2
The lesson from our Lord’s model prayer
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:9,10.
Our Lord’s example of desire to be in subjection to God.
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Ma26:39.
4. The demand of being a disciple
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26,27
Quite often this happens when we submit to those over us.
“And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.” 2 Samuel 23:15-17
This is where promotion comes.
The cases and danger of not submitting to God
The opposite of submission is self-will, stubbornness or rebellion. All such behavior often attract the wrath of God.
A. Cases
1. Lucifer
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Isaiah 14:12-15
2. Builders of babel
“And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:6-9
Children of Israel
“And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.” Exodus 32:9,10
“So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.” Deut. 1:43-46
Saul, the first king of Israel
“So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;” 1 Chronicles 10:13
B. DANGER – Proverb 1:23-33
1. God will laugh at your calamity. v. 26
2. God will mock when your fear comes v. 26, 27.
3. God will refuse to answer your prayers v. 28.
“Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” Proverbs 1:23-33
CONCLUSION
The Spirit of God is calling all and sundry to be in submission to God. This will happen many times when we submit to those placed over us.
A Call to take a Decision
Beloved, have you entered into personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour? If you have not, you need to do so without delay. Inviting and accepting Jesus Christ into your life is the beginning of a glorious and eternally rewarding relationship with God, your Creator. It is a decision you can never regret as you walk with Him faithfully and consistently for the rest of your life. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ today by acknowledging that you are a sinner. God sent Jesus Christ to die for you and as you confess your sins to Him, He will forgive you so that you will not have to be punished for the same. Ask Jesus Christ to cleanse our with His precious blood, deliver you from sin and Satan and empower you by the Holy Spirit to henceforth live above sin and live totally for God from now on. You can write and share your testimony via [email protected]
