The Power of Yielding

“For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ROMANS 6:10-11

 

PONDER THIS

In the matter of Christ’s victory, it is not your ability that counts. It is not your responsibility; it is your response to His ability. You are to yield with all your heart. That means going in His direction instead of your own. When we yield in traffic, we pay attention to the flow and move when it is time to do so. As Christians, we stop going our way in our timing and we yield to the Lord Jesus Christ.

When temptation comes, you will yield. The only question is, which way will you yield? Will you yield to Satan? Will you yield to Christ? Stop fighting temptation. Why fight a battle already lost when you can enjoy a victory already won? Don't fight temptation. Yield to Jesus. Incredible power will come into your life when you yield to Jesus Christ. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. Amazing grace gives abounding victory.

When have you recently faced temptation? How did you respond? In what direction did you yield?

How does Christ equip us to handle temptation? Who is someone who holds you accountable to follow the way of Christ when you face temptation?

PRACTICE THIS

Share with an accountability partner how you have experienced temptation recently, asking your friend to pray for you to yield to Christ instead of to your old life.

 

 

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Has Does Your Heart Respond to God?

 

PRAY OVER THIS

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’” Jeremiah 18:3-6

 

PONDER THIS

Imagine a forest fire sweeping through an area that comes across a stump primed for burning. The fire comes sweeping along and the stump has rosin and pine tar on it, so it burns brightly. And then it goes out. Then, maybe the underbrush grows up again in three or four years and another fire comes along, burning furiously. When it gets to that stump, it may ignite it again, but it doesn’t burn nearly as brightly, not nearly as long, and the fire goes out. There may come a time in later years when the fire roars and comes through, but when it comes to that blackened and charred stump, it doesn’t even glow. The fire jumps right over. That happens in congregations too.

I have been preaching when the power of God’s Spirit would move across the congregation like a fire and souls would come forward weeping, saying, “I want to give my heart to Jesus Christ.” But some will sit there untouched. They don’t feel a thing. The fire of God’s Spirit never moves on them. They have eyes but they don’t see. They have ears but they don’t hear. I want to beg of you: While the clay is soft and pliable, come to Him, even if you’ve messed up, and He will receive you.

What are some things that lead you to grow cold toward God?

When was a time you had a passion and desire for God? What happened? What is different now?

PRACTICE THIS

Pray and ask God to fill you with His Spirit and a passion to know Him more.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Yielding to Jesus?

PRAY OVER THIS

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Romans 6:11-12

 

PONDER THIS

In the matter of spiritual victory, it is not your ability that counts. It is not your responsibility; it is your response to Jesus’ ability. Your responsibility is your response to His ability. You can’t do it without Him. He will not do it without you. You must yield.

I heard about the driver of a little pickup truck; he jumped out on the interstate and never slowed down to look and see if someone was coming. He nearly caused an accident, so the driver of a big eighteen-wheeler pulled over and leaned out the window and said, “Hey, didn’t you see that sign?” The man said, “What sign?” The trucker said, that sign that said, “Y-I-E-L-D.” The man responded, “Well, I opened the window and yelled as loud as I could.”

You cannot yield half-heartedly; you are to yield with all of your heart. I’m going to sum it up and tell you something that has absolutely gripped my heart. When temptation comes, you must yield, and you will yield. That much is settled. The only question is, which way will you yield? Will you yield to Satan or to Christ? That’s the only question. When temptation comes, you must yield. You must and you will. Choose today to yield to Jesus.

What does it look like to yield to Jesus in your life?

What is something you like to have control over? How can you yield to Jesus in this area?

PRACTICE THIS

Ask a spiritual mentor how he or she seeks to continually yield to Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Yield Yourself to Christ

BIBLE MEDITATION

“…present [yield] yourselves to God…”

(Romans 6:13, brackets added for clarification)

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

I heard about a man who entered an interstate out of a side road and did not even slow down. A big eighteen-wheeler pulled over, almost wrecking him. The truck driver leaned out of the window and yelled, “Hey, didn’t you see that sign?” The man said, “What sign?” The trucker said, “That sign that said Y-I-E-L-D.” “Oh,” he said, “I opened the window and yield as loud as I could.”

In the matter of victory, it is not your ability or your responsibility that counts. It is not even your response to His ability. You must choose to yield to Christ. You are to yield with all of your heart to the power, the presence, and the provision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT

Look up the definition of “yield.” What does it say about the right of way? Who has the “right of way” in your life? Come before the Lord and surrender all of you to all of Him today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Vulnerable Are You?

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, a great fortress built high on a rocky hill, was almost impenetrable. But its great strength became its weakness. They put sentries all around that castle except in one place. On one particular side, there’s such a sheer rock cliff that it was thought impossible to attack, so no sentries were placed there. And it was from there that the enemy came and scaled that rock cliff. From there the castle was overtaken. At the strongest point, the castle fell because right there the guard had been let down.

God is very wise to point out to us that sometimes our place of strength can become our place of weakness.

Did you hear about the man who was praised for being so humble? He started a collection to build a statue in his honor.

Every strength, when taken to an extreme, becomes a weakness. Think about it. Determination taken too far can become stubborn-ness. Enthusiasm could become fanaticism. Courage not yielded to God’s control can become reckless-ness.

ACTION POINT

Every good quality, if you become proud of it, becomes a weakness. In genuine humility, ask God to take your strengths and bring them under His control. Remember, you must willingly yield that control to God.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Every Day Can Be Sweeter Than the Day Before

BIBLE MEDITATION

“Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…” Hebrews 3:15

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT

We hear people say, "Well, get right with God—you may die." Let me change that: "Get right with God—you may live." And if you live, you can live with Jesus.

Don't get the idea that being a Christian is paying some sort of penalty to get into Heaven…like taking bad medicine to get well. You don't like the way it tastes, but you choke it down.

I would be a Christian even if there were no Heaven or Hell, just to be able to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Now, there is a Heaven and there is a Hell, but serving Jesus is so wonderful, I’d do it even if there weren’t. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and… have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Oh, there are sorrows. We have troubles. Persecutions, certainly. Unsaved people have them too. But God’s child has Someone to bring his sorrows to. A Christian has a hope and a strength and looks forward to the day when they'll be no more sorrows, no more suffering when Jesus takes every tear and turns it to a pearl; the day He takes every hurt and turns it to a hallelujah.

ACTION POINT

We have a loving Savior. How wonderful to know the Lord Jesus Christ in this life. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before. Get right with God now, because you may live.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Would You Hide a Key from God?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’”... (Jeremiah 18:5-6)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God the Potter has the clay upon His wheel—but something happens. It’s marred. It’s ruined. Did God make a mistake? The problem is not in the hands of the Potter. The problem is in the clay. Now, what could be the problem in the clay? First, there might be some rock, some hidden impurity keeping the vessel from becoming what it ought to be. There may be some hidden impurity in your life, marring what God wants to do. Or it may just be that the clay is not broken enough. The clay is too stiff. The clay does not yield to the hand of the Potter. What is clay to do in the hand of the potter? We are to yield.

ACTION POINT:

Are you yielded? Can God form and shape you and make out of you what He wants? We must be willing to say, “Lord, You are the Potter, I’m the clay; mold me, make me after Thy will” (from the hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”). Have you said, “Lord, here I am. Make of me what You wish. Do with me what You will”? Most of us dare not dream what we could be if we would allow God to have His way in our lives.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Are You Willing to Yield to God?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Go and get a potter’s earthen flask…’ Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again…’ ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words’” Jeremiah 19:1, 10-11, 15.

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

When you say, “I’m not going to yield to God,” you are the clay God is describing here in the book of Jeremiah. Clay that was once soft and pliable has now dried and hardened. It cannot be reshaped. It can only be thrown away without being broken and turned into clay again.

There is genuine peril in a life that rebels against God. Some people, when they realize their hidden impurities and stubborn resistance to God, are willing to be broken. They say, “Here I am Lord. I yield myself to you. I repent. Take me, make me, mold me. Give me a new start.” And God will.

On the other hand, you can say, “It’s my life. I’m going to live it the way I want to. I’m not going to yield.” That’s your privilege. But if you do that, you’ll be hardened in that position, and once the clay is hardened, the Potter cannot remold it. He cannot remake it.

ACTION POINT:

God offers a second chance. When you read the Bible, you find it’s full of people God gave a second chance to. But always, always they were pliable. They were willing to yield to Him. Search your heart. Are you pliable?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What Might Happen to You on the Potter’s Wheel?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’”... Jeremiah 18:5-6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God the Potter has the clay upon His wheel—but something happens. It’s marred. It’s ruined. Did God make a mistake? The problem is not in the hands of the Potter. The problem is in the clay. Now, what could be the problem in the clay? First, there might be some rock, some hidden impurity keeping the vessel from becoming what it ought to be. There may be some hidden impurity in your life, marring what God wants to do. Or it may just be that the clay is not broken enough. The clay is too stiff. The clay does not yield to the hand of the Potter. What is clay to do in the hand of the potter? We are to yield.

ACTION POINT:

Are you yielded? Can God form and shape you and make out of you what He wants? We must be willing to say, “Lord, You are the Potter, I’m the clay; mold me, make me after Thy will” (from the hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”). Have you said, “Lord, here I am. Make of me what You wish. Do with me what You will”? Most of us dare not dream what we could be if we would allow God to have His way in our lives.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Danger of Drifting

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. (Hebrews 2:1)

We all know people that this has happened to. There is no urgency. No vigilance. No focused listening or considering or fixing of their eyes on Jesus. And the result has not been a standing still, but a drifting away.

That is the point here: there is no standing still. The life of this world is not a lake. It is a river. And it is flowing downward to destruction. If you do not listen earnestly to Jesus and consider him daily and fix your eyes on him hourly, then you will not stand still; you will go backward. You will float away from Christ.

Drifting is a deadly thing in the Christian life. And the remedy for it, according to Hebrews 2:1, is: Pay close attention to what you have heard. That is, consider what God is saying in his Son Jesus. Fix your eyes on what God is saying and doing in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

This is not a hard swimming stroke to learn. The only thing that keeps us from swimming against sinful culture is not the difficulty of the stroke, but our sinful desire to go with the flow.

Let’s not complain that God has given us a hard job. Listen, consider, fix the eyes — this is not what you would call a hard job description. In fact, it is not a job description. It is a solemn invitation to be satisfied in Jesus so that we do not get lured downstream by deceitful desires.

If you are drifting today, one of the signs of hope that you are born again is that you feel pricked for this, and you feel a rising desire to turn your eyes on Jesus and consider him and listen to him in the days and months and years to come.

John Piper

Which is first? Handshake or the sword?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“. . . now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.” Romans 6:19

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

After a splendid victory at sea, Lord Nelson confronted the French admiral who was surrendering. Dressed in all his regalia, the admiral approached Nelson to surrender. 

With his sword swinging by his side, the admiral put out his hand to the British commander.

Lord Nelson stepped back and said, “Your sword first.”

Lot of people who think they can walk up and glad-hand the Lord Jesus Christ.  He says, “Your sword first.” Surrender first! Jesus is not an appeaser, and He will never make a truce with sin. Never! We have to abdicate the throne. We have to surrender.

ACTION POINT:

Read Romans 6. Count the number of times the word “yield” is written. What does Paul want us to yield?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Pleased with His Precepts

This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3–5)

What is plain in these verses is that being born again — being born of God — turns the commandments of God from being burdensome to being our delight. How does that work?

How does being born of God make the commandments of God a delight rather than a burden?

The apostle John says, “This is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4). In other words, the way that being born of God overcomes the worldly burdensomeness of God’s commandments is by begetting faith. This is confirmed in 1 John 5:1, which says, literally, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.”

Faith is the evidence that we have been born of God. We do not cause ourselves to be born again by deciding to believe. God creates our willingness to believe by causing us to be born again. As Peter said in his first letter, God “caused us to be born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Our living hope, or faith in future grace, is the work of God through new birth.

So, when John says, “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world,” and then adds, “And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4), I take him to mean that God enables us, by the new birth, to overcome the world — that is, to overcome our worldly disinclination to keep God’s commandments. The new birth does this by creating faith, which evidently includes a disposition to be pleased by God’s commandments, rather than put off by God’s commandments, so that they feel burdensome.

Therefore, it is faith that overcomes our inborn hostility to God and his will, and frees us to keep his commandments and to say with the psalmist, “I delight to do your will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8).

John Piper 

Are you following this very bad advice?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Sometimes I hear advisers tell young people, “Make all the money you can, just so you make it honestly.” That’s not good advice.

If you make all the money you can, you’re going to be making money when you should be doing something else. You’re going to be making money when you ought to be with your family, your spouse, your children, in community with other believers—and above all, alone with God.

I’m not against making money. I’m simply saying we need to stop and prioritize our lives. Do you know what I think God does with some of us? He makes us to lie down. We won’t do it unless He makes us. Don’t let it come to that.

ACTION POINT:

Why not stop right now and pray, “Lord Jesus, You don’t have to make me lie down. I’d rather slow down. I want to be still and know that You are GOD! Show me how.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Yielding Yourself To Christ

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“…yield yourselves unto God…” Romans 6:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

I heard about a man who entered an interstate out of a side road and did not even slow down. A big eighteen-wheeler pulled over, almost wrecking him. The truck driver leaned out of the window and yelled, “Hey, didn’t you see that sign?” The man said, “What sign?” The trucker said, “That sign that said Y–I–E–L–D.” “Oh,” he said, “I opened the window and yield as loud as I could.”

In the matter of victory, it is not your ability or your responsibility that counts. It is not even your response to His ability. You must choose to yield to Christ. You are to yield with all of your heart to the power, the presence, and the provision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Look up the definition of “yield.” What does it say about the right of way? Who has the “right of way” in your life? Come before the Lord and surrender all of you to all of Him today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Being Spirit-Filled

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “...Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” Acts 9:6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

So many Christians want to be Spirit-filled, but have they ever asked why God should fill them with His Spirit?

I want you to imagine a man pushing a car into a service station. It has no battery in it. The car has four flat tires, a hole in the gas tank, and half the wires are disconnected. The attendant comes out, looks at this rattle trap, and says, “May I help you?”

The man says, “Yeah, fill ‘er up.”

What do you think that attendant would say? “What for?” would be appropriate.

I think God sometimes says, “What for?” to us. Instead, we need to just sign the contract at the bottom and say, “Lord, You fill it in.”

ACTION POINT:

Bow before the Lord, open your hands, and say, “Lord, It’s all You. I am nothing but a vessel for You to use. Use me as You will.”

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Letting God Work In and Through You

BIBLE MEDITATION:

 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

One of the greatest secrets I have ever learned is this: God doesn’t want me to do anything for Him. He wants to do something through me.

People say, “Well, I just serve God in my poor, little, old weak way.”  I feel like saying, “Well, quit it.  He doesn’t want you to serve Him in your poor, little, old weak way. He wants you out of the way, so He can flow through you!”

We need to make ourselves available to God and say, “God, I’m tired of being inhibited. I want to be inhabited by You. I want You to live Your life through me.”

ACTION POINT:

Where have you been standing in the way of God instead of surrendering to God and letting Him live through you?

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers