The Glory of a Surrendered Life

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City is not surrendered because you come here and just I don't drink I don't doubt you will go to more results were known person, don't do this. That's not a surrendered life you just making that partial journey away from an old lifestyle, but that's not a surrendered life.

Your life is surrendered when you finally get one thing my dad's Carter Conlon from Times Square Church in New York City. Welcome to a call to the nation, you know, the glory of a surrendered life starts when God begins to whisper things that might seem preposterous part for me and if you're really seeking him in your heart you want to live a life that glorifies him. Then you respond to those whispers and say yes that's the glory of a surrendered life.

Here's Carter with more insight. I want to talk about the glory of the surrendered life, the glory of the surrendered life and I've been at this a long time now I've had the opportunity of coming out of a place of fear when I first got saved, you know my story many of you nine years of panic attacks, a living hell on earth being afraid to go into a room where there was more than five people panicking if I was singled out having to take so many volume that I went through college. Literally underwater is no other way to describe a very drinking way too much and frustrated, but when it came to Christ. I began to look in the word of God and begin to see something about the future that I could have, and by the grace of God laid hold of that future of traveled over most of the world. I was thinking the other day that the only place I haven't been this China and I got an invitation to China yesterday so that's gonna take care of that praise God for that and the Lord is so good he justly fulfills every dream every desire.

I've spoken the president's unbending unspoken people in government gathered together to say, speak to our site is not much really, that the Lord hasn't allowed me to do any technical place of really no ability whatsoever.

All I have is a heart for him.

I've seen tens if not hundreds of thousands of people come to Christ that God used somebody who couldn't go into a room with five people and I have preached to crowds as bigoted tell Ms. 1/2 of a million people. I've seen 100,000 saved in one service alone in Africa.

One time, tens of thousands in other places and just live this time of watchdog doing only God can do it, not boasting about anything myself is really all of him and it's really available to anybody who hasn't open heart. So God would do usually in my poverty, my struggles when I came to Christ that I had so many struggle I was sitting in a church one night and the gospel is being preached. I was a brand-new Christian I was a cop back then is a brand-new Christian and I don't remember exactly the altar call was that there was something in it disturbed my heart to believe that God was asking me to give everything I had to him for his purposes for his glory and Noah sitting there thinking that I have nothing to give to God I got really bad temper.

I'm still dealing with that object struggles galore.

I've got a marriage at some rocks. I don't really have anything at all.

I don't know how to be a father to my son in. I'm still so far back in the church. It was in the on thing is that there was a fairly wealthy church and there were people there that I didn't know there was such a thing is book of Ezekiel, no idea. I knew John 316 God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son and the people in the church.

They had so much there.

They had the information I didn't have. They had knowledge and didn't have. They had all the stuff they had a reason Christian homes.

I wasn't with the altar call was given was only about 3% for from a full church is because the downstairs and I got on my knees and began to cry and it's a God I I don't have anything to give you. I don't even have five loaves and Officious to give you I've nothing but if you can take what I am using for your glory than I give it to you as mediocre as it might be a give it to you. The Lord heard me that night and took my life and it has been an amazing life.

It's like a dream come true. I don't know how else to describe it to my wife one time.

The only other possibility is that I've been hit by a truck somewhere in a minute: none of this ever really happened. And if that's true, then this really bad news for you. That means you don't exist just in my mind, you better hope that that's not what the cases I want to talk about the glory of a surrendered life from second Corinthians chapter 3.

This poster with verses 16 to 18 and 20 from my heart and I do not can I do that and I'm trusting God that if this is a baton. The gods put in my hand. This can be somebody here that want to be somebody here that says I want to run that race.

I want to step out of the poverty may be of where I am more the loathing of myself or just all the struggles I go through it and want that to be the focus of my life. God's destiny for something bigger than that.

And so I'll take I'll take it if nobody else will I will and in that church. There was probably 500 people should have responded, but only me and to others got out of our seats and one for the God simply took me that night and I believe he can do the same thing for you. This particular chapter and convinced finishes by talking about how religion has a blindness. It was a course the Old Testament religion and before the death of Christ and how when people read the Bible without the spirit of God.

There's a an inability to see anything other than rules and regulations and laws. Such life.

But when Christ died. It tore that veil apart and gave us access into something much bigger than what they had at that time in. It begins at say in verse 16 says nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil was taken away. Another is there should be no confusion any longer. There should be no doubt about who God is and what he wants to know the Lord is the spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Now another translation of that word means generosity were God's spirit is there's this incredible generosity of God's incredible freedom that he brings into our lives, but it comes with generosity. It comes like elsewhere in the Bible.

Apostle says it if if God did not spare his son but gave them up for us, how shall he not with him freely give us all things and others got didn't go to the extent of sending his son to cross hold back from the say no. Maybe somebody else would not for you that that would make it almost strange that God would go to that extent, but then pulled back and not give you what you need to be of fulfilled witness a few years, but we all, with unveiled face beholding as in the mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord to let me say that again we have clear access to God and we are given the ability to see something of him and of what he has accomplished for us when we begin to behold. It would begin by the generosity of God and by the spirit of God within us, to be changed from glory to glory. Now the original word glory means it's a big big long definition.

Look it up in your Greek dictionary. It's going to be there were dopes and it's a huge definition if I could just boil it down, it means that which brings the name of God to reputation. That's the easiest definition I can give you so number 20 when I when I am beholding Jesus Christ when it one when I I'm doing it the way that that God says that I should and when my life is surrendered to what I'm seeing. Then God does something in my life and through my life that brings his name, the reputation, not mine.

His he does it and and my only testimony is only God could have done this.

That's my testimony. Only God could have done what is done in my life. Only God could have taken me where I am today when I was in college in the third year I I just to save some money. I applied to be a dorm Proctor do know that is the most elaborated on targeted it's not a big deal it's it's a floor and a dorm where when new students come it is Greek and say this is wrong. Family problems come talk. How hard is it to do that and so I want you to take a course or to go through a little.

Of course I flunked it. I think I flunked the course to be a dorm Proctor and they told me that I shouldn't say stuff like that people can hurt them, but they totally are not leadership material.

I made only be solved but here I am. Maybe I'm not but there's somebody inside of me who is see, that's the point. He does something as we behold him to do something inside of us that brings his name to reputation, not my name is Nate comes to reputation.

I stand and say everything God has done for me. He has done for me. I'm not done anything for him. I don't like the concept of doing something forgot I can do anything for God, but what I can do is let God do something through me for his own names for the reputation of his own in the Bible says, as I behold him. He does something inside of me that breaks his own name to reputation. So what is a surrendered life because the title VIII give this message is the glory of a surrendered life. A lot of people that don't like that or don't have a right concept of what a surrendered life as they see it is like a bank robber running down the street with a bag of money in his hand and summonses operate their surrendered and so he stops and puts up his hands and says okay I'll go to jail and I'll praise God of all get some prison religion while in there and I'll praise God and loving young people think that the Christian life is like that surrender is like I'll know more or less I can have the girl tell the guy I can. I can go dancing on Friday night to go to this and I can do that and watch this and so I'll just go to church and find I clap my hands and just be bored. The rest life of the sit home and do nothing and it's just such a force in the surrender has that concept for you. It was like one of my supposed to do with my life okay and I surrender. Surrender to God and so that's why there's such hesitation is like I does not. I just not doing this realistically, that's not what a surrendered life is is not about not doing stuff. That's a small small part of a surrendered life.

What God really is talking about is surrendering to something else is surrendering to what he had surrender to what he wants to do.

It's not just about walking away and you fully solve what God had for your life you would flee would have been abandoned stuff that tries to occupy your time and just make sure life really misery in the long run. There's no power to there's no purpose to it. You know when the people of God in the Old Testament got to the border of the promised land behind them was captivity and barrenness. That's all it was a, you know that's why God didn't lead them through in a Palm Springs because it was stated led them through the wilderness I'm in.

There was nothing there, despite his promise, which Nana represented.I will provide and I will be there for you and he brought them to the border of an accredited promise that a lender provision that literally staggers the mind, a place of power to overcome giants in the end they stood there and they wavered on the board and he was asking them to surrender to the promise doesn't make sense to not just to surrender the wasteland behind and that wasn't all that hard but to surrender to the promise that was before the got something for you so profoundly that something so powerful. I got something so supernatural.

I got something so only got to do this is see the purpose of the people of God of that time in our time is that they should bring praise to his name in the earth they should live in such a manner and be blessed in such a manner that his name again would be brought to reputation, and so he was asking them to surrender to the promise. Even though it looked almost impossible to achieve.

And I love the fact that when the spies went in to look at the promised land.

When they came out to them at a being on their shoulders and arms along beam and they had a bout of grapes so big it. It hung in the middle and that virtually touched the ground that they cannot do this vibrate and and that's at a perfect picture of Calvary you have the two thieves and you got Christ right in the middle everything pointed to where you and I are today to the cross of Jesus Christ and the incredible promise of new life that is ours beholding the glory like pulses but we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same if so, what is beholding the glory all about was behold it was me, to behold the Lord but a lot of people don't know what it means to behold the heart lately come to search this and they get okay Jesus get this image of a painting of Jesus. Maybe they saw Samara picture of Jesus in their mind and they start trying to trying to behold him because of a lack of understanding if you try to behold him and you not doing it the way that he prescribes to do it. It leads to spiritism to understand that it leads to sensual experience. It leads to coming to church, and you need smoke and flashing lights and unique noise and music committee to throw confetti in the air and cradle listing to convince you that Jesus is actually there because you're not beholding in the right is really not what were called to do.

But in fact in the early church. They didn't have electricity, so they didn't have any of that. Don't smoke, they had as if your house was on fire. That's only time negative smoke related night pulses is the best here's here's what Paul says images related to Ephesians chapter 1 says that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling. One of the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality power light and dominion, and every name that his name not only in this age but also in that which is to come is put all things under his feet and gave him to be head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all and all you see when you behold Jesus, we begin to start pondering his victory start thinking about the fact that he is the head where the body he won the race. He sits at the right hand of all power everything that is is is our everything he one is my and yours.

Every promise of God is to so when we begin to behold. In a sense, it starts that we begin to understand that Jesus won the victory for me. Jesus made her way through the veil of darkness and the struggles and trials of my life. Jesus covers me is on moving forward to get to know him in the fullness of his power and become the person that God is calling me to be.

It's all in him. My victory is in him the cleanness of my life is in him, but my hope for the future is in him everything I have is in him. So when I begin to behold that you can't beholding outside of the word of God.

You can't beholding through sensory experiences all get trapped by any of these churches that just produce a big sensory experiences as leading people into spiritism. You can't beholding outside of the word of God when I was a young copyright I when I first got saved at work. Radar wanted nothing: but it was radar back then and no retention speeders and stuff like that and is to pray for rain because the machines we had and didn't work in the rate, and God was so good one. Some of the summary essay than telling it rained and rained and rained and like so I could park behind the warehouse like a park behind it building somewhere and I would open the Bible and I would read from Matthew to Revelation. I would cry and I would cry and I would cry because the word of God was watching over me and I started to see the victory I started to behold Jesus I started to see what he had done for me. I started to understand who he was. I started that see the calling of God and where the power comes to ornament. I started understand that that the promises of God were for me all these things are spoken in the Bible, not for somebody else's God's letter to me is God's promise to me. I am a co-inheritor of victory God one through his son Jesus Christ.

He is the head. I am the body. You cannot separate the head from the body.

If the head is sitting at the right hand of God than I'm already in him pulses were in the heavenly places. We are already seated at the right hand of God, I'm already more than a conqueror.

Therefore, God has a call on my life is like pulses. If we could see the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. If we could slowly behold what he has for you can't get that apart from seeking.

You can get that apart from saying, Lord, I surrender to your plan for my life. This other stuff is not even worth talking about behind all of what I thought was with filling in the plans I thought were fun and that all of the things it that I thought were going to fulfill my life that those are not even worth talking about. I surrender to your plan for my whatever that looks like wherever it takes whatever it makes me into but you are the one I'm only with you at the right hand of God.

I'm already more than a conqueror and you are willing to still make you you will have all authority you are above every name, all principality, all power all night and all dominion you are the head of the church and you are the one who is willing to fill all with your presence, your power, your: your glory. That's what it means to behold his glory.

That's with a surrendered life looks like you not surrendered because you come here just said don't drink it on dance will go to movies elsewhere don't curse about Vista. That's not a surrendered life you just making that partial journey away from an old life – that a surrendered life. Your Elector surrendered when you finally get to the point of safe, not my will that whatever it is Lord you have for me, never spoke to Jeremiah said the plans I have for you are more than you can comprehend. The eye has not seen the ear is not heard.

The things that God's plan for those who love him. It's amazing.

I had an opportunity to live this life, but yet I feel is more my prayer lately to the Lord is as I read it for the glory of the latter temple should be greater than the former, the wine should taste the best.

At the end of the feast at the end of the back of the wedding feast instead of the beginning. So Lord I am looking forward to the next 15 years if I have that long.

I'm looking forward to with all my heart.

I'm going back door greeting here on Sunday night as I felt the Lord wanted me to do it.

I'm really really enjoying too many people are stunned that the Dorset one guy said pastor something, nothing's wrong. I started as a door greeter house of God is no step down to finish. Praise be to God bless the Lord, O my soul, it and there's there's this joy in my heart that this doesn't go away and is not circumstance.

Dependence not ministry dependent. I'm really happy to be a Christian in John chapter 16 verse 13 Jesus said these words. However, when he the spirit of truth is, it will guide you into all truth. So the Holy Spirit is not here just to give you a tingly feeling in meeting some. He will guide you into all truth will guide you into this book he will quicken as you begin to read it.

There's I've had over the years just verses of Scripture passages jump off the page literally and become part of my life this the only book I can do that. The verse of Scripture actually becomes branded in your heart that God celebrate my laws in our heart. In the minds and and suddenly you just can't put it down.

You own it, it's yours. God says this is yours I'm giving you this, when the spirit of truth is coming will guide you all into all truth. It will not speak on his own authority whatever whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you things to come.

It will tell you things in your life, the glory of a surrendered life starts when God begins to whisper things that are preposterous. Apart from him, but you really are seeking him in your heart you really do want to live a life that glorifies him when he begins to whisper into your life. Just say okay all right you put the ticket my hand on the end and you don't offer any excuses you don't waver at the border.

That's the glory of a surrendered life. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you another receivable it will show you things to come in your life and he will take the victory that I one for you and he will show what has God called you to. What is he whispering to your heart. Now you may not know every time he opens the door go through the door and trusted and I've done things on my life that are not traded on the national radio now I'm a national radio glibly that 39 states, 625 stations does get picked up by iHeartRadio nuclear know what I have radios to pick up our heart. They tell me it's a miracle.

IHeartRadio is 19 million listeners attention and they want 1/2 hour program a week. Amazing.

Amazing.

I I've never been trained to do radio. They sent somebody here from California to try to train me and they gave up his hopeless try to tell you how to use radio voice modulator drop down and up and down so they tried to train in the dispenser at their heads and then I sent word back to the people it on the radio distribution company and I said look at is in your house is on fire.

It's 2 o'clock in the morning I'm walking down the street near soundlessly party want me to tell you they got the necessity it is, what did you take it away. I can't. I felt like you know I felt exactly like when Saul tried to put his arm around David for real. This was felt foolish. I can't.

I don't talk like that. All that was about and just doing stuff still salutes of the nonqualified amendment qualified this video it is not your life is not behind you. It's just all ahead of you. If you make the choice to surrender glory of the Lord, will you be glory of the victory will become financially it's always going to be easy, but it will be worth it will be by God's grace is worth it. You will not thank you for joining us this week for a call to the nation with Carter Conley from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information log onto TSC.NYC TSC.NYC you can count on a powerful message each week on a call to the nation with Carter,