Yieldedness is FREEDOM

Every time you commit a little more to God, you take more limits off God. God is actually limited by our own limitations. 

God is as BIG to you as you allow Him to be. Every time you say, “oh no, I don’t think I can do that” you’re putting limits on what God can do through you. Whenever you find out that “so and so has cancer” and you allow your thoughts to go into depression, sadness or you consider an eventual death, you’re limiting what God can do. We are the ones limiting God from fully operating in our lives by the limitations we put on ourselves, on others and on Him.

Jesus said, “All things are possible to him that believes”. But most of us hesitate to ‘go there’. We do know that ALL means ALL, but surely it couldn’t include getting that raise, or getting that breakthrough, or that healing…

That’s why surrendering our will and our small thinking is so powerful. Because it opens God’s opportunities to our life. 

God doesn’t want us to stretch and grow so we can suffer and be in deprivation or in constant sacrifice. No, whatever we’re forsaking is FREEING us into greater opportunity. We’re letting go of dead weight and what’s killing us, and we’re taking the limitations off of what we’ve put on God. His Word says that He wants to give us “more than we can ask or think”… He’s got “exceeding and great promises that He wants us to be partakers of”.

Just think…if you’re so yielded to the Lord that He can trust you by sending someone along your way, so that you can heal that person, or deliver him from fears, alcohol or drugs, you’ll see some mighty miracles right in front of YOUR EYES… every day. But for as long as you think, “Oh well, that could never happen to me”, you just limit God right there by your small thinking.

All yieldedness means, is to align your will so that it is in harmony with God’s will, then He can use you to do “great and mighty things which you know not of”. God doesn’t expect you to do it, but He wants you to expect Him to do a miracle at every encounter. You quit having a battle when you surrender and decide to believe. 

Faith is a choice to take an action. It’s not passive. It’s YOU starting to move in the direction of a miracle. 

I often get asked by people who are not used to witnessing their faith, “How do you get to witness to everybody you meet? How do you even start?” My answer is simple. “I’ve made it part of my opening speech”. 

Whenever people ask me ‘how are you doing?’, I tell them “I’m happy… So very happy“. And of course, they ask me ‘how’s that’? -Or they’ll say, “happiness is a good thing”. And I reply, “it sure is… and you can create your own happiness… It all starts with your thoughts, and then your voice! If you can control your thoughts to only focus on good things, and control your mouth so you only speak blessings, it’s a law of God that you will reap what you sow. You’ll only get happiness coming back to you. God has made it so easy for us to live a full and an abundant life. It’s not about having a lot of money, it’s about having a heart FULL, so full that you can get to where you can give, love, share, and be a light”. –That alone usually starts a pretty deep conversation about God. Ha!

You can always start with a testimony about some awesome thing that God is doing in your life. A testimony is VERY powerful. 

From the start, I put myself in a position for God to SPEAK to them and to do a miracle for them. God wants to LOVE on people, there’s never any question about that. So, I situate myself for Him to do just that. Plus I always try to pray for them before parting… either for healing or for a breakthrough. And that’s how I see MIRACLES every day. I committed long ago not to let any opportunity pass me by. Why? Because I’ve yielded my will to be in line with His, knowing that there’s never anyone that God doesn’t want to love on, heal, deliver or FREE into the kingdom of light.

YIELDEDNESS is a bad word in most religious circles, it’s akin to sacrificing on the altar, slaughtering your flesh. But that’s WRONG. We sing songs like, ” I surrender all, I die daily, I mortify the old man…”. And it all sounds so PAINFUL. No, yielding should be synonymous to freedom from your own limitations and hang-ups to where God can finally do great things in us and through us. Yielding is committing to letting God use all of you so He can do through you those “greater works than these shall you do”.

God only uses yielded men and women, no others will do. Why? Because others are too full of themselves and too big. They struggle and battle all day and complain they can “never” find the will of God’… Ha! –Because they’re not willing to surrender their will. They keep holding onto the steering wheel of their lives. They’re still convinced that they can lead their own lives, even after so many messes. Their head is bloody but unbowed. Whereas if God can get you out of the way, then He has a chance to do great and mighty things in your life, not just for you but through you. You quit having battles when you surrender.

Remember, our own spirits are still unrestrained and must be voluntarily under the Lord’s control, or they can certainly lead us astray just as bad as an evil spirit! They become evil spirits in disobedience and in unyieldedness. 

The very best ability for any Christian is availability. MANY are called, but few get up. Truth resisted loses its power over the mind. Spiritual resistance causes spiritual callousness. You get to where you can’t hear God’s call on your life because you’ve resisted it for so long. Submission doesn’t have anything to do with lack of willpower. To the contrary, it has everything to do with disciplining your will to doing the right thing. –The God thing.

I remember reading a story about this gardener who needed a recommendation letter from his former employer. He was a very gifted gardener, knew all about flowers and plants and weeds, etc. And so his employer proceeded to extol all of his virtues, abilities, talents and experiences and fill the whole first page about what all he can do, and on the second page, there was only one line. It said, “…but he won’t”. And the employer put his seal and signature. …All of that potential, all of that ability, but no willingness. Much like so many Christians who know so much, but won’t do it. And when I read that story, I promised myself, I won’t be that gardener. I will let the Lord use every ability and talent in me, even if there are only a few. 

And you know what? There’ll be many gifts and talents in you if you let God use you. Most of our inabilities come from “I won’t”. But YIELDEDNESS lifts the covers off and exposes so MUCH potential. There’s no limit to what God can do with a man/woman who is yielded and willing to do His will.

Here’s a mighty good verse that we should all memorize: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths”. (Pro 3:5,6)

We were invited recently to preach in North Dakota, in this town where they had their annual Inner-city Church gathering, and I was talking about how it’s such a relief when you can finally acknowledge that it’s ALL Jesus. It becomes effortless. And I said “Remember, the good news is: YOU’RE DEAD“. And it caused quite a laugh… But it’s so true though. It’s the whole victory of the New testament: You’re crucified with Christ… you’re dead. It’s now Christ IN you!! (Gal 2:20)

Check out this verse: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Roman 6:16). That is a LAW… you become slave to your whims, your lusts and your compromises.

So if you really want God to use you, just yield your will, and be open to melting, stretching, molding in the hands of the Potter to become the vessel He needs, so you can go anywhere, anytime, to do anything for anybody, and be nobody to please Him and be a help to everybody. 

God won’t force you. He only uses volunteers. If only He can find the workers, he’ll furnish the pay. If only He can find a yielded heart and mind and will that is willing to obey and go and do it, He’ll foot the bill. He promised to. The harvest truly is plentiful but the laborers are few. God’s swimming pool is packed-full of spectators but few are swimming. 

Give yourself to God. He can do more with you than you can. God is not near as concerned with your ability as with your availability and your adaptability.

Just BELIEVE that God wants to do MIRACLES through YOU, and move in that direction.