1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,580 I've always asked myself the following question. 2 00:00:06,380 --> 00:00:08,800 Why is it that some men are so 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:12,200 different from other men regarding their usefulness to 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:12,700 God? 5 00:00:12,980 --> 00:00:16,060 What is it that makes George Whitefield or 6 00:00:16,060 --> 00:00:18,140 DL Moody stand out? 7 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,200 What do these men have that others do 8 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:21,740 not? 9 00:00:22,140 --> 00:00:23,840 We all have the same Bible. 10 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:25,940 We serve the same God. 11 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:29,720 What's the distinguishing factor in the man God 12 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:30,240 uses? 13 00:00:30,940 --> 00:00:35,020 Why are some given deeper usefulness and wider 14 00:00:35,020 --> 00:00:38,720 influence over others in their generation? 15 00:00:39,380 --> 00:00:40,620 How did they get there? 16 00:00:41,100 --> 00:00:43,560 Why is there only a handful of these 17 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,580 mighty men in each generation that stand head 18 00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:52,480 and shoulders above the adequate or merely commonplace? 19 00:00:53,020 --> 00:00:55,880 I was reading the diary of John Song 20 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,160 and in it he expressed the same desire 21 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,099 that he had recognized in men in former 22 00:01:03,099 --> 00:01:03,959 generations. 23 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,400 He wrote one time in his diary, in 24 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,820 desperation, he wrote, Lord, I don't want to 25 00:01:10,820 --> 00:01:13,640 live unless you give me the same spirit 26 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:16,040 of a Finney and a Moody. 27 00:01:16,740 --> 00:01:20,460 Well eventually John Song joined the ranks of 28 00:01:20,460 --> 00:01:23,320 Finney and Moody as God used him to 29 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,760 shake all of China in powerful revival. 30 00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:28,780 But how did he get there? 31 00:01:28,780 --> 00:01:31,260 Well that's our subject today, friends. 32 00:01:32,540 --> 00:01:35,540 Perhaps there are some of you who long 33 00:01:35,540 --> 00:01:38,020 for more in the Christian life. 34 00:01:38,460 --> 00:01:41,760 You hunger for wider influence for God and 35 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,140 deeper usefulness to Him, but you don't know 36 00:01:45,140 --> 00:01:46,220 how to get there. 37 00:01:46,700 --> 00:01:49,380 Wouldn't it be wonderful, friend, if you could 38 00:01:49,380 --> 00:01:53,320 have your heart's desire to be a mighty 39 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,520 weapon in the hands of a holy God? 40 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,480 Well I believe God is looking for someone 41 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,040 today that He can depend on. 42 00:02:02,420 --> 00:02:06,920 God is not looking for outstanding men, but 43 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:08,259 dependable men. 44 00:02:09,180 --> 00:02:13,220 Adrian Rogers shared with me about the time 45 00:02:13,220 --> 00:02:16,620 he was preaching in Romania shortly after God 46 00:02:16,620 --> 00:02:20,960 brought spiritual revival to that nation which had 47 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,620 just been liberated from a cruel communist government. 48 00:02:25,060 --> 00:02:27,980 One of the leaders of that revival was 49 00:02:27,980 --> 00:02:31,300 a Romanian pastor who had been beaten and 50 00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:33,120 imprisoned for his faith. 51 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,180 This man's name was Joseph Tyson. 52 00:02:36,940 --> 00:02:40,360 One day Adrian Rogers was riding in a 53 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,040 car with Joseph and he asked him to 54 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:47,960 describe the difference between American Christians and Romanian 55 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:48,600 Christians. 56 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:51,100 At first the man was reluctant. 57 00:02:51,620 --> 00:02:56,160 Finally, he answered, Well Adrian, since you asked 58 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:00,820 me, the key word in American Christianity is 59 00:03:00,820 --> 00:03:01,900 the word commitment. 60 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:04,960 When you make a commitment, you are still 61 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:05,540 in control. 62 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,220 One can commit to pray, commit to study 63 00:03:09,220 --> 00:03:13,160 the Bible, even to witness whatever he chooses 64 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,380 to do, he commits to. 65 00:03:15,900 --> 00:03:20,440 Americans love commitment because they are still in 66 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:21,120 control. 67 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,600 The main difference between an American Christian and 68 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,380 a Romanian Christian is the word surrender. 69 00:03:30,100 --> 00:03:33,060 If you hold a gun on someone and 70 00:03:33,060 --> 00:03:35,080 ask them to lift their hands in the 71 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,040 air as a token of surrender, you don't 72 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:40,920 tell that person what you're committed to. 73 00:03:41,100 --> 00:03:44,380 You simply surrender and do as you're told. 74 00:03:44,580 --> 00:03:48,200 For a believer, nothing can take the place 75 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:51,880 of absolute surrender to the Lord Jesus. 76 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,140 Well I agree with that assessment friends. 77 00:03:56,020 --> 00:03:59,640 I believe a pastor cannot lead his congregation 78 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,480 with any true authority and power without being 79 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,680 fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ. 80 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,500 And I also believe that God will not 81 00:04:09,500 --> 00:04:13,100 use someone in the capacity he wants to 82 00:04:13,100 --> 00:04:16,240 use them in until they are fully yielded 83 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:17,180 to his will. 84 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,480 This is where the rubber meets the road. 85 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,700 Are you committed or are you surrendered? 86 00:04:24,380 --> 00:04:25,980 Are you still in control? 87 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,160 Are you willing to give up that control 88 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:30,560 to the Lord Jesus? 89 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:33,100 Well I want to issue a challenge to 90 00:04:33,100 --> 00:04:33,660 you friend. 91 00:04:34,220 --> 00:04:37,300 How badly do you want further usefulness to 92 00:04:37,300 --> 00:04:37,860 God? 93 00:04:38,260 --> 00:04:40,780 Are you sick and tired of making vows 94 00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:43,100 to God that you can't keep? 95 00:04:43,100 --> 00:04:46,480 Are you ready to lift your hands in 96 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,600 the air to surrender yourself entirely to God 97 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:52,400 holding nothing back? 98 00:04:52,740 --> 00:04:56,980 Christ gave his all on Calvary holding nothing 99 00:04:56,980 --> 00:04:57,660 back. 100 00:04:58,020 --> 00:05:00,680 It's time to give it all to him. 101 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,320 Get along with God today friend and settle 102 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,760 this matter once and for all. 103 00:05:06,990 --> 00:05:08,920 You can have as much of the spirit 104 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:11,320 that you want so long as he can 105 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,580 have as much of you as he wants. 106 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,440 But for this to occur there must be 107 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,100 a surrender to a living Lord. 108 00:05:20,580 --> 00:05:21,940 Let us pray.