Full surrender to Christ

This is an excerpt from one of the meetings given by Rees Howell in a book entitled "The Intercession of Rees Howell" by Doris Ruscoe. I posted an interview with her a few days back and just got this book today. (I bolded a couple of important things Brother Rees said but it's rather important.)"He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:25When you have given up your life entirely to the Holy Spirit you have no right to take it back or to resent what he does with it. You will have no more claim on your life yourself, and you accept everything from him, whether it seems to be for you or against you. The surrender of outward things is only the beginning. When he comes in, he shows you yourself as he sees you and he deals with the old nature, its thoughts and motives. Human reasoning and understanding belong to the old nature which God tells us not to trust (Proverbs 3:5). You must learn to be quiet before God for him to show you these things. At one time I spent three hours with him and the Word every evening for several months and he deal with every thought and motive of self.

Hi Ed,I am so glad you posted this. It is very similar in words as to how Oswald Chambers talks about full surrender. I love this quote by Chambers and I always keep it in mind: "Surrender is not the surrender of the external, but of the will; when that is done, all is done." -O.ChambersIn my humble opinion ;-), total surrender is THE key to the christian life. In Him, Chanin

In my humble opinion , total surrender is THE key to the christian life. Thanks Chanin. I totally agree and would simply add that it also really the beginning of the Christian life as well.As I recall you're the one the Holy Spirit used to convict my heart about this. And then those books by Andrew Murray "Total Surrender" and another book by Nancy DeMoss. It's been painful and glorious. :-D (EDIT: I wanted to thank you for that Chanin, perhaps I should have done it in a private message but I'm not intending to puff you up but I thank you for your walk with Jesus.)What surprised me about my own heart is that I thought I had totally surrendered and then I get such questions from the Holy Spirit "Can I have your time? Can I have your family?" and so on, so this rather vague concept of total surrender becomes very specific. It was rather easy to lay down my anger, my bitterness but other things are much more painful such as "my right to be right" and "my reputation."I'm in the process of making this transformation from the natural man to the spiritual man and oh what a painful process it is. I'm not whining but it's been much more than I thought it would be."For ye are bought with a price" and our life is no longer our own.

Quote:I'm in the process of making this transformation from the natural man to the spiritual man and oh what a painful process it is. I'm not whining but it's been much more than I thought it would be.Amen!I'm in that place as well brother. Not the most enjoyable place to be. On the other hand, I've never felt more in the will of God than now.Martin"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:32