I AM: The Life (Unconditional Surrender)

BIG IDEA: Eternal Life only comes through unconditional surrender to Christ… No one comes to the Father except through Him!

61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” —John 6:60-65

When confronted with such a defining moment of unconditional surrender to Jesus, for many the response was:

Shameless Defection (vs. 66)

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.  —John 6:66

• For some, following Christ becomes too difficult

• It demands an act of submission

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you… —James 4:7-8a

• It demands an act of sacrifice

22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. —Luke 9:22-24

• A willingness to humbly serve in a world focused on self-indulgence
• A willingness to patiently endure in a world focused on self-gratification
• A willingness to faithfully follow in a world focused on self-reliance

• For some, following Christ is too costly

• This did not change the message Jesus preached to them

• It should never change the Gospel we share with others

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. —Galatians 1:8-10

When confronted with such a defining moment of unconditional surrender to Jesus, for one the response was:

Skillful Deception (vs. 70-71)

70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. —John 6:70-71

• A commitment to holiness should be reflected in our outward behavior

• A motivation for faithfulness should be revealed in our inward character

6 Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. —John 12:6

When confronted with such a defining moment of unconditional surrender to Jesus, for eleven of them the response was:

Selfless Devotion (vs. 67-69)

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” —John 6:67-69

• You have the words of eternal life… a simple confirmation about what he offers
• We have believed… a settled conviction about who he is
• We have come to know… a substantial confidence about why he came

NEXT STEP: Turn to Him for your words of life… choose to remain committed enough to remain faithful through good and bad times.

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, —Ephesians 4:1