David Diga Hernandez - The Surrendered Life

The Gospel is not about self-help; it’s about self-abandonment. It is not about the pursuit of our own dreams; it is about the pursuit of the will of God. Jesus calls us to lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel, and that’s my challenge to you. I am going to challenge you right now to lay down your life for the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of souls, for the sake of the glory of the name Jesus. That’s what I’m talking about here on this edition of Spirit Church, here on the Encounter TV network. But first, Stephen Moctezuma is here with me; he’s going to lead you in some anointed worship, and we’re going to get right into this message.

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It’s time for you to ascend to higher levels in the spirit. It’s time for you to delve deeper into the things of God and experience the power of the Holy Spirit in and through your life like never before. But if you want to truly experience all that Christ has offered you, if you genuinely want to know Jesus in depth, if you truly want to understand the nature and character of God, if you want the secrets and revelations of heaven to be given to you, then you must die to yourself. You must lay down your life. That is my challenge to you: that you might be one who lays down their life and says, «Jesus, I exist for the glory of Your name and nothing else. I exist so that You might be glorified. No matter what it is You want to do with my life, do it, and I will comply. Do it, and I will surrender. Do it, and I will obey Your every command.» I want to experience the fullness of the riches of Christ. Before you can experience resurrection power, you must experience crucifixion. You see, you don’t hear much preaching about the cross of Jesus nowadays, and I’m going to discuss that a little bit more shortly, but here’s the truth: a crossless gospel is a Christless gospel. If you never hear about the cross, then it is not the gospel. If you never hear about the death of self, sacrifice, and surrender, then it is not the gospel. When you embrace Jesus, you embrace the cross. There is no power in some lives because there is no cross that has been embraced. If you want true power, if you truly want to know what it is to walk in the glory of God, I mean, if you really, really want to know, it is the death of self; it is the crucifixion of the flesh; it is the laying down of your ambitions and saying, «You are the Lord; I am the servant, and I will do what You require of me.» Yes, we’re children of God, but we are also servants of God. Yes, He is our Father, but He is also our King, our Master, and our Lord. The Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, «For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.» The cross is what brings the power; the cross is what brings the anointing. Before there is glorification, there is suffering. Jesus said, «I am the way,» and it was the path He took that serves as the example for us—the one we should follow. He is the One who is seated at the right hand of God. He is the One who is in heavenly places and chose instead to lay down His life and reach out to you and me. So we, in turn, must say, «Lord, if that was the way You went, that is the way I will go.» The way to the Father is through the cross; the way to resurrection is through death. You cannot be resurrected unless you’ve died. You cannot use, have, or experience resurrection power unless you’ve experienced the death of self. You see, the Scripture states in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. If what I am saying sounds like foolishness to you, you’re perishing. If what I am saying offends you, you’re perishing. But if what I am saying stirs your faith, if it resonates with your spirit and you know that it is the true gospel being preached, then you are not perishing; you are one who is going to experience the glorification that Christ has promised to us. I’m not talking about physical death, though that comes at some later point in life—we don’t know when. I’m not talking about a new glorified body, though that comes after we’ve gone to be with the Lord. I’m talking about living a life that is surrendered. It’s time to pick up your cross. Let me ask you: in this season of your life, what have you given for the sake of the gospel? In this season of your life, what have you suffered for the sake of the gospel? If your answer is, «I don’t know» or «nothing,» that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re not living in the will of God, for there are seasons when the Lord allows rest. There are seasons when we abound in blessings, and though we abound in blessings, there are also those seasons when we experience the pain, the crushing, and the suffering of the cross. It is the call of God. Before God will use you, He will break you. Before God can raise you, He will crucify you. Before you can experience the riches of heaven, you must experience the stripping away of self. Luke 9:18–26 tells us this: «And it came to pass, as He was alone praying, His disciples were with Him, and He asked them, saying, 'Whom say the people that I am? '» Verse 19: «They answering said, 'John the Baptist; but some say Elias; and others say that you are one of the old prophets or that one of the old prophets has risen again.'» Verse 20 says, «He said unto them, 'But whom say ye that I am? ' Peter answering said, 'The Christ of God.'» And He strictly charged them, commanding them to tell no man that thing, saying, «The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be slain and be raised the third day.» And He said to them.