This sermon focuses on Jesus' final words "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" as a summation of His life of complete surrender and obedience to God's will. It examines how Jesus marvelously yet unmiraculously surrendered in His final moments, the preceding six hours on the cross, and His entire 33 years - teaching that the greatest power comes through obedience. The call is for listeners to similarly surrender all areas of life to God through obedience as the highest form of worship.

Transcript

Good evening. I so appreciate the warmth that's so apparent in this family of God's people. I love the way that you guys come together, the way you greet each other. The warmth that I hear in your voices, that I see in your faces as you greet each other, and certainly as you've greeted us.

You've been so generous in your encouragements, and so generous with, just the way that you've welcomed us in your midst. And you guys are easy to love, and so we've really appreciated the day that we've spent together with you and look forward to the next few that we have together. I want to invite you to open with me tonight to the 23rd chapter of Luke.

Luke chapter 23. And there's just a short context that we're going to spend our time in tonight. I want you to go to Luke chapter 23 and we're going to read together beginning in verse 44 of that context. Luke chapter 23 and verse 44.

As Luke writes about Jesus final three hours on the cross, he says, And it was now about the sixth hour. Uh, Jesus was crucified at the third hour, which would have been nine o'clock in the morning. And so now the sixth hour, noon has come. It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, the sun being obscured.

And the veil of the temple was torn in two, and Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit. And having said this, he breathed his last. Now the centurion saw what had happened, when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, Certainly this man was innocent.

And all the multitudes who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who accompanied him from Galilee were standing at a distance.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. That, uh, statement, that sentence is found in, uh, Psalm 31, verse 5. Uh, it's a petition where someone is crying out to God for his salvation, expressing their trust in God to save. It doesn't take long to say that. Maybe just a couple seconds to breathe those words.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. It says that Jesus cried it out. I remember a very impactful event when I was in college. I had gone with David Tant and some other folks down to Jamaica to go and preach the gospel. And there was an elder brother in the church there in a town called Stav Lamar on the southern part of the island of Jamaica.

Yeah. And, uh, he prayed when the assembly had had a meeting outside one night. Uh, they were, we were doing some street preaching in the city. And, um, this brother, uh, prayed a prayer. And I had never seen anyone, heard anyone pray the way he prayed. When he prayed, he would, he turned his face to the heavens and he shouted to God when he prayed.

Uh, it was so impactful on me at the time, still is when I think about it. Uh, because it, uh, it was clear. That when he prayed, he was talking to God and was expressing himself directly to him. And, uh, whenever I read this text about how Jesus cried out with a loud voice, I think about hearing that brother speaking to God, uh, in the heavens.

And I don't know if that's the way that Jesus expressed himself when he was on the cross, but it said he cried out. And obviously he was not speaking to the crowd, he was speaking to God as he said these words. But I just, I want us to be impacted by just the scene there. Of the last words of Jesus on the cross as he spoke to his father.

Father into your hands, I commit my spirit. I want to spend a little time tonight thinking about those two seconds. About how Jesus breathed his last, surrendered his soul, his breath to God. I want to think outside the context of just those two seconds to the preceding six hours that Jesus was on the cross.

And how that statement fits into, uh, the experience and his attitude over those last six hours. And, and then I want us to think back to even the harder part than that. How it is that, uh, this statement is really a summary. of how Jesus had lived for 33 years, if that be the length of his life. Whatever the length of it be.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit is just the way that he lived life. And so I want to look at how that statement fits into these two seconds, how it fits into those six hours, and then how it fits into those 30 odd years. Could I say to you that in his last two seconds, Jesus marvelously, But unmiraculously surrendered himself in praise to God.

In the final two seconds of his life, Jesus marvelously, what beautiful words, what appropriate words, what fitting words for how he lived his life and for what he was doing there. Jesus marvelously, but unmiraculously emptied himself or surrendered himself in praise to God. I want us to get the point that this was not supernatural.

I want us to get the point that this was not supernatural. Jesus died. Jesus died. He did the thing that is the most natural thing for mortal beings to do at the end of their life. He died. His soul was separated. His spirit was separated from his body. It returned to the maker. Jesus took his last breath.

And that's not a bad image, I think, this idea of giving our breath to God as Jesus breathed his last. It's not a bad image for thinking about life. You know, every time we breathe,

we give a portion of our life back to God. That breath is one less that I'll take, and you too. Every breath we take, we give a portion of our life back to God. Until with our very last breath, when it escapes us, our spirit flies back to the Maker. There's an intimate connection between us and God in our breathing.

When we read about the creation of man, God breathed the breath of life into a vessel of clay. Man was just a clay statue. That God had formed out of the dust of the ground. And then he breathed into it the breath of life, and man became a living being. Breathing is our most basic need. Before food and water, we need breath.

You can go for weeks without food. You can go for two or three days without water. But How long can you go without breath? I mean, it is our most basic need. Jesus spoke to that need. Uh, He said, man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. I just want you to see in that how much we need even more than air breath, how much we need God's breath, how much we need the breath, the words that He breathes to us.

And He says that's the real essence of life, are the words that are breath, are breath breathed from the mouth of God. How we need to Matthew 4 verse 4 is where he said that in a temptation. I don't know, and you don't know, whether I'll have the luxury of being conscious of my last breath,

but I can't think of a better way to spend my last two seconds

than to empty myself in praise to God,

and to know that in that surrender I really am putting my spirit, my being, into the hands of God, my Father. Isn't that beautiful?

Isn't that, uh, can you imagine any more assurance or peace than that? Than to know that when you take your last breath, that you are putting your hands, you are surrendering life to the Father, forever.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Question,

are you ready for that?

Are you ready for that?

Isn't that what we're about?

Think about, if you would, with me, these last six hours that Jesus is on the cross.

Because these words are not just appropriate for what happens in his last words as he utters this praise to God. But these words, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, is what Jesus has been doing the whole time he's on the cross, is it not? He's been surrendering himself to God and to his purpose.

In his last six hours, Jesus marvelously, But again, unmiraculously, there's nothing miraculous about Him hanging on the cross. It is just sheer surrender of will to God's purpose. It's compassion. I mean, it's, it's all, it's all of the hardest virtues that are all being demonstrated. And the kind of attitude and the kind of surrender, the kind of attitude that He has toward man and the kind of attitude that He has toward God.

Here's a man in a very tragic, horrible moment, made a spectacle between earth and heaven. You And in those hours, Jesus is marvelously, but unmiraculously, um, unmiraculously surrendering himself and hurting for God. Hurting for God's sake. What makes his last breath meaningful was how he breathed over those last six hours as he was yielding to the Father's will.

Giving his life to God in his last breath was not the hard part of what Jesus did on the cross.

It was giving himself to God as his strength and his breath and his blood were violently beaten. And flogged, and drained, and asphyxiated from him by sinners. I mean, do you see how long it took? When, when he gave his last breath to God, there was no more strength in his body. I mean, 24 hours ago, he was a, he was a strong man.

He wasn't weak or sickly. He was a healthy man. He was in the prime of his life. And so something traumatic had to happen to his body to change from being a wonderfully healthy person to being someone who gives his last breath and expires. And so a lot happened to hasten That kind of decline over those six hours.

And so it was Jesus giving himself to God as his strength and his breath and his blood were violently beaten and flogged and drained and asphyxiated from him by sinners until he had but one breath left to be emptied and praised to God. That was the hard part of what Jesus did here.

How do you breathe? How do you breathe when life is hard?

When you're waiting on God?

When you're mistreated?

When someone lies about you? When you're maligned?

When you're misunderstood?

How do you breathe when you just have to do something you really don't want to do? What's your attitude in those moments? Is it, want to surrender to God? I, this is hard, but I'm going to do it for you God. This is not fun. This is not what I want to do. I want to do something else, but I will do it for you.

Does your temper get away from you when you're in those moments? Does, do you breathe out curses? Do you breathe fire? Is the air around you blue in those moments? Do you swear revenge?

Do the words, I hate you, or I'll get you back, or I'll make you pay?

Do those pass your lips? Think about all the words that Jesus breathed, even before those six hours, when he was in the garden. On his knees, Jesus breathed, let this cup pass, three times.

He breathed hardly a word at his trial. Very few words on the cross. Not anything said in his defense. Certainly not anything said to do anyone harm. Don't you know that much of what he was saying, he probably was saying in his heart to God.

Not my will, but yours be done. He breathed in the garden. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He said in verse 34 of Luke chapter 23. When we hurt, we think. It's just natural to think to ourselves, how can anything good come from this? Like, how can this glorify God?

Oh, that we could appreciate, when we're waiting on God, how in that surrender, of when we wait for Him patiently, when we wait for Him trusting, how That better is ahead. When, as we journey along, as we believe, as we trust, that He's, that over the hill, over the horizon, He's there. When, when the sea is raging against us, and when our boat is filling up, if we could believe that the Master of the Tempest is in our boat with us,

do you see that we have the occasion in all of that to communicate to God That He's worth the hurt. That I know I've got to wait, and I know I hurt, but God, You are worth it. That we have in that moment an occasion to show Him that He's worth that pain. Do you see that Jesus has communicated that to us?

Redeeming us was worth it to Him. He values His sheep. He values those, He values our souls. That He would surrender Himself and He would hurt for us. Would you hurt for Him? Amen. Will you hurt for him? You'll be called on to do. You'll be called on to do that sometime. Can we hurt for him while we wait? How can I wait as my wealth, as my work, as my worth, as my world is under attack and is all at stake?

Jesus did that. And if God could turn Jesus' surrender into something meaningful, they Can He do that for you? Can he do that for me? Can he make it something that's purposeful when we wait on him? The way that Jesus taught us to wait. Now I know that the difference is, is that Jesus knew God's why. He knew why the cross.

He understood what it was about. Sometimes we don't know what the why is for our predicament, or for our situation. But if God had a good why for Jesus, I know He's got a good why for me. I know He's got a good why for us.

And so He teaches us here. To surrender ourself in hurting for God when that occasion comes. But here's the hardest part about what Jesus teaches us here and models for us in His surrender. In his entire thirty three or so years, Jesus marvelously but unmiraculously surrendered himself in obedience to God.

I say to you again that into your hands I commit my spirit was just the way that Jesus lived his life. Every moment, of every day, every breath he took. He was committing his spirit to God's purposes. He was never a renegade. He was never doing his own thing. When he was 12 years old, he showed this remarkable understanding that he must be about his father's business as he answered to his parents when they inquired why he had stayed behind in Jerusalem when they had come for the Passover feast, when they went looking for him and found him in the temple.

He was always conscious of God. And oh that, oh that we could do that. I mean, the biggest trouble that I have, I mean, moment to moment in the day, is not being distracted with everything around me, like the things I see, the stuff I see, the people I see, the people who are around me, the people that I'm engaged with, the things that I'm doing.

So that I lose my consciousness of God. Oh, that we could, as we journey here, always be conscious that He's with us. If we could, if we could just be aware that He is, that He is before us, that He's behind us, that He's beside us. That He's, that in Him we live and move and have our very being. Oh, that we could just, in our mind's eye, if we could in our heart, just see that God is here.

That we serve the I Am, and get the promise of that, that he intended to communicate to Moses when he, when he told him to teach his people that name, of his, of his presence, his unique presence, how he is, there is no God like him, he is the living God, and he lives for his people.

Jesus never lost his consciousness. His father was near, and moment to moment he remembered that. And it was only his innocence, the fact that he surrendered to God every day, every hour, every minute, every second. It was only his innocence, the fact that he surrendered to God every day, that made the surrender of himself on the cross meaningful and powerful.

He really did think about God with every breath. And if ever once in his life, he had not surrendered to God. Think about that. If ever once in his life, he had not surrendered to God. Then it would not have mattered how much he suffered on the cross.

It wouldn't have mattered what his attitude was on the cross for those six hours. It wouldn't have mattered how painful it was. It wouldn't have mattered that he was crucified. It wouldn't have mattered how unjust it was. If he had ever once in his life Not surrendered himself to God. Do you see that?

What he got was the death that he deserved.

And so the whole power of Jesus on the cross relies on the fact that, that he had committed his spirit to God all the time without, without cessation, without, without stop. He had done that without stopping, and that was not only the hardest thing that his life, it was the most powerful thing that Jesus ever did.

Jesus did mighty deeds.

But what was the mightiest deed that Jesus ever did? We do a devotional at our office on Monday mornings, and, uh, I asked that question a few weeks ago, and it had a lot of great answers. Someone talked about Jesus walking on the water, and that was a, that was a mighty deed. And, uh, somebody else mentioned him multiplying the loaves and the fishes and feeding the five thousand, and certainly that was a mighty deed, one of the most public mighty deeds that Jesus performed.

But somebody else said it has to be when he raised Lazarus from the dead. That was powerful. I mean, he showed his power over death when he raised Lazarus.

But I want to suggest to you that the most powerful thing that Jesus ever did was not supernatural at all.

The most powerful thing that Jesus ever did was obey.

Jesus could do no miracle to save us.

Nothing supernatural. What could He do to save sinners that was supernatural? There was no miracle that could do that.

He could only save us.

And I want us to get the power of obedience in that. I want you to see how that works in Jesus life. By obeying God, by listening to the Father,

that act has the power to do something that none of Jesus other miracles, none of His mighty deeds could ever do. His obedience has the power To potentially heal every sinner, every single sinner who's ever lived. Change the destiny of everyone who is destined for hell. That is power, folks. That is mighty.

But there's nothing supernatural in that. It is just the surrender of His will to God. But do you see how, do you see how marvelous that is? How powerful surrender is when we yield our will to God. And isn't that the thing that's being modeled in all of the miracles? When, when he, when he speaks and the wind and the waves, uh, When they obey Him, when the wind stops blowing, and the seas stop rocking, and when all is peace.

Don't we just see in that nature doing what God has called on us to do? I mean, nature just obeys Him. When He multiplies the loaves and the fishes, I mean, nature has no choice. Nature just responds to the Creator. Oh, that man was that way!

And so nature is modeling what God, what God wants for us. And that's to surrender to Him. To our Maker who only has our best interest in His heart. And knows that in obedience is where real peace is found. Is where there's harmony. Is where there's power. When we are completely yoked to God. When we surrender to His will.

Jesus surrender not only has the potential to heal every sinner and to change every destiny, but His surrender is also God's strategy for changing our hearts. It's for us to look at the cross and to see in the, in, in, in, in, in, in the spectacle of Him there. The communication of God's love, the expression of God's grace, the picture of God's pursuit of all that God would give up, of all the hurt that He would take on in order to get our attention.

In order to communicate to us at once His holiness. That this is what, this is what sin requires. Uh, He, He can't, He can't be holy and not do something about sin. This is what sin deserves. And so we see His holiness there. But at the same time, we see His grace there. Because He's willing, God is willing to take the death.

To redeem us from death.

And in that, we also see the picture of just how ugly death is. How ruthless, how callous, how arrogant, how foolish, how petty, how tragic, how despicable our sin is. That men would do such violence against God who loves him so much and who has only been faithful to him. Who has only ever been our servant.

Who has only ever made his occupation our redemption throughout all of history. How ugly our sin is when we see it portrayed on the cross. And so Jesus surrender is God's strategy for changing our hearts.

I want to call on us to think about our surrender to God. We sang a little while ago, I surrender all. Really? I

want you to be convicted by the lesson tonight, but I need to be convicted by the message here.

Of what it really means, what it really means to surrender to Him. To really let Him be in charge. So that when we give Him our last breath, it is given to Him with total assurance and praise. That when we have to hurt, when we go through pain, that we don't, we trust that He's there, we know that He's near, and we embrace whatever it means to wait on the Lord for us.

Because it's the occasion for us to show Him that how much He matters to us, the way He did, the way He showed us. But here's what I really want you to get. You want to do something great in your life for God? You want to do something this week that will make a difference?

Do you want to do something that will extend your influence? to the broadest extent this week in your life. You want to do something really powerful, something that will really Praise God.

You want to give Him the greatest present you could give Him this week in your life.

Two words. Obey Him.

Obey Him. That's what Jesus teaches us here. That's what surrender looks like. Obey Him. That's not complicated, is it? I mean, do you get that? Obey Him. That ain't, that's not hard to grasp, is it? But it is a mouthful, I know. But if we could at the same time be Be optimistic about how wonderful that simplicity is.

That's all God wants from us. It's just to trust Him. Obey him and there's not anything, anything bigger that you can do in your life than just to commit yourself, to obey him. You probably have some place in your life right now where that's hard. Do the hard and you will. You will. You will honor God. You will give him the sacrifice that will please him most.

What surrender in your life would be sweetest to God right now.

Won't you do that for him?

If you're not a Christian tonight, would you not surrender all for Him who surrendered all for you? If you've got some change that you need to make in your life,

do it for Him. Whatever He says, Mary said to us this morning, whatever He says to you, do it. Won't you do that for Him tonight? Won't you come if we can help you as together we stand and as we sing?

He is our God.