At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come.  Still, many in the crowd believed in him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
The Pharisees heard the crowd whispering such things about him. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest him.
Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I am going to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?  What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘Where I am, you cannot come’?”
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

• John 7:30-39

“Our Lord begins where we would never begin-at the point of human destitution. The greatest blessing a person ever gets from God is the realization that if he or she is going to enter into His kingdom it must be through the door of destitution. Naturally we do not want to begin there, that is why the appeal of Jesus is of no use until we come face-to-face with realities; then the only One worth listening to is the Lord. We learn to welcome the patience of Jesus only when we get to the point of human destitution. It is not that God will not do anything for us until we get there, but that He cannot. God can do nothing for me if I am sufficient for myself. When we come to the place of destitution spiritually, we find the Lord waiting and saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.’ There are hundreds at the place of destitution, and they don’t know what they want. If I have been obeying the command of Jesus to go and make disciples, I know what they want; they want Him. We are so interested in our own spiritual riches that souls that are white to harvest are all around us, and we don’t reap one for Him.”

• Oswald Chambers, He Shall Glorify Me

Boilerplate

In this mini-series, we will look at Oswald Chambers’ book He Shall Glorify Me.  The first several chapters are about the Holy Spirit.

At one time, the YMCA stood for Young Men’s Christian Association.  It was a combination of a youth hostel lodging and Christian outreach.  Few YMCA have any overnight boarding allowed anymore.  The Village People hit song YMCA was the “fun staying at the YMCA.”  Note: Corrie ten Boom stayed at the YWCA whenever possible during her years of evangelism.

But these days, membership in the YMCA is all about exercise, a pool, or more than one pool, and exercise classes.  Cheaper than most gym memberships.

Oswald Chambers spent the last two years of his life training YMCA missionaries in Egypt.  Most of his books were published by his wife after his death.  She used his teaching notes and some sermons to create My Utmost for His Highest and Daily Thoughts for Disciples.  The latter is compiled from the various books published under the name of Oswald Chambers.  The chosen book is one of those used in the compilation.

Discussion

Sometimes I quibble over the language used by Oswald Chambers, but the place of destitution is a good way to describe it.

I have said that if I had not surrendered to God at that moment, I might have gone crazy.  As Chambers puts it, you are brought so low that only God is the answer.

I pray for so many young people these days that accept Jesus.  Could it be that they have indeed reached that point of destitution or have they told God what they want and are expecting God to deliver.

It is God that saves.  Nothing that we can do obtains that salvation.

That is important here.  If we are not made low, to the point of destitution, we never realize that our actions are not enough.  In fact, our actions are puny.  They get us nowhere.

It requires an unconditional surrender.

C.S. Lewis wrote that Newman said we are rebels against God who must lay down our arms.  I have not found that in John Newman’s writings, but I have not gotten my hands on a lot of things that he wrote.

But when we quit fighting and allow Jesus to come into our hearts, everything changes.  Where we were at that point of destitution, unable to do anything to improve our situation in this life, we find life itself by surrendering to Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Father, guide me.  Lord, I am stubborn and mule headed at times.  I occasionally think I can go on my own steam for a while.  I forget that moment at the point of destitution when I said, “God, I give up.  Do with me as you please.”  I am no good at piloting my ship, Lord.  Forgive me.  And take over the helm.  Guide me, Lord.
In Thy Name I pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.