JUNE THEME – SET Free To LIVE Free – Embracing Liberty Through Christ
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
“THE REFINER’S FIRE OF SURRENDER”
“Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” — Luke 9:23
True surrender is never a one-time event; it is a daily posture of yielding everything—our dreams, comforts, plans, and even our sense of security—to the sovereignty of Christ. It’s easy to say, “Lord, I surrender,” during a moving service or moment of inspiration. But surrender becomes profoundly costly when God’s refining fire begins to expose hidden desires—pride, control, comfort-seeking—deep within our hearts. It is in those moments we must make a daily, conscious choice to lay down the very thing we cling to: our agenda. When the Holy Spirit searches our motives (Psalm 139:23–24), we often discover we’ve carved out a “small shrine” in our hearts for self-will—an area we protect and refuse to yield. Real surrender means allowing that shrine to crumble under the hammer of God’s holiness. Surrender is not passive—it is spiritual warfare against the flesh. It is choosing obedience when everything in you wants to retreat to safety. And it is trusting that God’s fire doesn’t destroy—it purifies.
Consider Isaiah’s encounter in the temple (Isaiah 6:1–8). When he beheld the holiness of God and heard the cry of the seraphim—“Holy, holy, holy”—he didn’t respond with pride, but with brokenness: “Woe is me! for I am undone.” In the light of God’s glory, Isaiah saw his own uncleanness. But then a seraph took a live coal from the altar and touched his lips, and his guilt was purged. Only then could Isaiah say, “Here am I; send me.” True surrender followed purification. If Isaiah had clung to his position, his comfort, or his past, he would have missed his divine calling. But when he allowed God to cleanse what was impure, he was commissioned to proclaim one of the clearest prophetic pictures of Christ in the entire Old Testament.
Set aside fifteen minutes today in a quiet place and invite the Spirit to reveal any hidden agenda or desire you’ve not yet surrendered. Take a pen and write honestly: “Lord, is there anything I’m holding back? Is there a dream, a comfort, or a fear I’m reluctant to give You?” As those areas come into focus, do two things: first, confess aloud (or write) that you relinquish control to Him; second, ask for the grace to trust His plan above your own. Even if your heart trembles, whisper as Isaiah did, “Here am I, Lord; I choose to follow You.” If you resist, remember: it is precisely in that tension where the Refiner’s fire does its deepest work.
PRAYER: O God, I acknowledge that my hands often cling tightly to things You’ve called me to release. Search me, refine me, and burn away every hidden idol. I yield my dreams, my fears, my comfort—the very ground I stand on—to Your will. Use me as You will. If I must walk through the furnace, make me as pure as gold, that Jesus might be all in all. Amen.
CHALLENGE: All day long, when a decision arises—large or small—pause and ask yourself: “Is this choice surrendering to God or asserting my own will?” Write down at least one moment where you chose surrender, and before you sleep, thank God for that victory. For every surrendered step is a step toward freedom—and a heart set on fire for God.
TUESDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Scotty Nix
Sadie Almand & Unborn Baby
Paula Ferus
Ann Stanley
Doug Stephens
Mary Williams – Rehab
Jill Haines
Angela Bryan’s Sister
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
George & Linda Alexander
James Burnette
James Garner
Jessica Headrick
Jodi Bateman
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kathryn Raines
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Marynell Ford
Mike, Gwen, Michael Rice Family – Friends of Blount’s – Car Accident
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Pastor Driskell
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Roy Loyd
Scarlett – Marynell’s Granddaughter
Scott Lanier
Steve Michaels
Theresa Bain’s Granddaughter
Tom Witcher