Surrendered Will — Corrie Ten Boom

In John 10, verse 6 -10, I read in the translation of Philip, Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not grasp the point of what he was saying to them. So Jesus said to them once more, I do assure you that I myself am the door for the sheep.

All who have come before me are like thieves and robbers. But the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If a man goes in through me, he will be safe and sound. He can come in and out and find his food.

The thief comes with the sole intention of stealing and killing and destroying. But I came to bring them life and far more life than before. I came to give them life and life abundantly. Jesus is the door.

The Abundant Life Beyond Mere Salvation

I read a parable about, I don't know from whom it was, I believe from F .B. Meyer. And he said the life of a Christian is like one who is living in a palace. And a palace has several rooms. C .S. Lewis once said, we are often like children satisfied with a puddle when they have been invited for a day at the ocean.

Too many of us are just happy with nothing more than to be saved. That is tremendous much to know that you are saved for time and eternity. But there is so much more that is in connection with this salvation by Jesus Christ.

It is so good to know that we have to walk with Jesus in this life, in this time. Today, I remember that in the concentration camp, once we had to go to the place where we had to stand on roll call. Really, the roll call was at 4 .30 in the morning.

And we had a very cruel head of our barrack who sent us a whole hour too early. So at 3 .30 we had to go into the icy cold night or early morning. And we had to wait for roll call. Betsy and I then never went straight to the place where we had to stand.

But we made a walk around through the camp. It was not yet light. Everything was dark. And when we walked there, we had the light of the stars and the moon. And then I can tell you, Betsy and I walked with the Lord and talked with the Lord.

And then the Lord said something, and then Betsy said something, and then I said something. And then the Lord again spoke to us. Both Betsy and I understood what he said. That was a little bit of heaven in the midst of hell.

Claiming the Promises of Scripture

And the Lord will walk with you and me now and here. But we must understand that the promises of the Bible are in him, yea, and amen. There was a man in a bank who told me, there are many unclaimed deposits in my bank.

And I have the idea that there are many unclaimed deposits of the Bible in the lives of many children of God. But are you a professor or a possessor? I think we must understand that we may claim all the riches of the Bible.

Rebirth and the Assurance of Salvation

Now I will tell you about this palace with its many rooms. The first room is the rebirth. Jesus said, except you are born again, you cannot see and you cannot enter the kingdom of God. Are you born again?

There has to be a rebirth. And the Bible tells us very clearly that we have to come when we say yes to the Lord Jesus. That means a decision of one who loves the Lord and who is loved by him. Like a young man who asks a girl, will you receive me as your fiancée?

And when the girl says yes, then the young man is happy. And so Jesus asks you, will you receive me as your saviour? Some people say, oh, I have not to do that because I have had already so many answers of my prayers.

The Lord has helped me through so often. But just imagine, just think of the young man that the girl says, but you gave me such beautiful presents with Christmas. And we had such good dates. And the young man says, I know it, but now I will have another answer.

About that we will speak later. But will you receive me? And so it is the Lord Jesus who says to you, if you have never done it before, will you receive me as your saviour? And when you say yes, Lord, that yes, that means such important news that the angels in heaven rejoice.

Yes, you are very important in the eyes of the Lord. And that is why the angels rejoice when you receive Jesus as your saviour by your simple, well-meant yes to Jesus. That moment you come into the palace of riches.

And the great joy is when you have said yes, that the Lord does in you that great miracle of the rebirth. You have not to understand it. He does it. But then when you are, when he does that and makes you a child of God, that moment he takes your hand and he brings you into that palace.

And through that first room you come immediately in the second room. And that is the assurance of salvation. In the concentration camp sometimes we could have a shower, a hot shower. Oh, that was a tremendous blessing.

We had to go with many into a kind of room and there came at one moment hundreds of hot showers from the ceiling. Lack of hygiene was one of our sufferings there. But now the terrible thing was that people had told us that room is not only the shower room but also the gas chamber.

So when we stood there we did not know what is it today. Did it come water or gas? Such moments you look death in the eyes. You stand as it were for eternity. What a joy was it that Jesus had brought me in that second room the assurance of salvation.

I knew when it has been gas then after a short time I go to the house of the Father with the many mansions where Jesus is preparing one for everyone who belongs to him. No, I was not afraid. I could say death with thy sting, hell with thy victory.

I praised the Lord for the victory of my Lord Jesus Christ and I felt his hand in my hand. But this is also only a beginning. The Lord Jesus brings us into the third room and that is the surrendered will.

Surrendering the Will to God

Now understand that Jesus is the door. Even in this one, yes, we have to surrender our will. And sometimes we think that our will is better than the will of the Lord, but that's not true. And shall I pray you change your will, O Father, until it is a corner unto mine?

But no, Lord, no, that never shall be. Rather I pray you blend my human will with thine. I was in New Zealand in a house where also a young man was, a theological student, a dear child of God. He had had an accident and he had broken his neck.

Now he was paralyzed from his head down. I had many talks with him and I said, Chris, Chris, you must surrender your will. But he could not. He said, I don't know why I have to be paralyzed for the rest of my life.

And then once I heard him praying during the night this prayer, O Lord, make me willing to be made willing to surrender all. And that was it. That moment he arrived in the room, the surrendered will. And the next day when I saw him, his face was beaming of joy.

For it is a joy to surrender your will to the will of the Lord. When you have had that victory and when the Lord has brought you in this surrendered will, then you come very soon in the fourth room and that is the total surrender.

Hearing and Obeying God's Will

Now, just one word about the third room, the surrendered will. Too many people say to me, I never know what is the will of God. But then I asked him, do you expect the Lord to tell you his will? Then they all, most of the time when they are honest, they say no.

When you do not expect that the Lord will show you his will, then he will not do it. The Lord is a good shepherd, a shepherd speaks to his sheep. And I believe it is very important that we know the will of God.

If there is in your life at this moment, this experience that you are not sure of the will of God, then don't go to sleep tonight before you have asked the Lord and you know his will. Too many Christians major in minors, it is a major to know the will of God.

And that is something we must major in, to know the will of God. And the Lord is willing to tell you his will. But there is only one thing, you must be obedient. When I came from Germany, after my terrible experiences in Germany, in the concentration camp, I said, Lord, I will go where you sent me.

I don't mind I will go over the whole world, but one thing, Lord, never send me back to Germany. I will not hear a word German. Then I came to your country, here in America, and there came that difficulty that perhaps some of you share with me.

I did not know the will of God. I have no church behind me or mission that tells me where to go. I have to depend absolutely on the Lord. I am a strength for the Lord. But when I said, Lord, where must I go?

And the Lord did not give me an answer. I said, Lord, what is the matter? I am sure there is nothing the matter with the shepherd. There must be something the matter with the sheep. And then the Lord said, Germany.

It took me some minutes. And then I said, then also to Germany, God. And I went to Germany. You can read it in my book. Especially Amazing Love tells about the time that I came in that country. No, the Germans are not my enemies.

My greatest friends live there. But I also found my enemies. I found my former God in a concentration camp. And it was a joy to speak to them and to tell them what it means to have forgiveness. You never touch so the ocean of God's love that you love your enemies.

It was a joy to show these people that I have forgiven. Do you understand? We have to surrender our will. And we must be obedient. It is so true that we can expect boundless resources when we go the way of obedience.

The Lord Jesus has shown us his obedience to the Father. And we have to follow him. This total surrender is in the eyes of some people such a problem. People make it so complicated. It is not complicated.

Keeping the Gospel Simple

You know, I have a slogan that helps me sometimes when I speak with people who make things so very complicated. And that slogan is KISS. K-I-S-S. Keep it simple, stupid. I remember that I was in a group in New York.

It was a group of Norman Vincent Peale's church, young adults. We had a good time. We really listened to what the Lord said to us. But then little groups came to me to ask questions. And there came eight students to me.

And one said to me, why did not you approach us more from the intellectual side? I said, because of my slogan. He said, what's your slogan? I said, KISS. K-I-S-S. Keep it simple, stupid. And then they all laughed.

Now I like it when people laugh. So when you laugh, you also listen to the deeper challenges that the Lord gives me to give you. So after we had laughed, I said, now listen now. You ask me this question.

Is it perhaps that you are hiding yourself behind your intellectualism because you are afraid for the challenge the Lord has given you today? What have I said to you? I have told you that the Lord will have your heart.

I have told you that Jesus has come unto me all who are happy laden, and I will give you rest. Did you go to the Lord Jesus? Now I ask you, and I said that to that student who had spoken to me, I said, now I ask you one thing.

Will you receive Jesus as your Savior? Yes or no? Nothing in between. He said, yes. I said, that's good. And then I prayed with him. I showed him in the Bible that when we say yes to him, that the Lord does that miracle, that he brings us into the palace of riches, that he does that miracle in us that we are born in the very family of God.

And then I asked all the students, and I praised the Lord. They all said their yes to Jesus. Sometimes the Lord uses a little bit of humor to reach the heart, and I am glad for that. What does the total surrender mean?

Total Surrender and the Empty Altar

I heard a talk about it from Dr. Oswald Smith in Toronto. And he took four books, and he said, I have surrendered all to the Lord. I have said, Lord, here is my money, and I laid it on the altar. And here is my time.

And he laid a second book. Here is my house. Lord, I surrender my house, and here is my family. I surrendered all to the Lord. I laid all of my possessions on the altar. Yes, but. All that yes, but. Obedience says yes.

Disobedience says yes, but. He said, yes, but my money, I surrendered it to the Lord, but I must have some money for my vacation for the hotel. I have ordered already that hotel. So that money is for myself.

Then not my money, and one book went back. Yes, my time. My time is the Lord's. But this two-week vacation, that is for myself. Then not my time. Second book went back. My house. Oh yes, when we came into the house, we have really celebrated to tell the Lord that our house was his house.

And we know it, and the children know it, it is the Lord's house. But. But. But, my sister is rather ill, and she has six naughty boys. Now you understand that we cannot invite these six naughty boys in our house, for our house is stick and pen.

Then not my house. And the third book went back. My children. Yes, my wife and I have surrendered all my children to the Lord. But, but that daughter of mine will be a missionary. But we cannot allow it, because we have a big family, and she must help her mother.

So, not my family. The altar is empty. I must tell you, I went to my, I left that meeting, and I went to the garden, and I had to talk with the Lord. And I said, Lord, is the altar empty? And the Lord said, yes.

And I took my whole life, again, not for the first time, but again, I took my whole life, and I laid it on the altar. Jesus had brought me into the room, told to surrender. Didn't I get a vacation in a hotel?

Well, perhaps when you surrender all, you get a far more beautiful hotel than you had ordered. But in that hotel, you will be used to win souls for eternity. It is a joy to surrender. Some time ago, I was burdened.

I had got a part of the schedule your American friends had made. And I must tell you, it was a far too busy schedule for an 80-year-young woman like I am. Oh, I wanted to do it. I'd like to do it. But I knew, no, it is too much.

Surrendering Possessions and Responsibilities

And then, that day, I got letters from Africa, from friends, about Christians who had been killed. The whole school of boys where I had worked, all the boys had been killed because they were Christians.

And I know it. These boys are now in heaven, and they have a master crown. But I was moved. I was downhearted. There came more difficulties that day. And then, I said, Lord, what must I do? And then, the Lord gave me a vision.

I saw my bag that I have always with me in the airplane. When I go with an airplane, I put the very heavy things and the things that I need during the trip in the bag. And I saw that bag was empty. And the Lord said, You have surrendered all.

That means that you do not possess anything whatever. I possess it. I said, Oh, Lord, what a joy! The Lord said, You have no responsibility anymore because you have surrendered all. I have the responsibility.

And what you possess is not your possession, but you are a steward. And suddenly, there came such a joy in my heart. What good is it to be only a steward of the things that you have? Because then, he to whom you have surrendered has a responsibility.

And then, I saw what a dynamic experience it is to be surrendered to the Lord. Because his power was my power. His power was demonstrated in what I had thought were my possessions. No, I'm just a steward about it.

But the responsibility, he has. And what a quietness. How relaxed I was. People, don't tell that when you surrender all that it is static. It is dynamic and it is relaxed. Jesus is the door and my hand is in his hand.

How safe I am. If you are not quite sure that your hand is in Jesus' hand, then ask Jesus to bring you into the room, the total surrender. And that means the difficult things of your life, but also the joyful things.

The total surrender is not only when you are in a concentration camp, or when you are over the years in problems. No. This afternoon I will speak about the love of God brought into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us.

And that means that the highest potential of God's love is available in the everyday life. There is a Bible who says, be sure that your everyday life is according to the glory of God. I saw it in my father.

Daddy was a surrendered man. He sometimes said, Corrie, on our jewelry store is my name. But really God's name should be on the jewelry store for I am a watchmaker by the grace of God. You see it? He had surrendered himself and his job and his daily work to the will of God.

And I have worked with him shoulder on shoulder 25 years in the workshop and the jewelry store with him together. And I saw what that meant. There was not one difficulty, too great or too small, that father was not going to bring to the Lord.

Yes, to have your hand in Jesus' hand, that is a great rest and a tremendous power for everyday life. Yes, for your life too. If you have the feeling, oh, I am not able to stand all the problems, I am not able to do my work, to have this difficult connection with that person with whom I must work, perhaps with your husband, with your wife, with your teenagers, whatever your problems are, lay your hand in the hand of Jesus and let him bring you into that room, the total surrender, and then his power will be demonstrated in your everyday life.

What a joy! Through this room, Jesus brings you into the room of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. What a joy is it that the Lord has told us in the Bible the great word, Be filled with the Spirit. That's a commandment.

The Bible has no suggestions. The Bible has only commandments. And the sweetest commandment of the whole Bible is, Be filled with the Holy Spirit. How can you come to that experience? Jesus is the door.

The Fullness of the Holy Spirit

It is Jesus who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. It was already John who has said that, I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And the Bible says, Be filled with the Spirit.

In 1 Corinthians 1 it's written, You have been eager to receive his gifts during this time of waiting for his final appearance. He will keep you steadfast in the faith to the end, so that when his day comes, you need fear, no condemnation.

God is utterly dependable, and it is he who calls you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. It is God himself who brings you in fellowship with Jesus, and Jesus baptizes you with the Holy Spirit.

Why does the Bible say, Be filled with the Spirit? Now look, my hand is still in the glove, but only in the midst, and the glove cannot do anything, because the fingers are not filled. If you have not only the Holy Spirit, but has the Holy Spirit you, then every finger, every little part of your life is filled with the Holy Spirit, and every part of your life is the room, the place where the Lord can demonstrate his victory and his glory.

Abiding in Christ

Through this room, Jesus brings us in the room abiding in Christ. He in us, we in him. What a joyful experience, and what a possibility, now, today, you can be in Jesus, and Jesus can be in you. And it was John who said, Abide in him, so that when he comes, you will not be ashamed at his appearance.

To be ready for Jesus Christ is possible when we abide in Jesus. When you say, Oh, I'm not able, sometimes I have success, but then again I have no success, and I cannot abide in him. No, you cannot, and I cannot.

But Jesus is the door. He brings you into that room, abiding in Christ. I saw a demonstration of this in Betsy, my sister. You can read it in the book, The Hiding Place. Once she was beaten in her face, terrible, so terrible that for the rest of her life she was deaf at one ear.

And I saw it in her face and said, Betsy, has a man beaten you? She said, Yes, and I'm so sorry for the man who did it. Have you ever experienced cruelty, pain through cruelty? It's very difficult to bear when you experience pain because a doctor thinks it is necessary that he does something that hurts.

It doesn't make you angry or bitter. You know, this I must come through. He does it for my well-being. But when cruelties make you suffer, then there comes all the bitterness and the hatred in your heart that you can have never had before.

But Betsy was abiding in Christ, and Christ was abiding in her. And that is why she was sorry for that man who had beaten her. I'm so glad that Jesus hit the door. Well, I could never have lived in this room when I had to strive and to try and to try.

Sometimes people come to me and ask questions, and then I often ask, Will you do what the Lord told you today? And too often people say, Yes, I try to do it. And then I always say, It is not try, but trust.

It is not do, but done. Our God has planned for us great victory through his Son. Jesus is the door. You have not to force the door to all these rooms. It is he. Stop trying. Trust. And then you come in the seventh room, the victory over sins.

Victory Over Sin Through Repentance

So many people feel guilty. And the guilt of the sins of the past is darkening the lives of many people. What is the reason that you feel guilty? The reason is that you are guilty. You must understand that.

No, don't try to push away the guilt by psychological means or whatever. No, the Bible gives an answer for the sin problem. Hallelujah. It is Jesus who is the answer. And the Bible tells very clearly that we must repent of our sins.

Repent. And when you repent of your sins and forsake your sins in his power, then the Lord, what will he do with your sins? The Bible tells it so beautifully. He casts your sins into the depths of the sea, forgiven and forgotten.

That is the answer for your guilt problem. The Bible tells many different things as far as the east is from the west. So far does he lead your sins away from you, but you must repent. He brought them out like a cloud.

Did you ever see a cloud after it had disappeared? Never. Yes, there is another cloud, but it is not the same. That is what Jesus does with your sins. When you repent, he brought them out, he makes them absolutely disappear.

Oh, what a joy. So you get victory over sins. Jesus is the answer for our sin problem because he at the cross has carried our sins. At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light and the burden of my sins rolled away that was there by faith, I received my sight at the cross.

There we see God's love who has sent Jesus to bear our punishment. But we have not only Jesus Christ who died for us, he lives and he is with us day and night and he is the door, the door who brings us in all the rooms of the palace.

And that is why we have victory over sins. I was in Australia and there came a boy in the inquiry room, Jimmy, and he had with him several other boys and these boys had prayed for him the whole time that I had spoken.

And now this boy came to the Lord. Now when people have prayed, then the way is very open because then the devil cannot come in between. And Chris accepted the Lord Jesus as his savior but then he said, I have a little difficulty.

Can you give me advice? I said, no, tell. What is the difficulty, Jim? He said, you know, I'm so terribly fond of rock and roll. Yeah, that was a problem. And the Lord gave me the answer. I said, Jimmy, now you belong to Jesus and Jesus belongs to you and that means that you are standing on the salt rock, Jesus Christ, and you are on the roll in heaven and that is now your rock and roll.

I understood that this was not sufficient for Jimmy. It was a joke what made him laugh but then I said, listen Jimmy, when you really, you are really now with your hand in Jesus' hand and when you go to your dance, don't forget you are not alone.

Jesus is with you. And in case Jesus says, say, Jimmy, I cannot go to that dirty place, then don't go yourself. Or he said, I promise you. No, I knew when Jimmy goes with his hand in Jesus' hand, then Jesus will bring him in the places what pleases him.

I believe we must be careful when we bring youngsters to the Lord that not to start to say, and you may not do this and you may not do that. Let the Holy Spirit do it. And they are in such good hands because Jesus is the door.

But we must understand that we stand really on victory ground. Now I have heard of the pickpocket who said, I have always been a very good pickpocket. I stole about, no, about 50, 60 watches every week.

But now I am saved. I am a Christian. And I steal only 5 or 6 watches every week. No. No, now you laugh. You laugh because of that pickpocket, but what about this decent sin that you have still in your life?

Just ask the Lord. Search me, O God. Show me if there is still a watch that I steal. If there is some little decent or terrible indecent sin in my life, in my action, in my thinking, in my speaking. For Jesus brings you, when you surrender to him into the room, victory over sin.

And the victorious life is the normal life for a Christian. Because Jesus is victor. And now we come in the room, the room of hearts rest. That room is open for everyone. When he has his hand in Jesus' hand, the worst can happen in your life.

Heart's Rest in Christ's Suffering

When your hand is in Jesus' hand, the best remains, and the very best is yet to be. Paul wrote, when he was in a terrible prison, to the Philippians, I count everything as loss compared with the priceless privilege, the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage of knowing Jesus Christ, my Lord, and of progressively, more deeply, and ultimately getting acquainted with him, Philippians 3 .8 in the Amplified New Testament.

That I have experienced. When I was in that concentration camp, where I was surrounded by people who had had a training in cruelty, where 96 ,000 women were killed or died, also Betsy, my sister. But I learned to know Jesus Christ more deeply, and I got acquainted with him like never before.

And that is the great joy that gives you the heart's rest, also when the worst happens. You need heart's rest also today, in the everyday life. But also when terrible things should happen in the world, in America, in your house, in your life.

Don't forget that Jesus is the door to the room, heart's rest. Nolly, my youngest sister, was the first one in our family who was arrested. We had not yet had any experience of the enemy who had arrested us, but Nolly was found with two Jews in her house.

And that's why they brought her into the police station. I ran to the police station, and I saw that they brought her from the door of the police station to the prison van. I broke through the barrier of policemen, and I put my arm around her, and I cried.

But Nolly said to me, God is love. Please say that. And she said, Can you believe that God is love? That he allowed the enemy to bring me to prison? My six children are alone without mother? Then I could have understood.

But then she said, Don't forget, God is love. That was a miracle. How could she say that? Because Jesus had brought her into the room, hard pressed. And when she was in the prison van, she wrote on the wall, Jesus is victim.

They pushed her into a dark cell, and there was another woman, and she cried. And Nolly said, Don't cry. God does not make mistakes. Even by allowing the enemy to bring us in this cell. You see, that was not Nolly in her own power.

She could not have thought and said such things. But Jesus had brought her in that terrible happening into the room, hard pressed. And then there comes the last room. Fellowship in Christ's Suffering.

Fellowship in Christ's Suffering and Persecution

I have seen this fellowship in many countries. Behind the Iron Curtain, I have found many people who were in the power of the enemy, who had to suffer persecution. You do not know that all here, but I can tell you, never in the history of the world there has been so many martyrs for Jesus Christ.

Even not in the time of Nero. You do not know it, but you do not realize it. But do you know that in this time, is a terrific persecution. So many people, so many Christians are killed. Now, in this time.

Some weeks ago, I got a letter from a missionary and he wrote, Oh Corrie, you know that we worked in a boys school and we had such a good time there. All the boys have been killed. He also told that about 80 ,000 Christians were killed.

And I asked in World Vision, Is that true? Were so many killed? They said 200 ,000 is more closer to the truth. And I don't know if you will have the honor to suffer for Jesus. It is possible. But don't be afraid, for Jesus is the door and he will make you victorious.

And don't forget that in this last room, behind it is a little alley and at the other side of the alley is the house of the Father with many mansions. And there is a master crown for everyone who has fellowship in Christ's suffering.

He keeps your hands even in that valley.