Dick Leggatt, President of Derek Prince Ministries – USA and this comprises his May 8, 2015 Newsletter. Click here to receive the Derek Prince Ministries emailed E-devotional.

 

Have you ever re-committed your life to the Lord? Can you point to some significant times when you have “renewed your vows” to serve Him? Are you entering a season right now that might be motivating you to give yourself to the Lord in a new and fresh way?

Over the years of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I have re-committed myself to Him many times. When there has been a “change of season.” When I have been remorseful over a misstep or mistake I have committed. When I have been enjoying great blessing and success, knowing that it’s all because of His love and help. In a sense, I repeat this commitment process almost each and every day.

To my way of thinking, such times of re-commitment to the Lord need not be abnormal for us. Rather, they can be regular events — occasions to turn over the reins once again to the One who is Lord over every aspect of our existence.

That kind of fresh commitment to Him is the theme of this letter.

A Remarkable Slogan

I recently enjoyed a visit with a longtime friend who is a member of an ecumenical Christian community in Michigan. During our time together, he told me of the slogan/motto for this devoted community of believers: “All of my life… for the rest of my life.”

That phrase touched me profoundly. It resonated with a desire deep within my spirit that shouts, That’s how I long to live! “All of my life… for the rest of my life.”

Nothing held back. Everything on the line. Complete, permanent, lifelong devotion to Jesus Christ — in every facet of my life, my work and my very being.

Do you feel the same way when you hear that slogan?

“It’s Not About You”

The kind of selfless commitment expressed by the motto from my friend’s community is a rare commodity in our days. In the society that surrounds you and me, most people tend to focus totally on themselves. What will be best for me? What will give me the most pleasure? What will bring me the quickest advancement in my career?

In contrast to that mindset, I love the very first thought expressed by author and pastor Rick Warren in his best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life. The first sentence, in all caps, makes his point crystal clear: “IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.” The devotion and perpetual commitment the Lord seeks from us requires our willingness to buy in to this concept.

It’s not about me. It’s about the Lord and His purposes for me. Embracing this reality — and making the appropriate adjustments in our response — could be the most important step you and I will ever take.

Examples of Life Commitment

A quick search of the Scriptures yields a lengthy list of biblical characters who exemplify this attitude of, “All of my life…for the rest of my life.” Actually, there are too many to cover in one letter, so here are just a few who come immediately to mind.

Esther — Having discovered a conspiracy in the works to annihilate all Jews everywhere, Esther faces a sobering decision. The only way to save her people is to risk her life by going directly to the king — without proper permission. If the king does not extend his staff, inviting her to come and speak with him, she will be immediately put to death. In the face of this personal peril, what is Esther’s response? “And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16).

Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego — Refusing to bow down and worship the image of King Nebuchadnezzar, these three young men are condemned to the burning fiery furnace. When Nebuchadnezzar gives them one last chance, warning that no god is able to deliver them from his hands, how do these lads reply? “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up,” (Daniel 3:17-18 NASB).

When all four of these people faced losing their lives, they put everything on the line. They said, “It’s not about us. It’s about the purposes of God in the earth.” Ultimately, their choice — clear and simple — was: “All of my life…for the rest of my life.”

Jesus, the Ultimate Pattern

In a wonderful message by Derek Prince called “Motivation for Living: To Do God’s Will,” he points us to Jesus’ commitment of the entirety of His life. (Later in this letter, you will see an offer to get this complete, profound message — and we hope you will do so.) In the following excerpt, we see how Derek describes the full commitment Jesus made, expressed in His words on the cross: “It is finished.”

Now, I am not suggesting that I can plumb the full meaning of that phrase, “It is finished” [John 19:30]. Let me say, first of all, it is a tremendously powerful phrase. We have the gospel in Greek, and in Greek, “It is finished” is one word: tetelestai. It is the perfect tense of a verb that means “to finish something” or “to do it perfectly.” I’ve said at times that you can translate it: “It is perfectly perfect” or “It is completely complete.”

I link that statement with all that had gone before. “My food is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish the work.” I believe that Jesus expired because He could say, “It is finished.” I see this motivation all through — from eternity to His death on the cross. The one overruling motive of everything He did — every point in His life — was to do the will of God and finish it.

I think at my age in life, I can appreciate the emphasis on the word finish. I believe that basically since I became a Christian, though I have stumbled and I have had problems at times of weakness, I have walked in the will of God…. So I want to say to you — and I trust that I don’t say it out of arrogance or conceit — I believe, in the light of my personal experience, it is possible to walk in the will of God. It is not an unattainable ideal.

That does not mean we don’t ever make mistakes. But it means that basically our life follows the course that God ordained for us…. One thing is constantly on my mind — it doesn’t worry me, it doesn’t make me nervous — but it is never far from my thoughts. It is: finishing the work.

So I understand the tremendous triumph of Jesus. Before He gave up His spirit, He said, “It is finished. There is nothing more left to do. I have done it all.” In that hour of agony and apparent defeat, Jesus knew total victory — because of His commitment to do the will of God.

Is This Your Moment?

At the beginning of this letter, one of the questions I asked was: Are you entering a season right now that might be motivating you to give yourself to the Lord in a new and fresh way? If so, there is a step you can take to initiate that season.

If you feel this is your moment to re-commit your life to the Lord for the season ahead — indeed, for the rest of your life — let’s do so together with the following prayer.

Lord, as I look to the future, I want my first step to be a total commitment to You and Your purposes for my life. I place my life completely in Your hands. Any area that I may have withheld from You, I now yield to You.

It’s not about me, Lord. It’s about You and Your desires and intentions for me. I give myself completely to You in this moment.

Have Your way in me, Jesus. I declare once again that I belong to You entirely. I hold nothing back from You, Lord. I surrender all.

As my pledge to commit my entire life for the remainder of my life, I want to now declare those words that have been the theme of this letter: “All of my life…for the rest of my life.” Amen.

A New Season

Thank you for your sincere prayer. I’m so glad you have made this very positive declaration with me: “All of my life…for the rest of my life.” As I mentioned earlier, you may have prayed a similar prayer previously in your relationship with Jesus Christ. On the other hand, this may be the first time you have committed yourself in this manner. Either way, with this prayer and declaration, you and I have begun a new season in our relationship with Jesus. And we have begun it in the best and strongest way possible — by pledging ourselves completely to Him.

Isn’t it powerful to place ourselves squarely in the hands of the One who is directing and sustaining every facet of our lives?

Partners Together

It is a great honor for us to join with you as you re-commit yourself to the Lord. This is a life-changing moment, and all of us at DPM–USA want to partner with you in this step in every way possible. One of the greatest joys of our relationship with you is to be able to offer free materials that can benefit you greatly. In that regard, we encourage you to download “Motivation for Living,” the full message from which we drew the excerpt used earlier. If you will put this profound teaching into practice, you will see an increase in the vitality of your commitment to Jesus. It is our privilege to provide this message for you.

Getting Derek Prince’s teaching into your hands is just one small way for us to thank you for your partnership. Your prayers for us, as well as your financial contributions to this ministry, are making a huge impact. You are enabling us to touch the lives of people like yourself throughout the United States and around the world whose burning desire is to go deep with the Lord.

We are deeply grateful to you for every prayer and every gift you send our way to help in that mission.

One More Time

I hope your response to the theme of this letter has been a positive one. It truly is a life – changing concept — committing ourselves completely to the will of God. The words you and I have declared together have begun a process by which the Lord can refresh us and renew us for lifelong service to Him. What could be better?

As a way of wrapping up this letter, let’s proclaim again the slogan/motto of my friend’s community. That action on our part will affirm and confirm this truth for us in a dynamic way. Are you ready?

One more time now: “All of my life… for the rest of my life.” Amen!

 

All the best,
Dick Leggatt
President, DPM–USA

 

P.S. Thank you again for partnering with us. I hope you will be sure to download the full message, “Motivation for Living,” that contains Derek’s quote. Let’s stay in touch in the days ahead as we enter into a brand new season together.

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Materials used by kind permission of Derek Prince Ministries.