Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E44 | Everyday Eurasia | Chad Gibbons

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S1-E44 | Everyday Eurasia | Chad Gibbons · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week, we'll be journeying together with Chet Gibbons.
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  Chet serves as the Nazarene Discipleship International
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  coordinator for the Eurasia Region.
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  As a missionary, he lives and serves alongside his wife
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  Crystal from the regional office in Busina, Germany.
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  Today, Chet will be thinking with us about the new year that
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  is in front of us. Hello, everyone.
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  Welcome back to our Covenant Renewal podcast that we are
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  starting here at the beginning of 2026.
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  If you haven't listened to yesterday's episode, I encourage
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  you to go back and listen to that as we're going through John
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  Wesley's Covenant Renewal service.
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  And yesterday we fully committed ourselves, our souls, and our
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  very salvation into the hands of our High Priest, Christ.
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  We renounced any claim to our own righteousness and trusted in
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  nothing of our own, but only what Christ has done for us.
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  And now that we've prayed that prayer, what this means now is
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  we need to give our entire selves to the Lord at the start
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  of this new year. As His servants, we surrender
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  the entire rule of our life to Christ.
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  As the Bible says, don't offer the parts of your body as
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  instruments of sin. Instead, offer yourselves to God
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  as those brought from death to life, and offer your whole
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  selves to Him as instruments of righteousness.
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  Don't you know that you are a slave to whatever you obey?
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  If you are God's servants, then obey God.
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  Give yourselves so completely to the Lord that from now on you
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  belong to Him alone and no one else.
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  Let all of us say, along with the Psalmist, I am yours.
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  O God, I honor you and I dedicate myself to your service.
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  Giving ourselves to the Lord means we accept the work that He
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  assigns to us, whatever it is, and He has many different kinds
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  of service. Some of the things Jesus calls
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  us to are easy and honorable, but some things are hard and
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  humble. Some things that God wants us to
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  do fit our preferences and our desires, while others go against
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  them. Sometimes we're able to please
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  Christ and please ourselves at the same time, like when He
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  calls us to enjoy His good gifts.
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  Who doesn't love that? There are some spiritual duties
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  that are simply more pleasing than others.
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  I think we can all agree rejoicing in the Lord, blessing
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  God and praising His name are wonderful things.
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  But other duties require us to deny ourselves, like bearing
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  with the sins and the shortcomings of others,
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  correcting others for their own good, leaving the company of
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  friends when it becomes harmful to US, standing up against
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  wrongdoing, or confessing Christ even when it brings us shame or
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  ridicule, Cule or persecution. It's never fun to go against the
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  grain, to surrender our rights, or to accept loss for Jesus
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  sake, but these are some of the kinds of service that He calls
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  us to. So each one of us needs to
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  consider what Christ is asking of me and submit ourselves
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  entirely to His will. Don't try to make terms or
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  conditions with Jesus. He will allow no such
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  bargaining. Friends, this kind of surrender
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  to Christ is the very heart of Christianity.
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  When you choose God as your portion and your joy, when you
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  place all your hope in Christ, when you sincerely give yourself
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  fully to Him, then you are truly a Christian.
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  Christ saves none who refused to be His servants.
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  He is the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
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  Christ receives no servant except by willing consent.
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  His people are a willing people, and Christ accepts no partial
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  consent, only a full surrender to all that He commands.
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  He will be everything or He will be nothing.
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  And so as Christians, as servants of Christ, let us
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  approach him now in prayer. Lord Jesus, if you will receive
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  me into your household, if you will accept me as your servant,
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  I won't make any conditions. Ask of me whatever you choose.
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  Write your own commands, require me to be or to do whatever you
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  want. The only thing I ask is to let
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  me be your servant. Make me whatever you want, Lord,
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  and place me wherever you want. Let me be a vessel of gold or
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  silver, or let me be a vessel of wood or stone, just as long as I
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  may be a vessel for your glory and honor.
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  Then I will be content. If I'm not the head or the eye
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  or the ear, if I'm not one of the more noble or honored parts
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  of the body of Christ, then let me be the hand or the foot.
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  Let me be one of the least and the lowest, just as long as I am
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  a servant of my Lord, because I am no longer my own, but yours.
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  Put me to what you will place me, with whom you will put me to
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  doing or put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you,
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  or let me be set aside for you. Let me be praised for you or
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  criticized for you. Let me be full or let me be
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  empty. Let me have all things, or let
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  me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all
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  things to Your glory and Your service.
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  And now, a wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer and
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  Sustainer, you are mine and I am yours.
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  So be it. And the covenant which I have
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  made on earth, that it also be ratified in heaven.
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  Amen. Thank you for listening to the
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  Everyday Eurasia podcast, Inspiring Fate for everyday.
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  For more Everyday Stories, subscribe on this podcast
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  channel, follow our socials, Facebook and Instagram, or our
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  newsletter Snapshots. For our newsletter and further
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  information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
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  eurasiaregion.org.