Synonyms: renounce, relinquish, dispense with, forswear, disclaim, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of, give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, have done with, abjure, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set/lay aside, desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with, vacate, quit, evacuate, withdraw from, surrender, cede, yield, indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in, uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, unruliness, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness
Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on
Showing 101 to 125 of 2404 results
Sermon
King Duncan
... because of inner conflicts that are tearing us apart. A war is going on inside of us. We are being pushed and pulled from within. We desperately need the Spirit of God to come into our lives and take those warring thoughts and feelings and bring them together. To achieve such a unity of mind and heart requires a surrender of all we are and all we hope to be to the presence and power of God. The sad truth is that many of us want only a partial experience of God’s Spirit without total surrender. A letter ...
102. What About the Weeds?
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Sermon
King Duncan
... Tom Landry, the legendary coach of the Dallas Cowboys once said. It went something like this: “I have a job to do that is not very complicated, but it is difficult: to get a group of men to do what they don’t want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted all of their lives.” Isn’t that a great statement? Cultivating a garden requires those daily little tasks that are a pain, perhaps. But you do them because you can envision the beauty and the bounty that awaits you. That, of course ...
103. Staying Close
Isaiah 6:1-13
Sermon
King Duncan
... decathlon winner said when being interviewed by "Newsweek." Though he was hampered by back trouble and a broken foot during the several years of training for the olympics, he had set his face toward achieving the highest accolade in the sporting world and would not let anything deter him from achieving his reward. Jenner purposely trained with worldclass athletes so he could imbibe the spirit of success and benefit from the challenge of the superior records of his colleagues. He was so singleminded in his ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... decision of the most final sort." (4) It's not a question of how much faith we have but how we choose to use that faith. There's one more dimension to consider. FAITH ENABLES US TO DO THE THINGS THAT JESUS WANTS US TO DO. If you are not achieving great things in your life, perhaps this is the problem. Your will is not in line with Christ's. Jesus told the disciples about a servant whose only task was to serve his master. "So you also," Jesus told the disciples, "when you have done all that you were ordered ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... humans is possible with God. I often have the feeling in many mainline churches that most of its members and clergy don't really believe Jesus when he speaks of the power of faith. We hedge. We try to qualify everything. We adopt a committee to see if it is achievable. Far too often we say, "It simply can't be done." We suffer too much from the "we can't do anything" syndrome. We must learn to sing, "Have thing own way, Lord, have thine own way." I don't know if any of you saw the articles recently in ...
106. Fear Of Flying
Matthew 10:1-42
Sermon
King Duncan
... about ourselves. We Have Doubts about God. We also have doubts about God. Many of us who are followers of Jesus really don't trust God. We are afraid of success because we think we don't deserve it and that God will swat us down if we try to achieve it. It all comes down to that age old question upon which everything hinges: Do we live in a friendly universe? For many of us it is not a friendly universe. It is filled with a God of anger, a God who is always judging us, a God who intervenes ...
107. Entitlements
Luke 16:19-31
Sermon
King Duncan
... What does it mean to deserve victory?" asks Pitino. "According to Churchill, victory comes only to those who work long and hard, who are willing to pay the price in blood, sweat, and tears. Hard work is also the basic building block of every kind of achievement: Without it, everything else is pointless. You can start with a dream or an idea or a goal, but before any of your hopes can be realized, you truly must deserve your success. This may sound oldfashioned in this age of instant gratification, but from ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... things they hoped for was a place of honor in Christ's kingdom. Sure, they were ambitious. Jesus never condemned anyone for being ambitious only for being ambitious for the wrong things. There is nothing wrong with ambition. It is the starting point for great achievement. However, not all dreams are created equal. Misguided ambition is also the cause of much of the heartache in the world. Jesus wants us to be careful what we are ambitious about. James and John wanted places of honor in Christ's Kingdom. BUT ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... to enter your head, and swing away. A high handicapper,” he concludes, “will be surprised at how often the mind will make the muscles hit the ball to the target, even with a far less than perfect swing . . .” (6) Focus. What is it you really hope to achieve in your work life, your family life, your spiritual life? How would you like for your body to look? How would you like your resume to look? What are those hobbies you hope to master? Successful people have a picture in their mind of what they would ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... who have contributed to the improvement of the human race. Certainly there are enough people who detract from our dignity as children of God. I was amused to read about some awards that were given in England for, shall we say, rather dubious achievements. For example, John Bloor received the 'Rubber Cushion' award when he mistook a tube of SuperGlue for his hemorrhoid cream. The "Crimewatch" award was given to Henry Smith who was arrested moments after returning home with a stolen stereo. He might have ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... his goals in ministry. Jakes pastors one of America's largest churches, the 28,000 member The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, so he knows something about achieving his goals in ministry. Jakes replied that such a pastor needs to be relentless. Relentless. That was his one-word description of a pastor who will achieve his goals in ministry. He never mentioned gifts or charisma or congregational support or money. A pastor doesn't need those things to succeed. He needs only to be relentless in his focus ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... person great. She answered, "You've got to love people, places, ideas; you've got to live with mind, body, soul; you've got to be committed. There is no life on the sidelines." Most of us are on the sidelines. We know we could be doing more, achieving more, and giving more but we're not willing to pay the price. Ferdinand Foch reminds us that "the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." Greatness is born when someone proclaims, as John Knox did when he set out to claim Scotland for Christ ...
Sermon
Eric Ritz
... epistle of James by examining verses 19-27 of the first chapter. I like the translation of verses 19 & 20 which reads: "This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God." The first thing we need to review from James is: exactly what are we supposed to know? What is already assumed? We know that James is speaking to a group of believers of whom he is fond because he writes, "My dear brothers ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... are worthy of that grace. We can't be good enough. We can't do good enough. So, while there is a sense in which we are what we do, we are never to think that worthiness in God's sight is dependent upon what we do or what we achieve. II. That brings us to another consideration -- the Centurion's self-perception of worthiness. Other people considered him worthy because of outward signs; he saw himself from the inside, and that's what made the difference. We get a good picture of him in verse 6. Listen to a ...
Sermon
Maxie Dunnam
... souls catch up with our bodies. Someone observed that most of the time we are so anxious to do something that we neglect to be someone. While doing is important, so is being. The world of getting things done is vital — the world of achievements, hard work, of goals reached and tasks completed, of obligations assumed and honored.... But the world of being is also vital — the world of quiet listening and resonating with our inner feelings, the world of coming close to persons, the world of meditation and ...
Sermon
King Duncan
... they knew or what they earned, but who they knew. I’m sure they felt they deserved this promotion. They just didn’t want to wait in line. Jesus doesn’t scold them for that. It’s all right to be ambitious if you go about achieving those ambitions in an honorable way. If you are honest and treat people in a decent manner. Ambition is a powerful motivating influence in our lives. Nothing happens without a dream. Still, it’s clear that Jesus is disappointed by James’ and John’s request. “You ...
117. The Perfect Man
Hebrews 10:1-18
Sermon
King Duncan
... those who are being made holy." That’s an interesting phrase: "he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." The writer is referring, of course, to those who believe in Christ. That’s us. We have been made perfect. Perfection in Christ is not something we achieve but a gift we receive. In God’s eyes, because of what Christ has done for us, it is as if we had never in our lives done anything that was not absolutely perfect. Our spouses may not see us as perfect, our friends may not see us ...
118. Uncle Abraham
Romans 4:13-25
Sermon
William G. Carter
... God has called you. God is not impressed with a single person in this room. Yet God loves us in spite of our spotty records of achievement. Every single one of us is a complete and utter failure. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ ... of what it means to be justified before God. The point is, life is not about us and our long list of checkered achievements. Life is about God, and what God has accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus. For our part, all we need to ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... known as the boy who cheated his way into the little league world series and destroyed his team's record and chances. The Bombers wanted to win so badly, wanted to be winners so desperately, that they were willing to do anything, break any rule, to achieve their goal. The dummied up birth certificate that shaved two years off their pitcher's age was the final evidence that convicted them. But there has been a long trail of clues that a win-at-any-cost attitude has been getting bolder, and more accepted ...
Sermon
Richard Gribble
... time in the city, Paul knew the environment and thus he calls in today's Second Reading for the people to live united by being faithful to the vocation to which they have been called. He suggests that this unity, this faithfulness to purpose, will be achieved through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God must be their bond and unity of peace. Paul did not believe that there were various types of Christians; the community needed to be united. Thus, he writes to the Ephesians and speaks of being "one Lord, one ...
Sermon
Lee Ann Dunlap
... Stephen. And in his own ministry he had witnessed Gentile converts exhibiting the fruits of the Holy Spirit without the trappings of Jewish covenant. We can follow the rules and do our religious duty to the utmost, and never experience divine love. We can amass fortunes, achieve world renown, and view all the wonders of the world and still be empty inside. In the end, there is nothing we can do to get God's attention and earn God's favor, because it has already been given us through Christ. In the end ...
Sermon
Leonard Sweet
... . And what do we learn from his jogging, or anyone's jogging? When the body is most in motion, the mind can be most at rest. My mind is never clearer or more focused than when my body is sweating and straining. We are being taught this phenomenon of achieving focus through peripheral vision through the Magic Eye books. (It would be great if you could have color copies made of a page from one of these books and walk through how you see it. But beware: Some people simply can't see it. Or as Elizabeth Rennie ...
123. Luke 14:1, 7-14
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... hosting behavior and offer further proof of God's graciousness to those who incarnate the kingdom by implementing the shocking advice Jesus gives. Hosting and being hosted were all part of an interconnected web of complex social relationships. Social status was achieved and maintained by knowing the right people, being seen with the right crowd and associating only with the right kind. Formal banquets, such as the one Jesus was attending, functioned as a kind of social currency canceling social debts for ...
Sermon
James Merritt
... Jesus Christ, God's son, is eternal life. Have you received Him? If both of those things are true, then this also is true. III. Achieve God's Security Of Your Eternal Life Now we come to the key verse in this entire book and one of the greatest verses you ... review. If you believe God's statement about eternal life and you have received God's son who is eternal life, then you will achieve God's security of your eternal life. Notice again to whom John wrote these words. He said those who know they have eternal ...
Sermon
Stan Purdum
... mind, she felt justified because of some slights on her husband's part. In fact, she was still seeing the other man. In my opinion at that moment, simply pointing out that her behavior was wrong (which I expect she knew anyway) would not have achieved any healing of the relationship. Instead, I started from their interest in saving the marriage. I pointed out that the first "prudent" thing to do if she truly wanted to give the marriage a chance was to stop seeing the other man. She reluctantly agreed and ...
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