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Secret Sauce
Book Excerpt: ‘Secret Sauce’,
by Major Terence Hale
from the forthcoming book, GRANDEST
“’Because He lives, I WILL LIVE.’ I
will live for God alone. I will not tolerate anything of death
in me or about me another hour. I will choose life – life only
– divine life.”[i]
George Scott Railton
“His divine power has given us
everything we need for a godly life.”
Peter the Apostle
_____________________________
George Scott Railton was a driven man,
as you have heard us say already. He was in many ways, a man
unto himself, similar in ways to great revivalists better
known to history. But in other ways he was unique, standing
out amongst his peers, and in some ways ahead of his time. We
have talked about the factors that contributed to this; his
vitality, his faith, his aggressive spirit, his ability to
deal with failure and disappointment, and his commitment to
community, to name a few.
Now, as we bring our journey through
the ‘grandest’, ‘merriest’, strangest’ life to a close
encounter, one last attribute of Railton’s life that is really
a summary of all the rest, and perhaps the best descriptor of
what empowered his unique and profound life. A life, by now,
we hope we all want to emulate in some way.
Railton discovered in his life the
power of Godliness. It was Railton’s belief and experience,
along with many other early Salvationists, that there was
power and freedom in a life of surrender.
Freedom through surrender; this may be
the ‘Strangest’ idea yet. However, the power of this paradox
was real for Railton and remains for us today though it is not
too popular. To be fair to the present day, I don’t think the
idea of surrender has been popular in any point in human
history. But the truth remains that there is amazing power and
freedom found in a life of surrender; a life surrendered to
God.
It was surrender that gave Railton the
freedom and power to do, accomplish, and overcome, all he did.
This was Railton’s secret sauce if you will. What he
experienced and what we would offer for your consideration is
that when we come into a personal relationship with the living
God through Jesus Christ His Son, when we surrender to Him, we
find that we are offered all the necessary power and means to
live a triumphant life.
The Bible says, “His [God’s] divine
power has given us everything we need for a godly life.”[ii]
It is not always that life becomes easier or less challenging
but more so that we have a new power source, one independent
of our humanness, to help us overcome the challenges that life
brings to us. This is the power of Godliness that comes
through surrender.
There are many
different words or phrases used to describe this concept:
Godliness, Christlikeness, baptism of the Holy Spirit,
Sanctification, Anointing, Second Blessing, Perfect Love, and
Holiness to name a few. But I want to offer a description that
will hopefully help us make practical application of the
concept. The power of Godliness in this ‘grandest’,
‘merriest’, strangest’ life that we are exploring is about
being recklessly engaged in a radical relationship with Jesus.[iii]
If you have taken seriously all that we
have discussed so far then throwing caution to the wind and
surrendering your life to Jesus and going full out in living
for Him, in the power He provides, may be the missing piece.
This might be your secret sauce as well. To be honest, most of
what we have talked about in this book is impossible to
achieve outside the power of Godliness at work in your life.
Let’s break this down a little further.
Recklessly engaged.
Suggesting someone be reckless at
anything doesn’t seem like the best counsel at first glance, I
admit. But like the freedom through surrender, we are aiming
for the strangest kind of life at this point. At the same
time, - and I don’t write these words lightly, -
the only thing I would, in good faith, recommend to you
to be reckless about is the degree and fervour with which you
engage with Jesus; that and perhaps binge watching The Office.
To act reckless(ly) means to take
action without caring about the consequences. Godliness
requires reckless engagement because there is so much around
us slowing us down and thwarting us from thriving in life by
nagging us about consequences.
I hope you know what I mean: If you
believe in Jesus, people will think you have lost it. If you
forgive that person, people will think you are weak. If you
try and make that change or give up that habit, you might
fail, and everyone will know it. If you cut off those bad
relationships or influences, you might end up alone. If you go
full in, people might judge you. If you… If you… If you…
The only way to get over the ‘what ifs’
is to fully trust. In this world, fully trusting is definitely
reckless, unless that trust is put in the right place.
Radical relationship. It would be very
hard to engage recklessly and not be considered a radical.
Really, it is an unhindered engagement that allows you to live
radically. To be radical means to experience and advocate for
fundamental change in people and or systems.
So, when we set out to be in a radical
relationship, we are saying that this relationship is unlike
any other in our lives and that the outcome of that
relationship is fundamental change and transformation. A
radical relationship is one that goes deeper, further, and
beyond any other relationship in your life, in the past or
present.
But in addition to being something you
haven’t quite experienced before, it also brings about
transformation in your life and in your world around you. When
was the last time you had a relationship like that? Railton’s
secret sauce is comprised of such things.
With Jesus. As you may have come to
expect by now this is the secret of the secret sauce. Railton
discovered that being sold out to his relationship with Jesus
empowered him to live the ‘grandest’, merriest’, ‘strangest’
life. If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that we are
all sold out to something, even if it is ‘not being sold out
to something.’
So, if you are going to strive to
radical and sometimes reckless living, why not do that with
Jesus and get a good return for your investment. I’m serious
-, why not try Jesus? What do you have to lose?
A couple hundred years ago, Blaise
Pascal, a mathematician and philosopher, developed what is
known as ‘Pascal’s Wager’. Here’s the gist in case you are not
familiar:
He said that the best thing we could do
in life was believe in and follow Jesus, and this is why: If
we sell out to Jesus and it turns out the whole Jesus thing is
a fake and when we die, we simply cease to exist, what have we
really lost? We lived an exciting life, tried to make a
difference in the world, and had a purpose. But if we sell out
to Jesus and it turns out that it is all true then not only do
we get to live the ‘grandest’ kind of purpose filled and
connected life, but when we die we get eternal life to boot.
Railton said that, “perhaps the
grandest sight in the universe is that of a weak human being
quietly defying earth and hell in the strength of Jehovah.”[iv]
That could be my story, that could be your story. The
strangest kind of life will inevitably lead to strange
decisions and strange actions like choosing to surrender to
find freedom and getting recklessly engaged in a radical
relationship. But the outcome is a life that strikes
repeatedly at the heart of transformation and ripples outward
inviting change in its wake. That is the power of Godliness.
Bring on the secret sauce!
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[i] John D.
Waldron. GSR. p56., Pg. 56
[ii] 2 Peter
1:3.
[iii] In
explaining the experience of sanctification William Booth
stressed that it involved three things: 1. Full deliverance
from all known sin; 2. The consecration of every power and
possession to God and His work; and 3. Constant and uniform
obedience to all the requirements of God. (John Larsson.
Spiritual Breakthrough. p52.) It is hoped that one can see the
correlation between these two descriptions.
[iv] John D.GSR,
Waldron. GSR. p57, 57.
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