Tony Green - Triumphant Surrender: Essentials for Thriving in Triumph

Because of You Three

Mark Hyland

You inspired me, you exhorted me, and you made me believe the improbable was highly possible. Moreover, to this day, you still do. Gods agape love through you appears inexhaustible. I have been blessed to be one of its targets. You will forever amaze me!

Snow Wilfong

As soon as I scribbled out the first table of contents, I knew I had to have you on my team. Even though you are a nonreader, you welcomed those first one hundred handwritten pages, typed them, read them, and listened for the voice of God through them. I am so thankful that you heard Him speak. Had you not, you would have told me. That is why Holy Spirit sent me your way. You rock!

Jude Way

You were the first person courageous enough to read the first draft of this manuscript end-to-end. Chapter-by-chapter you confirmed to me, with great passion and precious tenderness, that it was Spirit-filled and not Tony-filled. The ground between us, in that season, was so sacred. I remember shaking my head in awe at your feedback and just crying. Your greatest compliment to me was to assure me that this was not my book. I remain ever grateful that God made a Way for me!

Gratitudes

I have come into full agreement with 1 John 2:20, 27. The best Bible teacher I can ever have is the Holy Spirit! However, God also chose to gift me with four amazing human teachers after I cracked open my first Bible at age thirty-nine. I remain tremendously grateful for and humbled by Gods Word shared t o me through Pastor Sam Shaw, Pastor Fred Luter Jr., Beth Moore, and Erin Campbell. One of you four first revealed to me many of the verses quoted in this book. Thanks for staying divinely obedient to God by answering His call on your lives!

I gratefully thank Sue Kirby Neumann for quickly offering her services to be my first editor when it came to grammar, word usage, and writing consistency. She combed through these pages no less than three times and did not allow me to use even one Yall. With my Texas roots, it was not always easy for her to keep me in check!

I am astonished at the role Pastor Chuck Chapman played by proactively reading through these ten chapters to give me counsel. As a Spirit-filled servant, he offered many suggestions on how to improve the flow for the readers benefit. His feedback hit the mark.

For the ordained and pivotal role she played in the eleventh hour, I am very thankful for Valorie Granger. Her and I reconnected a week before I signed the publishing agreement. She has astigmatism, thus prefers audiobooks. I joked I would record the first chapter for her. She held me to it. Five days later, all ten chapters were available in audio. The insights from that experience were massive! And right on time, all glory to God!

Additional encouragers throughout my journey have been Christian Bunse, Erin Counts, Tricia Earl, Renee Griggs, Liz Rosenblath Heiser, Pastor Matt Holman, Dr. David Hylan Jr., Jeff McClelland, Wendy McDaniel, Jackie Meddles, Greg Nicoletti, Harold Oberschlake, Pastor John Palazzolo, Karen Joy Puchta, Kristine Reed, Megen Riley, Kim Russo, Robert Shryoc, Beth Stewart, Dan Tarkington, Pastor James Turner, MaryAnn Waltz, Suzanne Weithofer, Suzanne Wooley, and the Keepin It Real Mens group. These are not great friends; they are covenant friends!

There are two worship leaders who have made a significant impact on my faith walk. Both have dedicated their surrendered lives and supernatural gifts to unleashing the Holy Spirit through praise and worship. Craig Aven and Julie Nickell, I adore you two and your precious families!

I have never had a partner in crime, but if I did, it might be my middle sister Gay Tuttle. She gets me, and I get her. Even though the enemy has tried to destroy us, our hearts will remain forever entwined. Skizzie Gay, you are absolutely astronomical in my heart!

My precious kids, Chris and Carleigh, are definitely the apples of this dads eyes! I cannot even type these words without crying. Only God and you two fuel my passion anymore. That is rather good company either way. He and I love you two so incredibly much!

And now I can finally speak to the empty chair. I think back to the day a Christian therapist challenged me, Tony, if Jesus was sitting here in this empty chair, what would you say to Him? That day was an awfully bad day for what I perceived was an imponderable. I did not respond well. In that season of my life, I did not think I had anything to talk to Jesus about. I could not yet begin to grasp what His death and resurrection did for me. I could not yet begin to fathom how impossible it was for me to reconcile with a holy and just God on my own. I could not yet make sense of how necessary it would be for the Holy Spirit to give me a full-blown heart transplant. I also did not realize how deep I had let the enemy dig his claws into me over time. Thank you, God! You protected me from myself and showed me what the abundant life in Christ could look like. You gave me your Son. You gave me your Holy Spirit. You gave me Your Word. And even after all the terrible choices I had made, You assured me You had not revoked the calling You have always had on my life! Here am I, Lord. Finally. Send me! Thank You for your extravagant patience with me, Lord! I am grateful I finally came to believe and now proclaim, Jesus, You are my only hope!

You Are Not Alone!

But remember thisthe wrong desires that come into your life arent anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you.

1 Corinthians 10:13a (TLB)

Isolation is the worst possible counselor.

Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish Essayist

I f youre anything like me, you could use some encouragement. One of my closest friends, Mark Hyland, is someone who has spoken life into me for twenty-two years. Twenty-two years! Our professional careers were once mirror images. We were both vice presidents representing the worlds most recognized brand. Today he owns a nationwide company that he founded. Conversely, I have become an hourly employee.

The past seven years have been anything but mirror images; however, Mark continues to build me up. He has exhibited far more faith in me than I have in myself. He remains one of my greatest supporters. He has frequently exhorted me: TG, youre going to write a book. Its going to change lives.

Some try to tough love those caught in strongholds. Others enable them. Mark has never done either. Instead, he continually models the love of Christ to me. After witnessing many of my bonehead choices, I wonder how in the world he can still care about me. What Mark shares is a miraculous love, a sacrificial love, a selfless love; it is the agape love of God. When asked about his persistent compassion, he replies, Im just a willing vessel for God to use however He chooses. Marks attitude comes across as pure authenticity, not false humility.

Scripture says that there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. It goes on to describe many kinds of seasons. I have lived similar ones: seasons of victory, seasons of defeat, seasons of mediocrity, seasons of wisdom, seasons of folly, seasons of happiness, seasons of pain, seasons of growth, and seasons of backsliding. Do some of these sound familiar to you?

God Has Big Plans for You and Me

Several years ago, during one of my more fruitful seasons, I met another close friend who still self-identifies as a tall bald hillbilly in the Spirit. His name is Greg Nicoletti, and he was not exaggerating about the Spirit-filled part! Early in our friendship, he confessed, Tony, I dont need any more friends. In fact, I do not have time to invest in new relationships. But what I am desperate for is this: I am desperate for God-through-you. His first two statements took me by surprise. Then the profound power of the third one hit me. Wow, what better compliment could I ever hope to hear? Neither one of us wanted another fair-weather friend; instead, we both needed God-through-us.