This is such an important word when it comes to worship. Joe spoke yesterday about the big "S" as well as the big "O" obedience and the big "C" commitment. I'll focus on Surrender. We must surrender in order for worship to take place. In fact God says this through His prophet Isaiah
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
I pray to my Father not to be guilty of this, but daily I find myself failing to but away the temptations that invite me to put myself first and ignore God's voice. I am not first. I cannot be first. It is not about me. This life I have been given to steward is not my own.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Our bodies, Our whole selves, inside and out, top to bottom, mind, heart, will and soul belong to God! We are just stewarding this earthen vessel. Daily, I want to acknowledge the truth of this and surrender my body, mind, heart, soul and my very will to the One who has saved me and loves me everyday. Echoing Paul's words;
Romans 7:18-20
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
When we surrender, this is what we are giving up. Nothing good lives in me (my sinful nature). That should be easy to surrender because I don't even want that. Why is it not?
Romans 7:24-25
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
So we MUST surrender. It is a prerequisite to worship. The very act of worship is acknowledging the object of your worship to be what you are giving your life to. When we give our life to Jesus, it is an act of worship. When we give our will to the Father, it is an act of worship. Too many times we define worship as a "feeling" or "emotional expression." It is NOT. While feelings and emotional expressions may be byproducts of this act of worship, they are not themselves the definition of worship. Let's think of it this way; Surrender and Obedience are the opening act of worship. Thanks and Praise and Songs are what follows.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Our bodies, Our whole selves, inside and out, top to bottom, mind, heart, will and soul belong to God! We are just stewarding this earthen vessel. Daily, I want to acknowledge the truth of this and surrender my body, mind, heart, soul and my very will to the One who has saved me and loves me everyday. Echoing Paul's words;
Romans 7:18-20
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
When we surrender, this is what we are giving up. Nothing good lives in me (my sinful nature). That should be easy to surrender because I don't even want that. Why is it not?
Romans 7:24-25
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
So we MUST surrender. It is a prerequisite to worship. The very act of worship is acknowledging the object of your worship to be what you are giving your life to. When we give our life to Jesus, it is an act of worship. When we give our will to the Father, it is an act of worship. Too many times we define worship as a "feeling" or "emotional expression." It is NOT. While feelings and emotional expressions may be byproducts of this act of worship, they are not themselves the definition of worship. Let's think of it this way; Surrender and Obedience are the opening act of worship. Thanks and Praise and Songs are what follows.
No comments:
Post a Comment