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The Heart of Worship Is Surrender |
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“Give yourselves to God ... surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.” (Romans 6:13b TEV) The heart of worship is surrender. “Surrender” is an unpopular word, disliked almost as much as the word “submission.” It implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game, or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context. Captured criminals surrender to the authorities. In our competitive world, we’re taught to never quit trying, never give up, and never give in, so we don’t hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. Yet, the Bible teaches us that rather than trying to win, succeed, overcome, and conquer, we should instead yield, submit, obey, and surrender. And by surrendering to God, we enter into the heart of worship. This is true worship: bringing pleasure to God as we give ourselves completely to him. Surrendering is best demonstrated in obedience as you cooperate with your Creator. You say, "Yes, Lord" to whatever he asks of you. In fact, "No, Lord" is a contradiction. You can’t claim Jesus as your Lord when you refuse to obey him. Peter modeled surrender when, after a night of failed fishing, Jesus told him to try again: "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." Surrendered people obey God’s Word, even when it doesn’t make sense. God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn’t try to break our will but woos us to himself so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a Lover and a Liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage. When we completely surrender ourselves to Jesus, we discover that he is not a tyrant but a savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend. Talk About It - What do you need to surrender to God today? - Surrendering ourselves leaves us vulnerable. Why is it so hard to be vulnerable in front of our Creator? |
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Offer Yourself to God |
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“So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.” (Romans 12:1 TEV) Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about. This act of personal surrender is called many things: consecration, making Jesus Lord, taking up your cross, dying to self, yielding to the Spirit. What matters is that you do it, not what you call it. God wants your life — all of it. Ninety-five percent is not enough. - Our total surrender to God is blocked by several things, including: - Our ignorance of God — not knowing what he’s really like. - Our sinful nature — the desire to be God ourselves. - Our misunderstanding of surrender and the trust that it requires. Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. We won’t surrender to God unless we trust him, but we can’t trust him until we know him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes. How do I know God loves me? He gives us many evidences: - God loves you (Psalm 145:9). - You’re never out of his sight (Psalm 139:3). - He cares about every detail of your life (Matthew 10:30). - He gave you the capacity to enjoy all kinds of pleasure (1 Timothy 6:17). - He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11). - He forgives you (Psalm 86:5). - He’s patient with you (Psalm 145:8). - He sacrificed his Son for you (Romans 5:8). God loves you infinitely more than you can imagine! “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1 HCSB). God is not a cruel slave driver or a bully who uses brute force to coerce us into submission. He doesn’t try to break our will but woos us to himself so that we might offer it freely to him. God is a lover and a liberator, and surrendering brings freedom, not bondage. Talk About It - What do you understand better about God when you consider that loving him is a choice he allows us to make? - Rest in the knowledge of God’s love today. Then, let it inspire your worship of him. |
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Come to the End of Yourself |
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“It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5 NLT) Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s, is really with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we’re going to win that struggle. But we try anyway. A.W. Tozer said, "The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us." We aren’t God, and we never will be. We’re humans, and the times when we try to be God are the times we end up most like Satan, who tried to be equal with God, too. We accept our humanity intellectually but not emotionally. We give mental assent to the idea, but when faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, beautiful, and wealthy. We want to have it all and do it all and become upset when it doesn’t happen. Then, when we notice God gave others characteristics we don’t have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity. Surrendering to God is not passive resignation, fatalism, or an excuse for laziness. It is not accepting the status quo. It may mean the exact opposite: sacrificing your life in resistance to evil and injustice or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. God often calls surrendered people to do battle on his behalf. It’s not for cowards or doormats. Surrendering is not putting your brain in neutral and giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind he gave you! God does not want robots to serve him. Surrendering is not repressing your personality. God wants to use your unique personality. Rather than being diminished, surrendering enhances your uniqueness. C. S. Lewis observed, "The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become — because he made us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own." Talk About It - In what ways have you been trying to do God’s job lately? - What do you discover about yourself as you surrender more fully to God? |
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Instead of Trying Harder, Trust More |
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Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.” (Psalm 37:7a GW) Surrendering your life means: - Following God’s lead without knowing where he’s sending you. - Waiting for God’s timing without knowing when it will come. - Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide. - Trusting God’s purpose without understanding the circumstances. You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don’t have to always be "in charge." Instead of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You are not self-serving, you don’t edge others out, and you don’t demand your rights. The most difficult thing to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, "I want to live for God, but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday." Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money," and "Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also." The supreme example of self-surrender is Jesus. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus surrendered himself to God’s plan. He prayed, "Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” Jesus didn’t pray, "God, if you’re able to take away this pain, please do so." He began by affirming that God can do anything! He prayed, "God, if it is in your best interest to remove this suffering, please do so. But if it fulfills your purpose, that’s what I want, too." Genuine surrender says, “Father, if this problem, pain, sickness, or circumstance is needed to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or in another’s life, please don’t take it away!" This level of maturity doesn’t come easily. In Jesus’ case, he agonized so much over God’s plan that he sweated drops of blood. Surrender is hard work. In our case, it requires intense warfare against our self-centered nature. Talk About It - Where is your treasure? - Does your attitude toward money reflect a heart that is surrendered to Christ? |
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A Surrendered Life Has Power |
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“Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong.” (Job 22:21 LB) The Bible is very clear about how we benefit when we worship God through surrender: “Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong” (Job 22:21 LB) In surrender, you begin to really live the life God intended: “Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 LB). You are set free, liberated from self-preoccupation: “But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Romans 6:16-18 MSG) God is able to use a surrendered life in great ways. Why did God choose Mary, of all women, to be the mother of Jesus? It was because she was totally surrendered to God. When the angel explained God’s improbable plan, she humbly responded, “I am the Lord's servant! Let it happen as you have said” (Luke 1:38 CEV). Nothing is more powerful than a surrendered life in the hands of God. Talk About It - In what ways would your life be fuller if you surrendered it completely to God? - Don’t wait another day! Pray today to surrender your life to God and begin to let go of your selfishness and control. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors. This devotional © 2013 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
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Surrender Leads to Victory |
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“We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose. Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his.” (Romans 14:7-8 LB) The paradox of surrender is that it produces power and victory. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can be defeated by Christ when handed over to him. As Joshua approached the biggest battle of his life, he encountered God, fell in worship before him, and surrendered his plans. That surrender led to a stunning victory at Jericho. Surrender doesn’t weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don’t have to fear or surrender to anything or anyone else. The founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, once said, “The greatness of a man's power is the measure of his surrender." Why surrender? Because you belong to your Creator. God has a right to direct your life: “We are not our own bosses to live or die as we ourselves might choose” (Romans 14:7 LB). “Acknowledge that the LORD is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people” (Psalm 100:3a NLT). Because Christ bought you with his sacrifice. The Bible says, “And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised” (2 Corinthians 5:15 HCSB). When you surrender to Christ, you fulfill the very purpose he died for — not just to save you from Hell but also to save you from self-centeredness! We Christians do not live for ourselves but for our Savior. “At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes” (Romans 6:19b TEV). Because God modeled it first. He took the initiative, surrendering Jesus for our benefit: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16 NASB). Our surrender is the only reasonable response to that kind of love. You cannot love Christ without surrendering to him. Talk About It - What are the temptations and problems that you need to hand over to Christ today? - How do you want to use the power that comes with surrender? |
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Surrender: the Only Way to Live |
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Though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise of a slave and becoming like men.” (Philippians 2:6-7 LB) Everybody surrenders to something or someone in life. If not to God, you’ll surrender to popular opinion, money, resentment, or fear, to your own pride, lust, and ego. We were designed to worship something, and when we fail to worship God, we create gods (idols) to which we surrender ourselves. E. Stanley Jones said, "If you don't surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos." You’re free to choose what you surrender to, but you’re not free from the consequences of that choice: “So give yourselves completely to God” (James 4:7a NCV). Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Nothing else works. All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction. The King James Version of Romans 12:1 calls surrender "your reasonable service." The Contemporary English Version translates it as “the most sensible way to serve God.” Surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life. Your wisest moments will be those when you say “yes” to God: “So we make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9a NIV). Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover the greatest hindrance to God’s blessing in your life is not others but yourself — your self will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God’s purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. If God is going to do his deepest work in you, it will begin with this. So give it all to God: your past regrets, your present problems, your future ambitions, your fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, and hang-ups. Put Christ in the driver’s seat of your life, and take your hands off the steering wheel. Don’t be afraid; nothing under his control can ever be out of control. Mastered by Christ, you can handle anything: “I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency” (Philippians 4:13b AMP). You may worry, "What if I stumble or relapse?" If? You will stumble in pleasing God! No one can live a perfectly surrendered life except Jesus. But God has provided for the inevitability of your sin: “If you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely” (1 John 2:1 LB). Talk About It - In what ways does the world try to keep you from surrendering? - How have you let your pride or ambition keep you from surrendering to God? |
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The Practice of Surrender |
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“If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me.” (Matthew 16:24 NCV) Paul’s moment of surrender occurred on the Damascus road after a blinding light knocked him down. For others, less drastic methods are needed to get their attention. Regardless, surrendering is never just a one-time event. Paul said, "I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31b NASB). There is a moment of surrender and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and life-long. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar, so you may have to re-surrender your life 50 times a day: “If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing even to give up their lives to follow me” (Matthew 16:24 NCV). Let me warn you: When you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. Sometimes it will mean doing inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks. It will often mean doing the opposite of what you feel like doing. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5 NKJV). We are, by nature, self-centered. When hurt by someone, your natural inclination is to hurt back. It is natural to hoard money instead of generously sharing it, to defend yourself when criticized, to hide your mistakes instead of confessing them, and to try to impress others. You can usually figure out what will please God by doing the opposite of your natural inclination. Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ, and through the worldwide Crusade staff, his tract “The Four Spiritual Laws,” and the “Jesus” film (seen by more than 1 billion people), it’s estimated that more than 150 million people have come to Christ and will spend eternity in Heaven. I once asked Bill, "Why did God use and bless your life so much?" He said, "When I was a young man I made a contract with God. I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom. It said ‘From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.’" Have you signed a contract like that with God? Or, are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases? It is time to surrender — to God’s grace, love, and wisdom. Talk About It - What characteristics about yourself will you have to adapt in order to do “inconvenient, unpopular, costly, or seemingly impossible tasks” because of your surrender? - Ask your small group or accountability partner to pray for you as you struggle to overcome your pride, ambition, and selfishness and surrender your life to Christ. Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches. Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His book, "The Purpose Driven Church," was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is also the founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for pastors. This devotional © 2013 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission |