Purpose Driven Life Ch. 10 & 13

Give yourselves to God… Surrender your whole being to Him; to be used for righteous purposes.

Romans 6:13

A heart of worship is one that surrenders

This is usually an unpopular word, going against our natural instincts to dominate or win at everything.

Surrendering to God should be our natural response to His unconditional love, and amazing grace and mercy

Basics of Surrender

 1 A true act of surrender is an offensive maneuver and not a defensive reaction.

God is love, and He has loved us into existence, and will never force us into action.  Faith in Him is an invitation to willingly love Him back.

2 Surrender is more than an emotional decision.

It is a mental, physical, and spiritual process as well.  It is deciding to do what is right even if the opposite seems to be more convenient.

3 You will face opposition, in the form of spiritual warfare.

The devil will hinder us from surrendering as much as possible, and tries to keep us in fear, timid and afraid to move.  We must be prepared against this kind of attack.

Barriers to Surrender

FEAR – to be afraid of, scared of the unknown; to be alarmed and uncertain

We hold to what God says in His word: you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. His word also tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct you”.

PRIDE – extreme belief in oneself, conceit; focused on personal wants

Pride comes before a fall, and God brings down those who exalt themselves.  Do you really think you can do things better than God?

CONFUSION – state of being uncertain all the time

God is not the author of confusion; He knows the beginning from the end; He is our director, leader, guide, and protector.

Remember

• The enemy will try to fill our head with voices.
• Stop listening to everyone else and spend time alone with God.
• Read His Word, sing songs of praise, and pray
• Worship Him in spirit and in truth and He will direct your path.

You must Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.

Deuteronomy 6:5

God wants all of you.

He doesn’t want just a part of our lives.  He is not interested in half-hearted commitment, partial obedience, and leftovers of your resources.  He desires your full devotion.

What Pleases God?

1 God is pleased when our worship is accurate

Worship must be based on the truth contained and outlined in His holy Word.

2 God is pleased when our worship is authentic

Worship must be genuine and heartfelt, and based on the personality that God gave each individual.

3 God is pleased when our worship is thoughtful

Be specific when you pray and worship, not just spouting off ready made formulas that you can recite any moment.

4 God is pleased when our worship is practical

Worship takes effort and energy, is not always convenient, and is sometimes a sheer act of will.

Which is more pleasing to God right now, your public worship or your private worship?