Chapter 13 The center of worship on the tenth day?

The center of worship on the tenth day? Consecrate yourselves to God. ． ． ． ． ．Consecrate your whole self to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:13) At the heart of worship is surrender. Submission is not a popular word, almost as unpopular as submission.It seems to connote defeat, reminiscent of losing a battle, losing a game, or submitting to the stronger.Nobody wants to be a loser.The term often carries negative connotations, such as a hunted prisoner surrendering to authorities. Today's competitive culture teaches us never to give up or give in, so we rarely hear the word "surrender."If victory is everything, submission is almost unthinkable.We would rather talk about winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering than about giving in, obeying, and surrendering.Surrender to God, however, is at the heart of worship, a natural response to God's amazing love and mercy.We surrender ourselves to God, not out of fear or duty, but out of love: "Because God loved us first."

After spending eleven chapters in Romans explaining God's incredible grace to us, Paul urges us to surrender our whole lives to God in worship: "So, brothers, since God has shown us such mercy... ...present yourself as a living sacrifice to God, serve Him wholeheartedly, and please Him. This is the true worship you should offer.” The true worship that pleases God is to give yourself completely to god.The word devotion is found both before and after this verse.Consecration of yourself to God is what worship is all about.This act of total surrender goes by different names, such as dedication, putting Jesus first, taking up one's cross, dying to oneself, and yielding to the Holy Spirit.But although the name is important, what is more important is that you actually practice it.God wants you to give Him 100%, but not 95%.

There are three obstacles that keep us from fully surrendering to God: fear, pride, and confusion.We don't understand how much God loves us, we want to control our lives, and we misunderstand the true meaning of surrender. Can I trust God? Trust is one of the basic elements of surrender.You won't surrender to God unless you trust him, and you won't trust him unless you know him well.Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love removes all fear.The more you know how much God loves you, the easier it will be to surrender to Him. How do you know God loves you?He has given you many proofs, God says He loves you, His eyes never leave you, He cares about every detail of your life, He allows you to enjoy all kinds of good things, He has beautiful plans for your life, He Forgive you, He has patiently suffered with you.God's love is far beyond what you can imagine.

The greatest expression of God's love for us is the sacrifice of God's Son for us: "God's love was shown to us only in this, while we were still sinners, in dying for us." If you want to know God How much you care, look at the outstretched arms of Christ on the cross, just to say to you: "I love you so much, I would rather die than live without you." God is not a brutal slave overseer or bully who forces us into submission by force.He does not seek to break our will, but simply implores us to follow Him voluntarily.God is full of love and allows us to be free. When people surrender to God, there is true freedom, not bondage.When we fully surrender to the Lord Jesus, we will find that He is not a tyrant, but a Savior; not a boss, but a brother; not a dictator, but a friend.

admit your limitations Pride is the second factor that holds us back from total surrender.We don't want to admit that we are only creatures and cannot control everything. "You will be like gods..." This is the most primitive temptation.The desire to be in total control is at the root of all the stress in our lives.Life is a lifelong struggle, but what people don't understand is that we are fighting God just like Jacob!We want to be gods!This is a battle we will never win. Tosh once said, "Many are still full of misery, still seeking, and still making no progress because they haven't reached the end. We still try to dictate and hinder God's work in us." We are not God, and we never will be. .We are only human, and when we try to be God, we end up becoming Satan, because Satan desires to be God.

Rationally, we accept our humanity, but emotionally, when confronted with our limitations, we react with agitation, anger, and resentment.We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, prettier, and richer.We want to have it all, we want to do it all, and when things don't turn out the way we want, we get upset and disappointed.At the same time, we envy, envy, and feel sorry for ourselves when we discover that God rewards others with qualities we don't have. The true meaning of surrender Surrendering to God is not the same as passive submission, resignation, excuses to be lazy, or acceptance of the status quo.Surrender can mean the exact opposite, it can be sacrificing one's life, enduring pain in order to change something that needs to be changed.God often calls those who are committed to him to fight for him.Submission is not something for the faint of heart; nor does it mean giving up rational thinking.God will not waste the mind He has given you, He does not want robots to serve Him.

Surrender is not suppressing your individuality, God wants your unique individuality.Surrender, instead of making these substances disappear, may elevate them.Master Lu Ju had this observation: "The more we let God be the master, the more we can become our true selves. Because He created us. He deliberately created different you and me according to His own will...  When I turned to Christ and surrendered the sovereignty to Him, I began to be who I really am." "Obey" best expresses the principle of surrender.With all the demands of God, we say, "Yes, Lord!" But when you say, "No, Lord!" a contradiction arises.You cannot call Jesus Lord unless you obey Him.When Peter failed to fish all night and Jesus told him to try again, Peter set an example of surrender, saying, "We toiled all night and caught nothing. But at Your word, I will let down the net." Even though It seems unreasonable that people who surrender to God will also obey God's words.

Another expression of surrender is trust.Although Abraham didn't know where he was going, he still followed God's leading.Although Hannah didn't know when it was, she still waited for God's perfect arrangement.Mary didn't know how it happened, but she waited for a miracle.Although Joseph didn't know why things happened the way they did, he still trusted in God's plan.Each of these characters surrendered completely to God. You know you are surrendering to God when you depend on God to make things happen without trying to dominate people, coerce them into your own plans, or control situations.You let go and let God work, and don't often "make decisions" by yourself.The Bible says: "Before surrendering yourself to the Lord, wait on Him patiently." Trust more, and be less forced.You know you've surrendered to God when you're not rushing to defend someone's criticism.A surrendered heart is best expressed in relationships.When you surrender with all your heart, you will not crowd people in, you will not only care about yourself, and you will not assert your rights in everything.

For many, the hardest place to surrender is over money.Many people think, "I want to live for God, but I also want to make more money, live comfortably, and retire one day." A surrendered life should not have retirement as a goal because it competes with God for the focus of our lives .Jesus said: "It is impossible for you to be a servant of God and a slave of money at the same time." "Where your treasure is, there will be your heart." The example of the ultimate surrender is Jesus.Jesus surrendered himself to God's plan the night before his crucifixion, praying, "Abba! Father, all things are possible with Thee, take this cup from me. However, not from My will, but from What do you mean?" Jesus did not pray to God, saying, "God, if you can take this pain away, please do so." He was sure that God can do all things, but he prayed to God, saying, "God, if You think it's best to take it away, please remove this bitter cup, but if it can fulfill your good intentions, then this is what I want too!"

The true surrender says, "Father, if this problem, pain, disease, situation, is to fulfill your purpose and glory in my life or anyone else's, don't take it away!" not easy.In Jesus' case, he was crying blood and sweating over God's plan.Surrender is hard work, and for us it is a fierce battle with our ego. Blessings of Surrender The Bible clearly shows what benefits you get when you fully surrender to God.First, you will experience peace: "Stop arguing with God, just obey Him, and you will find peace and things will go smoothly." Second, you will experience freedom: "Follow God with all your heart, and freedom will always remain... . . . because his command set you free so that you could live in his freedom." Third, you can experience the power of God in your life.Christ overcomes stubborn temptations and overwhelming difficulties when you surrender all to Him.

When Joshua was facing the biggest battle in his life, he met God, fell down and worshiped God, and surrendered to God's plan.This surrender brought about a magnificent victory for Jericho.It may seem paradoxical, victory comes through surrender, and surrender does not weaken you, it strengthens you.Surrendering to God, you don't have to break through fear or need to submit to other things.The founder of the Salvation Army, William B., once said: "The greatness of a person's ability can be seen from the degree of his surrender." God uses people who are willing to surrender.God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus not because she was talented, rich or beautiful, but because she was willing to surrender completely to God.When the angel told her of this incredible plan, she calmly replied, "I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word." Nothing is more powerful than a life surrendered to the hands of God. "Therefore, surrender yourself completely to God!" best way of life Everyone eventually surrenders to someone or something.If the object is not God, you may surrender to other people's opinions or expectations, or even money, resentment, fear, or your own pride, lust, or ego.God made you to worship him, if you don't worship him, you will find other things (idols) to worship.You have the freedom to choose whom you surrender, but you are not immune to the consequences.Stern said, "If you don't surrender to God, you surrender to chaos." Surrender is not the best way of life, it is the only way of life.None of the others worked.All other approaches lead to frustration, disappointment, and self-destruction.The King James Version of the English Bible calls surrender "the service of course" and another version translates it as "the wise and sensible way to serve God."Surrender is not an emotional impulse, but a rational and intelligent behavior, the wisest and most responsible action in life.That's why Paul said, "We aim to please the Lord." When you say "yes" to God, it is the most wise moment. It may take you years, but in the end you will find that the greatest hindrance to God's blessings is nothing but yourself—your ego, stubborn pride, and personal ambition.You cannot fulfill God's plan for you when you only want your own plan. If God is going to do something deeper in you, it will start with surrender.Here, surrender everything to God, whether it is your past regrets, present problems, future ambitions, fears, dreams, weaknesses, habits, hurts, worries.Put Jesus Christ in the driver's seat of your life and take your hands off the steering wheel.Have no fear, nothing can go wrong under His control.Let Christ rule and you can handle anything.As Paul said, "I am ready to do anything, with the strength that Christ gives me. I am all sufficient in the provision of Christ." The moment Paul surrendered happened on the road in Damascus. A bright light blinded him and he fell to the ground.For some people, God does not use such a legendary method.However, surrender is not just a one-off thing.Paul said he "die every day".Surrender occurs in a moment of life, and surrender occurs in constant practice.Surrender is moment-by-moment, lifetime-long.The trouble with a living sacrifice is that it crawls off the altar by itself, so you might have to surrender fifty times a day.You have to make it a daily habit.Jesus said: "If anyone wants to follow me, they must give up their desires. They must lay down their lives every day to follow me." Let me remind you that when you decide to live a life of total surrender, that decision will be tested.Sometimes you may be asked to do tasks that are inconvenient, undesirable, costly, or seem impossible to do, and often these are things you don't feel like doing. One of the greatest Christian leaders of the twentieth century, Bai Lide, is the founder of the College Missionary Society. Through the promotion of co-workers around the world, "The Four Spiritual Laws" and the movie "Jesus" (more than one billion people have watched ), leading more than 150 million people to the Lord.Once I asked him, "Why does God use you and bless you so much?" He replied, "When I was young, I made a covenant with God, which said, "From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ. "At the bottom corner of the contract, I sign my name." Have you ever made such a covenant with God?Or are you still arguing with God about His plans for you?Now is the time to surrender—surrender to God's grace, love, and wisdom.