Jesus’ Surrender To God’s Will
Luke 22:42 (NKJV) “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”
That is the perfect prayer. It is a simple prayer of surrender to God’s will.
This is how Jesus prayed, and it is how He taught us to pray.
What is God’s will for our lives?
1 Thessalonians 4:3 (NKJV) “For this is the will of God, your sanctification”
What does it mean for something to be sanctified? It means to be set apart, to be holy. God’s greatest will for your life is that you become a holy man or a holy woman of God.
God’s greatest will for your life is that you become a holy man or a holy woman of God.
Romans 12:1-2 (AMP) Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. Romans 12:2 (AMP) 2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
First we must offer our bodies (our lives) as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Then we should seek to be transformed by God. There is that word again. God’s will is not information, but transformation.
Abraham’s Willingness to Sacrifice His Son
Abraham pleased the Lord, and went on to change the world, because of obedience. Obedience, in the eyes of God, is even greater than any sacrifice or gift we could give Him.
Genesis 22:12-14 (MSG) “Don’t lay a hand on that boy! Don’t touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn’t hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me.” 13 Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Romans 4:18 (TPT) “Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it.[a] He took God at his word, and as a result he became the father of many nations. God’s declaration over him came to pass: “Your descendants will be so many that they will be impossible to count!”
The Widow’s Offering
Mark 12:41-44 (LB) “Then he went over to the collection boxes in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Some who were rich put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies. 43-44 He called his disciples to him and remarked, “That poor widow has given more than all those rich men put together! For they gave a little of their extra fat, while she gave up her last penny.”
This simple act of giving an offering in the temple caught the attention of our Lord. It wasn’t how much she gave, but, rather, how much it cost her personally that moved Jesus to say, “She gave more than anyone else.”
What moved this woman to give everything she had to God remains a mystery, but what is clear is that God considers our giving an act of worship.
The Woman with The Alabaster Box
Luke 7:38 (LB) “Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on them.”
Some of the greatest worship can come from the most unlikely source. This woman was an outcast who had been used and abused. But something about the words and actions of Jesus caused her to bring her most valuable possession and pour it out in an expression of love and worship. In one moment, she pressed through fear, prejudices, shame, and created one of the most intimate moments of worship in the Bible.
Breaking out the alabaster box is doing something you’ve been avoiding because you were concerned about the cost of the commitment.
Alabaster boxes are vessels of fragrance! The breaking of the alabaster box anointed Jesus with perfume, but its fragrance also filled the entire house. By breaking out our alabaster boxes, we fill God’s temple with a fragrance that rises up as a sweet smelling offering unto the Lord.
You are an alabaster box; a perfume waiting to be released.
Paul And Silas Singing in The Prison
Acts 16:24-26 (NLT) “So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off!
They were singing from their hearts. The two of them were gathered in the name of Jesus, and He was there in their presence. They were worshipping God! The most significant thing for Paul and Silas was the presence of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Are you singing in your prison cell? Are you worshipping Jesus right where He has placed you today? “Men who sing in prison are men who cannot be imprisoned.”
Worship God in Spirit and Truth?
John 4:23–24 (ESV) 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Worship is a life response to the worthiness of its object. When we worship God, we do so in response to who He is.
Worship, by the way, is not music. Worship is loving God. Worship is honoring God. Worship is knowing God for who He is, adoring Him, obeying Him, proclaiming Him as a way of life. Music is one way we express that adoration.”
Worship is a life response to the worthiness of its object. When we worship God, we do so in response to who He is. To worship in spirit is to worship from the heart or from within.
Matt. 15:8 (NET) “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
To worship God in truth means that we worship Him for all that He is in the majesty of His attributes as revealed in all of Scripture. We worship Him for His love, but also for His justice and righteousness. We worship Him for His kindness, but also for His severity. We worship Him for His sovereignty and for His grace.
