Intelligent Worship brings us into the presence of God when we Surrender to God. Part 11.
This surrendering to God thing has to be done (1) Intentionally and (2) Daily. The flesh wants to be comfy, but the Spirit calls and the flesh must surrender what it wants in order to hear what God is saying, especially when the body is beyond tired and just wants to rest.
Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
Jeremiah 4:4
“Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way] And burn and there will be no one to quench it, Because of the evil of your acts.”
Romans 2:28-29
A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.
It is the Spirit of God Who calls us into the presence of God, who keeps us there when we choose to honor God by being obedient to the call of Surrender.
You may wonder why these verses since none of them use the word 'surrender' but these are the verses the Spirit gave me when I first wrote the outline for this series.
Deuteronomy, for instance, talks to us about not being so set in our ways, not being stubborn and not being rebellious. Jeremiah tells us to dedicate ourselves to the Lord; dedicate our services. Romans 12:1-2 speaks of 'presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to the Lord'. In other words, Surrender to God.
Romans reminds us that we cannot save ourselves, we cannot wash away our own sins: only the Spirit of God can forgive sins and wash them away through the blood of His precious Holy Lamb, Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.
Physical circumcision is painful and the anguish fades beyond memory for most who receive it. Spiritual circumcision is sacrificial but this sacrifice should not become a memory for the believer. This sacrifice is a daily offering we give to God when we completely, willingly, obediently set aside what we want to do and do what God wants us to do.
Yes, I'd rather be asleep. But unless God brings me there it ain't happenin'. He has a work for me to do and getting today's study done is a big part of it.
We sing this hymn at church, as I'm sure many of you do, called 'I Surrender All'. We'd better mean what we say because we will be held accountable. If we can't mean what we say in a song, then we'd better not be singing it.
--by Judson Van De Venter, 1896
1. All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
2. All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine. [Refrain]
3. All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me. [Refrain]
ALL TO YOU/I SURRENDER ALL by Don Moen
