Purpose Driven Life continues to transform me. Please ignore the massive amount of plagiarism. Thanks Rick.......Warren. Thought for a second if I used just his first name then it would appear as if we were friends and that he wouldn't mind me stealing his work.

DAY 10: THE HEART OF WORSHIP

The heart of worship is surrender. The HEART of worship is surrender. The heart of WORSHIP is surrender. The heart of worship is SURRENDER. Ok, want to make sure I have at least one appropriate, word-emphasizing phrase here. I like the last one. I like it because surrender is my word for today. But to most people, surrender is a very self-minimizing word. Surrender equals defeat in this world. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. But SURRENDER is the heart of worship. It's the only appropriate way to respond to God's amazing love and mercy!

"So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy on us...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

Worship is all about offering yourself to God. Call it what you want but in the Bible it is referred to as: taking up your cross, dying to self, making Jesus your Lord, etc.

What keeps us from surrendering to God?

1. TRUST. You can't surrender to God if you don't trust Him and you can't trust Him until you know Him better. READ GOD'S WORD!
2. FEAR. Fear keeps us from surrendering but "love casts out all fear." ACCEPT GOD'S INFINITE LOVE FOR YOU!
3. PRIDE. "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." A.W. Tozer GET OVER YOURSELF!

What does it mean to surrender?

We should define surrender by negation (that was my word, not Rick's, YESSSSS). Surrender is NOT passive resignation, an excuse for laziness, or accepting the status quo. Surrender does NOT mean giving up rational thinking. God would not waste the mind He gave you and He certainly does not want to repress the personality He gave you. Gosh I love this quote, are you ready for this? Here it is, from the former atheist C.S. Lewis, "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."

How is surrender best demonstrated?

1. TRUST. 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 (ZINNNNG, got me), and control the situation.
2. OBEDIENCE. Surrendered people obey God's Word, even if it doesn't make sense.

What do I get out of surrendering?

1. PEACE. "Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with Him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you." Job 22:21
2. FREEDOM. "Offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits...[His] commands set you free to live openly in His freedom!" Romans 6:17
3. GOD'S POWER IN YOUR LIFE. Stubborn temptations and overwhelming problems can disappear due to the power of Christ within you.

Everybody eventually surrenders to something. E. Stanley Jones said, "If you don't surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos." Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the ONLY way to live. Nothing else works.

I will close with this freaking amazing version of Philippians 4:13 from the Amplified Bible. "I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency."

PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE ON CD ROCKS!!!!!!! If anyone wants to listen please let me know. I am already done with the first CD.