Worship
Course: The Higher Calling to Worship
Lesson 9 (Outline)
Lesson Title: Giving ourselves in worship: the surrendered life
Lesson Goal: '…that the student will worship with joy in surrendering all while being careful to keep the unity of the Spirit with other believers.'
Lesson
Text: 'I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.' Romans 12:1
Introduction: The place of surrender, of sacrifice, and of loving service.
· The worshipper at this level offers his or her life as a living sacrifice.
· It is love expressed in joyfully giving all.
· Individual consecration is not likely to produce a mighty move of God.
· Christian work has often seen small results because the person in ministry did not rise above this level of worship.
Introductory
Story: The anointing of Jesus by Mary at Bethany
(John 12:1-8)
· Mary's worship was a wonderful act of sacrificial giving.
· The disciples did not appreciate Mary's act of worship.
· Worship at this level is very personal and it can be difficult for others to appreciate its value.
Exposition:
1. This level of worship can produce conflict with other believers.
· Misunderstanding - the disciples became critical of Mary
· Love of money - Mary's sacrificial worship produced hatred in Judas, (Matthew 26:14-16).
·
Love of self - if we lose our
joy through conflict with others who criticise us then we will go down from the
place of worship, (John
2. We must keep the unity of the Spirit to remain in the place of worship, '… keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' (Ephesians 4:3)
· Jesus prayed for the unity of the body, John 17. Conflicts are not productive and some people never recover from them.
·
We must stand for truth but
this must never conflict with being a worshipper, 'And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle
unto all men, apt to teach, patient', (2 Timothy
·
Worship must be in truth, but
true worship is always in the Holy Spirit.
A worshipper cannot fight with carnal weapons (Galatians
3. A surrendered life must be offered in brokenness.
·
We can only rise to higher
levels in worship when we learn to love and forgive those who have spoken
against us (Ephesians
· The sacrifices of God are 'a broken and contrite heart' and this is the only way to worship.
· A hardened heart will stop us from ever moving into the anointing.
· Teaching must be an act of worship bringing the joy of the Holy Spirit.
4. Worship of a surrendered life can be inspirational to those who love Christ.
· Knowledge of what has been done through those who have totally surrendered their lives to the Lord can inspire believers to do great things for God,
·
Can be inspired by those who
have little. The widow's mite (Mark
· Being inspired is different from being drawn to Christ because we have been 'cut to the heart' by the moving of the Holy Spirit. This happens at the higher realm of worship, the anointing.
Conclusion:
The worship of a surrendered life can be very personal.
1. We must be careful not to get into conflict because it is easy for other believers to misunderstand our worship.
2. We must always keep the unity of the Spirit so that we remain in the place of worship.
3. The worship of a surrendered life must be offered in brokenness. A hardened heart will stop our worship.
4. The worship of a surrendered life will inspire those who love Christ when they hear testimony about it, but only anointed worship will cut people to the heart.
What
should the student do?
1) Worship by giving our whole lives as an offering.
2) Avoid conflicts and keep the unity of the Spirit.
3) Always keep the joy of the Holy Spirit
4) Let our lives inspire others to worship.
Full Lesson
Textbook
- The Higher Calling to Worship