The Heart of Worship

Romans 12:1-16 (NASB)
1. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Surrender is not a popular word. It is probably disliked just as much the other dreaded ‘S’ word - Submission. We love our pride and independence as individuals.  Surrender implies losing, and no one wants to be a loser. Surrender evokes the unpleasant images of admitting defeat in battle, forfeiting a game or yielding to a stronger opponent. The word is almost always used in a negative context.
In our competitive professional business culture, we are taught to never give up and never give in - so we don’t hear much about surrendering. If winning is everything, surrendering is unthinkable. The most popular secular books on leadership, management and business focus on empowerment, on “winning, succeeding, overcoming, and conquering. They don’t tend to have chapters extolling the virtues of “yielding, submitting, obeying, and surrendering.”

This which makes God’s word so very, very radical - for it has a great deal to say about surrender and submission - indeed God insists this is the only way to health and wholeness, to harmony and fulfillment, to peace and contentment, to a long and fruitful life.  In our passage from Romans 12, I want us to observe three things about surrender - the plea to surrender in worship; the purpose of surrender in witness; and the power of surrender in wise living.

1. The Plea for Surrender in Worship
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship”. (Rom.12: 1 NASB)

The assertion of this verse is: “The heart of worship is surrender”. I have spent some weeks reflecting on that truth. As a worship pastor and worship leader, it made me realize that when ever someone says that they didn’t like a particular service or they didn’t care for a particular song, or when someone observes that the use hymns is outdated, or that we were too introspective in our choruses, or they prefer not to participate in worship singing, I have to stop from debating to be right but in kindness remind a brother or sister what the essence of worship is all about. It is surrendering myself to my Lord and King.
When we focus on the hymns or the songs, when we are preoccupied with the liturgy or lack of it, with the noise or the silence, we have lost sight of the most profound and essential truth about worship. It’s not about you and me. It’s all about us surrendering to Him.

The Message Bible translation of verse 1 says it this way, “So here’s what I want you to do. God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around-life - and place it before God as an offering.” Worship then is not so much an act as a state of mind, least of all an act performed for an hour on Sundays. Worship occurs when we surrender our heart, soul and mind to the Living God, wherever we are, what ever we are doing.
Unless we enter this building worshipping it is unlikely we will leave it doing so. And if we have enter in a spirit of surrender, focusing on who God is, we will not be unduly worried or distracted by the attempts of others to offer their worship in their own way. The plea for surrender in worship is an individual act not a corporate participation. Notice, secondly how worship becomes witness,

2. The Purpose of Surrender in Witness
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom.12: 2a NIV)

What does Paul mean by the ‘pattern of this world” is behavior associated with pride, with materialism, with cheating, with infidelity, with slanders, with moral compromise.  The Message Translation helpfully puts it like this; “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.” (Rom. 12:2 TM). Instead of conforming we are being transformed. How? Through the renewing of our minds.  That is why studying God’s word is so important, why being part of one of our care groups is so essential. Because renewal begins in the mind. A change of mind leads to a change of behavior.

We are literally being transfigured as we surrender our lives to God. There is no greater witness than when a person changes their life’s direction to follow Jesus. The plea for surrender in worship. The purpose of surrender in witness.

3. The Power of Surrender in Wise Living
”Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2b NIV)
What is God’s good and perfect will in us? Paul goes on to define it:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Rom. 12:9-13 NIV)

Back in Romans 6 Paul writes, “Surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes.” (Rom. 6:13). That’s what the Christian life is all about: The plea for surrender in worship – Submission; The purpose of surrender in witness – Transfiguration; and The power of surrender in wise living - Assurance.

One of the most influential Christian of the 20th Century was also one of the most humble. Bill Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ in the 1950’s and went on to write the four spiritual laws and underwrite the Jesus film. In the next 50 years, over a billion copies of that booklet were printed and over 4 billion people worldwide have now seen the Jesus film. Most Christian leaders today agreed, that over 150 million people have come to faith and will spend eternity in heaven through the anointed influence of that one man’s ministry.

Before he died, He was asked, “Why did God use and bless your life so much?” This is what Bill replied: “When I was a young man, I made a contract with God. I literally wrote it out and signed my name at the bottom. It said, “From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ.” I am a slave of Jesus Christ. That is what it means to surrender your life. “In view of God’s mercy” says Paul, in view of all that Jesus Christ has done for you, there is nothing more worthy of your life than to surrender your all to his love. Rick Warren puts it like this “Surrender is not the best way to live, it is the only way to live. Nothing else works”
Have you ever signed a contract like Bill Bright did with God? “Or are you still arguing and struggling with God over his right to do with your life as he pleases? Now is the time to surrender - to God’s grace, love and wisdom” and worship Him.

by Pastor John Apostol
BreadCom Worship Pastor

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