6/08/2010

Purpose # 1: You were Planned for God's Pleasure

Day 8: Planned for God's Pleasure
"you created everything, and it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created." revelation 4:11
Anything you do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship.  
Worship is far more than music. 
Worship is not for your benefit but for God's. 
Day 9: What makes God Smile? 
"May the Lord smile on you..." Numbers 6:25
"Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live." Psalm 119:135 
God smiles when we. . .
     love him supremely
          trust him completely
               obey him wholeheartedly
                    thank him continually
                         use our abilities he gave us. 
                                 "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast, and when I fun, I                                        feel God's pleasure.  To give up running would be to hold him in contempt" -Eric                                             Liddell (Olympic runner) There are no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones.  Every                                       act of enjoyment becomes an act of worship when you thank God for it.  
"The Lord is pleased with those who worship him and trust his love." Psalm 147:11
Since God knows what is best, in what areas of my life do I need to trust him most?
Day 10: The Heart of Worship
"Give yourselves to God... surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes." Romans 6:13
The heart of worship is surrender
God wants your life- all of it. 95% is not enough.  There are 3 barriers that block our total surrender to God: fear, pride, and confusion.
Fear keeps us from trusting God and surrendering, but love casts out all fear. 
Surrendering is not repressing your personality.  "The more we let God take over, the more truly ourselves we become- because he made us.  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."  C.S. Lewis
to say "no, Lord" is a contradiction.  You can't call Jesus your Lord when you refuse to obey him. 
There is a moment of surrender, and there is the practice of surrender, which is moment-by-moment and lifelong.  The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. 
When you decide to live a totally surrendered life, that decision will be tested. 
Have you ever signed a contract with God ("From this day forward, I am a slave of Jesus Christ"?

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