Being Submitted Should Cause Us to Commit
"It's my joy to love, its my joy to obey, you can have all my heart, you can have all my praise..."
I hear these words from Sarah Edward's song, Its My Joy to Love, resounding in my mind this morning and often when I am walking through my life and I hear the Lord asking me, Is it really?
Is it really your joy to obey me Karen?
In order to obey the Lord we must first submit to His lordship over our hearts, giving up our will and our way for Him and committing to the work of the gospel.
Too many times I see people say that they love God yet they live their lives to primarily bring pleasure to themselves and so in essence their primary god is themselves.
Christ died for us and He asks that we die to ourselves in order that we can live in Him.
Practically speaking this dying begins by making decisions that are contrary to our own desires. We are called to be a part of a body of believers and to serve one another in love but all too often we are part of a community to get something and not to give of ourselves.
There is a lie in our culture that says that you can worship God and serve Him with your whole heart in obedience but not be an integral part of a church. Paul continually addresses specific churches in the New Testament not the church.
In other words committing to God without submitting to a body of believers is contrary to the word of God and Hebrews 13 lays out, not only the call to submit but, some deep insight in the matter.
We are all called to 'obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves'. We think that we can pick and choose who has the rule over us but all through scripture it is clear that God sets up authority in His people's lives.
As believers in the western church we have a consumeristic view of church. Many people go into a church looking how they can be served when in actuality they should enter into a church and submit to and obey the leadership and seek to find how they can serve others.
But that doesn't sound right? I should be able to pick and choose when and how I serve?
God calls us to come and DIE! It is not joke! He is looking for a people who will sacrifice their lives for His.
People that never enter into community, picking and choosing when they will even attend church are the very ones that refuse to serve. They may act as if they will serve or they put up a good show every once in a while so they are "seen" as servants but their hearts our only concerned with serving themselves and over time their fruit becomes evident.
They are goats not sheep. They come and feed from the same pasture as the sheep, reaping the benefits and resources of the ministry without submitting to the leadership. They are under the delusion that they are doing what is right for their family all the while laying a burden on a ministry by not serving.
Our freedom in Christ is not for our own sakes but for the sake of others! We are called to lay aside our life for the lives of others.
So when we think that we are submitted to God we must ask ourselves; 'have I committed myself to God's service in serving others?'
Obedience has action attached to it.
We have received grace for the sake of obedience as highlighted in Romans 1:4-5
Obedience here means; compliance ( the action or fact of complying with a wish or command), submission, obedience rendered to anyone's counsel, an obedience shown in observing the requirements of Christianity.
It is the same obedience mentioned in 1 Peter 1:22
When we learn to obey the Spirit there are actions that follow in that we live lives of laid down service to our king as His slaves for His glory and not our own.
Christians are called to live lives in a counter culture. A culture where, no longer are we trying to maintain our lives but a culture in which we give our lives away to others for the sake of our King as we serve Him.
The good news is as we submit and commit our work to His service it does become our joy to obey over time if it isn't from the onset.
Father, you sent your Son to serve us and He served us WELL! It is well with our souls as He gave us freedom to live for Him instead of ourselves. We are forever grateful to You and ask that You help us examine our own hearts in the area of submitting and committing to a local body as you reconciled us to yourself for our sake and the sake of your Body of which You are the head.
The body of Christ cannot function as a body if everyone is doing their own thing without being attached to others in servitude to our King!
I hear these words from Sarah Edward's song, Its My Joy to Love, resounding in my mind this morning and often when I am walking through my life and I hear the Lord asking me, Is it really?
Is it really your joy to obey me Karen?
In order to obey the Lord we must first submit to His lordship over our hearts, giving up our will and our way for Him and committing to the work of the gospel.
Too many times I see people say that they love God yet they live their lives to primarily bring pleasure to themselves and so in essence their primary god is themselves.
Christ died for us and He asks that we die to ourselves in order that we can live in Him.
Practically speaking this dying begins by making decisions that are contrary to our own desires. We are called to be a part of a body of believers and to serve one another in love but all too often we are part of a community to get something and not to give of ourselves.
There is a lie in our culture that says that you can worship God and serve Him with your whole heart in obedience but not be an integral part of a church. Paul continually addresses specific churches in the New Testament not the church.
In other words committing to God without submitting to a body of believers is contrary to the word of God and Hebrews 13 lays out, not only the call to submit but, some deep insight in the matter.
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say,
their work is to watch over your souls,
and they are accountable to God.
Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow.
That would certainly not be for your benefit.
We are all called to 'obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves'. We think that we can pick and choose who has the rule over us but all through scripture it is clear that God sets up authority in His people's lives.
As believers in the western church we have a consumeristic view of church. Many people go into a church looking how they can be served when in actuality they should enter into a church and submit to and obey the leadership and seek to find how they can serve others.
But that doesn't sound right? I should be able to pick and choose when and how I serve?
God calls us to come and DIE! It is not joke! He is looking for a people who will sacrifice their lives for His.
People that never enter into community, picking and choosing when they will even attend church are the very ones that refuse to serve. They may act as if they will serve or they put up a good show every once in a while so they are "seen" as servants but their hearts our only concerned with serving themselves and over time their fruit becomes evident.
They are goats not sheep. They come and feed from the same pasture as the sheep, reaping the benefits and resources of the ministry without submitting to the leadership. They are under the delusion that they are doing what is right for their family all the while laying a burden on a ministry by not serving.
Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers.
Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
but through love serve one another.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word;
You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Our freedom in Christ is not for our own sakes but for the sake of others! We are called to lay aside our life for the lives of others.
So when we think that we are submitted to God we must ask ourselves; 'have I committed myself to God's service in serving others?'
Obedience has action attached to it.
We have received grace for the sake of obedience as highlighted in Romans 1:4-5
... Jesus Christ our Lord, whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about obedience of faith for the sake of HIS name...
Obedience here means; compliance ( the action or fact of complying with a wish or command), submission, obedience rendered to anyone's counsel, an obedience shown in observing the requirements of Christianity.
It is the same obedience mentioned in 1 Peter 1:22
Having purified your souls by the obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart...
And Hebrews 5:7-8
Although he was a son,
he learned obedience through what he suffered.
When we learn to obey the Spirit there are actions that follow in that we live lives of laid down service to our king as His slaves for His glory and not our own.
Proverbs 16:2-3
All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
but the LORD weighs the spirit.
Commit your work to the LORD
and your plans will be established.
Christians are called to live lives in a counter culture. A culture where, no longer are we trying to maintain our lives but a culture in which we give our lives away to others for the sake of our King as we serve Him.
The good news is as we submit and commit our work to His service it does become our joy to obey over time if it isn't from the onset.
Father, you sent your Son to serve us and He served us WELL! It is well with our souls as He gave us freedom to live for Him instead of ourselves. We are forever grateful to You and ask that You help us examine our own hearts in the area of submitting and committing to a local body as you reconciled us to yourself for our sake and the sake of your Body of which You are the head.
The body of Christ cannot function as a body if everyone is doing their own thing without being attached to others in servitude to our King!
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