Jesus, Our Role Model For Worship - Part 4: Surrender
David W Palmer
Jesus's Lifestyle of Worshipful Submission … Continued
Jesus is God's role model for perfect worship. In view of how little emphasis the gospel writers put on Jesus's singing, we have been looking at answers to the question: What was worship in the life of Jesus? So far, we have discovered that it was a lifestyle of continuing surrenders to his Father's will, and to the work he had for him.
H. He sang at the Last Supper (Mat. 26:30 NKJV); he surrendered self-esteem—he esteemed and exalted his Father [through praise], not himself:
(Phil. 2:3 (NKJV) "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (See also: 1 Thes. 5:13, Heb. 11:26)
Through the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit said that we should "esteem others better" than self. Esteem in Greek means to put into the leading position, to go before, or to lead. Jesus put his Father in the leading position over his life through his praise and submission. Paul expands this when he says to esteem others, or to put them in the leading position above you. This fits with Jesus saying that the greatest in the kingdom would have to be the servant of all (Mark 10:44). This is very challenging; but it is the worship and teaching of our role model.
I. Gethsemane—he Prayed, "Your Will Be Done" (Mark 14:32 NKJV); he surrendered Self-Preservation—trusting God's plan for himself and the world.
Jesus knelt down and prayed. His body language representing his heart of true worship: his spirit bowing and yielding to his father's will. By surrendering to his Father, Jesus was unable to preserve himself from death:
This is the risk of trust,
This is the Martyr Spirit,
This is the true and faithful "witness" (witness = martyr. See: Rev. 3:14).
J. Finally, on the cross Jesus said, "Into your hands I commit my Spirit" (Luke 23:46 NKJV); he surrendered Self-Determination—trusting another with the ultimate outcome.
As Jesus yielded up his spirit in [natural] death, he had to trust his Father God with the outcome:
The preservation and well-being of His Spirit,
The success or failure of the plan of redemption,
His permanent exaltation or humiliation,
His ultimate destiny—would his eternal future be:
In hell if it all failed, or
With Father, his bride, and his family if it succeeded.
Amazingly, God wants us to have Jesus's attitude—yielded to Father's will, submissive, surrendered, trusting, esteeming others, and serving all who are in his family. Even though we cannot do this in our own strength, we can do it through his grace—which is found at the throne of grace when we come in worshipful surrender.
(Philippians 2:5–11 NKJV) "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, {6} who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, {7} but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. {8} And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. {9} Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, {10} that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, {11} and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Let's take on Jesus's wonderful attitude today. What is it that you have to yield to him right now? What is the threshold of surrender that you are stuck at? Can I encourage you to worship him today, bring your spirit man to God's throne of grace, and have him lay before Father in total dependence; "find grace to help" in this your "time of need" (Heb. 4:16 NKJV).
Note: each new surrender is just as hard as the first one was. So, no matter how far along in our Christian walk we are, we never grow out of needing to come in worship to his royal throne to find grace.
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