TOTAL SUBMISSION: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 23RD MAY 2018

MEMORISE:
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
John 10:17

READ: Philippians 2:5-8

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

MESSAGE

Submission is a humble attitude wherein authority is duly recognised and obedience is willingly rendered without any resistance whatsoever. God commands submission to Himself, to civil authorities and to appointed leaders in His Church (James 4:7, 1 Peter 2:13, Hebrews 13:17).

Submission is also commanded in relationships such as marriage (Colossians 3:18). The crux of the message of our Lord Jesus Christ is submission to the will and purpose of God as revealed in His word. In Matthew 7:24-27, He said those who hear the word of God and submit to its authority in obedience can be likened to a wise person who built his or her house upon the rock, and the house survived a terrible storm.

In contrast, He compared those who reject the authority of God's word to a foolish person who built his or her house on sandy soil without strong foundations, and the house was destroyed by the storm. Therefore, not being submissive to the word of God, which manifests itself as disobedience, is very costly indeed.

I pray that you will receive the grace to submit totally to the will of God concerning your life today in Jesus' Name.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of submission. Today's Bible reading reveals the extent He went to in order to submit Himself to His Father. No wonder the Holy Spirit wants us to have the same mind that He had. In John 10:17, Jesus revealed that total submission is the secret of the Father's love for Him. Hear what He said to the Father in Hebrews 10:7 when He was coming into the world:

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

Concerning the submission of the Lord Jesus Christ, Hebrews 5:8 also says:

“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;”

Jesus learnt to obey God's instructions even when He knew it would yield personal loss and suffering for Him. Little wonder the Bible says He was obedient unto death. This obedient unto death was demonstrated in Matthew 26:39 when He was faced with the reality of death on the cross, and He made this agonising prayer to God saying:

“…O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

For Jesus, obedience to God was His primary concern, and every other thing, including His personal interest, was secondary. May the Lord give His Church this same mindset in Jesus' Name.

KEY POINT:
If you want to get the same result that Jesus got, be submissive to God like He was.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 21-22, 1 John 2:28-3:24.

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 12: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE

1.Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise.

2.Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.