Week Twelve (Submission) - Sunday

Submission

The last discipline that we are going to consider making a holy habit is one that seems to be most obscure, yet is actually the basis of our faith – submission.  Within Christian circles, if you were to mention that you practice submission, I would dare say that most would assume that you were referring to Paul’s instructions to the church at Ephesus.  In Ephesians 5:22, he wrote, “Wives, submit to you husband.”  That is not what this discipline is about though.  The submission that we should incorporate as a daily practice is submission to Jesus as Lord.

Submission requires us to come to terms with exactly who Jesus is.  If we truly believe what we so often say, that Jesus Christ is Lord, then our lives must reflect that we submit to his rule and authority.  If we cannot do this, then our words, our actions, even our faith are nothing more than a worthless sham.

Submission to Christ is not a relinquishing of our identity or free will.  We have been created by a loving God who took the time to create us to be very special and unique.  We each are God’s wonderful creation.  This same God, who painstakingly created us also loved us enough to allow us to have free-will, the freedom to choose right or wrong, even the freedom to choose or reject our Creator.  If we choose to reject God, then we must accept the consequences of that decision – eternal separation from Love.  If we choose to accept God, then we must also accept that God has given rule over all of creation, including your life and mine, solely to Jesus.  No other has that right or authority.

Most people fear having someone else in control of their lives.  To an extent, I am no exception.  Several years ago, I flew on an airplane for the first time in twenty-eight years.  I have to be honest; I was nervous about it.  I was confused about why I was so nervous, because I have been in far more dangerous situations than flying.  I also know that flying is far safer than driving.  So why was I so nervous.  About halfway to my destination, as I had my face glued to the window, I realized that my uneasiness was because I knew I had absolutely no control!  Not only was I not flying the plane (which was a good thing!) but I also had no knowledge of what was ahead of us or what was about to happen.  I was being forced to put all of my trust in some unseen pilot and his ability to get me to my destination, without my help!

Submitting ourselves to Jesus is much like that.  We have to let go of our selfish need to control our destiny and relinquish it to the only One who knows how to get us there.  Jesus is the only one who is qualified to save us and the only one who is acceptable unto God.  Friends, you and I totally unqualified and completely unable to save ourselves, so we must submit to the only one who is – Jesus.

So, how can we submit to Jesus to be Lord and Saviour?  First, strengthen your relationship with him.  Talk with him often and journal your thoughts and revelations daily.  Next, study what he said and taught by reading the Bible.  Next, surround yourself with others who are striving to submit their lives to him too.  Also, let your life emulate his by offering yourself in service to others…  Maybe you are beginning to see the trend here – all of the previous holy habits help lead to a life of submission.

It is my prayer that your life is being transformed as you submit your life to Christ through these holy habits. 

Godspeed.


JOURNAL QUESTIONS

1. Reflect on your sermon notes and journal reading from today.


GROUP EXERCISE

10 minutes - Community Building (informal time of gathering)
10 minutes - Sharing of Concerns and Praises
  5 minutes - Prayer for One Another
30 minutes - Discussion of Topic
                     - What journal entry would you like to share?
                     - What titles do you sometimes attribute to Jesus (ie. Christ, King, Lord,...)? Define 
                        these titles.
                     - How serious do we take the Lordship of Jesus?
                     - How can we demonstrate that Jesus is truly Lord?
  5 minutes - Wrap Up/Closing Prayer 

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Saturday

Romans 12:3-8

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.





^Reflect
What is expected of us to give?

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Friday

Deuteronomy 15:7-11

7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.





^Reflect
There will always be people needing us to give to them. How should we respond?

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Thursday

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!





^Reflect
What should our attitude be when we are giving to the Kingdom of God?

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Wednesday

Malachi 3:6-9

6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.





^Reflect
What is God saying about tithes?

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Tuesday

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us--see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 10 And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. 13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, 15 as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."





^Reflect
How did Paul encourage generosity?

Week Eleven (Tithing) - Monday

Mark 12:41-44

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."





^Reflect
Why was the widow's gift most generous?