The Consequences of True Worship – Part 1

David W Palmer

Jesus is our role model for true worship in spirit and in truth. We can see his heart of worship in his life of continual surrenders to the will of his Father—a life of worshipful, yielded submission. We have looked at several strategic instances of this; now we turn our attention to what happened as a result of his surrenders.

A. Submission to Parents—surrender of self-rule

(Luke 2:51–52 NKJV) “Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. {52} And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

As a result of his wholehearted subjection to his earthly parents, this passage says that Jesus increased in: 

• Wisdom
• Stature (maturity)
• Favor with God
• Favor with men

B. Jesus’s Baptism—surrender of self-justification and self-identification

(Mark 1:10–11 NKJV) And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. {11} Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

At Jesus’s baptism, despite his status as God’s Son and his sinless life, we see him yield completely to the ministry of the man God was using at the time. What’s more, he submitted to baptism—seen as washing away sin—because he wanted to “fulfill all righteousness” (Mark 3:15 KJV). Wow! What humility! What submission! This is worship; the kind God seeks. As a result: 

• The heavens opened
• The Spirit like a dove descended on him
• He heard Father’s voice from heaven

To please Father like Jesus did, we need to follow his example. The outcome of our spiritual worship will be the same as it was for him:

• Open heaven—seeing with God the works you are called to walk in etc. (Eph. 2:10)
• Outpouring of the Holy Spirit on you
• You hearing God’s voice—affirming you

C. Led By the Spirit—surrender of self-direction

(Luke 4:1 NKJV) “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.”

After his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. Immediately, Jesus allowed the Holy Spirit to take over the directing of his life. His willingness for this was immediately tested; the Holy Spirit led him to the wilderness for a 40 day fast and an epic spiritual war. What was the outcome? After surrendering to the Holy Spirit’s direction, Jesus returned from the wilderness:

• Victorious over the enemy (Jesus had driven him [temporarily] out of the whole region (Mat. 4:16))
• Clothed in the power of the Holy Spirit
• With news about him spreading

All of these positive outcomes from true worship can be ours if we follow Jesus example—by his grace—and surrender ourselves to Father’s will by having our spirit man prostrate himself at God’s throne. The outcomes are absolutely amazing. You can leave the place of totally submissive worship:

• Increasing in wisdom, maturity, and favor with God and men
• With the heavens opened, the Spirit like a dove descending on you, and hearing Father’s voice
• Led by the Holy Spirit
• Victorious, clothed in Holy Spirit power, and with increasing [good] reputation and acknowledgement

Let’s break through our next layer of resistance to his will, yielding it to him today. The benefits are amazing.