I started this series talking about the attitudes of a fully devoted follower of Christ.
Now we want to move on to the actions and today we look at Worship.
Worship carries many different meanings for people it could mean:
- The formal liturgy of the church
Praise songs
Quietly meditating on the Psalms
Gospel songs and testimonies
Raucous high energy music with dancing
Drums and chants
Worship comes from an old English word which means to attribute worth or respect to someone.
Fully devoted followers of Christ worship God with their lives. Worship is more than what we do here, it includes all of our life.
Casting Crowns sings a song which helps us get a handle on this kind of worship
LifeSong
Empty hands held high, Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life, I sing in vain tonightMay the words I say, And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing, Bring a smile to You
What is it we do to worship God fully? How do we know when out worship is empty hands held high, and when it is pleasing to God? How do we know when we are just honoring God with our lips and not with our lives?
Romans 12:1-2 can help us understand what that kind of worship looks like.
Therefore…
In light of all God has done…
1. Reached out to a rebellious, self-centered people
2. God made a way to be reconciled, by his sheer mercy, by grace through faith
3. Gave us a way to be victorious over sin and evil
When we approach worship, the “why” is bound up in all that God has done for us through Christ. That is reason enough for us to worship him and serve him the rest of our days.
In other words worship is not doing God a favor, it is expressing our gratitude for All God has done for us.
Living Sacrifice
Those who first heard this epistle were well aware of the concept of sacrifice. This time they were not only to offer a sacrifice, but be the sacrifice. Sacrifice is an offering, not just giving something up. A living sacrifice is an offering of your whole self; the whole of who your are. At its essence our obedience is the sacrifice we offer, our daily lives become the sacrifice.
LifeSong
Lord I give my life, a living sacrifice
To reach a world in need, to be Your hands and feet
May the words I say, And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing, Bring a smile to You
Spiritual Worship
The words translated “spiritual worship” can also be rendered “reasonable service.” It means an intelligent and deliberate act of worship in light of all God has done for you. The most reasonable thing you can do. It is spiritual in the sense that it is real and genuine. The word translated “worship” alludes to the work or service of the priests in the temple.
How do we become a living sacrfice?
1. We renew our minds. Allow God’s word to be the lens through which you view all of life. See all of life from God’s perspective: yourself, others, situations, relationships, hopes, life
2. Use the gifts you have been given in service to God
[Rom 12:6 ESV] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them….
Worship, real authentic worship ascribing worth to God with our lives — all of our lives.
Is your work, study, home life, relationships, financial life, recreational life, social life, worthy of God.
It can be…start where ever you are and seek to honor God. Notice how the text is paraphrased in the Message
[Ro 12:1-2 The Message ] So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.