If someone ask a teacher what he does for a living, he will reply, "I am a teacher." He says that because he works or spends most of his time teaching. Similarly, you know you are a worshiper when what you do the most is worship. Worshipers don't just worship on weekends. They don't need a bulletin, or a "call to worship" or a worship leader to encourage them to go vertical. They can worship in any place and at any time because they are worshipers. Continual worship is central to the life of a worshiper. A worshiper offers the sacrifice of praise to God continually (Hebrews 13:15)."From the rising of the sun to it's going down the Lord's name is to be praised" (Psalm 113:3). Endless eulogy, ceaseless celebration and perpetual praise are the earmarks of a worshiper Worshipers don't wait for perfect circumstances to worship, and they don't let current situations keep them from worshiping. There is a song in the Bible that says, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labour of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls - yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Though I have no money in the savings account and my cheque book is overdrawn, though the fridge and cupboard are empty and I just got laid off, yet I will worship and rejoice in my Lord. The first step in becoming a worshiper is worshiping in spite of bad circumstances. Be blessed with this song:
An extract from: Exploring The Mysteries of Worship by Lamar Boschman
"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instrument of wickedness,
but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life;
and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness."
(Romans 6:13)
Do not make the mistake of thinking that God is only concerned with our spirits. It's true that Jesus said we are to "worship in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). But there's a context. We worship the God who indwells mortal flesh. We are His temple. And those who carelessly degrade His temple, either through immorality or irreverence, are being careless about their worship. Praising God with physical mouths and then treating our bodies with little concern for our health or morality is gross contradiction - Chris Tiegreen (Worship The King)
Here is a list of Scriptures (certainly not exhaustive, but enough to get us started) that will help us understand God's perspective on how we can offer our body to Him on a daily basis as a SPIRITUAL ACT OF WORSHIP. We will look at what the Bible says about our ears, our eyes, our mouth, and their relationship to our thoughts.
Our Ears How can we offer our ears as a living sacrifice to God? Consider these words of instruction from Scripture: - The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. (Proverbs 18:15) - Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) - Apply our heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge. (Proverbs 23:12) -Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? (Job 12:11) What do we allow ourselves to listen to? What kind of environment in which faith can be nutured? It is conducive to worship? We spit out foods that offend our sense of taste. What do we do with words that offend our hearing?
Our Eyes How can we offer our eyes to God as a living sacrifice? Here is what the Bible says: - We have made a covenant with our eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. (Job 31:1) - Turn our eyes away from worthless things. (Psalm 119:37) - We will set before our eyes no vile thing. (Psalm 101:3) Vile means wicked, peverted, offensive to the senses, disgusting, cheap, degrading. What are we doing with our eyes? What do we allow ourselves to look at?
Our Mouth How can we offer our mouth as a living sacrifice? Again, let's see what the Bible has to say. - Keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking lies. (Psalm 34:3) - We said,"I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence." (Psalm 39:1) -What goes into a man's mouth does not make him "unclean," but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him "unclean." (Matthew 15:11) - Rid ourselves of ... slander and filthy language from our lips. (Colossians 3:8) - "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips."(Proverbs 4:23-24) Jesus taught us that our lips reveal the content of our hearts. "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).What do our lips reveal about the content of our heart? What are we filling our hearts with that overflows from our lips? David prayed: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight." (Psalm 19:14) - May this be our prayers too.
Our Thoughts We know that our thoughts are not physical parts of our body. But they are inseparable from our body. Our thoughts both reflect and direct what we do with our eyes, our ears, and our mouth. - In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:2) - "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, what ever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."(Philippians 4:8) - Set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2) - Take captive every thoughts to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5) One best ways to take every thought captive to Christ is to develop the habit of turning self-talk into God-talk. You know what self-talk is - it is the silent and secret conversations you have with yourself. Some methods of turning self-talk into God-talk: - Praying without ceasing - Listening and singing praises to God - Reading and meditating on the Word of God
Living sacrifices that offer to God as an act of worship ... "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)
(an extract from - The Way of a Worshipper by Buddy Owens)
Why does God want your body? Why does He wants your worship? Apostle Paul tells us, "offer your bodies as living sacrifices." He goes on to tell that this is a "spritual act of worship." We need to think about that statement for a minute. Offering our bodies is a spiritual act - it is a physical demonstration of a spiritual reality. (Of course, the problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps trying to crawl off the altar).
But why are we told to offer our bodies to God? How is this a "spiritual act of worship"? Why doesn't Paul just say "Turn your heart to the Lord"? I believe Paul answers that question in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 when he says: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." Your body, your flesh and blood and bones, this "piece of earth," as it were, is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Your body, my body, the body of every redeemed, blood-bought person, is God's dwelling place. Your body is God's house. I can just imagine that if you had been looking over God's shoulder as He formed Adam from the dust of the ground and if you could have asked Him, "What are you making?" He would have said, "I am building a temple." It was a temple that He would occupy for thousands of years. Paul, in Colossians 1:26-27 refers to the "mystery that has been hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints ... this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." It is not just Christ with you; it is Christ in you. The mystery hidden for ages is that God created you in his own likeness to be occupied by His Spirit. Your body is the place of His presence. And it is through your body that God reaches out to the world around you. There are people in your life who will never hear the voice of God until you speak the Word to them. There are people in your life who will never feel the touch of God until you reach out to them with the love and compassion of Christ. There people in your life who will never see the face of God until they see the light and life of Jesus in your eyes. And that is why the Bible tells us to offer our bodies to God. God wants to fill you afresh everyday with His Spirit so that He can use you to accomplish the purposes of heaven on earth (an extract from: The Way Of A Worshiper by Buddy Owens)
The Lord Jesus claims the use of your body, your whole being, your complete personality, so that as you give yourself to Him through the eternal Spirit, He may give Himself to you through the eternal Spirit, that all your activity as a human being on earth may be His activity in and through you; that every step you take, every word you speak, everything you do, everything you are, may be an expression of Christ, in you as man - Major W. Ian Thomas (1914)
How do we offer our bodies to God? We'll look at that in our next week's post. Blessings TPWC
An ALTAR is a raised structure on which sacrifices to god are made. Did you know that in order to offer our lives as LIVING SACRIFICES we need to have altars? Every sacrifice must be put on the altar to be burned by fire, so the sweet smelling savour can come forth. “For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29The life of a Christian is the life of the altar. God requires of His children that in His presence they have an altar. Why was Abraham able to offer Isaac His promised son at the altar of sacrifice? We learn that prior to this sacrificial worship (Genesis 22), Abraham was already leaving a life of building altars.
1) THE FIRST ALTAR
In Genesis 12:7 God appeared to Abraham and he built an altar. What made him want to worship? God had taken a seventy-five year old man out of his homeland and led him to a new frontier, making extravagant promises to him for his faith and obedience. There was no written revelation at the time, no covenant history, no people of God. Just a man and his faith and a land of promise. This altar (not for sin offering) was for offering his life to God. It was the kind of altar spoken of in Romans 12:1. What the altar signifies is not doing for God, but being for God. Unlike the sacrifice of the Old Testament, which in one act was finally burnt, the sacrifice of the New Testament is “A LIVING SACRIFICE”. The meaning of the altar is the offering up of the life to God to be ever consumed, yet ever living: to be ever living, yet ever consumed. God appeared to Abraham and Abraham offered himself to God. Anyone to whom God has manifested Himself cannot do other than live for Him. This is the life of the ALTAR – being a worshipper!
2) THE SECOND ALTAR
Genesis 12:8 – “From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent … there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord”. This is Abraham’s second altar. The pitching of his tent implies that it is not a permanent place. The tent-life also means that what Abraham possessed does not belong to him. At the altar Abraham has offered his all to God. Was he stripped of everything? No! Abraham still possessed cattle and sheep and many other things. Through the altar God deals with our lives; through the tent God deals with our possessions. At any time God may say: “I want this thing.” If we cling to it and say: “This is mine,” then in heart we have forsaken the altar and cannot say to God that our life is being lived for Him. The second altar shows us that Abraham’s life was a life of the altar – not bound by material possessions. That is why when God demand his son Isaac, he was able to response in faith and God restored back Isaac to him.
3) THE THIRD ALTAR In Genesis 12:10-20 we read that because of the famine (type of economic crisis) Abraham went DOWN to Egypt (a type of the world) and got himself into trouble. Abraham had his failures when he departed from the altar in times of difficulties. In Genesis 13:1-4, he went UP from Egypt and returned to Bethel (the house of God) where he has first built an altar and called on the name of the Lord again. If you are seeking the way of recovery, you will find it at the altar. But what happened to Abraham after his recovery? Genesis 13:18 records Abraham built his third altar at Hebron (means fellowship). After his recovery Abraham entered into the place of continuous fellowship with God. If we are in fellowship with God we will never forsake the altar.
What does it mean to lay our lives on God’s altar? It means that we are not our own; we have no claim on our own lives. We are bought with a precious heavy price. Living sacrifice don’t live for themselves. They live for Another. That’s their service of worship. Be inspired with this song: We Are An Offering - by Chris Christian Stays blessed! - TPWC
I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service & spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1 (Amplified Bible)
The term sacrifice is not to be taken lightly. In the Old Testament time, the offering of animals had to be the best, without blemish and probably cost cost much to the owner. And when the animals were being slaughtered, we could hear their cries. Similarly, in hard times as we offer our lives as a living sacrifice (in worship), there are moments of tears, sorrows and pains. But as the Lord consumes our offerings, we will be transformed. Romans 12:1 tells us that this is our reasonable worship. The story of the woman who broke the abalaster box (John 12:3, Matthew 26:8-9) was met by the disciples' indignant remarks ..."Why this waste?" Waste means giving more than necessary. To Judas and the disciples the waste of money, time and efforts of worship poured upon the Lord could have been channelled for better use. But if the Lord is worthy, then can it be waste?HE IS WORTHY to be WORSHIPPED, WORTHY to be served, WORTHY for me to be in ministry, HE IS WORTHY! Once we see this revelation, what other say about this does not matter anymore. The Lord said, "Do not trouble her". So let us not be troubled. The Lord's approval upon Mary's action lays the principles of pouring out to Him: that in our service and worship, we need to pour all that we have - our self, upon Him. It is not first of all a question of whether "the poor" (Matthew 26:9) have been helped but a question of whether the Lord has been satisfied. What does it mean to lay our lives on God's altar? When Abraham obeyed God it means the life of his promised son - Isaac (we know that God provided him a sacrificial lamb for his obedience). But when God did it; it means the life of His own beloved Son - Jesus! Death on the cross but eternal life for all who accept Him. That's what being a living sacrifice is all about. Unlike the old sacrifices, this sacrifice lives! It lives a dedicated life, an altar life. It now belongs to our High Priest. Living sacrifices don't live for them themselves. They live for Another. That's our reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Today, let us lavish upon Him without reservation all our worship.
