THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP (PART 3) - NOAH (WORSHIP THAT PLEASES GOD)

Nearly every fast food restaurant today has a "Value Meal". 

These menus contain items that do not cost much, with a wide selection of choices for every taste. Although it's nutritional content may be limited, the menu is designed for people who feel hungry, but do not want to spend much time or money on food. Spiritually, are we "Value Meal Christian"? We feel hungry, but in a hurry to get somewhere else, choose only quick bite of so called worship that does not cost much. As a result  of our choice, we often become spiritually weak and undernourished.

What can we do? We need to derive our patterns and practices of worship - all of them - from teaching and examples in God's Word. We must compile the examples and the plain instruction of Scripture and then determine the most reverent way to express our love, thanksgiving, and devotion to God. When our worship is based on the fact of God's Word, then we have a foundation to stand upon even when our feelings fluctuate.

1) WORSHIP BEGINS WITH THE FEAR OF GOD

The first recorded example of worship in the Bible is that of Abel and Cain (See last post). The second that of Noah.

In Genesis 8:20 we read that Noah walked out of the ark, built an altar, and worshiped God. Why? The Bible does not give a specific reason for Noah's action. But common sense dictates that Noah's immediate circumstances instilled the fear of God in him. He had just survived the greatest cataclysm in the history of mankind. He had been through an amazing sequence of events that left an indelible image of God's power stamped on his mind. Many years earlier, God had revealed to this man His will about the flood of destruction, the ark, and the salvation of his family. He spent much of his life building a structure that made no sense to him or to his incredulous neighbors. But obeyed God's Word as the writer of Hebrews recorded that:
"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness which is according to faith." (Hebrews 11:7)

This man of faith must have marveled when it came time to load up the ark. Where did the animals come from? How did they know that they should come to the ark? How did they know where the ark was? Apparently, God brought the animals to Noah. Then over the next few months Noah witnessed with his five senses the absolute destruction of all life forms from the entire earth. It was phenomenal! Mind-boggling!

Noah was right to fear God in response to this display of power. Yet Noah had respected God, even before God had fully demonstrated His power. From the onset, Noah had done all that God commanded Him (Genesis 7:5), even though men must have had ridiculed and resisted him. While the scoffers jeered, Noah trusted God. Noah completed God's will because he feared God instead of man. As a result of his fear of God, he saw the mass destruction that befell his accusers and he experienced God's hand of deliverance. What did Noah see when he walked out of the ark? How did Noah feel? It is no wonder that he feared God.

2) WORSHIP INVOLVES SACRIFICE
Noah worshiped God because he feared God. The Genesis story indicates that the first thing Noah did when he walked out of the ark was to build an altar to the Lord. But noticed that there is no indication that God commanded Noah to build an altar and make a sacrifice.
"So Noah went out, and... built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (Genesis 8:18-20)

Why was the building an altar was Noah's first act upon leaving the ark? Was he following a religious tradition that he believed was expected of him? No, the most reasonable explanation is that Noah, having been delivered from certain destruction, was motivated to worship God by a sincere desire. This explanation is especially probable in light of "clean" animal and every kind of "clean" bird. That statement is an interesting one. Not until hundreds of years later, in the time of Moses, did God incorporate into Israel's sacrificial system a distinction between clean and unclean animals. 
Remembering that Noah took into the ark two of each kind of unclean animal, but seven of each clean animal. It seems likely that the term "clean animals" is a reference  to those animals that could be domesticated herds. Therefore, when God commanded Noah to take an extra number of clean animals, it seems He was preparing to sustain Noah's family with those animals after the flood.  The next chapter, of the Bible contains God's command that allowed the eating of animals for the first time. So although the clean animals played a vital role in the sustaining of his family, Noah gladly sacrificed them in the process of worshiping God.
His example stands in stark contrast to the practice of our own day, when so many Christians prefer worship of convenience, worship that meets their needs but demand nothing from them. It is at this point that "Value-Meal Christianity" may be at odds with the example of Noah.  
Noah worshiped out of a HEART that feared the awesome power of God and was thankful for deliverance from destruction. Then he demonstrated his attitude through worship in which he sacrificed something of himself. Are we doing the same in our own worship?  

3) WORSHIP COMES FROM EXPERIENCING GRACE

The fact that God was satisfied with Noah's sacrifice unfolds a picture of His grace. The account of Noah's sacrifice states that it pleases God, for "the Lord smelled a soothing aroma" (Genesis 8:21). It speaks of the whole person of Noah that was involved in worship. God saw the evidence of Noah's HEART of OBEDIENCE all through his experience with the ark.  He saw Noah's fear. He heard Noah's prayers. And God was pleased. He accepted this expression of worship. 

That wonderful grace of God must undergird our worship. If Noah had not experienced God's grace, he would not have been able to give Him true worship. Noah's life and practice teach us a very important truth. When we attempt to live for God, to serve and worship Him, without applying His grace to our lives, our efforts result in worship that is not pleasing to God. 
(An extract from True Worship by David Whitcomb and Mark Ward)

THE SPIRIT OF JOY (PART 4)

Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God my exceeding joy;

And on the harp I will praise You,

O God, my God

Psalm 43:4

David had learned two things concerning JOY. First there is only one source of JOY: it Is God Himself. Second, there is one place where we can draw from that source: it is the altar. The altar is the place of sacrifice, the place of commitment and consecration, the place where our lives are laid down. Through the sacrifice we make at the altar, the JOY that comes from God alone is released within us.
There is a great difference between JOY and happiness. JOY is in the realm of the spirit. Happiness is in the realm of the soul. Happiness is related to our emotions, our feelings, our circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. When things are not going well, we have unhappiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.
JOY, on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. It does not depend .on our physical condition. It is within the spirit. There is only one source of JOY, and that is God - God Himself. God is eternal, unchangeable. That is why it is possible to have JOY even when we cannot feel happiness or pleasure. JOY comes directly from God Himself. Just like God, JOY is eternal, unchangeable, unaffected by situations or circumstances.
But JOY is released only at the altar. We have to make up our minds, as David did, that we will go to God, to the altar - the place of sacrifice - the place of commitment and consecration - the place where we yield ourselves without reservation to God. Then we can have JOY all the time, unchangeably.
(An extract from:Through David's Psalms by Derek Prince)

OFFERING OUR BODIES IN WORSHIP (PART 1)

Offer Your Bodies As Living Sacrifices,

Holy And Pleasing To God

This Is Your SPiritual Act Of Worship

Romans 12:1

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

LAYING OUR LIVES AT THE ALTAR (PART 2)

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. 12:29 The 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

A LIVING SACRIFICE (PART 3)

I Urge You, Brother, In View Of God's Mercy,

To Offer Your Bodies As Living Sacrifices, Holy And Pleasing To God

This Is Your Spiritual Act Of Worship

Romans 12:1

Wisdom begins with basing one's life on reality. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10). Why? Because fear of the LORD is based on a true understanding of who we really are and who God really is. But there is a next step. Wisdom doesn't  begin and end with fear; it continues into WORSHIP. When we really understand who God is, the natural response is to offer Him whatever we can get our hands on - and all we have is ourselves.
All of those in the Bible who encountered the living God in His glory fell on their face in WORSHIP. Like Isaiah, they would offer themselves (Isaiah 6:8). If we have not gotten to that point of laying ourselves on the ALTAR before Him - without reservation - we have not yet encountered the living God. His glory prompts SACRIFICE. It is the only wise, intelligent, reasonable response to the magnitude of His goodness.
We often think of WORSHIP as words and songs that come out of our months. It is much more. It is a LIFESTYLE, a SACRIFICIAL way of living that acknowledges every moment of every day that there is ONE far more WORTHY of our allegiance than ourselves. When His interests consistently supercede ours, and we act accordningly, we are WORSHIPPING.
Imagine yourself in the throne room of God. See the ALTAR at His feet. Get on it. Lay yourself our before Him and say to Him: "I am yours. Do with me as You will. I give up my right to govern myself, because You are far more WORTHY to do it, and You will never do me harm. I exist for Your purposes, and for Yours alone." Do this every morning, then live out your day mindful of whose you are. In light of who He is, this is TRUE WORSHIP. And TRUE WORSHIP is the wisest thing we can do.
(an extract from: Walk With God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen)

WORSHIP - IS NOT PART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE;

IT IS THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

- Gerald Vann -

A LIVING SACRIFICE (PART 2)

I Urge You, Brothers, In View Of God's Mercy,

To Offer Your Bodies As Living Sacrifices,

Holy And Pleasing To God - This Is Your Spiritual Act Of Worship

Romans 12:1

What does it means to lay our lives on GOD'S ALTAR? Imagine a scene from the movies: In some distant tribal culture, one man saves another's life. According to custom, the saved now belongs to the saviour. And why not? If not for the rescuer one would be dead. His life rightfully belongs to the one who preserved it. He might as well spend the rest of his days for the one who actually gave him the rest of his days.

So itis with Jesus and His sheep. We were lost and, for all practical purposes, dead. That's not  our preferred assessment of ourselves, but it's what the Bible says. Without Jesus, we'd be forever lost and lifeless. But He rescued us. And in His culture, we now belong to Him. We are to live out the rest of our days - the days He mercifully gave us - for Him.
That's what being a LIVING SACRIFICE is all about. It means that when Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, we don't have the right to say, "No, not this time." When Jesus tells us to give all we have - our time, our talents, our money, or even our deepest desires - to some aspect of His work, we don't have the authority to decline. We are not our own; we have no claim on our own lives. We were bought with a precious, heavy price. We were saved for the One who saved us.
Just as Jesus laid Himself on GOD'S ALTAR for our sin, we are to lay ourselves on that ALTAR for His righteousness. We don't earn His righteousness, of course. But practically, God puts it into us - He works it into our spirits - to the extent that we lay down our tainted lives in exchange for His resurrected one.
The implications of that relationship are astounding. Radical. Relentless. It was an "everything" purchase for a "forever" promise. LIVING SACRIFICES don't live for themselves. They live for ANOTHER. That's their service of WORSHIP!
(An extract from: Worship the King by Chris Tiegreen)

Precisely Because They Have Been Redeemed At Such A Cost,

Believers Must Be God's Men

-   Leon Morris  -

A LIVING SACRIFICE (PART 1)

I Appeal To You Therefore, Brethren, And Beg of You In View od (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 And Spiritual Worship

Romans 12:1 (Amplified Bible)

Since the days of the Exodus, wherever a tabernacle or temple stood, faithful Jews would bring the best of their flocks and herds to a priest standing at the altar of God. It was an act of devotion, a commandment handed down by God Himself. There were various reasons for the command: The offering would, at times, serve as a symbol of sin and its ugly consequences; as a sacrifice of gratitute, acknowledging that every good gift comes from God; or as an act of devotion and worship, a gift from a LOVING HEART. Regardless of the reason, the origin of the SACRIFICE was always God - human beings clearly never created a ram or a bull - and the SACRIFICE was always a reminder of the horrible gap between the CREATOR and the created.

God bridged that gap with His ultimate SACRIFICE, of course - the body of JESUS on an altar made of Roman lumber. The wages of sin were paid in full. There are no more guilt offerings. All that was left for us to do is to place our lives in Him. Never before had such a gift been given, and never since. Those who accept it have no sin to work off, no condemnation to dread. We're left standing with nothing but our GRATITUTE.
There is, however, an appropriate response. It has nothing to do with merit or guilt, but only withthe thankfulness that should naturally flow from a REDEEMED HEART. It is our SPIRITUAL ACT OF WORSHIP.
The response id for us  to walk to that tabernacle or temple as the Israelites did in days of old, approach the PRIEST, and hand Him the SACRIFICE that we brought out of our GRATITUTE: OURSELVES. We are to envision our PRIEST doing His duty by taking the SACRIFICE, placing it on the ALTAR OF GOD, and accepting it in His name. But unlike the OLD SACRIFICES, this SACRIFICE LIVES. It lives a DEDICATED LIFE, AN ALTAR LIFE. It now belongs to the PRIEST. We are in His hands.
(an extract from: Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen)

If Jesus Christ Be God And Died For Me,
Then No SACRIFICE Can Be Too Great For Me To Make For Him
- C.T. Studd - 

THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP - NOAH (WORSHIP THAT PLEASES GOD)

Nearly every fast food restaurant today has a "Value Meal".

These menus contain items that do not cost much, with a wide selection of choices for every taste. Although it's nutritional content may be limited, the menu is designed for people who feel hungry but do not want but do not want to spend much time or money on food. Spiritually, are we "Value Meal Christian"? We feel hungry, but in a hurry to get somewhere else, choose only quick bite of so called worship that does not cost much. As a result  of our choice, we often become spiritually weak and under nourished.

What can we do? We need to derive our patterns and practices of worship - all of them - from teaching and examples in God's Word. We must compile the examples and the plain instruction of Scripture and then determine the most reverent way to express our love, thanksgiving, and devotion to God. When our worship is based on the fact of God's Word, then we have a foundation to stand upon even when our feelings fluctuate.

1) WORSHIP BEGINS WITH THE FEAR OF GOD

The first recorded example of worship in the Bible is that od Abel and Cain. the second that of Noah.

In Genesis 8:20 we read that Noah walked out of the ark, built an altar, and worshiped God. Why? The Bible does not give a specific reason for Noah's action. But common sense dictates that Noah's immediate circumstances instilled the fear of God in him. He had just survived the greatest cataclysm in the history of mankind. He had been through an amazing sequence of events that left an indelible image of God's power stamped on his mind. Many years earlier, God had revealed to this man His will about the flood of destruction, the ark, and the salvation of his family. He spent much of his life building a structure that made no sense to him or to his incredulour neighbours. But obeyed God's Word as the writer of Hebrews recorded that:
"By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness which is according to faith." (Hebrews 11:7)

This man of faith must have marveled when it came time to load up the ark. Where did the animals come from? How did they know that they should come to the ark? How did they know where the ark was? apparently, God brought the animals to Noah. Then over the next few months Noah witnessed with his five senses the absolute destruction of all life forms from the entire earth. It was phenominal! Mind-boggling!

Noah was right to fear God in response to this display of power. Yet Noah had respected God even before God had fully demostrated His power. From the onset, Noah had done all that God commanded Him (Genesis 7:5), even though men must have have ridiculed and resisted him. While the scoffers jeered, Noah trusted God. Noah completed God's will because he feared God instead of man. As a result of his fear of God, he saw the mass destruction that befell his accusers and he experienced God's hand of deliverance. What did Noah see when he walked out of the ark? How did Noah feel? It is no wonder that he feared God.

2) WORSHIP INVOLVES SACRIFICE
Noah worshiped God because he feared God. The Genesis story indicates that the first thing Noah did when he walked out of the ark was to build an altar to the Lord. But noticed that there is no indication that God commanded Noah to build an altar and make a sacrifice.
"So Noah went out, and ... built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (Gensis 8:18-20)

Why was building an altar Noah's first act upon leaving the ark? Was he following a religious tradition that he believed was expected of him? No, the most reasonable explanantion is that Noah, having been delivered from certain destruction, was motivated to worship God by a sincere desire. This explanation is especially probable in light of "clean" animal and every kind of "clean" bird. That statement is an interesting one. Not until hundreds of years later, in the time of Moses, did God incorporate into Israel's sacrificial system a distinction between clean and unclean animals.
Remembering that Noah took on to the ark two of each kind of unclean animal, but seven of each clean animal. It seems likely that the term "clean animals" is a reference  to thoses animals that could be domesticated herds. Therefore, when God commanded Noah to take extra number of clean animals, it seems He was preparing to sustain Noah's family with those animals after the flood.  The next chapter, of the Bible contains God's command that allowed the eating of animals for the first time. So although the clean animals played a vital role in the sustaining of his family, Noah gladly sacrificed them in the process of worshiping God.
His example stands in stark contrast to the practice of our own day, when so many Christians prefer worship of convenience, worship that meets their needs but demand nothing from them. It is at this point that "Value-Meal Christianity" may be at odds with the example of Noah. 
Noah worshiped out of a HEART that feared the awesome power of God and was thankful for deliverance from destruction. Then he demostrated his attitude through worship in which he sacrificed something of himself. Are we doing the same in our own worship?  ,

3) WORSHIP COMES FROM EXPERIENCING GRACE

The fact that God was satisfied with Noah's sacrifice unfolds a picture of His grace. The account of Noah's sacrifice states that it pleases God, for "the Lord smelled a soothing aroma" (Genesis 8:21). It speaks of the whole person of Noah that was involved in worship. God saw the evidience of Noah's HEART of OBEDIENCE all through his experience with the ark.  He saw Noah's fear. He heard Noah's prayers. And God was pleased. He accepted this expression of worship.

That wonderful grace of God must undergrid our worship. If Noah had not experienced God's grace, he would not have been able to give Him true worship. Noah's life and practice teach us a very important truth. When we attempt to live for God, to serve and worship Him, without applying His grace to our lives, our efforts result in worship that is not pleasing to God.

Worship - The Act Of Obedience

Our Worship Is Shaped
Not Only By What We Feel,
Or Say Or Sing,
But By How We OBEY
TPWC

Most of us have various reactions to the word ‘OBEDIENCE’. It often gives us a sense of duty, legalism and work but if we take a closer look, we find that God's intention is to show us His amazing love.

We all remember the story in Genesis 22 where Abraham is preparing to follow God’s instruction to have him sacrifice his only son, Isaac. We know the end of the story and our tension is stayed by the fact that we know God would not put Abraham through the ultimate sacrifice; yet have we ever thought that when it comes to His own beloved Son, God offered Him for us! (John 3:16 - God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son ...)

As mentioned in my last post, the first time we find WORSHIP in Scriptures is in Genesis 22. Abraham tells his other men to stay behind, and “we will worship and return to you” (Gen 22:5).

WORSHIP IS AN ACT OF OBEDIENCE!

The whole scene in Genesis 22 enables us to understand Apostle Paul's letter when he said, “Christ was obedient to death, even to the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Christ’s OBEDIENCE at the cross was really His ultimate expression of WORSHIP to the Father. Yet when it comes to offering our lives as living sacrifices (which is our reasonable worship) or even taking up our "crosses" (daily), we often shrink back.

What does it means to lay our lives on God's altar? Imagine a scene from the movies: In some distant tribal culture, one man saves another's life. According to custom, the saved now belongs to the savior. And why not? If not for the rescuer, the rescued one would be dead. His life rightfully belongs to the one who preserved it. So it is with Jesus and His sheep. We were lost and, for all practical purposes, dead. That's not our preferred assessment of ourselves, but it's what the Bible says. Without Jesus, we'd be forever lost. But He rescued us. And in His culture, we now belong to Him. We are to live out the rest of our days - the days He mercifully gave us - for Him

That's what being a living sacrifice is all about. We are not our own; we have no claim on our own lives. We were bought with a precious, heavy price. Living sacrifices don't live for themselves. They live for Another. That's living a life of OBEDIENCE! That's our reasonable WORSHIP!

"There is no true WORSHIP without OBEDIENCE. A life of OBEDIENCE before the Lord is a life of WORSHIP. It was Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden that separated him, and ultimately you and me, from God. It was Jesus OBEDIENCE to the Father, even unto death, that gave us opportunity to enter back into a right relationship with God." - John W. Stevenson

Our Worship Is Shaped Not Only By What We Feel, Or Say Or Sing, But By How We OBEY - TPWC

A LIVING SACRIFICE - PART 3 (A SACRIFICE OF LOVE)

WORSHIP

Is Not Part

Of The

Christian Life;

It Is The

Christian Life

(G.Vann)

I Urge You, Brothers, In View Of God's Mercy, To Offer Your Bodies As Living Sacrifices, Holy And Pleasing To God - This Is Your Spiritual Act Of Worship (Romans 12:1)

Being a living sacrifice is more than a holy obligation; it is a HOLY PASSION. It's the lover whosays, "I would do anything for you. I'd sacrifice my life, my dreams, my everything for your welfare." Few of us love God like that with any consistency, but that's our goal. And the only way to get there is to ask Him for that kind of love. It's supernatural. Only He can offer it and maintain it in our hearts.

How do we know if we have it? We'll know by what fills our minds when we lie down at night and when we wake up in the morning. We'll know it by where we direct all of our resources and all your abilities. And we'll know it by the things we pray for.

If a stranger were to pick up the ledger of our checkbook and read it, would he know that we are lovers of God? If he were to examine our calender, would he be able to tell that we have a holy desire for a beloved Saviour? If he were to hear our prayers, would he find that we're wholly dedicated to the will of our Father? We're reluctant to answer, because we know our shortcomings. We know how fickle our hearts and how self-directed our desires are. We know we have more than one agenda - God's plus our own. We know we have a long way to go to be filled with a holy, God-centred love.

That's okay. God's grace is more than enough to cover our lukewarm hearts. But He doesn't want us to remain ambivalent toward Him. He wants to stir us up to a consuming obsession with His goodness, His love, and His plans. He wants us not just try hard to please Him - we've done that and failed so many times - but to delight in Him. Like any lover of another, He wants to be our joy. Like a wife who craves evidence of her husband's affections, or a husband who looks expectantly for affirmation from his wife, our God - though never needy - wants to be adored.

Can we adore Him? We MUST - it's our created purpose, and it's the only love we'll ever have that will leave us completely satisfied. All others fall short, but PASSION for Him always fulfills.

TPWC (An extract from Worship The king - by Chris Tiegreen)

A LIVING SACRIFICE - PART 2

[Abram] built an altar there to the Lord,

who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7

THE LIFE OF THE ALTAR
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. 12:29
The 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 Worshiper!

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.

Stays bless!
TPWC