How does giving myself as a living sacrifice become true worship?
The other day someone asked me this question and it really got me thinking about what worship truly is. I was reminded of something I created a long time ago. It was a covenant that I wrote for the worship band I was leading. I thought I’d share a few of the lines of that covenant with you. When this covenant was created it’s purpose was to give the members of this worship band a guideline to follow as they sought after the idea that our lives should be a worship song. It really made a difference in how the members played their instruments and lived their lives.
“The purpose of worship is to please God, and that every word and act in worship creates a witness about God as well as an offering to Him.Seeking God’s heart must be the motivating inspiration behind everything that I do in my life”
“The responsibility of a Worship Band member is a sacred one. It requires us to be prepared, committed, and motivated as we strive to attain the heart of a servant in our everyday life.”
“As a member in good standing of this worship band I attest that true worship is our response to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I commit to strive with all that i am to be someone who will seek His will in my lives and not that of my own desire.”
Granted, this does not really answer the question that was asked, but it does provide a starting point. As I worked with the members of this worship band we all learned a lot about what worship truly is and came to the conclusion our lifestyle should be one of true worship.
We offer ourselves to God by bending a knee in honor of serving him and strive to seek Him in all aspects of our lives. We sacrifice the desires of our heart so that we can honor the desires of His heart and commit to giving ourselves to Him with each day that we are given. In doing this we become true worshipers. All to often, we get so caught up in the world around us that we lose sight of what it truly means to worship God. Worshiping God starts with bending a knee and embracing whatever path He may have for us, not the embrace of worldly pleasures.True worship is felt inwardly and then comes out through our actions.
There is a passage of scripture in John chapter four that speaks to the heart of true worship and to what it means for us. This passage reminds us that true worship is striving to seek Him in all things. It shows us what He desires of those who honor Him.
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." - John 4:23-24 (NIV)
In the end, it comes down to this. Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice is striving to give God all that we are and striving to honor Him in humility with our lives. As we do this we are, indeed, truly worshiping Him.That is why Paul urges the Romans in chapter 12 to offer themselves as living sacrifices; so that they will know more of the desires of God’s heart. Just as we have done in today's world, the Romans gave in to the temptations their world pushed on them. Because of this, Paul called upon them to break free from conforming to the world around them.and challenge them to embrace a life honors God through humility.
We are tasked with the same call to repentance that they were tasked with. This leads to living a life of worship and to honoring Him with all that we are, as a living sacrifice and a True Worshiper.
Blessings in Christ and thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room"
Stand Strong and continue to believe the teachings given to you... (2 Thes. 2:15b NCV),
M.E.
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