2013-01-07

What is True Worship?


Worship is more than going to church and singing hymns. Paul tells it is offering ourselves as the living, not dead, sacrifice. It is becoming like Jesus just like the common saying of  'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' ! Now is set our vision of becoming like Jesus into motion.
Last week in our discussion, we discover the meaning of true worship. It was stressed in our Sunday service too.

What is worship? What is your understanding?
If you say it is singing hymns, you got the common surface level understanding.
Praise is a key element of worship. (Heb_13:15  Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. )

Some may worship is more than singing. It should including the hearing of surmons too. Aren't church service called worship service?

But true worship is much more. Let's go deeper.

If you say we must worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (John 4:23),
then you are giving the textbook answer.

But how do we really do that?
We will usually say that we worship God with our whole heart and in sincerity.
Message Bible:  “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth and are  simply and honestly yourself before God.

Paul tells us more the true worship is about becoming like Him.

We are to be

(1) the living sacrifice with our body, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.... Rom 12:1

  This means more than with just our mouth of praise, but our whole life, our total living, as a offering to God.

  What kind of life? Holy and acceptable to God.
  It is God's definition of Holiness and not our own.

(2) to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29)
The measure and target of our worship is be like Jesus - feel, will, think, behave like Jesus.
The common people language: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

(3) Then we need to convert the vision of becoming like Jesus into practical steps.
What will these steps be? What will you do? How will you live?
See  Christianity Rediscovered: Five Habits for Effective Christian Living


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