Romans 12:1-2 II Corinthians 3:18
Worship should lead to transformation
We read in scripture where worship always had a transforming effect
In Revelation when John saw Jesus, He fell as dead
In Isaiah when he saw the Lord he saw himself more clearly
As David worshiped he was constantly aware of the presence of God
The worshiper is positioned so that God can minister to them through worship
Worship is not only what you do it is also who you are
***You will always become like the God you worship
What we are and what we do is determined by our worship
What does God want from us?
According to Romans 12 He wants three things
He wants a living sacrifice
Our body
Our mind
Our will
Don’t conformed be transformed
Masquerade or Metamorphosis
Religious hypochondriacs
Wrapped up in religious techniques of spiritual living that leads to unspiritual and unbalanced living
Because it leads us to be come primarily self conscious Christians which is not bad in and of itself
A self-conscious holiness alone is a contradiction
We become spiritual examiners and we spend all of our time performing spiritual autopsies
We spend most of our time comparing and evaluating performance
We believe that worship in life ought to look a certain way, we can often tell what it is not but we cannot determine what it is
I remember working with a man who seemed to be unsaved he would say things that weren’t indicative of the character of Christ
He would do things that weren’t indicative of the character of Christ
People automatically assumed that he was on his way to hell
One day we were talking and he said I know what people think about me but I believe in God and I do pray, I know where my blessings come from
No he wasn’t all that he should have been or could have been
He was a work in progress
Who are we to assume that because people don’t look like what we think they ought to look like that they aren’t who we think that they are
Now this is not an excuse to continue living in a way that is not pleasing to God
The mistake we make is to assume that worship works from the outside in
But it works from the inside out
Self conscious holiness is a form of neglect, because it forces God out of the equation
Holiness should reveal the glory of God, so real holiness must come from God
So be transformed
Worship should be a transforming experience
In II cor. 3:18 Paul contrasts the glory see on Moses to the glory seen in Jesus on the mount of transfiguration
***When Moses came down from the mountain His face was bright as light
He picked up some of the glory of God
But the glory was on him and not in him
***But Jesus on the other hand on the mountain of transfiguration had the glory of God radiating from Him
That is what God wants for us to be transformed (the greek word for transformed is the word from which we get our English word metamorphosis) from glory to glory.
This transformation comes from a commitment to a lifestyle of worship
Time in the presence of God which includes;
Time in the word
Time in prayer
Time in practice
As we spend the time we become what we spend time with
This leads to intelligent worship
The word reveals God His character, His will, and what He requires of me
God wants us to be transformers
We are called to be transformers
In the words of Warren Weirsbe transformers are participants and not spectators
Prayer allows God to minister to me, it provides for communion and fellowship
The practice allows the God life to be revealed
This is real worship it keeps out fanaticism
It keeps our worship from being blessing driven
Transformed seek to hear the voice of God rather than the voice of any other
Transformers trust God to do His work and let Him determine the finished product
Transformers have a different set of values than that of their conforming friends
Transformers see Gods approval
True worship will expose us
It reveals the cuts and bruises we have experienced, it reveals our brokenness
It also reveals the ugly stuff that we are harboring and hiding not to embarrass us but so that the healing process can begin
