Title: The Fruit of Worship
Text: Romans 12:1-2
Introduction
Today we have come to the last part of our series on worship. We have come to the fruit of worship! Since there is fiver Sundays in this month we are going to do a 2 part series on the fruit of worship. Part one will be today and part 2 will be next Sunday.
What do we mean by the fruit of worship? By the fruit of worship we’re talking about “the results that come from truly worshipping God”. For today’s message we are going to look at Romans 12:1-2
“Therefore, 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. 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.”
I saw something in Romans 12:1-2 this week that I’m not sure we think about very often.
When we truly worship God weare given the opportunity to show how much we appreciate God’s Mercy. And that’s the fruit of worship I want to look at today. Worship allows me to show how much I appreciate God’s mercy.
Listen carefully to what I’m about to say…When others watch you worshiping God they get to watch how much you appreciate God’s mercy. For example all of us showed how much we appreciated God’s mercy when we worshipped together today in song. How much appreciation for God’s mercy did we get to show today? When we worshipped this morning whether we realized it or not we all got to show exactly how much appreciation we have for God’s mercy.
And even though Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:10 "Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy" it’s possible some of us may have worshipped God today in such a way that nobody could tell for sure if we had much appreciation for the mercy of God
For let me say it again one of purpose for us coming together to worship each week is this:
It gives each of us the opportunity to let everyone else around us know how much we appreciate the mercy of God.
Our Worship and our appreciation for God’s mercy are connected to each other
David says in Psalm 5 verse 7 "But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.”
This is what I think David is saying in Psalm 5:7. Great worship can only happen if I have a great appreciation for God’s mercy. The greater my appreciation for God’s mercy- the greater will be my worship. He who has been forgiven much loves much. And the opposite is also just as true.
The less appreciation I have for God’s mercy – the less will be my worship. He who has been forgiven little loves little.
Challenge: To worship God in such a way that those who see me know I have a great appreciation for God’s mercy.
Whenever you offer a challenge like that you always have objections
1. I don’t like to let others see me worshiping God
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:13-14)
God would like as many people as possible to see me worshipping Him.God definitely does not want me to hide my worship of God from others. God says I should pray in secret; God says I should give in secret; God says I should fast in secret but God never said I should worship in secret.
Why? In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:15)
The world will end up praising God only if it sees the church praising God first.
Objection #2
2. I have a great appreciation for God’s mercy but I don’t like to show it during worship.
I like to show my appreciation for God’s mercy in other ways.
“Therefore, 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)
It’s true you can show your appreciation for God’s mercy in many different ways. But you can’t have a great appreciation for God’s mercy and not show it in your worship. Again your worship will always show how much you appreciate God’s mercy. Does this mean I have to raise my hands to show my appreciation for God’s mercy? Does this mean I have to wave a banner to show my appreciation for God’s mercy? Does this mean I have to clap my hands to show my appreciation for God’s mercy? Does this mean I have to come up to the altar to show my appreciation for God’s mercy?
It’s never about what we do as much as it is about why we do it. Our attitude is far more important than our actions.
There are 2 Guidelines we should follow when it comes to showing our appreciation for God’s mercy during worship
1.First we should do what we do as a form of surrender
“Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies…”
During worship there should be a surrendering of our bodies to God in appreciation for His mercy that has been given us in Christ. Last week Tony spoke about this in his message on the features of our worship. All the features of our worship that were mentioned last week are different ways we get to surrender our bodies to God because of the mercy he has given us in Christ. Because of the mercy of God we might raise our hands in surrender. Because of the mercy of God we might clap our hands in surrender. It is not about copying what others are doing around us. It’s about doing whatever we are able to do to show some form of surrender
The problem with some people is that they never surrender to God. Their mentality is No Surrender!
There is a second Guideline we should follow when it comes to showing our appreciation for God’s mercy during worship
Secondly we should do what we do as a form of sacrifice
2. Sacrifice
“Therefore, 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)
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
The size of our sacrifice will always be in direct proportion to the size of our appreciation for God’s mercy. The greater the appreciation the greater the sacrifice.
One man who had a great appreciation for God’s mercy was a man named Zacchaeus. This caused Zacchaeus to give a great sacrfice.
“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, Look, Lord! Here and now I give half my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything. I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8)
What sacrifice? What mercy?
Objection #3
I’m too old to change the way I worship
This is the objection I like to use myself. I was checking out my facebook account yesterday and one of the men who we made friends with over in Scotland saw I was on line and started a chat with me. His opening line was "Hey old man.."
But Paul has a word for all of us who think we are too old to change the way we worship
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,.
My real problem is not that I’m too old to change the way I worship.
My real problem is that I’m too worldly to change the way I worship.
How do you know if you are too worldly or not? Ask yourself “How much appreciation do i have right now for the mercy of God?” If I don’t have any appreciation for the mercy of God then I’m totally worldly.
Back to the challenge
Challenge: To worship God in such a way that those who see me know I have a great appreciation for God’s mercy.
How do I meet that challenge?
“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.”
We have already seen that it’s God’s will that we show our appreciation for God’s mercy
How? By being transformed by the renewing of our mind. We have got to keep our minds on the mercy of God. It should be the focus of our worship. It should be the foundation of our worship.
It should govern the features of our worship. The place to start is at the place where we see the mercy of God at its best; the Cross of Christ. Be transformed by the cross of Christ!
