Tonight we are going to come to a better understanding of what it means to worship the Lord. To begin, we must understand what the word “worship” means. The word worship is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word, which is actually a combination of the two words “worth” and “ship.” The term “ship” means to occupy a position; therefore, God occupies a position of worth, meaning that worshipping God is about ascribing worth to Him.
So, how does one ascribe worth to God? We might give answers such as praying, singing hymns of praise, bowing down on our knees, or a number of other things. However, these examples only scratch the surface of defining the true worship of our heavenly Father. In order to ascribe worth to God, we must somehow rid ourselves of our own self-worth; meaning that we must be in a state of absolute humility.
And, I believe that in our culture today we don’t fully understand humility. People in America are living like royalty in comparison to the citizens of some third world countries. Worship of God doesn’t cost us much, and we have basically forgotten His real worth. Because worship doesn’t cost us much here in America, I don’t believe we fully understand how to worship; so, we’re not worshipping God as He would have us to. I wish to propose tonight that the worship of God actually costs us something and involves sacrifice.
Old Testament Sacrificial Worship
Let’s think about worship in the Old Testament, for worship cost the people something. Israel’s worship of God included sacrifices offered on a regular basis. So, what was the purpose of all these sacrifices? Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” The Israelites worshipped with sacrifices because God required blood as the atonement for sin. We are all sinners and God is holy; therefore, if we wish to come into His presence we must be made pure, and this was done through sacrifice.
So, why did God require blood in order to symbolize this cleanness and purity that we are supposed to have before Him? Genesis 9:5 says, “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man.” Leviticus 17:11 reveals that a person’s life is bound up in their blood, and Genesis 9:5 says that God will require an account, or rather a reckoning, of one’s life.
The key word here is “life.” Blood symbolizes the life within us. This is why God requires blood. God is telling us that He requires of us our very life in worship; so, there’s a price for coming into the presence of Almighty God. Now you might be thinking, “Well what about God’s grace, and the free gift of His Son?” Well, hang on and we’ll get to that.
Since God created all things, what can we possibly give unto Him that He does not already own? The answer is our life. God created us, but He gave us control over our own life; He gave us free will. Our life is the only thing that we really have to ourselves. But if we wish to follow the Lord, we must give up the control of our life and surrender our ownership. This means that God wants our total being – heart, mind, and soul – dedicated entirely to Him. Keep in mind that blood symbolizes the offering of one’s own life to God.
Now, in requiring blood, God did not intend for people to commit human sacrifice. The way that a person could bring the sacrifice of life to the altar, was to find a substitute life to offer, which just happened to be animals. We no longer have to make animal sacrifices, because Jesus, the very Lamb of God gave His own life for us on the cross; and because His blood is perfect, it was a one-time sacrifice, ending all other blood sacrifices.
As believers, we continually celebrate the price that Jesus paid for us when He gave His life for our sins. He gave His life so that we could be made holy and be able to come into the presence of God. As believers, we are certain to affirm that Jesus made the once-and-for-all sacrifice for us, and that there is no longer any need to make animal sacrifices; but I must ask, “Has all sacrifice ended?” What about the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 107:22), the sacrifice of our time in doing good works (Hebrews 13:16), and the sacrifice of our financial resources (Philippians 4:18)? You see, sacrifice is an integral part of the Christian life and Christian worship.
We Must Worship in Spirit (v. 3)
3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
I want us to think about what Paul said here about worshipping God in the Spirit. Jesus stated in John 4:23 that He desires to be worshipped in spirit and truth. Here, Paul stated that we are the circumcision, or rather believers, if we worship the Lord in spirit. This statement tells us that we must worship in spirit in order to demonstrate that we are the children of God.
In the Old Testament, when a sacrifice was made, that person for whom it was offered was seen as pure before God in spirit; and as a result, the Lord listened to their petitions submitted by the priests. This information tells us that before we can approach the presence of God in spirit, a sacrifice has to be made. In this passage, Paul shows us the kind of sacrifice that God requires before we are able to worship Him in spirit.
We Seek Our Own Desires (vv. 4-6)
4 Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Right here, Paul identified the main problem that keeps us from worshipping God, which is our own personal desires and goals. He tells us that he once had confidence in the flesh; or rather in his own life. He was proud of his worldly accomplishments. He was a Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee; meaning that Paul was a well-educated man, who had striven for glory in the eyes of people. He had gained status in the world and was highly respected. He told us that according to the standard of people, he was considered blameless. Truly, Paul had climbed the ladder of success, and was sitting on the top rung.
How many of us are seeking worldly gain? Are some of us here tonight pursuing glory in the eyes of men in some way, form, or fashion? Maybe we are seeking money or pleasure; so much so, that we fail to give God any time in our life. We might be seeking pleasure to such a degree that we skip church in order to go boating, fishing, or hunting. When we seek our own things over the ways of God, we are showing what we ascribe worth to; and anything that we ascribe worth to is what we really worship, for that’s what the word means.
Consider that when people made sacrifices in the Old Testament, they would give up their prized animals. These animals could have brought them a great deal of money, but they gave them up for God. They were demonstrating that gaining money was not as important as pleasing and worshipping the Lord. So, what do we tell God today? We usually tell Him that what “we” want and what “we” desire is more important than giving Him the time of day.
We Should Seek God’s Desires (vv. 7-9)
7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.
Look at what Paul said here. He counted all the things that meant something to him as loss. His own desires meant nothing. They were as rubbish. That word “rubbish,” seen in verse 8, is actually the Greek word for “dung.” So, why did he view all of his own desires as loss? He did so, because righteousness in the eyes of men doesn’t mean a thing in the eyes of the Lord. Paul could not obtain his own righteousness, or right standing, before God. He was only righteous if he sought God’s glory over of his own. Right here, Paul was giving us an indication of what sacrifice the Lord truly requires. In the next two verses, he came right out and told us exactly what it is; so let’s see what sacrifice God wants.
We Must Sacrifice Our Life (vv. 10-11)
10 That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Here we come to understand the sacrifice that we must make. Verse 10 tells us that we should be “conformed to His death.” Jesus may have died for us, and took our place on the cross, but that does not excuse us from sacrifice. There must still be a sacrifice, which is a “death of oneself.” For those who are lost without Jesus and the forgiveness of sin, Jesus’ sacrifice does not cover them until they accept Him into their heart, and the lost will not and cannot accept Him until they put aside their sin and their own selfish ambitions and die to self. That requires sacrifice.
Also, when we choose to accept Jesus into our heart, then we make ourselves one with Christ. If we become one with Him then we are to become one with His sufferings. He may have died for us, but when we become one with Him we must also partake of death with Him. The death of which we partake is not a physical death, but one in which we die to our former life of sin. Listen as I read Romans 6:5-11:
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we die to the world, and die to sin, we gain spiritual life in heaven. We are spiritually resurrected from death. But for this to happen, our flesh must be crucified, and we must spiritually die to our life here in this world. This means that the life that we now live for ourselves must cease, and we must begin to live solely for the desires of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” So, the sacrifice that we are required to make is the sacrifice of our worldly life. We must die to self and live wholly and completely for Jesus.
Time of Reflection
We may think the sacrifice of our life unto Jesus is too much to ask, but Paul reassures us in Colossians 2:13-14 that being crucified with Christ is freedom from the ways of men, and freedom from striving for worldly position and status. These verses declare, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross” (NIV). You see, all of the written regulations and laws of men which we strive to conform to have been nailed to the cross. We are no longer expected to please men, but God. What people think of us is not as important as what God thinks of us.
So, are we seeking the things of this world for ourselves, and are we living for what the world thinks of us, or are we seeking the ways of God? We truly need to crucify our life, sacrifice our life, and be resurrected with Christ and live for Him. We need to understand that our life is the only worship offering that is truly pleasing and acceptable to God. I wish to close by reading Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
