Today’s word is about worship. I looked back at all my sermons since 2020 and strangely enough, not a single one was on the topic of worship. So I am rectifying that today!
The title of today’s message is “This is how I fight my battles”.
We will examine 4 passages, 3 of which are centered around Romans 12:1.
We will also look at:
the 96th Psalm
Isaiah chapter 12
Psalm 29:2.
Let’s begin with Romans 12:1
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.”
-ask others what does their bible say-
I’d like us to break that verse down, just a bit.
Beseech (some versions use “urge”)
Greek transliteration is: “to call upon someone to do something, to exhort, admonish”
I believe Paul probably does more “admonishing” in Romans, than any other of his writings.
“Living” sacrifice- So often in the OT we see sacrifice associated with death.
We see it early in scripture Genesis 3:21 “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”
Those tunics represented “sacrifice”. Death was required for that sacrifice.
Think about it: “You and I as saved Christians, are covered with the tunic of the Lamb!”
Paul specifically writes “living sacrifice”. Obviously, he is speaking metaphorically of:
service, obedience, and praise offered to God, with our mind, body and soul.
Holy- Greek transliteration in this context is:
perfect without blemish
Acceptable- Greek transliteration here is: “well pleasing”
Spiritual service (reasonable service NKJV)
Indicates that such a gift is the only rational reaction to all the good gifts God has showered down on us.
Spiritual worship
Proper worship
True worship
Spiritual service of worship
Rational, logical, intelligent act of worship
One version I read reads “it is the logical “temple worship” for you.” (CJB)
Even though these are Jewish converts, many are still worshipping in the Temple.
Acts 2:46–47 “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”
Paul is saying it is natural for us to do this. The difference is that since Christ made this once for all sacrifice, we are now called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices in our worship of God.
Keep in mind that:
Paul had been preaching almost 20 years when he wrote the book of Romans.
He was on his 3rd mission trip.
His audience in the Roman church were mostly Jewish people, but a good number of Gentiles as well.
It was written around 56 A.D.
Chapters 1-11 are heavily focused on doctrine.
Chapters 12-16 teach us how to apply that doctrine, so when he “beseeches” us, he is saying in view of everything I’ve written in the first 11 chapters. This is what you should do.
Right off the bat, Paul addresses how we are to worship God.
He is saying if you are truly thankful for our salvation, we are to live our life as a daily expression of worship.
v1. I call upon you, admonish you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies through service, obedience and praise to God, with all our mind, body, soul and strength without blemish, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, spiritual, proper and true service.
Before we move to the next passage, I’ll ask that we consider these things:
What does a living sacrifice look like and mean to us?
If we are to discern God’s will for us, our minds must be conformed to be like His.
So, as this verse as our reference, let’s consider worship through the lens of 3 other passages, beginning with:
Psalm 96.
The book of Psalms is essentially a collection of writings of praise.
The 96th Psalm is considered the sixth song of praise.
Widely attributed to King David as the writer.
Psalm 96:1–2 “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.”
Psalm 96:3–4 “Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.”
Psalm 96:5–7 “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength.”
Psalm 96:8–10 “Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.””
Psalm 96:11–13 “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”
Let’s take a view minutes to examine the praise and worship David has for the Lord.
v1-Sing, sing a new song.
In Psalms we see “sing” more than 70 times!
v2-Again David says “sing”.
He adds “proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day”.
Many scholars believe this is a prophetic vision of Christ.
What that in perspective, what does “proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day look like?
Seeking God
Praising God
Taking up our cross
Live in holiness
Reading God’s word
Studying God’s word
Continuing in one accord
v3 declare His glory and His wonders
v4 great is His name and greatly to be praised
v8 give Him the glory due
v9 worship in the beauty of His holiness
In these verses, we see how we can praise and worship God:
Sing
Proclaim the good news every day
Declare His glory and His wonders
Because His name is great, he is to be praised greatly
Give Him the glory due- ALL the glory due
Worship in the beauty of His holiness
We reflect the beauty of His holiness in:
Holy living
Holy speech
Holy disposition, or outlook on life
Worship is a choice we make to humble ourselves to express thanksgiving for our salvation.
The 96th Psalm is:
A call to praise God
A celebration of God the creator:
Psalm 96:11–12 “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.”
A celebration of the Coming One:
Psalm 96:13 “For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”
Charles Spurgeon said:
You might condense the gospel message into this joyful invitation:
Come and learn how to sing to the Lord a new song! Come and find peace, rest, joy, and all your souls can desire.
Come and eat what is good and let your soul delight.
As we close this exploration of 96th Psalm, let’s ask:
What new song might we sing to the Lord?
When we worship do we experience God’s:
Splendor
Majesty
Strength
Beauty
Do we enter His courts and His presence with praise, worship and thanksgiving?
Isaiah 12:1–2 “And in that day you will say: “O Lord, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; ‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ””
Isaiah 12:3–4 “Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation. And in that day you will say: “Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted.”
Isaiah 12:5–6 “Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!””
v1-giving thanks
v3-joy in salvation
v4-make His deeds known Hebrew transliteration for praise in this context is: “lift up your hands”
v5-sing, make it known throughout the earth
v6-shout and sing- unified cry out to the Lord
Worship demands that we focus on God’s righteousness and mercy.
I can’t help but wonder, what response does God expect or anticipate from those of us who have experienced His salvation?
And for us, has salvation put a song in our hearts?
Let’s finish up with our last passage found in:
Psalm 29:2 “Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”
This is considered David’s first psalm of praise.
After considering this verse, we might make these considerations:
How do we worship in the beauty of holiness? This expression is found in the bible only 5 times. We’ve looked at 2 of them today.
Here’s the who, what, where, when and why of worship:
Obviously the who is God
The what is surrender- Billy Graham was once asked the secret to victorious Christian living. He said there is no magic formula, but that he thought it boiled down to one word- Surrender. Worship is surrender.
Here’s the where of worship? Everywhere. Jesus gives us the answer in:
John 4:19–23 “The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”
It’s not on the mountain, or in the Temple, or in Jerusalem, but it is everywhere!
When do we worship? Always!
Psalm 146:2 “While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.”
Why do we worship? Because He is worthy
Revelation 5:12 “saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!””
Do we give the Lord ALL the glory that is due His name?
In light of this question listen to:
Revelation 4:8 “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!””
These 4 passages have similar phrasing, thoughts and intent behind them.
Just a few more questions to ponder:
Do we desire a loving relationship with Jesus through worship?
Have we met God’s requirements for those who would enter His presence?
Do we spend significant time with Him in worship, praise and prayer?
As we close today, let’s look at one more passage (Anyone remember Columbo).
This passage is the first mention of the word worship, which is shachah (shah-ha),
Which means “to bow the head below the heart”.
Genesis 22:4–5 “Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.””
A couple of verses before that, we see the first mention of the word love.
Genesis 22:2 “Then He (God) said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.””
Think about this:
Abraham loved his son, but he worshipped the Lord! Isn’t that powerful?
That is the significance and the importance of worship!
Worship is:
Spiritual, proper, true, logical, reasonable, and intelligent
We worship through:
Song
Adoration
Praise
Giving Him all He is due
Giving thanks
Declaring His beauty, strength, majesty and splendor
Entering His presence with praise, prayer and thanksgiving
As well as many other ways!
We offer our bodies daily as a living sacrifice by:
Seeking God
Praising God
Taking up our cross
Living in holiness
Reading God’s word
Studying God’s word
Continuing in one accord
and surrendering all to Him
Church, we fight our battles by worshipping our God, our creator, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
And we do this by transforming our minds
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Say goodbye to online viewers.
Men’s and women’s baskets
Ask someone to pray us out.
