Worship As A Way Of Life, Pt. 2 Series

Last week we began to discover that worship is a total way of life of loving our Lord that will stand up under the scrutiny of God himself:

If God were asked to strip all the excess away:

• our status in the community,

• our promotion at work,

• the car/SUV in our driveway

• the success of our parties

• our grades at school

• the hominess of our house,

• the beauty of our garden

• the accomplishments of our children

• the padding of our bank account

• the stories of our troubles past . . . AND present

• even, even our service FOR God IN the Church

would we love him? Would it show? If God shined the spotlight on our:

• inner self

• on our relationships away from the stage of the church building and small groups

• on our daily activities when no one is lookin

• even on our inner heart—our motives when we gather for worship together,

would it find a solid love and devotion for Him, or a shadowy mist that vanishes under the intense light of God’s scrutiny?

Such were the thoughts of David in the 26th Psalm. In fact as we read, we will discover that David is CONFIDENT that the Lord will find in Him a servant who really and truly loves him. He even INVITES the Lord to test him, to examine even his most private self, to discover what he is made of.

Read Ps 26: 1-12

BIG IDEA: True worship is a total way of life of loving our Lord that will stand up under the scrutiny of God himself—and in spite of our circumstances:

The reason we are looking at worship is that many consider it one of the disciplines that a Christian can practice to mature in the lord.

Reminder:

“disciplines,” especially spiritual disciplines, or habits, are NOT “works righteousness.” They are NOT ways we attain the Lords favor. They are tools he gives us to grow and love in ever increasing ways.

What makes them beneficial for us are the habits and positive influence and expression they give to our spiritual and redeemed bodies, hearts, and relationships.

As such, they are USELESS unless accompanied with Love. If we just DO them, but don’t have love as our motive, they will profit us nothing. But as we engage in them, we will ALSO be enabled to grow in our love.

How is it possible to live a life of love for our Lord—to worship him—in such a way that will stand up to His Scrutiny? Let us look at several elements

Last week we looked at the fundamental, the supreme, the first element of “total worship” that stands up under God’s scrutiny is:

1. He has chosen to love us—in spite of our weakness

His love will always be greater than our love for Him.

And when he looks at us, he sees Jesus, and His sacrifice for us.

This means that in the end, it is not so much the weight of our love that stands, it is really His love for us that allows us to be in his presence.

But while God’s love for us saves us from our sins, there is no room for us to become couch potato Christians—to think we can sit back and enjoy our salvation with no responsibilities.

To paraphrase Dallas Willard in his book ‘The Spirit of the Disciplines’ : Worship, as a discipline, is “our part” of expressing our love for Him, to see him as worthy, and to honor him with everything we have.

Transition: we become true worshippers when our worship moves beyond the four walls of the church—and into our daily lives.

1. True Worship Moves Beyond the Four Walls of the “Church” and into our Daily Lives

Have you ever thought “I can’t wait to get to the house of the Lord to worship?” “I just love getting my batteries recharged “at church!”?” Well, there is some truth in those statements.

But the danger is that we segment our life in ways that are unscriptural. We wall off our lives in ways God never intended. We end up separating our “church lives” from our “real lives.”

If we do that, we deny the Bible, its perspective, its authority, and its power for ‘round the clock, disciplined and powerful living.

Romans 12:1, expresses worship as a continuous act beyond the four walls:

Ro 12:1 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.

It doesn’t say

• “wait till 10:30” until you can really offer God worship”, or

• If you are really spiritual, plug in a point of Grace CD on your way home from work