Worship 3
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Introduction
Introduction
Text: Romans 12:1-2
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.
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.
Introduction
Today we have come to the last part of our series on worship. We have come to the fruit of worship!
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
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 we are 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
who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
"Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy"
Is it 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 as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship 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 can also be 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
1. I don’t like to let others see me worshiping God
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
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?
Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
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.
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.
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.
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. Surrender
1. 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 we spoke about this in our message on the expression 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
2. Sacrifice
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.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
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 sacrifice.
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
What sacrifice? What mercy?
Objection #3
3. I’m too old to change the way I worship
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?
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.
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!