Worship

Introduction

Well, good morning!

If you have a Bible and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to Romans chapter 12…Romans chapter 12.

This is our third week in our series “Devoted,” looking at spiritual disciplines, things we should devote ourselves to…things we see the Bible lay out for us that are good for us.

So far, we’ve looked at the idea of Bible intake…our need to read, and to study, and to live out the Bible, right? I hope since then, you’ve got yourself a reading plan…I hope you’ve gotten serious about Bible intake in your own life. I hope maybe you’ve talked to someone about meeting with you on a regular basis to discuss the things you’re reading.…And listen, if you haven’t come talk to me…I’ll either meet with you myself or I’ll find someone for you to meet with…Bible intake.

And then, last week, we looked at the practice of prayer. I challenged you, as we explored Paul’s letter to the church of Colossae, I challenged you to really examine your own prayer life, right? Are you persistent in it? Are you passionate? Are you grateful? Are you selfless…do your prayers point to the kingdom and not to yourself? Are you dependent on the power of God?…By the way, thank you to all those that signed up for our prayer team last week. We’ll hold a meeting very soon and we’ll get that going shortly…But prayer, its important for us individually…and it’s important for us corporately.

Which gets us to our third topic this morning…worship!

I hesitate in saying this, but at the same time, I think it’s fair to say…our culture today, our Christian culture…I’m not even talking about the world right now…our Christian culture, we have an insufficient understanding of worship. Somewhere along the way, we’ve mistaken the three or four songs we sing each week before or after the sermon to somehow be what we’d call “worship.” Like the music we sing during a service, that’s somehow become the full view of our “worship experience.” And listen, even worse, I think…its that we call it a “worship experience.” It’s become something about us. When we use that phasing to discuss what we do every week or when we use it to determine where we might choose to worship, what we’re doing, we’re placing ourselves at the very center of worship as if God is somehow obligated to reign down these blessings upon us…Like that’s why we come. But listen, worship, again, for a lot of us, its about the songs WE like to sing…we lift our hands in praise of the Lord while the music’s going…but the moment it fades, the moment the piano stops, the moment the praise team exits, we have the audacity to close our time of worship.

Worship, it goes far beyond just singing songs (which, for the record, I’m not downplaying that at all), but there’s more to it. Worship, its about us giving ourselves fully and entirely to the Lord…as an offering. It’s about us constantly and consistently coming together as redeemed people, laying who we are in totality and in completeness before the Lord. It’s about our posture…about laying ourselves before the throne of God, entrusting Him to care for every need and every want we might possibly have. It’s about us pouring ourselves out in reverence and in fear to the Lord, regardless of whether or not He blesses us in the process.

The spiritual discipline of worship, its not a singular weekly event that we partake in…it’s certainly not an event that centers around us. It’s an attitude we live with, it’s a mentality…its our aim, our purpose…the glory of God…because He alone is infinitely worthy of all glory, and honor, and power, and worship…Our attitude of worship, how we worship, it expresses what we think about God.

This discipline, its something we should devote ourselves to individually, in the way we live…and its something we should devote ourselves to corporately. Our sacrifices and our unity together as God’s people, it expresses our worship of God.

Listen, when we unify ourselves in true worship…when we’re willing to rub the shoulders of the person next to us as our voices cry out to God through song, through prayer, through giving, through serving, through the reading and study of God’s Word…we, all together, acknowledge God’s holiness and His perfection…And listen, as we do that together, worship, it begins to feel the way it was meant to feel.

Guys, we devote ourselves to true worship because of who God is, because of what He’s already accomplished through the person and work of Jesus, and because of what He’s promised to do in the future. Amen?

And so listen, if you’re there with me this morning, let’s stand and read our passage together. It says this, starting in verse 1:

Romans 12:1–5 (ESV)

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Thank you, you can be seated.

[Prayer]

If you’re taking notes, I have three points for us this morning…number 1, the object of worship…number 2, the means of worship…and then finally, number 3, the nature of worship.

And so, with that, let’s walk through this passage together.

I. The Object of Worship (v. 1)

Point number 1, the object of worship.

Look at verse 1 with me again. It says:

Romans 12:1 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Now, just some context. Paul’s the author here…the Roman church, that was the original audience. And Paul was writing this with the purposes of unifying the church by addressing tensions between the Jewish and Gentile believers. That’s why the first 11 chapters, it’s almost like a doctrinal statement of faith. Paul’s explaining the gospel, he’s providing this theological foundation, giving them a great understanding of the person and work of Christ…with the purposes of showing His sufficiency in our salvation.

Paul also wrote to this letter, with the intentions of setting this church up as a ministry hub for missionary work in Spain.

And so, the first 11 chapters, those are theological in nature, Paul explaining the gospel in great detail. And then starting in chapter 12, he begins writing about application…how to practically live out some of the things he’s been talking about.

And so, let’s go back to verse 1.

Paul says, “I appeal to you.” He’s calling us to action. He’s showing us, that our will, it’s very relevant today. While God saves us, and while God promises to sanctify us, and grow us by His own power, it doesn’t negate our responsibility. Paul just spent 11 chapters discussing the sufficiency of Christ in salvation from start to finish. How He alone is the means to that salvation…how His work, its the justification…He talked about how our work, it doesn’t make us righteous or it doesn’t make us right before God. A lot of the Jewish Christians, they were struggling with this because of how they were raised, learning the law from the Old Testament. Now, Paul’s calling them action.

“I appeal to you!” This is God, through Paul, inspiring His Word, calling us to make a choice about the way we choose to live. Pay attention to that.

He says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers...”

Remember who the audience is here…its easy for us to walk through this letter and just assume that Paul’s talking to unbelievers because of the things he’s writing about, things he says…But listen, don’t lose sight of the audience…Paul, he’s appealing (which means to beg), he’s begging Christians here to live in a certain way in light of what God’s done for them.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God.”

It just reminds us that we’re able to do this, to live in a way he’s about to lay about for us, only because of the mercy of God…because of the mercy He’s shown us. Paul describes that mercy very well in the first 11 chapters. But we’re only able to offer ourselves to God, as we’ll talk about in a moment, as God works His mercy in us, right? God commands this kind of living from us…and before Paul even addresses what that looks like, he reminds his reader here that God also makes it possible for us to do what He commands. It’s all by the mercies of God!

It’s actually opposite of how other religions work.

One author wrote this, “Whereas the heathen are prone to sacrifice in order to obtain mercy, biblical faith teaches that the divine mercy provides the basis of sacrifice as the fitting response.” Meaning, we don’t sacrifice or work with the intentions of receiving mercy…we do those things because we’ve already been shown mercy, right?

I mean, if you were to go through Paul’s letter here to Rome, here’s some of the mercies of God he’s already explained so far, up to this point.

He’s given us justification from the guilt and penalty of sin. He’s adopted us in Jesus…we’re identified with Christ. He’s placed us under grace and not the law. He’s given us the Holy Spirit, to live in us. He’s promised to help us in affliction. He’s given us assurance in our salvation, promising to secure us and sanctify us. He’s given us confidence in His coming glory…in His faithfulness. I could keep going.

In light of God’s mercy, we’re to do the things Paul says…which is to:

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

And so, in light of this mercy…we’re to present what to God?…Paul says, “Our bodies!” That’s our spiritual worship. Now, he’s gonna explain that more in just a second but I want us to focus on the object of this worship first.

I don’t think any of us, I don’t think we’d say that the object of our worship is anything other than God, right? At least I hope that’s the case this morning. And yet, we say that…we affirm that…but when we look deeper into our heart, we start to see the reality that exist there…why Paul’s appealing to us…begging us to live this way. If we look deep enough, if we’re honest enough with ourselves…our attitude when it comes to gathering together with God’s people, we start to find something very different.…Its just the nature of sin, its who we are.

A lot of us, we might come to worship, hoping for it to correct something in us…or for God to bless us in some way (and maybe He will as a result of worship)…but a lot of us, we come looking to receive something…maybe its prayer, maybe its answers, maybe its fellowship, or worth, value…whatever it is. Worship for a lot of us, its about us walking away with something. Meaning, we’ll “worship” believing that we deserve something in return…its about “what I can get out of this!”

Listen to Paul’s words here…he’s begging his reader to worship the God of the universe…not with the purposes of receiving anything. There’s nothing about that in this passage. He’s appealing to us to worship God because of who He is…he’s already laid that out prior to this chapter. We worship because God’s reigning existence is enough to merit our worship…we worship because He’s the One, True God…who’s the lord of Lords and the king of Kings. We worship despite what we may want or feel. We worship if God blesses us, we worship if He chooses not to.

We’re gonna talk about the means and the nature of worship in just a second…but guys, we have to understand that worship, it’s about God…and it’s about you acknowledging who He is and what He’s done.

We don’t gather together for us, now we benefit from that…but guys, we gather together in worship, to acknowledge the God of Salvation…because He alone is deserving.

And I know this sounds silly for us to have to go over…but I would challenge you…before you come to church, before you serve, before you give, before you do anything…consider the object of your worship. Why are you going? What are you hoping to gain or to accomplish? What’s the purpose of you serving? Why do you give?

There’s way too much “ME” or “I” in the church today…, “I want these songs…or I want the preacher to preach about this…or I don’t like this!…I’m not gonna serve here because its inconvenient or I have to sacrifice too much time or too much money.”

Dear friend, if worship (which again isn’t JUST about gathering once a week…we’re gonna see that in just a moment), if worship is some of those things for you…the object of your worship isn’t God at all…It’s you. You don’t actually have a problem with any of things you’re laying out, you just have a “YOU” problem…which Paul already addressed in the first 11 chapters, it’s not about you…it’s about Jesus.

Isaiah 42:8, the Lord says:

Isaiah 42:8 ESV

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other,

God doesn’t share His worship or His glory with you…He doesn’t share it with me…He’s certainly not gonna give it to the things of this world. Now we benefit from the glory of God…but don’t mistake God’s grace and God’s mercy for your worship.

The object of our worship, its Jesus!

II. The Means of Worship (v. 2)

Point number 2, the means of worship.

Look at verse 2 with me again. It says:

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

And so, the means of worship or the action of worship…Paul just said that worship, it involves our bodies, right? Presenting our bodies as a sacrifice to the Lord. And according to him, we do that by presenting them as holy and acceptable. That’s what worship looks like. Now it could certainly take the form of what we do together on Sunday mornings. But it’s not limited to this time.

Worship, it simply us presenting ourselves acceptable to the Lord.

Of course, we know…when we have the right view of God and the right view of ourselves…we know its impossible for us to approach God in that way on our own, right? And so, what’s Paul getting at here?

Well, I think that’s where verse 2 comes in. Paul starts to describe how this act of worship takes place…what it looks like.

He says, “Don’t be conformed to the world, instead be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”

I think the first part of this statement, it’s pretty obvious…we’re to turn from the world. You remember when we walked through Revelation, I showed you that the world, when John talked about it, it was always referring to darkness and sin. That’s the same way its used here. As we see throughout Scripture, the world, it’s in constant rebellion against God. And it will, if we allow it, it will conform us to ungodly patterns. It will…That’s why God warned Cain in Genesis chapter 4, “Be careful, sin, it crouches at the door and it’s desire is for you!” If we put ourselves in the world, even as maturer Christians, we’ll begin to take on some of the worlds characteristics. It’s something that can’t be helped…its why this walk is so hard…is why we need genuine accountability and confession in the church.

And listen, accountability might be happening in some areas, but confession’s not…and without constant confession from us individually, it’s proof we’re more wrapped up in the world than we might wanna admit.

James says this in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

When’s the last time either you confessed to another Christian, sins that you’ve fallen into…or when’s the last time someone else came to you and confessed their sins? I think it’s safe to say, we wouldn’t have many hands in the room pop up…whether that’s with our spouse, our children, our brothers and sisters…we don’t confess with one another, not because there’s no sin in our life…but because we’re wrapped up in the world. The idea that Paul’s presenting here, its one of constant repentance…which was the message of Jesus.

Do you live a life of constant repentance? Do you model a life for your children and those around you of constant repentance? One where you’re constantly turning from the world and where you’re turning to Jesus to be transformed?

Paul says, “Don’t be conformed to the world…resist that pattern of living.”

Guys, if he was inspired to write this down, don’t think for a second that you don’t struggle with this…don’t think for a second your kids don’t struggle with this.” Put yourself in positions that transform your mind…surround yourself with people who edify you in this area…Same goes for your kids, put ‘em areas that do the same. We’re gonna talk about this in other sermons, later in the year…there’s been several families in our church that have come to me, concerned about the education opportunities their kids have, they’re concerned not so much with the academic pieces but with the worldview pieces…the people their kids are around, the things being instilled in them. That’s part of what Paul’s talking about here…we go out into the world to evangelize (that’s our mission), but we come back together into godly community to live (so that we can be transformed).

Guys, hear Paul…be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The opposite of being conformed to the world, its being transformed by renewing your mind with contrary things, right? And listen, it’s a battle ground…its a battle between being conformed and being transformed. You have to recognize that. This isn’t an easy thing.

And the way we begin to renew the mind, its getting past our feelings, its getting past our opinions, its getting past what we think. That’s the problem with most Christians today, they’re not being transformed because we can’t get past what we think’s best. We live our lives and we make our decisions based simply on feelings.

Dear friend, a life based on feelings, it’s constantly saying, “How do I feel today? How do I feel about my job? How do I feel about my wife or my husband? How do I feel about worship? How do I feel about the preacher (I think he was great a year ago when he was talking about issues I don’t deal with…but now that he’s talking about something that convicts me, he’s wrong! My feelings are what matters).

A life of feelings, it’ll never know the transforming power of God because it completely ignores the renewing of the mind…which we know can only come through the discipline of Bible intake and prayer.

Renewing our minds, it takes us being committed to the things we know has the power to shape us. And so, I know we have to go out in the world…I know we have to send our kids out into the world…but are we and are they just as much in the things that have the power to renew us, are we in those things just as much as we are in the things that conform us?

Only Jesus can transform you. That’s why he said in Matthew 4:19, “Follow me, and I WILL make you…I’ll transform you…into fishers of men!” Jesus does that through His word and through our prayers.

And listen, God’s not against the principles of feeling or doing…We see throughout Scripture God’s a God of powerful, passionate feeling, right? And He commands over and over again for us to be doers…In fact, that’s the basis of our worship to God according to Paul here…We’re to present our bodies, right, as holy and acceptable. Meaning, there has to be some level of feeling and doing…It’s just that YOUR feelings and YOUR actions minus the Word of the God, those things are an insufficient foundation for the Christian life. You have to turn from that…you have to devote yourself to the Scriptures, to a foundation of truth…so that you can begin acting out, through the Spirit, things that please God.

And so, what’s holy and acceptable? How do we present ourselves to God in this manner? Look at Paul’s statement in verse 2…we do it by testing what comes out of us to the will of God. We’re to constantly put things through that filter…, “Is this thing acceptable to God? Does it bring honor to God? Would this decision be pleasing to Him? Does it grow me in my relationship with God?” And based on the Scriptures (which reveal the will of God) and based on the Spirit in us, we act out what we know to be good and true. That’s worship. It’s a constant attitude of worship.

Worship, it’s us presenting to God the totality of our lives. Every single aspect falls at the feet of Jesus. Our mundane tasks, our family decisions, the ways we spend our money, how we choose to raise our kids, the things we invest in…every aspect of our life, it has the potential for worship. And I want you to understand exactly what Paul’s getting at here…its not just that every aspect has potential. Paul’s saying, as Christians, every aspect SHOULD be used for worship. We’re called to submit to God in everything…to be slaves, to be servants to Him.

It’s not “we have our life on one hand,” and then “we have the church on the other.” That’s this ridiculous American mindset that’s been impressed upon you…this idea that’s there’s this separation between church and everything else. I mean you learn this idea from grade school (for the record, that’s not how our country was established). But these ideas, they’re instilled in you, even if you don’t wanna admit it. We have God and the church in one camp…and we have our lives in another. And if those two things begin to blur together, our life part typically wins out. (We’re gonna talk about this idea more in just a moment).

But guys, worship…its us totally and completely giving ourselves to the Lord and acting out in ways (in every aspect of our life) that pleases God.

That’s what worship is…and our means, its ourselves, our bodies…Worship, its about how we choose to act out in this life God’s so graciously given us.

Which moves us to the next and final point.

III. The Nature of Worship (vv. 3-5)

Point number 3, the nature of worship.

Look at verses 3 through 5 with me again. It says:

Romans 12:3–5 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

And so, the nature of worship…the features, what it looks like.

Paul says, “Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to…” Why? Because the nature of worship, it involves humility. When we see ourselves for who we really are…it’s impossible to be given over to pride. And what happens, we start to see one another with godlike eyes. We stop focusing on ourselves, and we shift that gaze outwardly. We see the needs of our brothers and sisters, and we elevate those needs.

You see, the giving of ourselves (that Paul’s talking about here), it happens within the body of Christ. It’s when God’s family begins acting out in a way it was designed to. That’s why Paul continues, “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”

One of the biggest misconceptions in American Christianity today, its again this idea that there’s a separation between church and every other area of your life. Church has become more of a verb for us, more so than it is a noun…Its become something we do instead of something we are. And if we’re honest, we don’t categorize the people here at FBC…we don’t put them on the same level as our earthly families. In fact, they’re way beneath them…Heck, there’s people that’s been here for months and years and some of you probably still don’t even know their name…Because of the way we were raised, because of the culture we were brought up in, we don’t treat the people here like we’re called to. And as a result, we’re robbing God of worship.

I wanna be very very clear this morning…when you turned from the world and when you turned to Jesus, Him and His body, those things became the priority of your life. That’s why Jesus said in Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he what? He CANNOT be my disciple.”

Now, we’re not called to hate…Jesus is just making a point here…but we’re called to forsake everything we know and love…and we’re called to follow Jesus, we’re called to give Him our life it says here…which is exactly what Paul just said.

Guys, pay attention to what Jesus is getting at…upon following Him, our family, it becomes the body of Christ…because in reality, we’re apart of the same marriage relationship. Can you imagine a marriage relationship where there’s zero intimacy, zero commitment…zero investment?

And you say, “Well, what about my wife and my kids…what about my parents?”

Guys, the church and the family, those things aren’t meant to be at odds with one another. The family, its a blueprint for how the church should operate. Jesus, His desire, its to bring restoration to you and your family together. When you actually begin to follow Jesus, when you place your full trust in Him, He’ll so radically change you, it’ll impact them as well.

Dad’s if you’re leading in the home…mom, and son, or daughter…trust me when I say this…they’re gonna see what’s happened in you and they’re gonna turn to Jesus. If you’re living a radically changed life and if you’re prioritizing the things that bring worship to God, people will see that and it’ll radically impact them as well.

Look at the jailers story in Acts chapter 16 (this is just one example):

Acts 16:30–34 ESV

Then he brought them out {this is Paul and his associates} and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (this is the jailer) And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

The repetition there, its him and his entire household…They said if the jailer would simply believe in Jesus, him and his whole household, they’d be saved.

Now, I want you to hear me…I’m not challenging your salvation…but hear me…You might just be struggling in your walk, there might be this constant conflict, because you haven’t completely turned from everything in your life (which includes people as well), you haven’t completely followed Jesus. The church and your life, they’re still at odds with one another, there’s still some dividers between the two…you haven’t fully let go of some things. Your loyalty…or your commitment, it’s to someone or something else.

Guys, if you would embrace Jesus and the church for what it is, His body, your new family as a redeemed person…I think you’d start to see fruit in ways you never could’ve imagined before. Stop resisting, stop fighting…give yourself fully to the Lord and leave the world you know behind you.

And guys, hear me…I’m not saying we shouldn’t invest in our earthly families, we have a huge responsibility to them. Our families, they’re our greatest evangelistic tool in reaching the world, they’re our greatest blessings…I’m just saying, they should know just how important the church and these people are in your life. They should know you would drop everything to be there for your brothers and sisters. Your spouse should know that…you should be teaching your kids that.

Listen, there should be zero divides between your family and the church, those two things should be the same. It’s not God, Family, Church…again, that’s our culture. It’s God and Family…because your family is the church. And you as a believer, your desire and your aim, your prayers, they should be directed toward blending your earthly families with your church family.

Trust me when I say this, there’s so many here that are faithful to this assembly but their spouse or maybe a parent, whoever, they don’t come with ‘em…they’re not believers…And listen, they’re praying for those they love to join us in fellowship. Like they’re following Jesus because they love Jesus, and they’ve chosen to prioritize this spiritual family because they see this family in a whole different light…their greatest desire, its to see those they love most as a part of this family…because they understand the importance of this family…and because they know what this family represents.

We’ve been grafted into a new family…and together, we get to enter into the holy of holies as one people, unified under the same blood.

Do you see this church family, the body of Christ, as your priority in this earthly life? Because that’s the nature of worship. That’s the picture Revelation 4 and 5 gives us in eternity.

We can’t worship God the way He deserves without us together, giving ourselves to one another…which certainly includes worshiping like this together…but it also includes us serving alongside one another, confessing to one another, fellowshipping with one another, caring for one another, praying for one another, giving to one another, loving one another…I mean the list goes on and on. There’s actually about 59 times we’re given “one another” passages in the New Testament…things we should be doing for one another within the body.

Our memory verse from last year:

Acts 2:42–47 ESV

And they [the church] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

They were a big family, right? That’s what we’re called to. We’re called to follow Jesus by committing ourselves to one another. Our life, as Paul says, it’s given in totality to Jesus…that’s our spiritual worship…that’s the means of our worship, our bodies, our lives, right?

But pay attention here, worship, it can’t happen alone. That’s why there’s passages like, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:19-20). Notice it doesn’t say where you’re gathered alone in His name, right?…It takes us being together, as God’s people.

Other places, in the New Testament, Paul says that our bodies are a temple…that they’re holy…But listen, the word for body, it’s plural in nature…Meaning, our bodies, together as God’s people, that’s the temple of God, that’s where we experience His fullness. That’s where genuine worship happens, right? In the fullness of God, in His temple…which is the nature of worship. It’s together as God’s people, loving and serving and prioritizing each other for the purpose of God’s glory.

Closing

And so listen, in closing, at its core, worship, its a corporate discipline that we do with one another. And guys, the more we do it, the more we experience the glory of God, the more we grow in our individual walks. But understand, you can’t do it alone…you can’t just do it in your homes by yourself or even just with your family (which certainly needs to happen); you can’t do it alone. It takes God’s people coming together in godly community.

We have to be disciplined in this, we have to find ways to grow in this…because as Paul lays out in Ephesians 4, this is how we experience the fullness of Christ. Its together, as God’s people.

And so, what’s the object of your worship? Do you see everything through a lens of God’s pleasure and God’s glory?

What’s the means of your worship? Like, have you given yourself in totality to Him? Are you giving your time to the family He’s called you too, even outside of Sunday morning? Are you giving financially to the church, for His kingdom? Are you giving your giftings and your other resources for the worship of God?…The means of our worship, it’s us completely. What are you holding back?

And listen, what’s the nature of your worship? Do you see the people here as a great gift to you, and do you serve them and love them appropriately?…Personally, this is why I think membership’s so important, why you should join a local church once you know where God’s called you to be…it’s about us committing to one another…Are you committed to the people around you? I want you to look around the room here…are you committed to these people? That’s how we worship, together.

We do it here on Sunday mornings…we do it here on Wednesday nights…we do it in home groups…we do it in knot groups. ..we do it when we go on mission. We do it outside of our gatherings. Are you committed to these people? Do you know these people? Are you serving these people? It has to be a discipline for us.

Listen, that’s what I want you to think about as we move into a time of response. Fair enough?

Would you bow your head and close your eyes with me this morning?

Are you disciplined in this area? Are you holding each other accountable in this area? Do you care about God’s worship in this way?

I want you to search your heart this morning? Why are you here? What do hope to accomplish or gain? How to do view the people around you?

I want you to take this time, as the praise team leads us in worship, and I want you to take these things to the feet of Jesus.

But listen, if you’re here and you’re battling with your salvation this morning. Guys, the world throws a lot at us…it’s dark, its sinful, according to the Bible, its desire, its for you…it wants to conform you to things that pull you from God and His goodness.

Guys, understand that God created you…and He created you with the purposes of you finding joy and pleasure in Him…But since Genesis chapter 3, we chose to rebel against God…and sin, from that point on, its caused us to question God and His Word. We think we know what’s best…we think we’ve got our lives all figured out. But time and time again, we find ourselves in these terrible situations that we’ve created. And listen, you might think you have it all figured out…but because the wages of sin is death, you’re gonna die and there’s nothing you can do about that.

God created you for life. Death was never the purpose of God. That’s why Jesus came…He came to give life to the dead…Jesus, being God, He took on the form of man…He lived a perfect, sinless life…He went to the cross, He took on the punishment for your sin…He died your death.

And the Bible says, all you have to do to receive the life God intended from the start, it’s to turn from your sin nature, turn to Jesus…believe in your heart that He’s Lord, that He rose from the dead. You do that, and according to the Bible, you will be saved…You’ll given eternal life…you’ll be given a new family that now as the ability to enter into the presence of God together…you’ll be given a new purpose…everything becomes new.

And so listen, maybe you just need to take some time to do that this morning. I’m actually gonna be down front…if you’re wrestling with that in your heart right now…listen, I just wanna challenge you, would you come talk to me during this time?

And so listen, whatever it is, whoever you are…I just want you take this time…respond to what the Spirit’s doing in your heart right now and then we’ll close together in prayer.

[Prayer]