Sermon Tone Analysis

WORSHIP AS A LIFESTYLE           ROMANS12:1-2

 

 

            I would like you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn to the letter that Paul wrote to the Romans, particularly the twelfth chapter.

Let us concentrate on the first two verses of this chapter.

Paul in these verses deals with the subject that we began to discuss last week, which is worship.

In fact, the last phrase at the end of verse one which states “which is your spiritual worship” (your rational service; your spiritual service of worship).

I want us to meditate on this phrase for a minute or two, so that we can better understand these two verses.

The word spiritual comes from the Greek word logikos, which means in the realm of the soul.

Therefore, what Paul is saying is that worship comes from the inside.

It is a part of the inner man.

This is why he calls it spiritual.

There are many who confuse worship with songs that are being sung.

They associate worship with a certain style of music.

Music is an outward expression of worship, just like prayer and giving.

But true worship comes from the heart.

There are many who worship outwardly, but there inner man is never engaged in the activity.

I can sing songs all day long and never worship God because I am going through the motions.

So, we need to understand that worship comes from the heart.

This word is translated in some versions of the Bible as reasonable (logical).

Therefore, we can say that worship is only reasonable and logical to give to God.

It is only right for believers to offer God wholehearted devotion.

The other word that I want us to meditate on this morning is the word worship.

The Greek word here is defined as religious worship and not just any kind of worship.

Remember there are people who worship their stock portfolios, jobs, hobbies, and things.

This is not religious worship, even though some of them might do it religiously.

No, the worship that Paul is talking about here is that of a priestly activity.

The priests in the Old Testament were active in the worship of the Lord from the prayers offered and the sacrifices made.

So worship is an action that involves the heart, mind and soul.

It is wholehearted devotion to the Lord.

Nothing less!

Therefore it is an action that comes from the heart, spiritual.

This is the kind of worship that God desires and is acceptable to Him.

Christian worship is not a one or a two or a three hour a week activity.

It’s a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week activity; it’s a whole life activity.

In other words, the kind of worship God wants from us is whole life worship; it’s all of life worship.

Worship isn’t an activity confined to Sunday morning or evening.

I don’t mean by saying this to downplay the importance of corporate worship at all.

It’s just that God wants His worship in all of our lives, in the priorities that we choose; He wants us to be worshiping Him.

In the restraint of our own sinful habits, He wants us to be worshipping Him.

Derek Thomas just shared with me a letter this afternoon that was incredible convicting because it told a story of a friend of ours who is a minister, he’s been over preaching in Latvia.

He was robbed and he wasn’t robbed on the sidewalk.

As he went into his house, a man burst through his door, held a knife to his head, blindfolded him, stuffed a rag down his throat, and put him on the floor.

The man thought he was going to die right there.

As he was on the floor, he tells us he thought, "You know, I had this knife and it was poking at my back in my spine and I thought I could die at any moment and it’s always been my practice that when I experience pain in life, to think of the pain that Christ experienced for me.

So, I began meditating."

He was on the floor for forty-five minutes experiencing this thing, he’s meditating on the pain of Christ, the suffering of Christ on his behalf, the sovereignty of God, the mercies of God to him, while he’s being robbed.

What was he doing?

He was worshipping God.

There was no corporate worship service call for that hour, but he was worshipping God with his mind, with his heart while he was being robbed.

The Apostle Paul is saying, that’s what I want from you, Christian.

I want a Christians who is a twenty-four hour, seven-day a week worship machine.

You are always thinking about glorifying God, you’re always thinking about adoring God and in every mundane event of life, or every extraordinary event of life your agenda is to be a person who is worshipping God.

As we walk through this passage, I want you to see several elements that are important for our worship.

They are the motivation, the mandate, the manner and the method of worship.

First, let us look at the motivation for worship.

MOTIVATION FOR WORSHIP

            Let me ask you a question, “Why do you worship?”

What is your motivation for worship?

Do you worship because you want to be seen as a worshipper of the Lord.

Do you worship because you think it is the right thing to do.

Or do you worship because this is what you have always done.

Here, Paul gives us the motivation for worship.

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

Paul says here that the reason, the motivation behind our worship should be God’s mercies.

What Paul is saying is that in light of God’s mercies already given you, and then you have reason to worship the Lord?

Ligon Duncan said, “If you think that what Paul is saying is, "That if you’ll just obey, and if you’ll just obey well enough, God will love you," you’ll probably either end up rejecting Christianity, or you’ll end up clinging on to some kind of Christianity, but you’ll be angry with God all the time.

That’s not what Paul is asking you.

He’s not saying, just obey well enough and God will show you His mercy.

He’s saying, God’s already shown you His mercy in Jesus Christ.

In light of that, give yourself as a living sacrifice.

Love God and obey God and love His law and live the Christian life because of His mercy to you.

In fact, the first eleven chapters of the book of Romans deal with the mercies of God through His Son Christ Jesus.

If you read the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul communicates the great wonders of God’s salvation.

In chapter one, Paul says that God’s salvation is for all who believe.

In chapter two, Paul says it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance.

In other words, God does not destroy us in His wrath.

In chapter three, Paul says this salvation comes by faith and not by works or the law.

In chapter four, Paul illustrates this righteousness by faith in the life of Abraham.

In chapter five, Paul states that death came to all through one man’s sin, Adam; also God’s salvation comes to all through one man, Jesus Christ.

In chapter 6, Paul said, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In chapter seven, salvation in Christ releases us from the law.

In chapter 8, as a result of salvation there is no condemnation for those in Christ and our salvation is eternal.

In chapter 9-11, salvation includes Jews and Gentiles.

Here are things of which Paul has written that can be included in the category the mercies of God...eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, resurrection, sonship and on going intercession...and more.

Our response to these great truths of mercies is worship.

That is why when Paul comes to the end of listing the mercies of God, he’s about to burst.

And so in verse 33 of chapter 11 of Romans, he bursts forth with these words, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways, for who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor, or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again?

It is all inscrutable, it is all undeserved.

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be the glory forever, amen.”

Paul goes on in chapters 12, 13, 14, 15 and in the last chapter, chapter 16, but he can’t contain himself.

At the end of chapter 16 and again it comes out.

Verse 25, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but is now manifest, and by the Scripture of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God has been made known to all the nations leading to obedience of faith to the only wise God through Jesus Christ be the glory forever.

Amen.”

It’s all to Him.

He starts in verse 25, “To Him who establishes us according to the gospel through the preaching of the cross, to Him who has given us the revelation of the mystery, meaning the New Testament, the scriptures, to Him who has brought all nations to salvation, leading to the obedience of faith, to Him be all the glory through Jesus Christ.”

The Apostle Paul has these doxological outbursts all through his writing in some of the most amazing places.

They appear again and again.

One that I love is at the end of chapter 3 in Ephesians, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, He has given us mercies that are unimaginable.

To Him who is able to do this according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

Amen.”

Bottom line, the more scripture you know, the more doctrine you know, the more worship you give.