Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the nature, context and actions we call worship to discover that we can be doing worship type things, like singing hymns and listening to sermons and giving at the offering, and even taking communion, but still not enter the place of worshipping God. We can be feeding our need for Jesus with something that looks good on the surface but does not have the Spirit of Holy worship deeper down at its core. Friends, worship is not to be primarily directed at sinners who need to be converted or people in the pews that expect to be entertained. If we really want to gather together in worship to be met by the God Almighty, the Creator of the universe, the One who sustains and redeems our lives, we must move into a powerful inner experience. What Happens When Power Comes Out Of You?
Scripture: Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Luke 6:12-19 (NRSV)
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:6-15 (NRSV)
Message: Serving takes energy, but there is a refilling and recharging.
I am in what we call “worship” just about every Sunday morning. But what I am discovering is that the place of worship and the acts and order of worship, are not as important as our response to them day to day. We need to have our spiritual batteries recharged but we also need to use that power for a purpose. The essence of worship is ultimately a response of the heart…our heart crying out after the heart of God and responding in the Spirit with power. Worship is therefore not only knowing about God but hungering for God’s inspiration…pouring out the spirit in truth that revitalizes us. In today’s scripture from the Gospel of Luke we see an example of worship that is a manifestation of God’s glory, for in it we see the presence, price and prize of worship that must be uncovered. When we look a little deeper, we begin to understand that seeing it in scripture and having it manifested in our lives can be two separate events. It is here I think we are to discover that worship is not confined to a place with actions ordered in a way to make them please God but the process of revealed truth in the presence of love, humility, repentance and reverence below the surface. Friends, in Christ is the focal point of the meaning of life and that extends beyond worship on Sundays into the very roots of our existence. And then here out in the world, as Christians, we wonder if our roots in Christ go deep enough, for we sense we should do more and be more. But the reality is that millions upon millions of believers live their lives in complete obscurity. Hardly anyone knows them, and few know their names. They live quite lives out of the limelight.
And So, this morning I was wondering what the Apostle Paul would have to say and the interesting thing is that in the letter to the Colossians he addresses this issue about not needing to be a superstar but instead finding our roots in Christ and gradually growing. Friends, the deal is that we have Jesus and the encouraging words from Paul is that Jesus is enough because Jesus births in us the Christian mind and the Christian life and a Christian power that works in us below the surface and in our communities often unseen like salt in a stew. Friends, Christians make all the difference in the world even though the world hardly see us. As Christians we are to be in submission to love with selfless concern. This avoids problems whereas pride multiplies them. This puts us in a position of judging fairly. Paul lived in a time–much like today–when there was a lot of interest in spirituality. Some people were into worshipping angels. Others were coming up with creative theories about Jesus. In his letter to the church in Colossae, Paul kept it simple. He advises them and us to build our spiritual life and worship on Christ alone.
Pray we worship in spirit and truth. Pray our worship experience is a healing experience. Pray we have the right attitude. Pray we have a broken and contrite heart that longs for God’s presence. Pray we understand the price and the prize of Jesus. Pray we have faith. Pray we are not only interested in outward appearances but inward ones as well. Pray we honor God by worshipping at the feet of Jesus in service. Pray that we are more interested in the giver than the gift. Pray that in our worship we are a blessing to Jesus. Pray we worship in the faith, joy and power of knowing that Christ, our Redeemer, lives. Pray that the more forgiveness we experience the more we want to love Jesus and all His sheep. Pray that we look beyond the outward appearance of both place and people to discover the purpose of worship in growing our love for Christ and others. Pray we not just scratch the surface of the Christian faith but experience a deeper faith that quietly and patiently shifts the balance of power. Pray we encourage others. Pray that below the surface in the roots of our existence we are always worshipping God so God’s power might flow in and through us for Jesus’ glory. Pray our lives and actions are connected to the power of the Universe manifested in Christ Jesus.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 