“Your Spiritual Worship”
Scripture Lesson: Romans 12:1-2
Sermon Transcript for July 20, 2008
By Pastor Dr. Andy Kinsey
Prayer of Preparation
O Lord, may we always worship you in spirit and in truth as we listen for your Word in the power of your Holy Spirit. In Christ’s name. Amen.
The Message
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
Your spiritual act of worship: to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.
I am sure there are other passages of Scripture that would capture the meaning of worship. I am sure we could spend time thumbing through the Bible searching for those moments when God’s people experienced the power of God in worship (like Isaiah in the Temple or the disciples at Pentecost). I am sure we could look and find those stories in the Bible that could help us to understand what the worship of God is about.
But I cannot think of a passage of Scripture that speaks more directly to what worship entails than what the apostle Paul says to the church in Rome. Here, in two powerful verses in the Letter to the Romans are thoughts and practices that go to the heart of Christian worship: worship is about offering our bodies, our lives as “living sacrifices” to God.
Last week, as we gathered, Pastor Bob shared with us insights about
the treasures of worship. We learned about the ways in which we structure our
space in order to connect with God – the symbols, the altar, the history
of this place, the people, the saints of God, all set apart to worship God.
With the prophet Isaiah, we learned how, when we come into this sanctuary, we
are to approach God in reverence and awe, knowing that God wants to touch and
transform us, knowing that the Spirit of God wants to communicate to us the
merits of Christ’s love, knowing that God wants to welcome us as children.
And so, we worship! Week after week, Sunday after Sunday, we come to this place to sing, to pray, to hear Scripture, to listen to God’s Word in music and in sermon, to fellowship with one other. We come to this place often after a busy and hectic week, our minds distracted, thinking about “this” or “that” concern, questioning what did or did not happen throughout the week, pondering what the Lord wants me to do.
So many times when Sunday comes around we wonder: Is it worth it? Do I go or not go to worship? Kids to dress! Breakfast to prepare! Dogs barking! Cars that won’t start! And we ask ourselves: “All right, Lord, this better be good!” “I’d better get something out of it!” All this hassle just to go! And off to church we go!
Now, just to ease your consciences a little bit, I want to assure you that you are in the right place! In preparing for the message, for example, I came across some statistics about how truly safe “being in worship in church” is. And so, in case you may have doubts as to why you are here, let me comfort you with the following morals as to how truly safe being in worship in church is. For instance, did you know that…
20% of all serious accidents take place in automobiles!
What’s the Moral? Do not ride in your car!
17% of all serious bodily accidents take place in the home!
The Moral: Do not stay at home!
16% of all accidents take place by rail, air, or water.
The Moral: Do not take the train, plane, or boat!
14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians!
The Moral: Do not cross the street!
Now: the kicker! Only .001% of all deaths occur in worship services
in church!
The Moral: the safest place for you to be at any time is in worship in church!
You have come to a good, safe, place!
Or, have you?! I mean, in thinking about what worship is, in considering
what our passage says about “offering our bodies as living
sacrifices to God,” is this really a safe place?
Now, to be sure, we want you to feel comfortable when you come to worship. Right!? We all want you, whether you are a long-time member or a new guest, to feel welcomed and connected. We all want you to feel that this is a place where you will feel welcomed, and valued, appreciated. Right!? As a simple act of hospitality, that’s the goal! That’s part of our ministry.
And yet, when it comes to our spiritual act of worship of God, we are confronted with some other realities. And one of those realities of worship is sacrifice! Sacrifice! It’s a biblical principle:
Last Sunday, when Bob referred to the altar, he was speaking about how our worship of God will always involve the placing of our lives on the altar of God; the altar is not simply a piece of furniture; it is reminder that we are here to present our bodies, our selves, to God!
However we may understand worship, as “formal” or “informal,” or as “traditional” or “contemporary,” if worship does not involve sacrifice, if it does not involve “letting go” of our egos, if it does not move us upward to God and outward to neighbor, then true, spiritual worship is not taking place.
In fact, as Christians, we believe worship must involve movement: it must involve a movement out of self and into God, a movement out of concern of self and into concern of other, a movement that breaks the destructive pattern of sin and reorders the heart to God.
Therefore, our true, spiritual worship is not so much about what we “do” one hour a week and then go home as it is... A way of life that involves “loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength – all the time
Our spiritual worship involves the whole of us, all the time – moving us upward and outward as living sacrifices to God.
Years ago I came across the great quote from the preacher and evangelist Dwight L. Moody, who, after witnessing many folks come to Christ at a revival, and who were beginning to become full of themselves, told them that “It is not how high you jump, or how loud you shout, but how straight you walk when you land, that’s important!”
If our worship of God becomes too focused on us, there is good likelihood we have lost our way!
When was a senior in high school, I felt the call into the ministry. I grew up in the little town of Mt. Vernon, Indiana, along the Ohio River, where I attended a small United Methodist congregation. It was a church where I experienced God’s grace, and where I learned the care and love of other committed Christians.
Therefore, when I felt the call into the ministry, I began to preach in churches around the county. This was news, because, at the time, most folks thought I was going to play basketball in college. And so, when they discovered I was going into the ministry, they began to invite me to speak. One of the places was a little Baptist/Pentecostal church.
I accepted the invitation! And I thought to myself: This will be a good experience! And it was! For little did I know at the prayer meeting what was about to happen: speaking in tongues, shouting, being slain in the spirit, groaning! All of these things began to happen! And I hadn’t even preached yet!
Now, as an eighteen year old, I didn’t know what was taking place. And it would take years of experience in the ministry to learn more and to appreciate more that kind of worship experience.
But what I have learned over the years is that, when it comes to the worship of God, we can – no matter our background – abuse and misuse God’s good gifts. We can, if we are not mindful of Christ’s ways, manipulate and control. And we can become cynical. We can lose focus. And before we know worship has become “spectacle”!
Have you been following the news about the pastor in Florida with all the miracles and healings? Apparently, people are coming by the thousands! But it has not been without controversy! Folks, even in the Pentecostal churches, are questioning what is really going on! Is it of God, or isn’t it of God? Is this a show, or is it the real deal?
Three years I ago I was fortunate to go on a Renewal Leave, and on that “leave,” I was able to spend tens days St. John’s Monastery in Minnesota living with Benedictine monks. And every morning at seven o’clock we would gather for prayer and Scripture. We would then gather at ten, twelve, five, three, and seven. Everyday this was the routine. Nothing fancy, nothing extravagant. Only faithfulness! And a great deal of silence!
In fact, if you didn’t know what was going on, you would think these monks didn’t have the Spirit! You would look at them and say, “They aren’t doing anything! So boring! So dull!”
And yet, here they were serving as teachers, serving as missionaries,
serving as pastors and priests, serving as chaplains, serving as administrators
– offering their lives as a living sacrifice to God, worshiping the Lord
with gladness.
It’s not how loud you shout or how high jump that’s important, but
how straight you walk when you come down! That’s important!
Because, you see, the question is not so much how we worship; the question is, Who will you worship?
You and I are going to worship! You and I have been hardwired to worship. As cars need gasoline, as sailboats need wind, as fish need water – you and I need to worship to live. In fact, we cannot live without worship. We will worship! The question is, “Who will we worship”?
The list is lengthy! Our favorite athletic team, political candidate, business, rock star, movie star, social cause, automobile? What it be? Our bodies!? How much time and energy and money will I spend keeping this body looking like Sylvester Stalone?
The question is NOT, “If I will worship!” The question is, “Who will I worship”? Will I conform my life to this god that is here today and gone tomorrow, or to the one true God, who has given his life as a sacrifice for our sins, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)?
Who will it be? Who will you worship?
You know, throughout the centuries many Christians have gone to their deaths
worshipping God, refusing allegiance to these other deities, offering their
own lives as sacrifices of praise – as a spiritual act of worship.
I take it by your presence here that you also agree! Amen!
E-mail Comments to: Pastor Andy Linsey