Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform 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.
Introduction:
Religious worship begins with man, but the covenantal worship begins with God. We need to confirm today that you and I have received the greatest blessings in Jesus. When we realize God’s hidden plan in our problems, those problems are no longer problems. We can receive strength to see that through worship. God gave us the greatest method, the power of the Holy Spirit. Covenantal worship means anticipating God’s word, which will absolutely be fulfilled in your lives. Paul calls us to give ourselves as a living sacrifice, meaning that worship must be overflowing in our lives every day. 24 hours is only possible when we realize that God is with us and speaking to us every moment. This is true worship, yet why can’t we connect this to our own lives? We live redundant lives but we can overcome them by receiving God’s word with our hearts rather than our minds. People have the mindset that they learn something from the pastor each Sunday, but our mindset must be that God is speaking to us. We can connect our lives in the world and our lives of faith in the church in the gospel, in Jesus Christ, who resolved all of our problems on the cross. In the gospel, we can see that all people have no choice but to suffer because they are apart from Jesus, and no one can save themselves. Salvation is not something earned, but a gift given to us by God through Jesus, and all we need to do is embrace that Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Romans 5:8
1.Self-Examination
You have received the greatest grace in Jesus, and therefore there is nothing for us to fear, yet, why are you still anxious and fearful? Just like people get their blood taken and examined to check their bodies, we need to check our spiritual state. Who is the master of your life? Yourself or Jesus? We love to masquerade ourselves, since it is so easy to fool people, but we cannot fool God. Satan knows how great this gospel is and how important you are, and so he attacks you the believers first, tempting you with things that seem better than the gospel.
John 4:23
Isaiah 29:13-15
If we received every blessing in Jesus Christ, then why can’t we enjoy them? Because Christ is not our number one priority. When we come across a problem or burden, we choose to try to fix it ourselves rather than casting them upon Jesus, who resolved all of our problems already.
Be honest before God.
2. Do not be conformed to the world
The world seems so much better than Jesus, but we must remember that the world is under the authority of Satan and curses. Therefore, there is no need to be jealous of the world. However, the bible doesn’t tell us to completely separate, or isolate ourselves from the world. Instead, the bible tells us to not let the world dictate our lives. People in the world are dictated by money, by relationships, by their situations and circumstances. As believers, we need to let Jesus dictate our lives. It does not matter the wealth we have, because our true content is in Jesus. People assume hope is staying positive, but the gospel hope is, regardless of what happens in our lives, God is almighty and knows what is best for me and will do what is best for me. The world is full of darkness and idols (Genesis 6). We need to recognize what our idols are. People struggle to succeed in life (Genesis 11) yet they ultimately fail. We think that the greatest disaster right now is COVID-19 but the bible tells us that there are more disasters to come, and God has called us to block these disasters.
3. Spiritual Worship
Worship, in the Old Testament, required the sacrifice of an animal. Cain offered fruits of harvest, but Abel offered a blood sacrifice, representing the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. However, Paul calls us to be a living sacrifice, we were the sacrifice but we are now living. We can enjoy the sacrifice of Jesus Christ wherever we are. As a living sacrifice to give spiritual worship, first we need to restore true prayer, which comes naturally when we organize God’s word.. As children of God, ask for God’s Holy Spirit, and for help to fight the spiritual battle against Satan. Second, we also need to restore praise and thanksgiving. God doesn’t look at the number of people, but the few who have gathered. He does not look at how well you sing, but the center of your heart as you praise. Third, we also need to restore offering, rightfully giving to God the things that God provides for us, and he will continue to provide in turn.
When we restore true worship, everything in our lives will be restored.