This message was preached at Word of Grace church by Colin D Cruz on the 4 th.of March2012. You can listen to the Audio recording of the message by clicking here.
Everything we see is created by the will of God. Rev 4:11. We are created for His pleasure and we are created because God wants to enjoy you and not because He has a need.
How do we respond to this love?
Matt 22:37-38 is a very familiar passage. Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is my first priority – loving God. Loving God is worship. What is worship? Is it singing songs – slow songs? No, it more than that. This is reason you were created.
How do we do this?
Rom 12:1 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.
Rom Chapter 1 to 11 talks about what God has done for us. God first rescues his people. Even in Egypt God first rescues his people, he delivers them through the hand of Moses. Then God said “now worship me”and then He gave them the 10 commandments.
We were slaves to sin but He gave us eternal life. Our worship is a response to His love. Worship is giving back to God. We are filled with joy when we give back to God.
How can we worship?
1. Mark 12:30 We love with our heart, mind , soul, and strength. God wants you to use your mind. You do not leave your mind outside the door when you come to church. You worship must make sense.
2. We love God passionately – with our heart and soul. God wants zeal, enthusiasm and our delight.
3. Strength – our abilities, talents and gifts.
God wants our attention, affection and our abilities
1. Worship is focusing my attention on God. We live in a world full of information that is grabbing for our attention. Focusing on God is not easy. It takes determination. God is focused on each one of us. One tool or way or focusing on Go is our quiet time – write as you meditate. Find a solitary place. Have a conversation with God and do this throughout the day. When we focus on ourselves we get full of worry, anxiety and we sin.
When we focus on God we get filled with hope and gratitude.
When you wake up in the morning what are your first thoughts and what are your lsst thoughts at night?
2Worship is focusing our affection on God. There is joy in the house of God. In the Psalms we see a lot of exuberant worship – clapping, shouting, dancing. Watch a football match and see the emotion expressed there. Let’s not be shy or afraid of showing our affection for God. 1Jn 4:19 says we love Him because He first loved us.
3. We worship God by using our abilities to serve Him. This is loving God with all our strength. Part of our loving is serving – using what we’ve got. The amazing thing is Christian worship is not restricted to Sundays.
Whatever we do if we do it as unto the Lord it is worship. Col 3:23 whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.
Colin D Cruz
March 2012
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