Title: Experience the Holy Worship. / Romans 12:1,2
Content Experience holy worship. / Romans 12:1,2
The temple was the center of faith and life symbolizing God's blessing, protection, and salvation because it was a place where God was present and met the people. (2 Chronicles 7:12,15,16) Early Christians gathered in this temple every day to worship I prayed, had fellowship, and learned the Word. Even after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the temple was still the center of Christian faith and life. Later, wherever Christians went, they established the church, the body of the Lord, and worshiped God with the church as the center of their faith and life. The life of worship lies in the encounter between God and man. The Bible gives holy commands for worship where there is an encounter with God. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is your spiritual worship.” All saved Christians must meet God through spiritual worship. The following are important to meet God through spiritual worship.
1. The name of Jesus Christ.
All lives born into the world as descendants of Adam were, by nature, children of wrath and spiritually dead, cut off from God. This is what the Bible calls sinners. As sinners, human beings have been constantly trying to make themselves holy. He tried to reach the state of salvation through numerous philosophies, religions, ethics and morals, but all efforts failed. Nothing has solved the problem of human sin. All people have become slaves under sin. Therefore, the Bible declares that there is no one righteous, not even one. (Romans 3:10) Therefore, God loved mankind and sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to bear our sins on him (Romans 8). :3) “Therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, anyone can come to God. In that name, we can pray boldly and receive all blessings. “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
2. It is God who is present during worship.
Not long ago, after saying goodbye to the departing alumni after Sunday worship, a college student came up to me with a question. “When the pastor comes down from the pulpit after worship, is your heart trembling and afraid?” Since this sister's question was, “When I come down after worship,” I said, “No.” However, after that day, when I go up to this pulpit during early morning prayer or on Sundays, the sister's questions often come up to me. “Isn’t your heart trembling and afraid right now?” This question reaffirms my belief in God's presence.
Those who come to worship must believe in the presence of God. We must believe that God gives precious grace to those who worship us (Hebrews 11:6). Only such people can offer acceptable worship.
3. It is a gift of sincere thanks.
God's wrath against the nation of Israel stemmed from poor worship. God did not ask for the sacrifice of the sheep because they were thirsty for blood. Because the only sacrifice for the sins of sinful human beings was the blood of animals, He allowed the Old Testament sacrificial system. But the sacrifices brought by the fallen people of God were lousy. They said they respected God, but they did not fear God. He despised the name of God. This drew the curse of God. God wants our gifts of thanksgiving to be perfect. He wants the faith to know and respect God as God. You must show your faith in God in your offerings. Those who come to God feel that they are always lacking even after giving the best to God.
4. It is a changed life after worship.
Christianity is not a religion that insists on ethical behavior, that is, a clean life, as a condition of salvation. But in fact, it is a highly ethical religion. He spoke of the strictness of the law, but Jesus Christ spoke of an ethics of love that was more thorough than the law. For example, Jesus said, “Do not be angry with your brother” in the law that said, “You shall not murder.” “Therefore, if you are going to make a sacrifice on the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has a grudge against you, you must place the sacrifice in front of the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother or sister. Then come back and make an offering” (Matthew 5:23-24).
Let's live a life of faith that takes root in the waters of God's grace where our souls do not dry out and bears abundant fruit in due time by offering worship acceptable to God first of all in 2004.