Vibrant Worship 3

Series looking at our first mission statement, V, Vibrant in Worship, Pentecostal.  Autumn 12, Life Church.

So far we have looked at:

W: worship God [on His terms]

O: overflow with God’s praise

R: recognise God’s position

As we come today around the Bible we’re going to look at the S and the H of W.O.R.S.H.I.P

S – Submit to God as His possession

Psalm 95: 6-7: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.”

Quote: “Everyone eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego.  You were designed to worship God—and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things to give your life to.  You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice.” (Rick Warren)

We are “under his care” and so we are to “bow down” and “kneel before” our God. 

We have just finished looking at the greatness and the majesty of our God.  We have seen the high and lofty position, which He holds, and so our submission to this “great King” is well warranted.

And as we look at this passage closely we see that our submission is not demanded for the benefit of God.  He is not on some egomaniacal power trip.  Rather we are to submit to God because to do so is actually in our own best interest. 

One of the amazing things about being a Christian is that we have learnt that surrender equals victory, that dying to self brings a resurrection life.

We are brought at a price (1 Cor. 7:23).  This means that we don’t actually belong to ourselves anymore. 

Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This means that when we became Christians the old life should have died!  A new life began!

So there should be no more sermons, one-to-one sessions, or instructions on avoiding the destructive habits of sin anymore because the church should be full of people who live for God!  Of course it’s not that way.

We’re told in Hebrews that there are sins that easily ensnare us or entangle us (Hebrews 12:1).  Once something begins to get a hold on us we can find ourselves one day saying, “how did this happen, how’d I get to this point?”

The Bible tells us:

Ephesians 4:27: and do not give the devil a foothold.

It’s a mountaineering term.  A foothold is where a climber will push forward from.  My friends, don’t allow the enemy a handhold, which leads to a foothold which becomes a stronghold.

Someone said to me when I was younger: “if you get busy doing the do’s, you’ll be too busy to do the don’ts!”

Last week I said in the Unbound service (11:15am) that the idea of worship as a lifestyle has led us away from encountering God in worship.  You can look up my blog for the context.  But let me say this too, the changed life that we’re called to lead begins with the encounter with God, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is when we come in an act of worship and submit to God as his possession we begin to carry that change into our lives.  We want to have great meetings, but that has to translate in to transformed lives.