8/2/2019 Lesson 5 - A Lifestyle of Worship and Sacrifice

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Lesson 5 A Lifestyle of Worship

In prior lessons we examined why we worship God, the fruit it can bearin our lives, and even some of the outward expressions of worship foundin Scripture. We could stop there and feel pretty good about it, but the

Bible encourages us to go farther. Head knowledge is okay as far as itgoes, but God longs for a more intimate relationship with you throughthe experience we call worship.

To have a life that reflects a more intimate state with God requiresthree things

A Continual EffortThrough Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise toGod, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Hebrews13:15)

In his commentary on the Bible, Albert Barnes points out that thissacrifice of praise is a lot like the peace offerings or friendshipofferings that the Jews made in the Old Testament. These were notmade for the atonement for sins, but rather they were made by Jewswho were already in good standing with God. These men wereconsidered friends of God. These sacrifices were not offered toproduce friendship with God but to preserve it. They were often givenas a way of showing thanksgiving to God.

Worship is like that. We have our atonement in Christ, and no longer

need to shed the blood of animals. We give sacrifices of praise andworship to God because we are in good standing with Him and wishto remain so. We worship out of gratitude to the God who loves usand provides for us. In doing so we open ourselves up to realcommunication with Him.

Two things worth pointing out.1. It is the fruit of our lips. It needs to be expressed vocally.2. It is for giving thanks to Him. It is the response of thegrateful heart. If you are reluctant to do this, you may need anattitude check.

As discussed in Lesson 2, the more time we spend with God inworship the more we become like Him. We lose more of our self-focus and become more devoted to Him. David and other writers ofthe Psalms understood this. They knew the fruit of worship in theirlives and longed for more. They were willing to put everything theyhad into pursuing God. Are we?

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A Commitment to HolinessOh worship Jehovah in the beauty of holiness; tremble before Him, allthe earth. (Psalm 96:9)

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name; worship Jehovah in the

majesty of holiness. (Psalm 29:2)

Give to Jehovah the glory of His name; bring an offering and comebefore Him; worship Jehovah in the adornment of holiness.(1Chronicles 16:29)

There is a direct relationship between worship and holiness. InLesson 3 we emphasized that God is holy and He expects holinessfrom those that draw near to Him. Holiness is called beautiful andmajestic in the verses above. It is compared to an adornment, whichis something used to beautify, or make more pleasing. Coming to our

God adorned with the beauty and majesty of holiness makes us morepleasing to Him.

Being holy means that we are set apart. reserved for God. Ourpraises are just for Him, Our thanks go to Him alone. Our deepest,purest love belongs to God and no one else. When we worship Godand give Him the things that are His, it pleases Him.

Not only that but without holiness we wont ever get near him:

Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no

one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)

God calls us to intimacy with Him but there is a condition holiness.The real praises of God come from a people who are pursuingholiness.

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION,A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaimthe excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into Hismarvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you areTHE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you

have RECEIVED MERCY. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangersto abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. (1Peter2:9-11)

The more we enter into the light of Gods presence in worship, themore the darkness in us gets exposed. We have a choice. We canstay afar off like Israel did when God first spoke to them fromMount Sinai, or we can choose to pursue God and His holiness. We

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can wander in the wilderness, or we can go confidently before thethrone of grace.

A Willingness to Sacrifice

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to presentyour bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which isyour spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to thisworld, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that youmay prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptableand perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

God has been merciful to us. He gave His Sons life as a sacrifice forus and has redeemed us from our sin and death. Paul urges us torespond in kind, by giving ourselves as a sacrifice - a living and holy

sacrifice, acceptable to God. This kind of sacrifice means:

Living We are not physically put to death like Jesus was.His sacrifice was sufficient for all men forever. Ours is to be aliving sacrifice, perpetually offered to God as long as we live.

Holy We are giving our bodies, our flesh, over to Godalone. We are no longer claim any authority. We have no rights tosatisfy the desires of our flesh.

Acceptable In the Old Testament it was required that Godwould receive the first fruits, the best animals without flaw orblemish. Only the first and best sacrifices were acceptable to Him.

A person would not dare to give anything less because they wouldrisk the rejection of their offering. Remember Cain? Remember thesons of Aaron? Or the sons of Eli?

God deserves our very best. He does not want our excess, or ourcastoffs. He will not accept half-hearted praise or lip service worship. Hecalls us to a total commitment to Him. A life divided between servingHim and serving us will not please Him.

'I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that youwere cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot norcold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

A lukewarm relationship with God leaves a bad taste in His mouth. Itshould in yours, too. He gave Himself 100% for you. He wants 100% ofyou in return. Give Him your self fully.

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