Overlap As we consider the last element in our series on worship, you notice the correspondence between each part. In some cases our works of worship and walk of worship would almost be synonymous. What this reveals is that inconsistencies in these different areas of our lives will alway be evident, if we are objective enough to notice or if others are brave enough to confront us. The overlap between what we say, what we do, and where we go is important for both our testimony to others, as well as, our own sense of peace. Often, Christians struggle to find real abiding peace because of the very real friction in their behavior and habits. We have cognitive dissonance, because our stated values and beliefs are not matching our actual actions and motivations. In the first post, we dealt with the worship of our words, which we could think of in practical terms as how we use our lips or mouth to worship God. In the second installment, we considered the worship of our works, which correlates nicely with our hands. In this post, I want to consider our walk, meaning our feet or our steps. Location Maybe the best place to start in thinking about our walk in relation to our lives as worship to God is to consider where we are. Where have our feet or steps brought us in life? Of course we are probably inclined to the fact that this is really about the decisions that we have made which is true. But, as we have walked the path of life, we must consider where we are and where we have come from. As sinners we must recognize the state of sin from which God has brought us. Too often we forget the tangible victories that God has given over sin and doubt when we have safely arrived far from those things. We don’t need to dwell on the sin, but we do need to remember to continue to celebrate those victories. As image bearers of God we must recognize how God is restoring the image of God as we walk the path of life. We are being renewed by truth (Romans 12:2) and conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This does not happen in an instantaneous experience, but rather, through the progressive growth of sanctification. We begin as spiritual infants when we are born again as followers of Christ. But then we are meant to grow into mature manhood (Ephesians 4:13). As followers of Christ we are meant to reflect His glory in the world in which we live. Reflecting Christ requires humble but bold consistency between our walk and our talk. This kind of steady and honest way is crucial to our ministry and mission for God. Direction Next we must also be thinking about where we are going. The call to salvation is a call to follow Christ. The Apostle Paul refers to this as imitation (1 Thessalonians 1:6). This means that we are going in the same direction. Our idea of repentance is shaped by this concept. We were once traveling in the opposite direction from Christ and His kingdom but turned around and began to follow Him. This means that we go wherever He leads even if that is not the path we would have chosen or the plan we had for our lives. While this does leave us with some questions in the meantime we must also remember that we know the end goal. We are on our way to the place that He has prepared for us (John 14:1-7). We are on our way to a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). Therefore we are looking for a home that we have never seen before. Transportation Finally, we also need to remember what we are carrying on this journey. We are bringing with us the message of good news. Jesus told us to go into all the world making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). This is why the Bible talks about the beautiful feet of those who bring the good news ( Romans 10:14-17). As we venture out into the world, whether across the street or around the globe, remember that as Christians we are taking the most important and wonderful message with us to those who most definitely need it! Today, a group of us from the North Central Baptist Association are leaving to take the gospel to the people of northern Utah. Please pray for us to be safe in our travel, compassionate in every interaction, and bold in our mission!
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Action Last week, I mentioned that we were beginning a series on how we worship God with our whole self. In that post, we considered the most obvious way we worship God - with our words. But worship is a much bigger subject than simply the prayer we pray or the song we sing. Genuine worship is about the life we live! God is worthy of the worship of our works. As soon as we mention the word “works,” our first thought may be to repudiate any hint of salvation by works. This is a good impulse, because as recipients of God’s grace who have been transformed and regenerated by His power and not by anything that we have done, we always want the focus to be on what God has done. If you are a Christian today, it is because God the Father in eternity past set His love upon you and chose you in Christ for Himself (Ephesians 1:4). The Father sent Jesus to save you (John 3:16). If you are a Christian today, it is because Jesus lived the righteous life you should have lived and died the death you deserved to die and rose from the grave to save you (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). If you are a Christian today it is because the Holy Spirit called you, convicted you, and converted you by His power. All of this was not of your doing. But because of all of this all our future working should be in worshipful response to what He has done. Product The Scriptures are clear about our inability and unwillingness to produce good works on our own apart from the grace and goodness of God. Many might respond that even atheists and others caught in false religions do many “good” things. However, we must remember that God gives, by His common grace, a kind of restraining of evil that is working providentially even in the lives and circumstances of unbelievers to accomplish His foreordained purposes. Also, this judgment of “good” is against the subjective standard of our own fallenness and not the ultimate standard of God’s holiness and righteousness. The Bible is also clear that if our faith is legitimate it bears good fruit (Luke 6:43-45). This is not an instance of works earning anything, only the natural production of that which is alive. All living things produce. So If we are alive we will produce works that are a part of the state of being alive. These works are a form of pleasing worship before our great God. Proof The idea of works as the product of our genuine life then also leads to the reality of our works as the proof of our being alive. When medical professionals assess patients they usually check their vitals signs (blood pressure, pulse, body temperature), because these give evidence to the state of the person’s well being, and if they are absent, clear evidence that the person is dead. In the Scriptures we are also told that without genuine vital signs of spiritual life we should conclude that the patient is dead (James 2:14-26). James instructs us on this so that we will be able to recognize those who are alive and those who are not. James says that our works are the only way that we can show our faith. These demonstrations are not for our glory but for the exaltation and worship of God. Purpose The Scriptures are replete with references to the purposes of God in the works of His people. The idea that our salvation is without a purpose of worship and glory to God is a dangerous misunderstanding of what salvation is. God is at work in us to restore us as the image bearers of God that we were made to be. Just today I spoke with Jim Adams and had the opportunity to see an old truck that he restored that had belonged to his father. It was an amazing story and a stunning vehicle, but God is doing an even great work of restoration in every one of His people. He is also conforming us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). As we are conformed more and more into the image of Christ as Pauls says from glory to glory then God is rightly magnified because of His work seen in our works (2 Corinthians 4:6). We must be people who rightly live for God’s glory and work for the fame of His name. God’s own fame and glory is the reason you were made and remade, born and reborn! Communication This week we are going to start a series on how we worship God with our whole self. I fear that for many of us worship is a category in our lives instead of the totality of our lives. We were made to worship! God both desires and deserves our worship. Since He made us as whole beings then that means that every part of us has a purpose in worship. We won’t be able to exhaust this topic but hopefully we will learn some crucial parts to worshipping God more fully. God is worthy of the worship of our words. God has gifted us with the gift of language and He has chosen to communicate with us through words. As a genuine reflection of His glory we ought to be people always desiring to use our words to honor and magnify His greatness. We know that it is possible to heap up empty phrases (Matthew 6:7) or to honor God with lips that are deceptive and far from God (Isaiah 29:13). But we must be careful not to neglect giving glory to God with our words. Speech is a unique gift granted to us alone among God’s earthly creatures, and it is for use in the worship of God. Prayer This begins with how we talk to God. It matters that we engage in meaningful prayer to God. This does not mean that our prayers need a certain eloquence or loftiness, but we must speak to the Lord of glory with humble and contrite hearts. Jesus taught His disciples to start their prayers with the acknowledgement and recognition of His position and power (Matthew 6:9). From this point we should bring our requests, needs, and concerns before God (Philippians 4:6) because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). The purpose here is not to give a teaching on how to pray but simply to remind us that prayer is central to true worship of God with our words. Praise Worshiping God with our words, of course, includes the way that we speak to God in singing. It matters what we are saying when we are singing. Often we are too concerned with how much we enjoy the music to reflect on if the songs are communicating our intended message. We must remember the audience is not the congregation rather the congregation is singing to God. He is the one we are seeking to please. I do not think that God has revealed a style of music that He prefers. In fact the diversity of musical arts across cultures would seem to imply that God is pleased with all kinds of music when the doctrinal message is sound and the hearts are honestly and purposefully engaged. If our singing is mindless or out of control then it certainly isn’t from the Holy Spirit who gives us the fruit of self control. People Worshipping God with our words also involves how we speak about God with others. Danger is at hand when we begin to speak of God or the things of God in any way that is irrelevant or vain. Our conversation with both saints and sinners about our great God must be thoroughly biblical to be at all meaningful. For us to be able to take up the right way of speaking to God and about God to others we must speak rightly about God to ourselves. What I mean is that we must feed ourselves on God’s revelation of Himself in His word. If we are truly being led by the Spirit and feeding on God’s word two things will be evident in our communication with other people. First we will speak the truth. We will not be false or fictitious. We will not be trying to cover up or fool others. We will be open and transparent. Secondly we will speak with true love. We will communicate out of a genuine sacrificial affection for the image bearers of God that we are speaking to and with about God or anything else(Ephesians 4:15). So brothers and sisters may we let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of our Rock and Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). Rainy Days Lately we have had a considerable amount of rain. Of course, it is spring, but this year is exceptional. It has remained unseasonably cool and rather wet, at least in the beautiful hills of Searcy county. I must say I love the cool weather and I am dreading those miserable dog days of summer. However, rainy days on top of rainy days can have all kinds of effects on life and people. The ground becomes soft and saturated leading to a muddy mess. Any mom who has had to deal with the aftermath of the muddy ball field or rodeo arena can attest to the nasty nature of which I speak. It can also have other physical effects. If you have a lingering injury or old surgery then you probably have some pain or discomfort that accompanies these kinds of days. But along with all of these things we can also be affected emotionally and spiritually. These long dreary days can cause imbalances in our hormone levels and quite literally put a damper (pun intended) on our mood. We begin to feel sluggish, tired, and even depressed! This can extend into our spiritual life as well. We can begin to feel overwhelmed and begin to forget the principles of truth and the genuine promises not found in our hearts or circumstances but in the rock solid testimony of God in the Scriptures! These kinds of soggy conditions cause many tractors and trucks to whine, stuck in a field or down an old muddy road. And in much the same way, we can get stuck in patterns of thought and procrastination that keeps us from the hope found only in fellowship with God in His Word and in prayer. The Pits We often refer to being in the pits when we are talking about these low points emotionally or spiritually. So what should we do if we find ourselves in the miry, boggy pit? Well the word of God speaks to this very thing. First of all, we must wait patiently in prayer for the Lord (Psalm 40:1). Notice, this is not time to be inactive. We must wait on God while persistently pleading and crying out to God. You probably do not feel like praying, but when you do not feel like praying is when you most need to pray! You must pray with the understanding that waiting in prayer means that transformation of your circumstances or feelings may not come quickly but will come surely in accord with God’s providential purposes. Secondly, you must trust in God’s sure and sovereign rescue (Psalm 40). You cannot pull yourself out of the miry bog. You must hang on to the sure hope that the Lord will not only pull you out of that place but establish you on the solid rock of truth found in His word about the ROCK who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is the cornerstone on which is built His church and by extension every genuine Christian (1 Peter 2:4-10). Finally, we must look forward in praise to God for how He will use the testimony of His faithfulness to us in our time of distress to His glory and the expansion of His kingdom (Psalm 40:3). Your misery is not meaningless! God is working in your affliction and trials something that will bring Him greater glory, you greater stability in faith, and others a greater testimony to God’s goodness and grace! He Is Able! So brother or sister, are feeling stuck? He can rescue you out of the ditch! Are you feeling paralyzed? He can heal you and make you well (Matthew 9:1-8). Are you feeling defeated? He can give you victory (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Are you feeling hopeless? He can give you hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2-3)! Just trust in Jesus! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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