The Essential Elements: Worship as a Lifestyle (Part 2 of 7)

Sunday, January 30, 2011

“The whole person, will all his senses, with both mind and body, needs to be involved in genuine worship.” Jerry Kerns

“Worship is more than singing beautiful songs in church on a Sunday. It is more than instruments and music. As a true worshiper, your heart will long to worship Him at all times, in all ways and with all your life.” Darlene Zschech

What do you think of when you hear the word worship? Perhaps you think of the music you sing on Sunday morning? Or a church service? Or even a specific genre of music. What if I told you that worship is much more than all of these things? It’s more than just an event, music, or an single action. Worship is a lifestyle and it is the primary reason for your existence. The importance and significance of worship cannot be overstated and it cannot be ignored. Why do we struggle grasping the simple truth that we were made to worship? There are a few primary reasons such as: Confusing worship with just music, having the mindset of getting over giving, and our culture’s tendency to misplace our object of worship. Everyone worships something or someone. We search for meaning and significance in a wide arrange things in life such as work, education, pleasures, acceptance from others, thrills, materialism, fame, or wealth.  In order to grasp what worship is all about we need two essential elements. The core elements of worship are surrender and gratitude. Now let’s take a close look at both components and see how they’re related to one another.

The heart of worship is surrender. We read in Romans 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.” Surrender is not a popular topic in our society or in the church for that matter. We’d rather talk about succeeding, obeying, spiritual disciplines, or overcoming our obstacles. But surrendering to God and His will for our lives is the essential element towards showing gratitude towards God’s love and grace towards us. True worship is when we bring God pleasure and that happens when we offer everything we have to Him. God doesn’t want bits and pieces of your life–He wants all of it. Ninety-nine percent isn’t good enough. Only one-hundred percent, all areas, aspects, and areas of your heart are acceptable to Him. There are a few reasons why surrender is very elusive to us: fear, pride, and confusion.

First and foremost, trust is front and center on how a  life of surrender is built. You can’t possibly surrender to God unless you trust Him completely. As you continue to grow in your walk with Christ; He continues to prove that He can be trusted and will never let us down. His love casts out all of our fears. He affirms over and over again in His Word that He’ll never leave us, has a plan for our lives, forgives us of our sins, is jealous for our attention, and loves us more than we can imagine! God sacrificed it all for us by offering His Son for a penalty of our sins–this affirms that He is more than worthy of our trust! Surrendering to God doesn’t create bondage, but freedom!

Another barrier that often gets in the way of surrender is pride. The greatest temptation and oldest one is that we’re god and in complete control of our lives. This is our daily struggle and it can never be won. As A.W. Tozer reminds us, “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven’t yet come to the end of themselves. We’re still trying to give orders, and interfering with God’s work within us.”  We all have limitations, weaknesses, flaws, problems. There is no way around this truth no matter how hard we fight it. Our natural response is to envy what others have,  then complain, and give into self-pity. It is only when we recognize that our God is everything we’re not and supplies us with everything we need that win the daily battle for control. C. S. Lewis put it perfectly when he stated, “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become–because He made us.”  The only way to become who God made us to be is complete surrender towards Him.

Lastly, we’ve greatly confused over what surrender is all about. Surrender isn’t giving into passivity, fatalism, accepting the status quo, or a reason to be lazy. It quite the contrary. It is sacrificing your life and in the process suffering in order to change what needs to be changed. Surrender isn’t for the faint of heart or for cowards. There’s a reason why so few live truly surrendered lives towards God–because it’s not easy! Surrender requires complete obedience even when God doesn’t make sense. Instead of trying to manipulate others, controlling a situation, or forcing our agenda we need to rely on God solely and completely.  We must stop trying to do things harder and choose to trust Him more. Again this much easier to say than to put into practice. When you’re in a tough financial situation, faced with a difficult decision, encountering  unbearable odds–trust is often hard to find. When we live in complete surrender we can look at any situation no matter the pain, suffering, or problem and choose to see that God’s purpose and glory be fulfilled. Surrender is hard work, but the reward far outweighs whatever comes our way.

What are the benefits of surrender? First, you’ll experience true peace that this world cannot provide.  Jesus tells us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) Also you’ll have freedom from the bondages of sin, guilt, and pride. Finally, you’ll encounter God’s power in your life. Be prepared to be amazed at the mountains that are moved, the miracles that materialize, and the maturity of your character that is made.  The great paradox in the Christian life is this: Victory comes through surrender. William Booth, the founder of Salvation Army says this on surrender, “The greatness of a man’s power is in the measure of his surrender.”  When we say “Yes” to God it is the most sensible thing we could ever do. Remember that surrender is not a onetime event, it is a lifelong commitment and encompasses everything we do.  With surrender comes a second essential element to worship: gratitude.

The attitude of gratitude should stem out from our daily choice of surrender. We often say “thank you” out of habit but how often do we mean it? Is gratitude and thanksgiving a daily part of your life? You have two choices in life: To whine or to worship. It isn’t possible to worship without gratitude. When life is hard and seems unfair it’s much easier to give in to bitterness and ask, “Why me?” Gratitude isn’t entirely missing from our society. Just take a glance at your local Hallmark store. Or reflect upon the Thanksgiving holiday is all about.  But the messages often gets lost in translation when life’s many challenges and hardships come our way. Gratitude is so much more than words, a single action, or concept. As surrender is a lifestyle, so is gratitude.

The Bible can be summed up with three main concepts: guilt, grace, and gratitude. We are born with guilt and are under condemnation in light of a Holy God. With this hopeless case of guilt from our sins, God choose to lavish us with His grace giving us His Son to take our place. We read in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Our guilt is erased from the God’s incredible grace! What comes next, is our natural inclination to offer our gratitude towards God for what’s He’s done for us. He gave it all for us, the least we should be able to do is offer up our hearts in praise! Guilt-grace-gratitude these three words can’t be separated from one another and form the basis on the Gospel that we proclaim to.

True gratitude does not exist in a vacuum with no means of substance. Instead it is fully thrust on an object, a person–Jesus Christ. Just as you need to direct a “thank you” when you want to express your appreciation for what someone’s done for you, we need a “you” to offer back a “thanks” for the gift of grace. This kind of gratitude is directed towards the Author of our eternal salvation and requires three basic activities: recognizing the many benefits we’ve received from God, acknowledging God as the ultimate Giver of every good gift, and expressing appreciation back to Him for what we’ve received. The difference between the world’s definition of gratitude and this one is: That we offer gratitude in all circumstances and choose to dwell of God’s goodness despite our difficulties. Christ should be enough for us because He is all we’ll ever need. Perhaps the reason we give in to complaining and whining is because our view of who God is isn’t big enough. We often times minimize who He is and lose sight of the glory, splendor, and majesty of our great God. We should never lose sight of who God is and what He has done for us. He is worthy of all our praise, devotion, and honor! (More on this topic in Part 3 of this series next week)

Now you may be wondering what all this has to do with worship? Simply–everything!! Surrender and gratitude are the cause and effect of a lifestyle of worship. From a heart of surrender we naturally are lead to want to give our gratitude back towards God. Without surrender or gratitude, you cannot truly worship God. Take one out the picture and you’re left with a struggle for meaning, significance, and purpose in your life. Gratitude in a sense is the gauge of the heart of surrender. In showing that we’ve grateful for what’s He’s given us, it’s a solid indication of your heart being drawn to His, and that you believe He can be trusted with your life. It’s a natural outflow of your heart that leads us towards gratitude, but it cannot be acquired in a single moment. It is instead the outpouring of thousands upon thousands of choices you make across a lifetime. Remember it all starts with a the heart of worship: Surrender. Surrender is the starting point towards a life of worship and from that gratitude will naturally come pouring out. Now let’s look at some application for these two essential elements of worship.

In Luke 14:25 we read, “And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” We cannot follow Christ and still be clinging to our own selfish desires, ambitions, dreams, and goals. Christ reiterates His call of surrender just a few verses later in verse 33, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Our relationships, our possessions, our time, our money, our physical bodies, our rights, and our will must be in complete surrender to the call of Christ. In order to live a completely surrendered life you must take a hard look at your life currently and ask yourself the questions: Have I ever acknowledged Christ as the owner of every part of my life? Are there any areas of my life that I’m holding back from Him? Do I seek to follow His will in all circumstances? Am I living each day in light of eternity? Take your time in your assessment and don’t overlook anything you may be tempted to skip over. This is not to be taken lightly and is the most critical evaluation you will ever do in your life. Give it up to Him and let go of your right to rule. Place Christ at the center of your life and live a life as a living sacrifice. Let’s now move on to the attitude of gratitude and how it can be implanted in your life.

Gratitude needs to be more than just an obligation or duty. God is not pleased when we go through the motions and offer thanks because He tells us to do so.  It needs to be from the heart; a grateful heart that is overflowing because of His abounding grace. There are many practical ways to express thanks in your life and occasions arise all around us. In fact, in Colossians 3:17 we read, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  Also we read in 1 Thessalonians 5: 18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” We should be giving thanks in all circumstances through Christ our Lord. Not just when we feel good and things are going well. But also in the storms and all seasons of life. Here are some practical ways to express thanks:

First off, speak up and don’t be shy. If you are truly grateful to someone–let them know in words. Don’t assume they already know you’re thankful. In the same way, don’t just think about God’s wonderful blessings–offer your thanks to Him with your tongue. Verbally speak your praises to Him. Take a look at Psalm 145 and notice the words declare, speak, sing aloud, tell–spoken words of praise are a powerful thing and can conquer all fears, confusion, or doubts that we may come across about who God is. Next, sing out to God with music. Gratitude is the melody of life. You may not be musically gifted, but that doesn’t excuse you from not offering praise musically towards God. God isn’t so much concerned with your talents as He is your heart. As Psalm 147:7 declares, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!” Music is a very powerful medium of gratitude and can has a way of expressing our deepest thoughts and emotions. Also remember it’s not the style of music you sing to God; but the devotion that is offered back to Him. Whether it be hymns, contemporary Christian, rock, pop, or rap–offer it back to God with a heart blazing on fire for Him. It can be though listening to a song, signing a song, playing a song–just pour your heart into honoring and glorying God. Next, offer your praise in prayer.  Are you prayers more bent on asking and seeking? Or do include expressions of gratitude when you pray as well? These are very important questions to ask and cannot be taken lightly. You need to train your heart to see all His blessings and provisions in all circumstances. As Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1, “First of all, then I urge you that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”  Praise God for always being there, for the beautiful sunrise in the morning, for His financial blessing He’s given your family–whatever it may be don’t forget to thank Him!  Finally, remember to offer gratitude to Him publicly and privately. Gratitude needs to be expressed when no else is looking; when there seems to be no incentive. At the same token, gratitude needs to be on display when others are watching as well. Not to impress others and make us look good, but to be a witness towards others showing them what a life of gratitude looks like. Gratitude should become as easy as breathing oxygen. It should pour out of our hearts as a daily habit that can be heard with every breath we take!

In conclusion, worship is a lifestyle and the two core ingredients that make up this lifestyle are surrender and gratitude. Both need to be carried out daily or we will be lead a life of defeat, destruction, and despair. Because without worship we are can never become who we were meant to become. As A. W. Tozer writes, “Without worship, we go about miserable.” We shouldn’t worship because we have to, but because we want to. It should be an extension to God’s amazing grace shown to us. Each of us is telling a story; a unique story that is made up of many more stories spanning across the history of the human race. Together these stories make up one story–God’s story of redeeming grace, never-ending love, and unfathomable faithfulness.  As these stories are written, each one is told with one sole reason–to bring glory and honor to God. It’s all about Him. It’s not about us. Yet He lets us take part in His glory and wants us to experience who He is and have a intimate relationship with us!  This story has no end and each chapter is better than the last. The pages may have bloodstains and tears, but take heart– the best is yet to come! Let the pages of your life’s story be littered with a lifestyle of worship that lavishes a heart for God. Take your part in the greatest story ever told!

Future Features: For more on living in complete surrender to God read my blogs in the Surrender category and also my first sections in the recently launched Manual/SPECIAL sections under http://www.shoutitforlife.com/manual and http://www.shoutitforlife.com/special. For more on the applying gratitude in your life, read my blog titled: Gratitude: It All Begins With Your Attitude at http://shoutitforlife.com/2009/11/28/gratitude-it-all-begins-with-your-attitude/.  Next week we’ll look the Person of our worship: Jesus Christ and why it is so vitally important to have a solid understanding of who He is in order to worship Him. As for the other ministries such as the Profiles, Manual, and SPECIAL–I’ve had several setbacks recently and a very busy schedule so it’s been hard to give the time and devotion that’s  needed for this website. I promise you that when things calm down I will see to it that these ministries will be off and running again. Thank you for our patience with this matter. Have a marvelous week and God Bless you.

Sources:  Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life. Zondervan Publishers: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, Pages 77-84

Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Choosing Gratitude. Moody Publishers: Chicago, Illinois, 2009, Pages 21-29, 30-43, 61-68, 97-105