A Lifestyle of Worship, Giving Glory to God!
The great preacher, Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nothing teaches us about the preciousness of our Creator as much as when we learn the emptiness of everything else.” Ravi Zacharias reminds us of a very important truth that might help us recognize that during this unique time of being physically isolated from one another, we should
still be able to enjoy and employ the privilege of worshipping God. He tells us, “The Christian does not go to the temple to worship. The Christian takes the temple with him or her. Jesus lifts us beyond the building and pays the human body the highest compliment by making it His dwelling place, the place where He meets with us. Even
today He would overturn the tables of those who make it a marketplace for their own lust, greed and wealth.”
In preparation for this newsletter, Pastor Blake and I discussed which of our core values we wanted to address and with our normal activities being suspended, it seemed as if worship would be an important emphasis for both of us to consider. At ACEFC, “We believe that we are created by God to worship Him. Therefore, we live in worshipful response to God’s character and activity!”
This “scripture” insert highlights Psalm 100.
The rest of this article will focus attention on this psalm, but I’d like to encourage you to read and carefully observe Psalms 95—99 as well. These five psalms all emphasize
the extreme value of worship as they build to a climax (or a crescendo for music lovers) in Psalm 100. Summarizing this well—known psalm, we can see that it exhorts God’s
people to praise Him with an authentic sense of passion, purpose, and priority because God deserves every bit of honor and glory that we can give Him.
Here are some of my personal perspectives and additional applications from Psalm 100.
1) Worship is meant to be a lifestyle for every faithful follower of the Lord—it’s far more than an emotion, an
event, or an experience that we do as something to enjoy. We should be known for our adoration and
admiration for God!
2) Our worship should be a vibrant, visible, and vocal part of our every day lives. Worship is personal, but it’s not
private. It should help define who we are!
3) My worship should be a spontaneous response to the realization that my Creator loves me in a personal way.
As faithful followers of the Lord, we are His people and He sees us as the sheep in His pasture!
4) Worship is intended to be a proclamation of God’s goodness. All creation declares (reveals) God’s glory, but
we are given the wonderful privilege of being His ambassadors—His voice to a society that seems to suppress
the revelation that surrounds them on a daily basis.
5) Worship is a celebration that emphasizes my gratitude for the Lord’s mercy, grace, and love! This should be
contagious and encouraging to others around me.
6) Idolatry is serious business! If and whenever I lose sight of the passion and priority I should have to worship
God, I’m becoming vulnerable to the idolatry of the culture and society that surrounds me. When we aren’t
able to gather as a family of faithful followers, it’s challenging. Let’s continually remind and encourage one
another that God resides inside each of us in the Person of His Holy Spirit! Also notice what Psalm 97 says!
Let’s encourage one another by keeping in touch; we can call and pray with each other, email or text to share
messages of greeting and comfort. Our God is in control and He deserves our worship!
As always, with praise for His grace and prayer for His glory, Pastor Greg