Sure can’t beat a crackling campfire out on the trail, for a fine place to talk about life and its unknown meanings.”
–J.V. James (Oldest Trick in the Book)
“When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. ‘Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,’ Jesus said.”
“When they got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. ‘Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,’ Jesus said.”
–John 21:9-10 (NLT)
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I want to start out today with a note from Vine. “The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. A consideration of the verbs shows that it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgement… To serve or to do service is rendered ‘worship.'”
Pet Peeve #11: When we have “worship service” in church. Or sometimes we hear, “our time of worship is over.” NO!! That form of worship is over. As Vine puts it, worship is not “confined to praise.”
When Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” (5:18, NKJV) he is speaking of worship. Back to vine, it comes from the heart in thanksgiving. Jesus told His disciples, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, NKJV) We worship from our heart, and we allow the Holy Spirit to worship through us. But we must also worship in “truth.” Truth means reality. We worship in reality, in the reality of everyday life. This is in service to God and to others in the name of the Lord. Paul tells us what it is, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17, NKJV) and he continues, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23, NKJV) Notice that thanksgiving is mentioned again, but all the emphasis on the phrase, “whatever you do.” If we keep that in mind we will not wander from the path. We will not get into things that are not godly for whatever we do it is unto the Lord–it is worship.
I want to bring one more verse to your attention, Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (NKJV) The NIV translates the verse this way, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–which is your spiritual worship.” Are you beginning to get the picture?
Now I want to bring us to Martha. Poor Martha, often maligned, but let’s look at a verse more closely. “Martha was cumbered about with much serving.” (Luke 10:40, KJV). The NKJV puts it this way, “But Martha was distracted with much serving…”. It is important to remember that a Christian is a servant, and therefore, they must serve. It was not her fault that there was much serving. Think of Jesus, her family, and His disciples. “Much serving” was to be done. Listen, we cannot do too much. We must do all that we possibly can for the Kingdom. Our hearts, our minds, our hands and our feet should be involved and engaged in the service of the Lord. Martha was busy preparing for her Lord. Spurgeon said it this way, “Happy Martha, to have an opportunity of entertaining so blessed a guest; and happy, too, to have the spirit to throw her whole soul so heartily into the engagement.”
What happened to Martha happens so often to those in the ministry for the Lord no matter the level they serve on. Too many often get caught up in their service. Many ministers, and I hate the term, “burn out” in the ministry. They either do not recognize it as a calling or they become “cumbered” with the ministry. They get distracted in their service. They forget that the focus should be on Jesus and not on the service. “We ought to be Martha and Mary in one: we should do much service, and have much communion at the same time.” (Spurgeon) An example, Joshua never grew weary in fighting, but Moses needed two helpers to hold up his hands. Communion with the Lord and service for the Lord should neither be neglected.
Our life is to be one of worship. My Pastor, Mike Minter, said, “True worship is a life to be lived; a lifestyle.” Don’t get caught saying that our time of worship is over, or that worship is for the church or other Christian activities. No, “True spiritual worship is not a matter of special times and special places because it is of all times and all places.” (D.L. Moody) It would do us well to remember that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore know, “You are always in a temple. Always worship.” (John Piper) Don’t get caught up in saying that only the singing is the worship service, A.W. Tozer said, “If your life does not worship God, your lips do not worship God either.”
Enough of the writing and reading (oh, I will throw this in, my first unit when I taught apologetics was “Reading as Worship”) let’s get on with our lives and worship with them. No matter the situation, no matter the issue, no matter the troubles at hand–worship “in spirit and in reality.”
——————————
I want to start out today with a note from Vine. “The worship of God is nowhere defined in Scripture. A consideration of the verbs shows that it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgement… To serve or to do service is rendered ‘worship.'”
Pet Peeve #11: When we have “worship service” in church. Or sometimes we hear, “our time of worship is over.” NO!! That form of worship is over. As Vine puts it, worship is not “confined to praise.”
When Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you,” (5:18, NKJV) he is speaking of worship. Back to vine, it comes from the heart in thanksgiving. Jesus told His disciples, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, NKJV) We worship from our heart, and we allow the Holy Spirit to worship through us. But we must also worship in “truth.” Truth means reality. We worship in reality, in the reality of everyday life. This is in service to God and to others in the name of the Lord. Paul tells us what it is, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17, NKJV) and he continues, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23, NKJV) Notice that thanksgiving is mentioned again, but all the emphasis on the phrase, “whatever you do.” If we keep that in mind we will not wander from the path. We will not get into things that are not godly for whatever we do it is unto the Lord–it is worship.
I want to bring one more verse to your attention, Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (NKJV) The NIV translates the verse this way, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–which is your spiritual worship.” Are you beginning to get the picture?
Now I want to bring us to Martha. Poor Martha, often maligned, but let’s look at a verse more closely. “Martha was cumbered about with much serving.” (Luke 10:40, KJV). The NKJV puts it this way, “But Martha was distracted with much serving…”. It is important to remember that a Christian is a servant, and therefore, they must serve. It was not her fault that there was much serving. Think of Jesus, her family, and His disciples. “Much serving” was to be done. Listen, we cannot do too much. We must do all that we possibly can for the Kingdom. Our hearts, our minds, our hands and our feet should be involved and engaged in the service of the Lord. Martha was busy preparing for her Lord. Spurgeon said it this way, “Happy Martha, to have an opportunity of entertaining so blessed a guest; and happy, too, to have the spirit to throw her whole soul so heartily into the engagement.”
What happened to Martha happens so often to those in the ministry for the Lord no matter the level they serve on. Too many often get caught up in their service. Many ministers, and I hate the term, “burn out” in the ministry. They either do not recognize it as a calling or they become “cumbered” with the ministry. They get distracted in their service. They forget that the focus should be on Jesus and not on the service. “We ought to be Martha and Mary in one: we should do much service, and have much communion at the same time.” (Spurgeon) An example, Joshua never grew weary in fighting, but Moses needed two helpers to hold up his hands. Communion with the Lord and service for the Lord should neither be neglected.
Our life is to be one of worship. My Pastor, Mike Minter, said, “True worship is a life to be lived; a lifestyle.” Don’t get caught saying that our time of worship is over, or that worship is for the church or other Christian activities. No, “True spiritual worship is not a matter of special times and special places because it is of all times and all places.” (D.L. Moody) It would do us well to remember that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, therefore know, “You are always in a temple. Always worship.” (John Piper) Don’t get caught up in saying that only the singing is the worship service, A.W. Tozer said, “If your life does not worship God, your lips do not worship God either.”
Enough of the writing and reading (oh, I will throw this in, my first unit when I taught apologetics was “Reading as Worship”) let’s get on with our lives and worship with them. No matter the situation, no matter the issue, no matter the troubles at hand–worship “in spirit and in reality.”