Expressing Christ 4/8

Expressed through Worship

What does all this mean for us where the rubber meets the road? How does it apply to our every day walking around, going to work, living with our families life?

Galatians 5:6 tells us that the “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (NIV)

How does faith express itself?

One way is through worship. To worship is to glorify God. We glorify God when we make Him known in a relatable and understandable way. When we “manifest” Him, or make Him tangible to others. When we allow His Life in us to be displayed to those around us.

In John 4:23–24, Jesus helps us with this. There He says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (NIV)

Those who worship God must do so in spirit and in truth. That's not about religious rituals and ceremonies. It's not about holy days and religious rules of conduct.

On the contrary, we worship in spirit and in truth by believing what God says. We do it by relying on who He is and by taking Him at His word that we are who He says we are in Him. We worship in spirit and in truth when we live our lives depending on Him to be faithful in everything.

Trusting that we have the mind of Christ, we also trust that it is He who works in us both to desire and to do according to the good and godly purpose He has planned for us as we are told in Philippians 2:12–15 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (NIV).

When we walk by faith rather than by what the world and the flesh tells us is best, we present our bodies as living sacrifices.

We sacrifice the idea that we know best.
We sacrifice the notion that our thoughts and feelings tell us what is real.
We sacrifice our right to be right.
We lay all that on the altar of the word of truth.

In this way, we prostrate ourselves to the absolute Truth of His Love and grace flowing through us because of His Life within us.

We worship by walking around.
We worship by being who we really are.
We worship by loving those in our sphere.