Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Worship is not what we sing or say. It involves what we bring to God. In short, worship always involves sacrifice. Today, the second of two messages on how to adore God and a close look at what the sacrifices of worship are all about.
Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, today you'll teach us about seven verbs in Romans chapter 12. What will they be about? Well, you know, Dave, whenever we think of worship, we should think of sacrifice.
It's not just a matter of words, it's a matter of activity, and some of those verbs have to do with yielding, winning, giving, yes, speaking about giving. All of us know that the end of the year is just around the corner. This would be a marvelous time for some of you who have never connected with Running to Win to recognize again that we exist because of people just like you. And of course, you can receive a tax-deductible receipt, you can give online, you can give us a call, you can send a check. In all of these ways, we are dependent upon you as we continue this ministry. Think and pray about a special gift to the ministry of Running to Win. Here's what you can do. Go to rtwoffer.com.
That's rtwoffer.com, or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now, if you missed that, I'm going to be giving you that contact info again. But again, I urge you to pray about the possibility of helping us as we continue this worldwide ministry. Let me simply say that everyone worships. The question is not whether you will worship. The question is which God will you choose to worship. Even atheists worship. They may worship themselves, they may worship their own lives, they may worship this moment of time, they may worship pleasure, but everyone worships because we are created as worshipful, worshiping human beings. Well, as you know, this is the second message in a series of two on the subject of worship, on how to adore God.
And today, we're going to get very specific. But first of all, let me remind you how far we have come. We learned last time that, first of all, worship cannot be reduced to a matter of words. You can't say that you have worshiped just because you have come to church and because you have sung good songs. That in itself does not mean that you have worshiped. We hope that you have.
I hope that I have, but it's not automatic. Jesus, you remember, said that these people, they honor me with their lips. They are singing the right songs, but their heart is far from me, he says. So it's not just a matter of words. Secondly, worship is not just a matter of, what shall we say, of place. It isn't simply a matter of saying that we've been to church and therefore we have worshiped. It might happen in church, but then again, it might not. And of course, as we learned last time, it's possible to worship anywhere. Those who worship the Father must worship him in spirit and in truth. John Wesley said on one occasion that he was riding a horse, he said, and he got off the horse and went to a part of the forest. And I mentioned it was John Wesley, actually it was Jonathan Edwards.
And he said that while he was there alone in the forest, he had such a revelation of Jesus Christ, such a sense of the nearness of God, he said, that he was overwhelmed by it. And so you can worship God anywhere. Now we intend that it happen at a place in a church service, but there's no guarantees. Now today we're going to learn something else about worship. And that is that worship always is costly. Worship always involves an offering.
It involves sacrifice. Almost everywhere where the idea of worship occurs in the scriptures, it talks about what we bring to God. So worship cannot possibly be a matter of words because if God is our all satisfying object, if he is the unifying principle of our lives, if God is the one whom we adore, who becomes now the centrifugal force and drives all that we are and do, how can we possibly think that worship can be done cheaply?
It cannot be. What I'd like to do in the next few moments is to show us what worship does cost. And in order to do this, rather than preaching on one particular text, though we shall arrive at a text and stay there for a while, I would like us to simply go through the New Testament for a moment and show the passages of scripture that talk about worship, that talk about that which is acceptable to God.
And we will see that always being acceptable to God and pleasing him in worship and service is of necessity costly because after all he is God and demands our all. And in order to do this in a way that hopefully we'll be able to understand, I'd like to give you seven verbs. Do you remember what a verb is?
I think you do. It's an action word. But now I want you to take your Bibles and we're going to take a little tour for the next few moments and beginning in Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12, and you can follow along, I do not have these marked in my Bible so I have to find them just like you do. Notice Romans chapter 12 verse 1, I urge you therefore brethren by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect. I'm reading from the new American translation, the NASB, American Standard Translation.
The first verb is yielding. That's what worship involves. Notice Paul says in light of all that has gone on, he's talking about the sovereignty of God, the inscrutable ways of God. I beseech you therefore brethren by these mercies that you present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. What Paul is saying here is that either the world is going to transform us or God is going to transform us and he uses the imagery of the Old Testament where the lamb was put on the altar and once that lamb was dead there on the altar, the lamb had no more plans of his own. Now Paul says in the very same way, he says we should be living sacrifices not corpses. God does not want us dead as long as we are alive but we should be having the same dedication as the lamb. We should be placed there just as the lamb and we should be able to say God I have no more plans of my own.
Here I am. I am yours completely. Everything that is of me is on the altar. What is it that God wants?
Specifically you'll notice our bodies. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. So we give our bodies to God. Also he wants our minds, verse 2, do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
We do not allow the world to push us into its mold because we begin to think God thoughts through our meditation in the word, through thinking about scripture that we have read by receiving the promises you see. God wants my body, God wants my mind, God also wants my emotions. A little later on in this chapter Paul says in verse 15, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
Now think this through. If worship means yielding and he says this is your spiritual sacrifice of worship, how can it be that God somehow has a part of us but not all of us and does not have our emotions too? Worship involves emotions. Worship involves gladness in the presence of God. Sometimes it is sorrow in the presence of God but remember worship is all that we are in God's presence and therefore the effective part of us, that is to say the emotional part of us, the feeling part of us is part of the worship experience. People go to cub games and for strange reasons that have never been explained to me, they think that it should be an emotional experience. In fact when you look at them you can see that it is and that's fine but we get to church and we think it's wrong to feel.
No it's not wrong to feel, it's right to feel. Our emotions also are energized by the Spirit of God. All of us, body, soul, spirit, will, emotions, that's what we offer to God and the Bible says that is our spiritual act of worship. Now you have to understand where this message is going.
It is going somewhere. We're going to be talking about our worship service in a moment but you see if we're not doing these other acts of worship, our worship when we get to church is going to be somewhat shallow and hypocritical. So first of all there is yielding. Second verb, there is serving.
Serving. Now we're in the book of Romans, look at chapter 14. Actually in my Bible it's almost on the same page.
Chapter 14, you'll notice what he says in verse 17. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. You say well where's the worship? Actually in Greek that word serves, lutriel, really means to offer home edge. What he's saying is that if you serve others with righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and there are the emotions again, he says that then we are doing God home edge.
We are doing that which is, look at the text, acceptable to God. Don't you see how this transforms your daily life and your vocation? Remember when Elizabeth Elliot was here a number of years ago and told that story that I shall never forget. For two years she took one of the primitive languages and broke them down into writing. She had to go through all of the different words and the verb forms and everything with an informant and when it was over they had no Xerox machines in those days. She had all of her research that was to be used for the translation of the New Testament in a suitcase and the suitcase was stolen and they looked everywhere for the suitcase and could never find it. Two years of work gone and someone said to her, were you not angry with God that you would work for two years and then it would be gone? And she said that never occurred to me because she said those years that I was doing that, that was my worship to God, that was my service to God. Those years of work were done for God, not for men.
So you can steal the suitcase but you'll never steal the work. Whenever I prepare a message I like to take these notes and today they come in two parts. I will not go into reasons why that should happen but see sometimes I'm not as infallible as the scriptures so you can see all the markings. I don't think Paul had those many markings when he wrote the book of Romans but here is my sacrifice to God. Whatever it is we simply give it to him and we say, Lord I'm doing this for you.
Maybe other people won't appreciate it too much but even if they don't that's really not the point. Ultimately this was done for you. It is the spiritual act of worship as I serve others through the ministry of the gospel. So the second word is the word serving. Let me give you a third word.
It is the word winning. Now take your Bibles, you're still in Romans chapter 15 now and you'll notice in verse 16 you turn across the page. I pick it up in verse 15 of chapter 15.
Did I say 16? It's chapter 15 verse 15. But I have written very boldly to you on some point so as to remind you again because of the grace that was given me from God to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles ministering as a priest the gospel of God that my offering of the Gentiles might become acceptable sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
What's Paul saying? He's saying that as I share the gospel of Jesus Christ and people are converted that's that's part of my offering to God. You see that's part of worship. That's part of making God the centerpiece of my life.
That's part of what God desires and that is well pleasing to him that I would have a part in the salvation of people and those people who are saved now in turn they will make their own offerings and sacrifices to God. Today we dedicated some babies to the Lord as these parents rear those children for the glory of God and they come to know Christ as Savior. That is part of their spiritual act of worship. That is part of their adoration of God so that when they get to heaven so that when we get to heaven those of us who are parents and our children are there in heaven that's part of the offering that we are giving to God. We say God we reared them for your glory despite many discouragements along the way but we did that so that we'd have something to present to you that it was acceptable. So winning people to Christ is part of that. Let me give you a fourth verb and that is behaving. Now turn to Ephesians Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians.
I'm saying that for my benefit not yours. Chapter 5 verse 8 you'll notice it says verse 7 don't be partakers with those who are sons of disobedience because they do all kinds of things that you shouldn't be doing for you were formerly darkness but now you are light in the Lord walk as children of light for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth trying to learn and here's the phrase now what is pleasing to the Lord that's part of our offering is to walk in goodness and righteousness and truth. You know this idea that somehow worship could be limited to words just because you sing the right songs to Paul is unthinkable. Our whole lives are to be a crescendo of worship. Our whole lives we are to ask the $64 question what pleases the Lord? What can we do to show that he is worthy of all of our adoration and the very depths of our being and our lives?
What can we do? Well one thing we can do is to walk as children of light and be a credit to him. Let me give you another word the word giving now Ephesians Philippians is the next book and that's where we are turning giving you'll notice what Paul says in verse chapter 4 verse 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift in itself but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.
Paul is saying look I could have even done without what you sent me but I'm glad that you sent it to me not so much for my benefit but for yours. You know this is a whole revolutionary concept of giving to God's work. Most of the time we think I give to benefit some ministry. I give so that missionaries can go to the mission field. I give so that we can have our various programs to reach the world for Jesus Christ and that's why I give. I give so that people are helped. Isn't that the way we think? Paul turns it around and said even if there were no missionaries to send even if there were no people with needs he says it would be good for you to give because of what it does to the giver.
It's like putting money into a mutual account. It profits he says and it's what God does in your life because you and I are born stingy therefore when we give we are giving our selfishness away and we become more like Jesus. It's for what it does us and not just for the good that it may do somebody else. Verse 18 but I have received everything in full and have abundance I am amply supplied having received from a apaphroditus what you have sent a fragrant aroma an acceptable sacrifice while pleasing to God. Paul is saying that your generosity pleases God and it is an acceptable sacrifice. It's part of your worship. That's that's what worshiping is all about. You bring something and you give it to God. You'll notice from time to time here in the worship service when we come to receiving the offering I will say now we're going to continue in our worship and we're going to receive the offering and I venture to say that there are some of you out there who think to yourself well that's just kind of a comfortable segue that we use to transition from singing when we're really worshiping to giving when we're not worshiping anymore.
No. We've been singing our praises and now it's time to bring our gifts and that is worship. It is an aroma a very beautiful imagery of the New Testament that shows that God is well pleased with this fragrance and and it pleases God to see people give generously. It is a sacrifice well pleasing to God. What on earth made us think that we would worship just because we sang the right songs?
Where did we get that from? Worship involves giving. There's another verb for us. Let me also say that worship involves praying. Praying. For this I want you to turn to 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2 where Paul says in verse 1 first of all then I urge that in treaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men for kings and all who are in authority in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity and this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior.
That when we pray for those who are in authority when we pray for the president when we pray for those who are in need and we pray for our world and and we do so it is also something that is good and acceptable. Remember that the whole purpose of worship you see is to adore God and to make sure that all of the spokes of our life point in his direction and what better way can we do that except to utilize the very great wonderful privilege of prayer and that is part of our worship which is acceptable to God. And now let me talk about the worship service. One last passage to turn to and that is Hebrews chapter 13.
Now we finally get to the worship service. Hebrews chapter 13 and the writer of Hebrews says in verses 13 and 14 he's talking about the reproach of Christ and how we should be willing to follow him and go outside the camp and bear his reproach and be identified with him even at great personal cost. And then he says in verse 15 through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God that is the fruit of our lips and give thanks to his name and do not neglect doing good and sharing for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. You'll notice now he begins to talk about praising that's the seventh verb it's to praise God and of course we can praise God individually but one of the reasons one of the reasons that we come together collectively as members of the body of Christ is so that we can praise him together. Well this is Pastor Lutzer and I want to give a shout out to all those who have shared with us. During this past year the Ministry of Running to Win has continued to expand because of people just like you who have helped us in ministry. You know the Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver it's a puzzling passage. Does he love cheerful givers more than he loves others? All that I know is this one way to please the Lord is to give.
Would you consider giving a special gift to the Ministry of Running to Win? Of course you know that today is December 30th tomorrow is the end of the year and you can do so by giving online giving us a phone call or you can send a check. Now I know that you need some info so let me give it to you I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy go to rtwoffer.com that's rtwoffer.com or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. I'm going to give you that contact info again and from my heart to yours thank you in advance for helping us.
Here's what you do go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. If you've been blessed by this ministry I trust that you will give to invest for others. You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. Next time we think about modern forms of worship and how they relate to the principles Jesus talked about in John chapter 4. Plan to join us. Thanks for listening this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
