Worship-witnesses (Romans 12:1-2)

Worship-witnesses

 

 

 

 

 

[Romans 12:1-2]

 

 

What is your life purpose?  What are you living for?  In the book “Purpose Driven Life” by Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, he says there are 5 benefits to living a purpose driven life (Warren):

 

(1)   The first benefit is that knowing purpose gives meaning to life.

 

Without God there can be no purpose in life, and life without purpose is meaningless.  Without meaning there is no importance or hope.  A young man in his 20s wrote: ‘I must be a failure because I am struggling to become something, but I don't really know what I am trying to become. All I know how to do is live roughly.  One day I will feel that I am beginning to live only when I find my purpose in life.’  Are we living while feeling the meaning of life?

 

(2)   The second benefit is that life becomes simpler when we know our purpose.

 

We sometimes make simple things a little complicated.  Why?  Why do we sometimes make simple things complicated?  The reason is the purpose of life is confused.  Having a clear purpose in our life gives us a clear idea of what we should and should not do.  In other words, purpose provides a standard for our lives.  Therefore, if we have a clear purpose in our lives, before we do anything, we ask ourselves whether or not this work will help us achieve God's purpose for us.  And then we can live a simple life by doing what helps us achieve our goals and not doing what doesn't.  However, if we are not clear about our purpose in life, we lose ground as to why we make the decisions we make and how we invest our time and resources.  We just make decisions based on the circumstances, the pressures, and our mood at the moment.  In the words of Pastor Warren: ‘People who don't know their purpose try to do too much, which causes stress, fatigue, and relationship conflict’ (Warren). 

(3)   The third benefit is that if we know our purpose, we will live a focused life.

 

When we know our purpose in life, we can focus our efforts and energy on what matters.  But now, as we live in this complex world, we live in confusion about the purpose of our lives, unable to concentrate our efforts and energy in one place and disperse them.  As a result, when we look back on our lives, we seem to have done everything, but nothing seems to have been accomplished.  Pastor Rick Warren refers to this kind of life as ‘distraction without purpose.’  We hope that a life of constantly changing directions without a clear purpose, constantly changing jobs, relationships, churches, and other external things will settle the confusion in our hearts and fills the void, but it only makes us feel more confused and emptier.  However, those who live by being led by a purpose do the most important things first, no matter how beneficial they are.

 

(4)   The fourth benefit is that when we know our purpose, we are motivated in life.

 

When we have a clear purpose in life, we burn with passion to achieve that purpose.  The reason is because purpose breeds passion.  Last week I read an article about actor and director Clint Eastwood in an American magazine.  He is said to be eighty years old now.  Nonetheless, he is still devoting himself to making films.  It was a bit of a refreshing shock to see him say that he still thinks he has a lot to learn from the film world as to why he puts so much effort into making films instead of retiring.  Even an 80-year-old man like this was challenged by how much more I, still only in my 40s, should run towards the purpose God gave me with enthusiasm and an attitude to learn.  Even in the Bible, if we look at people like Moses or Caleb and see how God uses them even at the age of 80, we can't help but feel the burning passion for those who have a clear purpose.

 

(5)   The fifth and last benefit is that we can prepare for eternal life by knowing our purpose.

 

How will people evaluate us when they come to our funerals after we die?  A more important question is, ‘How will God evaluate our lives after we die?’  The purpose of God sending us to this earth is not to be remembered in this world.  We were sent to this earth to prepare for eternal life.  What do those who really prepare for eternal life do?  Pastor Rick Warren says that believers who prepare for eternal life live on this earth by asking two important questions that God will ask us: (a) ‘What have you done with my son Jesus Christ?’, (b) ‘What did you do with the things I gave you?’  What is the purpose of our life?  What are we living for?

 

                    Our church has three goals.  The three major goals are (1) raising true worshipers, (2) raising faithful disciples, and (3) raising soul-loving evangelists and humble volunteers.  Based on these three goals, our church has three purpose statements.  The first statement of purpose is: ‘The church that attends the Lord: Worship-Witnesses.’  The passage for this first statement of purpose is 1 Corinthians 14:25 – “and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare.  So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!”  This word was challenged in a book called “Worship in Spirit and in Truth” written by a systematic theology professor I studied under at Westminster Seminary.  I learned that what God wants most from us is worship, and that worship must fulfill the role of witness or mission of evangelism.  The purpose of giving us the grace of salvation because God made us believe in Jesus Christ is to worship God.  That is why God saved the Israelites from bondage in Egypt through Moses.  This God says: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (Jn. 4:23).  Since God is looking for those who worship Him, our church is pursuing the right worship, worship in Spirit and truth, where we all prioritize worship and put our heart and soul into it.  In the midst of this, we earnestly pray that through our worship service, even those among us who do not believe in Jesus will fall down and worship God, and God is truly among us.  That's why I set the first purpose statement of our church as ‘The church that attends the Lord: Worship-Witnesses.’  However, a couple of weeks ago, while reading 1 Corinthians 14:25, I began to meditate on this word again.  In the midst of this, I gained an important realization through the context of this word.  That realization is that in worship, both non-believers and believers in Jesus are rebuked and judged through the word of God (v. 24), so the work of realizing their sins, repenting, and returning to the Lord must take place in our worship.  The basis for this realization is 1 Corinthians 14:24 – “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all.”  The voice the Lord gives me through this word is that as a church pastor, I must faithfully take up the responsibility of proclaiming the prophetic word.  In other words, when I boldly proclaim the word of God, our sins are revealed through the word, and only when we realize that we are sinners can we repent of our sins and turn to the Lord by relying on the precious blood of Jesus on the cross.

 

                So, I want to boldly declare the word of God to you under the heading of “Worship-witnesses,” centered on the text of Romans 12:1-2.  The word of God that I want to spread to you today is, in one word, “Offer spiritual worship to God.”  As apostle Paul says to the saints in Rome the doctrine from Romans 1 to 11, and then the application of the doctrine from Romans 12, he exhorts them to offer spiritual worship to God first.  In other words, he is telling the saints in Rome: ‘Since you have been saved by believing in Jesus Christ, live a life of true faith as those who have been saved.  That life of true faith is to offer spiritual worship to God first.’  Didn't you and I receive salvation by believing in Jesus Christ by God's total grace?  Then, since we have been saved by faith, shouldn't we live a faithful life before God?  What is that faithful life?  It is to offer spiritual worship to God.  What is “worship”?  In a word, worship is respect and adoration. Worship is not for us, but for the God we seek to glorify.  We worship to give God the greatest joy, and we have our greatest joy in pleasing Him (Frame).  Then, what is the “spiritual worship” mentioned in Romans 12:1?  Spiritual worship does not refer to the external ceremonial worship performed by the Jews in the Old Testament, but refers to spiritual worship, that is, worship with the Holy Spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24) (Park).  The external ceremonial worship of the Old Testament, which the Israelites offered to God, was, as the prophet Isaiah said, offering countless offerings as sacrifices (Isa. 1:11) to show God something (v. 12).  Ritual worship is not pleasing to God (v. 11) and is of no benefit (v. 11).  Furthermore, such outward ceremonial worship is an unbearable abomination to God and is detested (vv. 13-14).  From God's point of view, the material things we offer to God are burdensome and exhausting to God (v. 14).  Then, what is the spiritual worship that God wants?  That is to worship in the Spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:24).  In other words, the true spiritual worshipers God is looking for are guided by the Holy Spirit of truth and the truth of the gospel (the good news of salvation in Jesus) and worship.  After all, spiritual worship is God-centered worship, and God-centered worship is always offered in the name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit.  In a word, spiritual worship is trinitarian worship (Frame).  Spiritual worship is worship in which we give thanks, praise, worship, and devote ourselves to God in recognition of the unique works of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and God the Holy Spirit for our salvation.

 

                Three things pursued by spiritual worshipers who hold such spiritual worship are recorded in Matthew 12:1-2.  I hope and pray that we can also be established as true spiritual worshipers by pursuing these 3 elements:

 

            First, spiritual worshipers present their bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God.

 

                Look at Romans 12:1 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.”  The living sacrifice that God is pleased with is the holy living sacrifice.  In other words, the spiritual worship that pleases God is to offer our bodies to God.  Of course, this does not mean that the priests killed animals and placed them on the altar when offering sacrifices to God, as in the Old Testament times.  Since Jesus, the Lamb of God, died as a sacrifice on the cross in our place, we do not need to offer our bodies to God as a sacrifice.  In today's text, as spiritual worshipers, what Paul exhorts the saints in Rome and you and I to offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God is to live a holy life.  What does it mean to live a holy life?  As Paul already told us in Romans 6:12-13, it is not obeying the lusts of the body and presenting our members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but rather presenting our bodies to God as instruments of righteousness.  A true spiritual worshiper who lives a life dedicated to God as an instrument of righteousness lives a righteous life toward God.  In other words, spiritual worshipers live a life worthy of the gospel.  A true spiritual worshiper lives a life worthy of the gospel, especially a holy life.  This is the life of worship-witnesses.

 

                Second, the spiritual worshiper seeks transformation by renewing the mind.

 

                Look at Romans 12:2a – “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. ….”  A true spiritual worshiper does not conform to this world.  What kind of generation is this?  Jesus referred to this generation as ‘a wicked and adulterous generation’ (Mt. 12:39).  What do you think?  Do you think that this generation we are living in is the wicked and adulterous generation?  This world is full of sin and adultery.  What should we do at this time when the waves of sin and adultery are blowing through our lives like a storm?  We must be transformed only by the renewing of our mind.  This is not just an external change.  This represents a fundamental, internal change.  This refers to a life that meets the standards of the next world (Park).  This is the essence of a life of spiritual worship.  The key to a life of spiritual worship is transformation.  Are you and I really changing?  Or are we deteriorating?  What is truly amazing is how should we explain the lives of our Christians who have worshiped hundreds of times and said countless times that they have received grace from God's word, but which do not change?  Even pastors who are preachers of the Word feel like they have given up lamenting at the unchanging appearance of the saints, and from the standpoint of the saints listening to the Word, criticism and dissatisfaction do not seem to stop at the unchanging appearance of the preachers.  How do we explain the appearance of Christians who do not change no matter how much we worship, even though we seem to faithfully handle worship, which is a religious ceremony, even out of habit?  This shows that there is a problem with our worship life.  Even though we have a lot of knowledge of the Bible, how many correct doctrines we have, and how many times we have held worship services, why do we not experience the work of change and rather become degenerate?

 

                There are two kinds of change.  It is important which direction it changes.  It is either a change in an evil direction or a change in a good direction.  While we worship, we can either change in a bad direction or change in a good direction.  You may sound puzzled.  Let me give you an example.  During worship, we hear the word of God through the preacher, the pastor.  The Scripture says that the word of God is like fire and a hammer (Jer. 23:29) and the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17).  This word means that the preacher himself or the saints who truly receive grace through the word of God during the sermon have their hard hearts broken, their cold hearts melted, their hearts and consciences pierced, and there is a work of true repentance and a work of being established.  But at the same time, we must consider that God's word can harden our hearts.  Hearing the word of God through Moses hardened King Pharaoh’s heart.  Likewise, those who hear the word of God through the preacher but do not obey it can rather harden their hearts by hearing the word.  Obedience is a blessing, but disobedience is a curse.  Then, in which direction are you and I receiving changes now?  The saints who are changed in the direction of evil through Sunday worship will be conformed to this world even after they go out into the world.  Outwardly, they may call themselves church members, Christians, and even worshipers, but they are Christians who have lost the ability to change the world.  Greed and ambition to grow the church by increasing the number of Christians may not seem like it to people, but it is an abomination and hate in God's eyes (Isa. 1:13, 14).  The change God is pleased with is that we are established before God as true worshipers.  And the life of a true worshiper changes the world while worship and life are united and changed.  Although the number may not be large, like the 300 in Gideon, a community that is being raised up as spiritual worshipers who fight and win over themselves, sin, and the world for the glory of God brings true change to all areas of ministry through changes in worship.  I am praying to God for a dream of such a church community.  We must not imitate this generation.  We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Because we are changed, we must change our families, our workplaces, our businesses, our neighbors, our society, our country, and the world.  This is the life of worship-witnesses.

 

                Third and last, the spiritual worshiper obeys God's will.

 

                Look at Romans 12:2b – “…  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  When we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God and renew our minds, when we are transformed, we have the discernment to discern God's will.  In other words, those who offer spiritual worship renew their minds, so when they are transformed, they gain spiritual discernment.  As a result, true spiritual worshipers can discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God with spiritual discernment.  Then what do spiritual worshipers do?  They obey the discerned will of the Lord.  The will of God is not known to those who have no heart to obey (Jn 7:17) (Park).

 

                God makes everything beautiful in its time because He fulfills His purpose or His will (Eccle. 3:1-14).  That's right.  Our God is the God who makes everything beautiful by fulfilling His sovereign will at the time of birth and at the time of death, at the time of discipline and at the time of recovery, at the time of crying and at the time of laughing, at the time of being silent and at the time of speaking, at the time of love and at the time of hatred.  I am reminded of the commentary on the hymn, “My Jesus, as Thou Wilt”: After Luther's Reformation, there were several Lutheran Reformed churches, but they declined day by day and were forced to be annihilated by Roman Catholic forces.  Thanks to the peace of Westpholia in 1648, only one Lutheran church survives in Schweidnitz and Pastor Benjamin Schmolck (1672-1737) took charge of the Lutheran church.  As pastors in charge of only one Lutheran church in a vast area of 36 villages, Pastor Schmolk and his wife had a very difficult pastoral life.  He often came in the middle of the night because it took him a whole day to do once he left the atrium, and sometimes he was away for several days at a time.  At that time, there were only small children in the house.  One day in 1704, when Pastor Schmolk and his wife returned home after visiting, they found the house on fire and ruined.  And they found their younger son and his brother, who had died by fire, lying side by side in a pile of ashes.  Shocked, Pastor Schmolk and his wife lost consciousness for a moment, but then knelt down and began to pray with tears before God (Internet). The content of the prayer at this time is the lyrics of the hymn “My Jesus as Thou Wilt”: (v. 1) My Jesus, as Thou wilt!  O may Thy will be mine; Into Thy hand of love I would my all resign.  Through sorrow, or thro' joy, Conduct me as Thine own; And help me still to say, My Lord, Thy will be done.  (v. 2) My Jesus, as Thou wilt! Though seen through many a tear, Let not my star of hope Grow dim or disappear.  Since Thou on earth hast wept, And sorrowed oft alone, If I must weep with Thee, My Lord, Thy will be done.  (v. 3) My Jesus, as Thou wilt!  All shall be well for me; Each changing future scene I gladly trust with Thee.  Straight to my home above I travel calmly on; And sing, in life or death, My Lord, Thy will be done.  Amen.  Like Pastor Schmolk and his wife, true spiritual worshipers want the Lord's will to be done on earth whether they live or die.  I hope and pray that all of us will be able to glorify God by being established as spiritual worshipers, offer our bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God, and be transformed by renewing our minds, obeying the will of the Lord with all our heart and soul, and serving as witnesses of true worship.