9/09/2013

What Is Your Worship Status?


Facebook enables us to share updates on our status and our relationship status, should it change or when it changes. Similarly, don't you think it would be good for us as Christ followers to share our "worship status"? What do I mean?

My sermon yesterday was entitled Heaven? Worship? That's It?? I emphasized that the sole predominant activity of heaven is to worship the One on the throne (Rev 4:2, 8-11) and the Lamb who was slain (Rev 5:6, 9-14) as the only One worthy of our worship. Isn't this excessive? What does it mean to me during my life's journey this side of heaven? How is my "worship status"? Are there any major distracting or competing objects of worship?

Notably, when tempted by Satan, Jesus said, "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only" (Mt 4:10; Lk 4:8). The word "worship" occurs 65 times in the NT.

In light of what the Bible says about worshiping God, what is your worship status?

Personally, my worship status is always in a constant state of competing desires. My strongest desire is for having a sense of absolute control over my life, and to strongly resist allowing anything or anyone else to have control over me. I love to have control over my ministry and church, my sense of security and my finances, my family and how I choose to live my life. But this is foolish, not to mention unachievable and unattainable. It is clear that only the One seated on the throne has control (Rev 4:2)--not only over my life and future, but over all of human history.

2 comments:

  1. By worship status do you mean to whom/what we are most attached to? My worship status is based on my ever-changing whims. I have a severe case of "FOMO." Fear of missing out, so I jam pack my life with as many distractions and noises the world can throw out at me. But honestly, it's getting really tiring. I really want to learn contentment. I want to be able to share St. Paul's sentiments in Philippians 4:11. "I have learned to be content with whatever I have." After writing this I also noticed I used the word, "I" a lot. It's a tell-tale sign of who is in the center of my heart. Lord have mercy on me.

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  2. Thanks, MJ. Perhaps, one's "worship status" is what gets our blood going, what captures our strongest emotion (fear, anger, sorrow, jealousy, etc), what dominates and controls us. This is a great quote from my sermon transcript from this past Sun:

    “Whatever controls us is our lord. The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by acceptance. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our lives.” ― Rebecca Manley Pippert

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