Spiritual Act of Worship

Therefore I urge you, 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, so that you may prove what the will of God is, which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1,2, NASB UPDATED)

The key to spiritual victory and powerful living is not getting all you can get, but giving all you have. There are people flocking into churches to get more of God when the issue is not what they need to get but what they need to give.

After Paul concluded eleven chapters of profound and thrilling doctrine that defines what God has done for every believer, he does not say, "Now here's what you need to get." But he rather say, "Now here's what you need to give."

WHAT DO WE NEED TO GIVE

Jesus said in John 4:23 that the Father seeks true worshipers - those who will worship the Father in spirit and truth. He redeemed us in order that we might give Him glory, that we might give Him ourselves. This is the reason why Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, defines a Christian as one who worships God in the Spirit, who rejoices in Christ Jesus and has no confidence in the flesh (Philippians 3:3).

1 Peter 2:5 says, "you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (NASB UPDATED). This means that we are a kingdom of priests whose goal is to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

And what are these spiritual sacrifices? The Scripture talks about the fact that we can offer the fruit of our lips, which is praise and thanks unto God (see Hebrews 13:15). The Scripture also says that we can offer God our petition and prayer. We can also give to God the substance of what we possess. Serving others is also an act of worship. But above all these things - prayer, praise, giving, and serving - there is one act that is the supreme and all encompassing and all effecting act that a believer must do in his life as a true worshiper and that is to offer himself as a living sacrifice.

Most Christians never really come to that place fully. They flirt with the world and with the flesh. They flirt with their own personal indulgences and desires. They become victims of the philosophy and psychology of the world around them. They buy into the world's bag. They entertain themselves with the world's mode of entertainment. They think along the lines the world thinks. And so they never really come to the place of total commitment that is discussed in these two verses and therefore they forfeit the fullness of the blessing that God would have for them.

In my next blog, I will be sharing to you what does the phrase "aliving sacrifice" mean.