Psalm 29:2
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
Romans 12:1 NIV
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. .
Under the New Covenant, the requirement of animal sacrifices was removed. We are saved by the blood of Jesus, cleansing us of all unrighteousness in the eyes of God.
Animal sacrifices are out.
However, Paul tells us in Romans that we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which IS our true and proper worship.
As we have mentioned in other lessons, our only sacrifice to God, is our worship, offered up to Him.
When we worship Him daily, with a “worshipful attitude”, we are offering ourselves to Him. We are offering Him our love, praise and thankfulness. We are giving to Him.
WORSHIP IS A TWO-WAY STREET
However, have you ever considered that our worship offered to God is not just a one-way street or one-way communication line?
In his “Reflections on the Psalms” C.S. Lewis admitted that he found the command to praise God to be a barrier, noting that we humans typically have disdain for other humans who make it a habit to seek and expect praise.
Later on, however, Lewis realized that, “It is in the process of being worshipped, that God communicates his presence to men.”
This was a key revelation for Lewis; the command to praise is not just so God can “receive” something, but He also communicates with us, revealing Himself to us.
Without a doubt, when we truly focus our worship, we feel the presence of God. We feel and know that He is with us.
We can be certain of one thing and that is, God does not need our worship. He is not like proud and vain humans who seek recognition and praise. Rather, God wants us to commune with Him and receive the blessings that come our way as we offer our sacrifice of worship to Him.
As you worship, pay attention to not only what you are offering to God, but also listen to the Spirit of God as He gives back.
After several years, I also came to realize what worship really did for me, His child.
God doesn’t need our worship, but He knows that when we worship Him, we commune with Him and He communicates with us.
Worship is for us. It is for our benefit. It is for our spiritual growth and walking closer with God.
The blessings of lifting our minds, hearts and soul in worship are profound and God wants us to have them.
As you develop a worshipful attitude that is experienced each day, in your communion with God you will feel His presence; you will feel His love, mercy and grace; you will feel his guidance and direction… and you will receive His manifold blessings in return.
It truly is a two-way street.
Hebrews 13:15 NIV
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
RVH