A Lifestyle of Worship
Chris Smith, originally preached in March 2007

What does a Spirit-filled lifestyle of worship look like? First of all, it’s not all about me! I love how Rick Warren starts off his book The Purpose-Driven Life with these four words: “It’s not about you.” It all comes to down to remembering the OBJECT of our worship – GOD! The Bible tells us that only the Triune God is worthy to be worshipped. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain” says the book of Revelation. But, if we were to be honest with ourselves, sometimes we can begin to think the world – or worship – revolves around us: our likes, our dislikes, what we hope to GET out of worship, etc. That’s why we need to be intentional about focusing on the One who is worthy of our worship, and then living life as a joyful response to all that God is. Paul instructs us to “be filled with the Spirit” – the verb “fill” is in present tense, meaning, “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.” How? One way we can experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit is by adopting a worship-lifestyle – or, as Paul puts in Romans 12, to be “living sacrifices”. Just a few brief points on what I believe a “lifestyle of worship” entails.

First though, let’s quickly define worship. Awhile back Pastor Dave proposed the following definition: WORSHIP IS “an act of reverence in response to God’s revelation expressed as an offering.” The key word is RESPONSE – we respond to Him. When are we to worship? ALL THE TIME! Where are we to worship? EVERYWHERE! What does worship entail? EVERYTHING! All of our lives ought to be lived as one long, continuous act of worship. Notice I said “ought” – none of us consistently, moment-by-moment, worship God. There are times when we do grieve the Spirit, or quench the Spirit. But, if you really think about it, you and I are ALWAYS worshipping something, even if we aren’t aware of it. God designed us to be worshippers, and to worship Him. Worship comes naturally to us. That’s why, if God is not the object of our worship, something else with fill the void – money, sex, food, other self-centered ends. And ultimately, all of those things pale in comparison to knowing God and being satisfied by Him. The Spirit cannot fill us to the full if we are not worshipping God.

So, the question remains, HOW do we worship God with our whole lives?

First, we understand that there is no division between sacred and secular, and that everything we do presents us with an opportunity to be worshippers. It’s easy for us to think, well, I go to church to worship. Worship means singing songs to God. But as soon as we have that sort of mindset we’ve just minimized worship to a time and place or to one way of worshipping. And then we wonder why don’t experience the presence of the Spirit in a more profound way. One of my favorite verses in Scripture is 1 Cor. 10:31 – “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” When you got up this morning and ate breakfast, did you know that that was an opportunity to worship God? I love cereal and orange juice – it’s the first thing I crave when I get up. And when I eat my cereal and drink my OJ, if I am thankful that God has provided this very healthy food for me to eat, and that the sun has come up once again, and that I have another day of life – I am worshipping God. If there’s only a little bit of OJ left, and instead of taking it all for myself, I leave some for my wife – then I am worshipping God by serving the needs of another. Every detail of our lives – even the seemingly inconsequential things – is to be done as an act of worship, to the glory of God. It’s often how and why we do what we do that makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE. We should do everything as if we doing it for God.

Secondly, we worship God by understanding that we are not own masters – that we have a Master, and that we should submit ourselves to Him. Obedience and faith are directly tied to Spirit-fulfillment.

Third, we take advantage of the opportunities He presents us to worship Him with fellow brothers and sisters. God has not designed to be solely private worshippers, and there is something special about corporate worship. This is what Paul is saying in v.19 – “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” When we come together to worship we are fulfilling God’s design for us. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “not forsake” meeting together. As your pastor of worship I get so excited when I hear you singing, and see the joy on your faces, and sense you’ve come ready to worship. God has given us music as one means of worshipping Him – music is a powerful vehicle. I just would encourage you to make worship with your fellow believers a real priority. As we testify to each other about what God is doing in our lives, and as we receive God’s truth, we get filled up. Our hearts get full. Paul concludes v.19 by saying that we are to make “melody to the Lord with all our hearts.”

Casting Crowns, a Christian group, has a song that says “let my lifesong sing to You” – that captures the essence of the worship lifestyle.