One Sunday morning, satan happened to be standing outside of a large Baptist Church. Inside, the people were singing, praying, and listening to a sermon. Someone passed by on the sidewalk and noticed satan standing on the steps of the church. The passer-by asked satan if it bothered him to hear the people worshiping the Lord. With a demonic laugh, he said, “no it doesn’t bother me in the least. They get that way on Sunday, but they’ll be all right come Monday morning. It’s just a little habit they have acquired.” Unfortunately, that’s true of a lot of people. Worship is supposed to make a difference in who we are and what we do. (Lou Nicholes – Missionary/Author)
How is our worship life to God, are we just Sunday worshippers, or has worship become something that we live out every day of our lives? Sometimes in life we separate worship and praise to God, from our everyday lives. Its like we have a special place a switch that we need to put on when we worship and praise God, and if we are not in that place or in that zone, then the switch is off, and it becomes all about me, myself & I.
Many people think of life like different rooms in house – each room is meant only for a certain thing. In the same way, each area of our lives is different, one part is for family, the other is for work, one that is for God, and then we have our secret part, our hidden life that no one knows about.
Paul writes to the church in Corinth and he tells them in:
1 Corinthians 10:31 (AMP)
31 So then, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of [our great] God.
1.Behind closed doors
What is your private life like today, is it a life of worship? The true test of character and of where we stand with God, is not what we portray to the world, its what we due when we are all alone, when no one is around, when we do not have to put on a façade.
Many people believe that there is no need to be a worshipper in every situation, there is no need for God to be involved in your personal life. We often think of worship as singing songs unto God, and praying and reading our bibles, and something that we can only do when we meet at church or with other believers.
The reality today friends, is that we should also be worshipping and praising God, by what we do when we are all alone. Worship is more than just an act, it is more than just lifting of hands and speaking or singing. Worship is about who you are, it is about the state and condition of your heart and mind.
We can become so religious in our worship to God, just like the pharisees, that we miss out on having an encounter with the one who is to be worshipped. You see worship should not be a religious obligation that we fulfil, because when the obligation is complete in public and we have no one to be “accountable to” and no one to impress any more, ask yourself this question: “Are you still worshipping God?”
Paull tells us in Romans 12:1-2 (AMP)
[a]Therefore I urge you, [b]brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship
What Paul is saying here, is that our entire being should be presented to God in worship. This includes our minds our hearts, our emotions, our thoughts. When you are all alone – does your thoughts worship God? When you are on the internet and social media does your actions worship God?
Sometimes we might think that no one is around so its ok to throw accountability out the window and become a “lone ranger”. It’s in moments like these that you need to be accountable to yourself – you need to judge your own actions and you need to lead yourself to continue worshipping God in your thoughts and to be accountable to yourself.
There needs to be a standard that you set for yourself, this standard allows you to be accountable and when the standard is not being met, you need to bring it in check and bring alignment to your thoughts and actions.
Paul goes on in vs 2 of Romans 12 –
And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [c]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
He tells us let your mind be renewed, be transformed, be changed. Focus on Godly values, have a Godly standard that you live by, irrespective of whether you are in public or alone.
2.In the workplace
I find it increasing more and more every day, that we are one person at church but in the workplace, you would never know that we are born again believers. It’s as though the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” become our motto. It disturbs me that we are not willing to live the way Christ expects us to live when we are in the busyness of life.
Solomon asks the question in Ecclesiastes 3:9 (AMP) What profit is there for the worker from that in which he labors?
Why do we work? Is it just for money, just to meet our physical needs? Solomon goes on in Ecclesiastes 5 and tells us that he who loves money will never be satisfied. He tells us this is vanity.
God needs to be part of our work, the only way we can have satisfaction in our work is if God becomes a part of what we do daily.
John 4:23-24 (NKJV)
23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
I strongly believe that as born-again believers we should be diligent in our work. The standard that we as believers display and our work ethics should be above reproach and above what is expected of us. When the bible speaks about giving to Caesar, we often look at this in the arena of money, but what about giving off your time, that your boss requires of you, and not be clock watchers at work, killing time until its time to go home, working diligently and setting a standard whereby God is glorified and honoured.
What about our colleagues at work, do they even know that we serve a living God? Or are we part of the group that goes together on smoke breaks, or consuming alcohol during staff functions. The bible says that we are meant to be like the salt and light of the world.
Luke 11:33 (AMP)
“No one lights a lamp and then puts it in a cellar nor under a basket [hiding the light], but [instead it is put] on the lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
The light that the bible speaks about is the light of Jesus, its God who lives in us. You see we cannot be born again believers, filled with the holy Ghost on Sundays and be like the devil himself when we with our colleagues, the light of Jesus needs to go with us wherever we go. We cannot take Jesus and keep him under wraps, when we are with our friends and acquaintances. Jesus needs to be visible to the rest of the world, and the only way that can happen friends, is if we live Jesus out in our daily lives.
That is why Paul tells the Corinthian Church and in essence you and I today, that “In whatever you do” – that means in all things, not somethings, not just when you feel like it, not just when you are at church, but in every situation in every circumstance, in every place that life takes us – “do it for the glory of God”.
3.It’s a lifestyle!
Paul, in the book of Romans tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, he goes on further and in his letter to the Colossian church, he tells us:
Colossians 3:2(AMP)
Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].
Paul speaks about keeping focused, about making it a habit. This is what worship is, its’ something that becomes ingrained in us, it is something that we do, without even thinking about it, it becomes a lifestyle. The same way we breath in and out, should be the same way we worship God, it is about survival. It is like we know that we need oxygen to survive but instead of breathing in oxygen and staying alive, we lock ourselves a place that is polluted, with minimal oxygen and decreasing by the minute.
Without worshiping and praising God, we become stagnant, we become lethargically, and the world and ideologies of the world soon become a part of who we are, and we slowly die spiritually. The pollution that is the world around us and its philosophies and mindsets become our life, and we lose the essence of why we were created – to worship and praise God.
Lifestyle is defined as the way a person lives, this means that our entire life should be a life of praise and glory unto God. The best way for us to understand worship as a lifestyle, is to take our senses and ask ourselves whether they glorify and worship God.
- Eyes – What you look upon – do they bring glory and honour unto God. Our eyes are open for, on average 70% of the day. What do we gaze on during this time, in magazines, on the internet, social media? Matthew 6:22(AMP) tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body, if the, and in order for your whole body to be filled with light the eye needs to be clear. IS YOUR EYES WORSHIPING GOD?
- Ears – What do we listen to – in the day and age we live in, the type of music, the conversations that we sometimes find ourselves a part of, does it glorify God. Are we listening to idle gossip? Music that is vulgar, obscene, filled with sexually aligned lyrics.Is there a desire to listen to sound doctrine, the undiluted word of God being preached? HOW DOES OUR EARS WORSHIP AND GLORIFY GOD?
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (AMP)
3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold, 4 and will turn their ears away from the truth and will wander off into myths and man-made fictions [and will accept the unacceptable].
- Taste – In Psalm 34, David tells us “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Taste is all about experiencing something, unless you taste food you will never know how good it is. In the same manner, we David tells us taste of the Lord – the only way we can taste of the Lord is to be continuously worshipping and praising him, through the way we live, through his word, through songs of worship and praise, through prayer.
You see taste is about the experience it’s about savouring something, like that juicy piece of steak, you take your time and savour it. We need to savour and enjoy the presence of God every minute of the day, the beauty of his creation, the amazing opportunity to be alive and be a part of Gods plan and purpose. TASTE OF THE LORD AND SEE HOW GOOD HE IS!!!
- Touch – In Luke 8, we read about the woman with the issue of blood, that touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. This woman understood something, she understood that there was power in just touching Jesus. Maybe you think today of prayer as something that does not yield results, but what I want to assure you is that we can touch heaven with our prayers. Prayer is one of the ways in which we worship God, and when we begin to touch heaven with our prayers, we will see God move in our lives in ways which will blow your mind.
Let our worship TOUCH HEAVEN AND CHANGE EARTH.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (AMP)
18 in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
As we choose to live a lifestyle of worship today, let us worship God, in every situation, in every place we find ourselves, whether in song, in prayer, or even in the company we keep at work, school, or wherever life takes us. Let worship be something we not only do, but also live.
Feel free to comment or share a testimony
God bless
Trevor Naidoo
04.03.2021
The Potter's House Church 