WORSHIP, PLEASING AND ACCEPTABLE TO GOD
~ Rev. Paukhanmang Guite, General Secretary, EBC
It has been nineteen years since we have left EBCC Delhi as its pastor, and I am glad that we could see each other again today. I thank the Lord, the pastors and elders for giving me this precious time. I and my family greet you all on behalf of our leaders at the headquarters and the church members from different places.
This morning, I want to discuss with you the topic ‘Worship, pleasing and acceptable to God’. We might have heard sermons on this topic several times, as it is also our theme of the year. But today, I would like to discuss its roots, or the foundation on how we can offer worship to God which is acceptable and pleasing in His ways.
Let us listen to His voice through the following Bible verses:
Romans 12:1-2 ; 2 Corinthians 5:17 ; Ephesians 4:22-24
The foundation for worshipping God, pleasing and acceptable in His ways for Christians who accept Jesus Christ as their saviour, is that they must be changed by God. This change must bring them have renewal of minds and thoughts which are according to His ways. It should take us on the path of leading new lives, in other words, becoming new creations practically living out Christ’s likeness. We need to know that this is what we ought to be as Christians. If we are crystal clear about the same, then any difficult circumstances which may come, like dirty thoughts, sinful worldly desires etc., will not be able to obstruct us from living out a true Christian life. This way we are already offering worship to God, which is pleasing and acceptable to Him.
The old us, wherein we don’t feel guilty to do worldly things, will not be seen in our new lives after we are saved by Christ. If we do not stand firm in Christ and leave behind the old lives we lived before we met Him, then these temptations can try to pull us back. The fact that you are a new creation cannot be shown; people will not be able to see the difference in us. If we cannot change our lives and continue to live the way we did before meeting our saviour, then there must be something seriously wrong; we must deeply introspect about our salvation.
People who have received salvation are dead in sin and alive in Christ. As the Holy Spirit abides in us, we can no longer be enslaved by sin. There is a change which is abstract: we still look the same physically but what lives inside us has changed, so the things we do automatically become different and people can see that change. When we try to do the things that we enjoyed and did not feel guilty of before salvation, there is some voice inside us which do not allow us to do those things anymore.
As can be seen in Matthew 17:2-3, the face of Jesus was transformed when he went to the mountains. The disciples Peter, James and John could see that transformation; Jesus did not have to tell them. Likewise, we believers are changed when we receive salvation. We receive a renewal of mind, and people around us can feel the difference. Just as light and darkness are totally different entities that cannot be together, we as new creations cannot continue to let our dark sides live in us anymore.
Living practical Christian life is crucial for giving a pleasing and acceptable worship to God.
For more information, please open links below:
Order of Service :: DEW | March 24, 2019
Audio :: Sermon
