We worship
All of life is worship. To cease worshiping is to cease living. As those created to image God, we worship… continuously. Obviously I’m not talking about singing songs or going to meetings, I’m talking about trust, hope, longing, desire, affections.
It’s impossible to turn our worship off; it’s just a matter of where we aim our worship. Whether it’s our desire for sexual satisfaction, monetary provisions, relationships, rest, comfort, or security, the outcome is the direct result of where our worship is aimed.
It’s impossible to worship God and sin at the same time. If I worship God I turn from temptation and say God is good enough, he’s great enough, he’s my comforter, my hearts desire.
Sin's reality
As Christians we can’t escape the reality that when we do sin, we are worshiping idols and not God. This is what sin actually looks like…
We stand before God and we say, God, I’m tempted to steal (or whatever the sin is) because you are actually not good, you’re not who you say you are, you can’t meet my needs, I will go around you and hope on and find satisfaction in this idol. It’s a direct accusation against God. And therefore, God is always the most offended party when we sin.
As we journey to kill sin in our lives and help others kill sin in their lives, we must see our/their sin rightly. To quote Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp, sin is a worship disorder. We worship our way into sin and therefore we can’t white knuckle our way out of it, we can only worship our way out of it. True repentance is just that; turning from your idol, the thing you have hoped on, trusted on, and worship the one true God who can actually meet all of our needs.
Searching Questions
Ask yourself the following questions:
1.When I’m stressed, I __________________________.
2.When I’m unhappy, I ___________________________.
3.When I’m happy, I ___________________________.
4.When I’m afraid, I ___________________________.
Our answers can range from seemingly innocent things as working out or watching our favorite TV show, to turning to substances, over eating, pornography or alcohol. Regardless, the invitation we have from Jesus is this:
“At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30)
Be careful not to lead your people, or yourself for that matter, into a heavy burden of work and strong will, rather lead them to the deep wells of grace through worshiping Jesus. As our worship of Jesus increases, our sin will decrease.
