Mike
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. We always think about singing songs, worship, but the Lord doesn't look at it that way. If we dedicate ourselves to the service of one another in the body of Christ, that's a form of worship to God. How important it is to God, that we know we're the body of Christ. And that's something He is really focused on right now. Are we focused on it to the degree He is? Enoch, he's a man who was well pleasing to the Lord in a day in an age where all hell was breaking loose, just like it is today. Evil was rampid everywhere, and God was sorry, even made man. Yet, here's one man who was well pleasing in the sight of the Lord. What did it take for him to be well pleasing? Well, he obviously dedicated himself to a walk with God. In that dedication, in that awareness of walking acceptable, before God, he was well pleasing to the Lord.
Ron
This morning, I was reading about Cornelius. And here's this Roman officer, this angel appears to him and says, your prayers and alms, have come up before God as pleasing. How many people that day had that experience than an angel appeared to them, you know, and that what you're doing is pleasing to God?
Mike
The centurion, the thing he had was the faith and the belief. That's what made him stand out above every other man of women around him at the time, whether he's Roman or Jew or whatever. The fact that he believed God, that was accounted to him for righteousness, just the same as it was for Abraham. Well, verse two goes on to say, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, and acceptable and perfect.
Dale
What you just read through is our worship. When he says , “I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion, of Elohim.” The grace that comes through being those who receive His love that He first loved us. This first versus is setting an atmosphere to present your bodies a living offering. An offering is alive, to God. A living offering set apart. That set apart is that it'll say holy, your bodies as a living offering set apart, well- pleasing to Elohim. There's the key. What am I doing to please him? What does God want from us? The centurion had received and was practicing something that was very well pleasing to Elohim. How many people can you walk up to today, and take the truths that we talk about and that and they'll say to you, yes, I believe that. I believe that it's mine. I believe it. How do I please God? You please God by being what He created you to be, His worshipers. God's saying, isn't it reasonable for you to give Me what I created you for? By telling you rejoice in expectancy endure under pressure, continue steadfastly in prayer and imparting to the needs of the set apart ones pursuing kindness towards strangers? Everything He said there was your reasonable worship back to Elohim.
Mike
When you look at how Paul presents this thing of spiritual service of worship, that worship takes on the form of doing something for or with your brother, instead of doing something with an invisible God.
Dale
Imparting to the needs of the set apart ones, pursuing kindness towards strangers. That's worship. We go up to somebody and you might think, what do I have to offer? Christ in me is the hope of glory. And what is glory? It's His presence. I offer myself as a living example of what God is doing in the earth.
