Merely obeying the Ten Commandments and believing in Jesus Christ are Godly acts and good ways of worshipping God. But more is required of you. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” But why does God want your body? Why doesn’t he say “Offer your spirit”? Without your body you cannot do anything on this planet. In eternity, you are going to get a new, improved, upgraded body but while you are here on earth God says, “Give me what you’ve got!” You have heard people say, “I cannot make it to the meeting tonight but I will be with you in spirit.” Do you know what that means? It means nothing. It is worthless! As long as you are on earth, your spirit can only be where your body is. If your body is not there, neither are you. But in worship, we are required to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices.” We usually associate the concept of sacrifice with something dead, but God wants you to be a living sacrifice. He wants you to live for him. The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar as most of us often do. We sing songs of worship and praise but only on Sundays. In the Old Testament, God took pleasure in the many sacrifices of worship because they foretold of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Now, God is pleased with different sacrifices of our worship. His is pleased with our thanksgiving, praising, humility, repentance, offerings of money, prayer, serving others, and sharing with those in need. But we need to understand the real worship costs. There is always need for a price to pay when worshipping God. In 2 Samuel, 24:24 David knew this and said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing.” One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time. You do not worship to be seen by others but worship for God’s seek. If you worship for your divine blessings and spiritual growth, then you will shift the focus off yourself. When Jesus in Luke, 10:27 said, “Love God with all your strength,” he was pointing out that worship takes effort and energy. It is not always convenient or comfortable, and sometimes worship is an absolute act of the will or a willing sacrifice. Ends
