Holy Worship is Marked by Service for Others

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:12

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.

Insights:  In today’s verse we observe another truth regarding those prophets of old.  Not only did they spend time in God’s Word, but they did this so that they could serve us.  Notice that verse twelve tells us they were not serving themselves, but us.  How were they serving us?  By reading the Scriptures and allowing God to speak to them through those words, they were able to receive new insights from the Lord regarding the coming Messiah.  As the Holy Spirit would reveal those prophetic messages these men of God would write them down for us.  As a result there were over 360 prophecies about the Messiah and the Messiah, Jesus, had to fulfill every single one of them in order to be the Messiah.  If He failed to meet just one, then He was not the Messiah.  By God’s providential love and plan, Jesus has indeed met them all.  He is the Son of God.  In writing those prophetic words those prophets were really serving us so that we would be ready to recognize the Messiah when He came.  We can learn from their example that for our worship to be holy, then some kind of sacrificial service to other people must be a part of our lives.  I think this may be one of the areas in which we are the weakest in the body of Christ, the local church.  What I mean by this sentence is not that we don’t serve, but rather that our service is often inwardly focused only.  We do a great job of serving the local church and its membership, but the service of the prophets was to reveal to those who did not have a relationship with the Lord about His coming in flesh.  If we honestly recognize this distinction, then we must ask ourselves how well we are at serving the lost community around us.  It is my fear that we would not get a very good evaluation for this kind of effort.  Beloved, let me challenge you today to look for an opportunity to serve a person you believe may be lost and in need of the saving power of Jesus.  Once you find the opportunity, go all the way and serve that person.

Questions:

1.  Are you looking for ways in to serve others in your worship of the Lord?

2.  What have you done most recently to serve another person?

Prayer: Father, forgive me of those times in which I have felt Your prick to serve another person and I rebelled against Your love.  Help my heart to be more serving in nature so that I reflect Your love to a world in desperate need of a Savior.  Amen.

Holy Worship is Marked by Biblical Study

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:10-11

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Insights: This week we focused on how worship is relevant because it helps to produce holiness in us.  Today’s verses help us see that holy worship is marked by Biblical study.  You may be asking yourself, “What, I don’t see that?”  The answer is found in today’s verses when Peter wrote, “the prophets … made careful searches and inquires.”  With what do you thinking they were using to seek and inquire?  They were using the Old Testament Scriptures that they already had.  Think about the time in which the wise men asked king Herod where the King of the Jews was to be born.  The scholars with which Herod consulted went to the book of Malachi and determined that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.  Beloved, the point is that it was through these prophets times in the Scriptures that they grew in their love relationship with the Lord.  The Bible is the primary tool in which God speaks to us.  The more we get to know Him the more we are compelled to worship Him.  We worship Him for who He is and what He has done.  We call those two aspects of worship praise and thanksgiving.  When I observe other peoples decision making patterns I can fairly quickly determine if a person has been spending regular time in the Bible.  If their decisions are starting to go in contradiction to the Word of God, then I know they are not reading.  If all of a sudden I don’t see them for lengths of time in corporate worship, then I can fairly safely say they are not reading the Bible.  So, far, I have not been wrong on those occasions in which I have had opportunity to confront one making these poor choices.  Beloved, the Word of God has a way of helping us know the heart of the Lord.  Knowing His heart helps strengthen us to want to please Him.  Pleasing Him is allowing His Spirit to live and rule in our lives and that will result in holiness being imputed into us.  Let me admonish you to spend consistent daily time alone with God in the Bible.  You will be glad you did.

Questions:

1.  How consistent are you at having a daily quiet time in the Word of God?

2.  Are you aware that the Scriptures are the primary way in the Lord is going to speak and communicate with you?

Prayer: Father, please don’t allow my daily readings of Your Word to become just a ritual or earthly habit.  Rather, may my times in the Bible be times of refreshing and renewal as we grow in our love relationship together.  Amen.

We have a Love Relationship with Jesus

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:8-9

and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

Insights: These verses are some of my favorite verses because of the beautiful way it portrays my faith.  I have not “seen” Jesus, but I do love and believe in Him.  As a result of this faith filled love relationship I am able to rejoice with joy inexpressible the glory of God.  Our relationship with the Lord is just like our earthly relationships.  When I make that statement I have a very specific meaning in my thoughts.  In other words, just as an earthly relationship with someone is dependent upon time spent with them, so our relationship with the Father is dependent upon the time we spend with Him.  If I do not spend any, or very little, time with the Lord, then the relationship will not be as strong and healthy.  If on the other hand I do spend a great deal of time with the Lord, then I will be able to recognize His expressions of love more easily.  We are back to the adage, “You are as close to the Lord right now as you want to be.”  He is always there, ready and willing to expand the relationship into deeper waters and more extravagant expressions of His love.  We, on the other hand, are often times reluctant to seek the deep things of faith because we believe the cost will be too great.  Let me tell you, there is a cost, but whatever that cost is, it is worth it!  Beloved, let me encourage you to be willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary in order to have a vibrant love relationship with the Lord.  You will never regret one moment of that kind of relationship with our heavenly Father.  Grow in grace and may you experience the Lord’s love this day!

Questions:

1.  In what ways are you receiving God’s expressions of love to you?

2.  In what ways are you returning expressions of love back to God?

Prayer: Father, it is so difficult at times to express my love to You and for that I am sorry.  You, on the other hand, perfectly express Your love to me.  I, however, do not always receive it well.  I pray You remain patient with me as we grow in our love relationship together.  Amen.

We are Purified through Trials

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:6-7

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the ^aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Insights: Did you catch how Peter ties rejoicing in God’s protective power to bring us into eternity with Him and the various trials we go through here on earth?  If I may be a little transparent with you for a moment, it is difficult for me to rejoice when I am the one going through a trial.  Now it is true that eventually I am able to look back and rejoice in the situation, but while I am in it, I only have moments of grace in which I truly rejoice in the Lord.  Even though those statements are true, I do understand that most of my spiritual growth has truly come from learning how to be dependent on the Lord in the midst of my trials.  I am getting better and better at worshipping the Lord even for my difficult situations and trials of life.  The reason I am getting better is because each of the trials I have gone through has been a tool in which the Lord has purged more and more of me out of my life and replaced it with more and more of His Son, Jesus.  Beloved, we must grow in the grace of the Lord and rejoice in our trials.  We must become worshippers in the difficult times as well as the good times because God has saved us through both.  May God be brought praise, glory and honor through your times of difficulty.  Glory to God in the highest!

Questions:

1.  Are you presently going through a trial?

2.  What is God teaching you in this trial or your most recent one?

Prayer: Father, it is difficult for me to thank You for the trials I go through, but upon reflection I see how those truly forge me into the man I am.  I intellectually understand trials are one of the tools You use to bring me through the sanctification process and upon reflection I can give thanks.  Grow me to receive trials with a thankful heart while I am in the midst of them.  Transform me into the likeness of Jesus who was a perfect worshipper of You.  Amen.

We are Protected by God's Power

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:5

who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Insights: Let me jump on my old soap box today.  I guess the reason I get on this particular soap box so often is because I constantly run into people who are being tricked and manipulated by TV preachers.  By no means I am saying every TV preacher is a con-artist, but most of them on the “Word of Faith” networks are manipulators who are self-serving.  These preachers, if I can even call them by that title, teach their followers that God wants us to be healthy, wealthy and wise right here, right now.  They further spew venomous words like God wants you to have your best life now.  Today’s verse goes right along with this kind of foolish dogma of the “Word of Faith” movement.  They take this verse, which is referencing God’s protective power of our very souls for eternity and down play it to some kind of earthly genie in the bottle kind of protection.  Now, is it true that the Father often times does protect us while we are here on earth?  Obviously, the answer is a resounding, yes!  But to take the true power found in this verse and to water it down to just earthly protection makes a mockery of God’s true power.  It is verses like todays that baptist hold to the doctrine called the perseverance of the saints which means in everyday vernacular, once saved, always saved.  What kind of hope is there in a salvation that is not powerful enough to protect us to the day of our salvation?  The answer is not a lot of hope; but if, on the other hand, we did know God was powerful enough to protect our soul for salvation in eternity, then what kind of hope would we have?  The answer is an overwhelming kind of hope.  We who have this kind of hope only have one true response we could give back to the Father for our salvation, and that is to worship Him.  When we demean the power of God to just some kind of rabbits foot here on earth, we belittle His glorious might.  We ought to be grateful for all of God’s protection He gives to us here on earth, but we must always keep this protection in the proper context of our eternal protection.  Beloved, worship the Lord for His power to bring you into His glorious kingdom.   

Questions:

1.  Do you recall the last time you experienced God’s protective power?

2.  Do you understand that the ultimate protective power the Lord offers is to bring you safely home to His kingdom?

Prayer: Father, You are most powerful and able to protect my soul to eternity.  Thank You for this gracious gift of comfort You give to me so that I am content in You.  Amen.

We have a Living Hope that is Imperishable and Undefiled

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

Insights: The first and foremost reason worship is relevant is because we are born again.  If we have truly received Jesus’ gift of salvation, then we are born again.  He dwells within us and we are new creations.  Because we are new creations we are able to have a hope in our resurrection because Jesus Himself first rose from the dead.  He IS our hope and He IS alive.  He is living; and therefore, He is our hope that He will bring about the conclusion of the matter just as He deemed appropriate.  Our inheritance is imperishable and undefiled.  Once again, this reality has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him.  It is because of His transforming and glorious grace that has been imputed to us as righteousness that makes us imperishable and undefiled.  We are going to our reserved place in heaven because of His work, not ours.  When we come to realize the gravity of this truth, we are compelled to worship.  It ought to be the very natural and only appropriate response we give to the glorious One.  So, Beloved, worship the Lord because you are born again and have a living hope which is found in Jesus.

Questions:

1.  In what do you place your hope?

2.  Have you come to the realization of how the Lord looks on you as His child?

Prayer: Father, thank You for looking at me through the lens of the cross.  Because of Jesus’ work I am imperishable and undefiled.  I do have a hope and future and it all rests in Jesus.  Thank You for this gift.  Amen.

Real Worship

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Insights: It has been two weeks since my last blog, but I am now back on schedule.  Today’s Thoughts by Scott is a reminder of last year and an explanation as to where we are going this year as a church.  Last year we strived to get into the Bible and relay the foundation of our faith.  Every decision and action we take ought to be driven by the truth found in God’s Word.  It is through our time in the Scriptures that we begin to know God and have our relationship with Him grow.  As our relationship grows it leads us into our focus this year: worship!  I have titled our sermon series this year REAL Worship.  The word REAL is an acrostic and will consist of four mini sermon series.  I introduced the R yesterday and over the next several weeks we will be examining this truth through the book of 1 Peter.  Our REAL Worship ought to be Relevant in our lives.  If we can continue in God’s Word and let our relationship with the Lord increase, it will result in worship.  If we are worshipping, then we will be compelled to serve.  It is a truthful cycle that we live.  If we are not growing in the Lord, then we are not worshipping.  If we are not worshipping, then we are not serving and vice versa.  It is for this reason, therefore, that throughout this calendar year we are going to focus on Worship and what it means and looks like in our lives.  Today’s verses in Thoughts by Scott are just the introductory words explaining that Peter is the author of the book and his salutation to his readers as he points them to the Lord God.  It is my prayer that this year will be the year FBCBG breaks through the shackles of form and stagnation and truly worships the Lord to greater service and devotion to Him.  May He send a revival fire that spurs us on to worship and honor for His glory!

Questions:

1.  Are you aware that your works come out of your worship?

2.  In what ways have you withheld your worship from the Lord?

Prayer: Father, forgive me for my selfishness and lack of worship.  I truly desire to be a whole hearted worshipper of You.  Let Your grace fall on me and lead me into the paths of righteousness.  Amen.