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Grace and True Worship
GRACE AND TRUE WORSHIP The stain of sin must be removed before we can comprehend the nature of true worship. God provided the way for our sins to be removed. He gave us His Son, Jesus, who lived a sinless, holy, perfect life. He died on a cruel cross, was buried, and rose from the grave. He ascended on high and is at the right hand of the heavenly Father. He is the historical Christ and the center of heavenly worship. It is His blood that can remove the stain of sin. It is through Jesus that we can experience true worship. It is by His grace that we are able to enter the presence of a holy God. Thus, true worship does not originate with man. It originates with God. Worship is the result of the grace of God being applied to the heart of man; it flows from a heart that has been graced by God. The theme song for the true worshiper becomes "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found." I did not search so far and son wide that I found Him. I did not become so good that could worship Him. He found me and graced me. Freely He forgave me, and freely I worship and love Him. It is not my style of worship nor my service for Him that makes me a true worshiper. It is His amazing grace. . . . The Lamb of God is the center of worship in the book of Revelation, as the people of God gather around the throne of God. There is one common denominator in all true worship: the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So many times Christians are divided by forms of worship. We are divided by cultural, racial, generational, national, and denominational methods of worship. However, our unity as Christians will never be found in the exterior form of worship, but in the essence of our worship. Worship is rooted in who Jesus is. I am convinced that if we focus on Him, we will better love and appreciate on another. . . It is the love that flows from the Lamb of God that brings us together and makes us one. - Sammy Tippit, WORTHY OF WORSHIP, from chapter one, "A Call to Worship," Moody Press, pp. 14-16. Sammy Tippit is founder and president of GOD'S LOVE IN ACTION, an international evangelistic ministry. Have a great week, Chip Stam Pastor of Worship and Music Chapel Hill Bible Church Chapel Hill, North Carolina |