te·nu·to [tuh-noo-toh; It. te-noo-taw]
toʊadjective Music . (of a note, chord, or rest) held to the full time value.
There is much more to it than that. During the next year, we will be taking points about worship and hopefully gaining a much better understanding of what this thing we call worship really is. Today we are going to focus on Philippians 1:27;
Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27 (HCSB)
When I read this, all that I have been taught about worship flooded through my heart and my mind locked into one of the least understood facets of worship in our churches today, that being that true worship is about our daily walk. When was the last time we thought about the fact that worship involves our everyday actions and behaviors? We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory." (HCSB) Everything we do at home, or school, or work needs to be done to glorify God, as an act of worship.
When we accepted the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we did not sign on to a scheduled thing such as work, where we are scheduled to worship God on Sunday morning between 9:15am and noon, then between 6:00pm and 7:00pm etc; or like the military where we are to be Christians 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but, were only responsible to worship when we are "on duty." We signed up for a life change, where we are to allow the Spirit of the living God to indwell us and direct all of our actions, and guess what, that includes our worship. We must become so controlled by the Spirit that everything we do, no matter how menial or grand, is for the purpose of worshipping God.
Returning to Philippians 1:27, we must understand that in order to live our lives in a "manner worthy of the gospel of Christ," we need to do our jobs as if God himself is our employer, raise our families as if they are God's and not ours, and yes, budget our time as if it all belongs to Christ. Are we detecting a theme here, I hope so. Everything we do must be for the glory of God, which is our reasonable act of Worship.
We worship God, because He saved us from the condemnation we so justly deserve. A Christian comedian from the 1980's, Mike Warnke, once said that he did not like our hymns because of the constant reminder of our sinfulness, "I come before thy throne of grace and throw myself upon my face, I know that I am but a worm...so step on me God and watch me squirm." Of course everyone laughed and dismissed it as funny, but, isn't there some element of truth to the parody? We are so totally unworthy to approach God because of our sinfulness that we cannot ever hope to get out of the muck of our sin; however, when Christ died as a substitute for each of us, we saw the real value God places on us. We saw His love provide the one chance we have of climbing out of the muck of sin and becoming children of God. When we worship, we must be always aware of the gift it is for us to even be able to approach His throne in worship. Praise God for our forgiveness. Praise God for the fact that our debt is paid.
As I read the first chapter of Philippians, I took special note of verse 27. When I read, I look for points that I feel specifically point to Worship, and Philippians 1:27 certainly fit that bill. One of the areas many Christians fail to fully appreciate is Worship. We want to fit it into a small box, relegating it to something we do on Sunday. We tend to look at it as the music, or perhaps the sermon. We want to think of it as something we come and do at church, in order to get a recharge for the upcoming week.
There is much more to it than that. During the next year, we will be taking points about worship and hopefully gaining a much better understanding of what this thing we call worship really is. Today we are going to focus on Philippians 1:27;
Just one thing: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27 (HCSB)
When I read this, all that I have been taught about worship flooded through my heart and my mind locked into one of the least understood facets of worship in our churches today, that being that true worship is about our daily walk. When was the last time we thought about the fact that worship involves our everyday actions and behaviors? We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory." (HCSB) Everything we do at home, or school, or work needs to be done to glorify God, as an act of worship.
When we accepted the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we did not sign on to a scheduled thing such as work, where we are scheduled to worship God on Sunday morning between 9:15am and noon, then between 6:00pm and 7:00pm etc; or like the military where we are to be Christians 24 hours a day 7 days a week, but, were only responsible to worship when we are "on duty." We signed up for a life change, where we are to allow the Spirit of the living God to indwell us and direct all of our actions, and guess what, that includes our worship. We must become so controlled by the Spirit that everything we do, no matter how menial or grand, is for the purpose of worshipping God.
Returning to Philippians 1:27, we must understand that in order to live our lives in a "manner worthy of the gospel of Christ," we need to do our jobs as if God himself is our employer, raise our families as if they are God's and not ours, and yes, budget our time as if it all belongs to Christ. Are we detecting a theme here, I hope so. Everything we do must be for the glory of God, which is our reasonable act of Worship.
We worship God, because He saved us from the condemnation we so justly deserve. A Christian comedian from the 1980's, Mike Warnke, once said that he did not like our hymns because of the constant reminder of our sinfulness, "I come before thy throne of grace and throw myself upon my face, I know that I am but a worm...so step on me God and watch me squirm." Of course everyone laughed and dismissed it as funny, but, isn't there some element of truth to the parody? We are so totally unworthy to approach God because of our sinfulness that we cannot ever hope to get out of the muck of our sin; however, when Christ died as a substitute for each of us, we saw the real value God places on us. We saw His love provide the one chance we have of climbing out of the muck of sin and becoming children of God. When we worship, we must be always aware of the gift it is for us to even be able to approach His throne in worship. Praise God for our forgiveness. Praise God for the fact that our debt is paid.
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