The one true God,
the Creator of all that is,
has given to us everything that we have ever known.
Our lives,
our very breath,
our families,
our gifts and talents,
our earthly home,
sunshine and rain,
all of creation,
the capacity to love and be loved,
our minds and bodies,
our eternal souls,
His great love and mercy,
salvation,
and even His only Son
… all these are given to us from the hand of God the Father, the maker of Heaven and Earth. What do we have that we can give to him? Can any gift from the created ones be of value to the Creator of all that is? After all, what do you give to the One who has absolutely everything?
God has shown us His eternal and pure love through the giving of all that He is.
He has given us His message, the Word, both in the form of the scriptures and in the form of the Living Word, Jesus; He has given His creativity, order, power, brilliance and majesty in Creation; He has given His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and patience in allowing us to choose whether to love and serve Him. He has given us new life and purpose and an eternal home in Heaven through the gift of salvation. He has given us His only Son, the most precious gift ever given, when we, as the recipients of this gift, were lost in sin and ugliness and the filth of selfishness.
As we think about the giving and loving nature of God, it follows that if God is our model for giving, there are certain facts that are always evident about the kinds of gifts that truly make a difference.
First of all, His giving is sacrificial to an extent that we are unable to fully comprehend.
Secondly, His giving always has our best interests at heart.
Thirdly, God is ever present in His giving.
* He gave us the earth as our temporary home, but he sustains it so that this life can continue according to His plan
* He gave us himself in the person of His Son, God with us, Emmanuel.
* He gives us salvation and comes to live within us.
With every gift, God also gives Himself. If we are to give a gift that has meaning and value to Him, we must also be very present in the giving, not just for a moment in time but for a lifetime. Though none of us will be able to perfectly fulfill the goal of giving our all to the Lord, we must press on and continue, with God’s help, to focus upon Him and diligently seek Him, striving to grow in our relationship with Him and to surrender all that we are to Him day by day and moment by moment.
What does the Bible have to say about our giving and how we must be present in the gift, in other words, giving ourselves?
From Romans 12:1 & 2, the meaning is abundantly clear:
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Because of God’s mercy, we know that He is good. Our response to His goodness (as it has been revealed through His choice to show mercy) should then be (according to this scripture) our true and proper
(in some translations, “reasonable”) worship:
the giving of ourselves.
This is to be a sacrificial gift, and yet we are allowed to continue living this earthly life. We become living sacrifices, giving up our own will for His good, pleasing, and perfect will. We allow Him to transform us through His Spirit. As our mind is renewed, we gain some level of understanding of His purpose and His will for our lives. As we give ourselves to Him, all that we are is changed and made new. (II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”) This new, spirit life within us causes us to want to live in a manner that brings honor and glory to the Lord, and this desire changes the focus of our lives. We are no longer focused exclusively upon self and the world as it relates to our selves. Instead, we begin to become aware that all that we think, say, and do has eternal importance. Though we will never achieve perfection in this earthly life, we still seek to give to the Lord an intentional living sacrifice with every choice that we make. We have the power of God through his Holy Spirit within us to help us follow through with our commitment to live for God’s glory, so we do not have to strive in our own strength. We are to live as to the Lord, and not unto men. (See Colossians 3:23 & 24)
When the very living of our lives has become an act of worship, recognizing God’s supremacy and worth in every decision and thought, worship is no longer an action but rather a lifestyle. It’s a 24 / 7 / 365 … every moment of every day … goal of intentionally expressing God’s glory in all that we do, think, and say.** In living out this lifestyle and this heart commitment to the One who has given us His all, we give the only gift that we can give to our Creator and Savior: the gift of a transformed life that brings Him glory and joy!
CORPORATE WORSHIP AND GIVING…
What about when we come together to worship the Lord? How will we give to Him a time of focused worship that is meaningful and reverent, joyful and celebratory, and based upon what we read in the Bible about the types of giving that should characterize a gathering of God’s people for the purpose of worshipping Him together? What are some of the Biblical references that could be applied to our efforts to give of ourselves to the Lord through worship?
1. We are to give God THANKSGIVING and PRAISE!
* Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”
* Psalm 9:1 & 2 “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart: I will tell of all Thy wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in Thee, I will sing praise to Thy name, O Most High.”
2. We are to give God GLORY!
(or, glorify Him)
* Psalm 86:12 “With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever.”
* Psalm 96:6 – 9 “Honor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness; fear before Him, all the earth.”
3. We are to give God AWE and REVERENCE, acknowledging Him as the Lord and Creator of all.
(In some verses and some translations, “the fear of the Lord”)
* Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”
* Psalm 86:9 – 12 “All the nations You have made shall come and bow down before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and You do wondrous things; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart; and I will glorify Your name forever.”
4. We are to give God BLESSING. (Bless the Lord, bless the name of the Lord)
* Psalm 103:22 “Bless the LORD, all you works of His, In all places of His dominion; Bless the LORD, O my soul!”
* Psalm 28:6 & 7 “Blessed be the Lord! for He has heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts; so I am helped and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.”
5. We are to give Him EXALTATION!* (or exalt Him, exalt His name)
From the www.thefreedictionary.com, here are the applicable definitions:
*NOTE: The word ‘exaltation’ sometimes gets confused with ‘exultation’, for which the definition is “to rejoice greatly, be jubilant or triumphant (or, as in triumph. We rejoice greatly in His triumph.) — same source
6. We are to give Him SERVICE! (giving of our hearts, our time, our gifts, and our lives in serving Him)
* Joshua 24:15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Lift up His name!
7. We are to give Him WORSHIP!
True worship rises up from the people of God, who are choosing to intentionally express His infinite worth! **
**(see note at end of post)
You have probably noticed by now that there is some overlap in the various types of giving to the Lord. For example, in singing praise to God, we can bless His name. In the worship category of giving, there is overlap with all other types of giving. All of these ways of giving to the Lord are worship (lifestyle worship) when we are giving with the purpose of bringing glory to God and expressing His infinite worth through giving our best to God in every area of our lives.
* Psalm 29:2 “Honor the LORD for the glory of His name. Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.”
* Phillippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”
John 4:24 “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
8. We are to SING UNTO HIM!
* Psalm 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.”
* Psalm 30:4 “Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name.”
* Psalm 59:16 & 17 “I will sing of Thy power; yes, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for Thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto Thee, O my Strength, will I sing; for God is my defense , and the God of my mercy.” Psalm 59:16 & 17“I will sing of Thy power; yes, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning; for Thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto Thee, O my Strength, will I sing; for God is my defense , and the God of my mercy.”
9. We are to give Him TITHES and OFFERINGS!
* Malachi 3:10 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
* Exodus 35:29 “The children of Israel brought a voluntary offering to Jehovah, every man and woman whose heart prompted them to bring for all manner of work, which Jehovah, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.”
10. We are to give Him HONOR!
* Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
* Psalm 96:6 – 9 “Honor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness; fear before Him, all the earth.”
* Proverbs 3:9 “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the first and best part of all your income.”
Just as we would honor a guest in our home by seeking to serve our best meal and prepare diligently so that all will be able to enjoy the best time of fellowship, we choose to give unto the Lord the best of all that we are and all that we have for His honor. We honor the Lord by giving, just as He has chosen to honor us by seeking fellowship with us and reaching out to us through the gift of His very best.
Psalm 8:3 – 5
“When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?
You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beingsc
and crowned him with glory and honor.”
11. We are to give Him LOVE!
The words of Jesus Himself in Mark 12:30 “AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.”
* Psalm 31:23 “Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.”
* Joshua 22:5 “But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.”
* Psalm 116:1 “I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.”
Give Him your heart
12. We are to give Him OUR WHOLE HEART AND LIFE!
* I Chronicles 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.”
* Psalm 86:9 – 12 “All the nations You have made shall come and bow down before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name. For You are great, and You do wondrous things; You alone are God. Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart; and I will glorify Your name forever.”
* Colossians 1:10 “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
* Psalm 56:13 “For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light.”
* Mark 8:35 “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
In demonstration of His infinite love for us, God continues to give.
In response to our efforts to give, He gives again in return. It is impossible to give more of ourselves that He gives of Himself. For God and for Jesus, demonstrating perfect love for us has been, is now, and will always be about giving. For us, in giving to God honor, blessing, exaltation, thanksgiving, praise, glory, awe and reverence, love, honor, service, tithes and offerings, songs, and all that we are in life and in our hearts is our gift of worship and devotion to Him. Again, he responds with more giving. He gives His presence in response to true worship, and all Heaven breaks loose! The Bible is full of promises for those who will give to the Lord their all.
Giving is about worship, and worship is all about giving.
“Honor and majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness; fear before Him, all the earth.”‘ Psalm 96:6 – 9
GOD HAS GIVEN HIS ALL…may we follow His example.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
**Here is a link to John Piper’s devotion where this definition of worship, paraphrased here, can be found: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/bodies-breakfast-and-the-marriage-bed
The wording of the original definition (directly quoted) in the first paragraph of this devotion is as follows:
“Worship” is the term we use to cover all the acts of the heart and mind and body that intentionally express the infinite worth of God. This is what we were created for, as God says in Isaiah 43:7, “Everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory…” That means that we were all created for the purpose of expressing the infinite worth of God’s glory. We were created to worship.”
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
This post was written by C. Boyd.
For other posts on worship, view our category called “Worship with Wonder” at https://worshipsounds.wordpress.com/category/worship-with-wonder/
We also have a page entitled “Lifestyle Worship” at this link: http://wwwworshipsounds.wordpress.com/lifestyle-worship
The titles of additional pages related to worship ministry (on topics such as creative worship ideas, worship planning and preparation, and avoiding burnout in ministry) can be found in the header on our home page at the bottom of the scenic photo.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Do you know Jesus?
The decision to ask Jesus to come into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior is the best decision you could ever make! The one true God is ready to give you forgiveness and eternal life as soon as you understand your need for Him and believe on the name of His only Son, Jesus, for your salvation. Here’s a blog page link to help you find the answers to your questions about Jesus. http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Worship Sounds Music 
Written by praise4ever
Leave a comment