LIVE WORSHIP What Does It Mean to Live a Life of Worship?

All Rights Reserved 2004 by Rosilind Hackett Published By Spirit Life Ministry Publications A division of Spirit Life Ministry International No part of this publication may be reproduced in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronically, mechanically, by photocopy, by recording, or otherwise without the express prior permission of Spirit Life Ministry Publication, with the exception of brief excerpts in magazine articles and or otherwise.

Dedication: This book is lovingly dedicated first to my wonderful parents who modeled for me and taught me how to live in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ, and to JoAn Summers who has been my mentor these last four years. Thank you.

Table of Contents The Attitude Of Worship...7 Foundational Worship...9 Worship of a Jealous God...12 Heart, Soul, and Mind...17 Two Masters...20 The Worshipful Tongue...23 The Good Thing...27 Worship The Father...33 About the Author...36

The Attitude Of Worship What does the word worship mean to you? Singing? Kneeling in prayer? Raising your hands? Church? But do these really define worship? Or is there more to worship? Isn't worship more than the band leading us in a handful of our favorite songs while we enjoy moments of joy followed by deep contemplation? After all, if that is all worship is then it is still more about us than about Him. Right? If all worship consists of is being led into His presence to enjoy Him then aren't we still the taker and He still the giver? Then what is worship? And what does it mean to live a life of worship? The key to living a life of worship, a life that pleases the Lord, is taking worship out of the Sundaymorning time slot and making it a lifestyle. It is easy to divide our daily activities into categories: ones that are spiritual, ones that are sort-of spiritual, ones that are not-so-spiritual and ones that are not spiritual at all. Did you know that all you do can be spiritual? God wants us to remove the compartments of our lives so that He influences all that we do and is glorified in all we do. This truth is so essential if we are going to not only live lives that are pleasing to God, but also live lives that bear a testimony about Him to the world. When our lives are lived in such a way that all we do is worshipful sacrifice, we feel His pleasure. And there is nothing more fulfilling than living in the pleasure of the Lord; which is something the world cannot resist. Are you aware that everything you do in life can be worshipful to the Lord? Sports. Hobbies. Housework. Community service. Careers. Family time. Yes. It is true. And we even find scripture that tells us so! I'll never forget the first time I saw the term "holy housework". I thought that it almost seemed irreverent to take something so ordinary and link it with the word holy. The word holy means something that is consecrated to God, so naturally, my initial reaction was that I thought the writer was stretching it a little by calling housework holy. And then I remembered the verse: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. - Colossians 3:23 If I am cleaning my home I am serving my family by providing them an orderly place to live, and by doing so, cleaning heartily as unto the Lord. Is this therefore not a form of worship?

So often we limit worship to a style of music that we sing, dance, raise our hands and bow down to, but worship occurs anytime we attribute worth to God. When we do loving things for our family with a heart of service and as unto the Lord with a joyful spirit, we are in fact worshiping God. And by doing so, we consecrate our homes and our families to Him. When we reach out to someone in need, we are worshiping God. When we serve our employer as we would serve Jesus, we are worshiping Him. When we enjoy times of recreation with our family or friends, we are given greater opportunities to speak into their lives and therefore are worshiping God. When we remove the compartments from our lives, and allow God's presence to influence all that we do; when we cease to view our activities as either holy or carnal and begin to view all that we do as holy and unto the Lord, we are living worship twenty-four hours a day.