Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Worship Insights # 1 - Stuart Barbour

What happens when we worship ?
Psalm 22 verse 3 says “God inhabits the praises of His people”, therefore when we enter in to worship, the presence of God comes.
What is the one thing that can’t happen in the presence of God ? Nothing ! God is sovereign. What is the one thing that always happens in the presence of God ? the enemy flees, he hates it when we worship.
Ephesians 6 v 12 says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”
Worship is warfare and we are clearly in a battle, and we need to enter in this battle. Lets ask ourselves - are there areas in our lives that the enemy has been given a stronghold ?, ask God to reveal this to us, then ask for His forgiveness and worship Him.
Psalm 129 verse 3 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts., See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Monday, February 05, 2007

Who do you live to please?

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." - Galatians 1:10

Here Paul gives us a real challenge to think - who do you live for. In the previous verses he is reminding the church of Galatia that there is only one true gospel, only one truth, only one Jesus Christ - and this one God is who we serve, who we love, who we live for. It should be His approval and His approval alone we should be working for.

Obviously it is a blessing to receive encouragement from our bothers and sisters but if we live for that then we are only setting ourselves up for a fall. Everything we live to do should begin and end with our relationship with God. Seek to please God by serving Him with wholeheartedness and excellence.

See also Matthew 25:31-46