Prepare for Worship | Do You Worship the Work?
Last Sunday, Noah Squires preached from Acts 22:30-23:35 and called us to take courage, for the Lord is in control.
Read: Acts 24:1-27
This Sunday, Pastor John Henschen will preach from Acts 24:1-27 and will show us how true freedom is only found living on mission. As you prepare for our Sunday worship gathering, let this devotional from Oswald Chambers call you to the true freedom that is found when we are completely devoted to Christ in whatever work He has called us to.
Reflect: “Do You Worship the Work?”
“I We are God’s fellow workers…” —1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work for God that causes or allows you to avoid concentrating on Him. A great number of Christian workers worship their work. The only concern of Christian workers should be their concentration on God. This will mean that all the other boundaries of life, whether they are mental, moral, or spiritual limits, are completely free with the freedom God gives His child; that is, a worshiping child, not a wayward one. A worker who lacks this serious controlling emphasis of concentration on God is apt to become overly burdened by his work. He is a slave to his own limits, having no freedom of his body, mind, or spirit. Consequently, he becomes burned out and defeated. There is no freedom and no delight in life at all. His nerves, mind, and heart are so overwhelmed that God’s blessing cannot rest on him.
But the opposite case is equally true– once our concentration is on God, all the limits of our life are free and under the control and mastery of God alone. There is no longer any responsibility on you for the work. The only responsibility you have is to stay in living constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to hinder your cooperation with Him. The freedom that comes after sanctification is the freedom of a child, and the things that used to hold your life down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been freed for only one thing– to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to decide where we should be placed, or to have preconceived ideas as to what God is preparing us to do. God engineers everything; and wherever He places us, our one supreme goal should be to pour out our lives in wholehearted devotion to Him in that particular work. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
“Do You Worship the Work?” April 23rd Devotional in My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.
Sing: Song List for Sunday
1. “All My Boast Is in Jesus,” by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell
2. “On That Day,” by, CityAlight
3. “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” Arr. Lifeway
4. “His Glory and My Good,” by CityAlight