Christian Living

A Spiritual Service of Worship

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
09/22/21
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“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”  (Romans 12:1)

Since the beginning, when man breathed his first breath of life, he bore the responsibility of spiritual service of worship to His Creator. When the woman joined the man, they gave birth to humanity to forever be a community dedicated to the glory of the Lord God Almighty, for He is the Creator and all known to humankind. Since the day that Adam and Eve fell to disobedience to God’s Word, the world has been filled with diversity and division from God, their Creator. Today humanity has spiraled further and farther from the core foundation of God’s Word and continues to drift towards destruction. Once, we lived in the deception of Satan’s wickedness and now have become open promoters of his wickedness. How I today praise the Lord that He will always have a remnant till the day He returns to judge the world.

With all the adversity and division in our world today, I should live my life in complete depression, completely troubled and filled with despair. I am not, as I know these things must come to pass, as Jesus said, “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:38-39) Because of their lack of knowledge of the Word of God, people see not and know not what is happening. The world is ever closer to judgment, and the world is ignorant and careless of the times.

In the times and past and evermore in the times present, it’s essential to draw nearer to the Lord, as He will drawer closer to us His own. Our spiritual service of worship has always been to glorify God in all that we do. “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) All of creation is the Lord’s work, and He has blessed us with dominion over it. We are the stewards of His creation, and all that we do is for His glory. When we are laboring or playing, and at rest, we are to remember Him who made all we do possible. Our calling is to love Him as He first loved us. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

As we fear God, we should also fear the enemies of God. Fear is not being afraid or sacred. When I was overseas in the Army, I was afraid and anxious about the enemy. But I also learned to fear the enemy. Fear is respect and understanding the capabilities of either your friend or foe. When I saw the capabilities of my enemy, I not only admired his ability but learned how to survive against him. When I see that all things are possible with the Lord God Almighty, I have great fear for His capabilities. I have done my share of hate but am at peace with my turn at loving my enemy. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

I and maybe we have a hard time fearing the wicked. I can see several reasons for that, but fearing is understanding and that I cannot do. What is evil? My simple definition is evil is ignorance of God and His Word.

All through the Bible, you find definitions of evil. The one that works best for me is the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman Church in Rome. In the first chapter, verses 20-24 are worth the read. Paul starts by stating that humanity is without excuse for not recognizing God the Creator. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

There have been many theories of how the world and the universe began. The most common is the big bang. Space is a vacuum, and from that vacuum, an object of all the know matter to man existed. No one has said, and I agree, there was any life in that block of matter. Over an unknown time, it built enough pressure to cause an enormous explosion known as the big bang. It has so much power that it fills the known universe and beyond. Somewhere in that explosion, our tiny solar system formed in our small galaxy. The third rock from the sun developed a breathable atmosphere of oxygen and hydrogen, and minerals needed to create life. Somewhere in time, dead materials came together and formed the life of a single cell creature. That single cell started all life on this planet and eventually formed intelligent humankind. I question this with a not-so-smart response. How can dead matter create life, and how can that life not figure out how it was created?

There is no answer to my question, as there was no box of matter without a creator. There is no intelligence to create intelligence. There had to be a sovereign deity with supreme intelligence to create something from nothing. There had to be something beyond all that is known to humanity and beyond. To create all that is known and unknown. There has to be a Creator beyond the measurement of our travel around the son in time measurements. In other words, the Creator has to be in a timeless state to know the end from the beginning. I can believe and accepte that much easier than nothing created something. The Lord God Almighty is the One true Sovereign God of all. Anyone who does not believe in God believes in nothing but themselves with a concise future. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

Verses twenty-two through twenty-four give me more understanding of evil. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.” (Romans 1:22-24)

If a person does not accept God as the Sovereign Lord, they believe in nothing but themselves. If they do not know God and His love, then their love is lust, as they take pleasure for themselves even if it is a kind act towards another. Without knowing God’s Word and the wisdom to apply that knowledge in living their life is for naught except for self. “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:15-16)

Even as I have been evil, I still cannot understand evil. I have always believed that whatever a person does, they have justified their action in their mind. What we see today cannot be justified by any reasonable means in my mind. They have rejected God’s Word and therefore have no foundation for what is right or wrong. Without that, how can they justify anything? If they have rejected God and His Word, then they cannot accept Jesus as God’s Son. They are left hopeless and delusional. If they have rejected God, then He has respected their free will and the consequences. “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12

It is critical the last verse of this chapter in Romans twelve. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) Christians have loved themselves by securing their eternal destiny in the belief that Jesus dies on the cross for the debt of their sin and that God raised Him for the grave, securing their eternal life in His Kingdom. Heaven is perfection as God is holy, and Jesus has given them His righteousness so they may abide with the Heavenly Father in His Kingdom. It is impossible to fully comprehend the blessing of His mercy and grace to receive such a gift. Oh, how sinful we have been and still are.

If we are to love our neighbors as we have loved ourselves, then we must share the good news of God’s free gift of salvation through faith in His Son, the Word of God. Our good for evil is sharing the love of Christ to those who persecute us in His love and prayer; they will seek Him. They may listen and accept our Lord and Savior, praise the Lord! They may reject the truth and persecute us for all their days, Praise the Lord! No one wants to hear the truth, as the truth convicts. The truth brings guilt, and no one likes that feeling. Some receive the seeds of truth, and God causes it to flourish, and some reject, and God gives them over to their selfish desires. The Christian is doing what is commanded of them, to tend His sheep. We are willing to suffer for the sake of His righteousness and believe in the promise He has given us. My Grandmother gave me the best advice, “Do Right!” That is my spiritual service of worship of my Lord and Savior.

“But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.” (1 Peter 3:14-16)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, July 5, 2020