Extravagant Worship: Part 1

In part three of our ANCHOR collection, Louie Giglio reminds us that Radical Grace always flips the script.

Mercy is new and available for each of us every single day; so say goodbye to guilt and let your response be gratitude and WORSHIP!

Our Anchor collection defines what Passion City Church is all about. There are certain threads that are so central to the Scripture that if you pull on it, it will unfold the glory, grace, and worship of God before you, as well as the meaning of life.

Isaiah 6:1-7 shows us that when you peek into Heaven, you'll find the Presence of God and therefore the glory of God. It is not casual or ordinary. It's glorious, stunning, powerful, and awe-inspiring. It's also incredibly convicting. Isaiah said, "Woe to be, I am undone." because the glory of God is more amazing than we could have ever imagined. No one can conceive of the perfection and holiness of it.

He knew he was a man of unclean lips and living among a people of the same. A seraph touched his lips with a lump of burning coal and said his guilt was removed and his sin had been atoned for. That's radical grace. Glory always necessitates grace. To see God, we have to have the grace of God. Jesus is the burning coal that came and removed our guilt. God's radical grace removed our guilt and our sin is atoned for. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. In Christ, none of us have received what we deserve. But grace is even better! Grace is getting what we don't deserve, a place in the kingdom and guilt that's removed.

In this text, we get all three things: worship is happening in God's presence, glory is the message of the angels, and grace is God's work. Isaiah responds by giving his whole life to God by saying, "Here I am, send me!"

This is the thread of our house: there is a glorious God and life is all about Him. He loves you, therefore He has moved Heaven and Earth to reconnect with you through the grace of Jesus Christ. When that grace touches you, the natural response is worship. We exist to worship God and He hardwired you to be good at it.

When the train wreck of humanity happened, worship didn't cease to happen. Worship just got derailed to something less valuable than God Almighty.

Luke 17:11-19 is the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. People with leprosy were completely rejected from society and kept out of the city. When Jesus walked through their area, they yelled, "Jesus, Master, would you have mercy on us?" They asked for what they didn't deserve. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priest. As they went, they were cleansed. They have been restored and were on their way to entering back into society with the opportunity to worship. But one of them got it. He saw his healing and realized that Jesus truly was who He said He is. The man no longer needed a certificate to be allowed to go back into worship when He could return to God Himself by turning around and making his way back to Jesus.

He went back praising God in a loud voice. Why? Because when Jesus changed your life, you aren't quiet about it. He happened to be a Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews did not get along, but when a miracle happens, all cultural and racial stereotypes go out the window. Jesus asked the man where the other nine men were. There is a difference between what God can do for you and being amazed at the God who has the power to do it. That's where worship lives. The nine who didn't return were focused on what God could do for them. The one that returned praising Jesus because He is God and had the power to do it.

Worship changes things. You have absolutely been hardwired to worship and it happens in all sorts of forms: arms raised, hands open, loud voice, running, dancing, jumping, etc. If you have a greater response at a football game or concert when you get excited about something than you do when you are worshiping God, it's time to be amazed at who God is and allow yourself to naturally respond.