Extravagant Worship: Part 2

In our ANCHOR series, Louie Giglio reminds us that although we won’t always feel like worshiping, and although there will be difficult times ahead, worship is ALWAYS the right response to a nail-pierced Jesus holding open the door to Heaven.

In the seasons to come, we need theological touchpoints to stay true with God and stay sure in a changing world. Ephesians 4:11-15 is our root.

When we say, "It was worth it" we are defining the heart of worship. Everything is a response to God in light of His glory and grace. We don't give a mediocre response to an extravagant rescue of radical grace. Radical grace always calls for extravagant worship.

There is an unmistakable connection between our awareness of grace and our expression of worship. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says we are a chosen, royal, and holy people that have received God's mercy that we may sing the praises of He who took us out of darkness into His glorious light.

Hebrews 13:15-16 is probably the central text on worship for the New Testament. It takes on board our history through the Old Testament, interprets it through the work of Jesus, and then explains it in super practical terms. In both verses, the word sacrifice is used because all worship involves sacrifice. Church is predicated on sacrifice. If Jesus hadn't died alone on the Cross, there would be no Church. Therefore, sacrifice is the norm of the Church, not the anomaly like it is in the world. In all things, we want to offer God our very best. We all have the opportunity to take on the mindset that we are here to serve God and to serve people.

Through Jesus, we continually offer a sacrifice of praise. Jesus is the door. It's through Him that we enter in to praise God. He opened the door with nail-pierced hands. So, we continually offer a sacrifice of praise. Continually means at all times, not just on Sundays or when you feel like it. This is our only reasonable response.

Sacrifice is the beauty of worship. There are some things we have to sacrifice to get out of world mode and into church mode.

We have to sacrifice self. We deny ourselves to follow Him. That's not a big deal when you keep in mind the nail-pierced hands that have made a way for you. We have missed out on the heart of the gospel in the West. We can easily turn worship into a consumer sport. We are constantly seeking out something new and fresh to meet our needs. We worship with the lens that they are doing all of the "worship experience" for us, what we like and what we don't. The reality is, it has nothing to do with us. It's all about God. All of it.

We have to sacrifice our loss, pain, and confusion. This is where a lot of our worship screeches to a halt. We can believe that God is good, but sometimes life can get in the way of us seeing it. A lot of time, the sacrifice of praise is the sacrifice of pain, loss, and death. This is why Hebrews 13:15 is so helpful. No matter what, through Jesus, we can still offer a sacrifice of praise. When we choose to worship God in our hardest moments, we are telling God that we still believe that He is the same God that we believed Him to be in our best moments. We know it because Jesus' nail-pierced hands are holding the door.

Sacrifices that please God are lips that praise His name and lives that share what is ours with people around us. When we get a clear view of what Jesus has done, we'll never get over it.