Date: 29-12-24
Preacher: Rev Ramachandran
Title: Glorify God through Worship

Glorify God through Worship

We finally came to the last message for the year on the annual theme of ‘Do all to the gloryof God’ and it was befitting to conclude with Rev Rama’s message on worshipping. It was befitting in that glorifying and worshiping God are 2 sides of the same coin and it wascertainly refreshing to listen to a message devoted to worship alone.

Rev Rama started with updating the congregation with his overseas church planting workas well as refreshing the congregation of the content of his message on the 17 th March this year as he is a regular speaker in the church.

After sharing the relevant biblical reference, 1 Corinthians 10:31, he went into what would constitute real worship. 4 points related to the topic were shared and the first was ‘WorshipGod with Passion’. Here he pointed out that the Wise men who knew about the birth ofJesus and set out to seek and worship Him spared no effort in doing all that. Rev Rama contrasted this with King Herod who knew nothing about Jesus’ birth place and though his chief priests and teachers of the law knew, they treated it as a non-event. Hence, he cautioned the congregation on our indifference, apathy and spiritual complacency as wecan get so comfortable with our weekly ritual of worship but without the passion. He shared his encounter in Orissa, India, where he was preparing to conclude his message by5 pm in a certain village as he was concerned with safety issues of the wild animal kind.The village pastor then spoke to him to stay as the congregation made up of mostly women, some with babies in arm, were so thirsty for God’s words that they would have stayed overnight too.

The next point is ‘Worship God with Piety (reverence)’. The Wise men that set out to locate Jesus’ birthplace were not ordinary men as they were most likely kings themselves.However, when they had found Jesus and worshipped him, they knew their place and bowed themselves before baby Jesus. Rev Rama asked the congregation whether in ourworship (with reverence), we acknowledge God’s sovereignty and do our worship with concentration, praise and obedience.

The third point is ‘Worship God even in Pain’. He highlighted how the Wise men must have travelled at least 6 months to a year in their quest to worship Jesus. This was certainly no easy feat and Rev Rama shared his personal testimony of his own daughter, who, at theage of 24, was found unconscious one early morning by her brother. She was sent to the nearest hospital, diagnosed with meningitis and her family members were told to prepare for the worst. It would be a touch and go situation for 24 hours. When Rev Rama received the news he rushed to the hospital. He was on his way that God spoke to him whether he would still serve Him if He took his daughter away. He told God that this was a question He shouldn’t ask any parent but later his reply was he would still serve Him, if that was His will. The daughter who was in coma for 3 days made a miraculous recovery. Rev Ramaal so quoted Job and most of us know full well what Job went through.

The last point was ‘Worship God with the best Presents’. Do we worship God with our leftovers or do we give Him our best?

In his conclusion, Rev Rama used Romans 12:1. – ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship’. Yes, a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Nothing short.