Worth-ship. What is worth-ship? The proper definition, is to apply worth to something rightly deserving of that worth.
When we worship God, we are proclaiming His worthiness. We are proclaiming that He is worthy of our worship, our adoration and praise.
I was in church last week, and a wonderful young pastor gave a beautiful message on resting in Christ.
I have to say that a lot of the messages I hear today in church, as the days draw nearer and nearer to the Lord’s return, are what we could actually call half-baked. They are partly good but incomplete, and how good really is incomplete when it comes the the messages of God?
This particular one was about resting in Christ, which is wonderful. It is the goal and the focus of a Christian. This pastor did have the right focus to an extent, in that he emphasized our need to rest in Christ as believers…and to be formed into His image. Yes! I love that! Paul said…until you have come to the measure of the stature of the fullness in christ…
However, what he didn’t mention enough was what it takes to rest in Christ. A believer doesn’t just rest in Christ. It requires something. Paul said for example, that we should mortify the flesh. He told us to resist sin, even to the point of bloodshed. He told us to awaken to righteousness and sin not. This is what it takes to rest in christ. And this is true worship of God.
Sin is the issue. Sin is the only thing that prevents us from resting in Christ. And the only person who can truly rest in Christ is the believer who is finished with sin. And of course, all sin originates with self.
What I would love to have heard is something that a person can really rejoice in. And this is…bless His holy name…that His mercies are new every morning! This is MY rest in Christ, and it truly is His rest. I need His mercies every morning like I need air to breathe…still. As long as I’ve been walking with Him, and as much as I’ve seen Him accomplish in me, I still need His mercy every morning.
And the fact that I am aware of that, is my rest. If I as a believer were to wake every morning and think, I’ve got this, in my own strength, then His rest will elude me.
But I bless His holy name that I wake in the morning knowing that, Father in Heaven, I grab hold of your mercy this morning, and start this day with all confidence that You will teach me and help me. And the highlight of that day is the hope that He will find my heart and mind meditations worthy of His company.
A false rest would be that I am so pleased with who I have become, and I am so pleased that my heart is right and mind is right. These are biproducts of His rest and not the reason for it.
These are good things but are still fleshly confidences. It is not resting in Christ but is rather resting in my flesh…where there is no real rest.
My rest is that I know He is completing His work in me and that makes my heart soar. My rest is that He is so attentive to me that He makes known to me my trespasses right away and seeks to lead me in the right way. This is my rest. My rest is that He will not, will not give up on me…though He should, He won’t.
This is how I rejoice always in the Lord. God’s mercy towards me has to involve the knowledge of my sin. Only then can I know Him and grow more like Him. So much teaching tells us to rest in Him but leaves off the message of sin. There is no rest in Christ without the acknowledgment of sin.
If a believer is not dying to the flesh but is remaining in the sin, there is no rest for him yet. It is not possible. If his peace revolves around his need to feel worthy, then self is still who he is applying worth-ship to. It is not me who needs to feel worthy. This never works. It might for awhile but then a crash will come. God is worthy. He is worthy. This is my only rest. Knowing that is my only rest. If I am craving a feeling and an affirmation that I am worthy, then there is no rest for me. My worthiness is found only when I recede and He is lifted high. When a person seeks self worthiness he is not worshiping God.
Rest in Christ is inseparable from the acknowledgment of my sin and the rejection of it. This is the point where my heart no longer condemns me.
I must decrease and He must increase in me.