Do you know what the highest form of worship is? Praise? Music? Preaching? Yes, these things are essential to our lives followers of Jesus Christ, but there is one activity that reigns above all as supreme in our worship. Without this one thing, everything else has no meaning. Worse, without this one thing, we are all hypocrites.
The highest form of worship is obedience.
What’s that you say? “What about faith?” Let me say this very plainly: The greater the faith, the greater the obedience, the greater the obedience the greater the faith. It’s just that simple. You can’t have one without the other.
Why is obedience so important? Because, you can’t get near God without it. And He won’t come near you without it either. That’s why so much of your relationship with Jesus really depends on you. He can’t come near you if you’re not obedient to His will and His love.
Without obedience you are completely open to sin. And God doesn’t go near sin, nor does sin go near God. Can’t happen. Never has. Never will. So, with disobedience comes sin and there goes your open door to God’s Kingdom.
That’s why you need Jesus so badly. He doesn’t just wash that sin away, He makes it possible for you to stay away from it forever. But, you must remain obedient!
Look at it this way…disobedience is like a secret hatch that gives sin total access to your life. And that secret hatch will move itself around anywhere it wants. It will just keep moving and moving, until one day when – BANG – the sin starts flooding in!
The good news is that obedience slams that old secret hatch shut. Sin can’t get in if you’re obedient. And the best news is that’s when Jesus comes rushing into your life. He comes in and delivers you from the clutches of temptations and all the evils you face.
That’s right, obedience comes before deliverance. For God to deliver you, you must be obedient to God.
Yes, obedience is the highest form of worship…and the hardest. But, it also brings the most opportunity. When you live according to God’s will, He will deliver you to a place of extraordinary peace, life-changing wisdom, and eternal joy with His Son. That’s how it works. There’s just no way around it.
This week, remember that worship isn’t just on Sunday. It’s not just when you’re praying, or listening to Christian music. There is worship in every moment of your life – in every moment that you live in obedience to the Lord.
This Week’s Prayer
Dear Lord, I know my prayers come closer to You as I come closer to obeying Your will for me. Strengthen me to be more obedient so that I may enter Your presence and experience You more fully. I want to be closer to you every day of my life. Show me the way to obedience so that I find the path to Your Kingdom. Amen
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