Great connection T-Bone. Although, lets not take the ''Way'' road on this one. Where service was IN PLACE of worship.
In Zechariah 4:6 it says, .................This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, "Not by might nor by power, but By MY SPIRIT", says the Lord of hosts.
I believe God has given every believer all they could need to serve HIM- that is , when we come to HIM in our weakness. We don't have to work for Him in our own stregnth, (like I always did). We don't need to depend on our own abilities..............
This verse states how we are to accomplish (serve) what He gives us to do.
So, Ministry (serving the body of Christ), is accomplished through this annointing of the Holy Spirit.
As our worship experience with the Spirit develops, our capacity for SERVICE expands. We become extensions of His love. His gifts pass through our hands to the world, effecting changes in it.
God's spirit, I believe, is what supplies the power to our worship and our service.
Great points Bliss and JohnIam!! I do recall the drudgery of servitude in TWI – working my arse off for an organization – and trying to squeeze in the four 15s of prayer every morning [that was all the worship God was gonna get outta me]…
Bliss, you sure do mention the spirit a lot! And that's a good thing! Especially remembering Jesus' words in John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." And that Zechariah 4:6 is a pretty cool verse –thanks for sharing it!
JohnIam
Could it be that all worship is serving, but all serving is not worship?
JohnIam – you've got me thinking on that one! I thought of Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." I think there's a subtle nuance in the way our Lord said this. I hadn't noticed this before. I always understood this as someone serving two masters – but loving one and hating the other. There's probably some juicy details in the Greek text – but on the surface what I think He may be saying is: You only truly serve that which you love. Your true service/love cannot be divided. You could be going through the motions of service - but it's not coming from the heart. So if I may be permitted to re-word your statement – perhaps all true worship [love] is serving, but not all serving is true worship [love].
Bliss
…As our worship experience with the Spirit develops, our capacity for SERVICE expands. We become extensions of His love. His gifts pass through our hands to the world, effecting changes in it. God's spirit, I believe, is what supplies the power to our worship and our service.
I like that!!! And so – linking service/worship/love back to Bliss' emphasis on being empowered by God's spirit I thought of – I know this may be a stretch – but it's the first thing that came to mind- Genesis 29:20 "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her." I'm thinking – when we hit our stride spiritually – whatever we're doing – doing it because we love God – it becomes relatively easy to do. Service with a smile.
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bliss
Great connection T-Bone. Although, lets not take the ''Way'' road on this one. Where service was IN PLACE of worship.
In Zechariah 4:6 it says, .................This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, "Not by might nor by power, but By MY SPIRIT", says the Lord of hosts.
I believe God has given every believer all they could need to serve HIM- that is , when we come to HIM in our weakness. We don't have to work for Him in our own stregnth, (like I always did). We don't need to depend on our own abilities..............
This verse states how we are to accomplish (serve) what He gives us to do.
So, Ministry (serving the body of Christ), is accomplished through this annointing of the Holy Spirit.
As our worship experience with the Spirit develops, our capacity for SERVICE expands. We become extensions of His love. His gifts pass through our hands to the world, effecting changes in it.
God's spirit, I believe, is what supplies the power to our worship and our service.
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johniam
Could it be that all worship is serving, but all serving is not worship?
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T-Bone
Great points Bliss and JohnIam!! I do recall the drudgery of servitude in TWI – working my arse off for an organization – and trying to squeeze in the four 15s of prayer every morning [that was all the worship God was gonna get outta me]…
Bliss, you sure do mention the spirit a lot! And that's a good thing! Especially remembering Jesus' words in John 4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." And that Zechariah 4:6 is a pretty cool verse –thanks for sharing it!
JohnIam – you've got me thinking on that one! I thought of Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." I think there's a subtle nuance in the way our Lord said this. I hadn't noticed this before. I always understood this as someone serving two masters – but loving one and hating the other. There's probably some juicy details in the Greek text – but on the surface what I think He may be saying is: You only truly serve that which you love. Your true service/love cannot be divided. You could be going through the motions of service - but it's not coming from the heart. So if I may be permitted to re-word your statement – perhaps all true worship [love] is serving, but not all serving is true worship [love].
I like that!!! And so – linking service/worship/love back to Bliss' emphasis on being empowered by God's spirit I thought of – I know this may be a stretch – but it's the first thing that came to mind- Genesis 29:20 "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her." I'm thinking – when we hit our stride spiritually – whatever we're doing – doing it because we love God – it becomes relatively easy to do. Service with a smile.
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WordWolf
I see the two as interrelated, as well,
but I don't have anything truly cogent to add yet.
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