John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

There is one outstanding feature that validates the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as being the true message of salvation from God. And that feature is TRANSFORMATION. Transformation is more than insight on how to change. It is the power of change itself. Throughout the Gospel and Epistles we are told that we can expect to experience life-changing transformation, from carnally weak to spiritually powerful people of God. Nowhere is this point more powerfully made than in Romans chapter 12.

Rom. 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Rom. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Here the word transformed is our English word for metamorphous. The exact same meaning as is applied to the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. The butterfly that emerges from the cocoon bears no resemblance whatsoever to the caterpillar that went in. The caterpillar didn’t go into the cocoon and start straining its muscles and concentrating its thoughts to change itself. It was changed by the power of metamorphosis, which God designed into it.

The reason “True Worship” is so important, and why “the Father seeks such to worship Him”, is because it is the very place – the cocoon - where actual transformation occurs. It’’s the point at which we experience transformation from earthly bonds to Christ-likeness. Notice how Paul refers to “presenting our bodies” in worship as our “spiritual service of worship”. Other translations call it our “reasonable service of worship”. He then associates this physical presentation of ourselves in worship, with transformation, or metamorphism. Taken all together, the thought here is wonderfully amazing. Paul is letting us know that when we enter the place of true worship, we undergo the promised exchange – the transformation from earthly to heavenly. Entering into worship is no less effective than the caterpillar entering the cocoon.

Now bear in mind, as we have pointed out over the past few days, entering worship is more than entering church, or entering into singing, or even entering into praying. For people can say prayers without praying. Saying isn’t praying. And singing isn’t worship. Worship is worship, and nothing else can substitute. But when we have genuinely presented ourselves before the Lord, and have successfully entered the Most Holy Place of fellowship with the Father, there is no way of avoiding the affect of His transforming power upon our being.  And the longer and more frequently we go there, the more dramatic the change.

The Lord Jesus spoke about Himself, through Isaiah the Prophet, about 700 years before His appearance in the world. Concerning His mission He revealed His intention to transform us:

Is. 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Is. 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Is. 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Notice the exchange of “beauty for ashes, etc…” In connection with this series on worship, one of our readers sent in this testimonial:

“Several years ago I had a friend over and we were listening to a worship tape. That day I woke up with a really bad stiff neck. I could not move my head the slightest bit without serious pain. While I was listening to the praise music I began to just join in and sing with my heart to the Lord. My friend joined me. Not much time passed before I felt a complete healing in my neck. I jumped up and exclaimed, “My neck– it’s healed!! My neck…” – and when I looked at her, she had tears streaming down her cheeks. I asked her why she was crying. She said the presence of the Lord was very strong and she felt a complete release from the bondage in some area of her life. We just were stunned with the power and simplicity with which the Lord came to us. Us! Who were we to be so honored to have the living God, the Almighty One take the time to give us a miracle?!”

I can verify this testimony, for I had been this lady’’s Pastor many years ago. If we would but take the Lord at His Word, and come to Him in the sweet surrender of true worship, how we would find such wonderful relief from our struggles and pains. As wonderful as it is to know about the Truth, nothing can compare with being transformed by the Truth. The Father seeks for us to enter the cocoon of worship because that is the place where we truly surrender our will to the life-changing reality of God’s Truth, and make it our own. Paul put it like this:

Rom. 12:1 …your spiritual service of worship.

Rom. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

When you are transformed by the Truth your life is a walking billboard. The Truth is no longer something that just comes out of your mouth, but it is reflected through all of your being. You have been transformed, changed, by the Truth of Christ, into His very image. Your life is a “proof” of Christ. The place of face-to-face, spirit-to-Spirit worship, is where your transformation occurs.

The simple fact is that true worship is true surrender.

And that’s what it takes for the Truth to go from being something that you believe about God to becoming something true about YOU.

2 Cor. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Cor. 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

That place where the Spirit of the Lord is – that place of intimate encounter and ultimate surrender, where the Lord’’s face becomes our mirror – that place is called True Worship. Isn’t it wonderful to know that the blessing of a transformed life – the gift of “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” isn’t reserved for a special or elite person, but for a true worshipper of Jesus Christ. Anyone can qualify, anyone can surrender and enter in.  Why don’t you determine right now, to begin to seek a more regular and intimately honest life of worship with the Lord. Discover the “secret place of the Most High”.

Psa. 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty….

More on worship tomorrow, so until then……

Stay On The Path!