Rose M Stevens - True Worship: Embracing Christ and His Word to Fulfill Your Lifes Calling

TRUE WORSHIP

Embracing Christ and His Word to Fulfill Your Lifes Calling

Rose M Stevens

True Worship: Embracing Christ and His Word to Fulfill Your Lifes Calling

by Rose M Stevens, DMA

Worship Jesus Ministries LLC

Copyright 2022 Worship Jesus Ministries LLC

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Capitalization of deity pronouns was approved by permission of Crossway.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations designated (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TPT are from The Passion Translation. Copyright 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Published by WJM

Worship Jesus Ministries LLC

Brighton, Michigan

Books may be ordered through

worshipjesusministries.com

Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN): 2022900651

Softcover ISBN: 978-1-64746-998-6

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-64746-999-3

e-book ISBN: 978-1-946114-98-3

Available in hardcover, softcover and e-book.

Table of Contents

Preface

Thank you for picking up this book and considering whats inside. I firmly believe the Lord has a message in here for you because we all are worshipers of something or someone. Perhaps youve picked it up just for yourself, or its going to be important for your family, leadership team, Bible study group or congregation. Whether you know Jesus yet or not, I pray you will very soon. I also pray as you read through these chapters, you will be fed by the Scriptures, the testimonies and insights shared about true worship. With over 1000 scripture verses written out and more than 40 complete psalms shared, this book exists to help you live and experience your highest, most important calling true worship.

In True Worship, I address the time in which we find ourselves and share many Scriptures which tell us about the worship the Lord seeks through faith in Christ. Dont worry: this is not a book about being perfect in our worship. We in ourselves are not perfect. At some point, we all lose our way one small step at a time and I do believe collectively the Church does as well. Sadly, its a reality Ive experienced in my own life and have seen first hand in some ministries. Were very much in a spiritual battle, as the Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 6. Its a battle between light and darkness, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil. The blessing we can experience is that Christ Jesus has already won the battle for us and invites us to come through Him to the Father. This is part of what I want to share with you from the Bible and from my own life.

As we look at the Scriptures together, I also want to challenge a common misconception we have that excellent music and preaching during a church service equal true worship. Maybe it hasnt been a conscientious decision to think this way, but we in the western church often live with this perspective. Rather, for all of us, Gods Word describes a much grandeur and more fulfilling understanding of true worship. Its not always easy, but its available to you, me and all of us through Christ Jesus and the Bible.

Throughout each section and chapter, you will be challenged to think deeply about whats contained in Gods Word regarding worship. From my own experiences, I have learned so much from abiding in Gods Word and seeking to obey it. Many church leaders may not yet have studied these passages as they pertain to our calling to worship the Lord. Sometimes we live in fear that attendance will drop or the church wont meet the budget if we dont keep up with the other churches around us. In such moments, we often lean on our own understanding rather than trusting and obeying Gods Word. Or, perhaps, if youre like me, we too often resist surrendering our fleshly wants to follow the Spirits promptings affirmed in the Word even as it pertains to serving in the church. Let me encourage you, though. I also know that when we follow the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves, Jesus Himself pours out special blessings to us. His ways are life-giving and joyful.

Jesus wants to be everything to you and me. When that happens, get ready! Thats when He can do far more than we ever ask or imagine! Hes so magnificent and full of love toward us His children.

I will share quite a few stories with you as the book unfolds. Its been an amazing journey to be willing to give up everything to fully obey and follow the Lord out of complete love. Looking back, I know I wasnt as prepared as I thought I was for the calling to serve the Lord and His people. Youd think knowing the Lord, growing up in a Christian home, having a doctoral degree in music and serving in beautiful churches would be blissful. Its not always that way. We church people can dress up well and put on very fine services of worship. Its the behind-the-scenes spiritual battle that often took me by surprise.

The lessons and realities of fulfilling our worship calling unto Jesus may be difficult at times, but I pray you also will discover the immense joy of being a true worshiper of Christ. Seeing Gods great love and faithfulness is so exciting to me, and I cant wait for you to similarly share the blessings that come from obedience. Anytime we truly worship the Lord, He does amazing things! Hes the Magnificent One! Our congregations and times of worship will be transformed too! We are in a time of revival, renewal and transformation as Christ and His Word are whole-heartedly embraced!

As you meditate on the scriptures shared, I pray they speak, convict and spur all of us, me included, to be the worshipers our Father seeks. Rather than the research studies and trends weve followed, Gods Word needs to be our foundation once again. Its the plumbline to which we must return, so I implore you to let Gods heart and Word come alive for you in the coming chapters. When He speaks and we obey, watch the floodgates of heaven open! Jesus who is our living water lets us thrive in a river of life when we humbly surrender in worship to Him at the threshold of glory. Its Biblical and Ive seen it! I pray youll know the same river of life and joy of true worship, even if it takes 1335 days of perseverance and thirsting (Daniel 12). Hallelujah!