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A quote from the book
HOLINESS THE HEART OF CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE by J.B. Chapman, D.D.
To live godly is to live in the fear and love of God. To be obedient to
all His known will.
1. To worship God only, according to the first commandment;
2. To worship Him spiritually according to the second commandment;
3. To worship Him reverently, according to the third commandment;
4. To worship Him stately, according to the fourth commandment. It is
5. To worship with the hand by tithing the income and making gifts according
to
the ability which God giveth. It is
6. To worship with the mind by reading God's Word and meditating upon
His
power, wisdom, and love. It is
7. To worship Him with the heart by pouring out the heart in prayer, praise,
and giving of thanks. It is to live always in the attitude of willingness
to give up what you seem to possess and to receive whatever He may choose
to give. To live godly is to live in gracious communion, fellowship, and
agreement with God.
Brother Lawrence: Practicing The Presence
* Becoming perfect worshippers *
That the end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life,
the most perfect worshippers of GOD we can possibly be, as we hope to
be through all eternity.
* It takes time *
Sometimes I considered myself before Him as a poor criminal at the feet
of his judge; at other times I beheld Him in my heart as my FATHER, as
my GOD: I worshipped Him the oftenest that I could, keeping my mind in
His holy Presence, and recalling it as often as I found it wandered from
Him.
The seventeenth letter of Brother Lawrence
I PITY you much. It will be of great importance if you can leave the care
of your affairs to, and spend the remainder of your life only in worshipping
GOD. He requires no great matters of us; a little remembrance of Him from
time to time, a little adoration: sometimes to pray for His grace, sometimes
to offer Him your sufferings, and sometimes to return Him thanks for the
favors He has given you, and still gives you, in the midst of your troubles,
and to console yourself with Him the oftenest you can. Lift up your heart
to Him, sometimes even at your meals, and when you are in company: the
least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. You need not
cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we are aware of.
NOT PENNACE
1. An act of self-mortification or devotion performed voluntarily to show
sorrow for a sin or other wrongdoing.
The altar
a. The original altar was a place of sacrifice.
b. It was a holy place.
c. Approach to it was a religious act.
d. The idea of death was always connected with it.
e. Fire always burned on it.
f. It was a place of human acceptance or rejection of God.
g. It was the central point in all Old Testament service.
NOTE: To deprive Jesus of worship is to deprive the father of love.
NOTE: Our worship is the express Image of God
John Calvin: INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
The Church of Christ assuredly has lived, and will live, as long as Christ
shall reign at the right hand of the Father. By his hand it is sustained,
by his protection defended, by his mighty power preserved in safety. For
what he once undertook he will undoubtedly perform, he will be with his
people always, "even to the end of the world," (Matthew 28:20.)
With the Church we wage no war, since, with one consent, in common with
the whole body of the faithful we worship and adore one Gods and Christ
Jesus the Lord, as all the pious have always adored him.
Fasting and prayer
In case that the constitution is so feeble or peculiar that even a single
meal can not be given up, then let abstinence be practiced, that is, some
favorite dish be refrained from at a certain time.
We repeat, that many Christians have given up fasting, but we know a certain
body of sanctified people all over the United States who are as regular
to observe Friday morning as a fast day as they remember the Sabbath to
go to worship. They have found out, as Christ said, not only that some
things will not come out except by fasting, but also that some things
will not come down without this duty.
We have been engaged in meetings where for days people had prayed for
the descent of the Spirit and the breaking up time, when it would occur
to us to appoint a fast, and lo! on the next day or next service the power
would fall, and the altar would be filled with convicted men and women.
The sanctified people have also found out that fasting always brings a
blessing to the soul. It may not be felt on the day of self-denial, but
it is certain to come on the next with a sense of increased light, strength
and peace.
THE BOOK OF HEBREWS
GOD SPAKE
Formerly by the Prophets,.........Now by the Son;
Then to the Fathers,...................But now to us;
Then at various times.................Now as at the end of the times.
1:2. Whom he has appointed, heir, etc. He honors Christ with high
commendations, in order to lead us to show him reverence; for since the
Father has subjected all things to him, we are all under his authority.
He also intimates that no good can be found apart from him, as he is the
heir of all things.
1:3. Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high.
1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, etc. These things are
said of Christ partly as to his divine essence, and partly as a partaker
of our flesh. When he is called the brightness of his glory and the impress
of his substance, his divinity is referred to; the other things appertain
in a measure to his human nature. The whole, however, is stated in order
to set forth the dignity of Christ.
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