Hell Fears YOU: Learning to Use True Worship as a Weapon

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)

How often do we limit our capacity to worship Jesus?

Let me be more specific: how often do we categorize worship neatly into a box for Sunday morning church service or a special playlist on our phones? In all reality, worship goes much farther than ambient music or beautiful lyrics. Worship is a lifestyle. It is something that should be fully integrated into Christian life. 

But how? How do we translate something that has been misconceived in our minds for so long into something we live and breathe?

First of all, we have to recognize how important a lifestyle of worship is to the Lord. In Romans 12:1, Paul says that we must, “present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” We have to recognize this as our goal. We have to wake up from our daily routine and re-prioritize. The only way to present ourselves as a living sacrifice that the Lord sees as holy and acceptable is to consecrate ourselves to the glory of God, no matter the cost.

Does that mean you’ll hold unpopular opinions in the cultural arena of the world today? Absolutely. Does that make it inevitable that certain people will disagree with the choices you’ve made? You betcha. Does that mean you may get labeled things such as “prude,” “crazy,” or “close-minded?” Yes.

And those things aren’t fun. In fact, most of the time, they’re really hard. But that’s part of step two: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” In order to not be conformed to the world, you will have to stand against it at times. You will have to transform your mind; corrupt its former way of thinking before you knew Jesus. This transformation of your mind is the most vital action in living a life that glorifies God because it means giving up the line of thinking that Satan has tried to destroy you with. It’s the sacred metamorphosis of becoming more like Christ

And the only way to transform and become more like Jesus is to know Him more and more. That means to devote time out of our day to pursue Him: reading our Bibles– even if it’s a handful of verses a day– and really absorbing what it means. We can’t just read to check off an obligation-box in our schedule so we can move on to the next thing. Time spent without passion and emotional investment does not equal devotion. It does not equal transformation.

But when we read and understand, when we pray and allow Him the time to communicate back, when we praise Him without expectation of what might be in it for us; we are actually giving ourselves the ability to discern the things that fall within the will of God. It becomes easier for us to live a life that pleases Him and makes us into that living sacrifice that He finds holy and acceptable.

That’s a life of worship. That’s the mark of a true worshipper. Someone who knows that worship goes far beyond a song and an inclination towards musical prowess. True worship is living a life that allows the Father to see the mark of His Son.

And once that transformation happens, there is power in that lifestyle. Here’s something that some people miss: worship– and understanding true worship– is empowering.

Do you realize that you have access to power to make every power in hell go running scared? Do you realize that you have the opportunity to bind things that look to oppress you because you are a follower of Jesus?

You do. Jesus afforded you that power on the cross. The Holy Spirit is the evidence and enabler of that power. Christians have the ability to use that precious and pure worship not only to please the Lord but to shake the confidence and countenance of hell. Demons can’t stand against it, strongholds cannot defy it, and Satan himself cannot rebel against it.

And that’s why the devil works overtime to try and keep Christians blind to the power of worship. That’s why the world tries to minimize true worship to a song, or a voice, or a Sunday morning activity. Because he hates it and he knows that your capacity to worship is the grand and sweeping finale to any scheme he’s tried to destroy you with.

The monsters you fear actually fear you. Darkness only tries to intimidate you so that you will never turn the tides back on them. It may seem like a cheesy, Christianese thought, but worship truly is your weapon against the entirety of hell.

So worship may be a song, but its full embodiment goes far beyond that. Worship is transformation. Worship is every area of your life coming together to glorify God. Worship is taking authority over the spirits that are looking to knock you out, binding them up, and scaring them right back.

Your God is bigger. Your God is stronger. That’s why He’s worthy of all your praise. That’s why He is worth the effort of your devotion.