You have already heard that we are worshipping here in the gym (The Family Life Center) because of our furnace … Now that is the root reason … We have a furnace … that is how and why it gets warm in these cold Kansas winters. There is the reality of a furnance ... that is to keep us warm and we know that … but there is something else we need to know as to why a furnace, which is to keep us warm .. and we have one … has sent us to the gym for our praise, proclaim, and partake service.
Specifically, there is a part in the furnace that expired, quit, high-tailed it, vamoosed, DIED! … So, our sanctuary furnace is not heating … It’s pretty chilly in there … 60 degrees! We discovered this on Tuesday morning. Well, then, WHY HASN'T IT BEEN REPAIRED?
The HVAC team could not get out until Wednesday morning and they did not find the part until late that afternoon … and then only in Denver & Chicago … I suppose with all this weather we have had, there was no guarantee that the part would make it by Friday and be installed for Sunday's service
THAT”S THE ROOT CAUSE!
There is a failed part in our furnace that did not arrive in time to be installed and warm the sanctuary.
Now, a root cause is most often used in the negative sense as the fundamental, often systemic, flaw that triggers a chain reaction leading to an incident, aiming for prevention. For us, that failed part, that is in the process of being replaced because it fundamentally went KAPOOT … set off a chain reaction leading to NO HEAT! … Even though the ROOT REASON is still viable … WE HAVE A FURNACE … and it provides HEAT! … That is it’s prupose … it’s reason for being, because their is a root cause that has not been addressed, the HEAT IS GONE!
In our life worship … as followers of Jesus … The REALITY of Who Jesus is NEVER CHANGES … no matter how well or how poorly we follow Him ... or even we NEVER DO … HE … JESUS is and ALWAYS WILL BE THE ROOT REASON for WORHSIP … LIFE WORSHIP ... because He IS THE TRUTH … and The Father desires those who worhsip to do so in Spirit and in Truth ...
However, to more fully engage Life Worship … Jesus MUST ALWAYS BE the ROOT CAUSE of our worship - He who sets off a chain reaction of awe in our souls ... The TRUTH Who leads us to lay down our lives daily as living sacrifices … which is our spiritual act, engagement of worship …. that pleases God.
We so often can be stagnated in praise and not move to worship; that's likely because the ROOT REASON, the existence, even your declaration of Jesus is real but the ROOT CAUSE has not been ignited. Praise can be seen as our declaration of Truth of God … Who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, what He will do …BUT ...
Worship is our life response of living in this declaration of His Truth …. In other words, what we do with our lives in response to the ROOT REASON …. Does the reality of Who Jesus is move us toward worship in our personal lives, our private lives ... not just singing, not just praying, not just gathering with other believers for one hour on a Sunday but has worship become a part of our daily lives. To worship in Spirit and in Truth, as Jesus shared with the Samaritan woman in John 4, we need to realize and practice that ...
Along with being the Root Reason for our life worship, Jesus is also the underlying, highest-level, fundamental & foundational factor that “compels” us to worship.
I challenged you two Sundays ago to read Colossains1 thru 3… Let’s read a portion of those chapters to get to know WHY JESUS is THE ROOT CAUSE of Worship. Let’s start at 1:3 … and be looking … listening for Who God is.. for Who Jesus is… Who The Spirit is …and what He, What THey have, are, and will do.
TAKE TIME TO READ from Colossians 1:3 thru 2:15 and look for God, look for Jesus, look for The Spirit. Take time to write those things down. (During today's message, we took time to read from 1:3 thru 2:20, stopping from time to time to express what we found about our Loving Lord and how He has and does work for us, in us, and through us. After those moments, we continued toward Commuion).
Along with being the Root Reason for our life worship, Jesus is also the underlying, highest-level, fundamental & foundational factor that “compels” us to worship.
Jesus is THE ROOT CAUSE of our lives of worship … because of Who He is … because of what He has done, what He is doing, what He will do … and it sets off a chain reactdion in one direction or the other … either rejection of His Truth … or Life Declaration that He is ALL WE NEED … He is ALLL WE WANT .. HE IS LORD, He is SAVIOR … He is GOD …He is our all in all … He is King… He is WORTHY … and our lives will show it … We will hunger for Him ... We will grow toward Him … We will not just reflect Him … Our lives will EXPOSE HIM … REVEAL HIM .. thru our living … We WILL BE AN EPIPHANY of His Glroy to Others!
Mark Hall & Casting Crowns sing:
Who am I,
that the Lord of all the earth
would care to know my name?
Would care to feel my hurt?
Who am I,
that the bright and morning star
would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?
Not because of who I am
But because of what you've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who you are!
Who am I? Who are You that God cares … HE CARED ENOUGH TO DIE .. to give His life … senselessly because of SIN … so you can KNOW WHO HE IS … WHAT HE HAS DONE … and LIVE A LIFE OF WORHSIP, declaring He is The Root Reason … He is The Root CAUSE of ALL YOU ARE … HE IS WORTHY!