8/2/2019 MMW White Elephant Treasure

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White Elephant Treasure

Worship is our acceptable response to the Lord is our God. It is also an esotericform that is bound up with “being in Church” and that for many of the Community ofFaith is about where it ends.

In the Greek language of the New Testament the word used was “latreúō (from latris ,"someone hired t o accomplish a technical task because qualified ") – properly, torender technical, acceptable service because specifically qualified (equipped). – From word 3000 in Strong’s Greek Concordance.

In the Old Testament Hebrew there are three words that describe worship and eachinvolve some form of “submission” most commonly to bow down and prostrateoneself in submission.

This word research comes out as having two forms of worship in our contemporaryEnglish. Both words amplify worship as wor – ship, the first of these words is“worthship” and the second is “workship”. They have special meaning and as suchdeserve a separate treatment. They have connectedness in a linear pattern. Theyalso have a difference in source as in where the action of the word actioncommences. One is our response to the action of Father; an action which we shouldnever presume upon.

The first of these words Wor(th)ship is essential for worship and the Good News tohave significance. It is not something that we do. In fact it is something that Fatherdoes as a result of what Jesus did. When Jesus went to the Cross in submission toFather, He rendered it worth Father deeming us to be specially qualified tocommune with Father. Sin had caused us to be disqualified from entering into God’spresence but Jesus made us acceptable by gaining forgiveness from Father. The

fact that Jesus removes the penalty for our sin means that we have a reason to giveGod the praise He deserves and to submit our lives to Him.

Word two, which is rendered workship is more related to the submission of our livesto Father. This needs be second in priority because if we have not been pre-qualified by Father and rendered worthy then our work still has the barrier of death.However since God has declared us worthy, through the work of Jesus the Son, thenwe are qualified to worship (praise) Father as an expression of community and thento submit our personal lives to the will of Father (prostrate).

In this sense we are renewed by Father because Jesus submitted Himself to HisFather’s will. Through Jesus death and Father’s requalifying of us we become a new

vessel fit for Father’s use and as such we acquire a new value as a king’s ransom. 

We used to be white elephants, our lives were broken but we have been re-deemedas having a value through our relationship with Father, but only within the scope ofour submitting to the life of Father. We need to remain within the frame that Fathersees us in, anything more than that would be the re-introduction of sin in our life