The Responsibility to Worship

By Pastor Jeffrey Smith

“At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to stand before the Lord as his ministers, and to pronounce blessings in his name. These are their duties to this day.” Deuteronomy 10:8 (NLT)

As God’s chosen people, priests have three major responsibilities: 

1. To carry the Ark of the Covenant by fostering the atmosphere of the presence of God.

2. To stand before the Lord to minister by offering a sacrifice of worship and praise.

3. To pronounce blessings on other people.

These responsibilities are not just for the priests in the Old Testament, but for God’s people today. In the New Testament we are reminded that we are a chosen people with the overall responsibility to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9).” So how do we do that? We fulfill this overarching responsibility by living a life of worship. Worship is not an act reserved for the inside of a church building. We worship God when we foster an atmosphere of faith, when we offer up our praise, and when we pronounce his blessings. 

We’re all perfect worshipers, but what and who are we worshiping? What are we ascribing value to? We are to show the worth and the value to God that he deserves by tangibly worshiping and giving Him an offering that He can receive as a sacrifice of praise. When we live our lives as worship, we are offering a sacrifice that is good and pleasing to Him. When we live our lives as worship, we bring the presence of God everywhere we go. Just as priests would pitch tents in the desert to create a meeting place, we are called to do the same through our worship so others can encounter the presence of God. In this way, we can live our lives as an offering that ministers to and blesses God and others.