Seeking Worshipful Worshippers

WHY ARE WE HERE IN CHURCH TODAY? WHY DID WE COME TODAY? WHAT WERE WE EXPECTING TO HAPPEN ONCE WE ARRIVED HERE? WHAT ARE WE EXPECTING TO GET FROM IT? WHAT, IF ANYTHING, ARE WE HOPING TO TAKE WITH US WHEN WE LEAVE?

ALL OF THESE ARE LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE ONE THING THAT SURROUNDS THE WHOLE POINT OF WHAT CHURCHES SHOULD BE DOING ON A SUNDAY MORNING. THAT “ONE THING” WE CALL WORSHIP.

AS DIVERSE AS WE ARE, I CAN REST ASSURED WE WOULD GET A LOT OF ASSORTED ANSWERS ON WHAT “WORSHIP” IS ALL ABOUT. WORSHIP ORIGINATES FROM OLD ENGLISH WORD THAT MEANS “WORTH-SHIP” OR “WORTHINESS.” IT IS A WORD THAT SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THE PERSON WHO IS WORSHIPPING.

THAT MEANS, WHEN A PERSON “WORSHIPS,” THEY ARE PUTTING THEIR HEART, MIND AND SOUL INTO AN ATTITUDE OF REVERENCE AND HONOR IN ORDER TO EXPRESS JUST HOW MUCH THE “WHO OR WHAT” THEY ARE WORSHIPPING IS WORTH TO THEM.

THIS IS WHY IT BECOMES SO IMPORTANT TO US THAT WE, AS CHRISTIANS, DO NOT MISPLACE THE TRUE MEANING OF WORSHIP. GOD IS NOT JUST SEEKING WORSHIP; HE’S SEEKING WORSHIPPERS. GOD IS LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHOSE MINDS AND HEARTS ARE BENT TOWARD HIM AND WHOES SOULS ARE FOCUSED SOLEY ON HIM.

WE CANNOT, FOR ONE MOMENT, ALLOW SATAN TO FIRE HIS DARTS OF DISTORTION INTO OUR WORSHIP. SOMETIMES WE CAN ALLOW SATAN TO GET OUR WORSHIP OUT OF TUNE AND MISPLACED JUST AS SOON AS WE WALK INTO THE SANCTUARY.

THE TRIVIAL THINGS THAT CHOKE OUR WORSHIP SUCH AS WHERE WE ARE GOING TO EAT LUNCH, WHO’S GOING TO WIN THE BALLGAME, THE HYMN SELECTIONS, THE ROOM TEMPERATURE, OR THE GRAMMATICAL ERRORS IN THE BULLETIN.

WE CAN EVEN “MAJOR ON THE MINORS” WHEN OUR WORSHIP GETS SIDE-TRACKED BY REVERING THE WRONG THINGS. LIKE WHEN WE HONOR THE “SACREDNESS” OF THE SANCTUARY BY GETTING POSSESSIVE WITH PEWS, UPSET WHEN FURNITURE IS MOVED OR WHEN SOMEONE BRINGS IN A CUP OF COFFEE, OR EVEN WHEN CHILDREN RUN, SKIP AND CRAWL UP AND DOWN THE AILES.

WHEN PEOPLE ARE FOCUSED ON THINGS RATHER THAN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THEN WE HAVE MISPLACED OUR WORSHIP. WE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE STAYED HOME AND WERE PROBABLY BETTER OFF DOING SO IN THE FIRST PLACE.

JESUS MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN THAT GOD IS SEEKING TRUE WORSHIPPERS. THESE WORSHIPPERS, AS JESUS SAID, WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.

THIS IS WHY OUR MESSAGE TODAY IS ENTITLED “SEEKING WORSHIPFUL WORSHIPPERS,” BECAUSE GOD WANTS SINCERITY. UNFORTUNATELY, MOST PEOPLE MISS IT BY JUST 18 INCHES BECAUSE IT COMES MORE FROM THEIR HEAD THAN THEIR HEART.

WHEN JEUS SAID WE MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT, HE MEANT THAT IT MUST COME FROM OUR HEARTS WITH THE UTMOST SINCERITY. THERE’S AN IMPORTANT LESSON THERE. WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU MUST BE “BORN AGAIN” IN ORDER TO TRULY WORSHIP GOD.

WE CANNOT HAVE THE SPIRIT WITHOUT HAVING JESUS FIRST. WITHOUT THE SPIRIT, WE CANNOT WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT. THE HEAD AND THE HEART MUST BE TOTALLY ENGAGED IN WORSHIP. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE IF THE SPIRIT IS NOT PRESENT.

TRUE WORSHIP CAN ONLY COME THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLING THE CHRISTIAN. ONLY THROUGH THE SPIRIT CAN WE HAVE THE KIND OF SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP WE’RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE WITH GOD AS OUR FATHER.

NOT ONLY MUST WE HAVE THE SPIRIT TO PROPERLY WORSHIP, BUT WE MUST ALSO UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH. IN ORDER TO WORSHIP IN TRUTH, WE MUST RECOGNIZE WHO IT IS WE WORSHIP.

JESUS SAID IN JOHN 14:6, “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.” THAT MEANS IN ORDER TO WORSHIP IN THE TRUTH, YOU MUST FIRST BE ABLE TO CONFESS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AS THE SAVIOR WHO MAKES THE WORSHIP-RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD ALL POSSIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

IN ORDER TO WORSHIP IN THE TRUTH, WE MUST ALSO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WORD “TRUE” MEANS. IT REFERS TO WORSHIPPING “IN A TRUE WAY” OR “WITH GUINENESS.”

THAT MEANS WE CANNOT RESTRICT OURSELVES AND HOLD BACK FROM WORSHIPPING JUST BECAUSE WE FEAR WHAT SOMEONE MAY THINK OF OUR STYLE AND OUR EXPRESSIVENESS.

IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE COME BEFORE GOD WITH GENUINENESS AND SINCERITY AND NOT OUT OF HABIT OR JUST BECAUSE IT IS “SUNDAY” AND IT IS “TIME TO GO TO CHURCH.”

IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE TRUTH IS SUCH THAT BECAUSE GOD IS NOT LIMITED TO TIME, SPACE, AND DIMENSION, I CAN THEREFORE WORSHIP GOD ANYWHERE, AT ANY TIME, AND FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER.

GOD IS NOT BOUND BY SANCTUARIES, CHURCH BUILDINGS, 10:45AM WORSHIP SERVICES ON SUNDAY, BULLETIN FORMATS, PRAYER TIME, AND ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS ONE-HOUR PROGRAM.

GOD CAN BE WORSHIPPED NON-STOP, IN ALL PLACES AND AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY. THIS IS WHY WE MUST ALWAYS BE ENGAGED IN WORSHIPPING GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.