Seven Road Blocks On The Highway Of Worship - And How To Break Them Down Series

Seven Road Blocks On The Highway Of Worship –

(And How To Break Them Down)

One of the most interesting passages in the Bible about worship – is found in John chapter four. Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. She is a woman with a tainted past. Her lifestyle is one that is questionable – five husbands – and the man that she now lives with – she is not even married to. She is a Samaritan woman – which means that she has Hebrew blood flowing through her veins – but the blood is not pure Jewish blood. When questioned about her past she tries to change the subject – avoid the issues. And so she says to Jesus:

"Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father."You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:20-24 (NASV)

Her question is about the proper location of worship – and Jesus tells her about the proper attitude of worship: “those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Let me state a very clear fact this morning – many times in our worship services across the country – worship is more about us than it is about God. Many times we focus on - what music we like – what order of service we like – what volume of energy we display – whether we show a spirit of excitement or whether we come with a reflective attitude – we usually cater to our own likes and dislikes. When we come to worship we all come with certain expectations – certain traditions – and heaven forbid that those expectations or traditions be altered in any way. But here is a truth:

“Pure Biblical Worship is – focusing on God and responding to Him”

Whether in church on Sunday or in our everyday lives – every time we acknowledge how great God is – who He is and how mighty He is – this is an act of worship. When we focus our attention on the God of the universe – glorify Him – honor Him – magnify Him – it is an act of worship. It may be in a shout of elation – or a moment of humble silence. It may be in a second of thrill – where goose-bumps cover my body from head to toe – or in a moment of overwhelming awe as I consider how great God’s creation is. Worship is to God and about God. He is concerned about my relationship and response to Him. The question I ask myself many times is this:

“Why don’t I focus more on God and respond to Him?”

I can go days at a time without having any thought of how good God has been to me. I can over-look the blessings and gracious supply that He’s given. “Who God is” and “what God has done” – can simply drop from my radar screen. Then Sunday comes around again and I come to church to once again acknowledge that God is alive and that He brings good things into my life. Are you like that too? Do you sometimes miss worshiping God throughout the week – because you just are not mindful of Him? Do you sometimes miss the blessings of worshiping Him – in your daily life? Why is that? What are the things that are getting in the way of our seeing God’s greatness and goodness in our everyday life? What are the "Road Blocks" that keep you from worshiping God?

Worship is not intended to be just a Sunday morning activity. It is intended to be the lifestyle of every Believer. Isaiah 6:3 says that: “the whole earth is full of His glory,” yet many of us rarely think about God outside the walls of the church. What are the “Road Blocks” that stop us from worshiping God? What are the barriers that block us from getting connected to Him?

Today I want us to look at Seven Road Blocks On The Highway of Worship – And How To Break Them Down. Let’s look at the first Road Block of Worship:

1. We get boxed in by other’s EXPECTATIONS.

There is an interesting passage of scripture found in Second Samuel chapter six – follow along with me as I read: