Working The Worth Back Into Worship

Theme: “Working the worth back into worship

Text: John 4:21-30

Pre – Introduction

From the passage of Scripture that was so eloquently read, John 4:21-30) kindly allow us to meditate together on the subject:

“Working the worth back into worship"

Thesis:

While the human heart desperately craves for the opportunity to express itself in worship, our Lord Jesus shows us that we can only put the value and worth back into a worship

- By accepting His Message of worship and

- By acting in His Mandate toward our God who deserves our highest devotion.

Let us pray:

Introduction

As we gather in this hallowed sanctuary, I believe it is truly a fitting prelude to the melodious reality which John the Beloved Disciple plays out for us in the text to which the Holy Spirit has assigned us today. That prelude is that we take a brief and spiritual, but imaginary journey back into time and our destination is the University of Christianity. As sit at that illustrious but imaginary institution, may it be our top most priority to learn some ultimate truths about what makes worship a valid and worthy experience... Are you with me?

You see church, it is important for us to do so because at the heart of every religious experience, there is the worship of something or someone. But just because we are worshipping something or someone does not necessarily mean that we are worshipping in a worthy and a valid manner, in so as far as the One who deserves our worship, the Lord Almighty is concerned.

But having said that, let me let you know that worship, like marriage, is the desperate cry of every human heart, and unless a person has some physical, physiological or psychological problem, s/he would one day hope to experience this thing called marriage. And yet like marriage, worship is a thing that many of us frequently understand little or nothing about.

In worship, like marriage we see many people, even Christian folks, so hastily jumping in and jumping right back out of it in a matter of weeks, months or years, because they are exhausted and frustrated and they want out of it… Similarly, we see even Christian folks jumping into a church building, shouting some words, shaking their bodies and jumping out of the sanctuary a few hours later, but far more empty spiritually than when they got there at first…

Why? It is because of what we believe and hold to be true about this precious thing called worship…

So, you see church, worship is like marriage in the sense that true worship is only a worthy and a valid experience when we work at it… am I speaking to somebody?

Turn to your neighbor, say neighbor… Worship works… But you’ve got to work… Turn to someone else and say neighbor… I don’t know about you… but I’m ready to work it… Halleluyah!

And so, my brothers and sisters, as we disembark from the spiritual jet that lands us on the shores of Christianity, I see:

- The author of this Gospel,

- I see John the beloved disciple of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;

- The Prophet Isaiah of the New Testament;

- The Man unto whom was endowed the two dimensional view of Christ in His eternity past and His eternity future, and from that experience could later tell us that Jesus, not Mohammed, not Budda, not Confucius, but Jesus is the “Alpha and the Omega…”

- Oh yes, it is this same John who takes the liberty to give us a crash course in the subject: worship 101.

And lest we forget, be it known unto you that John is absolutely qualified to instruct, educate and edify us in this all-important course because when he peeped though the curtain of eternity past, based on what he saw, he said:

“In the beginning was the Word and Word was with God and the Word was God… and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1-3, 14)

and when he glimpsed through the drapes of eternity future, exposes us to reality that, our Lord Jesus is so awesome that when He (Jesus) opened the sixth seal, “the heaven departed like a scroll when it is rolled together. And every mountain and island was moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (Rev. 6:12-16)

Oh Yes, church John knows what He is talking about as he reveals unto us the truths we are about to uncover in order that we too can add value to worship we offer up unto the King of Kings and Lord of Lord…