IS GOD DELIGHTED OVER YOUR SPIRIT OF WORSHIP? IS HE SEEKING YOU?

IS GOD DELIGHTED OVER YOUR SPIRIT OF WORSHIP?
IS HE SEEKING YOU?
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.”
(Matthew 7:7)

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,
for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
(John 4:23)

MEDITATION:
If you were building a team, you would want players who were
dedicated, right? The scriptures tell us that “true” worshipers
are the ones the Father seeks. Think about what that means.
God isn’t seeking casual worshipers who do not have a spirit
of dedication and enthusiasm when going to His House to
praise and ‘worship’ Him.

No, He is seeking those who are dedicated to worshiping Him
and actually look forward to meeting with Him and other
believers on a regular basis. He is seeking those who have
a ‘spirit’ of worship and sincerely give Him top priority in
their lives.

In John 4:1-26 we find the story of the Samaritan woman.
The Scriptures don’t tell us her name, but after an encounter
with Jesus Christ, not only was her life changed, but an entire
city was changed. As the story unfolds, the Samaritan woman
went to the well to draw water.

Jesus’ disciples went to town to take care of the material things
in life, but Jesus, being led by the Spirit, had other plans. The
Jews of that day would not even speak to a Samaritan woman,
because she was of a despised race. But, because Jesus was
different, her life was changed forever.

Jesus used eight principles in witnessing to this woman.

First,
    He made contact with her.
    She was not looking for Him, but He was looking for her.
    He did not isolate Himself, even from the undesirable.
    He realized that if He was to reach the lost, He must not
    shun or avoid them and their needs.

Second,
    He used the well and her thirst as a common ground.
    He communicated to her in her area of interest at that time.

Third,
    He allowed her to speak and He listened.
    He knew that people like to hear their own voices and
    consequently are not good listeners. He knew that
    listening would create a keen interest in her to listen
    to whatever He had to share later. We should listen;
    not only to what a person is saying but also to what
    the Spirit of God is saying to us. This is how we develop
    insight.

Fourth,
    He aroused her interest with the thought of never being
    thirsty again.

Fifth,
    He took His time and did not push her to where she was
    not ready to go. He communicated with her in a way that
    would make her hungry for something she didn’t have.

Sixth,
    He accepted her as she was. He knew her lifestyle, but
    never condemned her for it, or considered her unimportant.

Seventh,
    He stayed with the key issue of seeing her life changed.
    He did not allow His attention to be diverted from the
    real issue.

Eighth,
    He communicated with her directly and simply. He operated
    from a position of love, and did not use elaborate speech that
    would be distracting or confusing to her.

ACTION:
Do you consider yourself a ‘true’ worshiper, or a ‘casual’ worshiper?
More importantly, how does God view you? Are you the type He is
seeking? Do you have the ‘spirit’ He is looking for?

Be honest with yourself – if you are not going to His house to worship
Him with other believers, would you qualify as a ‘true’ worshiper?
Of course there are some who cannot meet “in person” with other
believers due to sickness, handicaps, or compromised immunities,
but there are other ways of connecting through social media, television,
etc. If you are allowing other things to take precedence over meeting
with Him and other believers in His house (or through some other method),
would you qualify as a ‘true’ worshiper?

Statistics show that only 17% of professing ‘true’ worshipers
connect with other believers on a regular basis. I lead a Bible
study class on Sundays and out of curiosity several years ago
I checked the attendance of the twenty members in the class
and found that during a twelve month period, only five were
attending more than 60% of the time (seven after the class
increased). Two years later, most were attending far less
than 50% of the time.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I want You to consider me as a true
worshiper. Help me to change my priorities so that I will
be the kind of sincere worshiper You seek. Your Word says
the time has come for true worshipers to worship You in
spirit and truth. Help me to be honest with myself and my
frequency of worshiping You with other believers. Forgive
me for allowing other things to steal Your rightful place in
my life, and especially when I claim to be a true worshiper.”

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