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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