“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

God is not seeking worship. God is seeking worshipers. He is seeking people that will worship Him with their whole lives while continually growing in their understanding of who God is and what He has done.

What are the qualities that identify us as the worshipers that God seeks? How do we stay away from the pitfalls of our worship becoming rote or just going through the motions?

A Worshiper Deeply Loves God. “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, emphasis mine). A worshiper loves God from their heart (the depth of their being) by giving Him their everyday, ordinary lives (Romans12:1). They worship God with their soul (mind, will, emotions) by willingly choosing God, growing daily in their understanding of who God is/what He has done for us, and with deep passion. A worshiper honors God with their talents, gifts, and resources.

A worshiper’s heart stays connected to God’s heart so that the activity of worship stays authentic. “
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Guarding our hearts keeps us from becoming like the people described in Isaiah 29:13, “this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote.”

A Worshiper Imitates God. Ephesians 5:1, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Let’s keep company with God, watching what He does and do it. Let’s get to the place in our lives where we live, act and speak so much like God that people will recognize that “we have been with Jesus.” (see Acts 4:13)

 

The activity of worship (daily Bible reading, prayer, personal/corporate worship, Bible studies, attending church, partaking of communion, giving tithes and offerings, acts of service) should never supersede our IDENTITY as a worshiper. Our ACTIVITY develops our IDENTITY. Our ACTIVITY is a direct response of our IDENTITY. God invites us to become someone. A worshiper. The heart of God desires a deep, intimate relationship with you and me! He is not seeking our worship. He is seeking our hearts.

 

May we not merely do what we call “worship,” but let’s deeply love God, stay connected to His heart and act like Him!

 

“Awesome God, be glorified in our prayers and praises.

Delight in our songs and hymns. Receive our tithes and gifts.

But help us, by Your indwelling Spirit, to worship You with all that we are,

in each and every moment of each and every day.

May our worship, once begun, never end!”

Growing in my love for God,
Pastor Tom