Deliberate Worship
What God Really Wants: Authentic Worship in Spirit and Truth
Have you ever wondered why you go to church each Sunday? What motivates you to get dressed, leave your house, and sit for a sermon? Why do you sing, pray, give offerings, and greet others? Your answers reveal something profound about what you believe about God and what He desires from you.
Worship Is Not What We Think It Is
Let me be clear about what worship is not. “Worship is not about being seen of man,” as there were “many religious people in the Bible that all they did was wanted to be seen of people.” It’s not about performing religious activities for the wrong motives. Jesus warned about those who “said the right things” but whose “heart is far from me.”
Worship is also not primarily about entertainment. During my sabbatical a couple years ago, I visited many churches and noticed something concerning. As I later discussed with fellow pastors, many churches have moved away from congregational participation toward professional performances where people “just sit down and it’s almost like a time of entertainment.”
As A.W. Tozer once said, worship is “the missing jewel of the modern church.” And Al Mohler warned that “the issue of worship will define not only our church services, but also our theology and our beliefs about God. There’s no more important issue for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ that we worship as God would have us to worship him.”
Your Past Doesn’t Disqualify You
In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman with a complicated past—five failed marriages and currently living with someone who wasn’t her husband. Yet Jesus offers her “living water,” something that would truly satisfy her soul’s thirst.
The woman was distracted by place and heritage, saying in John 4:20, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus responds by shifting her focus from where to how we worship.
“The place where you worship isn’t as significant as the person that you are worshiping,” I want to emphasize. “I’m very thankful for our building and our facilities, but this building doesn’t make us a church. We’re already a church. If a bomb drops on this building, we can go in the back here in the woods and we can worship together.”
Spirit and Truth: The Heart of Worship
Jesus tells the woman in John 4:23-24, “But the hour is coming, and now is here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Notice that powerful statement: “The Father is seeking such people to worship Him.” God actively desires our worship! But not just any worship—He seeks worship “in spirit and truth.”
This isn’t an either/or proposition. It’s both “spirit AND truth.” As I explained, “He desires you to worship him in your spirit. Because the Spirit of God has changed your heart and your life. And in your spirit you can enjoy him, and in your spirit you can praise him, and in your spirit you can glorify him.”
At the same time, “truthful worship also matters to God. Do you understand that? Not all worship resonates or is accepted by God.” Remember Cain and Abel? “God accepted his [Abel’s] sacrifice and the other one, he rejected his sacrifice.”
Putting It Into Practice
How can we become the worshipers God seeks? Here are some practical steps:
- Prepare your heart before Sunday: “Can I encourage you before you come to church on Sunday mornings to prepare your heart for worship, to confess your sins, maybe to have a family huddle and just say, hey, I want to make sure things are right.”
- Come early, stay late: “Can I encourage you to arrive early next week and plan on staying late? Can I encourage you to get to bed early on Saturday night and get up early on Sunday morning?”
- Come as you are: “Come knowing that you don’t have it all together. Jesus is not waiting for you to get all cleaned up before you come to church. No, you come as you are and allow the Word of God, allow the Spirit of God, allow the people of God to minister.”
Remember, “Jesus is not looking for perfect people. He’s looking for worshipers, people who will come to him in spirit and in truth. That means that you are invited.” Your past doesn’t disqualify you. Your present brokenness doesn’t exclude you. God is seeking worshipers—will you respond to His invitation?
“The good news is that Jesus is not looking for perfect people. He’s looking for worshipers, people who will come to him in spirit and in truth.”
Jesus Reveals God
Full of Grace And Truth
Point To Jesus
When Light Broke The Darkness
That You May Believe – The Gospel of John
Biblical Leadership Matters
We hope you enjoyed the sermon and would love to see you in person. Plan your visit to Community Baptist Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee today!