In the end, worship can never be a performance, something you are pretending or putting on.It has got to be an overflow of your heart….Worship is about getting personal with God, drawing close to Him (Matt Redman)
Two ministers and I conducted a service at a juvenile detention center in Salt Lake City, Utah.After the message a young man came up and said, “I´m disillusioned with the organized church.”He was not disrespectful, just honest about his feelings.It seemed to me that he was searching for something to believe in.I said to him, “Jesus was also disillusioned with organized religion because the spiritual leaders in his day substituted their traditions for the true worship of God.They had a form of religion only.The Holy Spirit worked mightily through Christ.The power of His ministry made a tremendous impact on the masses of hurting people.The truth Jesus demonstrated and preached exposed the hypocrisy surrounding the lives of the Pharisees and Sadducees.Eventually, they murdered Jesus in an effort to preserve their customs and social standing."He listened intently as I shared my thoughts.Our conversation was cut short when the officer in charge signaled that our time was up.
How do we keep our faith relevant?By prioritizing our lives so we are not consumed with schedules and careers.Be careful that you do not destroy your spiritual health with vast amounts of debt.Guard your heart for out of it flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).The young man at the detention center was not mad at God; He was mad at the church for misrepresenting Christ to the world.A. W. Tozer wrote, “The church that is not jealously protected by mighty intercession and sacrificial labors will before long become the abode of every evil bird and the hiding place of unsuspected corruption.The creeping wilderness will soon take over that church that trusts in its own strength.”
John 4:23 says, “The true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”God is interested in sincere relationship, not lifeless traditions.Gary A. Furr comments, “Christian worship is alive because, in its essence, it is a conversation between two living realities—the one true, eternal God and the body of Christ, the church.Because worship is a conversation and not a mere review of the past, it is dynamic, unpredictable, and open-ended.Who knows what might transpire on any given day when a group of believers hears and responds to the Word of God!”God is love and seeks love (1 John 4:7-8).God is not moved or impressed with our worship until our hearts are moved and impressed by Him (Kelly Sparks).
Submitted 3/16/2008 8:50:12 PM | Author: Pastor Dan Turpin
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