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Life of Worship: God's Pursuit of True Worshipers
John 5:16-26Life of Worship: God's Pursuit of True Worshipers
Rickey Primrose
February 25, 2018
Description:
God’s greatest pursuit is the glorification of His own name. God is seeking true worshipers to glorify His name in all the earth. True worship is the end of God’s mission, and it is the goal of our mission as well. We live on mission out of a desire to see God worshiped in all the earth. Missions exist because worship doesn’t.
The question we must ask then is this: What is true worship? If God is seeking true worshipers, then how do true worshipers worship?
True worshipers worship…
. . . with humble dependency. True worship cannot begin until our hearts are empty of self and are depending fully on God for righteousness and satisfaction. This is why when we approach worship, preparation is just as important as participation. If we participate in worship with proud, self-dependent, unprepared hearts, we have not truly worshiped.
. . . from a living spirit. True worship flows from within. It originates in our spirits that have been made alive by the Holy Spirit. Living spirits FEEL. They feel affection, sorrow, delight, and awe. True worship is emotional even though that emotion may be expressed different ways by different people. Worshiping in sprit means your worship is not hollow orthodoxy, but instead is flowing from a place of genuine affection for God.
. . . in response to revealed truth. Jesus is the fullest revelation of the truth, and the Bible is the perfect testimony of that truth. True worship is always done in response to biblical revelation. Worship done in spirit without truth results in mindless euphoria—people getting really excited over a god that they have created in their own minds. We must engage our minds as well as our emotions in worship.
Examine your own worship. Is your worship true worship? Do you properly prepare your heart for worship? Does your worship flow from a living, feeling spirit? Do you engage your mind in worship? God is seeking true worshipers, and true worshipers worship in spirit and truth from a posture of humble dependency.
Keywords:
Spirit, Truth, Worship