Are You a True
Worshipper?
By Pastor Tony Butler
John 4:23-24 "Yet an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be
His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth."
The strength of the family of God is
proportionate to its worship of God. Destroy or compromise that worship, and
you undermine the kingdom on every level of Christian existence. When the most
important is unattended, a sub- standard substitute will always take its place.
It will always be weak and fragile. It will not stand the test of time.
In this portion of scripture we see that worship
is very important to God, and that He is looking for a very special kind of
worshipper. It would be a good thing for all of us to stop and ponder whether
or not His eyes would stop on us in His search. To God, worship is the highest
and most important activity in which we as Christians can engage. The hands
that are raised in supplication should first be raised in praise and adoration.
The divine order is ever and always praise and then petition. Worship should always precede our asking and
our working.
Luke 10:38 “Now it came to pass,
as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named
Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called
Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But
Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, do you
not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she
help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha,
Martha, you art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But
one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be
taken away from her.”
Jesus was being entertained in the home of Mary
and Martha. Mary sat at our Lord's feet
in adoring fellowship and worship while Martha was busy preparing the food and
taking care of other issues that enter into such entertainment. Martha was upset and made her feelings known
to Christ. Whereupon, the Lord rebuked
her and exonerated Mary. In fact, He
honored Mary. Her priorities were right
and pleasing to the Lord. Please notice
the statement in verse forty-two, "one
thing is needful" and that one thing is worship. Our Lord settled
forever the fact that our worship is more important to Him than our work. He
does not negate the fact that He appreciates our service. But let us never
forget God's order, which is worship first; and then working.
True
spiritual worship enhances our service. There is absolutely no drudgery or
burnout in a love service inspired by soul enrapturing worship. A lot of people
complain about burnout in the Lord's ministries. It is usually caused by a lack
of worship. You see, true worship begets
love and love glorifies all we do for our blessed Lord. A love service is a soothing satisfying
experience. There is unspeakable joy in
such love-bathed ministries. However,
the flow of that love is dependent on our times of sacred worship with Christ.
When I sense the need for more love, I resort to worship. The bottom line here is that we influence men
for Christ according to that holy love which throbs in our hearts. That holy
throb will not exist unless we are true worshippers. It is ever and always the only acceptable
motivating factor in all our ministries.