God is looking for true worshipers. My friend, being in the presence of God does not necessarily make you a true worshiper. The sad fact is that, many believers today are “going” to church or even serving the Lord based on how they feel. Yet, the Lord wants us to worship Him in true and in spirit, in other words with all we are and all we have. Sometimes we hear people saying “I don’t feel like going to church today”, I don’t feel like doing this” when asked to do something at church. My brother, my sister, going to the house of the Lord should make us joyous: David said: “I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1). We cannot decide to offer God a sacrifice or serve Him according to our feelings because our feelings fluctuate: today you can be very happy and tomorrow feel sad… Where is God’s concern with your feelings? This is what He says in the Bible: “the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Therefore, following your state of mind or feeling to worship or serve Him makes your sacrifice that of a fool.
The Bible also says that “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:21-24). In other words, our quality as worshipers is determined by the priority we give God in our lives. Are you a worshiper or a true worshiper? The fact is: God is looking for true worshipers, because worshipers are lukewarm just like the church of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) and their feelings take precedence over their worship. The same, Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites for worshiping God with their lips, thus making their services to God worthless. Why? “For the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). Therefore, a true worshiper doesn’t GO to church because he/she knows he/she IS the church and he/she knows that HE/SHE MUST BE AT CHURCH where God’s presence is! It is simple: God made us His temple through the sacrifice of the cross, not to stay at home or walk alone, but to meet together regularly with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 10:25)…
Yes, when believers stop thinking that they have to go to church, as a routine or to express their faithful attendance, then our churches will truly start worshiping the Father in truth and in spirit. My friend, let’s change our mentalities, for what good is it for a person to attend church for fifty years, if they don’t really know God? What good is it for a person to claim they are a Christian, if they do not worship the Lord according to His principles? Someone who truly knows God also knows what pleases and what displeases God, therefore that person will also have the desire to know the One Truth, Jesus. And Jesus is the one who established the Church, and then He gave Peter who was going to deny Him because he was a sinner a huge responsibility: “I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Let the church understand today that, the same responsibility has been passed to pastors over ages. So, whoever is still ‘going’ to church goes for something, for someone or for the pastor… That is why when they don’t find or get that something, someone or what they expect from the pastor, they leave and wander around. My friends, we ARE the church and our coming together in one place to worship the Lord with all our hearts, in truth and in spirit is what will also make us to become true worshipers. Let those who have ears hear. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.