THE TIME IS COMING
Jesus replied, "Believe me; the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem." (John 4:21 NLT)
The time is coming, but I don’t believe it is here yet! I believe it does matter where we worship. We need to worship where God is worshipped in Spirit and in Truth. The day is coming when it won’t matter where we are, because when that time comes everyone who worships will be worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.
In verse 23, Jesus tells us that His Father is looking for anyone who will worship Him in Spirit. I am certain that God has people spotted everywhere who are worshipping Him. I am just as certain that the Holy Spirit is drawing people to come together for worship. Hearts are hungering for God and the time is coming when He is all that will matter. People will forget about what others may say or think and show up where God is being worshipped. The Bible tells us that we get lifted up, empowered, inspired, and everything else that we need when we praise the Lord.
The Holy Spirit comes upon us as we worship. We receive wisdom and guidance as we open our hearts to His presence. The time is coming when we will realize that we really come together to prepare for the true worship. True worship does not end when the service ends. True worship begins when we pass through the doors and back into our every day lives!
Right now, some folks are saying amen and others may be wondering what in the world I am talking about! Still I think if we have a heart for God there is something inside us saying it makes sense. That would be the Holy Spirit. You see, anyone can go to a church, a house meeting, a prayer meeting, or some other gathering and put in some time. We can through all the motions whatever they may be, and thoroughly enjoy ourselves but then leave without any change taking place in our lives. We hear a lot of talk about separation of church and state, many folks have a separation of church and life. The time is coming when this will not be the case.
Some of the greatest worship we give the Lord occurs when we choose His way of doing things over what is accepted and expected by society. When we allow His peace, His love, and His joy to rule where no one can understand how; that is when people around us behold the glory of God and are drawn to worship Him as well. As we do this we are empowered and inspired to continue in this worship life-style. It is a truly desirable alternative life-style.
People want to see a living God in action. Every day on the news they see reports of the –˜other’ living god. They see gloom, misery, and despair in full color. There are constant reports of unbelievable evil. But the time is coming when those reports are going to begin to be crowded out by reports of unbelievable miracles that God is doing. Ultimately Jesus said that now is the time. That is Good News! Enter in.