The Kingdom of God

Introduction:

• -         Is God seeking worship?
• -         Does Elohim need to be worshiped?
• -         Does God "need" anything?

If the answer to these questions is "NO", then why do we need to worship Him?

1. So the first question we need to answer is - "Is God seeking worship"?

- John 14:19-24 answers this question...

19The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."[1]

Again... " Father is seeking such to worship Him"

-         God is NOT seeking WORSHIP, He is seeking the WORSHIPER...!

-         God is seeking the PERSON not the WORSHIP.

2. Another question: What kind of PERSON is He seeking?

-         He's seeking the kind of person who worships.

-         And please note: the scripture states He's looking for TRUE Worshipers.

23"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

-         If there is such a thing as a "TRUE WORSHIPER" this automatically makes us understand that their can be "FALSE WORSHIPERS".

3. So the next question would be WHY is God seeking WORSHIPERS?

-         If we all agree that God "needs" nothing and is NOT seeking our Worship - why then is He seeking Worshipers?

-         To answer this question we have to meditate on the eternal universal absolute that God loves unselfishly.

-         He loves us for our OWN GOOD...!

-         When God offered us Life OR Death and suggested we choose LIFE, for whose good did give this advice? ... OURS of course.

-         God is incapable of loving selfishly - His Love "Agape" is an unselfish and unconditional love.

-         Agape is a "UNILATERAL" love... God loves us no-matter what ... His love can not be earned ... we will never "deserve" His Love... He gives it freely...

-         So if God is seeking WORSHIPERS it must be for our benefit - NOT HIS...!

4. To help us find our answer (to the question: Why is God seeking

Worshippers?), let's look at the effect worship has on us!

-         Firstly we need to understand that Worship is to "intensely focus on something."

-         To intensely focus on something or someone is to "behold" them.

-         To BEHOLD something or someone can be both a negative or positive act.

-         Worship is Beholding...!

-         Positive Worship is "adoring in contemplation".

-         Negative Worship is known as "hatred".

-         Hatred is negatively focusing on something we dislike or hate ...

..... but we are still "Beholding".

-         Beholding (worshiping), whether in its negative or positive form, has a definite effect on the person worshiping.

-         Adoring or Hating has a definite effect us ... and the effect is the same for both, whether we HATE or ADORE...!

-         So what is the effect of "Beholding" (worshiping) on something?

2 Cor 3:18 - 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

-         Transformation...!

-         As people "Behold" they get transformed into the image of the very thing they are beholding.

-         As we BEHOLD ... we change...!

-         Remember, this law of "Transformational Worship" (beholding) works in the negative and the positive.

-         When we BEHOLD the Lord we LOVE - we get transformed into His image.

-         When we BEHOLD the Dad we HATE - we get transformed into His image...!???

-         Worship changes us - Thus we need to be very careful what we are BEHOLDING.

5. Life could get better!

-         So why does God want us to become worshippers?

Answer: So we can be transformed...!

-         Transformation leads us to REAL LIFE, the life God intended us to live.

Rom 12:1-3   1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.