Wanted: True Worshipers (Sermon & Song) - DJ Dickerson

This evening's lesson is a continuation

of the theme of being wanted. Now, from

our November uh sermon and song service,

uh I stay in that lesson uh there's

something deep in the human spirit uh

that is moved by being wanted. Uh wanted

signs, wanted posters, uh warrants, uh

and recruiting flyers all communicate

the same thing.

Someone is looking for someone.

And this evening, the message of

scripture is this. Yet again, you are

wanted. Now, last November sermon and

song service, we talked about wanted

servants for Christ. And for this

particular sermon and song service,

I think that this sign couldn't be

clearer that what God wants is true

worshippers. True worshippers.

And before we go any further this

evening in this lesson, I want us to

hear the words of Jesus that frame our

lesson and give it its title. And if you

would, we're going to begin with our

first scripture reading from John 4 and

verses 19- 24. Brother Odis Smith will

lead us in that scripture reading. And

then following that scripture reading,

Brother Roland Morris will lead us in

our song number 68. Lord, we come before

thee now.

The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive

that you are a prophet. Our fathers

worship on the mountain, and you Jews

say that in Jerusalem is a place where

one ought to worship." Jesus said to

her,"Woman, believe me, the hour is

coming when you will neither on this

mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the

Father. You worship what you do not

know. We know what we worship. For

salvation is of the Jews, but the hour

is coming, and now is when the true

worshippers will worship the Father in

spirit and truth. For the Father is

seeking such to worship him. God is

spirit and those who worship him will

worship him in truth.

Let's all sing out.

We bow.

Oh,

shall we sing?

shall we

all

our souls

make

our hearts with our rich praise. Praise

to our

sing

to see thy praise

that all may seek and

the

go

We

build the singje

in

reveals something remarkable as we again

look at that that God is seeking

something. And again, the title of our

lesson, our sermon and song is wanted

true worshippers. Because Jesus is

telling us plainly that the father is

searching not for buildings, not for

rituals, not for talent, but for people

who will worship him in spirit and

truth.

From the beginning of time, I believe we

certainly notice that God has desired

more than outward expressions. He has

always wanted the heart of man. And when

worship is right, everything else

in life aligns.

You think about that. When worship is

neglected or distorted,

everything eventually collapses.

If we look back to the days of Nehemiah,

we see a nation that lost more than

walls and gates, right? Uh Israel lost

its spiritual identity uh because it

abandoned true worship. They turned from

God to idols and God allowed them to be

conquered. And then Jerusalem of course

was destroyed. The temple was torn down.

The people were taken captive not

because God was weak,

but because their devotion was.

Yet even then, God was still looking for

hearts that would return to him. Even

then, God was still seeking

true worshippers.

When Nemiah heard of Jerusalem's

condition, scripture tells us that he

sat down and wept. He mourned. He

fasted. He prayed for days. He confessed

the sins of the nation. He humbled

himself before God. And though he was he

served in the palace of an earthly king,

his heart was bowed before the king of

heaven.

It kind of remind me of the song we were

just singing. Lord, we come before thee

now.

But then you think later on in Nehemiah,

so I'm again kind of going through this

real real uh quickly I guess. But when

the walls were rebuilt, you think about

Ezra who stood before the people. And

what did he do? He read from the law of

the Lord,

the people stood in reverence to those

words and they lifted up their hands and

they cried out, "Amen. Amen." They bowed

their faces to the ground. They

repented. They committed themselves

again to obedience. And that scene, what

that does is it it shows us what God has

always wanted. What has he always

wanted? True worshippers.

And it is against that backdrop that

Jesus speaks to that Samaritan woman in

John chapter 4 that brother Otis was

John 4 · chapter mention

reading.

She raised a a long-standing religious

debate.

Where should worship take place? Y'all

see that? On this mountain on Jerusalem.

And Jesus responds by lifting her eyes

above geography.

He tells her, "The hour is coming when

worship will no longer be about where

one stands, but who one serves."

Because, as the scriptures make

abundantly clear, God is not confined to

mountains. He's not confined to cities

or buildings.

I want you to consider what the Apostle

Paul says in our next scripture reading.

Brother Joseph Hondenstein will read

there from Acts chapter 17, beginning in

Acts 17 · chapter mention

verse 24 down through verse 28.

The God who made the world and

everything in it, being the Lord of

heaven of earth, does not live in

temples made by man, nor is he served by

human hands as though he needed

anything, since he himself gives to all

mankind life and breath and everything.

And he made from one man every nation of

mankind to live on all the face of the

earth, having determined allotted

periods and the boundaries of their

dwelling place, that they should seek

God and perhaps feel their way towards

him and find him. Yet he is actually not

far from each one of us.

>> See what's being stated there is that

not about locations, right? Solomon knew

that even the heavens could not contain

God. First Kings chapter 8 27 says,

1 Kings 8 · chapter mention

"What? But will a God indeed dwell on

the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven

of heavens cannot contain you. How much

less this temple which I have built."

Paul declared in the scripture reading

there of Acts 17 that God does not dwell

in temples made with hands.

And the New Testament reminds us that we

as Christians are now the temple,

the church. And if God is seeking

worshippers, true worshippers, then

worship is not something we merely

attend, some casual thing. It's

something that we bring with us. Our

minds, our hearts are engaged. As we

think about the majesty and holiness of

the God who seeks us, it is fitting that

we respond in praise. And with that, we

will go to our next song from the

supplemental 141. Brother Joseph will

lead us in this song 141. We will

glorify the King of Kings.

>> We will glorify the King of Kings. We

will glorify

the Lamb.

We will glorify

the mortal

who is the great I am.

Lord Jehovah will reign in majesty.

We will bow before his throne.

We will worship him in rightous.

We worship him alone.

He is Lord of heaven,

Lord of earth. He is Lord of all.

He is Lord of the universe.

All praise to him we give.

Hallelujah

to the King of Kings. Halleluah

to the

Hallelujah

to the Lord of Lords.

Great.

So

>> God is not only seeking worshippers, but

he is seeking worshippers whose hearts

are fully engaged. And when you go

throughout scripture, God consistently

rejects worship that is outwardly

correct but inwardly empty. You ever

notice that? And I want us to listen to

the words of our next scripture reading

of Jesus as he quotes the prophet

Isaiah. And brother Bill Rose will lead

us in this scripture reading of Matthew

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15 and verses 7-9. Matthew 15

7-9

hypocrites.

Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you,

saying,

"These people draw an enemy with their

mouth and the army with their lips, but

their heart is far from me, and in vain

they worship teaching his doctrines the

commandments of men."

So, I believe we see from that passage

that God does not want our lips if he

does not have our hearts. Did y'all see

that? That's kind of what it's saying

there, isn't it?

And that's something that David

understand understood this when he in

Psalm 51:17 that God desires a broken

Psalms 51:17

and contrite heart rather than empty

sacrifice.

Worship that lacks humility, reverence,

and submission

doesn't satisfy the God who is seeking

true worshippers.

Half-hearted worship may satisfy men,

but it does not honor God.

And as we pause and even take a moment

as we go through this sermon and song,

examining our own hearts with each

scripture reading and each song that we

sing, we're going to sing this next song

that reflects a desire for inner

renewal. It's one that might seem

familiar from this morning from the

supplemental S21

on bended knee. S21 and Brother Kyle

Copeland is going to lead us in that

song.

Every time goes black, I lose the little

button.

In me I come

with a humble heart. I come

bowing down

before

you holy.

Lifting holy hands to you.

As I spend my love

on you,

I worship you.

I worship you in truth.

Make my life a holy

praise

unto

you.

can be

with a broken heart

before

your holy

throne.

As I look upon

your face,

show your mercy

and your grait.

Make my life a holy

sacriice

to you.

>> In our text of John chapter 4, Jesus, I

John 4 · chapter mention

say, gives one of the clearest and and

most demanding statements in all of

scripture. I believe that as stated that

God, he is spirit and those who worship

him must worship in spirit and truth. I

want you to notice that Jesus does not

say may. He says must worship.

And so if the father is seeking true

worshippers, then what that what we

deduce from this is that there's a

standard for worship.

To worship in spirit means worship that

is certainly sincere. It's reverent,

devoted. To worship in truth means

worship obviously governed by God's

word, not by preference or culture or

convenience.

It's about being in unity

with the one who calls us to such. So at

this time with with that thought, let us

hear how Jesus defines truth even in

John chap 17 and verses 13-19.

And brother Luke is going to lead us in

that scripture reading at this time.

John 17:13-19.

John 17:13–19

But now I come to you and these things I

speak in the world that they may have

have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I

have given them your word and the world

has hated them because they are not of

the world just as I am not of the world.

I do not pray that you should take them

out of the world but that you should

keep them from the evil one. They are

not of the world just as I am not of the

world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your

word is truth. As you have sent me into

the world, I also have sent them into

the world. And for their sakes, I

sanctify myself that they also may be

sanctified by the truth.

You know, when I think about that

passage and what I was dwelling on is

spirit without truth leads to chaos

and truth without spirit

leads to lifeless ritual.

The God who is seeking worshippers, true

worshippers, demands both as we have

seen from the scriptures. And as we

acknowledge our dependence upon God's

spirit and his truth, let's sing this

next song. Reflecting upon that, brother

Roland Morris will lead us in number 35.

Oh, worship the King.

Worship the king.

All glorious

and greatful

love.

Our shield and defender

the anient of

the

splendid

breing. in the air.

It springs from the hills

to the

sweet

children

and

All

in do we trust

nor

mercies

to the end

our maker

with redeemer.

and pray.

Well, Jesus makes a statement that again

gives this lesson its title and that

again is the father is seeking such to

worship him.

Friends, what I think is abundantly

clear is that the almighty God is

searching.

He is not seeking entertainment.

He is not seeking innovation.

He's not seeking convenience. He's

seeking people who will honor him

according to his will.

I'll submit to you that in reading

scriptures and much of what we have seen

this evening and a lot of examples that

again you think back to that God has

never accepted worship offered outside

his authority.

I I believe one of the the ones that I

thought about was Naab and Abahu in

Leviticus.

They learned this

at a at a great cost.

The people in the days of Malachi

learned this.

Worship must be sincere, but it also

must be obedient. I believe that the

prophet Samuel definitely reminds us of

this timeless truth. And our next

scripture reading is from 1st Samuel

chapter 15 and verses 17- 22. And

brother Daniel Cecil will lead us in

that scripture reading.

And Samuel said, "Though you are little

in your own eyes, are you not the head

of the tribes of Israel? The Lord

anointed you king over Israel. And the

Lord sent you on a mission and said, "Go

devote to destruction the sinners, the

Amalocites, and fight against them until

they are consumed. Why then did you not

obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you

pounce on the spoil and do what was evil

in the sight of the Lord?" And Saul said

to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of

the Lord. I have gone on the mission on

which the Lord sent you. I have brought

Aag, the king of Amalecch, and I have

devoted the Amalachites to destruction."

But the people took of a spoil, sheep

and oxen, and the best of things devoted

to destruction to sacrifice to the Lord

your God and Gilgal. And Samuel said,

"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt

offerings and sacrifices as in obeying

the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey

is better than sacrifice, and to listen

than the fat of rams."

>> Let's see that yet again. To obey is

better than sacrifice. I tell you, that

just really hits, doesn't it? that as we

know that that account I believe pretty

well is that Saul he did you know he

half-hearted obedience really equals

partial obedience equals no obedience

ultimately right and and so you know he

tried to kind of you know work around

all of those things in his his mind

Saul's mind you know that they were

doing a good thing but that wasn't a God

thing that's not what God wanted and and

I believe that that's a great reminder

that we see from the scriptures is what

God truly wants God does not want a time

slot in our schedule.

He wants our lives.

The God who is seeking true worshippers

is calling for total complete surrender.

And as we reflect on that call, we're

going to sing another song that

expresses, I believe, complete devotion

in what we see in this as as the

supplemental song of S25. I close my

eyes. Brother Kyle Copeland will lead us

in that song.

I

to my

ing

in place

here

in

Oh God,

teach me to do

thy will

be

on

pathway. Stay still.

I close

my

eyes.

I see this.

I close

my

eyes

and feel

his love

for me

because

I trust

in

Oh

to hear

my loving

kindness

when morning.

Take me to know

thy way

where

my path

should be

because my soul

I lift up to thee.

I close

my

eyes.

I see his majesty.

I close

my

eyes

and feel

his love

for me.

The reminders that we have

is to all always remember

that participation alone

does not equal worship.

We may sing. We may pray, give, partake

of the Lord's supper, listen to

preaching.

But if our hearts are disengaged,

the God who is seeking true worshippers

has not found what he is looking for.

The prophet Amos is another one that I

thought of in preparation this lesson

where through the prophet Amos, God

rejected worship that lacked sincerity

and devotion.

In our scripture reading in just a

moment from Amos chapter 5 that brother

Amos 5 · chapter mention

Daniel will uh lead us in,

we're going to find that worship

requires intentional focus.

It demands reverence, humility,

obedience as we talked about and as we

ask God to help us see more clearly and

worship more faithfully.

We will see that in the song that we

will sing following. So Amos chapter 5

Amos 5 · chapter mention

and verses 21- 24, brother Daniel Cecil

will lead us and then following that,

brother Mike Burton will lead us in our

next song of 150. Pure in heart. Oh God,

>> I hate I despise your feasts and I take

no delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer me your burnt

offerings and grain offerings, I will

not accept them. In the peace offerings

of your fattened animals, I will not

look upon. Take away from me the noise

of your songs. To the melody of your

harps, I will not listen. But let

justice roll down like waters, and

righteousness like an everflowing

stream.

to me.

I

toe

thou my way

with

so Sweet.

to me.

Oh God,

help

me to

see to do

thy will

my

Let

me

help

me to

Oh God,

help

me to

Wonderful.

to me.

>> Our next scripture reading will be

Revelations 48-11.

Brother Keith Wise will lead us in that

scripture reading.

And the four living creatures, each one

of them having six wings, are full of

eyes around and within. And day and

night they do not cease to say, "Holy,

holy, holy is the Lord God, the

Almighty, who was and who is and who is

to come."

And when the living creatures give

glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits

on the throne, to him who lives forever

and ever, the 24 elders will fall down

before him who sits on the throne. And

they will worship him who lives forever

and ever and will cast their crowns

before the throne, saying, "Worthy are

you, our Lord our God, to receive glory

and honor and power, for you created all

things, and because of your will, they

existed and you were created."

What I believe we even see from these

passages and songs that we've been

singing and even Revelations chapter 4

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

is I believe that true worship

transforms the worshipper.

The apostle Paul tells us even in 2

2 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 3 that as we behold

the glory of the Lord, we are being

transformed into his image.

You think about in heaven as we get that

scene and get that portrait that's

painted for us, if you will, from

Revelation chapter 4, many other

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

passages there where where worship is

undistracted. It's uh unified. You see

that, don't you? And and John records

voices that were crying out. What's

those words that Brother Keith just

read? Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty.

Friends,

it doesn't come to

again to the focus is what it all boils

down to. Focus is not on self. The focus

is only on God.

That I submit to you as we have been

reminded yet again in this sermon and

song lesson that the father is still

seeking.

And again, I go back to the beginning of

the lesson and even as this miniseries,

I guess you could put it in the idea of

being wanted.

It's the pull of being wanted.

There's something deep in the human

spirit that is moved by being wanted.

Someone is looking for someone.

And this evening, the message of

scripture and song has been clear. You

are wanted for salvation, for service,

but as we sang and we read about briefly

this evening, you are wanted

true worshippers.

I'm asking and posing a question

before the invitation song

is, will he find true worshippers in us?

Because as we have seen from the

scriptures and songs, that's exactly

what he wants.

I submit to you if you have not obeyed

the gospel call, believing in Christ,

repenting of sins, confessing Jesus to

be the son of the living God, being

baptized for the remission of your sins

to arise and walk in newness of life as

that of Romans 6 3 and 4 states, then

worship has not taken its rightful place

in your life and you can submit to his

will right now. All things stand ready.

If you need to renew even your devotion

to the God who is seeking you, that

invitation is extended to you as well.

With all these thoughts in mind, examine

your hearts whether you in the faith

prove your own selves as Paul told the

Corinthian brethren and think about the

worship that he so rightfully deserves.

And if you're subject to the invitation

call, won't you come as we stand and we

sing the the song that's been selected?

The waters

my soul

to you.

You alone

are my heart

desire

and I

to worship

you.

You

are my strength, my shield.

Through you alone

may my spirit.

You

are my heart

desire

and my

toship

you.

I want you more than gold

for silver.

You can send

this.

You

are the real

joy.

I

shield

to you.

May my spit

you

are my heart

and I

worship

you.

Please be seated.

Those

in the audience this evening take Lord

supper

will sing number 178.

Oh, we come Together

all we sing and pray.

Here we bring our

on this holy

day.

I love mercy.

May we all in truth and spirit

worship.

May we keep in

all that.

May we truly

worship

as we

pray.

My love.

May we all in truth.

May we all

spit

all

this

blessing

by the Lord.

May we all in truth and spirit

worship.