True Worship | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

My God.

Man, I feel like the Lord is doing something in this atmosphere today.

And we're and we're literally just getting started.

I I don't want you to take your seats yet because I actually want to invite you to go ahead and turn to your Bibles while we are standing.

Um, this is a little bit different for us here at Celebration Orlando, but in the tradition that I come from, there are moments when during the reading of God's Word we stand.

And what that means is I'm symbolically standing on God's word.

And I believe that there's a moment for us that we can begin to stand on God's word, even in our postures.

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to turn to the Gospel of John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

We're gonna just read two passages of scripture, so I'm not gonna have you stand in too long.

Um but while you're turning there, just to give you some context, because we are jumping into a story that's already in motion.

It's a familiar passage.

We actually uh preached on it not too long ago here.

So um if you're part of our family, you probably have heard me reference this passage, but if you're not, you can go back onto our YouTube channel and check it out.

But but ultimately, Jesus is having a conversation with a woman who was considered to be unfit to be around other women, that she had a history to her.

And and often we refer to her as the woman at the well.

She she ended up going to the well in the middle of the day, the hottest time, by herself because she would have been ostracized from community.

No one wanted to be around her, so she goes at a time when she thinks that no one's going to be there, but she meets Jesus there.

How many of us know that Jesus knows how to get us all by ourselves and drop a word that can change our lives?

No matter how much we try to avoid, and this is why the psalmist said, Where can I go that I can avoid the presence of God?

That I can go to the deepest and darkest places, and yet the presence of God is there.

So even in she was trying to avoid, she was doing her best efforts to be an introvert, and I get that because that is me through and through.

But that's that moment where she got there and Jesus met her there.

They're having a conversation, eventually the conversation shifts to this idea of worship.

Without going into a lot of details between the distinctions between the Jews that were there, which is the descendants and what Jesus is, and the Samaritans, this group that had contention and this beef that they had between the two, but but ultimately it came down to different worship styles and different places of worship and the division that the enemy often tries to use just through the differences in our way that we worship.

But Jesus then reshapes the conversation.

He he pulls her in and he begins to reveal to her that worship isn't just a style, it's a lifestyle.

He shares with her that worship isn't a performance, it's a posture.

So looking at verse number 23, Jesus is speaking to her about the context of the types of worship, and he says these words to her But an hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

Somebody say spirit in truth.

Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him.

Verse 24 God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Somebody say spirit and in truth.

Today I want to just briefly touch on the topic of what I believe to be a very powerful and important spiritual discipline, and that is of worship.

So today, if you're taking notes and and I hope that you are, I want you to write this message title down, True Worship.

We're gonna pray, and then I promise I'm gonna let you guys have a seat, maybe in about five minutes.

Let's pray.

Lord, we we thank you so much for your word.

We thank you for your presence.

We thank you for this atmosphere that that has already been set.

So, God, we say that you're the guest of honor.

It's not us, it's certainly not me.

I decrease and ask that you increase, that everything we've done up to this moment has just been setting the atmosphere for you to speak and to have an encounter with your people.

So, Lord, we lean in in this moment, we minimize distractions, God.

We we cast all thoughts aside and we can completely make ourselves present in this moment with an expectation that you are going to do something substantial in our lives.

So, Lord, I pray for open eyes that we can see you even in spaces where we've lost sight of you.

God, I pray for open ears to hear your truth above all else.

And Lord, I pray for open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

A faithful church says, Amen.

Amen.

Somebody shout, true worship.

Come on, let's go.

You guys can go ahead and take your seats.

And while you're doing so, show some love to some folks around you.

If you're joining us online, welcome.

We're so, so glad that you're here.

If you listen to us on our podcast, or maybe you're in our family lounge, we're so, so glad that you were here with us.

I will be remiss if I didn't take a moment to shout out my brothers from Fresh Start or in the building.

Man, you guys have my heart.

I knew, I knew you guys were coming.

A lot of times when y'all pop up, it's like Christmas because I don't know, but I actually knew that you guys were coming, so I was anticipating um what God's gonna do.

I believe that every time you guys are here, that God just it adds value to our church, and I'm thankful that you guys have created space to come and worship with us when you do.

Can we put our hands together and show some love to our Fresh Start family?

Amen.

Amen and amen.

I want to share a story with you really briefly uh about this young man.

I read this in um an article and it really was confounding to me.

So I'm gonna summarize a story uh to the best of my ability.

Um it's a young man named Alex.

And and what you know about Alex is that Alex was a person who was having some health issues, that he was having some health issues, and he went to the doctor, and the doctor says, Listen, you're gonna have to make some adjustments to your life if you're expecting to have a long life.

He needed to make some adjustments to his eating, he needed to make some adjustments to getting back in the gym, doing some things that can prolong his life.

So Alex he took that very seriously.

He he listened to the words of the doctors, he listened to what they said, and he began to put some critical things in his life in order for him to prioritize his health.

And that's something that we absolutely celebrate.

So it's as Alex began to lean into this journey of his health journey, his fitness journey, he's going to the gym, he's taking pictures of himself.

You guys all know the gym guy that's got the camera set up and they're they're they're doing the presses, and it's like, hey, day one, and they got the pictures of it.

Day four, they're showing you with their shirt off.

Like, there's still Alex was on a weight loss journey.

He wanted everyone to be on this journey with him.

We celebrate what Alex is doing, but can you just get off the equipment?

I need to get on here and do some bench presses.

But that's besides the point.

Alex is doing his thing, he's he's working out, and as we could see that he starts getting results.

And you know, nothing is more of a motivator to any of us than when we actually start seeing results.

We actually start seeing the investment.

So now Alex went from making adjustments to his diet, meal prepping, doing all those things.

Now Alex is doing two a day.

Yeah, he's he's he's he's about that life.

Like Alex is going to the gym like twice a day, like he's getting after and he's seeing the results, and the results continue to come.

They continue to come.

He's taking in different supplements.

Like Alex is on this journey, and now he's posting twice a day.

So he as he's going to the gym twice a day, he's posting twice a day, and the results are getting there.

So Alex is on this journey, but the interesting thing that happens is Alex is on this journey, he begins to distance himself from his family because he's he's on this, he's on this fitness grind, he's on this kick, I gotta get healthy, I gotta get healthy.

So when he would use to spend time with his family, he cut that time out because I gotta go to the gym.

Like it became almost like an obsession for him.

Time had passed and he had realized that his father had been reaching out to him and he hadn't communicated with his father in almost three to four weeks, which was completely unprecedented.

Like Alex and his dad were best friends, but he completely had distanced himself because he was so caught up in his weight loss journey he couldn't wait for his dad to see the progress, but he distanced himself for the father so much that he had not talked to his father in almost a month.

He was aware of this, and so he makes a phone call to his father, and he realizes that his father has been in the hospital for the past three weeks.

His father had reached out to him when he was having a heart condition, but Alex was in the gym.

He sit he hit decline on the call and forgot to call his father back.

He he rushes to the hospital because there's not a lot of family there, and by the time he gets there, he sees that his father's ailing in health, and he's completely unsure of if his father's going to make it.

And so now he's riddled with guilt and he's he's wondering if his father's gonna survive, and now he's rethinking if he prioritized the wrong thing.

Let me let me pause there and help you guys to see where I'm going with this.

There was nothing wrong with Alex wanting to put himself in a position that he could be healthy.

There was nothing wrong with him recognizing that he needed to do some things in order for him to be stronger, that he needed to do some things and prolong his life.

But the problem is, Alex got so obsessed with his own growth, with his own interests, that he began to distance himself from the father as a result of it.

What I think can happen with some of us is that when we're at our lowest moments, it's often a moment of clarity where we realize that we need to draw closer to God.

It's that moment where we understand that we need our heavenly father.

But unfortunately, what can often happen as we begin to grow, as we begin to mature, or can I say, as we begin to make progress, that we often suffer from the same thing that Alex did when we begin to live our lives, distancing ourselves from the Father.

There was a moment when we couldn't imagine not finding ourselves in a place of worship.

But it seems as if the stronger we get, the less we need God.

It seems as if the more healthy I am, then I can begin to make some shifts to the way that I engage the presence of God.

I truly believe that at its core, what worship is really all about, it's about putting God in the right place in our lives.

It's about priorities.

Alex had lost his priorities, and while he began to make sure that he was healthy, he stopped prioritizing his father.

And I often wonder on our own journey of self-discovery, on our own journey of growth and maturity, have we gotten to a place that we've stopped prioritizing God?

The Bible tells us in Psalms chapter 34, I love the words of the psalmist because it says, I will bless the Lord at all times.

Psalms 34 · chapter mention

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul shall make boast of his Lord, and the humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Oh, magnify the Lord with me.

Let us exalt his name together.

These are the words of a king who already had things lined up in his life, but he had a posture that says, Oh, magnify the Lord with me.

Now, what I've learned is that God can't get any bigger than he already is.

God can't get any more powerful than he already is, he can't get any stronger, he can't have a deeper revelation, like God is who he is, and he's already set in stone and who he is.

But watch this God becomes bigger to us when we prioritize him.

The way that magnets work is that it's a matter of perspective.

And as we draw closer to God, then he becomes bigger in our lives.

My question is, what are the things that are bigger than God in your life?

Because what idolatry is, idolatry is when God is no longer at the forefront of everything and he begins to play the background character.

That at some point that God, who used to be the most close thing that we see, and when we're drawn closer to God, it becomes the filter that we see everything through.

But unfortunately, when idolatry begins to sneak its way in, we begin to get other things in front of it, and we no longer see everything through the filter of God, but we see God through the filter of everything else.

Anything that we put in front of Jesus is an idol.

Anything that we put in front of Jesus is an idol.

That means that if I say that I am a black Christian, I have put my blackness in front of what it means to be a follower of Christ and I've turned it into an idol.

If I say that I'm a conservative Christian, that I've taken my conservative values and I put it in front of God and I've made it into an idol.

This is why when people read the Bible, that becomes their filter and they only can see things through the filter of their own confirmation bias because they've turned it into a bi turned into an idol.

Because I see it through that lens.

But what I believe God is challenging us to do is he's challenging us to put him back in its rightful place.

In the Old Testament, the Bible tells us that a king was designated not because of their ability to win wars and their ability to have great conquests, a great king in the eyes of God were the kings that tore down the idols that were in the land.

King Hezekiah, it says this about him in 2 Kings chapter 18, verses 3 and 4.

2 Kings 18:3

Look what it says.

It says, He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done.

He had removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars, cut down the ashera poles, he broke into pieces even the bronze serpent that Moses made, because the Israelites were burning incense to it.

Here's what that ultimately means.

That means that when Hezekiah became king, that he began to recognize that there were some idols in the land, some things that the people had begun to worship.

So he said, My first priority is to tear down everything that distracts us from worshiping God.

Everything that's trying to take the place of God.

He said, It's my responsibility to tear that down first.

I'm not going to make a decision on who we need to invade.

I'm not going to make a decision on my leadership structure.

The first thing I need to do is tear down anything that is trying to compete with God, even the bronze serpent.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about the bronze serpent.

This is a great story.

The children of Israel, while they were in the wilderness, they had gotten attacked by snakes.

Like literally, the Bible is such a descriptive image.

Like they literally got attacked by snakes.

And so what God had told Moses to do, hey, I want you to make a bronze serpent.

And then what I want you to do is when you lift it up, anybody that looks at the bronze serpent, they'll be healed of the venom that they were bit with.

This is symbolically talking about how Jesus took on the venom of sin, and which is why he said, If I be lifted up, I draw all men unto me.

This was a type and shadow of Jesus on the cross, the venom of sin that was now pervasive in our world.

But if we look to Jesus, the sin will be evaporated because Jesus became sin for us.

It's a beautiful image of what the cross is.

So Moses has this moment where he lifts the serpent up.

People look at the serpent, they see that the venom has been absorbed, and now they are healed as a result of it.

And then what they begin to do is they begin to worship the bronze serpent.

What is it about our condition that we find ourselves wanting to worship the creation instead of the creator?

What is it about us that we always want to prop something up in the way of God and we're missing out on the creator behind all of it?

What God is ultimately telling us is that I want you to be people that puts me in my rightful place.

I want you to be people that understands the power of worship.

And in scripture, what we see worship takes on many forms.

Worship takes on a form of giving, generosity, offerings.

Worship takes on a form of prayer.

Worship takes on a form of people bowing their heads.

Worship takes on a form of people laying prostrate on the ground.

Worship takes the form of people lifting their hands.

We see through scriptures there are different ways that people worship, but ultimately what it was was you saying, I am humbling myself and I am exalting God.

I'm humbling myself, I'm lowering myself.

God, I'm putting you above everything that I've created.

So when I give you my offering, I'm saying that I'm exalting you above my offering.

God doesn't need our money, but what he wants is our heart.

And because we put our blood, sweat, and tears into our money, this is why scripture says that where your treasure is, your heart is.

So it's possible not for you just to have money, but for money to have you.

So God is saying, I'm challenging you.

If you can prioritize me in the area of your resources, you're putting me above your money, then I can make sure that your heart is still for the things of God.

Can I get a good amen?

So God is challenging us to be people of worship.

And so what I want to do is I want to spend the next couple of minutes just breaking down a couple of things that we can expect when we become true worshipers that Jesus is describing to the woman at the well.

Are y'all with me?

Okay, buckle up.

We're about to go in.

Because I got three points and I got three separate narratives to accentuate those points, and God only knows where this is gonna go.

So let's let's let's pray and let's see where this thing goes.

Point number one worship ushers in the presence of God.

Worship ushers in the presence of God.

Let me give you some some context and a passage of scripture that I believe helps to illustrate this idea.

Abram has just returned from battle.

He from Genesis chapter 12 is told that he is going to be the one that God blesses and that the world is going to be blessed through him.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

So from this moment, Abram is is challenged and encouraged to break away from his family structure, to break away from his home, and to go out and trust God.

That's the instance we see in scripture where it says, and that Abram believed God and it was counted as righteousness.

That's where the idea of having faith alone and trusting God in the unknown and how that pleases God.

Without faith is impossible to please him.

So Abram is the first one that steps out in this whole narrative of trusting God just by faith.

So now Abram is out.

But it seems that the moment that Abram says yes to God, that he seems to be being attracted by the enemy.

That everything he does, he's facing opposition.

Like literally, God said that your family is going to be blessed in the first encounter that he has is that he has division in his family.

Lot and him are starting to have some beef.

Then Lot ends up getting kidnapped, and then he has to go and fight to get Lot recovered.

Like the thing that God said he was going to bless, it seems to be the area that he was getting blessed the least.

Am I talking to anybody right now?

That the minute that you say that, that God says, like, hey, I'm gonna bless your family, and now it seems like your family is going through hell.

That you see in scripture that it says, like, I'm gonna bless your finances because you trust in me, but it seems as if now my finances are under attack.

Have you ever found yourself at a place that the very thing that I've decided to give to God seems to be attracting the attacks of the enemy?

Could it be that you're on to something, but wait, there is more.

The Bible says that Abram just comes back from a battle, and when he comes back from this battle, he's exhausted, and he's at a place where he's like, Lord, I've heard what your word has said, I'm not seeing it in my life, and I'm getting exhausted.

So God invites him to enter into a covenant.

So he says, Hey, I want you to bring me some animals and we're gonna have a moment of sacrifice because I want you to understand that worship will always require a little bit of a sacrifice of us.

It's gonna require us to sacrifice our comfort, it's gonna require us to sacrifice what our preference is.

This is why when we come to church, I'm getting past the point of saying, Lift your hands if you're comfortable.

Comfort has nothing to do when we worship God.

It's a matter of obedience and it's a response of the faithfulness and the goodness of God.

So Abram takes resources that he has and he lays them out in front of God.

And wouldn't you know the most beautiful illustration takes place?

Because as Abram lays these items out for God, it says that birds of prey came to consume it.

Did you catch that?

That that Abram, that these things that he was giving to God, it says that birds of prey came to consume it.

Birds of prey are vultures because they're attracted to anything they're sacrificed.

Wherever they're sacrificed in death, it draws the attention of the enemy.

So what the Bible says is that the vultures were drawn to Abram's sacrifice.

Maybe the very thing that you're laying out in front of God, you're wondering why it is attacking and being attracted by the enemy.

But maybe it's because the enemy recognizes that if God consume it, that there's victory and deliverance that comes on the other side of him.

So what the Bible says is that the birds of prey swoop in because they wanted to consume something that belonged to God, that the enemy is swooping in because he wants to consume your family, because it belongs to God.

But Abram was not content with that.

I'm preaching to somebody right now.

The Bible said that Abram drove those things away.

He didn't just watch it, he didn't just observe it, he didn't post about it, he didn't complain about it.

But the Bible says that he seen it and he drove it away.

That means that he actively decided to engage to draw the enemy away.

When you see the enemy attacking your family, are you watching it or are you driving it away?

My worship drives the enemy away and it ushers in the presence of God.

It drives away the enemy and allows them not to get comfortable in things that I've positioned to give to God.

The Bible says that Abram he draws the enemy away and then it ushers in the presence of God and God shows up.

And what we see in the text is that God shows up in the form of fire.

The presence of God comes in.

Fire purifies, fire spreads, fire is powerful.

Fire brings clarity, it allows it to illuminate the dark.

What the Bible describes is that in its darkest moment, that as Abram was worshiping God, that God showed up in the form of fire.

Purifying, bringing clarity, bringing direction, and illuminating the darkness.

When you worship, you usher in the presence of God.

And the presence of God brings purification, it brings clarity, it spreads, it allows the hand of God to move in our lives in such a way.

Maybe there's some areas of your life that you feel like you're in the midst of darkness and you're saying I don't have the proper vision or the clarity to see it.

But have you ever considered that when I worship, it ushers in the presence of God that illuminates this dark situation, that allows me to have the vantage point of faith, that allows me to take another step.

I don't have to see the next one.

Hundred steps, but if I can just take a step, if I could just take a step and recognize that God is with me, if I could just take a step knowing that God before me, and if God before me, nothing can stand against me.

What worship does is it ushers in the presence of God and it brings purity.

Maybe there's some things that you need to get cleaned up in your life, but when we begin to invite the presence of God in, it begins to bring clarity.

Maybe you need some areas where you need to get a healing.

But the Bible says in his presence it's the fullness of joy, that in his presence there is pleasure forevermore, that in his presence there is freedom.

Maybe you're in bondage right now, some areas that you're not moving in freedom.

But the Bible says that when we usher in the presence of God, that God shows up and it literally changes everything.

The Bible tells us in Psalm 22 that God inhabits the praises of his people.

That as we worship, we usher in the presence of God, that he literally dwells in our praise.

He literally dwells in our worship.

Dwelling means he sits in it.

I live here.

I this is my habitat.

Wherever we worship, it's the throne room of heaven, it's the place where we interact, where heaven and earth have this beautiful overlapping worship, is so powerful.

My God.

Worship changes the atmosphere.

When we worship, it ushers in the presence of God, but our worship also, it literally changes the atmosphere.

The Gospel of Mark chapter 14.

Mark 14 · chapter mention

I want to read a couple of verses to us.

The Bible says that while he, being Jesus, was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, he was reclining at the table and a woman came with an alabaster jar, a very expensive perfume of pure gnar.

She broke the jar open and poured it on his head, but some were expressing indignation to one another.

Why has this perfume been wasted?

For this perfume might have been sold for three let me see where I lose myself.

I'm sorry guys, I can't read.

For 300 denari and given to the poor.

And they began to scold her.

But verse number six, Jesus replied, Leave her alone.

Why are you bothering her?

She has done a noble thing for me.

Let me help you to understand what's happening.

That that as she began to come in and pour out this expensive perfume, it literally changed the atmosphere.

I'm not sure if you've ever been around a person that went a little heavy on the cologne of perfume.

But it it has the ability to change the atmosphere.

Like it it it it shifts everything.

Like we all know when it's just the right amount, it's like, oh, that smells good, versus like, oh, like I smelled you 10 feet away.

Like it just it just it just hit me straight in the chest.

Like I'm a I'm a person that's really big on vibes.

And I know that's not a very descript term.

And so a lot of times, like when our staff are having meetings and they're like, oh, we saw this place and we can have a meeting, I'm like, yo, but is it a vibe?

And they're like, yeah, like I think so.

I'm like, but is it a vibe?

Like I it's for me, it's it's one of those all-encompassing words that means that it's a great atmosphere.

It's a it's a good, there's good music, the decorations are right.

Like it's a place that I want to be, it's a place I feel comfortable.

Like, I'm really big on vibes.

Restaurants, it's just gotta be the right vibe.

It's just it's just one of the ways that I'm wired.

Well, when Meg and I we were living in DC, there was this restaurant that we were frequent, like right in the heart of DC.

We love going there.

We went there frequently.

And and so there was this one time, one of the last times we went as we were about to move, that we went to this restaurant and they seated us in a different section of the restaurant.

And this is a restaurant that has amazing vibes.

Like, like even the even the people that work there had these uniforms, and the uniforms were so dope.

I'm like, I would wear that in the streets.

Like, it's just it's just a vibe.

So as we're there and we're sitting there, and I know we're gonna eat, I know we're gonna order, we're sitting there, we're chilling, and I'm and I begin to like, you smell that?

Like something, something smell.

That was the Lord.

Um you I'm like, you you smell that?

Like, what is what is that what is that smell?

Like something something is off.

And so the the the the the person comes up to us, I'm like, yo, like what is that smell?

They're like, oh, we're so sorry, we're we're doing some maintenance in the back, and we had a we had a pipe break in our in our sewage system.

Like there's some things that you never want to hear in the context of where food is being prepared.

Pipe break sewage would be a collaboration of words that you just don't want to hear together.

Pipe break and sewage, but we're glad you're here.

Watch this.

No matter how good the food was, no matter how good the music was, no matter how well decorated the place was, the aroma and the idea of that stench, it completely changed the mood and it shifted the atmosphere.

It disrupted everything, it bothered me so much that I just couldn't get comfortable because the aroma was so offensive to me.

Let me fast forward over here.

What if I were to tell you that when you worship, that it creates an aroma that's offensive to the enemy?

This is why the enemy fights us in worshiping so much.

Because the aroma of worship that's emitted, it reminds him of the heaven he was kicked out of, and it reminds him of the victory that he had lost out on.

So this is why when we worship, it literally has the ability to change the atmosphere.

Let me go a step further.

The Bible says that about David, that when David had defeated Goliath, that he had a job, and his job was to become a worship leader.

And the worship leader for David was that whenever Saul was bothered by demonic spirits, that David would come in and begin to play and drive the enemy away, and it literally shifted the atmosphere.

This is why when we come to church, this is not a concert.

That when we come to church, we're not waiting for our favorite song, but what we're doing is we're worshiping God and we're changing the atmosphere.

So as we lift up praises to God, we hear the name of Jesus being declared and begin to shift some things, and maybe the demonic strongholds, the things that have been bothering us, it cannot stand near you because the smell of our worship disrupts his ability to keep his grip on our lungs, on the witch in heaven about 10 people in here that understood the power of their worship.

A witch in heaven about 10 people in here that will be willing to stand on their feet and give God some pregnant for the next 10 seconds because you understand that my worship is a weapon, that the enemy will let me disemble them here.

I'm gonna discover him with my pregnant.

I'm gonna discover him with my worship.

I'm gonna be glory.

Man, what y'all doing standing up?

Man, have a seat, have a seat.

I'm not done yet, I'm not done yet.

I'm not done yet.

I got I got one more thing I want to share.

I got one more thing, and we're gonna we're gonna wrap up.

We're gonna wrap up.

Here's here's the here's a third and final point.

Third and final point.

Worship is a response to the goodness of God.

That worship is a response to the goodness of God.

Let me say this one more time.

Worship is our response to the goodness of God.

Maybe somebody in here has lost sight of the fact that God is good.

And maybe, maybe we are so fixated on the problem that we've lost sight of the solution.

But worship is the response to the goodness of God.

The Bible tells us a story in Luke chapter 17 about these 10 lepers.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Now, leprosy was a disease that required you to be excommunicated from community, that you couldn't be around people because you were seen as being contagious.

It was such a it was such a stigma that whenever people saw you, that you had to yell out, unclean.

You basically had to have a sign on your chest to let people know that I have leprosy, I'm contagious, stay away from me.

Imagine living in a world where people can see your affliction and they distance themselves from you.

Imagine living in a world where people can point out what's wrong with you and why they can justify dehumanizing you.

It's another message for another time.

The Bible says that when they see Jesus, that they say, Lord, will you have mercy on me?

And Jesus, he heals them.

But it doesn't happen immediately.

Because when we look at the word healing in the Greek, and there's many different renderings, but the word healing in Greek is the word therapezo, which is where we get the word therapy.

That's why we sometimes have to walk some things out in order for us to see the healing.

The Bible says that as they were on their way going back into town to show themselves to the priest, that as they went, they recognized that they were healed.

That as they were walking, they saw the healing and breakthrough take place.

They didn't see it immediately.

It didn't happen in one service, but as they began to walk it out, then they began to recognize as I walk it out, I'm beginning to see it.

Some things you're just going to have to walk out if you want to see it.

I know that we come to the church and we hear a word that's being spoken over our lives and we're waiting for an instant change, and God can do it that way.

But sometimes it requires us to walk it out.

And sometimes we have to take our time and we have to keep discipline and we got to keep trusting God.

But as we walk it out, the Bible says, as they went, they saw that they were healed.

As they went, as they were going, as they were going about their everyday life, then they saw the transformation take place.

But the Bible says that one man, when he saw that he was healed, he turned around and went back to Jesus and said, Lord, I thank you so much for your goodness that was poured out on my life.

Jesus responds and says, I healed 10 of y'all.

Where's the other nine at?

What God was ultimately saying is that why is it that whenever people are encountering my goodness, that there seems to be a reluctancy on people to return to me and give me praise?

But when you have a true revelation of the sickness of your condition, when you have a true revelation that I used to have leprosy, when you have a true revelation of the sickness in your body and how nobody want to have anything to do with you, but then you had an encounter with Jesus and you began to walk it out, and then you saw the transformation.

How can I be quiet in the presence of a God who has done so much for me?

What the man did is he turned around and said, Lord, you are worthy, Lord, you are righteous, Lord, you are holy.

When my family gave up on me, you didn't give up on me.

That when everybody cut me off, you drew me closer.

That when nobody wouldn't have anything to do with me, you drew me close in.

Lord, I worship you, Lord.

I praise you.

You were so good.

You're good when it's great, you're good when it's not good, but I'm responding to the goodness of God.

What worship is it acknowledges the power of God in our lives, even if we are a work in progress, and it says, Lord, you are good.

Even if it's not good right now, you are.

And I'm going to keep walking it out until I see it.

When Megan and I went to Greece this past summer, one of the things that just blew my mind is when we went and visited some of the monasteries.

And what was so confounding about it is that these are monasteries that are literally built on the top of mountains.

Like it's it's it's it's almost unreal when you see it.

You feel like it's just a Photoshop image in real life.

Like, how did they build it?

All the work that they did, but what it was ultimately meant to symbolize is we're putting ourselves in a place where we have no distractions.

They built it on a mountain, they didn't want to put it in a city, they wanted to elevate their worship where there would be nothing between them and God.

And the amount of work and effort and sacrifice that went into it is just mind-blowing.

Like when we walked up the stairs, I was about to pass out, and I'm an able-bodied person just walking.

I can't imagine building it.

Like, it's like on these high, steep inclines.

But what I began to think about, look at what people are willing to do to draw closer to God.

Look at the effort, look at the sacrifice, look at everything they're willing to do just to draw closer to God.

And I often wonder if because of our current culture and the accessibility of God, that we've made him so common that we forgot that he's sacred.

What worship does is it reminds us that even though God is accessible, he is still sacred.

That even though God is closer to me than a brother, that he still is the creator of the universe.

That even though he calls me son, he is still my God.

When you have that revelation, it keeps you from being silent when it comes to worshiping God.

We're gonna go into a moment of worship.

And there is no hype, there is no bells and whistles, there's no calling.

But in this time, how are you going to engage the presence of God?

Some of us are gonna lift our hands up and we're inviting the presence of God to meet us.

Some of us are gonna stand on our feet and stand on God's word.

But worship ushers in the presence of God, worship changes the atmosphere.

We have a revelation of these things.

Do you need God's presence in the area of your life?

Are you willing to worship for it?

Do you do you need the atmosphere to change in your life?

Maybe you need to worship for it.

Whatever it is that you need from God, it's in his presence, but we have a part to play.

The altar is gonna be open.

And I want to invite you, maybe that's your next step is to come down here to get alone with God and stepping out in faith, the same way that Abram did, but knowing that you're gonna have a supernatural encounter with God and that you're gonna walk it out and we're gonna see victory.

With everybody on their feet, I want to lead us to a moment of prayer and a simple invitation.

No height, no fog machines, none of that.

It's just you having an intimate moment with the Creator.

And if God's been good to us, we can't be silent.

Let's lift our hands up.

Lord, we thank you for your goodness.

We thank you for your faithfulness.

And it's in this moment, God, that we we acknowledge that you're good.

We acknowledge that you're powerful.

And God, we now enter into a posture of worship.

We usher in your presence, Father.

And God, we say that let this be like the throne room of heaven where we cry out, holy, holy, holy.

Holy is the Lord God Almighty, God.

I pray that you change the atmosphere even now, because you inhabit the praises of your people, and your word reminds us that where two or three are gathered in your name, you're in the midst of us.

God, you are amongst us right now.

So, Father, I'm praying that as we worship, as we come to the altar, that as we lift our hands up, as we lift up your voice, God, I pray that you meet us where we are and that we have a revelation and an encounter with you that changes everything.

In Jesus' name.

Come on, family, let's worship together.

Thanks again for listening.

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