Month: June 2025

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God is Testing Us

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24

I am not an expert on the subject of worship. I am not sure there is anyone who really is. I am like a man who stands on the shore and studies the ocean. At best, I have waded in up to my ankles. The vast expanse of Who God is and what it means to truly worship Him goes far beyond my ankle-deep knowledge and experience.

What I share is based on what I have learned from Scripture, the works of many godly individuals, and my years of seeking to apply these principles in my life and the ministry of the church. Yet, it is limited by my knowledge and comprehension and flawed by my own sinfulness. That is why it is always critical to test what you hear from me or anyone else by what God reveals to us in His Word.

Several years ago, I started listening to an audio Bible on my phone while I drove to work or exercised. I found this to be a profitable addition to my study of the Word. There are some drawbacks. First, if I am tired, I am not always completely coherent. Second, the recitation moves pretty fast. Third, my mind wanders. So, I can miss things. But it is meant to be a supplement to my study of Scripture, not a replacement. However, because I can listen to large sections at a time, it does provide me with a broad overview of how God works both in the life of His people and in the world.

I am currently going through the Old Testament.  As I listen, I am reminded of several things. God is serious about His holiness, His law, and obedience. The human race, including the people of God, is incredibly stubborn and rebellious and sinful. Even when we outwardly practice rituals or “religion,” our hearts are often far from God. God is a righteous judge and He is always right when He judges. He is extremely patient in His dealings with us. Every one of us deserves the judgment and wrath of God. God is a merciful and forgiving God. We are without excuse if we do not receive His gift of salvation.

In Deuteronomy 13:1-6, it speaks of prophets or dreamers of dreams who give signs and wonders which come true. These prophets, in turn, then instructed the people to serve other gods. In other words, these prophets are either deceivers or once-servants who have been led astray and are now false prophets or teachers. So, God says that even though the prophet’s signs or prophesies came true, the people are not to listen to them. This seems pretty straightforward and obvious to me. But then, verse 3 really grabbed my attention. It says that God is using these prophets to test whether the people really love the Lord with all of their heart and soul.

Through the years, I have seen many teachers, churches, or ministries that are proclaiming a new “truth” or “experience” related to worship or Christian living. They write books, speak on TV, or travel around the country to offer or seek out some new work of God. At times, I have been such a seeker. Unfortunately, in reality, I doubt that most of these experiences have much to do with worship or God. Some people who pursue these are just experience worshipers – they want the latest and greatest worship or God “experience.” Some are just desperate to find something beyond the drudgery of the ritual or dead orthodoxy they have experienced in “religion.”

I have also seen and heard many who lay heavy burdens of guilt and obligation on others in the name of God. These are the self-righteous who legalistically impose such obligations on others which, in the end, they neither have the intention or ability to comply with themselves. I have found myself to be prone to being an inflictor of such man-made obligations and rules. Many of the rituals engaged in weekly by church attendees could very well fall under this umbrella of efforts to earn God’s favor by our obedience or performance.

In the end, for all of us, these things, and how we approach God in worship each day, test the true state of our hearts. As the passage in Deuteronomy tells us, God uses these to determine whether we really love Him.

In the passage in John 4, Jesus says that the kinds of worshipers that the Father is seeking are those that worship Him in spirit and truth.  If this is the case, then it is very important that we try to understand what that means. Worship is an inward, spiritual experience and expression of the heart, ignited by and carried along by the Holy Spirit. Apart from the Spirit of God, there is no true worship of God. At the same time, worship is a response to truth about God and is shaped by truth about God. Worship should be an expression of the entire life of the believer and a pursuit after the living God, not a mere performance of religious rituals or obligations.

Worshiping in spirit and truth. As I go through the next couple of entries, I will try to dig a little deeper into each of these and to see how they relate to one another. I hope and pray that it will be a fruitful venture for all of us. I pray that when God tests us, it will reveal hearts that love Him. By His grace and strength, may it be so.

Together for His glory…

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The Self-Centered God

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). In past entries, I have addressed what I think it means that all things are from God and through God. Today, I will attempt to unpack what it means that all things are to Him.

Over many years of leading and serving in worship ministry, I have heard numerous descriptions and analogies of what takes place in the worship of God: giving to God; offering ourselves to God; reflecting His glory; we are fulfilling the command to worship; we are performing for the audience of One; bringing glory to God. And there are many more. These ideas can be helpful as we think through how we should worship God.

When we think of something being “to” someone, we often think of giving or offering something to them, whether it is a gift or something that we owe to them. However, when we try to apply this to God, we need to be cautious, because there are aspects related to bringing or giving that may apply to us as humans, but cannot apply to God. The earlier verses in Romans 11:33-35 make it clear that we cannot give counsel or gifts to God that either increase His knowledge or possessions. All wisdom and knowledge are His. The earth and the universe are His. He lacks nothing. So, our worship does not add anything to God. Anything we bring to God is already His.

So, what is the purpose of our worship? Scripture is full of commands to worship the Lord, bring offerings, and even offer ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). There must be a reason that we worship, other than just requiring us to do this act out of obedience. And there is.

God’s purpose for worship, and all of life, is His glory. Everything, including our lives, exists for the purpose of bringing glory to God. All things are to Him. When God creates, it is for His glory. When He reveals Himself to us, it is for His glory. When He provides for us, it is for His glory. When He saves, it is for His glory. When He judges, it is for His glory. When he raises up or brings down individuals, groups, or nations, it is for His glory. When Christ came, suffered, and bore the penalty for all sin, it was for God’s glory. When Christ rose, it was for His glory. When Christ returns, it will be for His glory. All things exist to bring glory to the Almighty God. And He will not give or share His glory with anyone or anything (Isaiah 48:9-11).

All things are to Him. All things are for Him. All things were created and intended by God to bring glory to God. For many of us, this is hard to swallow. This seems highly self-centered. That is because it is. For us, it would be sin. For God, it is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it is the most loving thing He can do for His creation.

Where is the highest joy found? Our highest joy is found in God through Christ. Any other person, possession, or aspiration will fall short of bringing the joy that can be found in Christ. Therefore, the greatest thing that God can do for us is to glorify Himself and the work He has done. As we see the indescribable wonders of Who He is and the heights and depths to which He has gone to purchase our salvation, what greater joy could be found in anything else in life?

God is jealous for His glory. He is also jealous for His people. He knows that anything less than His glory is robbing us of our greatest joy. Therefore, as we come to God in worship and as we conduct our times of worship together, we should give serious consideration to where we place our focus. Worship is for the purpose of glorifying God. When the focus shifts from God and His works to the abilities, performances, or preferences of the leaders or those in attendance, we are seeking to share or steal God’s glory, whether that is our specific intent or not. We should always be mindful of why we are doing something – are we seeking to glorify God or are we just serving and glorifying ourselves?

When my focus becomes being noticed or recognized for anything that I am doing in the worship service or the ministry of the church, I am stealing God’s glory. When I am pressing hard on some issue, I need to seriously ask myself whether this glorifies God or am I just trying to get my own way. Pride and selfishness can be deadly in relationships. It has destroyed many families and churches. God abhors it when it comes to His glory, His church, and His people. As I look back over the years, distant and recent, I wonder how many times I have glorified myself instead of my glorious Savior. As we live our lives and work together in the church, it is important to keep the glory of God before us at all times.

Thankfully, God is gracious. He is forgiving. His mercies are new every morning. He holds His glory up as a wonderful aspiration. As followers of Christ, we have the awesome privilege of declaring the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We testify to what God has done in our lives through Christ. We get to make God look great! That is what it means to glorify someone. It does not mean that we make Him look bigger than He is. It does not mean that we have anything to add to Who He is or what He has done. We just get to reflect His wonderful work in our lives, as He transforms us into the image of Christ.

We glorify God when we find our greatest joy and treasure in Him. It is why we were created. God knows there is nothing else in life that can bring us this kind of satisfaction. That is why He glorifies Himself. Everything else is a cheap substitute and robs us of the peace and joy of God. It can be ours throughout life’s journeys, joys, and trials. Though we will stumble and fall, He will pick us up and sustain us. As we draw near and glorify Him, He will feed and serve us, providing for our every need. He will teach and strengthen us, giving us a deeper understanding of Who is. And we, in turn, will glorify Him. And so it continues, as God continues to show us that He is our all in all, and that there can be no greater joy than knowing Him in Christ.

Together for His glory…