Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:19-2

We see in verse 24 that the Father is seeking for worshippers. I find this very challenging. Why is God seeking for Worshippers? If I were to write this verse I’d probably say that the Father is seeking for ‘Prayers,’ ‘Evangelists,’ or ‘Tithers.’ Aren’t they high up on God’s wanted list? As I have pondered this I have realised that when the Father has a ‘Worshipper’ then He has all the above thrown in as well. Think about it. You can be a ‘prayer’ and yet not be in love with Jesus. The Muslims pray 3 times a day, maybe more than us and yet they don’t profess to be in love with Jesus. You can also be a very religious Christian who prays a lot and not be walking in grace. You can end up telling everyone how long you prayed this morning to blow your own trumpet. I know because I used to be like that. You can also be an Evangelist telling people about Jesus and yet not be in a good place with God. I have had a so called ‘Evangelist’ in my congregation over the years who were not afraid to tell someone that they were a sinner and needed Jesus, yet I found out later they were having an affair with a woman all during that time. I have realised that you can be over the top because you have a guilty conscience and are trying to compensate maybe hoping that God will overlook what you are doing because you are out there ‘saving souls.’ I have also noticed that those who try and make you feel guilty because you are not witnessing enough never seem to have anyone in the Church from all their efforts. A lot of the times it’s the quiet ones who share the good news that seem to bare the most fruit. In my world travels I have come across Evangelists on street corners who are quite hard and condemning towards others, which I’m sure is not pleasing to the Father. If you are a Worshipper, then out of love and gratitude towards God you will automatically become His Evangelist by accident rather than on purpose. You would think Tithers would be high on the Fathers ‘wanted’ list – right? But you can be a ‘Giver’ for many reasons. Some Christians think that as long as they give money they don’t need to do anything else in the Church. Some think because they give so much money to the Church that they can manipulate others to get their own way. They threaten that if you don’t comply with their view that they will withhold financial support. I agree that tithing is a powerful means of grace but you can still do it and not be a worshipper. Don’t get me wrong, God wants prayerful people, Evangelists and Tithers but when He has a ‘Worshipper’ He has all of the above. I believe this is why Jesus says, the Father is seeking for Worshippers. One meaning for the word worship means ‘worth-ship.’ To worship means to appreciate the worth of God. To worship means to value, treasure and love the presence of God. Where your heart is there will be your treasure be also. You treasure something or someone that you delight in and love. That someone or something is where you spend most of your time. You spend time with the person or thing you value the most. Abraham was told by God that, ‘I am your exceeding great reward’. Is God your exceeding great reward?