The Father seeks worshippers

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. - John 4:23

I'm sure most are familiar with this verse, which is where Jesus is answering the woman at the well's questions on worship. There's a lot which can, and has been, shared from this verse alone but I just wanted to pick out one thought which has been going around in my head for a while now and it is this: The Father is seeking worshippers.

Well okay that's fairly obvious, you say, we know that. However, when I think about the mindset we often have in worship it is often about us seeking God - about us finding out who He is, going up the mountain to seek Him out, coming before His throne, bringing our offerings, seeking His presence and to know Him. Now of course all of this is right and Biblically sound. However, if we are not careful we can start to think that worshipping God and knowing His presence is a difficult thing - a series of tasks or rituals we must perform. This verse tells us that worship is not just about us seeking God, but more than that there is a people we can be, and a heart we can have, where God the Father seeks us.

God isn't somebody who wants to be distant from His people, or who makes it a difficult task to know Him. The Bible shows God as being somebody who is continually searching the earth for a people whose hearts are His so that he can be intimate with them. If more than just bringing our acts of worship ('doing' worship) we will be a people who are worshippers - who have the right hearts before Him, have made a decision to honour Him in our lives, and trust in His Son - then we will be the people who God seeks and we will know Him intimately.

Introductions

I suppose the most appropriate thing to do in this first post is to introduce myself in case there's anybody other than my mum reading this ;-) and explain why I've decided to join in this blog lark anyway. So, by way of introduction my name's Daniel Smart and along with my wife Amanda and two children Andrew and Matthew we live in London which, if any of you have ever met my pastor you will know, is the 'greatest city in the world'

I've been part of Every Nation Church, London for the last 10 years or so, have been involved in leading worship there for most of that time, and with my wife have been heading up the worship ministry for more years than I can remember. My passion, and what is leading me to start this blog, is to see nations filled with a people who know God and worship Him. More than just good music, or a powerful experience but the heartfelt, passionate expression of worship which arises from a people who know God and know that He's set them free.

So why join the ranks of the bloggers now? Well, mainly because I've been promising my worship team for several years that I'd do a better job of sharing worship thoughts and teachings on a regular basis so, considering the options, this seemed like an easy way to do so.

So, without further ado, I want to present 'Worship Encounters' - thoughts, meditations, and bible studies on who God is and what it means to be a God-worshipper. I hope you find it helpful.