True Worship

Today want to preach on a very simple title: true worship. I want to also say I appreciate everyone who was a part of the 24-hour prayer chain yesterday. And Advance, I'm thanking everybody who's going to show up tomorrow for family prayer. We're going to do things a little bit different tomorrow night. Again, our goal is — we, we're just going to try to be mindful of your time. We also give space for God. I think that's important. But our goal is to be, be here for an hour. But during that hour, we're going to do a couple of things a little special tomorrow. So set your ear ight, join us tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m., in this room right here, for family prayer as well. On this first Sunday, I'm going to go to John chapter 4, and going to read from John chapter 4. And I'm also going to go to Philippians chapter 4. John chapter 4, familiar passage: Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well. And he says to her: woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the father. You worship ye know not what. No, we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth. For the P, father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit. And they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit, spirit, and in truth. Everybody say: spirit and Truth. TR. Philippians 4 and 4: Paul, writing to the church there at Philippi, says: rejoice in the lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing. Be anxious for nothing. If I could speak to the church in 2025, I would say: be anxious, Center Point, for nothing. But in everything, in every situation, in every circumstance, in every trouble, every trial, every situation that you're facing, by prayer and supplication — here's the term — with Thanksgiving, let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, will guard your hearts and Minds. Oh, I have a word today for the church. We need to be true worshippers. We need to be true worshippers on this first Sunday of 2025. I'm excited about this upcoming year. I feel in my spirit and anticipation of great things that take place in my personal life, in my personal Ministry, but also for Center Point. And having said that, I want to make sure that I'm set myself up for success. And part of being successful in the kingdom of God is knowing what needs to be done.

In our scripture reference that I read to us already, I want you to know that Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. And he tells her about the time that was at hand. It wasn't a time that was to come. It was a time that is at hand. And I feel in my spirit, there's a time at hand for us here at Centerpoint. The hour, it cometh, and now is. And I believe that to be true for you and I. It's the hour to be true worshippers. Not to be distracted by the noise of the world. The noise isn't going to go away, ladies and gentlemen. It's only going to get louder. I think most of us who've been around for more than 10 years already realized: the noise and distraction of the world just continues to increase. But in the midst of all the noise and the chaos, let there be a sound coming out of the Church, of praise and worship. Let there be a sound coming out of your spirit, of praise and worship. Let there be a sound coming out of your circumstance, of praise and worship. It's not time to be dead. It's not time to be dry. It's not time to be depressed. It's not time to be disgusted. It is time to worship god. There are some circumstances in my life that I can't do anything about. And I wish they would change. But so far they haven't. So I've turned those things over to God. And I'm going to focus on what I do have control over. I have control over my worship. I have control over my worship. I have the ability to get up and praise. I do control that. I may not control what tomorrow holds. I may not control what the Banker says. I may not control what the doctor says. But I can't control my praise. I can't control my attitude. I can't control my demeanor. I have the ability to control those things. I can't control people, but I can't control what I worship. What I choose to focus my mind on, what I turn to, makes all the difference in the world. And whether or not I'm going to be successful in 2025, I have the power over my praise. Yes, worship is so important. And I submit to you that who or what you worship, ship, is a very critical choice, in terms of where your Soul's Destiny ends up.

To worship — I'm giving you a definition — is to idolize. To idolize, by definition, is to love unquestioningly and uncritically, or to excess. It is to venerate as an idol. It is to possess a feeling of profound love and admiration. When Jesus — excuse me — when, when, when, when we go to Exodus 20, and we see that God has, has, has delivered Israel out of Egyptian rule, in egypti, Egyptian bondage and slavery — he brings them out. And he has already done a few things. He has proven he is God. And he's proven he has the ability to keep his word. He's proven that he can be a savior. He's proven all those things. And he brings them out there to that mountain, and he says: look, here's the deal. I desire to be your God. But I also desire for you to change a few things about what you do. Since I have already proven myself, I feel like I have the ability — this is God speaking — I have the ability to require a few things of you. And God spake all these words, Exodus 21, saying: I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make even thee any Graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in Earth beneath, or is in the water under the Earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord God, and may jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.

When I look back at these first two Commandments, in the Ten Commandments, some might think that God seems to have, have a little bit of an identity crisis going on. Maybe he's a — he's struggling with his self-esteem. Why is it that he's worried about these things? Why should a Graven image be a, be a problem to a powerful and an almighty God? If he created the universe, why should he be intimidated by a statue or some representation? What, what's going on? Is he word it? It's hard to comprehend with our human logic why this makes sense. But these, the Commandments were given for two primary reasons. That we have to — it's important that we wrap our minds around. First of the matter is truth, and the second is worship. There was a truth aspect that was going on there, in these first two Commandments. And there was a worship aspect. The truth of the one true Living God needs to be the clearest and pest truth in the world today. Is it all right if I'm a little bit Apostolic? Is it all right if I'm a little bit Pentecostal, and Apostolic Pentecostal church today, on this first Sunday of the year? See, there, there was a truth that was being established, way back in Exodus 20. In fact, it's a truth that's been established through the entirety of the word of God. Deuteronomy 6:4: here is the Lord our God is one Lord. And that's why: I love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy might. Isaiah 45 and5: I am the lord, and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I guarded thee, though thou Hast not known me. Thou Hast made known of the rising of the Sun, and from the West, there is none beside me. I am the lord, and there is none else. He's being pretty clear there. There a three of us up here having a conversation. There's not a committee doing this. When I look around, I don't see anybody else. There's none beside me. There's none behind me. There's none beneath me. I am God. I'm God by myself. Isaiah 45 and2: assemble yourselves and come, and draw near together, ye that are escaped of the Nations, that have known the knowledge, that set up the wood there of the Graven image, and to pray unto the god that cannot save. Tell ye, and bring them near. Yay, let them take counsel together. Who have the declared this from ancient times? Who hath told it from that time? Have I not — am I, have not I, the lord? And there is no God else beside me. A just God and savior, there is none beside me. Look unto me, and you'll be saved, all the ends of the Earth. For I am God, and there is none else. Let me State plainly, from the beginning of this message: there is only one God. He does not exist as three. He is one. There are not three Gods. There are not three separate, distinct persons in the godhead. There is no word Trinity in the Bible. The scriptures does speak of the father and the son, and the operation of what God does. He is the father in creation. He is the son in Redemption. He is the Holy Ghost in operation. And Jesus wasn't confused about who he was either. Because John 10:30 says: I and my father are one. And the Jews took up stones to Stone him. And he asked: what are these Good Deeds are you going to Stone me for? And they said: it's not for the good works that were going to Stone you. It's because you're making yourself God. He was declaring who he was: I am, my father, father are one. Colossians 2:9: for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily. And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principalities and Powers. When you get to the end of the book, and you read Revelations, and you look at chapter 1, verse number 7: behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him. And they which also pierc him. And all kindreds of the Earth shall whail because of him. Even so, amen. Red lettered words, words of Jesus: I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. It started with me, and it's going to end with me. I don't want you to be confused about who I am. Which is, which was, and which is to come. These are only a sampling of the Bible verses that prove the question, that there is one God. And His Oneness is a marvelous truth that we worship, and we celebrate in this truth. We celebrate it in this church. There is one God, and his name is Jesus.

The matter of worship is important. God created each person with an innate desire and an ability to worship. And when you worship, your worship sets the parameters for the entire quality and being of your life. If there's anything you ought to take personally and seriously, it's what you worship, and what is the object of what you worship. Here's the truth: everybody worships something. Everybody. We were designed and created to worship. It's in our DNA. It's how we were built. It's how we were made. It's how we were molded. We were shaped, and we were fashioned. We were to worship something. Now, his desire and his plan, from the very creation, was for you and I to worship him, yes. But it's a choice that you and I have. It's a great gift that God gave us: he gave us the freedom to choose. Because in giving us the freedom to choose, we could choose to love him. And that is love defined: it's a choice. We choose to love. We're not forced to love. We're not forced, because that's not true love. If I hold a gun to your head and say: you're going to love me, tell me you love me — are you really going to love me? You're going to say whatever you need to say, so that you don't die. That's not love. That's not how love is given. Love must be freely given, and love must be freely received. So he designed it this way, for you and I to have the ability. But it's in us to worship. And we find oursel being fulfilled when we worship. Now sometimes, when we worship things in this world, we may find a temporary moment of feeling good. But it's shortlived. Because we were not meant to worship stuff. We were not meant to worship idols. We're not meant to worship things that are not God. If there's anything we ought to take personally, it ought to be the object of our worship.

The first place the word worship is mentioned in the Bible is the story of Abraham and Isaac. God had just told Abraham to sacrificed the promise, his son that was given to him. And for many of you know the story of the Bible. But I know there may be some here today that you're not super familiar with it. So I'm going to give you a small version. Abraham had been promised that he was going to be the father of many nations. That, that, that he was going to be blessed with a son, that was going to carry on this Covenant relationship that God had established with him. The only problem was: he's well up in years, and still has no baby. And just in case you don't know, that having babies is not an old man's sport. So when he gets, you know, up into the 90s, he's starting to scratch his head, saying: hey, you know, where, where's this promise at, that you're going to give me? And it's a sad story to tell. Him and his wife try to take matters in their hand — turns, in their own hands. It turned out disastrous. But he eventually got the son that God promised, because God always keeps his promis. He usually doesn't happen on our timetable. But God always keeps his promise. And the promise was fulfilled. Now you would think, if God promised him something, that he would want him to take care of the promise. But here we see the instance that we have unfolding for us in the Bible, where he asked him: now I want you to take the promise. I want you to take the son. I want you to take the thing that I gave you, and I want you to sacrifice it. Now for you and I, when we talk about human sacrifice in 2025, that seems a little far-fetched for us. That seems like something that's just way out there. Like, only crazy people would, they would even consider something like that. But in that type, in the age in which they were living, people sacrificed their kids. They sacrifice the kids. The reality is: people still sacrifice their kids now. It's, it's another sermon for another day. But they, they're sacrificing their kids to idol worship. I'll let that settle with you.

So he tells him: I want you, I want you, I want you to take your son. And I want you to sacrifice him. I want you to make a sacrifice to me, with the promise that I gave you. So a father and a son are trudging their way up a mountain, the father knowing that he would return alone, leaving the slain Char remains of his only son behind, in a pile of stones. So what goes on? We don't know how it all plays out. We're left, we're left with a little bit of our own imagination has to play in, between the moment when he was asked, and the moment he goes to try to fulfill it. But I do know have this powerful statement in the scriptures. Because Abraham says to his servants: I and the lad will go Yonder to worship. There's the first instance of worship is brought up in the scriptures. We will go to worship. I don't know about you, but if I was trying to think through things I would use to describe what I was fixing to do — if I was having to sacrifice one of my children — I don't know if I would call it worship. But for some reason, Abraham seems to have a different concept. A different grip. A different grasp. A different understanding of what God was asking him to do. And it was, it was, it was, it was not a trial. It was not a hardship. It was not a reasonable demand of an overbearing deity. He says: worship, worship. We're going to worship. See, what we're seeing is the dynamic that's unplay here. Because God is asking him: hey, I want you to do this. But what's really at play is, he's trying to see: has the thing that I given you — has the blessing, the relationship that I've, I've given to you — has that become more important than me? Because there can't be anything more important in our lives than God. He takes the Paramount, Premier position. There can't even be a close second, in our walk with God. He wants that. He is a jealous God. He desires that spot, that preeminent spot and place in our life. And with Abraham, he was already establishing how this is going to play out. When he asked him to take the thing that I told you I was going to give you — the thing that you see your future, your promise, your Covenant, that relationship — and I want to know if you're willing to give it back. I want to know if you're willing to kill it. Why is he doing it? He's trying to make sure that there's a, there's a right and proper relationship that's going on. Now, we — most of us know how the story goes. But for those that don't: he gets him up there. And even the son, Isaac, says: hey, I see we got fire, you know. And I see we got everything we need here. We got the stone to build an altar. But where's the sacrifice? In Abraham prophetically says: the Lord shall provide himself a sacrifice. But the whole time, he's, he's laying his boy down on the Altar, and he's wrapping him up and binding him. And he begins to raise the knife up over his head. He's fixing to kill his son. And at that moment, the God, our God, intervenes, and says: hey, hey, hey, stop. I see now that you choose me over this. And he looks up, and he sees a ram caught in the thicket, and he sacrifices that. Now, the beautiful thing that's transpired here, in that, in that Dynamic, was: because he was willing to be obedient, two things happened. Number one: he heard God speak to him again. Number two: his son heard the voice of God, and seen how important obedience is. That was passed on to another generation. It's important that another generation knows how to worship. And I'm, I'm going to tell you this, moms and dads, and Grandma and Grandpa: it's more than you just telling them. They need to experience it themselves. And sometimes they may have to come in being in drug. We may have to drag them down the altar. I don't know. We may need to tie one or two of them down here on the altar, so that they can hear that. I'm just — that's joking. Some of you got a little gleam in your eye, like: hey, I might just do that.

I see, here's what goes on in worship: if it's truly worship, it makes you absolutely vulnerable. Now here, here's the deal, okay. Most of us in this room have been around Pentecostal, Apostolic worship for a long time, that we can know how to do the Motions, amen. We know there's going to be a couple of verses, and then there's going to be, there's going to be the course. And then there's going to be the bridge, right? Because when the bridge comes on, we're going to get jiggy for Jesus on the bridge. Everybody knows: you get jiggy for Jesus on the apostolic Bridge. That's why they put those bridges in there. Sometimes you have two Bridges, extra anointed song. We know to listen to it. We know how to — we know that when it comes up, it's going to, like, it's our time now. We're going to do — it's acceptable to do this. And then we come back down. Then we're going to clap. We know how to do that. But are you truly worshiping? Now, some are — you know how I know that? Because some of you just get lost in worship. Now getting lost In Worship looks different for everybody. For some, some people, they get excited and they spin and twirl. Some, some, some take a lap. For some though, for some, it's just a complete surrender, where you are in that seat. Like, like you lose, you lose track of who's around you, and what's going on. And you lose track of even what verse you're on. You don't even realize the bridge is coming up. You just lose yourself in worship. And you become vulnerable before him. And it's in that moment of vulnerability, that he has the, he has then that opportunity, to show you what you need to change. I'm anointed right now. I feel it. See, we come in, and I'm, I'm afraid too many of us have gotten used to checking the Box off: yes, I worshiped. Yes, I went to church. Yes, I went to Life Class. Yes, I went to — I went, I showed up at the prayer train for an hour. We checked these boxes off, as if checking the boxes off is what keeps a relationship going on. I'm, I'm telling you: if you don't get lost at some point — if you can't just get lost in his presence, and twirl around, and lose Lo, lose, lose all thought of what's going on around you — because it's in those moments, he has the ability to really speak to you. No, please don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about, you know, meditating yourself into some, some, some third level of whatever. Like, no, not what I'm talking about at all. But there is something about being genuinely caught up in worship.

We have command in the Bible. If I return to our opening scripture, Jesus set forth a very — the strict definition of worship. Jesus said un her, verse 21 of chapter 4 of John: woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the father. You worship ye not know not what. We know what we worship, for the Salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth. For the father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit. And they that worship Him must worship Him in Sp, spirit and in truth. Worship is not a matter of being theologically correct. Worship is not just a matter of a music genre, or following protocol, or having a reverential attitude. It is the only, a matter of — too many people come in, and they make worship way harder than it is ever meant to be. You are hardwired to worship. And Jesus said, when you do it, you do it in spirit and in truth. In other words, you're open yourself up to the influence outside of yourself, yourself. When you worship, spiritual transactions and Transformations happen in worship. Your mind, your values, your convictions, your understanding — all these things come into play, when you act out in worship. This is why it's Paramount for Jesus to do what he did in Matthew 4, when he was being tempted by Satan, in that third and final Temptation that was there. Matthew 4:8: and again, the devil taketh them up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth them all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And he saith on him: all these things I'll give to you, if you will fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him: get thee hint, Satan. For it is written: Thou shalt Worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Him only. You can't get caught up in your Pursuits in this world. You can't get caught up in your degrees, or your status, or what house you live in, or what car you drive, or what clothes you wear, or where you get your education. You can't — those things are very easy, and our world pushes those things on you. And again, I'm not against that stuff. You know, get an education. Have a nice house. Drive a, drive a nice car. Have all those things — as long as those things don't have you. As long as you're not caught up on those.

It would, it would have been easy — you think about this. Jesus comes down, and his goal was to eventually be able to go to the Cross, to die for our sins, to conquer that. He comes in, and the, and the devil gets him in a moment of vulnerability, as he's out fasting and praying. It begins to approach him. And the last and final temptation is — the actual Temptation was for him to be able to fulfill all the things that were there. I mean, look at it. He says, he shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory. He says: all these things I'll give to you, if you'll follow. It's just me and you. It's just me and you. Nobody's around. If you'll just Bow Down and Worship me. And at that time, right, he had the ability to give those things to him. But all you got to do is worship me. But if he would have done that, his mission would have been forfeited. He would have lost his identity. And you have suceeded his power and authority over to him. Whoever you Worship, You confer Authority and power over to that. Whatever you worship gains control over you. If you worship the devil, he gains control of you. Worship the flesh, you open yourself up to every kind of evil influence that exists in this world. Romans 1, Paul talking there to the church in Rome, says: because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and in their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of The Incorruptible God into an image made into like corruptible man, and the birds, and the forefoot of beasts, and creeping things. Did you notice the progression in the spiral downward? Wherefore God ha also given up to uncleanness, through their lust of their own Hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who change the truth of God into a lie — remember, we got to Worship in spirit and truth — and worshiped and served the creature, creature, more than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen. They followed worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless. They acknowledged God. They gave lip service to God. But they didn't worship God. They played the part. They knew how to go through the motions. They knew how to look the part. They knew when to say Amen when the preacher was preaching. Yeah, they knew when the choir was going to hit the bridge. They knew how to do all that stuff. They knew how to look the part. You know, except when they went on vacation — that was free. Yeah, they did all the things they were supposed to do. But what happened over time? Because they were not worshiping God — they were only acknowledging God. They didn't worship. They didn't worship. And I've seen this happen so many times in life. They simply acknowledge: yes, there's God. I believe in God. I believe in God. And I believe that, that, that I — it's important for me to put his word in me, in my — and I can quote scripture, and I can do these things. But I'm not going to surrender myself completely over to him. And what happens is, there's always a down roll spiral progression. They change the glory of Incorruptible God into the image of man, like corruptible man. And then from man, it goes to birds. And from Birds, it goes to forf, to beast. And from fored Beast, it goes to creepy things. What's happening? What's this progression, guys? We're living in that downward progression in our day and age, 2025. When, when we live in a world where people don't know who they are. They don't know if they're male or female. They don't, they don't know how to define things. Things that — I'm not looking, I'm, I'm not trying to be political with you. But God laid out and created male and female. All right, I'm just going to say it this way: he created male and female. Everything past that is obedience. Just, just, just think on that. You know, you can have feelings, Lord. We all have feelings. I can have these — I can have these inclinations. I can have these desires. I can have these urges. Who doesn't? Who doesn't? It's not about the fact that you have a desire, or in exp ation. It's: what does the word say? What does God say? How is he defined it? I think, since he created, he has the option to Define. After all, he created with intent, and with purpose. And since he created with an intent and purpose, it's up to you and I to figure out what the definition of those things is, according to him, and according to his plan. But what happens when we don't worship God, is we come up with our own theories. And we come up with their own thoughts, about what should happen or shouldn't happen, what I can do and what I can't do, according to how I feel. Really? How you feel? Our feelings change constantly. Our feelings always mislead us. So you got to come back to something. That's what he's showing us in here, as Paul's talking about these things. They profess themselves to be wise. They became fools. They became foolish. And it's going on. And what we're seeing is: it's one thing when we see a trend happen in the world. But we're seeing it in Christianity. But it's one thing to see in Christianity — we're seeing it start to creep into the apostolic church. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen. At some point, you have to draw a line in the sand, and say: I can't go any further. And I'm telling you where my line is drawn, and where I set the line in this church: it's right here. It's right here. What thus sayith the word. That's what we're going to go off. Because I'm not going to be held accountable about your, your thinking. And you're not going to be held accountable about my thinking. We're going to be held accountable of what the word of God has to say. That's why it's important you have somebody in your life that doesn't know how to rightly divide it — not based on the trends or the feelings of the moment, but by the forever settled word of God. That's what we're going to be judged by, is this right here, here. We're not going to stand up there with our friends and say: hey, they had a real good idea. God doesn't care about your real good ideas. He's real adamant about you and I being obedient to his word. It's important to him. He's real adamant about you and I not having idol worship in our life. That we worship Him in spirit and truth. That means I got to understand who he is, and I buy into it, and I'm obedient to it. We see — dangerous, it's very dangerous to open our souls up to idolatry, and the evil that's around us.

But that's not the main objective of this message. There's another question that begs to be asked: what happens when true worshippers begin to worship God in spirit and truth? Because I believe something transformational happens. Meeting Jesus is one thing, but being touched by Jesus is another. You know, I've been in some places where, where I could, I could, I could feel the presence of God. And then I've been in some places where I was touched by God. That's a different thing. It's a different thing. I', I've been some places to where, where, where worship was going on, and I could feel the presence of God. And then there's times when I've been in places, and worship was going up, and I was being touched by the almighty. And there is a difference. When there — what happens is, when a true worship — I believe this transformation takes place, worshiping Jesus, living in Jesus, adopting and embracing the mind of him — something takes place inside of me. There's a noticeable effect upon my heart, and upon, on my mind, and upon my body, and upon my soul. Acts 4:13: now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. Boy, they set them U real right. They just dumb and stupid. They marveled, and took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. When's the last time somebody said that about you? Thank God they're not basing it off intellect, right? I got some encouragement there. If these guys got called out for being dumb and ignorant, hey, there's a hope for me. But it wasn't about their intellect. There was something about what they brought in, to the situation. See, that's what happens when we have a regular time of worship, and understanding who he is. He goes with us, where we go. And when we walk into the place — because we're filled with his Spirit — we change the atmosphere around us. And people take notice of: hey, they've been with God. There's something about them. Because when I'm around them, I feel better. That's why you've heard me say many times, from this pull pit, that often times when we are having encounters with people, that, that are outside a normal circle of influence — we run into somebody at the, at the gas station, or at Walmart, or wherever, and you begin to strike up a conversation. Those of us who are extroverts, that is. You introverts run from everybody. The extroverted one of us in there: what, hey, how you doing? It's good to see you. And before long, they start crying. Yes, I know you've had these experience. I'm not the only one. They're like: I don't even know I'm on this way now. We know what's going on, is: it's the comfort of the Holy Ghost, is a comforter. They feel that Holy Ghost in you. And what happens is, all of a sudden, because of your worship, and because of your life, and because of your obedience, God is using you, as an opportunity, to reach them. See, there's some, something much more at play than just you. And that's what I'm trying to come across, on this first Sunday of the year. Is we have so much at play that's beyond our personal circumstances. Yes, God is going to meet you. He's going to help you work through your trials and your tribulations and your troubles, and your, your circumstances. But here, here's what I want you to know: we have to get past those things, right? We all have something. Is there anybody in this room that has absolutely nothing going on? Your life is as good as it's ever been right now, and you have absolutely no prayer for anything personal? Raise your hand right now. Because we're all hate you. Anybody got their hand up? No. Cuz it's called life, and we're living it. We all got stuff going on. We could, we could pass the microphone around today, and we could be here till tomorrow. This time, maybe we get out. But just saying: hey, what — tell us what we can help you pray about. We all got stuff going on. But what I feel down in me is this, this opportunity that we have, to push past my little problems and my little circumstances. And there's big problems — please don't, I'm not trying to dismiss or underplay anybody. There's, there's some real stuff going on in this room. But what would happen if, if maybe we thought: I can get lost in worship? Because when I get lost — the only way I can truly worship is, I have to stop thinking about me. That's the only way it works. It's impossible for me to worship God and think about me, amen. It doesn't work. So what happens when I can truly worship? When I can push past those things? Do you know what happens is that anxiety and depression, it don't have a hold on me. Cuz I cannot worship and be depressed. It's impossible. It's impossible. Now, that may sound like it — it's hard — and there are times, and there are situations, when it can be hard. It can be harder. But I promise you: if you truly turn yourself over to worship, you can push past those negative things are trying to hold you down. The enemy can't stop you from praising God. It can't. He can throw a lot of stuff at you. He can put a lot of labels on you. He can try his best to cause you to feel like you're unworthy, and that you don't deserve it. And the truth is: you don't, and I don't either. But I'm past that. He took care of that at Calvary. He paid the price at Calvary. He covered over those things. So I don't have to go back and revisit whether or not I'm worthy. He was worthy. He was worthy. And that's all that matters, is that he was able to do what I couldn't do. I wasn't good enough. I'll never be good enough. You'll never be good enough. You're not worthy of it either. None of us are. But that's not the point of worship. Worship is saying: thank you for Calvary. Thank you for what you did. Even though my life isn't perfect In This Moment, you're still a good and a faithful God, who loved me enough to go to Calvary and die for me. And maybe, even on this side of Glory, I may never see everything perfect in my life. I get an opportunity for heaven. Did you hear what I just said? I got an opportunity for heaven. I don't have to be bound here. This is not my home. This is not my home. I'm not trying to build home, or wealth, or status here. I'm doing something for the other side of Glory, over there, where there is no pain, and there is no sorrow, and there is no heartache. I don't need to get caught up in these temporary things there, because they rob me of being able to worship my God. But when I can get outside of myself — woo — and then I can truly say: you are a good, and you are a faithful God. You Are Holy, and you are Mighty. What happens is, that praise begins to radiate out from me, to those around me. That's why church is so important. Is because there are some days it's hard, and it's heavy, and we're burden down, and we're carrying things. There are times we go through stuff. And we Face situations that we didn't ask for. And we get cancer diagnosis. And when those things happen, it's hard.

Most of you know: Dylan was diagnosed with cancer last year. And it rocked my world, much less his mom and Daddy's world, or his world. But you know what? I've watched not only God keep his hand on Dylan — and he's cancer free. Hang on, hang on, hang on. That's worth the praise. Hang on, you got ahead of me. I've watched God work in him. I've watched Dylan, as he worshiped his way through, when he didn't know what tomorrow held, but he knew who held his tomorrows. And I watched him raising his hand. I watched him speaking tongues. I watch God do a work through him. I watch God work on his dad and his mom. And they didn't waver in their faith, because God has proven faithful, time and time again. Now he's here. He rang the bell the other day, because he's cancer-free. That is another reason that we need to worship. But I love that he's taken the opportunity to worship himself, so that others can be encouraged. Because it's bigger than Dylan. It's bigger than Michael. It's bigger than Stacy. Because when we truly worship outside ourselves, other people get impacted by the goodness and the mercy of God.

Psalms 23, the most quoted of the chapters in The Bible: the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. This, this — I'm telling you, every time I study this chapter out — and I don't know how many times I've studied it, a bunch — every time I study out, there's something new jumps out to me. There's so much depth that is here. God is my shepherd. When I've worshiped, and I've put him in the position that he's supposed to be in, I don't have a want. Now listen to me: got a little Revelation on this. The only way you can, the only way you can process this correctly, is that David starts out this Psalm by saying: he is my shepherd. And because I have placed him where he is supposed to be, there is zero desire in my life for anything else. Yes, thank you, Jesus. There's nothing else. I'm not even know I asked for. I have him. He is where he's supposed to be. I shall not want. As long as you and I can keep him in his proper place and perspective in our life, we keep him as the sole focus of our worship and attention, then he can make you to lie down in Green Pastures, and lead you besides to Waters. He restores your soul. He leads you in Paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. If you walk through the valley, the shadow, you're not going to fear, because he is with me. His Rod of Correction and his staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table for me in the presence of my enemy. Thou anointest my head. All my cup. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. See, I can dwell in the same house as my Lord. And when I do this, I start to look like him. I start to talk like him. I start to act like him. I start to exude him, when I'm living a life of true worship. God radiates from me. You know, they talk about the, that when you, when married long enough, you start looking like each other. I'm sorry, chasty, about that. It's true, though. You see these little old couples have been married 75 years, and you look at them — they look like brother and sister. They just finished each other's sentences. And I anticipate that they probably don't even have conversation at the table. They just look at each other and Nod. You're just there. Most, most of us today recognize that Paul was an anointed vessel, probably one of the greatest that ever lived, the author of a big chunk of the New Testament. But he was not always accepted. The early church had a whole lot of doubt about what he was doing. But because he was willing to give his life over to God, and be obedient, Paul was changed from a worshipper of tradition, to a worshipper of God. Because you cannot worship god without something of God rubbing off on you. If we worship worthless things and worthless Idols, we become worthless ourselves. But something else is true: that if we worship the Living God, then he commutes to us, and his values and wor — they come on us. I'm going to take you back to the definition of worship. To worship is to idolize, to love unquestionably, uncritically, or to excess. Is to venerate as an idol. It is to possess a feeling of profound love and admiration. Worship open the gates into your soul. When we worship Jesus, you begin to take in more than just a feeling of exceleration. But you begin to take on the attributes, and the attitudes, and the preferences, and the sounds, and the looks of him. And I have an — I feel like I have a message today, for us, for centerp point. We have strong, unflinching beliefs, and we call them convictions. It has to do with Dynamic worship. If we, if we water down the doctrinal message, we take away the power of the worship. We take away what he really intended. Because worshiping him, we worship Him in spirit and in truth. There's a lot of churches today that Worship in the spirit. A lot of churches today in the city that Worship in the spirit. But they're not worshiping in truth. There's something dynamically different about when you take the truth, and you put it together with worship, that draws his presence, unlike anything else you'll ever experience in your life. And I want us to set up this first Sunday of the year — I'm getting ready to close — I want us to set this first year up, with you and I having a real good desire and understanding of how important it is, that we become true worshippers. True. That this whole year will be dynamically different. It could be the — seriously, the best year we've ever had — simply because we refuse to not worship God. That I'm going to worship, and I'm not going to have any other Idols or anything else take the proper place of where he belongs.

When — if I take you to Daniel chapter 3, most of you know the story about, about the three Hebrew boys. I love their response in verse 17 of chapter 3: if it be so, our God in whom we serve is able to Deliver Us From The Burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us out of thine hand, oh King. But if not — to have an if not attitude in 2025. See, if you don't know, the King Nebuchadnezzar had created an idol. He had a big ego. And his ego led him to have this big old, big old statue put up. And when they blew the horn and played the instruments, everybody had to bow down to the idol. Everybody had to bow down. But Shadrach, Meshach, and a bigo. Shadrach and Benny, veggie tailes, old school. Shadrach and Benny said: we ain't going to do it. Cuz we serve the one true Living God. And he said that we're not to make any images. And we're not to bow down to any other representation. We won't do it. Now, you would think that Nebuchadnezzar — powerful, God's in control of the known world at that time — that he would, he would not have such a fragile ego. But when it was told that those three didn't bow down, he checked out and lost his mind. He said — he gives them one more chance. Look, do you understand, like, if you don't do this, I'm going to throw you into a fiery furnace? And then you hear their response: if it be so, our God was able to Deliver Us From The Burning firey furnace, and he'll Deliver us out of your hand. But if not, we want you to know, oh King, that we will not serve thy Gods, nor worship the golden image thou has set up. We do not change our appearance to conform to the Styles and trends of this world. Why? Because Psalms 29:1 says: give unto the Lord, oh ye Mighty. Give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory do his name. Worship the Lord and the beauty of Holiness. Four times the Bible gives us directive to Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness. You remember Jehoshaphat in the Bible? Those you guys that read about him, remember him as a king. He appointed the singers. The story is in 2 Chronicles. I love this. He's one of the few good ones, right? Don't know about you, but every, every year, as I'm reading through the Bible, and I get to First in 2 Samuel, 1 Second Kings, 1 second coron — I'm like: a bunch of morons. Like, why can't you get this straight? Why can't you figure this out? And then, this King did that. And it always follows: well, this King did worse than that King. And he did more things that were evil on the side of the Lord. And then, he finally get a couple of them, they're like, they were the worst ever. But there was a few. There was just a handful in there. 2 Chronicles 20, talking about Jehoshaphat, said: and when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord. They should praise the beauty of the Holiness. And as they went out before the Army, to say: praise the Lord, for his mercies endure us forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set up ambushments against the children of amnon, and Moab, and mount seir, which were come out against Judah. And they were smitten. See, I don't think we always fully appreciate all that's going on in the spiritual world, when you and I get lost in worship.

Now, I got some musicians. And I got a feeling that if I point real hard at this door, there's some singers that'll come out of that door. I am appointed some singers. Y'all have been appointed. Now here's what I want to do. I want you to stand to your feet. 1 John 3 says: behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now we are the sons of God. And it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we shall know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. Hallelujah. We shall be like him. We shall see him as he is. And every man that hath hope in him, purifi himself, even as he is pure. The lady at the well was simply trying to survive a miserable life. That's all she was doing. I think, through that story, Jesus was thirsty, so he goes to the well to get water. She had a life altering moment. And she's brought into a whole new concept and understanding, that God actually loves everyone. It wasn't just for the Jews. She was a Samaritan. She was despised. She was a dog. But Jesus shows up to the dog, and says: give, give me drink. I love that. He opens up this dialogue with the most unlikely person — a woman with multiple marriages. And it's funny to me, how Jesus brings to the surface the very one that no one wants. And he brings them close to him. And as he gets her close, he begins to give her insight and wisdom and knowledge. And to say: you don't really understand. Because the hour has come, at the — now is — when the true worshippers must worship in spirit and truth. I don't know what they're going to sing. I didn't ask them to sing anything. They didn't even know they were going to be appointed as a brand new thing for them. But whatever they're going to sing, it's the right song. And this is what I want us to do. I'm not asking them to be up beat, top of the mountain. I'm not asking them to spread the roal cords on the back wall. I just want us to worship. And I was wondering, if maybe there, I might have a few of you that would want to worship too, on this first Sunday 2025. Maybe, maybe some of you'd like to come down to this Altar. And then we'd like to declare: God, I want to, I want to do a little things a little bit different this year. God, I could easily focus on my problems. I could easily focus on my Brokenness. I could easily focus on my home, my family that's dysfunctional, whatever. Yeah, we all got the list, all right. But I wonder today, if we could just not have the list. I wonder if we could just be listless right now. And that we could just come down here, and our only focus is worshiping him, in spirit and in truth.