^“From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. For God is a Spirit, and he longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24

I’ve been meditating on this conversation Jesus had with the ‘woman at the well’ for some time now. I can’t seem to get it off my mind! This morning, I was asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to me what He was trying to get across to me and well, let me just give you a back story.

I personally know several people who have been looking for a church to connect with but seem to be finding it difficult. They seem to be dissatisfied with a powerless church, a meeting place where folks are entertained for a couple hours, then sent back out until the next Sunday when they do it all over again.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. My father was a pastor, my step-dad was an evangelist who became a missionary to Haiti. I grew up in church. As a child, I fell asleep under the pew of revival services that went long. I feel more comfortable in church than I do at home! I love being more than a pew warmer. Since I was young, I’ve been a part of the choir, on the worship team, lay counseling, mentoring, teaching, wherever needed, I pitched in.

But as great as that all was, it can never replace the personal and intimidate fellowship with Father God, and that takes more time than you can possibly get on a Sunday or Wednesday. The Bible is very clear in that those who seek Him with all their heart, will find Him. That’s not seeking Him in a building, that’s seeking Him in your heart.

Jesus rarely went to the temple. Oh I know He went, it just wasn’t a ritual with Him. Where He spent most of His time was with those who needed Him most; the sick, the lame, the poor, the workers, in the fields and by the water. That’s where the Spirit in Him, overflowed onto others with signs, wonders and miracles following.

He constantly fellowshipped with the Father through the Holy Spirit within Him. There was no ‘one day’ He worshipped, He worshipped without ceasing from within His heart. Jesus told us in John 5:19, that He only does what He sees the Father do. That should be what we do as well.

Our church has one service-one. I had never attended a church with ‘one’ service and frankly, Holy Spirit had to root out some old thinking and old traditions in me. Don’t ask me where I got it from, but I always thought that anything less than 3 services a week and I was on the slippery slide straight to hell. You laugh, but I’m serious!

So here’s what I want to share with you from the heart of a worshipper; One cannot find God in church, WE are the church, so what you think you’re finding is really inside you. Until you get that, you’ll never get what Jesus was trying to tell the ‘woman at the well’. Traditional church is merely a recharging station for believers, so that they can do what Jesus demonstrated in their marketplace, workplace and where the poor and needy are found.

Lets stop trying to find a ‘powerful’ church to attend and be the powerful church we were meant to be. The church wasn’t meant to do all that, we were. He gave us everything we need for life and godliness-the Holy Spirit in us. Cultivate relationship with the One who gave you all power over all the power of the enemy and GO!

Until Tomorrow,

Sandy G