"True Worshipers" with Craig Groeschel and Chris Beall

True Worshipers

Scripture References

Primary text

• John 4:23

Other references

• Matthew 15:8-9
• Psalm 100
• Hebrews 12
• Psalm 95
• 2 Samuel 6:14
• Psalm 27:4
• Psalm 141:1-2

Overview

Jesus said the Father is actively searching for “true worshipers.” We all worship something, yet good enthusiasm is often poured out on unworthy objects while God receives mere lip-service. Pastor Craig Groeschel and Pastor Chris Beall challenge the church to reverse that pattern—offering wholehearted, visible, life-shaping worship to the only One who is worthy. From Scripture and personal stories they outline three marks of authentic worship and invite everyone to respond in surrendered praise.

Main Points

1. God Seeks Worshipers, Not Performers

• Jesus’ words set the agenda: > “Yet a time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”
• If there are “true” worshipers, false worship is also possible.
• Our culture displays passionate “good worship of a bad god” at concerts, stadiums, and even lottery wins.
• Inside many churches the opposite appears—“bad worship of a good God.”
• Matthew 15:8-9 warns of honoring God with lips while hearts are far away.
• David’s call in Psalm 100 shows the posture God desires: shouting, singing, thanksgiving, and joyful praise.

2. Quality #1 – Worship With Awe

• Hebrews 12 reminds us to “worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”
• The English word “awesome” has been emptied—tacos, jeans, and Netflix are not truly awesome. Only God is.
• Glimpses of awe in creation (Grand Canyon, ocean sunset, childbirth) point to the far greater awe due the Creator.
• Practical response: “Let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95).
  • Illustration: At a Bethel worship night Pastor Chris saw his three teenage sons praying over each other. Overwhelmed, he could only drop to his knees in thankfulness.
• Getting physically low helps the heart exalt God; it is a posture every believer should know well—at church and at home.

3. Quality #2 – Worship With Abandon

• 2 Samuel 6:14—David “danced before the Lord with all his might” as the ark returned to Jerusalem.
  • When accused of humiliating himself, David replied he was willing to look even more foolish for God.
• Modern church architecture can confuse us into thinking the people on stage perform for the crowd. In reality:

  “Every person in this room who follows Jesus is part of a holy choir; our audience is singular—the Almighty God.”

• True worshipers are unashamed to clap, shout, lift hands, dance, or kneel regardless of others’ opinions.
• Lifted hands signify both victory and surrender. Psalm 141:1-2 pictures them as an evening offering rising like incense.

4. Quality #3 – Worship With Intimacy

• Psalm 27:4 expresses David’s singular longing: to dwell in God’s house, gaze on His beauty, and seek Him.
• Intimacy grows through time spent in His presence—prayer, Scripture, silence, and honest song.
  • Story: Pastor Chris listed tender details he loves about his wife Cindy. He knows them not by study but by years of close relationship—the same kind of familiarity God invites us to share with Him.
• Feelings follow obedience. Worship is due to God whether we “feel it” or not; momentum builds as we keep choosing Him.
• Continual idols (career, money, approval, entertainment) must be repented of so that Jesus truly holds first place.

Key Truths

• Everyone is a worshiper; the issue is the worthiness of our chosen object.
• The Father is looking for worshipers, not talent, charisma, or popularity.
• Reverent awe guards worship from becoming casual routine.
• Abandoned praise fixes our focus on an audience of One and frees us from self-consciousness.
• Intimate worship flows from daily closeness with God, not mere Sunday attendance.

Response

• Bow physically and verbally acknowledge God’s greatness each day this week.
• Choose one gathering song and sing it with full voice, ignoring what anyone else thinks.
• Set aside a private moment at home to kneel, repent of idols, and surrender again to Jesus.
• Schedule unhurried time in Scripture and silence to deepen intimacy with the Father.
• Lift your hands in corporate worship as a sign of both victory in Christ and yielded surrender.

Closing

The pastors declared that Life.Church will be a worshiping church—people whose lives are “poured-out offerings” to the God who created and redeemed them. A final invitation called everyone, believer and skeptic alike, to lift hands and hearts because Jesus alone is worthy.

“There is nothing in this world more worthy of your whole heart, your whole abandonment, all of your worship, than the one true God—His name is Jesus.”

Prayer

The congregation prayed: acknowledging misplaced affections, asking God to create a deeper hunger for His presence, and—through a salvation prayer—many surrendered their lives to Christ, receiving forgiveness and the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower lifelong worship.