WHAT DO YOU WANT?

Whenever you enter into worship, do you consider its purity and lack of motive.

Or do you come into worship with a shopping list of desires that just might be met if you can grab His attention for just a moment?

Matthew 20:20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.”

“a certain thing of him.”

The question then becomes, not are we worshipping Jesus, but why are we doing so?

James, John and their mother came “worshiping” Jesus, “and desiring a certain thing of him.”

Certain meaning ,a specific thing.

Their worship was sincere but impure because it was laced with the corruption of selfishness.

They wanted the top positions in Jesus kingdom-and the honor, authority and wealth that it would bring.

One thing can be said about them in the fact that they were open in their desire to be exalted.

Others were not quite as honest.

Then as today, many worshiped him with hidden agendas.

The zealots worshiped Him hoping that He would become king and free Israel from the rule of the Roman Empire.

The base, carnal crowds, worshiped Him hoping His bread making miracles would continue and free them from the burden of working for their needs.

The rich young ruler, worshiped Him, yet he continued to cling to the dearest part of his heart, wealth and luxury.

Many Jewish leaders worshiped Him yet desired the praise of the Pharisees more than His.

They worshiped Jesus, yet their worship was imperfect because their motives were mixed.

They loved Him, yet they loved others and the things of this earth more.

To them the worship of Jesus was a necessary means to a more needed end.

The majority come worshiping Jesus with pressing personal needs, they or their loved ones need release from chronic disease, demonic possession, or imminent death.

Their worship was pure but not without imperfect motives.

The purest form of worship is that off offered to God without any thought of getting “certain’ things from Him.

We just express our full adoration for Him---His faithfulness, love, and power. Nothing more.

No visible ends sought. No hidden agendas revealed. No personal needs to satisfy.

Just a drawing near in love and devotion.

Most of us are not at that stage yet. We worship as immature Christians.

The worst of us attempt to bargain with God, as Jacob did , naming conditions that God would first meet to qualify as Jacobs deity of choice.

The very best among us will sometimes worship the Savior with secret desire, ends, motives, and hopes in the back of our minds. While these “certain” things are very subtle, they are also very real and very present.

How does Jesus react?

He graciously accepts our impure worship, as He did James, and Johns and then begins to purify it.

He takes away heart idols, dashes a selfish hope, or delays a promise, and then watches to see our reaction.

Will we still desire to worship Him?

If so then our worship is of a purer type.

Or He may change a season of prosperity to one of adversity, and then watch to see our response.

When favor and success go and rejection and failure visit, will we still worship?

Does our worship become more pure and mature?

Does our worship become more like that of Job, of Habbukuk, of the apostle Paul and others, who continued in worship even when “certain things’ were removed.

John the Revelator, was exiled on an island and denied all of the things that he cherished, his friends, his ministry, most all creature comforts, yet he writes “I was in the Spirit on the Lords day’ Revelation 1:10 worshiping Jesus---without “desiring a certain thing of Him”.

Lets be more like John and worship Him without desiring anything except His approval.