Mensa Otabil - Are You a True Worshipper? (10/29/2025)
We are continuing our Christmas reflections from the Gospel of Matthew, chap 2: 7 and 8. Then, Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, «Go and search carefully for the young child, and when you have found him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship him.» However, Herod had no intention to worship the infant King; he had no intention to worship Jesus. He said it because he felt threatened by the birth of Jesus and wanted to kill him. His words conveyed something very different from his intentions. He said the same thing that the wise men said. The wise men said, «We are seeking him to worship him.» Herod also said, «I want to go and worship him.»
If you listen to both of them, you might think they meant the same thing, but they meant different things. So, there are two kinds of worshippers: one is a true worshipper, and the other is a false worshipper. These two expressions of worshippers exist in the church today. There are people who say the right things but mean the wrong things, and there are people who say the right things and mean the right things. There are people who say, «I’m worshiping God,» and they are truly worshiping him, while there are others who say, «I’m worshiping God,» and they are doing something very, very different.
We see here both men using similar words but meaning different things. What’s the difference between a true worshipper and a false worshipper? True worshippers are God chasers; they are people who pursue the things of God. They devote themselves to the things of God. They are like the wise men; they left their country and began pursuing something spiritual. They have been doing this for about two years since the birth of Christ. The time they arrived in Jerusalem was about two years after his birth. For two years, they have been pursuing, seeking, praying, and desiring. True worshippers do not outsource their spiritual life to other people; they study the Bible for themselves, they pray by themselves, they go to church by themselves, and they worship by themselves. True worshippers desire to know the Lord and honor him, and the wise men were true worshippers.
What about false worshippers like Herod? False worshippers sit in the comfort of their homes or their palaces and send others to look for the King. That’s what Herod did when he said, «Go and search for him.» Why didn’t he join them? Because he’s not a true worshipper. A true worshipper just wants to worship in comfort, sitting where they are, sending people, saying, «Oh, you go and do it. I’ll find my own time. I’ll do it in my own time, my own way.» That’s the false worshipper. True worshippers know God for themselves. The false worshipper outsources their spiritual life to others. Look at what Herod did: he couldn’t open the scriptures himself; he didn’t know what Micah had said. He probably didn’t even know where Micah was or who Micah was. He just knew that somewhere he had heard that the Messiah would be born somewhere, so he asked people to tell him. He outsourced his spiritual life to others. That’s a false worshipper; they don’t know God for themselves, and false worshippers are full of fears and insecurities. They have no peace in their soul; they have no rest in their soul because they have not encountered the reality of the living God.
When you encounter God in spirit and in truth, he takes your fears away, your anxieties away, and he makes you whole because his Spirit brings wholeness to us. So, Herod was a false worshipper. He was talking about worshiping, but his thoughts were, «I’m going to kill him.» The wise men said, «We’re going to worship him,» and their thoughts were, «I’m going to bow to him and give him something.» Two different kinds of worshippers. Which of these are you? Think of it and ask yourself the question this Christmas time: am I a true worshipper or a false worshipper?
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I have set my heart to seek and find you. Draw me close to your side and teach me your ways. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.