And 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 also.” Matt 2:8
Herod never had any intention of worshiping the Messiah.
He had been given the scriptural facts about the location of the Child and with that information Herod merely dismissed the magi to go find Him themselves and bring him the location, under the pretense of worship.
The end result was the death of untold numbers of children.
The real sadness of the story is it’s being repeated on a weekly, if not daily basis.
I am told all the time “Pastor, I’m coming to church this Sunday” only to be disappointed that they never show up.
They say they want to come and worship; and perhaps they really have good intention to do so but it never becomes reality.
Recently I had someone after service tell me, “I’ll be back next Sunday!”
That was 2 months ago.
It may very well be that person is going someplace else and I pray they are!
I feel that worship begins in the heart, mind, and soul of an individual and it is carried with that person into the presence of others.
You shouldn’t go to church to worship; you should go because you already are worshiping.
Your worship will join with that of others.
This is what makes us the church!
Far too many are searching for worship in a church – jumping from church to church and never finding it.
This principle of church-hopping is a bad influence on others, especially children.
They quickly get the idea that you can find Jesus in a church building or that settling down and working in a single church isn’t an option. Just go from church to church.
Jesus isn’t in the building; He is in the hearts of those that worship in the building.
I’m sure that they can get an external happiness with others that are worshiping the Lord but they’ll never find true happiness and contentment until they discover how to worship Jesus in their own heart.