You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created. Revelation 4:11.

One indisputable fact is that everyone on the surface of the earth is created for a purpose. And it is crystal clear that God created man to fellowship with Him.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. Gen. 2:15. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are thou? – Gen 3:8-9.

Man fell out of the perfect arrangement of God and, since then, the fellowship and worship sought by God became a matter of condition and a principle through Jesus Christ. Law came to bring man back to no avail but grace did. ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. –  Romans 3:23. Then the worship and service that God accept and seek becomes selective.

 “ For as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name’ . – John 1:12. To believe in God is to dedicate our lives to the cause of His kingdom in the world…the second commandment flows from the first. When a man turns to God desiring to serve him, God directs his attention to the world and its need.

‘But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honour and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepare unto every good work’.  2 Timothy 2:20-21. It is therefore imperative to note those that God seek:

• Those that have located themselves:  Location is where you are before God at this moment. God knows everything about us: our thinking, steps, intention, and our reactions. He asked Adam where he was. God would want us to state expressly our location before Him before He can solve our spiritual problems. ’So when they continued asking him, he lifted Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’. John 8:7. Christ gave the accusers the opportunity to locate themselves before God to enable Him help them see their personal spiritual condition. They were convicted of their sins but they did not stay there to talk with Jesus about it. Why don’t you talk your own with Jesus today? The story of the sower  and seed (Mat. 13-9, 18-33) brings out the desire of Jesus to help us locate ourselves. It is possible one is on the wrong path and not realize it until one get to the wrong destination. Before Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they had wonderful fellowship with Him. There were no cover-ups, no pretenses and no secrets. But when they chose their own way, God had to ask ‘where are thou’.
• Those that are willing to obey the first commandment:  ‘For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offering’. Hosea 6:6. ‘Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment”. Mat. 22:37-38. I heard Lord saying in that book of Hosea that, I don’t want your sacrifice, I want your love, I don’t want your offering, I want you to know me.
• Those that will say – “Here I am”:  ‘Also I heard the voice of the Lord , saying: “whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”Isaiah 6:8. To say “Here I Am” is to yield to call for service. “ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. Mat. 6:33. The beginning of any instrument God will use will start by a call and the response of willingness. To become great in God’s hand, it is not greatness you must first seek. It is service, and through the service you become great. It doesn’t matter even when the environment is hostile, conducive or not, co-operative or uncooperative, yours is to say “ Here I am”. One thing that is important is to check if you have said “ Here I am” to God. This is the next thing to do after you have located yourself – presenting yourself as an available material for the potter to work on you.
• Those that are willing to come out: God called Abraham out from his people with a promise of everlasting and generational blessings. “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Mat. 11:28. “Therefore “come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you” 2 Cor. 6:17. Getting out is one of the conditions God expect from worshippers He seek. – Get out of the old covenants; get out from your place of initials, where you have no knowledge of Christ;  get out from sin, atrocities; get out from worldliness, pleasures of this world; get out of the valley of troubles; get out from the hills of pride and self righteousness; get out from the mountain of self satisfaction. There is no one without a background or a place of beginning, but then if we must worship God, we must leave our past. Abraham was made to get out from Haran before God established His covenant with him.  Haran represents all your past.
• Those that desire a change of name: The Angel of the Lord asked Jacob, “What is your name”. Gen. 32:26-27, because the name Jacob means a deceiver and could not fit in to the new covenant of God. Also, Jesus had to rename Peter to enable him fit in for the new covenant because Peter means cowardice, fear, backslider and the new name, Cephas, means Stone . John 1:42. Each time a man desires to worship God, God will seek his identity. What make a man’s identity a greater priority to God than the man’s several urgent request? Is there any man on earth whose name is unknown to God? If the answer is “No”, then what was God looking for whenever He asked such question, “what is your name”. God was trying to remind Jacob of his life style from his birth. His life had never been straight. Of course, it doesn’t matter who you are before now, God can change that position if you will allow Him.
• Those that have conviction about God:  Conviction is spiritual instincts that drive us to action regardless of the circumstances. “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him in those that hope in His mercy” – Psalms 147:11. “ ….and if I perish, I perish”- Esther 4:16. Conviction like the three Hebrew men – “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” – Daniel 3:18. Like conviction of Paul – “ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” – Phil. 1:21.
• Those that God seek will also include those that will allow God to direct their ways; those that will put on the whole armour of God; those that will stand up like Nehemiah to build the Church and those that will make adequate use of the God given gifts.

 Remain blessed as you determine to be among the worshippers that God seek.

 Deacon Wole Bodunde