Shane Idleman emphasizes the importance of coming to church with an expectation for God to move, drawing parallels between the joy of anticipation in everyday life and the joy of seeking God. He highlights the necessity of searching for God diligently, likening it to the wise men’s journey, which required perseverance and effort. Idleman warns against the dangers of a superficial faith, urging believers to fight against discouragement and to actively seek a deeper relationship with God through worship and prayer. He stresses that true worship involves humility and a recognition of God's presence, encouraging congregants to prioritize their spiritual lives over worldly distractions. Ultimately, he calls for a return to a passionate, engaged faith that seeks God earnestly rather than settling for a quick, microwave-style Christianity.

The Wisemen, number one, they came expecting God to move. They came expecting God to move. Do you come to church expecting God to move? And that often fuels excitement and joy. When you're expecting something, aren't you joy-filled? Come on, you know when you file your IRS taxes and you're getting a return. You're expecting something in the mail. You're going, oh look, oh it's not here. There's an expectation. There's a joy to go buy stuff we don't need. But how much more this joy come expecting, we come expecting God to move. And I do, I try to every Sunday. I expect God to touch people in different ways. People might be healed during worship. People might be set free of addiction. People might be renewed in their thinking and have that passionate relationship with God again. I love to see Christians come back home. I love to see the prodigal son come back home and people come next door and pray with us and say, Shane, God has set me free. I'm coming home. I'm filled again with God's spirit. We come expecting God to move. This is not a social club. That's why I say that. This is a church of the living God that he built, he sustains, he calls us, he draws us. His truth goes out. The truth goes out and changes lives. We come expecting, God, what are you going to say to me today? You know, it's one of the best things you can say on your way here. Lord, what are you going to say to me today? I want to hear from you. You're closed off. Just kind of going through the motions. Hey, you know what? Sunday fits today. There's no football. See, it's kind of cold out. I can't take my boat, my jet skis, my this. Come on, I'm going to bring it home. And if it fits, then we'll come and then we come and it's boring and dry and I'll just come again next month because you didn't come expecting God to move and to hear from God and to worship. And then number two, they searched. They searched. Oh, heavens. The wise men did not find Jesus the next day or the next week. We don't know how long exactly, but we do know something interesting that Herod ordered all males under the age of what? Two to be killed. So when I tied in Luke's example of the swaddling cloth, the possibility here, the wise men came much later than that. They came searching and nothing could stop them. Nothing could stop them going through the desert, going through the dry heat, going through the sleepless nights. Sometimes they were searching. And let me just encourage you, if you truly want to find God, if you truly want to hear from God, if you truly want to know his will and be filled with the spirit of God, it does not come without a battle. There is a fight. If I could, if you could see me right now, you'd see me in crutches and crutches and a head, neck brace and a back surgery and my arms limped. And you get through life like this. You get through the battle because there's a battle to sustain that relationship. It's a battle to fight on this side of Calvary. And you have to search and you have to seek God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind, with all your soul. Though I fall, I will get up again and I will fight again. Though the enemy knocked me down, I will get back up and I will finish strong because it's a fight. There, there, there, the worship, you have to search for it. Just like you search for a lost child. I've told you that before. The word in the Hebrew there was, was finding something that's missing. Like when Mary and Joseph lost Jesus, they lost Jesus for a few days. That was a close call. I love his response. I wish my kids would tell me this. If, if you're, if we can't find you and I find you, you say, I must be about my father's business. That's it, Jesus. Don't you know, I must be about my father's business. But you guys, you have to search. You don't give up. I've found in my own life, it's, it's, I look back and thank God I didn't give up because the miracle, the blessing was just beyond the struggle. We, we often are, that's why often I believe we are tempted, we are tested, the enemy comes against us to knock us off course. He sees that blessing and he tries to get you away from that blessing, the abundant life, the healthy marriage, what God has for your ministry. The enemy is going to use discouragement. That's the only weapon he has against the believer. Did you know that? Discouragement, defeat and failure. That's where he wants you to live. And that's where most people live. That's why they don't do anything for God. Can we be honest for a minute here? That's why most people, most Christians don't do much for God. They're living defeated. They're living defeated. Whether it's addiction they just caved into, whether it's sexual immorality, whether it's darkness, depression, whether it's watching and viewing and listening to all the wrong things. That kills you, that drains you spiritually. Does it not? These horror movies that are coming out. I'll see a two-minute trailer and I'll be shocked. Like that just knocked the Holy Spirit wind out of me. But yet they live, they watch hours and hours and hours of darkness and depravity and lust and you'd be amazed at how many, what your kids see. They see a thousand images a week of violence and sexual morality and all these things are just being bombarded. The enemy wants to sidetrack you. He wants to discourage, because a discouraged Christian doesn't do anything. When I'm discouraged I'll go run my errands and I won't talk to anybody about Christ. But when I'm filled with the Spirit of God, watch out because I'm looking. I'm looking for that person who needs encouragement. I'm looking for that person who might need to be prayed for and be healed and set free. Lord, I'm on alert. I'm ready because I'm filled with your Spirit. There's nothing the enemy can do. But if he sidetracks me and he defeats me and I live in fear and anxiety and I don't want to do anything for God, I'm defeated. Nothing happens. You live your whole life and nothing happens. That's why the vast majority of the church, they've taken polls and something like 90-some percent of people never witness. Why? Because they're defeated. They're living a defeated Christian life and it has to be fought for. Worship has to be fought for. You tell your flesh to shut up. I'm not going back to sleep. You shut your mouth. I talk to my, I talk to the flesh that way. That's my way. She's like, what are you saying? I say, shut up. I'm not eating this morning. I'm fasting and praying for love. Flesh, you be quiet. Because we live, we believe that the flesh is our master. Whatever it says, we do. When it should say actually the other way around. I will not be brought under the control of anything, Paul says. There's a fight. That wasn't meant to be discouraging. It's meant to be encouraging, letting you know it's a fight. You need to search for worship. You need to search for God again. Listen, there have been times I've got here in the morning. I'll pray with my daughter. I'll just be here 530, 545, 6, 630, 645. Nothing. Nothing. Like sometimes I just want to go home and get ready and I'll come back at 9. But then, oh man. But when that breakthrough comes, saying God, I'm not going. I'm laying hold of this altar until you answer. And the Spirit of God, a song comes on. The Spirit of God just descends in my heart. And oh, this, I don't want to leave now. I don't even want to preach. Can we not even start the service? Can we just worship for a while? Because it's that fighting. It's that spiritual battle. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. We don't wrestle with flesh and blood. We wrestle against principalities. There is a demonic influence. There is demons set out to say, you will not worship. You will not bow to Christ. You're going to live defeated. Sure, you can go to church as long as you don't do anything. You know, the devil's not too concerned with some churches. They're not preaching all of God's Word. Very few people are coming to Christ. They're not talking about repentance. They're just, well, good morning, brothers. Let's turn to Leviticus for our daily reading. And Mary's going to come up and do a closing hymn before the woman's tea. And we'll see you next week. But is that not true? In many cases, there are many dead, dying churches. Women's seats are great. Don't, don't take me wrong. Don't take this wrong. All of that I said is good when it's done with the Spirit of God. See, here's the problem. Did you know something? Many of you know this, if you're familiar with the Bible, but the letter kills. The letter, the Word of God, if you beat people up with it, if you, if I come up here and preach without the Spirit of God, I will hurt you. Or you will never want to come back because I'm so boring. The letter kills. It's the Spirit that gives life. When God created man, He made him into an image. He created man out of the dust of the earth and He blew in him the breath of life. See, when you have the Word of God with the breath of life, that's where it goes and begins to hit hearts and begins to knock people over and begins to, in a good way, and begins to convert them and draw them to the cross. Because you have the Word of God on fire, those things together change lives. If you just have the Word, you have a legalistic, dead church that wants you to do a, fit a whole bunch of rules and requirements before you measure up. And it just doesn't impact people. I've also noticed that dead formality doesn't like to worship. Dead formality does not like to worship. Have you ever noticed that? Those who just have the Word, you know those people, they love to tell you off. Those people love to tell me off. All right, with the Word, you're a compromiser. All these funny, all these new songs, we need to get back to the old stuff. And the old stuff's great. I love the old stuff. I love all stuff that glorifies Jesus. But we have to be careful where our heart's at, where our heart's at. I love the guy a few weeks ago told me on Facebook, if I want people to really respect me, I should wear a suit and tie. But my heart breaks. I don't say it to, I mean, my heart breaks for that. I mean, are you kidding me? These people know nothing about the Spirit's power. They know nothing about the power of God. It's dead formalism. And those who worship the Word, and the Word only, it's the Father, the Son, and the Word, they often do not like worship. You can see because worship is just a few minutes, or they'll have somebody do a presentation. Here's a solo, here's this, and there's no worship. Because worship is where the rubber meets the road. You can't fake God, you can't fake it. Well, you can try to fake it, but God knows your heart. God knows our heart. Why is it, let me answer you this question. Why is it very easy to sit through an hour sermon, but not an hour of worship? Just food for thought? Well, Shane, that's more interesting. Well, hmm. Now granted, I know it's difficult. You have to search, you have to fight the flesh, and you tell the flesh, I don't care what you say. And I think God honors that. I know some of you want me to get off this topic, but I'm not going to, because this is where it needs a rub. It needs to rub something so raw that there is change in your heart, in your life about worship. So they came expecting God to move. They searched until they found. See, that's the mark of someone on fire for God. They search until they find. Well, how long do I have to pray? Just keep seeking God, praying, seeking God, praying, and God will answer. Those who seek me will find me. That's not microwave Christianity. That's not pushing one minute and your burrito's done. Sometimes you got to go soak the beans. Okay, I'm going to tell you, this is, no, this is, that's not funny. But the best burritos I've ever had, you soak those black beans overnight. You add some salt, you add some onion, you let it soak overnight, 24 hours. Just let those beans fill up with water. You soak them, and then you put them on the oven. You slow cook, slow cook, and you smash them. You smash them. Then you might go and get some avocado and make some homemade guacamole. And that, when I look at that burrito, that stinker took me 30 hours. It's going to taste good, but see how much more for worship. You can't just push one minute, come in and sing two songs and think you're gonna be filled with the Spirit of God. There's a searching. There's a seeking. There's a petitioning. There's a yearning. There's a desire. There's a fighting. There's a travailing. The old saint used to say, I'm not going to leave until God answers. That's travailing in prayer. We don't know anything about that today. We've got a glamorized Christianity that gets our services done within an hour. As not to offend, I love getting, I get stuff in the mail, not too often anymore, because I took me off your mailing list, but it's church growth books. How to grow your church. And the big trend is one hour services. Pastor, get your sermon to 25 minutes. Let us come in and do fundraising. Oh, God, help us. There's a yearning. There's a desire. It's not until you say, God, you are everything. You're on my schedule today. And I tell people sometimes, I tell them, just come expecting God to move. Don't be in a hurry. Don't be in a hurry. The potluck can wait. The little kid's birthday can wait. I know sometimes we have to be there, but you know what I'm saying. And then finally, of course, we can learn they worshipped. They worshipped. Well, Shane, that's not profound. Well, I think it is in this sense. That word worship is 60 times, 60 times, proskuneo. Proskuneo. Do you know what it means? Prostrate. They fell down in the holy presence of God. There was a humility falling down the presence of God. I thought about that. What would you do? What would you do if Jesus Christ walked into this room? See what he has to say. Get the phone. Can't do a selfie? I don't know. But if his presence is here, I think it'd be just you would fall down on your face before God. Because what do we say? I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. Oh, God. Can you imagine if Jesus came up to you? What would you do? High five? Fall down right here. I'm telling you right now, I'd fall down right here and say, my Lord and my Savior. I would fall down on my face. I don't care if there's a live stream. I say, I'm a man of unworthy. I'm unworthy to even behold your sight. What does he do when we do that? He says, come on, son. Come on. Come on. You got a job to do. Get back up here and preach. Can you imagine? I just thought about that all week. I would be a mess. But we forget that we can still have God's power and presence in our lives and in our hearts. Because he doesn't have to walk up here physically. If you believe the teaching of the Bible, he is here. He inhabits the praise. If he inhabits the praises of his people, why are we in a hurry? Have you ever, sometimes I'm thinking we're singing, we're praising worship. I'm like, Lord, I don't want to preach today. Can I just not preach? Just inhabit the praises of his people.