For Such the Father Seeketh

Barry Hall

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781636304694
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

You could walk into a bookstore, go to the Christian book section, and find several books written about worship—after all, Christianity and worship go together like the church and salvation. You simply can't have one without the other.

This book is written with the hope of clearing up some confusion and ignorance about how we develop true worship between the saints and the creator of the universe. According to Jesus's words in John chapter 4 in his dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus teaches her. God has always sought from the beginning a people he calls the true worshiper to be his family here through the church and one day in heaven through all eternity. One of the difficulties with the church today, as I see it, is its persistence to follow an erroneous tradition known as going to church on Sunday for worship. The reality is nothing further from the truth. Jesus warned about following traditions of men: "In vain, they do worship me" (Matthew 15: 9). Jesus spent much of his time in his earthly ministry disputing with the Pharisees over their traditions which they made binding on the people. Traditions are like habits, once you engage in them they are hard to break. We turn the clock ahead in the spring and back in the fall as a matter of tradition, nothing spiritual about it. But when a spiritual activity is based on tradition, it has no scriptural support for its practice and it can be devastating in its effect on those who practice it.

This book deals with the need to slay the sacred cow, known as going to church for worship. There is no evidence in the book of Acts of the church assembling for worship. Acts reveals much activity about the church but worship is not one of them. This book reveals to the reader the many activities designed by God to bring the saints to a meaningful worship experience and one which is approved by God and one he has been seeking since the foundation of the world. The book is controversial to say the least. Only because tradition has such a grip on the church's lack of understanding of what Jesus meant by true worship, in my opinion. I'm sure your thinking will be challenged and provoked to making some changes in your personal relationship with the one who created you.

Happy reading!

Chapter 10

The Conclusion of the Whole Matter

I begin this last chapter with the last words of the preacher in Ecclesiastes. Now let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter (Ecclesiastes 12:13). I am not suggesting that I have covered the subject of “biblical” worship of the New Testament to the extent that nothing else can be said or taught by any means! There are many who could do a far better expose’ of the subject of “worship” or “latreuo” than I. My intention has been to “provoke” your thinking about New Testament teaching versus tradition which I believe is long overdue for consideration and explains the reason why the church is anemic in this age. I have baptized after teaching over a hundred people. Many have gone to their reward, some have followed Demus, and some went on to bear fruit after their kind.

Not a day goes by that I don’t think about someone saying to judge Jesus, preacher Barry never got to me. Brothers and sisters, there will always be accountability with respect to evangelism (John 15). My brother who wrote the foreword to my book and who has been a mentor to me has converted many more. It’s his DNA, lol. Soul winning has always been his priority.

In the early 1800s a projection was made by one of the restoration preachers. He came up with a slogan, “Each one wins one.” He believed that if every Christian at that time made it an ambition to win at least one soul to Christ, the whole world would hear the gospel by 1900 i.e. Colossians 1:23. Wow! What happened?

I want to close and end my book with some of the things that I believe hinder the assembly in our time. One of our great restoration preachers, Knowles Shaw, and song writer known for the great hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves,” personally teaching and baptizing over eleven thousand souls between his conversion at eighteen years old until the young age of forty-eight, when he was killed in a train wreck after losing his wife and children to diseases of that day. I know that story intimidates many who have never won a soul to Christ.

I heard a motivational speaker say one time to a group of wannabe salesmen, “What one man has done, another can do also.” Until Jesus comes again, it will never be too late to address the traditions that are holding the church back from victories. The future holds opportunities for change and a return to the old paths of the church of the first century. It’s there for us to duplicate and be the church that God has called us to be, a loving and helpful assembly, an assembly of encouragement, and one that equips, builds joy, and saves souls.

We can’t change the past but we can improve the future.

We can start by understanding and promoting the nature of the assembly.

Expose the “traditions” that have robbed the church of its mother’s milk, evangelism.

As previously stated, the assembly is not for evangelizing. Where in the book of Acts is the account of evangelism taking place in the assembly? That’s not to say it cannot given the right circumstances but that is not the design of the gathering of the saints (Hebrew 10:25).

The following are a list of traditions that many Christians practice as a part of their faith. In “reality,” they have nothing to do with saving faith and the need to assemble.

Tradition	Bible
A time for worship	No record
A place for worship	No record
An order of worship	No record
Private worship	No record
Corporate worship	No record
A hymn of worship	No record
A day of worship	No record
Dressing for worship	No record
Music with the Lord’s Supper	No record (sang after supper, Matthew 26:30)
Sunday worship—sacred cow!	No record
Sunday school vs. worship hour	No record (all subject to apostles’ doctrine)
Invitation hymn	No record
Singing praises to God so as to worship him in congregational setting	Heartfelt singing to one another, teaching, and admonishing each other evidenced by sincerity from the heart is pleasing unto God (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16) The emphasis in both accounts is on the saints. God does not need our praise. He needs the sincerity of our heart. No record of “congregational” singing as worship. “Who” benefited from the hymn in Matthew 26:30?

In no way am I trying to diminish the value of singing in the spiritual experience of the saint. Singing has been a staple in every culture since the beginning of time from the heathen to the Christian. Singing can certainly stir the soul. However, make no mistake about it. Our adversary, the devil, has used it much to his success! For example, with “unscriptural hymns,” we can sing a lie same as preach one. Some examples: “Pass Me Not Oh Gentle Savior,” “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart,” and “Room at the Cross for You.”

When was the last time you were taught something or taught someone else and encouraged them by song? You might be saying I don’t know, if ever. According to the apostles in Ephesians and Colossians, we are to “teach” each other the same as preaching. It is one of the “tools” God has given the assembly to accomplish edification. I would cite only one scripture taught by Jesus warning us of the peril of being trapped by “tradition.” “In vain do ye worship me, teaching for doctrine the traditions (or commandments) of men” (Matthew 15:9). Brothers and sisters of the twentieth century church are in greater need of “restorat...

Table of contents

• Are You Thirsty?
• Confusion at the Well
• Trapped by Tradition
• Did I Read That or Did I Think That?
• The Gathering
• A Reasonable Service
• What’s in It for Me?
• Slaying the Cow
• Assorted Goodies for the Assembly
• The Conclusion of the Whole Matter