Part 3: Who and What Do You Really Worship? Everybody Worships - But How You Worship? Reveals Who You Are Within.

Come with me for a minute. Remember that walk through the exhibit with small rooms and pedestals? Each room was a life: money, clothes, trophies, even a replica of a person — all lit up and adored. The people in those rooms thought they were private, but their choices were on full display, and nothing was hidden from the Lord.

They were prisoners of their own shrines, always wanting more lighting, more things, more praise. They built identities around what they owned and what others admired, never stopping to ask whether there was something deeper than this constant appetite. The truth is heartbreaking: you can pile the world high and still leave with nothing.

Then there’s that last room — different light, an altar overflowing with life, a crystal-clear bottle of water. The person who kept the altar was free. They didn’t build their life to be worship-worthy; they accepted the gift that was already there. They found the true altar in Jesus, drank from the water of life, and lived by the fruit of the Spirit rather than by a craving for praise.

Worship reveals the heart. When we elevate something that can’t love us back, we create illusions that protect us from criticism but trap us in a lie. The Bible calls out that kind of self-love and empty godliness — and it points to a different way: repentance, truth, and a life that’s given back to what’s real.

I don’t want this to sound like a lecture. Think of it as a gentle invitation to take a flashlight and look around your room. What have you placed on a pedestal? What would you tear down to make room for an altar filled with living fruit? If the Son sets you free, you really can be free — freer than any applause or possession could ever make you.

And here’s a small comfort: nothing is wasted. The tears, the struggles — they’re not lost. They’re held, remembered, and woven into a greater story. So if you’re tired of performing for a spotlight that never fills you, maybe it’s worth stepping toward the altar and the clear water waiting there.