Worship in Spirit and Truth
Notes
Transcript
Opening Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
As we gather here today, we come before You with hearts open and minds ready to receive Your truth. We thank You for the privilege of worshiping You in spirit and in truth. Guide us as we delve into Your Word and help us to grow closer to You through our worship. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Children who are eligible for Children's church may now make their way to Children’s Church please follow Mrs. Jane
For the rest of us take your copy of God’s Holy Word and turn to John 4:24 as we continue in our series The Heart of Worship. Todays sermon title is Worship God in Spirit and Truth. Now that we have dealt with some details about God’s Nature, Characteristics and Attributes that make up who He is truly is we can now focus within our self by asking two questions, What does it mean to worship in Spirit and what does it mean to worship in truth?
The story of the Woman at the Well illustrates two inadequate forms of worship: the Samaritan style lacking truth and the Jewish style lacking spirit.
Worship: The Ultimate Priority (12. Worship in Spirit and in Truth)
The Samaritan style of worship was done in ignorance. The Samaritans’ spiritual knowledge was limited because they rejected all of the Old Testament except the Pentateuch. Their religion was characterized by enthusiastic worship without proper information. They wanted to worship in spirit, but not in truth. That is why Jesus said, “You worship that which you do not know” (John 4:22).
The Jews had the opposite situation. They accepted all the books of the Old Testament. They had the truth but lacked the spirit. When the Pharisees prayed or gave alms or fasted, their hearts weren’t in it. Jesus called them hypocrites, phonies, and whitewashed tombs, full of dead men’s bones. In Mark 7:6, Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.’”
Jesus rebuked both styles of worship when He said, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth” (v. 24).
24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Worship in Spirit
Worship in Spirit
What does it mean to worship in spirit? The word spirit in verse 24 refers to the human spirit, the inner person.
Worship originates from the inner person, flowing from the heart
Worship is not an external activity for which an environment must be created. It takes place on the inside, in the spirit.
Paul understood this kind of worship.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
The Greek word for “serve” is latreuo which means worship. Paul worshiped God in his spirit.
David also worshiped God in his spirit.
Psalm 45:1 is the expression of David’s worshiping heart: “My heart overflows with a good theme.”
1 My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
In Psalm 51, David comes to God in repentance, and he says in verses 15–17.
15 O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
How to Have a Worshiping Spirit
How to Have a Worshiping Spirit
How are we to have a worshiping spirit?
1. We must draw near to God and He will draw near to us.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
2. We also need to be yielded to the Holy Spirit
First Corinthians 2:11 says, “The thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”
If you don’t have the Spirit of God prompting your heart, motivating your heart, cleansing your heart, instructing your heart, you cannot worship God, because you cannot even know Him.
“No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).
In other words, without the Holy Spirit, a person cannot truly affirm the lordship of Christ. To worship Christ as sovereign requires prompting by the Holy Spirit. And we receive the Holy Spirit only as we yield to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
This confirms once more that the foundation of true worship is salvation. One who is not saved cannot truly worship. And one who is truly saved will be motivated by the indwelling Holy Spirit to worship.
If you get bored in church, or if you don’t mind missing church altogether, it may be because the Holy Spirit isn’t in you prompting your heart.
3. We are to worship in spirit by centering our thoughts on God.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Worship is the overflow of a mind renewed by God’s truth. We call the process meditation. There seems to be a lot of confusion about what meditation is. Meditation is just focusing the whole mind on one subject, concentrating reason, imagination, and emotion on one reality.
4. We worship in spirit by having an undivided heart.
Having an undivided heart means being wholly devoted to God without being distracted or divided by competing desires or allegiances.
A person with a divided heart may have good intentions, but he finds that when he sits down to pray and spend time with the Lord, a million other things flood his mind. Most of us know that experience.
David was a king. He had more than a few things to worry about. And yet he sought to worship God with an undivided heart.
In Psalm 86:11, David prayed, “Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
The expression “fear Your name” is equivalent to the word worship.
In Psalm 57:7, David wrote, “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.”
In other words, the music of praise rises out of a steadfast heart.
Worship comes from an unwavering heart, a resolute heart, a determined heart, a heart focused solely on God.
5. We worship in spirit by being repentant.
When we talk about worship we must talk about cleansing, purging, purifying, confessing, repenting—because no one can enter into communion with an utterly holy God if that person’s sin is not dealt with
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
We cannot go rushing into God’s presence in our impurity, thinking that all is well.
Often, we know of sin in our lives that needs to be confessed. Other times we may think we are all right in the sight of God but are not.
In Psalm 139:23–24, David wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”
That is an admission that even David couldn’t fully understand his own heart.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
The Main Hindrance
The Main Hindrance
When it comes to hindrance in our worship of God there is ultimately only one major hindrance to worshiping in spirit: self.
Selfishness and self-centeredness hinder true worship
No one can worship in spirit until he dies to the flesh. Jesus described it as denying self. “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
We must set self aside—in a spiritual sense, we must die to self—and be lost in worshiping God. Then we will know what it is to worship in spirit.
Worship in Truth
Worship in Truth
What does it mean to worship God in truth?
True worship isn't simply about emotions stirred by religious words or music; it's not a mystical experience detached from reason or biblical principles. Instead, it's a heartfelt response of adoration and praise, inspired by the truth revealed by God.
Worship must be grounded in God’s truth.
Psalm 145:18 highlights the necessity of truth in worship, stating that God is near to those who call on Him in truth.
18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
Similarly, in Psalm 86:11 David prays for a united heart and increased understanding of God's truth, recognizing its essential role in worship.
Psalm 86:11 (NKJV)
11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth;
Jesus even prays for us by asking the Father
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
God’s Word is truth, thus it is God’s word, the whole word that must be preached and taught. Teaching God’s Word of Truth facilitates true authentic worship.
2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
6 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
7 But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
It is in the proper reading and use of the text of God’s Word that is needed to lead people into true God centered worship.
The book of Nehemiah shows the power of God’s Word to motivate true worship in those whose hearts are open. After Nehemiah and the people had completed the building of the wall of Jerusalem, they asked Ezra to read the scroll that contained the Word of God. Ezra opened the scroll in sight of all the people, and immediately all the people stood up at the presentation of God’s Word.
“Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!’ while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6).
The truth of the Scriptures threw them to their faces in an act of worship.
Where Spirit and Truth Meet
Where Spirit and Truth Meet
- True worship is the heartfelt response to God's truth
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
This is the perfect blend: emotion regulated by understanding, enthusiasm directed by the Word of God.
7 For God is the King of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
Worship is not a good feeling apart from any comprehension of truth. Worship is an expression of praise from the heart, toward a God who is understood as He is truly revealed.
In Conclusion
Genuine worship occurs when spirit and truth intersect, emanating from a heart yielded to the Holy Spirit and grounded in the Word of God.
Let us commit to worshiping God in spirit and in truth, allowing our innermost being to overflow with adoration and praise based on His revealed truth.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
As we close, we thank You for teaching us to worship in spirit and in truth. Forgive our distractions and divided hearts. Fill us with Your Spirit to worship You wholly.
May our worship extend beyond these walls, reflecting Your truth and love in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.