Worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth

Believe it or not, the Lord God Almighty delights in our true worship. Our Father in heaven indeed seeks true worshippers to worship Him. We worship God because He is the very reason for our very existence. The following scriptures make it clear:

(Deut 30:20 KJV)  That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. 

(Psa 100:3 KJV)  Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

(Act 17:28 KJV)  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 

(Col 1:16 KJV)  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

(Rev 4:10-11 KJV)  (10) The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, (11) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

(Rev 5:13 KJV)  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

In the last 2 scriptures we clearly note we were created for His pleasure and worship will be a very critical part of what we will be doing in eternity. Will you commit to make worship a critical part of your Christian life? But what is worship, anyway? 

Worship, which is translated from the Greek word "Proskuneo", means "to fall down before" or "to bow down before."
Let's turn to the following scripture in John 4:19-24, where we read about the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well:

(Joh 4:19-24 KJV) (19) The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. (21) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. (22) Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. (23)  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24)  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

First, we understand from this conversation that worshipping God is not reserved for only His sanctuary. Second, to be able to worship the Father, you need to know Him. Third, the Father is seeking such people who know Him to worship Him. And finally, as God is a Spirit, our worship of Him must transcend human purview. It is important to understand that man is a triune being, made up of a body, a soul and a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5.23 - And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ). Watchman Nee (1968), a renowned church leader and Christian teacher, notes in his book on the Spiritual Man that while the soul acts mainly as a medium between the body and the spirit, it is through the body that man is linked with the material world and through the spirit that man joins with God. This basically implies that it is from the spirit of man that worship from our souls can be lifted up to God the Father. If your spirit is dead there is no way you can offer worship to the Father in spirit. Your spirit can be made alive to God when you encounter the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself said in John 3:5 that: 

(Joh 3:5-6 KJV)  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

When we encounter the Holy Spirit, your spirit man is made alive and the soul is now brought under the dominion of the spirit which will then be able to influence our will to worship God in spirit. And just like our christian acts of service to God, we must worship God in all sincerity. True worship streams from a genuine heart which is only possible with a reborn spirit. God was concerned with the hearts of His people when He made Jesus re-echo what was earlier spoken through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 29:13. We read:   

(Mat 15:7-8 KJV)  (7) Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, (8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

In Proverbs 4:23, we are admonished to "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." Also in Matthew 12:34 we learn that "..for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Our hearts can offer true worship only when it is circumcised by God or sanctified by His word. The following scriptures shed some light on this:

(Deu 30:6 KJV)  And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 

(Joh 17:17 KJV)  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

(1Pe 1:22 KJV)  Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

After our spirit has been reborn, the next step is to immerse ourselves in His word and allow His word to transform our hearts to offer a true and acceptable worship to our Creator which also enables us to love our fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is only then that we can, like Mary in Luke 1:46-47, truthfully sing:

(Luk 1:46-47).... My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. KJV

and like Hannah say:

(1Sa 2:1 KJV)  .... My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.

So when and how do we offer worship to God? While teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus begun by ascribing worship to the Father saying:

(Matt 6:9 KJV) .... Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.    

This implies, that we must always begin our prayers with worship. Worship to God may be offered during the day and also in the night. Jesus' own example, as well as, that of the early believers from the following scriptures show this:

(Mar 1:35 KJV)  And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

(Psa 59:16 KJV)  But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

(Psa 92:1-2 KJV) (1) ... It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: (2) To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, 

(Psa 16:7 KJV)  I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. 

(Psa 42:8 KJV)  Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

It is also important to recognize that true worshippers of God are not seasonal worshippers. By this I mean offering worship to God only in good times but finding worship of God burdensome in bad times. Our worship should and must be independent of our circumstances, whether good or bad. Like David in Psalm 13, we need to find reason to continually offer true worship to God the Father even in bad times. We read below:

(Psa 13:1-6 KJV) (1) How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? (2)  How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me? (3) Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; (4)  Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. (5)  But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. (6)  I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

Verses 5-6 show that despite his anguish, David, being hopeful in God's mercy rejoiced from his heart by remembering the salvation of God in the past. The very acts of God in His word is enough testament of His faithfulness even when everything around you looks gloomy. 

Also, let nothing stand in your way of worship. We read in Matt 4-9 how the devil offered to give to Jesus all of the wealth of this world in exchange for his worship. But Jesus rebuked him. We read below:  

(Matt 4:9-10 KJV)  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. (10) Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Just as the devil offered to give Jesus all the wealth of the earth, you must recognize that the devil applies the same strategy in modern times, albeit, in different forms. The devil's strategy is to obstruct our true worship of God by distracting us with worldly pleasures and by so doing he is at best able to prevent us from devoting our whole to God. The believer must, as a matter of urgency, be conscious of this strategy and be wary of things which unnecessarily take more of our attention to the very extent of ignoring the most important in life which is being at His feet.

In addition, the desire to be politically correct on all fronts has generated lackadaisical attitudes towards our true worship of God. Consider Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who faced imminent death for their refusal to bow down and worship the golden image set up by Nebuchadnezzar but who were resolute in their belief that the God they serve was well able to deliver them. We read:

(Dan 3:16-18 KJV) (16) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. (17)  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. (18) 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.

In the same vein, we read in Daniel 6 of how Daniel refused to allow anyone to intimidate him to offer his true worship to God despite being threatened to be thrown into the lions' den. We read:

(Dan 6:7-10 KJV) (7) All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. (8)  Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. (9) Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. (10) Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who refused to bow down and worship the golden image put up by Nebuchaddnezer, and like Daniel, who continually offered worship to God despite being barred to do so, may we be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be resolute in our desire and determination to offer true worship to God alone for our God is a jealous God. 

In Acts 16:25-26, James 4:10, and 1 Peter 5:6, we read: 

(Act 16:25-26 KJV)  (25) And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. (26) And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

(James 4:10 KJV)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

(1Peter 5:6 KJV)  Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

May the Lord God Almighty loose every band that holds you captive and lift us up and exalt us as we humble ourselves to offer true worship to Him alone. 

Stay blest.