In Spirit and In Truth

Spirit and Truth

John 4:1-26

neuma - wind/spirit

alētheia (al lay thay a) - truth

True worship is an outpouring of our heart and the spiritual knowledge of Christ, based on our head knowledge and the truth about Christ’s sacrifice for us (the gospel of Christ)

“The inner essence of worship is the response of the heart to the knowledge of the mind when the mind is rightly understanding God and the heart is rightly valuing God” - John Piper

We must worship with all our heart. Because we are commanded to. We have to. It is why we were created. And it must be true! Not lip service. What we sing/how we worship, must come from a place of deep reverence, awe, fear and trembling, but it also HAS to align with God’s word.

Why do we worship?

We are commanded to!

10 Commandments

Exodus 20:3-6 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 20:3–6.

Before the Israelites enter the promised lands:

Deuteronomy 6:4 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Dt 6:4–9.

Psalm 148 Let All Creation Praise Yahweh 148 Praise Yah. Praise Yahweh from the heavens; praise him in the heights. 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts. 3 Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all stars of light. 4 Praise him, ⌊highest heavens⌋, and waters above the heavens. 5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh, because he commanded and they were created. 6 And he put them in place forever and ever, by a decree he gave that will not pass away. 7 Praise Yahweh from the earth— great sea creatures and all deeps, 8 fire and hail, snow and cloud, stormy wind doing his bidding, 9 the mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, 10 beasts and all cattle, creeping things and ⌊flying birds⌋, 11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth, 12 young men and young women as well, the old together with the young— 13 let them praise the name of Yahweh, because his name alone is exalted. His splendor is above earth and heavens. 14 And he has raised high a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful— for the children of Israel, a people close to him. Praise Yah.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 148:1–14.

Psalm 150 Praise Yah. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament. 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to the abundance of his greatness. 3 Praise him with blast of horn; praise him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise him with tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flute. 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with clashing cymbals. 6 Every breathing thing, let it praise Yah. Praise Yah.

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 150:1–6.

Creation was made to worship. All of creation reflects the glory and majesty of God.

All through scripture we see time and time again that God created us for his glory. We are literally made to worship Him.

Revelation 4:11 ““Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

We were created in God’s image, to glorify Him!

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 4:11.

Isaiah 6:1-3 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”k

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 6:1–3.

Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 40:26.”

Luke 19:36-40 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 19:36–40.

Worship in Vain

God desires that we worship and glorify HIM. Not that we worship and glorify our own creation, ideas, wants, etc. He alone sustains us, and our worship should reflect that.

Exodus 20:7 7 “You shall not take the name of the

Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ex 20:7.

Isaiah 29:13 And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 29:13.

Matthew 6:16-18 ““And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 6:16–18.

Matthew 15:1-9 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 15:1–9.

What should our worship look like?

GOSPEL CENTERED!!!

The gospel needs no addition, or subtraction. It stands alone. It doesn’t rely on anything but itself. We don’t need to “enhance” worship. Technology, lighting, instruments, etc., are all good and can be used in ways that glorify God, but when those things become the focus, or become too distracting, then we have lostt the point.

1 Cor 15 :1-3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 15:3–4.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 3:16–17.

Heb 10:23-25 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 10:23–25.