True Worshipper

John 4:23

Good morning church!

How are you all doing this morning?

Praise God for another opportunity to worship Him.

I would like to begin our time together with this question: What is the BEST thing that you have received from God lately? Do you think you can give it back to God?

Illustration:

Abraham got the BEST gift from God in his old age - Son-Isaac.

But, God asked that gift back to Him.

Did Abraham give back to God?

YES.

That is what worship is all about. It is giving God the best that He has given you.

Let's see what the Bible says about how to be a true worshiper of God.

Text: John 4:23

Let us pray, shall we?

When Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, He revealed to her an eternal truth that every true worshipper of God must understand.

He didn’t say that we can worship God in anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth". The word "must" makes it absolute. There is no other way we can worship God and be acceptable to Him.

Let us look at what worshipping God is all about before we look at how to be a true worshipper.

1. What is Worship?

Worship literally means "worth-ship", which is giving worth to God. Worship is action motivated by an attitude that admires, honors, and describes the worth of God. The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God. Worship is also a time when we pay deep, sincere, awesome respect, love, and fear to the one who created us and holds our destiny. Our worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also for our own edification and strength. Worship helps us develop a God-like and Christ-like character.

There are two ways how we should God:

1. Worshipping God in Spirit

2. Worshipping God in Truth

Both of these two components are related and vital halves of worship that must be balanced. Some people have too much “spirit” in their worship, but not enough truth and not enough facts, not enough reality in their relationship with God. While others have a lot of truth, but very little spirit, very little heart, very little passion, very little giving in terms of their worship. The challenge for us is, how to have these two things together in our worship.

2. How to Worship God in Spirit?

Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." If we want to be a true worshiper of God, we must worship Him in Spirit. Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart. Somebody said, "When I worship, I would rather my heart be without words than my words be without heart." Worshipping God "in spirit" means worshipping Him with reverence, attentiveness, and having the right purpose of honoring God. Our worship must show great reverence toward God. He is our creator and He holds our eternal destiny in His hands. We must strive to please Him. Our worship to God must be done in a worthy manner. Whatever we devote our time and heart to, is often what we worship. BECAUSE, worship is all about the position of our hearts.

SO, In order to worship God in the right spirit, we must take time before worship to make ready our hearts and emotions so we will be in the proper frame of mind. Our mind must be ready, attentive, and alert so that we can be in a worshipful attitude and spirit. We must be able to control our thoughts during periods of worship and not let them wander to other things. Let the Worship Happen in our Hearts, Every Day and all the Time. Let us be a true worshipper of God worshipping Him in Spirit. Now the other half of the coin, how do we worship God in truth?

3. How to Worship God in Truth?

Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." If you want to be a true worshipper, you must worship God in truth. First, we need to define "truth." Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?" The answer to that question is revealed in the prayer of Jesus in John 17:17, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." The Psalmist in Psalms 119:142 wrote, "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." So when we speak of the objective truth, the truth of the Bible, we speak of God's Word or His law. We must worship God in truth because His word is true and we must worship Him according to His word. Worship is grounded in truth! The more we know God, the deeper our worship will be. Worshipping God in Truth is an appropriate response to who God is and what He has done for us according to His True Word. Based on the truth of His word, we worship God because he is great. We worship God because he is awesome in His works. We worship him because He is the creator of all things. We worship God because He is worthy of our praise.

Worshipping God in truth is God’s way of worship, that is how He expects us to approach Him. To worship God in truth means to worship Him in sincerity, in reality – not faking it, or just going through some traditional motions or rituals. It means no hypocrisy, no guile, not something that is guessed at, but obeyed from the heart! Our worship is limited strictly to how the Bible says to worship God.

Worshipping in Truth is NOT:

a. According to the way we’ve always done it – that’s tradition

b. According to feelings – wow I FEEL so good and spiritual today

c. According to pressure – forced to worship a certain way like the rest of the world is.

d. According to the way the rest of the world worships.

But, Only according to how God has recorded in His word that is how we should worship Him.

Conclusion

1. We must worship God in Truth and Spirit as Abraham did. That was the TRUE and GENUINE worship of a True Worshipper.

2. It's challenging BUT at the same time, its rewarding. We must give our BEST in order to be a True Worshipper of God.

3. Let us worship God in Spirit and Truth as a lifestyle to be a true worshipper.

Let us pray!