Worship In the Spirit

Introduction

Today we continue our series titled ‘Having Communion with God’. A series focusing on the Holy Spirit. Thus far we looked at:

The Overview / Introduction

The Promise

The Power

The Performance

The Presence of the Spirit

Then we began examining the commands concerning the Holy Spirit - what God expects of us in our interactions with Him.

Be Filled with the Spirit

The Cause of the Filling

The Contrast of the Filling

The Culmination of the Filling

(What it looks like when someone is Filled with the Spirit)

After that, we looked at the book of Galatians, Walking in the Spirit

Walk in the Spirit

The Circumstance (of the Epistle)

The Gospel was being Perverted

The Law was being Distorted

Men were being Misguided

The Correction

The Difference between Liberty and Bondage

The Spirit has Ability the Flesh Doesn’t

Walking in Liberty of the Spirit Leads to Love and Service

Walking in Licentiousness Demonstrates Depravity

The Concept

Implies Progress

Intimates Consistency

Indicates Exercise

The Completion

Acknowledge the Spirit

His Power

His Place

His Performance

Allow the Spirit

Be in Awe of the Spirit

Next we looked at multiple verses concerning the topic Pray in the Spirit. In this message we looked at three different Scripture concerning praying in the Spirit

Pray in the Spirit

The Admonition

Jude 20 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

It’s Importance

Under His Influence

In His Ideology

As an Imitation

In Intercession

The Armament

Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

The Connection

The Continuance (always)

The Context (with all prayer)

The Ability

Romans 8:26–27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

He Understands our Infirmities

He Knows our Inadequacies

He Makes Intercession for Us

Today we’re going to speak about Worship in the Spirit. Spiritual Worship based on v23-24 in our text where Jesus is speaking about worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.

Today I’m going to challenge you. I want you to examine your worship of Christ and judge to see whether you’re worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth - and I encourage you to be honest with yourself, because God knows the difference!

That being said, we’re going to look first at ‘The Charge’ that Christ gives in these two verses (23-24)

I. The Charge

First we’re going to look at the Charge - that which Jesus says in v23-24 - the Charge to worship in Spirit & Truth.

In that charge, we see that He speaks…

Of the Present

“But the hour cometh, and now is…”

Jesus having now begun His ministry, he’s telling this woman - “times are changing” and now is the time to worship in Spirit and Truth.

Church all I really want to say is to simply repeat what Jesus said: “the hour cometh - AND NOW IS” to worship Jesus in Spirit and Truth.

NOW is the TIME! Too many people for too long have been worshipping Jesus amiss!

I’m not sure what your worship unto Christ is like, but if it needs work, then now is the time! Don’t wait for a convenient season - Felix did that, and as far as we know, it never came!

Jesus spoke of the Present

Of a People

The people that He is spoke of were ‘true worshippers’.

Now don’t miss what Jesus is saying here. By saying ‘true worshippers’ He is affirming the fact that there are ‘false worshippers’.

So according to Christ, there are some who worship falsely.

There are some who are going through the motions

There are some who are putting effort therein

There are some who (from the outside) appear to be worshipping God,

But in truth are worshipping falsely.

And might I add this: There are more people worshipping God falsely, than truly today. They are worshipping amiss. They are worshipping in a way that either:

Doesn’t recognize God

Doesn’t honor God or

Isn’t directed to the True God.

Jesus spoke of a People - True Worshippers of God

Of a Praise

Worship (def) (to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand) to fawn or crouch to, i.e. prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence, adore); To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration.

The proper worship according to Jesus here is twofold: In Spirit and in Truth. This is what God desires for His followers. And just by definition sake, what is often called worship today isn’t proper in the sight of God.

We’re going to examine what this is more as we move forward in the message.

Jesus spoke of a Particular Praise

Of a Passion

I’m not talking about the worshippers, I’m talking about God - the subject of the worship.

The Bible says that “He seeketh such to worship Him”

God is ACTIVELY LOOKING for true worshippers. Those who are willing to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

Do you know why He’s seeking them? Because they are hard to find.

Of all the people who worship God, few are they who worship in Spirit and in Truth! So God is constantly looking for such to worship Him.

Let me ask you this: As God is looking for those who worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, will He find you, or would He pass you by? Is your heart, mind, body & Spirit found bowed in humility and reverence unto God?

God is SEEKING SUCH to worship Him!

We see the Charge. Secondly, we’ll look at the Contrast

II. The Contrast

As Jesus gives what God is looking for concerning worship, we must recognize what that means by looking at what it doesn’t. What I mean by that, is what does Christ say by “worship in Spirit”? Well, what is the opposite of that? Worshipping in the flesh.

Worshipping in Spirit vs. the Flesh

We are all fleshly creatures, born of the seed and womb of our earthly parents. Therefore, by nature we have the propensity to act and react in the flesh.

On the other hand, if we’ve been born again, we have the ability to act and react in the Spirit - because we’ve been given the Spirit of God within us! And as we’ve studied, it has the power to perform in our lives things that our flesh would not!

So therefore, we have both an EARTHLY nature and a HEAVENLY nature - and we have the CHOICE to worship in the Spirit OR in the flesh. So what does that look like? There are three different examples that I want to share in three different avenues of worship:

Fleshly worship through prayer: Luke 18:10–12 “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”

Fleshly worship through music: After the forming of the golden calf: Exodus 32:6 “And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” Then we see as Moses is returning: Exodus 32:17–18 “And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.”

Fleshly worship through giving: Mark 12:41 “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.”

What we notice about all three of these forms of worship is this. They were:

Self-edifying

Self-recognizing

Worshipping in the Flesh - whether it’s worship through prayer, music, giving or any other form, is self-centered instead of God-centered. Fleshly worship licks our own hand and pats our own back. It brings the attention to us instead of God!

But worshipping in the Spirit isn’t focused on us - in fact, it’s deliberately avoiding seeking our will, comfort, pleasure or desire to be seen or recognized. It’s ALL GOD! That’s what worshipping in Spirit looks like!

Worshipping in Spirit vs. Flesh

Worshipping in Truth vs. a Lie

The other aspect that Christ mentions is worshipping in Truth. The opposite of truth is a lie. So what does that mean?

One aspect would be found in what Jesus said in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Number 1 - If Jesus is not the center of worship, then it’s not ‘true’ worship.

(Ill.) In the Islamic religion, they are commanded to pray 5x a day. They worshipping through prayer - but the thing is, they aren’t worshipping in ‘truth’. They are worshipping a god that is NOT the God of the Bible!

Number 2 - If the Bible isn’t the guide for worship, then it’s not ‘true’ worship

Jesus said: John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

We do not get to define proper worship - God has already done that.

The Lifting Up of Hands

Psalm 134:1–2 “Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, Which by night stand in the house of the Lord. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord.”

The Bowing Down

Revelation 11:16 “And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,”

The Singing of Godly Songs:

Ephesians 5:19 “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”

Btw, that word ‘Spiritual’ means ‘non-carnal’. In other words, if it sounds like the world, it’s not Spiritual, it’s carnal - regardless of the words or description says it is.

(Ill.) Let me ask you this: If I say I’m a girl does it make it so? Just the same, even if a song claims Christ, it doesn’t make it so.

Worshipping Truth vs. a Lie

We see the Charge, then the Contrast. Next I want to look at The Connection

III. The Connection

I’m speaking about ‘Spirit and Truth’

One Must Have the Other

When we’re speaking about worshipping in Spirit, we cannot do so without truth. These are intrinsically connected one to the other.

Truth without Spirit is Dead

We looked at the Pharisee earlier. One thing to notice is that he wasn’t wrong as far as truth is concerned. He wasn’t an extortioner, unjust or an adulterer. He did fast & gave tithes - all of which are good, Godly things - so he had truth, but it wasn’t Spirit led, but self-edifying.

THEREFORE - HIS WORSHIP WAS GOOD FOR NOTHING! IT WAS DEAD!

There’s a lot of dead worship in the church today. Talk to some missionaries that travel to various churches - they’re dead!

I’m glad we’ve got the truth here at this church! We preach the truth, we stand on the truth, we uphold the truth - but if our worship is self-gratifying and not Spirit lead, it’s all good for nothing!

Truth without Spirit is Dead

Spirit without Truth is Vanity

What I mean by Spirit here, is not so much the Holy Spirit, but MOTION or EMOTIONS

If you’re worshipping in the sense that you’re going through worship motions, if it’s not grounded in the Truth of Christ and the Truth of His Word, then it’s vanity - it’s all for show.

Same thing goes for emotional worship. You can shout, cry, wave, bow - if it’s not in response to the truth of Christ, then it’s all to be seen of men, and not edifying to the God of Heaven.

Spirit without Truth is Vanity

We see the Charge, the Contrast, the Connection and finally, I want to see the Character found in a worshipper when Spirit and Truth collide

IV. The Character

We see this character in the woman at the well

She had a Past (v16-18)

This woman was not a perfect woman. How many can relate to that?

To say she had a past, is an understatement. She’s at this point in her life had 5 husbands and is now shacking up with another.

But I want you to know something church - just because you’ve made mistakes - as great as they may be - doesn’t mean that you can’t worship God in Spirit and Truth!

It doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t care about you!

She didn’t go seeking Jesus that day, but Jesus was seeking her!

You may not have come here today looking for Jesus to radically change you life - but He wants to! And He will if you let Him! And it DOESN’T MATTER WHERE YOU’VE BEEN - IT ONLY MATTERS WHERE YOU GO FROM THIS POINT MOVING FORWARD!

She had a Past

She had a Problem (v22a)

She wasn’t worshipping properly. I don’t know what all her problems were, but I do know that she wasn’t worshipping in truth.

This was a woman of Samaria who worshipped according to her people - but Jesus made clear that Salvation is OF the Jews. NOTICE THIS: HE DIDN’T SAY “FOR” THE JEWS, BUT “OF” - In other words, they had the key!

If you’re lost here today I want you to know this: Salvation is simple and straightforward. It’s not ‘turning over a new leaf’, it’s not ‘cleaning yourself up’ for God - it’s placing your faith in Christ and Christ alone - and anything other than that will not suffice!

She had a problem, she wasn’t worshipping Truth, but she had a Perception

She had a Perception (v19)

She looked at Jesus and saw something different! She came face-to-face with the TRUTH, and she saw something in Him, that she hadn’t seen before!

Church know this: You may have met many a person, but there’s no one like Jesus! When you meet Him, you know it!

Jesus makes a difference that Muhammad can’t, that Buddha can’t! He makes a difference like no other can!

She had a Perception - then she had a peace

She had a Peace (v28)

After she met Jesus, her priorities changed!

What she thought about life changed!

What she deemed important changed!

She had no need of that water pot anymore, she got a taste of Living water, and she was never going to thirst again!

That’s what Jesus will do for you! When you meet Jesus, He’ll makes a difference and can give you a Peace that you never had before!

She had a Peace, but finally, she had a Proclamation

She had a Proclamation (v29)

She had a story to tell, and she would determined to tell it!

And that’s the thing - we talk about worshipping God, one aspect of worship is declaring to the world the goodness of God, and doing HIS Will!

You’re still “adoring and paying divine honors to” you’re doing that by doing His Will!

She had a Proclamation!

Conclusion

Church, let me ask you: Are you worshipping in Spirit and in Truth? OR is your worship self-centered?

Are you more concerned with man’s perception or the pleasing of God?