Worshipping in Spirit and Truth
Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth is the way that Jesus says that God wants us
to worship Him (John 4:23-24) “but the hour comes, and now is when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks
such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and they that worship Him, must worship
Him in Spirit and in truth”.
Worshipping is to adore, to pay divine honor to, to idolize. God tells us in
Exodus 34:14 “for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord Yahweh, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God”.
Jesus conformed in Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it,
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets”.
Worshipping can be observed many ways, by bowing down, closing our eyes,
lifting our hands, also folding our hands, singing a song or just sitting and
reflecting upon God very quietly. It is all the above, and even more. It needs
to be from the heart. As we love on God our attitude will be of honoring God
and respecting Him.
God established the form and principles of Israelite worship through Exodus
chapters 25-31, 35-40). In I Samuel 12:20-24 Samuel tells the Israelites “and
Samuel said to the people, fear not, you have done all this wickedness, yet
turn not aside from following the Lord Yahweh, but serve the Lord Yahweh with
all your heart. And turn you not aside; for then should you go after vain things,
which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the Lord Yahweh will not
forsake His people for His great name’s sake; because it has pleased the Lord
Yahweh to make you His people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should
sin against the Lord Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the
good and the right way. Only fear the Lord Yahweh and serve Him in truth with
all your heart; for consider how great things He has done for you’.
II Chronicles 7:14 God says “if My people, which are called by My name; shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land”.
Worshipping is being obedient to God’s word. Samuel told King Saul after he
had disobeyed God’s command to kill all of the Amalekites in I Samuel 15:20-
22 “and Saul said to Samuel, yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord Yahweh
and have gone the way which the Lord Yahweh sent me, and have brought
Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the
people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should
have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord Yahweh your God in
Gilgal. And Samuel said, has the Lord Yahweh as great delight in burned
offerings, and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord Yahweh? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams”.
God doesn’t want lip service, in Isaiah 29:13 He says “wherefore the Lord said,
forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do
honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fears toward Me
is taught by the precept of men”.
We worship God by blessing His name by our actions, by our giving financially
(Proverbs 3:5-9) “trust in the Lord Yahweh with all your heart; and lean not to
your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths. It shall be health to our navel, and marrow to your bones.
Honor the Lord Yahweh with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your
increase. So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall
burst out with new wine”. Also in (I Chronicles 16:29) it says “give to the Lord
Yahweh the glory due to His name, bring an offering and come before Him;
worship the Lord Yahweh in the beauty of holiness”.
Worshipping Him physically see Psalms 66:4 and 95:6-7 “all the earth shall
worship You, and shall sing to You; they shall sing to Your name, Selah. O
come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord Yahweh our
maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the
sheep of His hand. Today if you will hear His voice. Harden not your heart.
Worshipping Him spiritually see (Galatians 6:1-2) “brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of
meekness, considering yourself, less you also be tempted. Bear you one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”.
We have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17). We
have been restored back to God as Adam was before the fall of mankind. We
have the privilege and opportunity to love God at all times.
We worship God by praising Him (II Chronicles 5:13-14) “it came to pass, as
the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the Lord Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice
with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord
Yahweh, saying, for He is good; for His mercy endure for ever; that then the
house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord Yahweh. So that the
priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the
Lord Yahweh had filled the house of God”. god inhabits the praises of His
people.
As we begin to sing and minister unto the Lord Yahweh in music, we get in one
accord and our mind gets centered on the Lord Yahweh (Psalms 28:7) “the
Lord Yahweh is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am
helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him”;
and (Psalms 63:4-5) “thus will I bless You wile I live, I will lift up my hands in
Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my
mouth shall praise You with joyful lips”.
Worshipping is in prayer; prayer apparently had a leading place in Christian
worship. The letters of Paul regularly open with references to prayer for fellow
Christians who are instructed to pray without ceasing.
The New Testament worship was characterized by joy and thanksgiving
because of God’s gracious redemption in Christ. This early Christian worship
focused on God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. True worship was that which
occurred under the inspiration of God’s Spirit (Philippians 3:3) “for we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh”.
Worshipping God by praise; our praise toward God is the means by which we
express our joy to the Lord. We are to praise God both for who He is and for
what He does. Praising God for who He is, is called adoration; praising Him for
what He does is known as thanksgiving (Psalms 100) “make a joyful noise to
the Lord Yahweh all you lands. Serve the Lord Yahweh with gladness; come
before His presence with singing. Know you that the Lord Yahweh He is God; it
is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the
sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord
Yahweh is good; His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all
generations”.
Ephesians 5:15-20, tells us how to walk in spirit and truth, it says, “see then
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. Wherefore be you not unwise, but understanding
what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wise, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving
thanks always for all things to God, and the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ”.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: April 8, 2011
Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth is the way that Jesus says that God wants us
to worship Him (John 4:23-24) “but the hour comes, and now is when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for the Father seeks
such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and they that worship Him, must worship
Him in Spirit and in truth”.
Worshipping is to adore, to pay divine honor to, to idolize. God tells us in
Exodus 34:14 “for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord Yahweh, whose
name is Jealous, is a jealous God”.
Jesus conformed in Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, you shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it,
you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets”.
Worshipping can be observed many ways, by bowing down, closing our eyes,
lifting our hands, also folding our hands, singing a song or just sitting and
reflecting upon God very quietly. It is all the above, and even more. It needs
to be from the heart. As we love on God our attitude will be of honoring God
and respecting Him.
God established the form and principles of Israelite worship through Exodus
chapters 25-31, 35-40). In I Samuel 12:20-24 Samuel tells the Israelites “and
Samuel said to the people, fear not, you have done all this wickedness, yet
turn not aside from following the Lord Yahweh, but serve the Lord Yahweh with
all your heart. And turn you not aside; for then should you go after vain things,
which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. For the Lord Yahweh will not
forsake His people for His great name’s sake; because it has pleased the Lord
Yahweh to make you His people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should
sin against the Lord Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the
good and the right way. Only fear the Lord Yahweh and serve Him in truth with
all your heart; for consider how great things He has done for you’.
II Chronicles 7:14 God says “if My people, which are called by My name; shall
humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land”.
Worshipping is being obedient to God’s word. Samuel told King Saul after he
had disobeyed God’s command to kill all of the Amalekites in I Samuel 15:20-
22 “and Saul said to Samuel, yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord Yahweh
and have gone the way which the Lord Yahweh sent me, and have brought
Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the
people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should
have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord Yahweh your God in
Gilgal. And Samuel said, has the Lord Yahweh as great delight in burned
offerings, and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord Yahweh? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams”.
God doesn’t want lip service, in Isaiah 29:13 He says “wherefore the Lord said,
forasmuch as this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips do
honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fears toward Me
is taught by the precept of men”.
We worship God by blessing His name by our actions, by our giving financially
(Proverbs 3:5-9) “trust in the Lord Yahweh with all your heart; and lean not to
your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct your paths. It shall be health to our navel, and marrow to your bones.
Honor the Lord Yahweh with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your
increase. So shall your barns be filled with plenty, and your presses shall
burst out with new wine”. Also in (I Chronicles 16:29) it says “give to the Lord
Yahweh the glory due to His name, bring an offering and come before Him;
worship the Lord Yahweh in the beauty of holiness”.
Worshipping Him physically see Psalms 66:4 and 95:6-7 “all the earth shall
worship You, and shall sing to You; they shall sing to Your name, Selah. O
come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord Yahweh our
maker. For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the
sheep of His hand. Today if you will hear His voice. Harden not your heart.
Worshipping Him spiritually see (Galatians 6:1-2) “brethren, if a man be
overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of
meekness, considering yourself, less you also be tempted. Bear you one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”.
We have been made a new creation in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17). We
have been restored back to God as Adam was before the fall of mankind. We
have the privilege and opportunity to love God at all times.
We worship God by praising Him (II Chronicles 5:13-14) “it came to pass, as
the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the Lord Yahweh; and when they lifted up their voice
with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord
Yahweh, saying, for He is good; for His mercy endure for ever; that then the
house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord Yahweh. So that the
priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the
Lord Yahweh had filled the house of God”. god inhabits the praises of His
people.
As we begin to sing and minister unto the Lord Yahweh in music, we get in one
accord and our mind gets centered on the Lord Yahweh (Psalms 28:7) “the
Lord Yahweh is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am
helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him”;
and (Psalms 63:4-5) “thus will I bless You wile I live, I will lift up my hands in
Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my
mouth shall praise You with joyful lips”.
Worshipping is in prayer; prayer apparently had a leading place in Christian
worship. The letters of Paul regularly open with references to prayer for fellow
Christians who are instructed to pray without ceasing.
The New Testament worship was characterized by joy and thanksgiving
because of God’s gracious redemption in Christ. This early Christian worship
focused on God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. True worship was that which
occurred under the inspiration of God’s Spirit (Philippians 3:3) “for we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh”.
Worshipping God by praise; our praise toward God is the means by which we
express our joy to the Lord. We are to praise God both for who He is and for
what He does. Praising God for who He is, is called adoration; praising Him for
what He does is known as thanksgiving (Psalms 100) “make a joyful noise to
the Lord Yahweh all you lands. Serve the Lord Yahweh with gladness; come
before His presence with singing. Know you that the Lord Yahweh He is God; it
is He that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the
sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord
Yahweh is good; His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all
generations”.
Ephesians 5:15-20, tells us how to walk in spirit and truth, it says, “see then
that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time,
because the days are evil. Wherefore be you not unwise, but understanding
what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wise, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving
thanks always for all things to God, and the Father in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ”.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: April 8, 2011
