Psalms 5:7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; To Honor You, I will worship toward Your holy temple.
What does it mean to worship the Lord in “Spirit and in Truth?”
When Jesus came to the Samaritan woman at the well, He came to change her life. She was wrapped up in the mechanics of religion, but had not come into a personal relationship with the Living God. As Jesus speaks to her about the personal matters of her life, she becomes aware that He knows about her many relationships with the men in her life. Seeking to divert Jesus’ attention away from her sin, she starts a new topic on where she views the correct place to worship God is located. Jesus then takes her focus back to the most important issue: What true worship is:
John 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.“
This is one of the most important things that Jesus will ever teach us, What True worship is all about:
Worship is not about the place where our body is located, worship is about the place where our heart is at. To worship in truth, is to worship the Lord from a sincere heart.
It is possible to be in a beautiful church building for worship, wearing nice clothes, lifting up our hands, with eyes closed , and sing the words to an awesome worship chorus, but not really be worshipping the Lord at all. Instead, our mind is filled with distractions, thinking about the next week with all of the things that we need to get done. Running the events of the past week through our mind, being a hundred miles away from Jesus. We are in the right place for worship, doing the right things, but very far from God, and giving Him absolutely no worship whatsoever.
We can be walking down the street, in blue jeans full of holes, wearing sandals, and an old T-shirt, eyes open , not saying a word, but our heart is full of love and adoration for Jesus and our Spirit is worshipping Him in Truth.
In its truest form, worship is not just going to church on Sunday morning and singing the songs and lifting up our hands. Worship is how we live our life the other 6 days of the week. How we live because we Love Jesus so much. What we say, because we genuinely want to please the Lord with every aspect of our life.
The woman at the well had a good speech about where God should be worshipped, but her personal life was filled with sin and unbelief.
We worship in Spirit when we are under the influence of the Holy Spirit. When we want everything that we say and everything that we do to be controlled and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, this is to Worship in Spirit and in Truth.
When we forget about ourselves and allow everything in life to just wash over us without penetrating us, that is worship. As people say unkind or rude things to us, instead of reacting to them, we just say nothing, smile and let it go.
When people treat us wrong, say things about us, take advantage of us and abuse us, we just let it go for the sake of our Love for Jesus, that is true Worship.
When we begin to do those things that are led by the Spirit.
As our life begins to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in the everyday ordinary circumstances of our life, we begin to see more Love, Joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and long-suffering demonstrated in the way we talk to and treat other people. As we begin to live under this new law of a worship-directed life, we begin to live opposite the way the rest of the world is living.
When our thoughts turn to those things that will truly please the Lord. Things that glorify Him and not ourselves. When we let things go that other believers in Jesus say or do to us for the sole sake of creating unity in Jesus’ Body. When we lay aside our own desires and our own agenda and meet the needs of other people.
These things, among many more that we can do everyday in our life, this is what True Worship is all about.
May we change the direction of our life in our walk with Jesus today so that every small detail of our life begins to reflect a desire to worship Jesus by what we say, how we live, how we treat other people. “Lord help us to worship You in this way and grow everyday in pleasing You with our life.”
Colossians 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work…
Rob Robinson
