“..the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (John 4:23)
Before I talk about worship, I want to bring out that the Father — Almighty God — is seeking (looking) for something! His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth!” Why? Looking “to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
You see, God is a good God and He wants to bless people. He wants to show Himself strong on their behalf. If ever mankind needed for God to show-up in their lives and manifest His strength, it’s right now! When fear is on every front; knocking on every door; trying to steal, kill and destroy; God will be a refuge and fortress, a strong-tower, a present help in time of trouble! The qualifier is: He does it for those whose heart’s are loyal toward Him.
So, what is true worship?
Worship comes from the English words “worth ship.” It speaks of value and honor for a magistrate or deity. True worship is of the heart (rather, comes from the heart, one that’s loyal toward God; He knows if someone is faking or not). The heart, in most cases, speaks of the spirit-man; the inner man or “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Peter 3:4); the real you. Jesus said: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24 KJV).
Man is created in the image and likeness of God; meaning, God is a Spirit being and man is a spirit being. The only acceptable worship for God must come from a loyal heart full of truth!
What is truth?
In praying to the Father, Jesus defines truth; He said: “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). So one could say a true worshiper will be born of truth (a product or child of truth): “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God” (1 Peter 1:23). The conclusion would be that unless someone is born again (has called on the name of the Lord to be saved [Romans 10:13]) they don’t even qualify to worship God! But we need to further instruct: TRUE WORSHIP not only comes from the loyal heart of a born-again child of God, but it will fall within the instructions outlined in the Word of God: “Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who 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” (Psalm 100:2b-4).
Singing / Thanksgiving / Praise
TRUE WORSHIP will include any one or all of these. This is not a formula. God is not a robot that has buttons you can push to get the desired result! Look at these as guidelines to understand the protocol for the worship God the Father is seeking. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). This verse indicates that when we’re filled with the Word of God and we teach and admonish one another by the grace in our hearts it is being done to the Lord!
Now let’s couple that thought with Romans twelve verse one from the Amplified Bible: “make a decisive dedication of your bodies—presenting all your members and faculties—as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”
In-a-nutshell; what we do day in and day out; how we treat others; the quality of work we provide our employers will greatly affect our worship! We cannot drink from the cup of darkness (act like the world) then minister before the Lord!
It’s time to wash our hands of the filth of this world and become true worshipers that Almighty God can look to bless with His Presence…for in His Presence is the fullness of joy! In His Presence there comes times of refreshing! Hallelujah!!