Monday, February 6, 2012

How to Worship God worshipinspiritandtruth.net

How to Worship God
"The highest position that man can EVER achieve is kneeling at the feet of Jesus"

Most Christians know the worship verse in the Bible in John 4:24, where Jesus said we need to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. But how many of us actually does what it says? Do you know how to worship God in spirit and truth? Are you sure God accepts your current form of worship? Do you worship in accordance with scripture, or do you just go along with the crowd? Can you say with confidence, "NO COMPROMISE" about your relationship with Christ Jesus? Are you separating yourself from sin and the things of this world? Friend, we are living in the end times of earth's history (see end times prophecy) and satan is doing all he can to deceive God's children and cause them to compromise their faith. But if we worship God according to the Spirit and the truth of His Word, then we will not be deceived by the evil one. The aim of this website is to encourage people to truly give their lives to Jesus and live for the kingdom of heaven everyday.

"A Revival of true godliness among us is the greatest of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work." (Christ Our Righteousness p. 146 (1929 ed.)

God says "By those who come near Me, I MUST be regarded as holy, and before all the people I MUST be glorified." (Leviticus 10:3) NKJV

John 4:24 ...'God is a Spirit: and they that worship him MUST worship him in spirit and in truth.' ... As we can clearly see here, Jesus Himself said that we MUST worship God in spirit and truth. Now many professing Christians will have you believe that we can worship God any way we like. Does Jesus say that here? Does He say that the time has come when the true worshippers can worship God anyway they like? No. He says we MUST worship in spirit and truth. This means that any other way is unacceptable. So if Jesus said that we must worship this particular way, then why do so many professing Christians claim that we can worship God anyway we like, even in a worldly way? It's because instead of the church converting the world, the world is sadly converting the church. But God has a people who are willing to stand apart for Christ Jesus. Are you one of them?

John 4:23 ...'But the hour cometh, and now is, when the TRUE worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth.'

If there are true worshippers, then there are also false worshippers

There is only one way to worship, and God revealed from the beginning that He demands worship in a certain way when He accepted Abel's worship, but rejected Cain's. So we know that this is a very important issue, and a message that needs our full attention and understanding. If at this moment you don't know what this means or how to worship God in spirit and truth, then please pray first and ask God to give you wisdom and to open your eyes and heart to His Bible truth. ... James 1:5 ...'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.' ... This is one of the many great Bible promises that Jesus gives us through His Word in the Bible.

Why do we Worship God?
We worship God because He created us through and by Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. We worship God because He has freed us from the penalty of our sins, through the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We worship God because of the promise of eternal life with Him, if we serve Him with all our heart, mind and soul. We worship God because He comforts us in times of distress. We worship God because of His unfailing love for each and every one of us. He loves us with a love that goes far beyond anything we know. Friend, we have an amazing God and He deserves all the glory and honour and praise and exaltation we can give Him. This is why He needs us to worship Him in spirit and truth and not just in any old way.

Now for some reason, the majority of the Christian world believe they need to "keep up with the times", that they need to be more modern and therefore need to bring more worldly things into the worship service to entice more people (especially young people) into their church buildings. But is this in line with scripture? Is this in line with worshipping God in spirit and truth? Does the Bible say we need to keep up to date with the world? Of course not. The Bible actually says that we as the people of God need to stay separate from the world. We are IN the world, but we should not be OF the world. And God NEVER changes, as the two following Bible verses confirm:

Malachi 3:6 ...'For I am the LORD, I change not.'

Hebrews 13:8 ...'Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.'

God does not change, so why does the church need to change? The only reason many denominations think they need to change is because they are not worshiping in line with the Word of God in the first place, and are not trusting in the power of God alone.

Jesus said ... 'But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.' (John 4:23-24) ... The TRUE worshippers, worship our Heavenly Father in spirit and in truth. This doesn't mean just going to church once a week, singing some songs and listening to a sermon. This issue of worship goes much deeper in ourselves. It neither says in the above Bible verse that we can worship Him however we like. This isn't about us. It's not what WE want to do, it's what God wants us to do according to His Word. I hear many Christians say that people can worship God however they like. That is not truth. Jesus does not even hint at that suggestion in the Bible.

Notice it says that 'God is a Spirit'. Think about it, He is an infinite Spirit being and is not subject to the limitations of material things. He's not concerned with where we worship Him, or the type of building we worship in, how nice the building is, or how good the church band is. He is just concerned with how we worship Him. He is a Spirit and seeks those who worship Him in spirit. Notice also that He 'seeks' those who worship in spirit, which means He does not accept just any type of worship. So how do we worship God in spirit and truth?

"God is concerned with how we worship Him"

Worship God in Spirit
Worshiping God in spirit means we worship Him from the heart. Do you remember the first and greatest Bible Commandment that Jesus gave? ... Mark 12:30 ...'And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.' ... Most Christians will be happy to quote this Bible verse, but how many of us really does what it says? Just as the Bible verse in John says that we MUST worship God in spirit and truth, this verse in Mark COMMANDS us to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. This verse means we must give our all to Him; all our time, all our money and possessions, all of ourselves. Not just some, but ALL. Now I'm not saying you need to hand all your money over to the poor and become poor yourself. I'm saying that we need to spend our money to further God's Kingdom FIRST, before we go out and spend it on ourselves. We hand it all over to God and ask Him to use it according to His will. And we need to do away with the attitude of thinking that the money is OURS. It's not ours, it belongs to God and we are stewards of what He has given us. Now if we don't do these things, then what are we doing? We are breaking the greatest Commandment that Jesus gave.

"Tithes for Christ! Oh, meagre pittance and shameful recompense for that which cost so much! From the cross of calvary, Christ calls for an unreserved consecration. All that we have, all that we are, should be devoted to God." (Patriarchs and Prophets p.131)

This is a serious issue and one that is greatly ignored in the Christian world. If someone were to tell you at the end of today that it was your last, would you be happy that you gave it all for Christ? How much time did you spend with Him in prayer and Bible study? Did you really worship Him in spirit and truth? Could you leave this life knowing confidently that you gave your all for Him? I doubt that most of us would have this confidence. This is why we need the Word of God in the Bible to guide us in all truth through His Spirit.

1 Chronicles 28:9 ...'And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.'

Revelation 2:23 ...'and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.'

God knows exactly what is going on in your heart. Do you see from the above Bible verses why Jesus commands us to worship Him in spirit and truth? Singing in church isn't the sole definition of true worship. Singing to God in church is a small part of our worship, but true worship in spirit goes much deeper. God searches your heart to see what you are really thinking and feeling. Do you give your heart in complete devotion to Christ each and every day? Is He on your mind constantly? He should be friend. True worship in spirit is to keep Christ in your heart and mind each day; to devote every thought to Him; to praise and glorify Him with all your heart and soul each day; to humbly devote all your time, possessions and self to Him as a living sacrifice each and every day ... Romans 12:1 ...'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.'

Worship God in Truth
Worshipping God in truth means to worship Him according to His Word in the Bible ... John 17:17 ...'Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.' ... Many church denominations are now deciding themselves how they should worship God, rather than abiding by the truth of God's Holy Word in the Bible. Let me give you an example. Just recently, the 'Church of England' in some parts of the UK have decided to replace hymns with rock songs by the band U2. So instead of worshiping God by singing good traditional hymns with words that give glory and honour to God, they will sing secular 'rock' songs. It is plain to see that as we near the end of time, many churches are wandering further and further from the truth of God. I cannot believe that the Spirit of God is in that kind of worship, where you blend it with worldly music, or anything worldly for that matter.

See should Christians listen to secular music for more on this.

Do we have an example in the Bible of how spiritual, Heavenly beings worship God? See the following verses:

Isaiah 6:1-3 ...'In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.'

Revelation 4:8-11 ...'And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.'

These beasts are heavenly beings, and how do they worship God? They do not rest day or night in worshiping God. And yet many people believe it is enough to worship God once a week in church! The twenty four elders are people who have been redeemed from the earth. We know this because they have crowns of righteousness and white robes. These elders throw themselves to the floor and cast their crowns at the feet of Jesus. Friend, we need to start really appreciating what He has done for us and worship Him in the same manner as the Heavenly beings above, in spirit and in truth.

"All that we are, all that we have should be devoted to God."

Jeremiah 10:23 ...'O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.' ... We are not to direct our own steps. We are not to decide ourselves how we want to worship God, but must worship Him in spirit and truth, and the truth being according to His Word in the Holy Bible. Let God direct your steps and your worship, according to the truth of His Word. Satan wants nothing more than for Christians to incorporate worldly things into their worship, because he is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) and he knows that if we do incorporate worldly things into our worship of our Heavenly Father and start to compromise on this, then it is just a matter of time before our worship service looks just like the world around us. We CANNOT worship both the God of Heaven and the god of this world, it's one or the other. As Elijah said ... 1 Kings 18:21 ...'And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him.'

Let's take a look at the Word of God in the Bible and see according to His truth, how we should worship Him:

Psalms 89:7 ...'God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.'

Hebrews 12:28-29 ...'let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.'

We must come to worship our Heavenly Father with Godly fear and reverence, which as we can see from Hebrews above, is the acceptable way to worship God. We should be in the right frame of mind to worship our Lord in spirit and truth. How many Christians are eager for the service to be over, so they can get home for dinner, or rush off to see the football match, or watch a tv program? This isn't acceptable to our God. This isn't worshiping in spirit and truth. Insincere worship that is not from the heart in full reverent devotion to God is vain, useless and unacceptable.

A big factor with Christians these days seem to be, "what can I get out of the service?" This must be music to satan's ears! He has managed to turn Christians from focusing on God and what they can GIVE to God, to focusing on themselves and what they can GET out of it. Self, self, self! What do I get! is sadly the age and world we live in ... Mark 7:6 ...'This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.' ... We need to fully surrender our hearts in worship to God and Christ Jesus our Saviour, and start thinking what we can do for God and His kingdom, rather than only thinking what we can get out of it.

"Self, self, self .. What can I get out of the service?"

True worship to God in spirit and truth requires commitment ... Matthew 10:37 ...'He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.' ... God MUST come first in our everyday lives. If anyone or anything comes before God, then that becomes our god. We must give God our full commitment. It's no good giving Him worship once a week, we must do it every day and every hour of every day. Friend, please don't forget, this is the Creator God, who wants to give to each and every one of us eternal life. A life so amazing that no person can even imagine! He deserves nothing short of complete devotion ... Matthew 4:10 ...'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.'

Proverbs 14:12 ...'There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.'

"Here stands God on the Day of Creation. He looks at Stars and He says "All you Stars move yourself to this Place and Start in this Order and Move in a Circle and Move Exactly as I tell you- until I give you another Word. Planets.. pick yourself up and whirl, make this Formation at My Command, until I give you another Word. He looks at Mountains and says "Be Lifted Up" and they Obey Him. He tells Valley's "Be Cast Down" and they Obey Him. He looks at the Sea and says "You Will Come This Far", and the Sea Obeys ... Then, He looks at You and says "FOLLOW ME" and you say "NO, I'LL DO IT MY WAY!" Does that Bother anyone?"

How many people stop and think and say, "Am I following the truth and worshiping according to God's Word in the Bible, and is what I'm doing what God wants?" This is how we should think. But instead people base their beliefs on feelings and totally discard the Truth of God's Word in the Bible. As it says above in Proverbs, it might 'seem' right, but if you are not basing it on the truth of the Word, then it will lead to death! God gives us plenty of clear guidance in the Bible of how to worship Him in spirit and truth, and yet many Christians still try to make excuses of why they should do it another way.

Important note: If God has revealed the truth to you about something in the Bible, but you choose to ignore it, because it does not fit in with what you like, and because it doesn't 'feel' nice, then you are rejecting the Holy Spirit's guidance. Please do not reject what God has revealed to you as truth.

Matthew 18:20 ...'For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' ... If we worship God in truth, then we can be assured that Christ Jesus will be amongst us in Spirit. What a joy that is to know that Christ is with us during our true worship, as our fellowship is with Him ... 1 John 1:3,6 ...'truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ ... If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.' ... But if we say we worship in truth, but continue to walk in our old ways and continue to sin, then we lie and the Word will expose us as liars and show we do not actually follow the truth of God.

1 Samuel 12:24 ...'Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.'

1 Kings 17:24 ...'And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.'

Psalm 25:5 ...'Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.'

Psalm 86:11 ...'Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.'

2 Timothy 2:15 ...'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' ... We MUST walk in the truth of God's Word in the Bible and worship in spirit and all truth.

Romans 1:25 ...'Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.' ... If we are more concerned with people when we come together to worship God, then we deceive ourselves. God MUST be the main and only focus of our worship. But unfortunately, as we come nearer to the end times, more and more churches will wander from the truth of God's Word and decide themselves how they should worship to draw more worldly people in. They are more focused on pleasing people than God. This is why many churches are putting together more worldly type services, to please people ... 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ...'For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.'

Remember the day of pentecost? What did the apostles rely on to draw people to God? Did they rely on worldly music? Did they rely on putting on a show? Did they rely on telling a few jokes? No! They preached the true Word of God and let the Holy Spirit do it's work in drawing three thousand people to God that day! Many pastors and church leaders turn their backs on the power of the Holy Spirit when they rely on their own efforts to bring people into church. So many churches these days are turning their backs on the truth of God's Word in the Bible and it's a tragic thing to see.

There is only one way for us to worship God our Heavenly Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ. That is to worship in spirit and truth. To worship with all our heart, soul and mind, and to worship according to the truth of God's Word in the Bible ... 2 John 1:4 ...'I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.' ... This isn't a recommendation, it's a commandment! Anything less is unacceptable to God. Our worship to The Almighty Creator shouldn't stop when we walk out of the church building, it should carry on in our every day lives. It should never stop! Every waking hour of our lives should be spent in full devotion to our Heavenly Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour. Give your all to Him and study His Word each day, so that you may know how He wants you to worship Him. Remember, it's not what YOU want, it's what GOD wants. Will you heed the truth of God's Word and worship Him in spirit and truth?

Psalm 34:1 ...'I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.'

I plead with you to give your all to Christ Jesus today, and worship God in spirit and truth. Search through this site to find the Bible truth about being a TRUE disciple of Christ.

No comments:

Post a Comment