Understanding Worship in Spirit and Truth Deep Dive

With so many things happening within the Church, I have to bring some truth to the lies that many are believing about worship.

Worship is an expression of reverence and adoration towards God.  "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." - John 4:24 NKJV

Because God is Spirit and His Holy Spirit lives in us, the worship requirement is not only in the nature but must arise from the spirit. God requires our worship to be spiritual, which is in accordance with His nature. Not carnal, not self-focused, and not profane.

Christian music is a genre, a type of music.  Christian music comes in many forms, including rap, heavy metal, and country, among others.  This music does not always glorify God, nor do all musicians intend to adore God with their talents.

I would venture to say that many Christian artists have chosen this industry because they consider themselves Christian but are not followers of Christ.  I’m not saying this about all of them, but just because they are talented and sing songs that identify with Christian music does not mean they are following Jesus or bearing the fruit of a born-again believer.

Worship is an expression of adoration for a deity.  So, what deity are people worshipping when they sing songs all about themselves?  What do they worship when they are hoping for an Emmy?

These passages of scripture help us to identify what true worship should look like.

• Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.  – Psalms 95:6 NASB95

• Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.  – Psalms 96:9  NASB95

• Exalt the LORD our God And worship at His footstool; Holy is He.  – Psalms 99:5

Unfortunately, to quote Isaiah the prophet, Their land has been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.  – Isa 2:8 

Instead of worshipping at the footstool of God in His dwelling place, many are packing out churches and arenas to hear the latest from their favorite Christian band.  Afterwards, they go out clubbing. 

Come out from them and be holy….

While all things may be lawful, as Apostle Paul said, not all things are helpful, for you are the temple of the living God. We are commanded to live differently. The world idolizes the flesh, money, and fame, but they are detached from the one true God, who can give them eternal life.

Jesus said, 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me wiht their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. - Matthew 15:8-12 NKJV

Woe, those are some powerful words from the Savior of the world. What are we to do when people seem to say or sing all the right things, but their heart is treasuring something or someone more than God?

We must always respond with the word of God as led by the Holy Spirit.

God said:  “I will dwell in them And walk among them.   I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”  17 Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord.  Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”  18  “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”   1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. - 2 Corinthians 6:6-8, 7:1

Worship means to bow down as an act of allegiance.  Unfortunately, people think that because they are not “religiously” bowing to something, they are not in idolatry.  Not so.  Where your treasure is, that is where your heart is.  If you desire to live a holy, consecrated life because it is commanded of you, then you are walking in love and obedience to God.  If not, then you are serving Satan in rebellion.  Period. There is no gray area in the Word of God.  It is yes and amen.  Let your yes be yes and no be no.

Jesus made it very clear, the first commandment is to love God with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  If you do so, there is no room left for loving anything else – it all goes to God.

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. - Luk 6:45 NKJV

Get the sin out of your heart, and you will please God.  Jesus Christ did His part – He died so you can live a grace-filled life of holiness, not so you can live in sin. This is not to say you can eliminate sin from your life on your own. That is why the Holy Spirit came to dwell within Jesus' followers. He empowers us to steer clear of sin.

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' - Mat 7:21-23 NKJV

The problem is that most believers in Jesus do not read their Bibles.  They do not read God’s word, let alone study it.  They don’t know what they believe.  They simply believe that if they confess Jesus Christ as their Savior, then they are saved.  Nope.  The Bible says it this way, 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. - Rom 10:9-10

One must confess Lord Jesus as well as believe in their hearts.  The key to this verse is Lord.  Lord means supernatural master over all.  One who owns or controls estate land and property, such as slaves—the one who rules and exercises authority over another.

You are no longer your own.  This means you have given it all to God through Jesus Christ and are empowered by His Spirit, which lives within you. 

Some things change because you have the love of God inside your heart.

·         You stop drinking

·         You stop having sex outside marriage

·         You stop cussing and using worldly language – yes, even your speech changes

because you worship God all the time with every word

·         You stop lying, cheating, and doing other immoral things

Read Ephesians chapter four, starting at verse seventeen, for the entire comparison between the new man and the old man.

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. - 1Co 12:3 NKJV