True Worship: Part 1| Colin D

This message was preached  by Colin D'cruz at Word of Grace Church on November 6th, 2016. To listen/download the audio please click here. To listen to the Sunday's worship and prophetic contributions please click here

Have you ever seen the “wanted” page in the newspaper? The requirements for a job are quite high. But imagine of God placed an ad in the newspaper. What is God looking for?

John 4:22- 24: “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.””

This is taken from the account of Jesus with the Samaritan woman. The father is searching for true worshippers- the one who worships in Spirit and in truth.

I.       To worship in spirit- God is spirit. To communicate with him, we need to worship in spirit.

a.      Our spirit needs to be alive: We all have a body, but we also have a spirit. Every human being has a spirit but it is as good as dead until Jesus makes it alive

John 3:6- “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” When we come to Jesus- we realise we are sinners, and trust in Jesus alone, that day, our spirit comes alive. In order to worship God our spirit needs to be alive.

b.      The other thing is our heart being fully involved. Matt 15: 7-9 “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules”

The Pharisees were going through the externals. But their heart was not in it. They were just following rituals and going through the motions.

2 Chron 16:9- “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”

Q. What is the greatest commandment?

To love God with all our heart, mind soul and strength.

II.     Worshipping God in truth:

Worshipping God in truth means that what we say, read and think is aligned with the truth of God. It is important what we worship. We look around and find 50 understandings of who God is, but scripture tells us what God is like in truth.

We can engage our minds in worship as well. Christian worship involves the heart and head. If you don’t have the head, it can just be a frenzy. If you don’t have the heart, it’s just a ritual. We need both.

Our heart is affected means, we are thinking deeply about the truth. we can come boldly before God. in the Old Testament this wasn’t the case. Once when the sons of Aaron, offered unauthorised incense- dead. Aza touched the ark- dead. Thankfully for us, Jesus has made the way.

We need to think about how Jesus has forgiven all our sins. We will look at an example of a great worshipper. King David- was a man after God’s own heart. Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. If you have a record of what someone has spoken we can know what is in his heart. David spoke in numerous psalms. His heart was set on worshipping Jesus.

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
 we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

These are instructions on how to be a man or woman after God’s own heart.

1.      Shout: The word ‘Shout’ signifies a glad shout as when a king approaches.

Q. Do we need to shout?

Whether you’re timid or bold, we are called to shout, just as it says, don’t commit adultery or don’t steal, we are instructed to shout. People at football matches shout so much.

2.      Gladness: this is an attitude of the heart. We are called to worship him with gladness in our hearts. 

3.      Joyful songs: we are not at a funeral. We are here as the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. God loves to hear you whether you are in tune or out of tune. In the same way that the parents are overjoyed to hear their child speak, God loves your voice.

4.      Thanksgiving: we’ve got to be a people who are thankful. Everyday write down 5 things you’re thankful for. Romans 1: 21- “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” By not giving thanks to God, it affected their minds and spirits. There are many opportunities to give thanks.

5.      Praise: to declare his qualities, his name. There are hundreds of things about God in the Bible. This is worshipping him in truth. in Psalm 22:3- God enthrones the praises of his people. as we praise God, God’s presence is manifest. To see miracles and healings, as we enter into worship and praise him. Then there is power to heal.

We enter into worship. Thanksgiving is like knocking the door, praise is ringing the bell. And then we enter his presence. The father is looking for worshippers- not for a tall dark and handsome guy, a beautiful girl, or an intelligent person. A man or woman after God’s own heart- that’s what God is looking for.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that have people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.