Spirit and Truth

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:21-24 NLT

So we have a situation where the Jews maintained that the place to worship God was in Jerusalem, and the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim. One more source of conflict fuelling the animosity between them. But Jesus cut through all of that with the statement that “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth”, and not just in a geographical location. He elevated the whole basis of worship to a new level based on the relationship between the worshipper and God.

When Jesus came to Planet Earth, He levelled the ground giving all people everywhere the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Him. His substitutionary death at Calvary fulfilled what he said to Nicodemus in John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him”. Later in John 14:6, we read, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. And Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:18, “Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us”. 

Worship is that relational experience between God and man where our hearts are passionately responding to our Heavenly Father. We praise Him, with grateful hearts, proclaiming all that He has done for us. We prostrate ourselves before Him, connecting spirit to Spirit, overwhelmed in our love of Jesus. But the “truth” bit means that we must know our God, and not just an image of what we think He might be in our minds. Knowing God takes a lifetime. Reading the Word. Praying. Developing a relationship with Him day by day. Many people develop a distorted picture of God based on their experiences with their own natural fathers. So some view God as a stern policeman with a big stick ready to beat them when they step out of line. Others view Him as a Father Christmas figure, just there to hand out gifts when they need them. But a truthful view of God can only be found in the Bible, through prayer to Him, and from the teachings of trusted pastors, teachers and apostles.

Note that our worship of God is independent of our circumstances. Some Christians I know find that in difficult times they cannot worship God, as though in some way they are blaming Him for their troubles. Such believers would do well to read the book of Habakkuk, which ends, “Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!” (Habakkuk 3:17-18). Nothing was going to stop that man from worshipping God because he saw beyond the circumstances in his trust of his Father in Heaven.

We pilgrims worship God at every opportunity in “spirit and truth”. There is no other way.

Father God. Once again we fall on our knees before You in worship. You are the King of kings and the Lord of all lords. Amen.

Revival

Posted on by korgrocker

“Won’t You revive us again, 
     so Your people can rejoice in You? 
Show us Your unfailing love, O Lord, 
     and grant us Your salvation.”
Psalms‬ ‭85:6-7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why was the Psalmist asking God for a revival? Society’s relationships with God have waxed and waned over the centuries since Jesus walked this earth. A time of dryness is followed by a period of spiritual blessings before it dies back into a lethargic and Godless state again. It was obviously the same in the history of Israel, as we can tell from the Biblical writings in the Old Testament. What is there about human beings that they move away from the very One who can provide the life they need, only returning to Him when they hit an insurmountable problem? We have seen it particularly since the start of the Covid pandemic; churches that used to be well attended are now struggling to get going again because people have not returned to the pews. But so many people, secure in their comfortable lives, think to themselves, “Why should we connect with God again. What’s in it for me?” But Asaph, the writer of Psalm 85, boldly asks God the question – “Won’t You revive us again”? Why should God do that? After all, He created man with the option of free choice. Mankind can choose to accept or reject their Creator, should they so wish. And in the same way God has a choice, Asaph points out. If God revives us, he suggests, then His people will rejoice in Him once again. It’s almost a “chicken and egg” situation. But we know that if we reach out to God then we will find that He is there. Jeremiah 29:13 reads, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” I have a picture in my mind this morning of a man living in a room quite happily. There’s a door on the far side, but he doesn’t bother about it. Not even curiosity will drive him to open it. But until he does, he won’t find the wonderful world, God’s world, that exists on the other side. No more walls defining his limits. Just a limitless world filled with our limitless God. And the door isn’t even locked.

Asaph asks God to take the initiative. He asks God to revive us so that His people, us, you and me, can experience once again a wonderful relationship with our wonderful Heavenly Father. Asaph gives God the excuse for revival – “so Your people can rejoice in You”. I pray that prayer as well this morning. If there is ever a time when our world needs to rejoice in God it is today.