Jump Start # 790

John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers.”

Our passage says, “…for such people the Father seeks…” God is looking. God is looking for “such people,” a certain kind of people. He is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

We continue a look in our Jump Starts at the things that God expects from His people. It shouldn’t strike us as something strange to think that God has expectations for us. We do for each other. Parents have expectations for their children. They expect them to learn and graduate from school. They expect them to grow into responsible and godly people. Bosses have expectations of workers. They expect them to accomplish the work assigned to them. Workers expect a paycheck for what they do. We expect those in positions of honor to be honorable people. And thus, God has expectations for His people. God has expectations for us. So far in this little journey we have see that God expects us to be strong. God expects us to be faithful. God expects us to be obedient. Now we consider the thought that God expects us to worship Him. And it’s not just any worship that He expects, but worship in spirit and in truth.

Worship is such a powerful and incredible blessing that we have. Worship changes us, reminds us, helps us, and connects us with God. Our English word ‘worship’ comes to us from the Latin expression, ‘worth-ship.’ Worship is recognizing the “worth” or value of something. From the Greek language, the word literally means to “kiss forward.” It’s the idea of bowing before a king and kissing his hand. It carries the image of reverence, loyalty and devotion.

Through the years we’ve sort of lost that idea of worship. Many equate “going to church” as the same as worship. They are not the same. A person can sit in a church building and sleep, play games on their phone, text a friend, day dream and do about anything but think about God. They may have “gone to church,” but they didn’t worship God. It seems the modern church has turned worship into a spectator event where people come and “watch” worship.

Worship is participation. Most times in the New Testament, the word worship is in the verb form. It is an action word. Worship involves me doing. Worship is not watching, but me giving. Worship is my heart telling the God of Heaven how incredible, awesome and amazing He is. Worship is thanking God. Worship involves emotion, energy and effort. All the stuff that bothers and clutters my mind and heart will affect my worship. Worry, fear, being tired, stressed, all those things affect me and thereby they affect my worship. When I’m off, my worship is off.

Understand our worship is not confined to the church building. There is a worship that we do when the church gathers. But I can worship God every day, any where. Praying, thanking, praising God ought to be an everyday part of my life. When I open my eyes in the morning, and realize that I’m still here, I can thank God for another day and then get about that day.

Our passage unites two concepts that God is looking for. He seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Spirit may well be attitude. Attitude can make worship right or wrong. “In truth” represents according to His word. God defines how He wants to be worshipped. Some have gotten the idea somewhere that anything you do is ok with God. IN TRUTH. According to His way. The story of Cain and Able reminds us that God doesn’t accept every worship. He rejected Cain’s. The story of Aaron’s sons offering God a strange fire is another example. God not only rejected that, He consumed those two in the very fire they offered.

God has defined the way He wants to be worshipped. He is seeking those who will worship Him that way.  He is wanting those who have the right attitude and are willing to follow His way. That’s what He is seeking. Worship is not about us. It’s not what I get out of it. It’s not about being excited or fun or thrilling. Worship does not compete with movies or TV. It is not a comedy show. It is not a talent show. It is not a time to say, “Look at me and how great I am.” Worship is about honoring God. It is about showing love, respect and devotion to God. It is about you and I telling God how much He means to us.

When we worship the way God wants, it has a way of getting our order in order. It reminds us of what is important in life. It humbles us as it exalts God. The Psalmist said, “Come let us magnify the name of the Lord together.” That’s what worship is. It’s being with God. It’s remembering God. It’s honoring God. It’s learning from God.

Worship is incredible. It’s good for the heart and the soul.

God expects us to worship Him. He is looking for that. He is wanting that. He is expecting you to worship Him in spirit and truth. How are you doing with that? Do you find long periods of time rushing by without any thoughts about the spiritual, the eternal, the God of Heaven and earth? Do you fight getting to the church building to worship with others? Has your church left the “truth” part out of worship and turned the time into a show for the audience?

Maybe it’s time you’ve taken a serious look at worship in your Bible. Maybe it’s time you spent some time alone with God in prayer. Maybe it’s time you really worshipped. He wants that and you can do that. It is good when you do!

Roger