"But the
hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth." (John
4:23-24)
In America, we are living in a
day where there is a church on every corner.
Leaders have provided a smorgasbord for seekers to choose from in order
to connect with their Creator and grow in a meaningful relationship with Jesus. Sadly though, Goldilocks is still not
satisfied. She can't find the church
that is "just right".
The above passage of Scripture
comes from a precious conversation Jesus had with a Samaritan woman at a
well. She asked Jesus "where" to
worship, however, Jesus replied with "how" to worship. Unfortunately the "how" is often determined
by the "where" but it doesn't have to be so, beloved.
True Worshippers
The hour is coming and, I
believe...now is, that true worshipers will worship the Father no matter where
they are. It won't matter if the lights
are bright, dim, or flashing. It won't
matter if the worship is fast, loud, professional and planned, or slow, quiet,
simple, and spontaneous. The worshiper
with a true heart of worship will be able to worship the Father in spirit and
truth despite any outward hindrances because the Spirit of God who reveals all
truth dwells inside of them.
You see, worship is not a musical
expression therefore true worship does not have to be affected by the
atmosphere around us. In Greek, the word
for worship that Jesus is talking about is expressed by falling to ones knees,
bowing before a superior in humility and submission or to kiss the hand in
respect and reverence.
In Luke 7, we see a sinful woman
standing behind Jesus weeping. She then
washed His feet with her own tears and wiped them with her hair. She kissed His feet, which is much less
respectful than kissing the hand, yet in this one act she demonstrated a
genuine act of worship. She knew the Truth
and He set her free so that no matter what was happening around her she was
going to worship her Savior.
We see another cry of genuine
worship in the Old Testament coming from the prophet Job. After losing everything precious to him, Job
declares; "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job
1:21b) After all, Job continues to
say, "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not
accept adversity?" (Job 2:10)
God is Still God
Beloved, when we go to work and
find a pink slip waiting for us, God is still God and worthy of our
worship. When we come home and find our
spouse has left us, when the cancer has returned, when everything is falling
apart, God is still God and worthy of our worship. He alone can hold us secure in this storm and
so...at His feet may we fall.
Selah...
"Because
Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You." (Psalm 63:3)
There is a beautiful revelation
in the Hebrew word used here for praise that brings this home for me. The Hebrew word used here for praise is not
your typical word for praise, this one is shabach ùÈÑáÇç (Strong's #7623). While shabach means: to commend, praise,
adore, or to glory in something, interestingly, it also means to still, quiet
or pacify someone. Therefore proceeding
from a heart of worship, shabach can be seen in two dimensions: praising or
calming. This reveals that praising God
has the power to soothe our screaming soul.
True worshippers are those who
earnestly love God with all their heart, soul, and strength despite the
circumstances. Falling at the feet of
Jesus worshiping the One who is worthy of all our praise, we will be filled
with the Holy Spirit and the truth of His outrageous love for us. From this posture, although we are
hard-pressed on every side, we can worship knowing we will not be totally
crushed. When we are perplexed and
confused we can adore Him because we are not in despair. We can kiss His feet although we feel
forsaken knowing the truth, He promised He would never leave or abandon us.
Amen and Amen.
Tiffany Ann Lewis
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