Worship: in spirit and in truth

My husband and I were talking with a friend some time ago who told us that he was looking for a church to be part of.  He wanted it to be doctrinally sound, but his main criterion was that it be a place where people were passionate for God.

Many times a church that is focused on holding fast to the principles of Scripture may be considered boring; whereas a church that’s really "on fire" for God may let doctrine slide.  So, can those two things co-exist?

In God’s mind, they must.  Ezekiel 28:14 describes a scene in Heaven- “…You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.”  Dr. Campbell Morgan, commenting on that verse said: “What a strange bringing together of contradictions!  ‘Stones of fire’.  A stone is the last embodiment of principle- hard and cold.  Fire is the essence of passion- warm and energizing.  Put the two together, and we have stones- principle; fire- passion; principle shot through with passion, passion held by principle.”

God’s valuation of the importance of the connection between principle and passion can be seen in 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 worshipers.”

The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in both spirit and in truth.

To worship in spirit is a worship that comes from our hearts, not merely going through the motions of outward ceremonies. 

To worship in truth means that our worship must be based on the authority of Scripture and carried out within the parameters set forth in the Scriptures.

Principle and passion; spirit and truth-  the Lord desires both together in our worship of Him.  

I looked at some “kids worship” on the internet to see what different churches are teaching their children about worship.  I saw a lot of energy and a lot of emotion, but is that worshipping in spirit?  Does passion for God need to be loud and exuberant to be real?

Looking at “adult worship” raised other questions:  Is having women lead or vocally participate in a church worship service okay if they really love the Lord?  Can truth be sacrificed as long as I feel that my heart is right before God? 

One thing we need to understand is that worship is not something that we schedule to do at a particular time; it is a response to the Lord Himself.

What does an individual who worships in spirit and truth look like?

Daniel is a man who fits this description- Daniel 9:23 tells us that he was “greatly beloved” or “highly esteemed” by God.  Daniel was a man of prayer, and one who knew the Scriptures.  He consistently spent time with the Lord.  And as he did, his heart was drawn out in love for the Person of God.  Daniel’s attitude before God was one of humility and reverence. His vibrant relationship with the Lord affected Daniel’s daily life.  His testimony before unbelievers was that he had an excellent spirit and that he was blameless in his conduct.  He also had a love for the lost and spoke the Word of God with boldness.  These are the qualities of a person who worships in spirit and in truth. 

What does a church which worships in spirit and in truth look like?

Let’s look at the example of the early Church in Jerusalem in Acts 4:24-33.

These believers were of one heart because the hearts of each individual that made up this local body were fixed on Christ.  They were a body that knew the Scriptures- we know that because they preached from the Scriptures and they prayed Scripture.  They held fast to the truth of God’s Word and to the Lord Himself.  They were a body that practiced the roles that God has set forth for men and women.  They worshipped God together, they thanked God together, and their chief desire was that He would be glorified.  Sin in the body was dealt with.  They prayed bold prayers and God answered them.  In this passage, when they had prayed, the place was shaken—a physical expression of the spiritual power that was present.  The grace of God shone forth from their lives.  In love, they ministered to the needs of one another and they spoke the Word of God with boldness to each other and to the lost. 

This is what God desires- worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth.  We see that it is a real possibility because God has recorded it for us from the lives of real people. 

So, where am I?  

Am I someone who worships in spirit and in truth?  I need to go before the Lord and let Him show me what needs to change in my life. 

What about my local church? 

What do we as individuals, and as a body, need to be doing differently to worship in a way that does honor the Lord?  Again, we need to go before Him with open hearts and let Him examine us. 

May you be encouraged to be what God wants you to be as a worshipper.

The Reward

In finishing up this series on being the wife of a man in spiritual leadership, I would just like to encourage you with the fact that the Lord sees and knows all that you and your husband go through as you carry out this ministry of shepherding.  

Hebrews 6:10 says, “God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”  And He has eternal rewards for those who serve Him faithfully.  Other people in your local church will never know the hours you have sacrificed for your husband to be away from your family caring for the needs of the flock.  They will never know the number of prayers prayed on their behalf.  They will never know the amount of tears shed for them.  But that does not matter, because the Lord knows.  So as you serve God’s people in this capacity, remember to do it “…as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

And let us consider this: What did it cost the Lord Jesus to provide eternal salvation for us?  The grief that the vileness of our sin must have brought to Him.  The depth of His agony as He sweat great drops of blood while He prayed for us.  The separation from His Father that He endured on our behalf.  We will never know how great the price was that He paid.  So, in that sense, to be His servant whom He has called to help shepherd His people is a way that we can be a partaker in the fellowship of His sufferings and come to know His heart in a more intimate way.  It is a tremendous privilege.

And it’s certainly not all hardship, by any means.  There are plenty of opportunities for joy and rejoicing with the believers in your local fellowship. 

3 John 4 is just as true in the assembly as it is in your family- “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”  It is such a blessing to see those you have loved and cared for, encouraged and going on well for the Lord. 

So press on in this ministry with your husband.  Ask the Lord to equip you to be the helper that your husband needs, to the glory of God. 

You call THIS a Ministry?

Our ministries may change depending upon the season of life that we’re in.  I have some friends whose husbands serve as elders whose main ministry right now is taking care of an aged parent.  They have told me that sometimes they feel like they’re a bad elder’s wife because they aren’t even able to make it out to all the meetings.  They get discouraged because they feel they’re not able to be the helpers that they want to be to their husbands.  But they are still loving their husband, praying for him, and encouraging him in the work God has given him to do.  And caring for a parent is a ministry for the Lord and it doesn’t take away from their husband serving as a spiritual leader in the local church.  It is a tremendous example to the flock and a testimony to a watching world- laying aside your own desires to care for the needs of another.  The Lord considers that a very valuable ministry.  He tells us that “inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Perhaps you’re in that situation or a similar one.  Maybe you are struggling with a physical condition right now that keeps you from being as actively involved in your local church or in your husband’s ministry as you would like to be.  It may be that the Lord desires for you to learn more about Him by going through this time of difficulty.  And as Job said, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”  If that’s the ministry He’s given you right now, trust Him for the grace to bear your suffering in a way that glorifies Him.  Please don’t be discouraged and think that you are of no use in the Lord’s service. You can still be a blessing to your husband and to the other believers, as you continue to love them and pray for them in the midst of your own pain.  It is what the Lord Jesus did for us.

There are many areas of service for the Lord.  Some we would not choose for ourselves.  But God is the One who chooses where His servants will serve Him.  As long as you are doing what the Lord is asking you to do with a right heart attitude, you WILL be the helper your husband needs.  

Bible Lesson Visuals for Power Point

A friend recently recommended Eikon Bible Art  to me.  This site has some wonderful Bible lesson visuals on power point  for children.  The visuals are sharp and look like real people.  I use them when teaching children at Bible clubs and camp.  I have found that using power point is easier for me than holding up the large picture flashcards.  With power point, I can concentrate more on the message that I'm sharing rather than whether or not all of the children are able to see the picture I'm holding.  I also tend to gesture quite a bit, or act out the story that I'm telling, so it's nice for me to have my hands free.  

If you're interested, their website is:  www.eikonbibleart.com
You can receive one free lesson for checking them out.  You will need to register, but they only send occasional emails.  You can, of course, unsubscribe.

The Ministry of an Elder's Wife

Even though I do believe that the Scriptures teach that a married woman’s primary ministry is to her family, that does not mean that in being a helper to your husband, you lose your personal identity.  When the Lord Jesus saved you, He gave you a spiritual gift, and that gift was given to you for the purpose of “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”  (Ephesians 4:12) 

So, I’d like for us to think about our personal ministries.  You may be a gifted teacher and the ministry God has given you is leading Bible studies for women.  That is a wonderful ministry in your local church- helping the women grow in their relationship with the Lord and equipping them to better honor and serve Him.  That is a tremendous help and encouragement to the elders.  But it is not the ministry that God has for every elder’s or full-time worker’s wife.  Learning this has been such a help to me. 

The ministry that the Lord has equipped me for is working with children.  It is what I enjoy and the place where I see the Lord using me most effectively.  But because of other people’s expectations and my own misconceptions, I thought that when my husband was recognized as an elder that I, as an elder’s wife, had to give up teaching children to work with the women.  I really struggled with that.  But the Lord has shown me that the little lambs are as much a part of the flock as the older sheep and that they are very valuable to the Good Shepherd.  One of the best ways I personally can minister to the adults in our assembly is by loving their children and working alongside them as parents to see their children saved and built up in their personal relationship with the Lord.  And helping strengthen the families in our local church is also a help to my husband in his work as an elder.

Perhaps you have the gift of evangelism and God uses you to share the gospel and see people saved and brought into your local fellowship.  Maybe God has given you a ministry of counseling people one-on-one, or a ministry of visitation to provide comfort and encouragement to the believers.  I will never forget how much it meant it to me when I had three children ages 4 and under, to have one of the elder’s wives come to my house during my kids’ nap time once a week just to pray with me.  Now that she’s elderly and unable to get out as much, I am able to return that blessing, and go visit her in her home so we can pray together. 

God has equipped us each individually for the “good works which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)  There is no particular ministry that the Scriptures declare to be the job of the elders’ wives.  One thing that is certain is that God will not give you a ministry that will be in competition with or detract from your husband’s- but will in fact, enhance his ministry because God has called the two of you to serve together as one.

The Proof is in the Pudding

A man who desires to be used of God as a spiritual leader in the local church "must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity  (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)" - 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Your home is not just your training ground- it is your proving ground.  God says that the way a man manages his family establishes a pattern of how he will lead in the local assembly.  We know some young couples who are interested in going into full-time ministry for the Lord.  Our counsel to them has been to focus on their home first.  Their family is the little flock that God has given them to shepherd now, and the place to practice all of the things we’ve been talking about.  God is looking for faithfulness in the small things before He will entrust you with bigger things.  The principle in Luke 16:10 is very true- “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”  As a wife, you need to work alongside your husband in your home to raise your children in accordance with Biblical principles. 

As we think back over all of the qualifications that God has laid out for a man who would serve as a shepherd, let’s ask the Lord to equip us to be a faithful partner and helper to our husbands in each one of these areas: to be blameless, morally pure, temperate, sober-minded,  hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, managing his own household well.  

Partnership in Parenting

Another quality of the man that God calls to spiritual leadership in the local church is "...one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence."  (1 Timothy 3:4)

You are part of this “house”.  Are you supporting your husband as the leader in your home?  If you want your children to respect and submit to authority, then you must respect and submit to your husband’s authority in the home.  Your attitudes and example as a wife have immeasurable impact on your children.  They are always watching you- and they don’t miss a thing! 

The word “rule” in this verse means to stand before, to lead, and indicates that this is done with care and diligence.  God commands us as parents in Ephesians 6:4 to bring up our children “in the training and admonition of the Lord”.  This is very much a partnership between you and your husband.  You must be in agreement in the raising of your children and it must be done purposefully.  Do your children see the reality of your personal relationship with the Lord?  Do you have a plan to systematically teach them the Word of God?  Do you pray for them and with them regularly?  Are you balanced and consistent in your discipline- not being harsh or threatening, and at the same time, not being permissive or making excuses for sin? 

Parenting is an area in which I have been completely cast upon the Lord.  I’ve had to remind myself that I am to be training my children for their good and not my glory; for spiritual reality in their lives and not for appearances.  Unfortunately, sometimes when my children have been involved in sin, my first reaction has been embarrassment because of how their actions reflected on me.  That was simply pride on my part.  The children of elders, deacons, and full-time workers are not perfect.  They are sinners and they are going to sin.  The important thing is what you, as the parent, do when that happens.  We need to respond in a way that honors the Lord and follow Biblical principles in dealing with the situation.  And when my children do make a choice to obey the Lord in a certain area, I need to humbly thank God for working in their lives and for them responding to Him, rather than giving myself credit. 

So, if your children are small, I would encourage you to ask the Lord to help you lay aside any selfishness or laziness on your part and be diligent to pick up a paddle and use it according to the directives in God’s Word.  Believe His Word and trust Him to work in your child’s heart.  As your children get older, don’t think that your job is done.  A teenager needs you just as much as a toddler, if not more.  Again, ask the Lord to help you be willing to set aside your own plans in order to be available for them when they need you.  And never, never, never stop praying for them.