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.
