God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth. John 4:24.
What does it mean, to worship in Spirit and in Truth? Some people think worship is sitting in a cold church with wooden seats holding a little red book and singing to an old piano. Infact, thats probably what the world thinks, and a few christian folk for that matter.
Infact, true worship come’s straight from the heart, it is an outpouring of what is in your heart for Jesus, and when you worship like that, you are drawn close to the father, so much so, that you can get lost in His presence.
You dont need to have musical instuments, worship leaders or written down words to experience true worship, you can worship from right where you are now, walking down the street, driving to work or even whilst your shopping (although you may get some funny looks). What I am trying to say is, you dont NEED anything in order to worship Jesus, only whats in your heart. The lord delights in the praises of His children.
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15
When I first read that, I wondered, why is worship a sacrifice? Then, praise God for being my teacher, it was explained that the sacrifice of praise, means the offering of praise. When we come to worship Jesus, we are making an offering. If we dont realise that, and just sing words that get lost in space, thats not at all pleasing or acceptable to God. You normally offer something to someone because you are keen for them to accept it. So it should be with praise, we are offering God our praises, and if your praises are true and from your heart, God accepts them, infact, He delights in them.
You know when your praises are accepted, because you will be drawn into a higher realm with Jesus. God doesn’t ignor His children when they are sharing their heart with Him, it’s wonderful for God, God loves it when you draw near to Him.
To offer you a little story, I had been for a while far from God, yet when it came the time for me to come back to Him, I found that worship made it easier for me to draw closer to God, infact, it was through worship that barriers between me and God were smashed. You see, when you are truly worshipping God, barriers are broken down, and lies are crushed. Drawing nearer to God, means drawing near to truth, and it is the Truth that sets you free! For me, at that time, and even still now, it is an absolute privaledge to come before God and worship Him, and even more, to have your praise accepted when you were in such a place that you felt unworthy. It is only by Gods grace that we are able to draw near to Him and it is a true privaledge.
You see, doesn’t that sound better than reading words from a little red book that you don’t even understand?
But you are a CHOSEN GENERATION a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, HIS OWN SPECIAL PEOPLE, that you may proclaim the PRAISES IN HIM who called you out of darkness and into HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT. 1 Peter 2:9
You see, it is a requirement that we Praise Him. So we also praise out of obedience, and obedience brings blessing! So, you could say, the more we praise, the more we are blessed, so the more we praise again, because we are blessed. Its a wonderful circle, full of riches and freedom and more of Jesus!
So remember, to worship God, means to offer a sacrifice of praise from your heart, because your heart is truthful, and to worship in spirit, outside of yourself and offering up praise in a higher realm, and worship Him wherever your at, don’t wait for Chruch on a Sunday, or that meeting on a wednesday evening, praise him in the morning from when you wake, until you rest your head to sleep. If you can do that, then you will break into new things in your relationship with God.
PRAISE GOD!