Worship in Spirit and in Truth

John 4.23-24
23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

This morning God laid something on my heart. This verse, John 4.24, came to mind. It was further supported by the testimony of one of our brothers at our church. He spoke about his mission trip to Paraguay where he and fellow workers worshipped outside. They did not worship in a church building, but he said it did not matter because they were worshipping "in spirit and in truth." Beloved, that ought to be the attitude of God's Church. WE are the church. So many times we hear that the church building is God's house, but it is really you and I who are God's house. You see, Jesus' message to the Samaritan woman at the well proves this. She tells Jesus that "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem" (John 3.20). The woman's attitude was not much different than ours. Humans have an odd fixation with buildings and relics. The Samaritan woman still had the mindset that worship must be in a central location. Christ's message is that "a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." It does not matter where we worship, what we wear to worship, the type of music we sing in worship--the holiness and reverence exists in each believer in Christ.

This is earth-shattering. This breaks nearly every tradition that Western society has laid out in terms of religion. But this reflects so well the attitude of Jesus--worship God with your heart, not with your vain traditions. Beloved, when you worship, realize that God lives inside of you and is being reflected out of you. This radically changes our perception of life in a very good way! This means that we can worship God anywhere! Not merely on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights(although it is crucial to communally worship), but we can and should have our own worship service every day! Those people, Jesus says, 'are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

Beloved, as Christians may we allow Christ to shine through our heart. If we are having a bad day, we are afraid, angry, upset, or are just in need of comfort, we can know that Jesus is right there with us. How do we know? He tells us in Scripture that "the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Jesus lives within us, and we should worship Him in such a way. That does not mean we worship ourselves, but it does mean that our worship should flow out of us because Christ flows out of us. This does not mean it does not take effort to choose to worship, but it does mean that worship is a natural, healthy expression of our love to the Father.

Are you worshipping God in spirit and in truth, beloved? Or do you believe worship only means sitting in a pew and singing antiquated hymns? Certainly that can be an experience of worship, and many of us rather enjoy those hymns and pews. Worshipping in spirit and in truth, however, means that we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us. However that expression comes out as worship, whether through organ or electric guitar, suit and tie or jeans and a t-shirt, let us remember the real reason we worship--we thank God for all He does for us. Jesus died on the Cross--that is something to celebrate! Worship each day, communal and individual, to give God the glory. Amen.

With love in Christ,



Austin Aldrich