The reality of life for many people today is that they need The Lord in their lives. In the wake of tragedies that may occur, believers are to be the servants of God with our influence by showing love and compassion to those who are in need. Jesus can change the life of others, and He can change an entire community. Believers are to be the light of the world and the example for others in our practice.
In our living, believers are to live in truth. God will make each of us face the truth, and for some, it takes a while to come to understand the truth. As Christians, we need to face the reality that we are to live and worship Him in spirit and in truth. We are called to be the saints that glorify Him, and yet there are times when we hurt Him because we deny what is true and live in sin.
To God, it is not where we worship Him but rather the attitude in how we approach God–recognizing that we are operating in His presence.
John 4:19-26
19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”
26 “I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”
Remember that Samarians were not worshiping God in the same place as the Jews. God wants each of us to know that He wants us to worship in spirit and in truth and that it is not about where one worships–it is more a matter of the heart of the person.
Do we really believe the Bible is trustworthy and reliable when speaking on the subject of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? God is the one that reveals this information to us.
1. Misbelief causes emotional turmoil
2. Misbelief causes destructive behavior
To believe requires a commitment. It is more than just love by itself to believe.
Many of us will convince ourselves with self-talk. Are you telling the truth or are you lying to yourself? What we will convince ourselves to conclude will set a course for us to follow, and many times it’s not very good.
I am a failure and no good.
I am lonely and miserable.
“I know this is wrong, but God will forgive me!” (the question that should be asked is what are the consequences).
God’s Word is outdated. It’s old, and not for today.
Proverbs 16:2
All a man’s ways seem right to him,
but the Lord evaluates the motives.
2 Corinthians 10:5
…and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.
1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Leviticus 10:1-3, 8-11
10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his own firepan, put fire in it, placed incense on it, and presented unauthorized fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them to do. 2 Then fire came from the Lord and burned them to death before the Lord. 3 So Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said:
I will show My holiness
to those who are near Me,
and I will reveal My glory
before all the people.”
But Aaron remained silent.
8 The Lord spoke to Aaron: 9 “You and your sons are not to drink wine or beer when you enter the tent of meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute throughout your generations. 10 You must distinguish between the holy and the common, and the clean and the unclean, 11 and teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has given to them through Moses.”
It is not where we worship by how we are to worship Him. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
In spirit (your spirit is alive–the Holy Spirit enables your spirit):
Romans 8:9-10
9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If one does not have the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), he or she is not born again. We must be born again to make a testimony through our own spirit (not our soul or our body).
Romans 8:16
The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.
To testify is to substantiate a fact; to bear witness or give evidence; affirm, declare. In order to make a testimony of worship of God, faith is required.
Hebrews 11:6
Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.
James 1:6
But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
John 14:21
The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He gives us the truth that we need to live and to worship God for who He is in His character–a holy and righteous God.
John 16:13-14
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you.
The Spirit of God teaches your spirit so you may worship in your spirit the one true God. The Spirit reveals who God is to you in order that you can truly worship Him.
Worship in truth is the opposite of worship in ignorance or not knowing how to worship.
We learn the truth about God and the truth about who we are.
1 Peter 1:16
…for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
1 Timothy 2:8
Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Truth is God being faithful to His Word.
Hebrews 10:22
…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
We are to be clean and washed before Him.
Exodus 30:18-19
18 “Make a bronze basin for washing and a bronze stand for it. Set it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and feet from the basin.
John 15:3
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
1 John 1:9-10
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, “We don’t have any sin,” we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
We need to face the truth about ourselves:
You can’t run a four-minute mile.
You can’t hit the ball out of the park.
You can’t be a charismatic speaker.
(It does not mean you can’t work to achieve things–the point is to seek God in everything that you do and deal with what is true in your life.)
Be an investigator of your own life. Examine yourself. Search for truth about your situations in life that you may not want to accept.
Psalm 119:59
I thought about my ways
and turned my steps back to Your decrees.
Ephesians 4:1
Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.
Philippians 3:6
…regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.
1 Thessalonians 4:7
For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 