Walking in Worship ~ Part 1

Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.  Yet 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.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24)

Before this passage, Jesus has a beautiful encounter with a samaritan woman.  You can read all about it in John 4.  In vs. 20 she asks,

“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”

This woman had a lot on her mind.  She wanted to worship in the right way.  She was asking three major questions.

What is worship?

How do I worship?

When do I worship?

Jesus answered each question within the four verses that followed.  Let’s learn what this means for our lives.

What is worship?

First, the Greek word for worship is proskuneo which means “do reverence to.”  In this passage of scripture the word worship is used to say, “give an act of homage or reverence to God.”  Jesus was letting the samaratin woman know that worship is an act of the heart, a decision to come before God in awe and devotion for who He is!  There was a time when many did not know what they were worshiping, but here Jesus stood before her as One who was God.  He was the One to worship, as He Himself was One with God.  Jesus knew that the truth would be revealed on the cross, as His blood would cover over a multitude of sins and make it possible for people to come to God in worship without needing a mediator.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:5)

Jesus became the middle man.  He was the Truth!  The One to light the way to our Heavenly Father.

How do I worship?

Jesus told the samaritan woman to worship in spirit and in truth.  Worship is an act.  An act of surrender to One who is greater than I.  It is being willing to come into a place and say, “I will worship despite how I feel.”   Worship with your heart.  Some people come into a church service hoping it will have a pre-packaged worship service ready for them and when it doesn’t meet their expectations, they give a thumbs down to the presentation.  This is not coming into a worship service with heart, this is coming in with your mind.  God wants us to come in ready to worship, no matter what the style of music is, who is singing, what kind of clothes they might be wearing, etc.  Worship comes from your heart being directly linked to the Father’s heart.

In fact, the other day I was at a program called “The Smith Brothers” in Pigeon Forge, TN.  It was great!  I went there to be entertained, but at the same time prepared to receive from the Lord.  The last section of this show was a gospel selection.  I felt like I was in the presence of the Lord.  No one said we were going to sing worship songs, no one told me to get ready, no one was dressed properly, yet my heart was drawn into worship.  The final song was “How Great Thou Art.”  When the chorus came, my heart poured forth in worship…

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee

How great Thou art, how great Thou art

From there, the wall broke…the tears came flowing, my arms extended in pure surrender, and my heart overflowed with joy at who my God is.  How great He is and how capable He is to bring me into a place of worship, even in this place!

When do I worship?

The answer to this is simple.  You have the opportunity to worship with every breath you take.  You can worship from the moment you wake up in the morning, until the moment you go to sleep.  The presence of the Lord does not change, it’s your attitude that needs to change.  May you learn to walk in His presence and delight in His ways!  Take the time to surrender today and worship with your whole heart!

Lord, thank you for making me your instrument of worship.  I pray that I will always walk into every situation looking for ways to worship You.  My soul truly does sing “How GREAT Thou Art!”  You are an amazing God and I love Your ways!  Help me to live abandoned to Your purpose.

Worshiping You,