I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU

“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.”
John 4:23
New International Version

Jesus began to share with a Samaritan woman regarding worship. The Jews and Samaritans worshipped in separate locations. When Jesus engaged this woman in conversation, he began to reveal God’s ultimate criteria for true worship. He mentioned nothing of physical location, but it must be done in spirit and in truth. Jesus makes a clear distinction of worshippers that the Father is seeking for by adding ‘true’. Therefore, there must be a false worshipper.

The first criterion for true worship is that it must be done in the spirit. The human spirit is the place of the conscious, intuition and communion. Simply put, true worship is the regenerated spirit (John 3:5-8) receiving revelation of who God truly is and man’s response through reverence, adoration and worth to God. Worshipping God in the spirit moves the act of worship from the externals to the internals of the heart. Not to trivialize going to a place of worship, but it really is futile unless it is the result of daily living every aspect of your life in obedience to God in response to what God has done for you by His grace (Romans 12:1). Otherwise, it is unacceptable and God says, “These people say they honor me, but they don't really make me an important part of their lives” (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13).

The second criterion for worship is that it must be done in truth. What is truth? His word is truth (John 17:17). Therefore, we must worship Him as it is outlined in the scriptures. We cannot worship Him based on what seems best or right in our own eyes, because most of the time, we think we are right (Proverbs 21:2)! Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Truth is not arbitrary. Furthermore, worship in truth is grounded in the truth we know about God! We must study the scriptures daily. The more you know about God and live in obedience to Him, the deeper your worship will become.
The scriptures give clear instructions on how to worship. God will only accept that which is in harmony with what he has outlined in his word. God is on the hunt for people who will worship him from the heart and in truth of His word and for who He really is.

Are you one of the TRUE worshippers God is looking for?