Worship in Spirit and Truth

Can you think of a moment when you got

something so much better than you

deserved? A moment when you were

greatly blessed for no apparent reason? A

moment that changed your life?

We all know David had a real knack for

writing down his thanksgiving and praise,

after connecting it to a dark place followed

by victory. He put his story to music….and

we still use David’s words to worship.

It would be easy to think that singing

hymns is the same thing as worship. If that

were true, I would be locked out of

worship because I don’t connect with

music. Deaf people couldn’t worship.

Mute people couldn’t worship.

That is not to say that music isn’t very

helpful to enter into thanksgiving and

praise. But, worship is a heart matter, not a

musical matter. Although music has the

power to touch hearts. What touches your

heart? It could be an inspirational football

game, or athlete. It could be a walk through

the woods, a sunset, someone’s touch or

presence at just the right time, your

grandchild crawling into your lap, your

child who needs your help.

Worship means to honor with extravagant

love and extreme submission. This is our

natural response to a supernatural

connection with the Most High God.

Seeing God’s extravagant love in movies

touches my heart. Testimonies touch my

heart. Revelation of the Word of God

touches my heart. These moments catch us

by surprise and they are fragile….without

observation they disappear silently. With

observation they are invitations to

experience God fresh in the moment.

Grabbing that moment of inspiration by

expressing thankfulness is God’s

invitation to move us, by Spirit and Truth,

into worship.

Spirit and Truth worship is very fragile. We

can be distracted by so many things and

suddenly we find ourselves back in our

natural lives….thinking about a problem

or to do list or some physical need.

Our lesson today invites us to ABIDE in

the place of continual worship: Zion.

Isaiah 52:8 is our calling card: This is the

news that Zion hears: “Your God reigns!”

Zion referred to here is not a physical

location, but someone that can hear God.

Zion, New Jerusalem, and the Bride of

Christ are all used interchangeably in the

Bible referring to the His temple on earth.

John reveals in Rev 21 “I saw the Holy

City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out

of heaven from God, prepared as a bride

beautifully dressed for her husband. And I

heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now

among the people, and he will dwell with

them. They will be his people, and God

himself will be with them and be their God.

...”

Worship begins when you perceive God

and respond. Dialog has begun. In the

dialog, God changes our point of view,

gives us His heart and mind in the matters

that concern us. God is far more attentive

to speak to us personally than we are

perceptive to His voice.

Have you ever had a bad phone connection

when there is so much static on the line so

one person can hear but the other can’t?

This happens whenever I call Gene’s mom.

She can’t hear me, but I can hear her. All

she really wants to know is that everyone

is OK. She wants reassurance but can’t

hear me say “all is well”. Unable to hear

my words of reassurance, she is left to her

own anxious imaginations.

Perhaps this is our problem, too. God is

calling to reassure us “Our God reigns” but

our connection won’t let us hear this good

news that will settle our hearts.

Well, here is what David heard when he

connected to the divine conversation:

“They see with their own eyes GOD

coming back to Zion. Break into song!

Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem: “GOD has

comforted his people! He’s redeemed

Jerusalem! GOD has rolled up his

sleeves. All the nations can see his holy,

muscled arm. Everyone, from one end of

the earth to the other, sees him at work,

doing his salvation work.” David got a

God-sized view of a future that stretched

beyond his own life.

Would it be difficult to worship God if we

heard what David heard? “They see with

their own eyes GOD coming back to Zion.”

“Everyone, from one end of the earth to the

other, sees him at work, doing his salvation

work.”

Here is the revelation David had: “Earth-

creatures, bow before GOD; world-

dwellers—down on your knees! Here’s

why: he spoke and there it was, in place the

moment he said so. 10-12 GOD takes the

wind out of Babel pretense, he shoots

down the world’s power-schemes. GOD’s

plan for the world stands up; all his designs

are made to last.”

If we heard this personal word of assurance

from God, don’t you think we’d respond

like David did: Psalm 52 1 “Wake up, wake

up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in

your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city!

Those who want no part of God have been

culled out. They won’t be coming along.

Brush off the dust and get to your feet,

captive Jerusalem! Throw off your chains,

captive daughter of Zion!”

Worship is believing God and responding

like you believe Him. It is not so

mysterious. We have all glimmered His

intangible presence right outside our focus.

The wise will turn aside, like Moses did.

He turned aside when he saw the bush that

didn’t burn up. He went outside the camp

in the wilderness to tabernacle with God.

We don’t hear Him calling with our ears,

or see His glory with our eyes. He is

perceived with the ears and eyes of our

heart. It is our heart that has been

circumcised that we may experience Him

and break out in worship, a natural

response to a supernatural connection to

the Most High God.