True Worship Must Be Face-To -Face With God

                                                        When The Door Slams

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and true; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."                                         John 4:23-24 

        We are designed to worship God in spirit and in truth. As Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He seek to help her do this by imparting to her God's living water (John 4:13-14). Jesus seek out this woman personally to give her abundant life. In the same way, the Father seeks an encounter with each of us that is real and personal. 

        The Samaritan woman had heard about God; Jesus said true worship must be face-to-face with God. Worship in not religion or ritual; worship is an intimate and vital encounter with a Person. True worship includes the full recognition of who God is: Holy, Sovereign, Almighty, Loving, Merciful. This recognition brings about the realization of our own sinfulness.

        Think about this: True worship is life-changing! It creates within the worshiper's heart a hate for sin. True worship results in repentance, obedient submission, and a desire for holiness (Isa. 6:1-8). True worship generates a desire to show mercy and express forgiveness. It includes a joyful acceptance of all that God has provided by His grace. True worship is not exclusive. Just as the Samaritan woman rushed off to tell others of her encounter with the Lord, so true worship will compel you to include others. As a result of this woman's encounter with Jesus, so many others from her village came to know Him as well. The one who has truly worshiped will have a sense of peace and a confident expectation of  what God is about to do. True worship produces a transformed life, reflecting the One who has been worshiped.  

Come and listen, all you who fear God, And I will tell you what He has done for my soul. I cried out to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue. If I had regarded iniquity in my heart, The Lord would not have heard. But God has surely heard; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer Nor His love from me! (Psalm 66:16-20).  

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.

                                                                   Never Rest Ministries