1012 AGC 19th March 2006 “In Spirit and in Truth” ~2 Spirit

Story of the woman at the well. In John 4:3-26

Jesus said that the Father is seeking worshippers, who worship, in spirit and in truth. A Temple is the place of worship. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 6:19 (NKJV) 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
So we are the place of worship with the purpose that we worship in Spirit and in Truth

Worship in Spirit
 The presence of the Holy Spirit is the start. He is the promise when Peter preached, “ repent and be baptised – will receive the promise”, the Holy Spirit.
 The follow up is that we allow the Holy Spirit to affect our lives,
 And even more, to direct our lives.
 He is the source of God’s life.
 He is the source of God’s will, purpose and plan in our lives.
 He is the source of our acknowledgement of who God is. Through Him we know the Father intimately.
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The Holy Spirit is in you. You are the Temple the place of worship and ready to worship. John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
He is seeking us! He will be found by us when we seek him with all our hearts Jer 29
We worship spirit to Spirit - John 4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
What is worship? Worship is connecting with God through acknowledging who he is.
Vine’s WORSHIP (VERB AND NOUN), it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgement to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment.
(From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
So worship is more than praise. It does involve an action. It is expressed in more than a song, more than in actions it is an expression from our heart; when we acknowledge who God truly is. Kneeling, shouting, hand raising, tongues, dance song are not necessarily worship as such but may be an expression of worship. The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.
The Greek word. proskuneo NT:4352, "to make obeisance, do reverence to" (from pros, "towards," and kuneo, "to kiss"), is the most frequent word rendered "to worship." (From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
The idea of kiss speaks of intimacy – between me and another – touching, feeling the presence of another. It reminds me of the description of two snooker balls impacting. As an ex physics teacher it reminds me of the definition of an impact, such as a hammer on a nail, the explosion that projects a bullet from a gun or one snooker ball hitting another. The encounter is brief but more importantly there is a force acting in the contact, where something is passed from one to another. The touch imparts momentum. There is a transfer of something to one body at the expense of the other.
The physics is described by Newton’s laws of motion.
There are spiritual truths illustrated here as well.
 The first law states that there needs to be some sort of interaction to cause things to change. Change only occurs in an interaction otherwise things just stay the same. We interact with God when we touch in worship.
 The second implies that contact between two bodies causes change of motion or direction. Just like two balls or like the contact we make with God when we worship we are where He can bring change to us.
 The third is about the exchange that takes place. There is a reaction to every action. When we touch God in worship God touches us. God responds to us and we respond to Him. That is the effect of true worship when we worship the Father in spirit and truth.

 Lets make contact with God spirit to spirit. “Lord, I want to know that I can really make contact with you. I expect to meet with you Lord in a real way as I reach out to touch you as I worship you.”
 First step. Salvation
 Second step. Receive the Holy Spirit.
 How?
 We ask in faith. It’s the only way to receive from God. We know it’s God’s will. Ask and believe that you receive. Know that it is God’s will and receive in faith.

 Appeal for Salvation.

Pray this with me. The Bible says ------

 The Baptism. Father, if we ask according to your will we will receive. We know that Jesus told us that it is your good pleasure to give us your Holy Spirit. So we are asking now - [ask this in faith] “Father give me your Holy Spirit, Baptise me now and fill me with your Holy Spirit and I will speak in other tongues as He, the Holy Spirit gives me the utterance because that is your promise. “I believe that when I ask I receive. “Thank you, Father, that I am now filled with your Holy Spirit.”

Created by A G Cornell