In John 4:22, Jesus says, "You worship what you do not know. " I began to meditate on that this week. How many people are worshiping that which they don't even know? A lot of people worship money. Some worship other people and other things. Many are attempting to worship God, but don't know Him. Maybe you're like me. For many years I thought that I was worshiping God, but I was so far away from Him. Mine was a pretty feeble attempt. I knew that there was a God, but I surely didn't want to live for Him. If I had wanted to, I would have!
He says you worship what you do not know. May I suggest to you that idol worship is alive and well on the earth today. It's what drives many people to do what they do. And in verse 24, Jesus is not speaking simply of a future time of when the true worshipers would worship in spirit and in truth. He says, "And now is." Wow! Powerful words. Not only is the hour coming, but it is here! What gave Him the authority to make such a proclamation? I believe in part what He is proclaiming is, "The veil is being torn in two." Up until now, common man could come close and then no closer. The priest could come so close, but no closer. The High Priest could enter in once a year, but he'd better be tiptoeing with little bells on.
Jesus came to rent the veil in two, not only between Jew and Gentile, but also between God and man! Do we understand what we have? I don't think we do. So God have mercy on us for our failure to recognize what Christ has done for us by removing the partition between Him and us.
We who were nothing but sinners were granted access to the most holy place. Wow! You can't get into the most holy place if you ain't holy. And the problem with many in the Church is that they're trying to get there on their own. And they're trying to be holy on their own, and there isn't a way to do it, so they strive through religious ceremony right back to the Law and the pomp and circumstance. They think that if they could just do that, they'd be holy and God could accept them in. Man, we gotta be stripped of everything.
We'll pick up next time talking about worshiping in spirit and in truth. I want to encourage you, if I may, to gain understanding in regard to the fact that God is a Spirit and that He's called us to worship Him in spirit and in truth, and that's what He's seeking. And we're going to talk about what that spirit and truth thing looks like next time because there are parts of worshiping God in truth that we may not fully understand. And when we get to a place of truly worshiping in spirit and in truth, it will bring repentance. Revelation is always intended to bring repentance.
It's somewhat like spiritual math: revelation brings repentance, repentance is intended to bring revival, and revival is for the purpose of reformation. It has to happen in us and in the Church and in the culture in which we live. And it IS happening! Reformation is a very slow process. I believe we're in a process of reformation right now, and I'm not praying for reformation anymore. I got a revelation on reformation, and I believe some things are happening. There's never been an instant reformation in the history of the world. Every reformation has taken years to achieve. We just get impatient and want it now.
I encourage you this week to incline your heart to God and truly worship Him. You can do it anywhere, in spirit and in truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment