January
20, 2003
WORSHIP
IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH
"God
is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit
and truth" (John 4:24, NKJV).
Jesus
"desired to lift the thoughts of His hearer above matters
of form and ceremony, and questions of controversy. 'The
hour is coming,' He said, 'and
now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; 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).
"Here
is declared the same truth that Jesus had revealed to Nicodemus
when He said, 'unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God' (John 3:3). Not by seeking a holy mountain
or a sacred temple are men brought into communion with heaven.
Religion is not to be confined to external forms and ceremonies.
The religion that comes from God is the only religion that
will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be
born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and
renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving
God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements.
This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the
Holy Spirit. By the Spirit every sincere prayer [expresses
desire], and such prayer is acceptable to God. Wherever a
soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit's working is
manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such
worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them, and to
make them His sons and daughters.
"As
the woman talked with Jesus, she was impressed with His words.
Never had she heard such sentiments from the priests of her
own people or from the Jews. As the past of her life had been
spread out before her, she had been made sensible of her great
want. She realized her soul thirst, which the waters of the
well of Sychar could never satisfy. Nothing that had hitherto
come in contact with her had so awakened her to a higher need.
Jesus had convinced her that He read the secrets of her life;
yet she felt that He was her friend, pitying and loving her.
While the very purity of His presence condemned her sin, He
had spoken no word of denunciation, but had told her of His
grace, that could renew the soul. She began to have some conviction
of His character. The question arose in her mind, Might not
this be the long-looked-for Messiah? She said to Him, 'I know
that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will tell us all
things' (John 4:25).-- The Desire of Ages, pp.
189, 190.
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