IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

 

IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

John 4:24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. NLT

Like most preachers, I have used this verse a lot. I believe that it is especially relevant in the Church today. We do church, but we don't do it all that well, at least not by God's standards. We vary on some of our understandings of truth, but for the most part, we do pretty well about preaching and teaching the Word of God. It's the living part that we struggle with the most. Most of us probably have a fairly good workable knowledge of the truth. It's just that we don't do well with making it work for us the other days of the week when we aren’t in church.

Another problem we run into is that we usually go through the motions of worship instead of actually being in the spirit of worship. Many things go through our minds when we are in worship services and most of them are not related to our relationship with God. So often, we leave our spirit out of the church. We go through the motions, but we are not connecting with the Lord like we could and should be.

Is it really worship that we are doing? Not according to what Jesus is saying in our text today. In order for true worship to happen, we need to be engaged with the Lord both in His Word and in our spirit. We need to quiet our hearts before the Lord, wait before Him, and expect Him to speak to us. We need to focus on our souls and not all the other stuff that may fill up our days or our surroundings. We need to come before Him knowing we need a word from Him and stay engaged until we get it.

Jesus said that we MUST worship Him in spirit and truth. Let us strive to do a better job of bringing our spirit with us when we come before Him in worship, whether it's in public or private worship.

WATER THAT SATISFIES

 

WATER THAT SATISFIES

John 4:13-14 Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.” NLT

Thirst is a natural part of life. Whenever there is a lack of necessary water to sustain life, thirst comes into play. God gave every living thing a natural thirst mechanism so that sufficient water to sustain life will be provided. When there is no water for a prolonged period of time, the body shuts down and will die if water is not provided.

The same thing holds true for the soul. God gave us a natural need for Him. Every human being ever born has it. When our need for God is not provided for, we spiritually die. The reason why so many people are so bad is that their need for God was never provided for. Somewhere along the way their souls were denied the necessary food to make their soul grow or sustain it. They were not brought to the Spirit of God who fills the soul with God's presence and satisfies its longings. Or, they chose not to take advantage of the food that was provided for them and they starved their soul to death.

The only way that the thirst of the soul can ever be quenched is for the soul to turn to Christ and let Him dwell within. When Christ lives in the soul, there is such a deep and abiding satisfaction that there is no more searching, no more desperately trying to find the peace and joy every soul needs and longs for. When Christ lives in the soul, the soul is more alive than ever thought possible. Christ so energizes the soul that it he is forever changed.

Jesus satisfies every longing of the heart. Only in Christ does one find that which satisfies. The world promises a multitude of things will satisfy and make one happy, but only Christ can deliver on His promises.

A DIVINE APPOINTMENT

 

A DIVINE APPOINTMENT

John 4:4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. NLT

What strikes me about this statement is that this was not a trip without a purpose. Jesus and the disciples purposely went by way of Samaria. Why? As we read on we discover that there was a woman in Samaria who needed to see Jesus. Jesus knew she was there and He wanted to give her an opportunity to get to know Him. We are led to believe that the disciples did not know about her. They were just traveling with Jesus learning all they could about Him and eternal life.

It reminds me that Jesus knows those who are lost and will go out of His way to confront them. He knows those who are lost and open to being found. He knows that all they need is be presented with the truth of the Gospel. Because He is love, God reaches out to us when we need Him the most. No matter how unlovable we may be, He comes to us to offer us eternal life.

The woman He went to see was an immoral woman. She had been married five times and was then living with a man without being married to him. Yet, she was open to the truth. Scripture does not tell us what brought her to the point where she was open to the Gospel. Perhaps she had discovered just how unfulfilling her life of sin was. She knew she was not happy living the life that she was living. She needed something better; she needed God in her life.

We need to be careful that we don't shut out those whom we think are not "Gospel material." We need to share the truth with everyone whom the Lord brings our way. We don't know the heart of others. Perhaps, that one who others would avoid and consider hopeless may just be the one who is ready to hear the truth and be saved. Don't judge others because of what they have done. God puts people in our paths to be a light to. Don't hide your light from them and perhaps be the one who causes them to slip into hell because you did not give them one more opportunity to be saved.

GOD'S PLAN FOR YOU

 

GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU

John 3:27 John replied, “God in heaven appoints each person’s work.” NLT

You are important to God. He created you with a purpose in mind. All that you have experienced in life has helped to mold you into the person you are today. God has allowed you to live the life you have lived to bring you to this point in your life. He has done this so that you can now do what He has ordained for you to do.

You are gifted and equipped to serve the Lord. God knows what you can do best and is now expecting you to do it. You have a vital role to play in the work of the Kingdom. Do not minimize your role and do your very best at what you do. If you never get recognized or noticed for what you do, don’t let it bother you. God blesses those who are faithful in doing what He has given them to do.

I just want you to know today that your labors are not wasted. You are of great worth to God. What you do matters to Him. He has uniquely made and gifted you to serve Him the way you do. Accept your role with thanksgiving and praise. The Lord makes no mistakes about what He gives each of us to do. And, He does give each of us work to do.

God does expect you to obey Him and do what He has given you to do. If you don’t know what to do, consider what you are good at and find a way to channel that into service. Often we are good in those areas that interest us the most. Explore how you can serve the Lord with what you can do and with what interests you. If you are stumped, ask the Lord to show you how to do it. He will gladly show you how you can be used of Him.

There is no such thing as an insignificant role in God’s Kingdom. It takes everyone one of us doing what we can do to reach souls for Christ. You are a part of God’s plan to bring souls to Him. Do what you can do to the best of your ability and you will be blessed by God on earth and in heaven.

LIGHT: HATE IT OR LEAVE IT

 

LIGHT: HATE IT OR LEAVE IT

John 3:20-21 "They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants." NLT

When you are living in sin you do not want your sins to be exposed. We instinctively know right from wrong and try to hide or cover-up our wrongs. We find a lot of ways to do it. We may do our sinning behind closed doors where no one can see us. We may do it with a group of people so that our sinning will not stand out.

We may condition our minds to think that what we are doing is not sinning. We may condition our souls so that sinning becomes a natural part of who we are and no longer an issue with us. We may learn to convince ourselves that sinning does not matter since God is not who He is claimed to be by the Scriptures. We can find a lot of ways to hide in the darkness so that our sins will not be exposed.

When you live in the darkness you want to stay there. You don't want to know that what you are doing or thinking is sinful. You want t,o dismiss from your thinking altogether that what you are doing has consequences. You will find ways to justify yourself and not face up to the truth.

But, let me be very clear about this; by not accepting the truth, you are rejecting it. There is no middle ground here. Either you are living in the darkness or you are living in the light. You can't have it both ways.

If you are living in the light, you are gladly seeking to do what God wants you to do. You are not seeking to justify sin in your life; you are seeking to gain victory over it in order to please God. Period. Your heart is bent towards God, and when you do sin, you are plagued with guilt, shame, and remorse. Abide in Christ and darkness will not overshadow your soul.

TRANSPARENT RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

TRANSPARENT RIGHTEOUSNESS

John 3:21 But those who do what is right come to the light gladly so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants. NLT

Doing what is right is doing what is right before God. There are things which seem right to man that are not right with God. God's Word is always our standard for what is right. We cannot be or do what is right before God without it being based on the Word of God.

It's a heart issue. Those who do what is right do it because they know that it is God's way. They know that what pleases God is what matters. They dwell in the light because they know that God is light. It is in the presence of God that we discover what we need to do in order to please Him.

Those who do what is right before God do it so that others can see that what they are doing is what God wants. The goal is always to bring honor and glory to God. The desire is for God to be seen in us and not ourselves to be seen before man. This is perhaps one of the biggest battles most face today. So much attention is placed on the individual. So much stress is placed on being noticed as a measure of one's success and acceptance.

In order to be and do what is right with God, we must remain humble before Him. We must spend time in His Word and on our knees in prayer. We must keep constant vigilance over our souls. Our greatest need is to always seek to let God be seen in and through us. It should always be our goal to bring God honor and glory and not ourselves. We should always strive to live in such a way that the Lord is seen in a positive light, that others would be attracted to Him because of how we reflect Him.

Do what is right before God gladly so others will see that what you are doing is what you enjoy doing and what God wants you to do. Our attitude says a lot about what we really think about our life in the Lord.

NO JUDGMENT

 

NO JUDGMENT

John 3:18 "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God." NLT

If you have put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, there is now no more judgment hanging over your soul. God accepts you as His child on the basis of the righteousness of Christ. When God peers into your soul He does not see beyond Christ. Behind Christ lies your sin-infested heart, but Jesus protects you from God's wrath. As far as God is concerned, you are holy in His eyes. The more we live in Christ, the freer we become from sin. The freer we become, the more we are at peace with God and the more we experience the joy of our salvation.

If you do not trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, you stand guilty before God. God's judgment is absolute. If we don't believe that Jesus takes away our sin, our sin will haunt us. If you do not accept Jesus as your Savior, you have no hope of escaping God's wrath and condemnation to hell. You will never be free from the consequences of sin.

If you do not believe that Jesus has forgiven you after you are saved, you will be plagued by a false guilt and shame. You will never be free to enjoy the joy associated with forgiven sin. Forgiveness is not just a word; it's a reality for those who would believe and receive it. Don't let Satan haunt you with forgiven sin! What's under the blood stays under the blood. God will never remind you of your forgiven past. It is no more. As far as the east is from the west He has removed our sins from us. In other words, “Gone, gone, yes my sins are gone!”

Dear friend, if you are a child of God today, believe it! Believe that Jesus has forgiven you and given you victory over your sin. Believe that there is no condemnation hanging over your soul. Believe that you can now resist the temptations to sin. Believe that Jesus can and will help you if you will only let Him. To those who believe He gives not only life, but life more abundantly.

Jesus took the punishment you deserved for your sins upon himself at Calvary. He has set you free, and you are free indeed!