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True Worshiper

In spirit and in truth

Everyone has something in their life regarded as most important, and that is what they worship. Jesus said: (John 4:23-24) But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We all have our ideas about what it means to believe Jesus or to have faith in God, but we have to listen to the Word of God first, (I John 2:3-6 NIV)
We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commandments. The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must walk in as Jesus did. But someone may want to walk as Jesus did on weekend and live as the world on weekdays, does this make sense?

Jesus said: (Matthew 6:24) “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. And it is written: (I John 2:15) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

My Words remain in you

Jesus said: (John 15:5-8) “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me – and I in him – bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples. Now we learn what his disciples can do “ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you”. In another word, if anyone ask something and it is not done, then he maybe not a disciple yet.

How to let Jesus’ word remain in us? It is already written: (Colossians 3:16) Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. It sounds very simply, but it took me quite a few years to see some clear results. To let the word of Christ richly dwell within me is not a one day job, it takes time to practice. To focus on the word of God is a fight against invisible enemies that can work through our flesh.

Praying in the Holy Spirit.

When I start to pray Psalm 1, the holy Spirit speak to my inner man (heart and soul) as a small still voice, “meditate day and night”, because my love for God is so limited my heart may say “next time” always. Don’t remember how many weeks and months the Holy Spirit spoken to me when I pray silently after the (audio bible) Psalms before I say “yes” to Him. Now I realized this is the way to practice the scripture: (Jude 1:20) But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. One thing is quite clear here, to pray in the Holy Spirit is not praying according to our own thought or heart or mind. We have to have the Holy Spirit in order to pray in the Holy Spirit. And that is written already: (Ephesians 5:18-19) And do not be drunk with wine, in which is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; If we don’t, it may very well end up praying the same old thing over and over again, with only limited result.

When we pray after the Psalms, our inner being is hearing from the Holy Spirit’s preaching, it may not making sense to our mine from time to time, but our heart and soul understand. This is a process which takes time to renew or purify the heart, as the scriptures says “building yourselves up on your most holy faith”. I remember when I don’t practice this way I often find myself reading the bible but can’t understand anything more than what I already known, then will spending less and less time on the scriptures. That is a clear indication of the Holy Spirit is away from us, and this is why Psalm 51 is so important for every believer, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

Pray in truth

Jesus’ word “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” deserve our serious attention, “in truth” means whenever we sing a hymn and say a prayer, if we don’t really mean it, then we will not practice what we sing or what we pray, there is no truth in it. Jesus said “Why do you call me, ‘lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” It is no use to claim Jesus is the Lord but not willing to do what He says, Jesus’s word also directly pointed to our prayers. When we call Him “Lord” in our prayers, if we do not want to do what He says, that prayer is not true. As the scripture says: The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Jesus’ command is very simple, (Mat 7:12) Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Everybody knows what it means, but in real life we prefer not to remember it.

Now I know why it took so long for me get result from praying after Psalms, because when I pray I just go through the motion all the time. I don’t know why, my heart may always say to the Holy Spirit “next time” or “tomorrow”. I have to acknowledge I am a stubborn hypocrite since I know this scripture: (Jeremiah 7:22-24) Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. I also explicitly commanded them: “Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.” But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better. May God have mercy on me, for I am stilling struggling to pray in truth.

Purify and renew the heart

We know from the scripture, (Acts 1:13-14) When they came into the city, they went to the upstairs room where they had been staying. They were Peter and John; James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James.  With one mind all of them kept devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. After praying 9 days in the upper room, all of them are full of the Holy Spirit, but I spend several years and still struggling. It is because they are serious believers with pure heart and I am a casual believer with contaminated heart.

Each time we read a psalm, the word from the Holy Spirit cleans our heart and remove a layer of dirt. Our mind may not detect this process until one day we suddenly realize the Bible has some “new verses” not seen before. Then we will obey the word a bit more, next time the Holy Spirit speaks we will understand a little deeper. In this way, as the scripture says, “building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit”.

The Holy spirit is so patient with me, year after year He purify my heart at the pace I feel comfortable, and I am so sorry to those I suppose to reach but did not due to being lazy and lukewarm. I don’t know how much damage has done to them. I can only ask the Lord have mercy on me and ask for forgiveness. There must be many of God’s people have better heart and will take less time to renew their heart, may all learn from my lesson not to hesitate in obeying the Word, as the Psalm says, pray while He may be found, for the time is running out fast.

Make our home with him

It is written: (John 14:23-24) Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching, my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home within him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own, they belong to the Father who sent me. This is a conditional promise, the Father and Jesus will come to him and make home within him, he doesn’t even need to ask. But he has to prove his true intent and love by obeying Jesus’ teaching. I think any kind of symbolic gesture by cherry-picking some verses to obey are not acceptable.

Jesus may not come into anyone’s heart to become a personal assistant etc. He is the King of kings, only those who are willing to deny the self and pick up their cross daily, that means give up all their rights and freedom, then and only then, it is possible to follow Jesus. As Paul wrote; (Ephesians 6:6) not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. See here, “Doing the will of God from the heart”, most of us missed this point. We don’t know how to pray for our heart nor what is inside, we have to ask God to search it.

Paul had to kneel down and pray for the believers: (Ephesians 3:14-17) For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in Heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love. Faith and love are the precondition for Christ to dwell in our hearts.

If we read Paul’s words carefully, he was asking the Father to grant strengthening by His Spirit in the inner man. His Spirit is the first thing we need to pray, for Jesus said: (Luke 11:13) If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! It is very foolish to know this scripture and still refuse to ask.

Examine ourselves

It is written: (II Corinthians 13:5) examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, prove your own selves. Do you not know your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are reprobates? It is vital to a believer, Christ is indeed in him, but how to prove it? See what is written: (I John 5:3 NIV) This is the love for God, to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome. (I John 5:14-15 NASB) This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. It seems many of us do not have that confidence yet, let us do what Jesus said “make every effect to enter the narrow gate”, before it gets too late.

It will be a tragic tragedy that someone has asked multiple times for Jesus to come into their heart but failed to do God’s will, and hearing Jesus saying “I don’t know you” in the end. Remember what is written, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”. Therefore let us build up our most holy faith by pray in the Holy Spirit now;

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let Israel say:
“His love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say:
“His love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say:
“His love endures forever.”
When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and my defense;
he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.
Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Amen.