A Joyful Noise

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.” ( William Temple ) 

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." ( John 4:23-24 ) 

In this well-known passage from the Gospel of John where Jesus is speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, the words that leap out at me are "the true worshipers." 

"the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth" 

It concerns me because I want to make sure that I am a "true worshiper." If there are "true worshipers" then I'm assuming there must be "false worshipers." What does it mean to be a "true worshiper?" I think that's a vital question because we were created to worship, and everyone worships something whether we realize it or not. We were created for God's glory. ( Isaiah 43:7 ) 

And God as the Creator of all things is the One who determines how we are to worship him. That's his call, not ours. 

I was recently reminded that in the Old Testament we see wives being discovered at wells - Issac, Jacob, and Moses - all of their wives were found at wells. Their marriages began at wells - this isn't a coincidence. 

What Jesus is saying here in the New Testament - "the Father is seeking such people to worship him;" "the hour is now;" "in spirit and truth" - informs us of how the Father wants such people he is seeking to worship him. 

"in spirit and truth" 

Recently as I was reading through the five verses of Psalm 100 I believe I saw the "spirit and truth" harmony that Jesus speaks of to the woman at the well. 

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" ( verse 1 )

This is how we are to enter worship: joyfully. From our hearts - our spirits. Jesus says that the time is coming and is now here when our worship isn't confined to any particular place, but we can worship God everywhere! Whether we are at home or at church, we enter the courts of our King, not announcing our petitions or declaring what we think we deserve, no, we come praising, serving, singing. 

And what is driving this praise, this joyfulness? 

Look at verse 2: "Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture." 

Doctrine. 

Truth. 

"Know" Part of worshiping God is "to feed the mind with the truth of God." Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind. ( Matthew 22:34-40 )  Our praise flows out of our knowledge of the truth that has made its way down from our brains and into our hearts. It starts with what we 'know.' 

God's truth in Scripture is what is moving us to worship. 

This is why not only reading and studying our Bibles at home is vitally important, but sitting under the preaching of God's Word when we gather as Christ's church, in sermons and Bible study. 

Our pastors are feeding our hearts by preaching the truth to our minds. I guess we could say that in one sense the pastor is the real worship leader. They get the ball rolling. This is why sermons on Sunday morning are so important. They plant the truth in us. In organizing the church, Paul explained it this way to Pastor Timothy:

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching.... " ( 2 Timothy 4:1-3 ) 

The truth keeps us on track. 

If we attempt to worship with our spirits and no truth, what is the real motivating factor behind that worship if it isn't God's Word? The music? The fog machine? Our emotions being manipulated in a certain atmosphere? Experience and encounters? Exciting stories? 

On the flip side if we attempt to worship with truth and no spirit, without the truth of God's Word making the trip down into our hearts, our worship can become dry and mechanical. In other words, there is a ditch on both sides of the road. 

I know on a personal level one way that I've found I'm doing both is that after the preaching of God's Word as we sing the next hymn or spiritual song and I focus deeply at the doctrines of grace on the power point, tears begin to form in my eyes and my hands seem to go up automatically, surrendering and praising, in response to these truths. And I'm learning to let my tears flow. Not to hold them back. They have become part of my worship as I seek to understand the glorious truths of which I heard and now sing back to the Lord, giving him thanks. 

I find myself at times meditating on these same truths as I'm working and walking around the farm in the midst of the magnificent creation and amazing creatures God has made to inhabit his world. I've found that when the biblical doctrines I understand with my mind begin to flood my heart, that's what a true move and work of the Holy Spirit looks like. 

I've been looking for this for some time now. And Jesus has been saying it all along. 

To his bride. 

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!" ) verse 4 ) 

Spirit.

"For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." ( verse 5 )

Truth. 

💜