Yahshua was going to Galilee through Samaria, he stopped by Jacob’s well to drink some water.  A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw some water. He revealed to her a truth that every worshipper of Yahweh must understand. He said: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Yahweh is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn. 4:23-24).” It is only when we understand what that really means; we will find the remedy to the spiritual emptiness which we feel in our lives. The above reference raises three important questions. What is worship, what is worshipping in spirit and what is worshipping in truth?

Worship is defined as "an exercise of the human spirit that is directed primarily to Yahweh; it is an enterprise undertaken not simply to satisfy our need or to make us feel better or to minister to our aesthetic taste or social well-being, but to express the worthiness of Yahweh Himself....To worship Yahweh is to ascribe to Him supreme worth, for He is uniquely worthy to be honored in this way...” (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

The Hebrew word for "worship" (shachah) means: "to bow oneself down, Gen.24:52....to sink down, to be depressed....to prostrate oneself before any one out of honour”. Our English word "worship" is derived from "the Saxon/Old English word which means 'worthship' or worthiness. The emphasis is not on the worshipper but on the one who is worshipped.

False worship: There are two types of false worship in the Bible: worshiping a false god, and worshiping the true Elohim in a false way. Worshipping a false god is found in Exodus 32, where the children of Israel made a golden calf and worshipped it. The people lost sight of the fact that Yahweh had brought them out of slavery. They were impatient because Moses had not come down from the mountain. A substitute god was needed and so they made one god. Another reason for false worship is disobedience. They disobeyed Yahweh’s commandment not to make any graven images.
An example of worship through false methods is found in the book of Lev.10:1-2, where the sons of Aaron offer burnt incense to the Lord in an unacceptable way, and because of this they are burnt to death, in the presence of Yahweh.

Vain worship: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8-9; Isa. 29:13). The Pharisees paid lip service to Yahweh. We know they made long prayers, fasted twice a week, etc. They were more concerned about the form of worship. Their worship is declared to be vain because it ignores Biblical principles, it exalts human innovations (called traditions), Christian churches act in the same way. Men must not design the worship of Yahweh according to their fancy. They think what they do is proper but Yahweh himself has prescribed something else which he will acknowledge as his worship. This is also called ‘will worship’ (Col.2”23.

Apostle Paul described true worship perfectly “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yahweh to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to Yahweh which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Rom 12:1-2) He has given us everything that we do not deserve: love, joy, peace, faith, grace, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and the Holy Spirit. All of this only by his mercy. This should be the motivation for our worship. Our worship should be by presenting our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, which is acceptable to Yahweh. True worship should emphasize on giving the best we have.  

True worship is Yahweh-centered. We worry more about where we should worship, what music we should have, how it looks to others, etc. Yahshua tells us that true worshipers will worship Yahweh in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way Yahweh has designed. Worship can include praying, reading Yahweh’s Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. We read in John.17:17,”Thy word is truth”. Yahweh has revealed in his word the kind of worship that he accepts and has judged those who failed to worship him according to his word. Therefore, the only way that we can acceptably worship Yahweh today is to worship Him according to His word.

Our worship should be directed to Yahweh, not men (Acts 10:26), not idols (1 Jn. 5:21), not angels (Rev. 22:8-9), not Satan. Yahshua said: "You shall worship the LORD your Yahweh and Him only you shall serve" (Mt. 4:10). Worshipping in spirit does not mean spirited worship. We can worship when we are sorrowful (2Sam.12:19-20) or when we are glad (Exo.15:20-21). Worship is not some mysterious experience which one cannot understand. Worshipping in spirit means worship that comes from deep inside, the spirit of man. In Rom.1:9, Paul said: "For Yahweh is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son....”.

We should worship Yahweh with joy and gladness. At the end of a worship service, the questions that each of us should ask are not: "Did I enjoy it?" or "Did I get anything out of it?" but rather "Was Yahweh pleased?" and "How did I do?" The person, whose primary concern is, "What's in it for me?" (Mal. 3:13-15), does not understand what worship is all about.

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Maranatha Prayer Fellowship. # 311, Agarwal Chambers, King Koti, Hyderabad-500 001, A.P.India.
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