WORSHIP

[chrioni]

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well:

in John 4:23 that the hour cometh and now is that true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Why? ... for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

in John 4:24 that God is All Spirit and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.

QUESTIONS

What is worship?

Who are the true worshippers? (if there are true worshippers, that means there are also false worshippers)

How do you worship the All Spirit God? (what is the spiritual meaning of "in spirit and in truth"?)

Why does God the Father seeks true worship since God has created every thing?

Any thoughts?

[Sequel]

Years ago, I gave a sermon on why the truth cuts into the evil that are in all people's heart. God's word is truth.

Often asked, why do we need to cleanse our hearts? So we can give God the pure love from our hearts. The Holy Spirit helps convict us of our sins and moves us closer to God spiritually, His intercession can allow us to pray from our spirits to God, the Father. Since no one can control his/her spirit, is there any other way to pray in spirit?

[seeker]

I heard it said once that worship is everything you say and do. I believe it to be true.

If you can only worship God in Spirit and in Truth...then the opposite would be true for satan. To worship him means to worship in flesh and in lies.

Worship isn't waving your hands in the air or flags, bowing, punishing yourself, or a ton of fasting, etc.

Sequel mentioned the cleansing of the heart. We know that only clean hands and a pure heart please the Father.

To worship in Spirit and in Truth is to live from the Holy Spirit and move upon the Truth He imparts to you. This alone honors God.

When you worship someone it means that you give that person homage, admiration, recognition and respect.

You can only follow/worship either good or evil. So in all you say and do either one or the other is being 'honored'.....which one is it? Who are we honoring? Odviously it is whoever we are believing and following.

God can only be worshipped by moving from His Spirit and obeying the Truth He imparts. Never can He be honored by people moving from flesh/self/demons to lift up things that aren't true.

Blessings,

Seeker

[freshfire]

Dec 21, 2008 4:33:00 GMT -6 @chrioni said:

in John 4:24 that God is All Spirit and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.



Who are the true worshippers? (if there are true worshippers, that means there are also false worshippers)

Yes, there are false worshippers. There are a lot of people who give God lip service, but do not truly live for Him. They are people who worhip Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him(Mark7:6,7, Isaiah29:13). Sadly, there are many such people in the church. Jesus said it Himself that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter into the Kingdom(Matthew7:21). Titus1:16 mentions of people who profess to know God but in works deny Him.

I have come across people in the church that profess to know Jesus, but act like Satan. They worship Him with lip service, but their are wicked people who have no heart for God or others. I have come across christians who are selfish, greedy, who treat others bad, who gossip. I have come across racist christians, I have come across christians who hate others for various reasons. They hate homosexuals. Although the bible says it is sin, that doesn't mean we are to hate them. When the Word says to love one another, that includes everybody. Jesus said to do unto others as you would have done unto you(Matthew7:12). That includes everybody.

Mnay christians watch movies and TV shows that are occultic, they watch horror films, they listen to music that is demonically inspired, they play video games that is demonic. If you ever point out to them the truth about it, they cry and complain that you are judging them, that you are being mean, and have no love in you. All because you speak the truth. BUt the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and will guide you in all truth(John16:13). Since he guides us in truth, why are they not following truth??? Why do they maliciously persicute those who speak the truth??? because they ar enot true worshippers of the Lord. Their hearts are far from God.

I have come across chrsitians who practice witchcraft. They are into the magical and dark arts. They play around with ouija boards, terot cards, they cat spells on people, and call themselves christians. You cannot serve both God and Satan at the same time. You are either serving Christ or your not. Going to church does not mean you are serving Him. False worhippers are "NOT" serving Christ. They are people who have itchy ears and want their ears tickled just as mentioned in 2nd Timothy4:3,4.

[chrioni]

Thank you Sequel, Seeker and Freshfire for sharing your thoughts on worship.

I will touch on "WHAT IS WORSHIP?" as the teaching anointing is strong on this aspect of worship.

satan craves for worship. As lucifer, he was the anointed cherub that covered the Throne of God. He was created sublime in order to hold the most exalted position in the court of heaven. From that elevated position of guarding the Throne of God, he saw the worship the Most High God receives from His creatures - they constantly giving of themselves out of a pure heart of love and receiving more of God's love.

satan craves for worship for he still constantly boasts of his own "perfections" - perfect in beauty - every precious stones was his covering. he was "the son of the morning" because of his beauty and great influence - took a third of the angels with him to rebel against the Most High.

Worship is not praise nor thanksgiving. Worship is a spiritual substance - pure spirit (just like strings in the Strings Theory) - sacred and secret. Worship comes from a pure heart of love for God and God alone. We were created for God Himself and only God Himself can satisfy us truly and fully.

How do you give to God since God created all things? The answer is worship.

To find out what is worship, listen carefully to satan's unfair exchange to Jesus in one of the three temptations recorded in the gospels.

"All these things will I give thee if thou will fall down and worship me"(Matthew 4:9)

v 8 tells that the devil takes Jesus into an exceeding high mountain and show Him all the kingdoms of this world and the glory of them.

The meaning of Worship according to satan is to fall down (bow down the head or the face to the ground) and that agrees with the Bible use of the word worship. Remember, satan craves for worship.

The apostle John fell down at the feet of the angel to worship on two occasions which the angel forbade him from worship (Revelation 19:10; 22:8).

The four living creatures and the twenty elders fall down to their faces and worship God that liveth for ever and ever in Revelation 4:10; 5:14; 19:4

Such is the tremendous power of worship for:
THAT WHICH WE BOW DOWN, WE BECOME A PART OF,
THAT WHICH WE BOW TO, WE RECEIVE.

All worship belongs to God. The Lord God Almighty alone is worthy to receive all the worship from all His creation.

The false religions, the dark arts, the occult of this world worship idols, demons and false gods.

The worship is His and they have stolen the worship from Him. They have stored the worship for themselves.

All the worship from false worshippers such as from the false religions, the dark arts, the occult, the hypocrites, etc are "stolen worship". Worship can be taken captive by the enemy who is a thief since worship is a spiritual substance and can be stored and hidden in the spirit realm.

The enemy bathes himself in stolen worship - renewing himself in that which belongs to God and puts his hands all over that which is sacred and secret.

The enemy is in dense darkness in the spirit realm doing that which is unclean in order to relieve his pain but instead multiplies his pain a thousand fold.

The Lord God Almighty will set free all that belongs to Him in the appointed time. He will cleanse the stolen worship from the filth and the corruption of deception and idolatry. The stolen worship will one day be released by the Lord God Almighty from its captivity for ages and never to be imprisoned again and ascend back to God.


TO BE CONTINUED ......

Be Blessed
Bro Chrioni

[chrioni]

Where does worship go to? I am glad you ask that.

Remember, worship is a spiritual substance, sacred and secret - God's due from all His creatures in all of God's creations.

All worship on earth travels to God the Father in the Throne Room in Heaven.

How?

Some worship on earth flows like flash flood.
Some worship on earth flows like small or big stream.
Some worship on earth flows like small or big river.
Some worship on earth flows like an ocean of normal waves.
Some worship on earth flows like an ocean of huge tidal waves.

Worship on earth that comes from a pure heart of love for God and God alone are already in harmony with the worship in heaven and goes straight to the God the Father as is the worship in heaven.

Most worship on earth goes to the altar first to be purified by the fire before the worship goes to the God the Father.

All worship on earth goes to God the Father except those that are stolen by the enemy. In the appointed time, the day of deliverance will come when all stolen worship will be set free from captivity, cleansed and released back to God the Father.


Be Blessed
Bro Chrioni

[Sequel]

I wish to share with the readership the different types of worship, which I witnessed and participated in during one of my revival trips to Asia:

- there is a wide variance amongst worship by different
churches - primarily the influence and mentoring by the pastors
- most striking was the unity of worship by the entire
congregation! Yes, it is amazing to see an entire
congregation worship as a single spirit (could we conclude
that it is Holy Spirit led?) Today, few churches have a worship
together as part of the church service?

- the strongest churches have the significant guidance
of a Holy Spirit pastor who teaches the entire congregation to
be HS filled and engaged and then led with the HS in direct
communion. Some of these pastors guide parishioners by
praying with them so that they can learn to pray in faith.

Worshippers interceded by the Holy Spirit enables the person's spirit to pray to God. For those who are able to interpret 'tongues' - the person's spirit is speaking to God in basic speech/true feelings. It is not about the complexities of a person's mind; but, the expressions of the heart of the person. Despite the elogance of the minds of some people - God is searching your heart and not so much the mind. Often the heart is referred to as from our stomachs? As where the HS helps one in intercession to the Father.

Has your church and pastor helped the entire congregation to pray with a single Spirit?

[chrioni]

Thank you Sequel for sharing with us (the readership) the most important aspect of worship i.e. worship must be led by the Holy Spirit.

Let us get counsel from the Bible on this very important aspect of worship.

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17) - linking spirit and truth.

Jesus said in John 4:23-24 that we must worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. The phrase "worship in spirit and in truth" (linking spirit and truth) is repeated.

We will do no injustice to say that the phrase "worship in spirit and in truth" equates to worship led by the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit.

Notice also that Jesus used the word " SHALL" (verse 23) and the word "MUST" (verse 24) teaching us that WORSHIP IS A COMMAND.

This accords with Jesus' reply to satan in the worship temptation in the wilderness. "Thou shalt (a command) worship the Lord thy God...." (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8) which is quoted from Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20.

It is interesting to note that Jesus changed/equate the phrase "fear the Lord" in Old Testament with "worship the Lord" in the New Testament.

[In the eastern world, the people fear the demons and therefore worship the demons with sacrifices/offerings and incense].

The worship in all the places in Heaven are led/directed/orchestrated by God the Holy Spirit.

Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands upon thousands in Heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit move in one accord (harmony) spontaneously with great joy paying homage/respect (fall down and worship) to God the Father led by the Holy Spirit Himself. We get a glimpse of that worship in Heaven when reading the Book of Revelation.

It is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of Hosts (Zechariah 4:6).

We are commanded to worship God the Father led by the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit Himself. This is the worship God the Father seeks - the true worshipers.

Remember the power of worship? It bears to repeat here:
That which we bow down, we become a part of;
That which we bow to, we receive.

The Holy Spirit will teach you HOW TO worship individually (private worship) and corporately (public worship).

I would like to echo Sequel's question to you in his post:
Has your church and pastor helped the entire congregation to worship with a single Spirit?


Be (continually) blessed
Bro Chrioni

[seeker]

Brother Chrioni,

Interesting thread...I've very much enjoyed it..... It brought a few things to mind tonight.

A brother shared a story with me of a prayer meeting he attended. He said that his spirit was craving some worship music and he couldn't find anything that would seem to bring him what he was longing for.

He went to the Wed. night prayer service and was astounded as the entire group was singing in tongues together in perfect harmony and unison. He said it was exactly what his heart was desiring as he joined in.

I think it is a good example of a church worshipping the Father in Spirit.

As for the scriptures I noticed a key in John 4:22....

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Jesus said that the reason their worship was real, was that the 'knew' what they were worshipping.

Odviously here, we see that one cannot just move one's body certain ways or go through certain motions...bowing etc. and truly worship God.

True worship/adoration must come from one's spirit. The thought crossed my mind....how can one adore what one does not know?

This is why one can only worship God in Spirit and in Truth. God must be known in one first and one must move from Him in oneself, otherwise all the outward actions are pretty much meaningless.

To just 'obey' a meaningless command is a waste of one's time and this does happen very often in church services....after all, no one wants to look 'unspiritual' and 'stand out'.

However, when your soul really sees even a glimpse of the awesomeness of the Father, it immediately adores and worships him.

How many times has He gotten a 'WOW!' from His kids as He showed them Himself in His word?

How many times has the sight of the stary heavens nearly took your breath away as you recalled how He is able to call them all by name!

Has anyone just gotten use to a healing occuring? How about a soul tearfully coming to Jesus or a baptism, where a new creature is birthed? All of these, our spirits stand in absolute awe.....we bow down in adoration and our hearts melt away in His presence.

To know Him in oneself and to feel His Spirit flow out of our own bodies to touch another soul making a difference between eternal life or death.....is beyond words.

Our Father deserves worship.....adoration....and praise surely 'belongs' to Him and it is His presence that births and brings it forth from our own spirits as we join Him and begin to know Him in our lives.

Blessings,

Seeker

[chrioni]

Thank you Seeker for sharing with us (the readership) and bearing witness to the various aspects of worship.

Psalm 95:6 "O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our maker."

Notice that worship is usually associated with bowing down, kneeling, prostrate position in submission (surrender/ yield) and humility.

[Praise is different for example - lifting up of hands]

Example from the Old Testament
The prophet Daniel (and his friends) refused to fall down and worship the golden image at a certain sound and was thrown into the fiery furnace in Daniel Chapter 3. We know the story that God (the fourth is like the Son of God) delivered Daniel and his friends from the fiery furnace.

Example from the New Testament
The 4 beasts and the 24 elders fall down and worship God in the Throne Room in Heaven in Revelation in 4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:16; 19:4.

Our worship on earth needs to be according to the pattern in Heaven. That's why there is a constant reference to the worship in Heaven.

It is important to lay the ground work on worship before moving into the practical side of worship. Where one thought leads to the next. Where one aspect leads to another.

Worship is a command. Like all commands, they are all summed up in the greatest command (Matthew 22:36-37; Mark 12:28-31)

LOVING GOD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Loving God with every fiber (string) of your being.

All would agree that the heart plays a crucial role in worship and this agrees with the Bible.

My son, give Me thine heart .... (Proverbs 23:26)

Keep thine heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23)

That will lead to next aspect of HOW TO worship which I will share what I know how. I am still learning. I can never ever say I have "arrived". There is no end to learning how to worship our great and infinite Almighty God.

The 4 living creatures have been worshiping the Lord God Almighty since the day they were created, yet every time they worship God Almighty is just like their very first time they worship - always fresh.

Initially, you "carry" worship. Once you breakthrough, worship "carries" you.
Stay tuned.

Be (heavenly) Blessed
Bro Chrioni

[Sequel]

Brother Chrioni,

Have you eaten lately? Is what the most experienced of exorcists ask the demons within a person. It actually means - has the people you were in -bowed down to worship you!

Yes, demonic spirits subjugate the people by fear, intimidation, and great harm to their minds and bodies - until the person
obeys them! To leave demonic spirits within a person leads to great harm of the maligned evil nature. Demonic spirits are condemned of God and will be judged by God for what they have done. The evil upon humanity defies the worst of evil even by humans, which reflects their father - satan.

In my book, Another Day - the day time ceases! I gave a personal opinion regarding how people have viewed my own actions and non-actions - I don't care! I am taking the case against demonic spirits to the people directly and my greatest critics have been the clergy! With no knowledge of demonic spirits or serious walking with the Holy Spirit, there has been an unforgiveable denial as to the existence of demonic spirits. For that reason, I wrote - The Mask of the Demon - uncovering mankind's greatest enemy! Despite the criticisms to be of ignorance, they have defended the destruction of the people by evil, itself?

My wife and I once went to an Asian move theater and she got thirsty and wanted some water. She went to the lobby and saw people drinking from a slightly lower water fountain that had a demonic statue directly above it! As one would drink from this fountain, you would end up 'bowing down' to drink over a demonic statue. Can you understand what the meaning of - have you eaten? They seek worship!

Keep the faith!

[seeker]

Bro Chrioni,

Sequel's story reminded me of one of my own that recently happened.

I was checking out of a store once and the lady running the register had a pierced tongue. I could tell it really hurt her and she couldn't talk right and I mentally loudly asked a question....I said, "why would anyone do that to themselves!".

To my surprise the Holy Spirit answered me and rather matter of factly too, "Demons honor their entry and exit points", He said.

I was shocked! They worship and honor themselves.....!

You mentioned that you carry worship, but then when you break through that worship carries you. I would say that that is also true for those who honor the devils.

At first the demons inspire it in you, then you are carried away by it and in it by partaking of the ways they honor and worship evil.

Blessings,

Seeker

[chrioni]

Thanks Sequel and Seeker for sharing the negative aspect of the power of (demon) worship. The negative power of demon worship pales in comparison to the positive power of true worship.

That which we bow down, we become a part of;
That which we bow to, we receive.

In Jesus wonderful name

Bro Chrioni

[Sequel]

The Psalms mostly written by King David inspires one soul to worship our Lord. I wish to share with the readership some of his writings as how we can bless the Lord:

103 - Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits....

66:8 - Bless our God, you people and make the voice of His praise be heard.....

68:26 - Bless God in the congregation

145 - I will extol thee, my God, O King; and I will bless Thy Name forever and ever... All Thy works shall praise Thee, O Lord; and Thy saints shall bless Thee...

His grace is reason for us to seek to bless the Lord by our praises, witness, and thanksgiving. For those who have been to heaven and engaged with God, He often ask - what have you done for Me? Ps. 145 is an excellent guide to understand what we should do in our life.

[seeker]

Wow....this really made me stop and think ....What am I doing for Him?

Wouldn't it be awful to die and find out you did everything on earth just for yourself? That you lived completely unto your self?