The Nature of True Worship
Greetings and good morning brothers and sisters This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This morning we seek to understand the nature of true worship.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Nature of True Worship
Jesus said, "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." John, Chapter 4, Verse 23.
Brothers and sisters in today’s broadcast we explore the nature of true worship. We know that the Father is spirit and must be worshiped in truth and spirit. But what is truth, and what is spirit? When Jesus sojourned on earth in the flesh, he said that he was the truth, the way, and the life. What did he mean by that statement? We know that Jesus was God and man. As the son of man he revealed the Father to mankind. So to understand this statement we must look at his life and compare it to the life that others were living. It is obvious from observation, that there was a vast difference between his life and the life of his compatriots, and even today there is a vast difference between the life that he lived and the life that most of us live.
We know that Jesus lived a purely human life. He referred to him self as the son of man. Being a human being, he had to do all the things that human beings do in order to survive. He was tried and tested on every point even as we are. He hungered and satisfied such hunger with food; he thirsted and satisfied such thirst with water. He worked, tired and rested. He struggled with the ups and downs of life just as you and I. From the material point of view with the exception of procreation, he life was the same as ours. Well since the no essential differences can be found in the material life, we must examine the moral and spiritual aspects of his life. The difference can be found in the quality of his life.
When Jesus came to earth, the whole world was gripped in selfishness; the only values that they knew were human values. Even today, the whole world is engulfed with material values and evil. We have to make a living, and obey the mandates inherent in a material existence if we wish to continue to survive. But we find the world awash in the waters of unrighteousness, freely bathing with the soap of “fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, invertors of evil things, disobedient to parents.” Is there a better way to live, than being dominated by our animal natures? Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He was referring to the quality of life, the spiritual life.
Through prayer, worship, and service, Jesus reached the heights of moral and spiritual perfection while living in the flesh. Having achieved that he was able to live the heavenly life. The values of the heavenly life are different from the values of the material life. The material life is meat, drink, and unrighteousness; the spiritual life is joy and peace, and righteousness in the spirit. And the fruit of the spirit is love, faith, goodness, gentleness, temperance, meekness, long suffering, peace and joy. The only cure for material living is spiritual living. It is the only antidote for deliverance from evil. Humanity has tried to create a society based upon the best of human values, but they have failed. Humanity can not transcend itself without the spiritual power of the heavenly Father. And this is what Jesus offers to all of us.
By dedicating our will to doing the Father’s will as Jesus taught us and demonstrated to us, we enter the kingdom of heaven, the spiritual kingdom where love rules supreme and mercy is its shadow. We enter the realm of divine values and meanings. We come to know what true relationships are and what true morality is. We come to understand that we are all spiritual brothers and sisters, and should love each other the way that Jesus loves us. We come to know and experience true relationships and true morality as we interact with each other. By following Jesus, we come to know the moral character and the spiritual nature of the Father, the revelation of the Father.
So now we are ready to realize the nature of true worship as has been implied. Truth is the name that is given to describe the reality of the relationships that exists between the heavenly Father and ourselves. It is a relationship characterized by love and mercy. Spirit is the quality of the values that we experience when relating to one another in love. Therefore to worship the Father in truth and in spirit is to worship him according to his true character and in love. The Father is living spiritual love As we continue to worship the Father in this manner, we begin to take on His Image, as was perfectly demonstrated by Jesus and whose Spirit of Truth now portrays for our souls. True worship is the wholehearted desire to be Godlike, to be like Jesus.
This concludes today's message on understanding the nature of true worship. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
Your Kingdom Come; Your Will Be Done!
Inspirational Messages of Light
By Dr. James Perry
The True Nature of Worship
