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True Worshippers
By Fanny Mandik
“But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshippers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship Him.”
John 4:23, Contemporary English Version
What has worship got to do with character? How can character be built through worship? Worship and character seem to most of us to be two different areas of teaching. John 4:23 reveals God seeks in us the character of a true worshipper!
Before moving on, let’s make things clear first. When the Father talked about ‘worshippers’, He didn’t refer to the worship leaders, singers, musicians or dancers who serve as worship ministers in the Church. Jesus uttered this verse when He had that famous conversation with the Samaritan woman, who was thirsting after the living water. She encountered Jesus and found the living water. That’s worship. So when the Father talked about ‘worshippers’, He talked about those who encountered Jesus and experienced the living water in their life.
These persons could be anyone: a preacher, a worship leader, an usher, a Bible School teacher, a janitor, a sales man, a doctor, an accountant, an engineer, a beggar or a CEO.
When we talk about worship, we talk about relationship. Read John 4:23 carefully and you will see three things that make a true worshipper:
1. Being Led by the Spirit.
God is Spirit; everyone who worships Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth.
2. Worship the Father.
There is a question my husband always asks his worship class students. Why did God call Himself ‘Father’ in John 4:23? Why didn’t He name Himself ‘God’ or ‘Lord’ or ‘Master’ or ‘King?
First, it revealed a relationship—a very up close and personal one. God did not design worship as a ‘duty’ or ‘task’, or something we oblige to do. If we don’t worship God, He will punish us and we will die. No! He doesn’t want us to have that image in our mind. He desires us to know Him as a loving Father who is tender, yet just and glorious. Secondly, God called Himself Father because it refers to the very basic, intimate and limitless relationship for every creature. The Father-Child relationship is the purest and the most unconditional relationship in the universe. This is the kind of relationship God intended us to have from the very beginning.
3. According to the Truth.
Who is the truth? JESUS. John 14:6 stated, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can go to the Father without Me.”
Just like the Samaritan woman, when we encounter Jesus, we find the way to the Father. We find the truth that God created us to be His own, His children. We find the real life; a life that has been redeemed on the cross. Worship is a life-changing experience. The Samaritan woman had one when she met Jesus. How come? When we worship the Father, He infuses us with His entire being. It’s more than just His blessings. It’s more than just His love. More than just His power and promises. It’s Himself! He infuses us with the fullness of Him! “That you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19b). In other words, worship is letting God dominate or rule over our entire being, so that there is no more space for our self. “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). This is how God builds His character in us through worship. The result? After being infused by His entire being or the fullness of Him, each area and element of our life, and even each micro cell in our body experiences a transformation. How?
You know when you worship someone, you long to be that person. It’s the same when we worship our heavenly Father, the ultimate Creator of the universe and the King of kings. We will be so overwhelmed that all we are eager to do is to love Him, to adore Him, to please Him, to do what He wants us to do, and to be what He wants us to be! We are being totally, crazily, insanely, deeply in love with Him! Those of you who had been crazily in love with someone know exactly how it feels. Basically, you will do ANYTHING for him or her. That desire comes out of love. This is what God wants. He wants to build our characters out of love. He wants us to understand this. It is so much easier to build character if it comes out of an in-love heart.
This is where the transformation starts. When we worship God, He firstly gives a new heart, spirit and pure thoughts (Ezekiel 36:26-27). God gives us the desire to be faithful, and His Spirit makes us eager to obey His laws and teachings. As we continue to worship, God then changes the way we think, so we will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to Him (Romans 12:2). Finally our attitude and behavior will change accordingly.
“But a time is coming, and it is already here!” (John 4:23). What ‘time’ was Jesus referring to? He was referring to the time to experience a personal encounter with our very own Creator.
“These are the ones (worshippers) the Father is seeking to worship Him.” Max Lucado wrote in one of his inspiring books, It’s Not About Me, “We are His mirrors, you know. Tools of Heaven’s heliography. Reduce the human job description down to one phrase, and this is it: Reflect God’s glory. As Paul wrote: “And we, with our unveiled faces reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Lord, all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) … Beholding leads to becoming. Becoming leads to reflecting” (pp. 82-84).
Yes, we are indeed the mirrors that reflect the Father in this world. When people see us they should see the Father. Again, as Max Lucado wrote, “may we have no higher goal than to see someone think more highly of our Father, our King. So, trash-bin the thought that quotes ‘to build characters means to have a hard time.’” Building character through worship is a wonderful and overwhelming journey of life that God grants us. We should enjoy and cherish it. Enjoy the journey! i
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