Transcript

ANNOUNCER: Do you enjoy worshiping the Lord? How many different ways are there to do it? What does it mean to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth? We thank you, friend, for joining us here on Grace in Focus, and as you just heard, we’re going to be talking about worship on this episode. Grace in Focus is the radio broadcast and podcast ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. Find us at faithalone.org We have an online seminary called Grace Evangelical Seminary. It’s free if you maintain a 3.0 average and you can study and earn an MDiv degree. Find out more, go through the application process, get ready to study with us when we start the next semester. Find out everything you need to know at faithalone.org.

And now with today’s discussion, here are Sam Marr and Philippe Sterling. 

SAM: Philippe, we have a question today about worship and I think you have the question, so who is asking? 

PHILIPPE: This would be from Mark and Cher also, a couple. And they say, I’ve been wrestling for years with this concept of worshiping God in spirit and in truth. And I am not a very emotional person and I believe and have been following Christ. But what, in your opinion, does worshiping in spirit and truth look like for someone like me who’s not overtly emotional in worship? 

SAM: That’s a question near and dear to my heart, because I felt like that most of my life of being I’m not unemotional but maybe not expressive and especially when it came to, in high school, I went to lots of youth events as part of my church and a lot of those were kind of like big worship nights or rallies or revival type things, some of that in college too. And I didn’t have the same experience that a lot of other people did where that was like the ecstatic moment I felt God is really real because of the music and the dancing and that stuff. 

And so for a while I felt the same way. I was like, well, do I really know how to worship God? Because these people seem very excited and very emotional and in tears at these songs and I’m just kind of standing with my hands in my pockets. So I need an answer to this question too, believe this will be a good one. 

PHILIPPE: Yes. Of course, you know, worshiping in spirit and truth, that was a conversation that Jesus had with the Samaritan woman in John chapter four. Of course, His focus, you know, was simply saying, you know, I’m big concerning the gift and the giver. He was a giver who gives everlasting life and living water, the message of life, telling you if you were to ask, I will give you that message and you could believe and have everlasting life to summarize. But then He goes on to say, you know, God is looking for those who would indeed worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Now the application of that, you know, does that mean that we have to be very emotional in our worship, otherwise it’s not worshiping in spirit and in truth. And of course not God tells us really what is involved in worshiping in spirit and in truth. And part of that deals with some instructions, even that he gave, that Peter gives out in his letter. In 1 Peter chapter two verses four and five, we read this, “Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by man, but chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones.” And here, you know, all who believe the promise of Jesus for everlasting life become living stones, who are added to the building of the church as stones. “And also as living stones are being built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 

So we, the church are a spiritual house, and we ought to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Now what may some of those spiritual sacrifices be? And in the book of Hebrews, we read of two of them in particular and there are several others too. But in Hebrews chapter 13:15, we read, “Therefore by Him”, by Jesus, through Jesus, “let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name”, and then verse 16, “but do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” 

So a sacrifice of praise, that is with our lips, that is through our words. We share with each other as we gather together as believers, what good things God has done for us. And we, we give thanks for Him. That’s worshiping. 

SAM: Right. And that that’s the part that can be done in song form. So this could be, you know, we see in Psalms all throughout where you lift up our voices and there’s all kinds of instruments mentioned. And you had mentioned before we started about in Exodus when they crossed the Red Sea, the women taking up tambourines and dancing. So those are all forms of, that kind of praise worship. But then what are examples of the second kind of worship mentioned in Hebrews? 

PHILIPPE: And the second kind it says to share, to do good. And now within the community of believers, that will mean, you know, where there’s a need, you know, if a fellow believer, we certainly share out of the abundance that we have to to help them. James also talks about this, you know, if we have the the good, the means by which to help a brother in need by all means, we should do so. Not just say go be warm, be fed, but share. 

And also that is of even the wider community that we’re part of in which we live if we were to seek to do good to all men, but especially to the household of faith as Paul says in Galatians chapter six as well. And that’s worship. That’s doing good. And beyond that, in Philippians chapter four, you know, when Paul talks about the gifts, more than once that the Philippians had sent to him to enable him to carry out his ministry, he in writing to them his thanksgiving, he says, by what you have done, God will abundantly give beyond that to you in this life, in the life to come, in sense for with such sacrifices God is pleased too. 

So the financial gifts that we give out for those who are engaged in sharing the message of life, those who are engaged in making disciples, is spiritual worship, it is worshiping in spirit and in truth. Even the message of life itself in Romans 16, Paul talks about the Gentiles, he’s offering the Gentiles as a sacrifice, a spiritual sacrifice to God. So those of whom we share the message of life who come to believe are part of our offering to God also, a part of our spiritual worship. But as we gather together, as you also mentioned, the Psalms, we have the example of how the Hebrews worship and many of the Psalms, you know, certainly deal with that. 

ANNOUNCER: You’re invited to subscribe to the Grace Evangelical Society’s YouTube channel. You will find our Monday, Wednesday and Friday videos there enlightening and encouraging, and even probably humorous at times if you like Bob Wilkin’s humor. Indeed you will get Biblical truth about Free Grace themes like faith alone for eternal salvation and why  the Grace Evangelical Society is zero point Calvinistic. We come your way three times a week at the Grace Evangelical YouTube channel. Check it out and tell a friend about the Grace Evangelical Society.

PHILIPPE: But as we gather together, as you also mentioned, in the Psalms, we have the example of how the Hebrews worship in many of the Psalms, you know, certainly deal with that. But that’s taken up in the Church too, where to minister to each other. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 and then again in Colossians 3 by where psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. 

And it can be done in a settled way by some of us, in a more exuberant way perhaps by others. But neither the exuberance of it or the lack of exuberance of it is indicative of the spiritual aspect or the truth of it. And in some context, dance, it was certainly part of Jewish worship. Is it all out for believers to hop up and down in praise to God? It is sense of dance. I would not forbid it, you know, in an appropriate context, like you said, I’m not as exuberant in my worship, you know, as that too. 

But that’s not what the Scriptures is really talking about. the kind of spiritual sacrifice, our worship and spirit and truth is simply in giving our praise to God, public praise, you know, certainly, singing out, lifting up our voices in song, in worship. And that’s part of most worship services now, to have a portion of time, you know, just singing some newer songs that are composed, sometimes just putting the Psalms, you know, to music and singing those, all of that, always that we minister to each other. 

But it’s the content of those songs also, which are important, not just a meaningless repetition, you know. I don’t think we have to say a single song of praise, you know, I thank you, Lord. I thank you, Lord, 100 times, you know, in the song, but we like to compose, you know, hymns that are substantial also in their content. And that’s part of the truth, we worship in truth. 

SAM: And so what we’re saying, and what I’m hearing you say after outlining a lot of Scripture is the worship that we do in church for that short period of time before the sermon and then maybe a couple songs after the sermon that is worship and that’s good and that’s pleasing to the Lord. But we shouldn’t pigeonhole that as the way we worship God. 

Everything we do, it sounds like just about for the Lord is worship. So you walk out of church and then you shoulder one another’s burdens, that’s worshiping the Lord. And when you care for the orphan in the widow, you care for those who are less fortunate, don’t have resources. When a brother comes to you and asks for food, you don’t just say be warm to be filled, but you clothe him and you feed him, that’s worshiping the Lord. 

And in that verse and Hebrews, is it not kind of implied there that that is the greater form of worship. God is well pleased. 

PHILIPPE: “For with such sacrifices. God is well pleased.” Exactly.

SAM: So it seems to me like what God desires, it’s not that He doesn’t desire us to praise him with our lips and through song and dance and you know joyful worship in that verbal. But it seems like even more so He wants us to praise Him and worship Him through following His word and caring for specifically one another, because God doesn’t need us to give Him food and clothes so that He can be warm and be filled. But His other children, some of them need that. 

And so how much more joyful is He going to be when we take care of one another than just say, you know, I’m just going to sing and praise and that’s how I worship the Lord, but then the rest of my day I’m going to go about, you know, I’ll keep singing, but I’m not really going to do, I’m not going to change my ways. 

PHILIPPE: In fact, I mentioned one last spiritual sacrifice and that’s out of Romans 12 verses one and two: brethren, by the mercies of God present your bodies a holy and living sacrifice to the Lord…and do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind for such again is an acceptable worship to God. So just the presentations of our lives, is that of our entire lives to the Lord is a spiritual sacrifice is a worship too. That expresses itself in all those different ways that you are summarized.

SAM: Oh, I think that’s a good word and I think having that mindset, the understanding that everything we do for the Lord is worship, I think that’s going to help us keep grace in focus. 

ANNOUNCER: Be sure to check out our daily blogs at faithalone.org. They are short and full of great teaching, just like what you’ve heard today. Find them at faithalone.org/resources/blog. We would love to hear from you. Maybe you’ve got a question, comment, or some feedback. If you do, please don’t hesitate to send us a message. Here’s our email address. It’s radio@faithalone.org. That’s radio@faithalone.org. And when you do, very important. Please let us know your radio station call letters and the city of your location.

On our next episode: should believers defend themselves physically, politically? It’ll be good. Be sure and join us. And until then, let’s keep grace in focus.