WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

Jesus said: “But an hour is coming,

and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His
worshipers. 24“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23,24. Jesus was speaking
to the Samaritan woman at the well and was referring to the Holy
Spirit that would be given when He said to her: “If you knew the
gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’
you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living
water.”  14but whoever drinks of the water that I will
give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will
become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” John
4:10,14.

The Holy Spirit was given on the day of
Pentecost, after Jesus had been crucified, resurrected and ascended
to heaven. It was first given to Jesus’ disciples and thereafter to
those who believed and obeyed the gospel. They were filled with the
Holy Spirit and began speaking in other tongues, WORSHIPING IN SPIRIT
AND IN TRUTH. We read in Acts 2:38,39 “Peter said to
them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is for you and
your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our
God will call to Himself.” 

Every born again child of God needs to
be born of water (through baptism) and born of the Spirit of God,
through the Holy Spirit baptism. When baptized in the Holy Spirit,
they will speak in tongues, a well of living water springing up to
eternal life. The Holy Spirit baptism brings in the receiver a never
ending fountain of LIFE, that regenerates, revives and sustains them
if they keep on praying in tongues. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:2
“For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God;
for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks
mysteries.” Verse 4 “One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself;”

The Holy Spirit enables the Spirit
filled believer to pray through the Spirit according to the will of
God. Romans 8:26 “In the same way the Spirit also helps our
weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit
Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for
words; 27and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of
the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the
will of God.”

When praying in tongues the worshiper
does not know what he is praying, because the Spirit intercedes
through him. “14For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my
mind is unfruitful. 15What is the outcome then? I will
pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing
with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.” 1 Corinthians
14:14. The Holy Spirit provides the utterings conveying the message
to God according to the will of God. Because your mind is not working
while praying in tongues, you can be praying in the Spirit while
going about your daily activities, driving a car, cleaning, doing any
work, even mental work. The Holy Spirit filled believer can and must
be praying in the Spirit all day long. It need not be out loud, it
can be in our mind.

Worship in SPIRIT AND TRUTH must be
done in private, not to be seen by others. Paul writes: “I thank
God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19however, in the
church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may
instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.”
1 Corinthians 14:18.

The Holy Spirit
baptism with tongues is promised to all true worshipers, because the
Spirit enables them to worship in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. The TRUE
WORSHIPERS pray in tongues. Do not let anybody tell you it is only
for some. Baptism in the Holy Spirit is always accompanied with
tongues. Other gifts of the Spirit follow AFTER being initially
baptized in the Spirit. The tongues that accompany baptism in the
Holy Spirit are for edification of the INDIVIDUAL. The gifts that
follow are for the COMMON GOOD of the ASSEMBLY.

“4Now there are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit. 5And there are varieties of ministries, and
the same Lord. 6There are varieties of effects, but the same God
who works all things in all persons. 7But to each one is
given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8For
to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another
the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9to another
faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one
Spirit, 10and to another the effecting of miracles, and to
another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to
another various kinds of tongues, and to another the
interpretation of tongues. 11But one and the same Spirit works
all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He
wills.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is the
inheritance of the TRUE WORSHIPERS, those who wish to worship God in
SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH. If you do not speak in tongues you have not yet
received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Start earnestly worshiping
Jesus. Spend some time in the prayer closet, praising Jesus, yearning
for Him and His righteousness, His confirmation. Examine yourself.
How close are you to Jesus? Is He still your first love? Are there
hidden sins in your life that you need to repent of? Idols? Things
that you love more than Jesus, things that you need to get rid of,
repent of? Have you truly repented, been baptized in water and
committed to Jesus? Are you living holy? Draw closer to Jesus and He
will draw closer to you. Jesus will gladly baptize you in the Holy
Spirit. Become a true worshiper.

May Jesus bless you.