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Topic: We MUST worship in Spirit and in Truth
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bluefrog
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posted
EDEN..In response to your script a couple of boxes up, may I suggest you consider the following:
You said:I think worshiping God is "In Spirit" and not "in heart".
My response: God asks that you pray with your mouth, which is attached to your body and soul. She said "from the heart" not "in heart". Praying from the heart is a well accepted and meaningful figure of speach don't you think?
You said: Since Adam and Eve we had abandoned our spirit and ruled our bodies from soul level at the expense of the spirit.
Response: How can you function without a spirit?
1 Thes 5:23 ...and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved...
Spirit is infusion of life and power is it not?
You said the word of God is Spirit. John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life), the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
(This is being spoken by Jesus who is telling his apostles what is important after he ascends up to heaven. ie, it isn't His flesh body that counts, it is His spirit that gives life (your life) and that the words He says are spirit and life.)
By the way..you don't need to keep saying body/soul to make your point. hehe
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Found in Him
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Member # 7596
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posted
I just love you to pieces my Sister Betty Louise!
![[Kiss]](graemlins/Kiss.gif)
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Betty Louise
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Member # 7175
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posted
Don't feel bad, hon. I never was the brightest light bulb in the package and somedays I am about the wattage of a Christmas bulb. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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Found in Him
Advanced Member
Member # 7596
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posted
no on ever said I was the brightest light bulb on the board! ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
hello, Found in Him, if you don't add an attribution, your Topic posts will be assumed to be yours, no?
love, Eden
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Found in Him
Advanced Member
Member # 7596
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posted
awww well,
I didnt write it. I pasted it from our trusted interweb world hopin to look real smart ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
It backfires every now and then! gotta be careful what cha copy don't cha?
hehehe...
![[cool_shades]](graemlins/cool_shades.gif)
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Hi, Found in Him, you wrote quote:
God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth". Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart.
No, I think that worshipping God in spirit means "worshipping God in spirit and NOT in heart. I used to think that I was just a soul and a body, until I believed 1 Thessalonians 5:23
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of God, which IS Spirit, showed me where my spirit was and showed me that I even had a spirit, because since the days of Adam and Eve, we had abandoned our spirit and had begun to rule our own bodies from the soul level, at the expense of the spirit.
So that, eventually we did not even know that we HAD a spirit...that is, until we heard the Word of God which IS Spirit:
John 6:63
It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are Spirit, and they are life.
So Found in Him, you said quote:
God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth". Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart.
To which I would say, not from the heart, but from the spirit. God is seeking those who are worshipping Him in spirit and in truth.
The soul of man cannot cannot communicate with the Spirit of God, only the spirit of man can communicate with the Spirit of God. That's why it was essential that the Word of God first show the soul-body man where the spirit of man was in him and that he even had a spirit of man, because the Adamic soul-body man did not even know that he HAD a spirit.
But only the spirit of man can communicate with the Spirit of God (or "dock with" the Spirit of God in computer language), and therefore the bornagain Christian is he who is worshipping God "in spirit and in truth", as opposed to the former days when we were trying to worship God (hopelessly) in soul and in falsehood?
love, Eden
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bluefrog
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posted
I would never even consider such an existance.
When a man is raised in that church it could be that he would run a chance of wanting to become a priest but even before graduation I feel certain that they know the score. It takes all kinds, so they say.
I should probably get off this subject before I get all wound up. rivit
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Found in Him
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by bluefrog:
Matthew 23:9 And call no man father upon the earth; for One is your Father, Which is in heaven.
This is against those who loved to be so called.
Matthew 6:9 After this manner pray ye; Our Father Which art in heaven, Hallowed (Sanctified) be Thy name.
I would be much afraid to stand in their shoes! You?
It's like an idol.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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bluefrog
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posted
Matthew 23:9 And call no man father upon the earth; for One is your Father, Which is in heaven.
This is against those who loved to be so called.
Matthew 6:9 After this manner pray ye; Our Father Which art in heaven, Hallowed (Sanctified) be Thy name.
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Found in Him
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by bluefrog:
Where I got it was from the Catholic Church of which I am not a member.
They also believe that a baby baptism is for life, and the pope is a stand in for Jesus while He is Gone. They changed the Sabath, and came up with pagan holidays that Christians celebrate right along with them. They even changed the 10 commandments.
Hearing that kinda stuff makes me so very thankful for our Savior that opens eyes.
How very sad to be disillusioned.
The scripture that comes to mind when you mentioned the pope-- Isaiah 48:11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.
Scary.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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bluefrog
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posted
Where I got it was from the Catholic Church of which I am not a member.
They also believe that a baby baptism is for life, and the pope is a stand in for Jesus while He is Gone. They changed the Sabath, and came up with pagan holidays that Christians celebrate right along with them. They even changed the 10 commandments.
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Found in Him
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by bluefrog:
Where is the logic to praying to dead people and teaching that in communion the bread turns to the body of Christ and the grape juice turns to His blood ? Why do some teach that we are to pray to another man/woman and confess to them?
Not sure. Did you get that outta what's pasted above? Honestly, I pasted this in hopes that Michael would read it earlier tonight and leave sis Betty alone. Just being honest.
No bread crumbs don't turn into the body of Christ. I do it in church remembering what He did on the cross for me when they serve it.
It would grieve the heart of Jesus' mother to know that idiots pray to her I believe.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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bluefrog
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Where is the logic to praying to dead people and teaching that in communion the bread turns to the body of Christ and the grape juice turns to His blood ? Why do some teach that we are to pray to another man/woman and confess to them?
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Found in Him
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posted
Worship is not just done standing in church-- It's done with our lives. Jesus set the example for that.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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Found in Him
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Worship Of God in Spirit and In Truth
The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God. Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with the way to escape the bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation He so much wants to give us. The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before Him in humble and contrite submission. James 4:6, 10 tells us, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up". Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action.
Jesus says in John 4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." It doesn’t say we can worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth". The word "must" makes it absolute. There is no other way we can worship God and be acceptable to Him. The word "must", according to Webster, expresses "an obligation, a requirement, a necessity, a certainty, and something that must be done". When "must" is used it means that it is not optional. Here the word "must" is expressing that in spirit and in truth is the only way to acceptably worship God.
God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth". Worshipping God in spirit means that it must be done from the heart. Worshipping God in truth means that it must be done according as God has specified in the Bible. Worshipping God in spirit and in truth is a serious matter which must not be taken lightly. If we have any regard for our own souls, we will want to make sure we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.
Since God is the object of our worship, He and He alone has the right to determine how we are to worship Him. We read in Jeremiah 10:23, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." We are not granted the option of directing our own ways in religion. God is the One who we look to for guidance and direction in our lives.
Our very best in worship is due God and is prescribed by Him in the Bible. The worship God has prescribed is the only way we can be pleasing to Him in this life and finally attain everlasting life with Him in eternity. The Christian’s worship is of the greatest importance.
Worship is a time when we pay deep, sincere, awesome respect, love, and fear to the one who created us. Acts 17:24-25 says, "God who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives life, breath, and all things."
God is the one who holds our eternal destiny in His hands. Philippians 2:12 tells us to, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Our salvation is a very serious matter and will not happen by accident. We must work it out "with fear and trembling". Our salvation depends on whether our worship is pleasing to God or not. On the Day of Judgment it will be too late to make any corrections.
Worship should cause us to reflect on the majesty and graciousness of God and Christ, contrasted to our own unworthiness. God does not have to have our worship, but we must worship Him to please Him. Our singing, praying, studying His word, giving, and communion are designed by God to bring us closer to Him and to cause us to think more like He thinks, thus becoming more like Him. James 4:8 tells us to, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Our worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also for our own edification and strength. Worship helps us develop a God-like and Christ-like character. We become like unto those we admire and worship. When we worship God we tend to value what God values and gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of God, but never to His level. As Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ." How do we take on the mind of Christ? In Romans 12:2 we read, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." We renew our mind as we study and meditate on God’s word and worship Him.
When we worship God we develop such traits as forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity, kindness, and love. All of this is preparing us for eternal life in heaven with God and Christ. As we are told in Colossians 3:2 to, "Set your mind on things above, and not on things on the earth."
Worshipping God In Truth
Jesus says in John 4:24, "God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." We must worship God in truth. Since His word is truth, we must worship Him according to His word. Here the Lord is telling us that everything we do in worship, we must have God's divine approval. Truth is not arbitrary. Truth for one person is the same as truth for the next. God has not spoken in unclear ways.
God has specified in the Bible the acceptable way He is to be worshipped. He is not to be worshipped according to the evil and vain imaginations and devices of men. Whatever that is not commanded in scripture in our worship to God is forbidden if we are to worship God in truth. God is not obligated to accept our worship just because we offer it to Him. We dare not substitute what we want for what God has commanded if we want to please Him and go to Heaven.
There are many who think it really doesn’t matter what we believe or do in religion, just as long as we are sincere and follow our conscience. But if it doesn’t really matter what you believe, then it doesn’t matter if you even believe at all. This is absurd. This philosophy exalts our conscience above the word of God. This makes our conscience our only guide and ignores what God says in the Bible. This philosophy originated with man and not with God. This is telling God we are going to worship Him the way we choose and we don’t really care what He has to say. Every man then becomes his own authority thereby eliminating the authority of God, the Bible. This attitude must greatly hurt the one who gave His life for us.
Many people want to do what they think best and what seems right to them. We are warned not to do this in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." According to what God says we can loose our soul by doing what seems right in our own eyes. God’s word is no longer our guide, but it has been replaced with creed books, disciplines, manuals, confessions, etc. Men want to do things their way and as it seems right in their own eyes. Please consider the consequences of being deceived by error. What a pity it will be to stand before the Lord on Judgment Day having been fooled into accepting the unlawful religions of the denominational world. What a terrible fate to believe error to be truth only to be lost for all of eternity.
The philosophy of doing what seems right in our eyes has vastly altered the way people attempt to worship God. They rationalize that God will accept it. People can rationalize away just about anything they want if they work at it hard and long enough, and because of this people worship God in ignorance. Just as the apostle Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17:23 (KJV), "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship."
The average person in religious matters takes many things for granted. He finds religious groups practicing something and he decides what the majority does must be right and acceptable to God. The Bible says the majority of people are going to be eternally lost. Jesus says in Matthew 7:l3-14, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." So we don’t want to depend on the majority to determine what is right for us and follow them. If we do we will also end up being lost in the eternal fires of Hell.
Many people never stop to ask, is it scriptural and is this what God wants? They believe that just any kind of worship they give will be acceptable to God. There are a lot of false teachings today that are being passed off as the truth. The main reason for all the religious division that we see in the world today is man will not accept God’s word as final authority. Man is going to do it his own way. The Bible contains our only instructions on how to please God so we can go to heaven.
God has always told man how He is to be worshipped. God is the only one who has the right to determine how He is to be worshipped. He will only accept that which is in harmony with His prescribed will. God instructs us how to worship Him acceptably through His word in the Bible. In Ephesians 5:17 we read, "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." If we are the least bit concerned about where we will spend eternity, it is wise to know what the will of the Lord is so we can do it and be pleasing to Him. We are accountable for what we believe and practice. Our eternal destiny hangs in the balance of how we treat His truth.
In every age God has specified how He is to be worshipped. He says to us in 2 Peter 1:3, "As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us." God in the New Testament has given to us all things we need to know that pertain to life and godliness so we can worship Him acceptably, in spirit and in truth. God has always made it plain and emphatic that the only worship that is acceptable to Him is only that which is in accordance with His will.
Worshipping God In Spirit
Worshipping God "in spirit" means with reverence, attentiveness, and having the right purpose of honoring God, while understanding what we are doing. Hebrews 12:28-29 says, "Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." Our worship must glorify God. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says, "For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
In order to worship God in the right spirit, we must take time before worship to make ready our hearts and emotions so we will be in the proper frame of mind. We read in Psalms 89:7, "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him." Our worship must show great reverence toward God. He is our creator and He holds our eternal destiny in His hands. We must strive to please Him. We should not have to rush or hurry to worship, arriving late but should always plan to be there early enough so we can be in a worshipful attitude and spirit. Our mind must be ready, attentive, and alert.
Concerning the Lord’s Supper, we are warned in 1 Corinthians 11:27, "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." Our worship to God must be done in a worthy manner. It must be done in a manner that brings glory and honor to God and Christ. Continuing to read in verse 29, "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body." We must control our thoughts during periods of worship and not let them wander to other things. We should never be wishing the worship service would hurry up and be over so we can get to the restaurant early and not have to stand in line. In fact we should be of the frame of mind that we are disappointed to see the worship service end.
In showing reverence and respect to God, we will not be indifferent, inattentive, and taking lightly that which should be considered serious. Worship to God is holy. Our character in worship must also be holy. In 1 Peter 1:15-16 we read, "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct, because it is written, Be holy for I am holy." Slouching over, sleeping, playing with babies, squirming, unnecessary talking, and passing notes all show disrespect in worshipping God. Worship which is insincere, that is not from the heart, is vain, useless, and unacceptable to God. Jesus says, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Mark 7:6). Active participation will tend to get rid of our lack of interest and inattentiveness.
Reverence is not having a long face, folded hands, or a put on look of piety. Worship is a time of joy for us. It is a time of offering thanks, adoration, love, praying, singing praises to God, feeding on His word, and proclaiming Christ to the world in partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
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~To Him That is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy...to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.~ Jude 24
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