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For His Glory!
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"Spirit and Truth" John 4:23-24 "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. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (NAS unless noted) The Father is seeking those willing to worship Him in spirit and truth. How can I do this? What is necessary to fulfill this statement by Yeshua (Jesus)? Is this a special way to sing praise or hymns? Do I need to pray more - fast - spend more time in Scripture - terry? The word spirit here may well refer to the spirit of man; for man’s life (spirit) is the result of God’s breath (see below). However we already have Yeshua’s statement in John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (God is spirit John 4:24) The need for man to have a new spirit was not some new revelation by Yeshua, but a promise from the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures or the Old Testament). When the Spirit abides in us (takes up residence; we are born of - Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,) we have what Yeshua calls the "Spirit of truth." John 15:26 "When the Helper comes… that is the Spirit of truth … John 14:17 that is the Spirit of truth… will be in you. Why is it called the Spirit of truth?
In past issues we looked at the Holy Spirit (MEM 79) and Truth (MEM 84) so our goal here is to understand what Yeshua meant by worshiping the Father in spirit and Truth. For a quick review - Spirit:
TWOT: (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)
The unique feature of human life is not, however, the physical but the spiritual… it is his inner being that reflects the image of God … Biblical Hebrew therefore speaks of things that come into your mind - mental awareness, disposition of mind or attitude. rûah comes to denote the entire immaterial consciousness of man: ‘With my spirit within me I will seek you earnestly’; {Isa 26:9} (Some call this the heart of man.) YHWH is the Holy Spirit. For man is but a creature to whom life has been imparted by God’s spirit-life being but a resultant of God’s breath. Thus life and death are realistically described as an imparting or a withdrawing of God’s breath… Psalm 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth. Truth = YHVH :
TWOT:
First, it is frequently applied to God as a characteristic of his nature… a characteristic to be found in those who have indeed come to God. All truth comes from God and is truth because it is related to God. ISBE (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia):
TTN (Translation notes for the Gospels by Jay Green):
We worship according to the Spirit: Romans 8:4 … who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.Philippians 3:3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"We worship in Truth: John 1:17 … grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.Joshua 24:14 " Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth…Psalm 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.Our part: Isa 26:9 At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently…Why we worship (serve - honor - yield to) YHVH in spirit and truth:Isa 43:21 "The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise. 1Pe 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Quote on worship in spirit and truth (from ISBE): "For detail it is not a physical act or material offering, but an attitude of mind: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit"; "sacrifices of praise, with which God is well pleased"; not the service of form in an outward sanctuary, the presentation of slain animals, but the service of love in a life: "Present your bodies a living sacrifice"; not material sacrifices, but spiritual: your rational "service"; not the service about an altar of stone or wood, but about the sanctuary of human life and need; for this is true religion ("service," "worship," threskeia), "to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction"; not the splendor of shining robes or the sounding music of trumpets or organs, but the worshipping glory of holy lives; in real fact, "hallowing Thy name," "and keeping oneself unspotted from the world." The public worship of God in the presence of His people is a necessity of the Christian life, but in spiritual Christianity the ceremonial and outward approaches, if it does not quite reach, the vanishing point." Philip Wendell Crannell Praise YHVH you His holy ones; worship in spirit and truth. |
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Proverbs 3:3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being.
To properly worship (lift up, honor, fear, serve) the Holy One of Israel we need to do it in spirit and truth. YHVH’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth…) Isaiah 59:21 "As for Me, this is My covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring," says the LORD, "from now and forever." |
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"It is possible to be a believer and yet remain distant for the Lord. The fact is if you don’t spend time with him - if you don’t draw on his strength - your heart will faint. Your words will have little or no power or results; your testimony will be lifeless. Why? Because you will have drifted away from your source of strength." David Wilkerson We humbly acknowledge our need for the power of YHVH in our life. Our testimony, our witness and our worship will only be effective when we draw upon His Spirit - daily. Note Paul’s prayer for the saints: Ephesians 3:16-19 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. |
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In our pursuit of humility: (Lesson from humility in daily life.) "The question is often asked how we can count others better than ourselves when we see that they are far below us in wisdom, in holiness, in natural gifts, or in grace received. The question proves at once how little we understand what real lowliness of mind is. True humility comes when before God we see ourselves as nothing, have put aside self, and let God be all." Andrew Murray True worship: (honor, worth, service): Putting self aside - letting God be all - becoming an empty vessel - then the Spirit of the Ever-living One will fill us. When we see ourselves as nothing; then our only worth is His indwelling - then our acts of service toward others will be His love flowing from a heart empowered by His spirit, in truth. Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2Corinthians 5:19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. If God be in us - do not count others as less - allow Him (in us) to reconcile them. |
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Understanding the precepts of prayer. In the following account we might ask why YHVH had Abraham pray for Abimelech.
Genesis 20:7 "Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live…" Genesis 20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech and his wife and his maids, so that they bore children. Gill (Commentary):
and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live ; it being one part of the business of a prophet to pray for others, and make intercession for them, especially in any distress or trouble. Prophets were praying persons, had usually a great gift in prayer, and great power with God, and prevailed with him for the good of others; and such an one was Abraham;Ver. 17. So Abraham prayed unto God … chiefly it was on account of Abimelech and his family: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants: who by reason of some disease were rendered unfit for and incapable of cohabitation … but upon Abraham’s prayer for them, who was heard, they were healed, and the disorder removed; These are interesting comments about Abraham, the prophet. Because of his intimacy with YHVH he had power to be heard and the results were dramatic. We might speculate as to why Ahimelech took Sarah into his harem; it may have been because he was unable to produce offspring before this. Now Abraham prays and there are dramatic healings. Wow - what power in prayer. Do you know we too can have such power? John 16:23 "… Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. James 5:17-18 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. Our prayer life can also have dramatic results. Let us develop our relationship with the Almighty so when we intercede for others there will be dramatic results. Not us but the Father, the one who gave us the privilege of representing Him thru Yeshua. All praise to YHVH - Worship in Spirit and Truth. |
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How does God feel about issues we face today? This new section "The Heart of God" will try to take some aspect of modern day life and address it from His point of view.
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?It is important to God to be good stewards with what He has given us. This includes our trash. Do we think about this? The waste and pollution that goes into landfills are an abomination of greed to Him. We need to use things that can return to the earth and naturally decay when possible. Having no "trash pickup" is the goal. This isn't always practical or feasible but it is the desired goal. Yes it takes more effort and work to be a good steward, and it may even cost more money, but if it is important to God, it should be important to us. We should recycle what we can. Check around, you should be able to find a way to recycle many things that normally get thrown away. Also, look into composting all the organic waste. Do some research on the internet to find out how and what's involved. Perhaps we can bring our own dishes to "potlucks" and the like to keep all that extra trash out of the landfills. It may seem pointless when we look at the tons of trash discarded each day, but we need to be responsible for ourselves in all areas. What are you doing with your trash? Material in this section will be based on various prayer diaries. |
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Commentary from the web: Does anybody have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter Administration? Bottom line: We've spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency ...(And at the time everybody thought it very appropriate.) The 'Department of Energy' was instituted on 8-04-1977 TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL .
AND NOW IT'S 2010… 33 YEARS LATER AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEESAND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEESAND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE !(THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY 'WHAT WAS I THINKING?')
And NOW… We are going to turn the Banking System, Health Care & the Auto Industry over to government????
Some of the material contained in this section is for informational purposes only and has not been verified by us. |
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LIPSTICK IN SCHOOL (Some tidbits are worth re-quoting.) Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.
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Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations. Before I was a Mom
Before I was a Mom Before I was a Mom Before I was a Mom |
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Can there be any hope for the next generation when we so vehemently idolize the functionally retarded? (Michael Boldea Jr.) |
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If you are too big to do small jobs, you are too small to do big jobs. There is no tranquilizer more effective than a few kind words. The only person who gets anywhere playing both ends against the middle is the accordion player. The greatest artist was once a beginner. Each day comes bearing gifts…it’s up to you to untie the ribbons. There is a time to let things happen and a time to make things happen. |
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Psalm 2 (NJB)6 ‘I myself have anointed my king on Zion my holy mountain.’ 7 I will proclaim the decree of Yahweh: He said to me, ‘You are my son, today have I fathered you. (This is Yeshua our Savior - thank you Father) 8 Ask of me, and I shall give you the nations as your birthright, the whole wide world as your possession. (He will be over all - Thy Kingdom come!) 10 So now, you kings, come to your senses, you earthly rulers, learn your lesson! 11 In fear be submissive to Yahweh; (wise counsel) 12 … How blessed are all who take refuge in him! (Promised blessing) Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…) |
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1. His one and only Son - John 3:16 2 The Northern Kingdom - Israel 3. The land of Nod - Genesis 4:16 4. Timothy - 1Corinthians 4:17 5. Yes - 2Kings 25:7 6. Ruth or Orpah - Ruth 1:4 7. Joshua - Joshua 24:15 |