The Forever Notebook

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”-
John 4:24

Do you ever feel, in a worship setting, that you are disconnected? The worship leader is doing his best to get you into the experience but you just can’t get into it. You just feel like something is missing. Maybe you blame the music. Let’s face it; churches are using a lot of music styles in attempts to whip us into a worship frenzy. “I don’t like the music.” “The music is too loud.” “I can’t stand that woman’s voice.” “That guy looks funny when he sings.” Something’s amiss but you may be blaming the wrong thing. If worship isn’t happening you may be the one with the problem.

When my youngest son was very young I decided that organized sports would be good for him. So I signed him up for t-ball. When the first game arrived my wife and I couldn’t wait to get to the ballpark to see him play.

When the game started his team took their positions on the field. Since the young players were so inexperienced the coaches led each boy to the place that he should stand on the field. I was excited to see that Michael was playing centerfield. And so the game began.

As the first batter came to the plate Michael went for a little walk in the outfield. He smiled and waved at his other teammates in the outfield as he strolled happily toward the outfield fence with his back turned to the game in progress. His coach yelled for him to get into position but Michael was more interested in inspecting his newfound environment.

Suddenly the batter made contact and the ball darted up the middle of the field over second base and, you guessed it, rolled on into centerfield. The coaches and fans screamed at the centerfielder to get the ball but it just wasn’t meant to be.

The coach called time and went to the outfield. With his finger he drew a circle in the dirt and told Michael not to move out of the circle. Dutifully Michael took his place in the circle and was now ready to face the action on the field.

The next batter slammed another grounder up the middle of the field, past second base, and just to the left of Michael’s circle. The coaches yelled frantically for Michael to get the ball. But he just stood there. Again the coach called time and marched to center field. “Michael, why didn’t you get the ball?” he inquired. “You told me to stay in the circle,” replied Michael.

From beginning to end it was apparent that Michael just wasn’t into the game. There was no connection between him and baseball.

In today’s selected scripture Jesus encounters a woman at a well in Samaria. The Samaritans were brought to the region of Samaria by by the king of Assyria. Most were from near Babylon. These strangers integrated with the Jews still remaining in the land, and gradually abandoned their old idolatry and adopted parts of the Jewish religion. However, the Jews in Jerusalem refused to allow them to take part with them in rebuilding the temple which resulted in enmity between them. The Samaritans then erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which was ultimately destroyed by a Jewish king. They then built another temple at Shechem. It was in the context of these religious and cultural differences that Jesus confronted the woman.

The Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” (John 4:20) Jesus replied, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (v 21) Jesus further amplifies His point by saying, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

In the story I shared earlier it was clear that Michael was unable to relate to the game of baseball. He was on a baseball field, wore a baseball uniform, and even attempted to play in the game. He was physically in the right place but his head and heart were elsewhere. There was no real connection between him and baseball.

What Jesus wants us to know about worship is that there must be a right connection between us and God. True worship must have a spiritual connection. “God is spirit.” For our heads and hearts to be into worship we must be connected to God through the Spirit.

When you give your life to Christ the Holy Spirit takes us residence in you. It is the presence of the Spirit within You that gives you the ability to worship and communicate with God. Jesus also said that we must worship in “truth.” Remember, Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” He made it clear that it is impossible to come to God except through Him. Jesus then is the “truth.” It is through our right relationship to Christ and our spiritual connection through the Holy Spirit that we can engage in true worship.

Back to my original questions about worship: “Do you ever feel that you are disconnected?” Real worship can’t be manufactured. It’s not the ability of the worship leader or the hymns and songs that make worship real. In fact, it has little to do with being in church. It has everything to do with what is going on in your heart. Real worship begins with a right relationship to God through Christ and a spiritual connection with God through the Holy Spirit. Get your focus right and your worship will be right.

Get your heart right and meet God prayerfully through the Spirit. Pay less attention to what is going on around you and more attention to God. Make Him your focus and true worship will be the result.

Prayer

“Heavenly Father. Forgive me for allowing myself to be distracted by things that keep me from worshipping You in spirit and truth. Help me to keep my heart right and uncluttered from the distractions of this world and sin. Enable me to take advantage of the Spirit that resides within me so that I might be rightly connected with You. Help me to worship you as I should. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”