Worship in Spirit and in Truth

Have you ever asked yourself this during a worship service, “Does this feel authentic?” Most likely you have. Whether as a participant in the congregation or on stage leading the worship service, I am guessing that, as a believer seeking to please the Lord, you have at some point asked the question: “Am I being sincere right now? How can I know this worship is authentic?”

I, for one, know that I have asked this question many times, and that it can be distressing when you feel that you are just going through the motions, especially in something as important and holy as worshiping God.

On such occasions, we can feel overly pressured to make something happen. Perhaps the fear of man’s opinions about music, the aesthetics, or people’s reactions can take us to the point where we can’t even concentrate on the Lord.

“How is this being received?”
“Why are we singing this song again?”
“I don’t like that person’s outfit.”
“Did I pick the right song?”
“Did I nail that vocal run?”

Eventually, we can spiral so far away from true worship that all we can think about is the outward form of our worship or the expression of other people’s worship, instead of actually worshiping the Lord!

As I pondered this, the story came to mind about Samuel arriving at the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons to be king of Israel:

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16: 6–7)

Notice first that the verse is not specifically talking about David. It is speaking about the outward stature of the first son, Eliab. Samuel was tempted first to look at that which was attractive and capable. Surely this had to be God’s anointed one! It’s a very tempting thing to judge something or someone by appearance. Little did Samuel know that God had chosen the shepherd boy whom nobody was expecting. Yet it was David that was after God’s heart, a king in the making.

If our worship services could be compared to this story, we could see how many of us would be guilty of similarly judging the level of anointing by outward appearance. Generally, we want environments that are exciting to be in and that please our five senses. We like good singers and musicians. We like seamless production.

In contrast, services that are not as great by our aesthetic standards, or not as exciting, could be considered unpleasing. I’m afraid it is even possible to despise worship experiences that have no flare to them or even ones that have seemingly little participation. What if nobody’s hands are raised? What if the people attending seem unengaged? Is worship authentic if there was no outward evidence of it?

Let’s look at it yet from another angle: the quality of the music. This is a big one for all of us musicians and singers. Psalm 33 says we should “play skillfully to the Lord.” So, how do we appreciate excellence in worship experiences while not making excellence our idol? All these things have their place: well-tuned instruments, pleasant lighting, songs that are conducive for the people to sing, and excellent production.

The Scriptures even speak of using our bodies to praise the Lord. I love to lead a well-written and well-produced song. I love to feel the music and hear beauty in the on-pitch voice. I love to be in a room with others where the lighting and style is pleasing and not distracting. I enjoy being amongst people who express their love for God by raising their hands and dancing.

Yet I can’t help but think that what God is looking for is exactly what He was looking for in Samuel’s day. He is looking for a heart after His own. And that is what David had, something that can easily escape the human eye. Something that only the Lord can truly judge and fully perceive.

Jesus told us that the Father is seeking worshipers that worship, not on this mountain or that mountain but “in spirit and truth” (John 4:21, 24). I think this is what it means to have a heart after God’s. We need to be ones that strive first and foremost to have hearts ready to meet with the living God, whether we lead or participate in a service. He is the most important One.

I have been in some of the most polished worship experiences imaginable. I have led in large gatherings when it seemed like everything was on point. I have led also in impoverished, dirty, and unattractive environments with unskilled musicians, when it seemed like nothing was working from an outward perspective.

Regardless of the environment, I have learned not to judge by outward appearance—the polished worship service could feel plastic—and the unimpressive service is where the anointing is so thick in the room you can hardly stand! God really does see the heart!

One such instance that taught me this principle was when I was at a conference in the mountains with an indigenous tribe in Mexico. These people walked literally for days to a conference. They had no place to sleep but under the trees. They were the poorest of the poor. The instruments were out of tune and the worship music was the furthest thing from impressive. Even so, it was one of the most powerful worship experiences I’ve ever been in. I can’t help but think God was smiling widely upon His children even though outwardly it would not impress. The engagement of the people and their hearts, abandoned to worship God, was something impressive to behold. It was in spirit, in truth, and from a heart after God’s.

Let’s strive to be the type of people that remember the most important Person as we aim to be excellent in our expressions of worship. His eyes are always on us.

Question: How can you turn your heart more fully to the Lord during worship?

- Chris Tofilon, Worship Leader, IHOPKC;  Chris Tofilon has a BA from Wheaton College. After five years on the mission field in Mexico, Chris joined IHOPKC in 2009. He has ministered internationally and currently serves as a primary worship leader in the Global Prayer Room. He has a passion to train and impart wisdom to young singers and musicians, so that they may have an understanding of the urgency of the hour.

Encountering God: Cultivating Your Relationship with the Lord in Worship

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we receive the beautiful gift of eternal salvation and are brought into the family and kingdom of God. In participating in life as a part of the family and kingdom of God, we have submitted our lives, and all of our ways, to Him and are choosing to take His ways on as our own, which is a transformation process which is walked out in our daily lives.

As children in His family and citizens of His kingdom, we are commanded in Deuteronomy 6:11 to “worship the Lord, and serve Him alone,” and in the New Testament, in Matthew 4:11, Jesus quotes this verse when Satan is tempting Him. As the Son of God, He submitted to this commandment,and lived His life on the earth in worship to the Father—how much more should we seek to carefully obey this commandment!

Drawing Near of the Heart

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says,

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me.” (Mt. 15:8–9)

This verse, to me, has served as a deep expression of the Lord’s heart for us when we worship—to draw near to Him from our hearts—and not just give Him lip service or just show up but not sincerely. I have to continually ask the Lord to alert me when I am doing this, and I repent when I find myself showing up to worship, but not truly drawing near to Him in my heart.

Sing the Truth

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” (Jn. 4:23)

I have found that one of the greatest gifts in seeking to obey the command to worship the Lord, and in seeking to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, is the Scriptures. If we feed our hearts on His Word and come to Jesus through it, He will train us and teach us how to walk out worshiping and loving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The book of Psalms specifically paints a beautiful tapestry of ways to worship the Lord, from bowing low in submission to Him as King to trembling before Him as a righteous Judge; from singing to Him as the King of all of the earth to honoring Him as the Father of the fatherless. And the list goes on.

Here are some of the ways the writers of the book Psalms entreat us to worship.

• Psalm 2:12 speaks of responding to the Lord in three specific ways: it says to “serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling, and kiss the Son.”
• Psalm 29:2 instructs us to worship in the beauty of holiness.
• Psalm 45:11 says, “Because He is your Lord, worship Him.”
• Psalm 95:6 adds, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker.”
• Psalm 96:9 exhorts us, “Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, tremble before Him all the earth.”

One side note, a couple of practical tips on how I engage with the Psalms: I sing them, phrase by phrase, throughout the day or during worship times at church.

1. Start with praying “Lord, I thank you for this truth,” or simply turn the phrase into a prayer. For example, take Psalm 95:6 from the above paragraph. I would say, “Lord, I worship You as my Maker, I thank You that I am the work of Your hands—I kneel before You, honor You, and worship You”; and then,
2. Sing and repeat short phrases from the verse, for example, “I come to You” or “I worship You” or “I bow before You” or “You are my Maker.” I have personally found that slowly singing the shorter phrases helps my mind to slow down and my heart to connect with the truths that I am singing.

Another aspect of worshiping the Lord and using the Scriptures as a guide as you do so is that I continually discover new truths about the Lord when I draw near to Him or understand who He is in a different way. Had I just been reading the truths, they might not have awakened my heart in the same way as when I sang them. So in this aspect, I have found worship, and the singing of the Scriptures, to be a place to grow in and discover the knowledge of God.

Grace to you as you discover more and more of Him as you give yourself to Him in worship today!

“May the Father of glory give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.” (Eph. 1:17–19)

- Sada Rogers; Worship Leader, IHOPKC. (Sada Rogers and her husband, Nate, live in South Kansas City. Sada has been on full-time staff at IHOPKC for the past 18 years, primarily serving as a worship leader and giving oversight to the worship teams and prayer room during the night hours.)