Worship From The Heart

True worshipers

A true worshiper is someone who has fallen hopelessly in love with Jesus, and whose heart pitter-patters for Him. They see Jesus everywhere and are enraptured and enthralled with Him. This is a far cry from empty ceremony and religious duty.

Here is how Jesus describes true worshipers:

But the time is coming--indeed it's here now--when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24 NLT)

Notice, He is not looking for “worship” per se, but He is looking for “worshipers”, a very specific kind of worshipers, ones who worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Jesus mentions “true worshipers,” which, by the very words implies that there can also be worship that may not be true. Jesus defined true worship with these two remarkable words, “in spirit and in truth.” Worship “in spirit” is worship that comes straight from your heart. And worship “in truth” is worship that is honest and real.

Let’s consider the first part, “in spirit”. Worship is a spiritual, or heart-involved, activity.

True love and admiration comes from deep within, from the bottom of your heart, the depth of your gut, and it radiates out of every part of your being.

Remember when you first fell in love, and your whole being was consumed with thoughts of your lover? A huge smile was indelibly adhered to your face, and sweet words flowed out of your mouth for them.

Time doesn’t diminish true love. The giddiness might subside, yet after years of marriage the love is still there and actually deepens as you learn to take care of each other. But, simply put, true love comes out of your heart and is evident on the outside.

If I were to go to the card shop to buy a card for my husband, I would browse through dozens of cards to find the one that expressed exactly what I would really like to say to my sweetheart. But if I just grabbed any card as I ran past and handed it to my husband without putting any thought or heart into it, he would know it and feel the lack of heart. The best card would be one that perfectly expresses my heart to my lover, and he would be touched when he reads it.

Worship is simply loving God, and it must be honest and wholehearted in order to touch His heart.

It’s easy to tell when you are truly sincere with your love, and when you are not. It grabs God’s attention when you truly love Him, and He knows the ones who really love Him.

But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:3 NKJV)

God can tell when our heart is sincere or when we are only trying to impress Him (or others around us). As soon as we begin to speak to Him from our heart, we have His attention. And wow! What He will do for someone who truly loves Him! He will literally move heaven and earth for those who love and trust Him.

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him… (2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV)

Worship isn’t something you attend or watch, it’s something you enter into.

You could sit back and watch people worship the Lord. You could analyze the style of music, the ability of the singers and instrumentalists. But when you close your eyes and sing from your heart to Jesus, you change worlds. It’s a completely different dimension that you enter into.

3D images were once very popular. They are digital artwork with somewhat of a geometrical pattern. At first, the picture only appears to be a scribbled pattern of colors, but when you let your eyes relax and go cross-eyed, a three-dimensional image comes into view. It is mind-blowing how deep the image becomes! It’s like you can reach into it because the perception of depth is so real.

I used to get frustrated with looking at those pictures. I didn’t see anything but a blur! But after much time staring into the picture and blinking, I finally learned to change the way my eyes were looking at it and to my amazement the picture popped out.

It may be difficult at first to enter into the Spirit, but it is right here and easy to enter into if we could only change the way we are looking and see with the eyes of our spirit. Those 3D images are only still shots, but in the dimension of the Spirit there is life and activity. God expresses Himself to you and reveals His love and comfort to your heart. There is much to see in the Spirit realm.

There is a Christian friend in our neighborhood who told us of his first experience with entering into the Spirit. He shared with us how a friend of his took him to his home and helped him press into the Spirit. It took some concentration and some real persistence, but he finally broke through.

It will eventually become easy to transition out of one realm and into the other. It used to take me a while to get my mind focused and enter into the Spirit, but now it only takes a few seconds to enter right in.

Our family lives in the suburbs of Tampa, Florida, with interstates and 6-lane highways all around. About a year ago, our neighbor recommended a great bicycle trail that winds through the swampy woods and around quiet ponds. Some mornings, I hop on my bike and head out of our subdivision, across a 6-lane highway, behind some professional buildings and then past the huge wholesale warehouse club. When I ride down the sidewalk, I come to a little white arbor, and as I ride under the arbor, I enter into a whole new dimension. Suddenly, I am out of the scramble of the city and on a serene paved path. I drink in the solitude as I cross small boardwalks and notice the water birds slowly wading along the edge of the ponds. The environment makes it so easy to commune with the Lord.

On Sunday mornings, it might take effort to transfer over into the spirit realm, past the foyer full of people greeting you, past the ushers and the announcements, and into that secret place where you commune with the Lord. It may be challenging at first, but with faith and determination, you will find the spirit realm. And after many experiences of entering in, it will become much easier.