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“ IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH ”

“ IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH ”. Lesson 11 for September 10, 2011. In this week’s lesson we find the answer for three questions by studying Jesus’ life :. WHAT MOTIVATE US TO WORSHIP?. By the time Jesus was born, every pious woman in Israel wanted his son to be the Messiah .

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“ IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH ”

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  1. “IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH” Lesson 11 forSeptember 10, 2011

  2. In this week’s lesson we find the answer for three questions by studying Jesus’ life:

  3. WHAT MOTIVATE US TO WORSHIP? By the time Jesus was born, every pious woman in Israel wanted his son to be the Messiah. God chose one of them, Mary, because her character reflected the divine ideals of motherhood with a greater perfection than any other daughter of David. Through an angel, Mary knew that she was privileged with this mission. When her cousin Elizabeth visited her, she was inspired by the Holy Spirit to sing the praise we can read in Luke, 1: 46-55.

  4. WHAT MOTIVATE US TO WORSHIP? We can see the main subjects that led Mary to worship God in this worship; they are the same that should lead us to do so. “My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me. And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever” • Mary uses the Scriptures to make her praise and worship. • She gives glory to God because she has been chosen despite her humble condition. • She is touched by the divine holiness and mercy. • She knows God’s conduction in her and His people’s lives. • SheexaltsGod’sjustice. • She praises Godbecause of thefulfillment of Hispromises thatwere made inthe past. Luke, 1: 46-55

  5. WHOMUSTWEWORSHIP? When Jesus began His ministry, He was tempted by Satan in the desert. The devil offered Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory in the third temptation. Jesus had come to die to rescue the world. Then, the devil was offering it to him without any sacrifice... only one “little” condition: to worship him. The answer of our Savior made who is the only one to be worshipped clear. “Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written,`You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’"” (Matthew, 4: 10)

  6. WHOMUSTWEWORSHIP? “But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel, 3: 18) For those three friends, worshipping the statue meant to serve the god it represented. Likewise, the answer of Jesus to the devil showed this interesting point: worship and service are intimately related. We serve what or who we worship. As God’s sons, we must choose everyday who we want to serve (Matthew, 6: 24) Serving God involves giving Him the first place in every aspect of our life and obeying Him in all His requirements. The most we worship God, the less we serve the “self”, the sin, or whatever that tries to gain our service. “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua, 24: 15)

  7. WHOMUSTWEWORSHIP? The whole Bible is clear in one thing: We can worship only God. Nothing and no one beside Him can be worshipped. Acts, 10: 25-26 Revela-tion, 22: 8-9 “Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God."” “As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man."” Likewise, even the angel, who was greater than a man, didn’t let John to worship him. We can see how Peter didn’t let Cornelius to worship him, since he was only a man.

  8. WHOMUSTWEWORSHIP? We have learnt that only God must be worshipped [προσκυνησεις]. Let’s study these verses and see how Jesus agreed to be worshipped.

  9. WHOMUSTWEWORSHIP? If only God can be worshipped, why did Jesus accept to be worshipped? Jesus accepted to be worshipped because He is God, and that’s why we must worship Him too. Jesus must be the center and focus of all our worship. Every song, every prayer, every sermon, everything that we do should, in one way or another, ultimately direct our minds toward Christ, the incarnate God who offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians, 2: 9 NIV)

  10. HOWMUSTWEWORSHIP? Jesus asked a Samaritan woman to give Him water next to Jacob’s well (john, 4). In that conversation, Jesus offered himself to be live water that would spring up for eternal life for her. When the woman faced that declaration, she changed the subject to the controversial subject of the place where they should worship. Should they worship in mount Gerizim like the Samaritans did or in the temple of Jerusalem like the Jewish did? Instead of arguing about places, traditions or liturgy, Jesus taught here that the most important thing in worship is not the form, but a personal relationship with God, dying to the self everyday and surrendering to him with faith and humbleness.

  11. HOWMUSTWEWORSHIP? “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. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John, 4: 23-24) In his answer to the Samaritan woman, Jesus stated the two main pillars of the true worship to God: “In spirit and in truth”.

  12. “Not by seeking a holy mountain or a sacred temple are men brought into communion with heaven. Religion is not to be confined to external forms and ceremonies. The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit every sincere prayer is indited, and such prayer is acceptable to God. Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit’s working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them, and to make them His sons and daughters” E.G.W. (The Desire of Ages, cp. 19, “At Jacob’s well”, pg. 189)

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