BEYOND SUNDAY: Heart

Read John 4: 4-24.

“Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” John 4:21-24.

We are created for worship. Our very system points us to worshiping God. If we would just follow the sign, we will live fulfilling lives. But what does it mean to worship God? We have different ways of defining worship but it does not always mean that we are right about it as Abraham Lincoln once said, “If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? Five? No, calling a tail a leg don’t make it a leg”. Calling something “worship” does not make it worship.

DEFINITION OF WORSHIP.

What is the heart of Worship? Jesus wanted to talk to the woman at the well about true worship but he first drew out the woman’s misconceptions on it.
To understand worship, we must first know what worship is NOT.

*Worship is NOT traditions. The woman at the well referred to their ancestors when she talked about worship. She had the “this is how we do it” mentality. Many people do not want to let go of what they have been used to that they miss out on what God is doing.
*Worship is NOT a place. The woman at the well referred to the mountain as a place of worship. Many people think that worship begins and ends when they go to church. But majority of the time that we worship God happens outside the church facility.
*Worship is NOT an object. Many times worship becomes how we feel or what we do. But worship is NOT about us.

Worship then, is directed to God. Worship is to honor God.
For who He is and for what He has done. We worship Him for who He is in our lives. He has touched our lives in a great and mighty way – we worship in response to this revelation.

“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?” the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him” John 9:35-38.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good” Psalm 34:8.

WORSHIP IS NOT ABOUT WHAT WE GET. IT’S WHAT WE GIVE

How do we worship? Jesus said that true worship is to worship in Spirit and in Truth (John 3:3-8; John 9:38). The heart of worship is to worship God with all our hearts. God is not affected by our past or our circumstances. All we need to do is lay it all down at the feet of Jesus and worship Him just like the woman at the well – shamed by her past, considered an outcast by the Samaritans (who themselves are outcast by the Jews), she did not know what to do but decided to worship Jesus because He is in control.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” John 4:23.

“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” John 17:17.

Jesus speaks about worshiping God in Spirit. The only way we can worship God is if we are born in the spirit. Repentance and faith in God, believing in Him is being born in the Spirit. Being born with God is a relationship and it’s the starting point. For us to be able to worship, we must also be able to worship in truth. The word of God is the only way we will know God more and experience Him each day. And the more we know God, the more we will see His worth and our response will be to worship him.

ABC Series: Resurrection and Eternal Judgment

“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” Hebrews 6:1-2.

It is in the nature of man to have an idea of Eternity, but what is Eternity? There are competing views on eternity: Those who believe in Annihilation do not prepare for eternity because they believe that there is no life after death. People who believe in Reincarnation are careful not to hurt other creatures, including cockroaches in fear that these might be one of their reincarnated ancestors or loved ones. They believe that they can come back in another life-form if they did not perform well in their current life. Those who hold on to the view of Resurrection believe that eternal life is a given, but it is where we will spend eternal life that truly matters – either we live it with God in heaven or be eternally condemned. It is important that we have the right view of eternity because how we view eternity dictates how we live our lives now.

“my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” Hosea 4:6.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:31-32.

The book of Revelations state that those who trust in Christ will live (Revelations 20:4-6). The resurrection of Christ is at the center of the Christian faith!

BIBLICAL TRUTHS ABOUT FAITH & ETERNITY:

1. Life is short.
“The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away” Psalm 90:10..

What are we living for? Many people prepare only for the temporal future. We need to fix our eyes on the eternal things of God.

2. Death is certain.

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” Hebrews 9:27-28.
We are all destined to die. How we treat Christ in our lifetime will determine what will happen to us on judgment day. It is our sin that separates us from a holy God. The good news is that Jesus died to pay the penalty of our sins. He rose up again to save us and if we call upon the Lord, we will be saved. If we ask him, he will forgive us of our sins. The names of those he saved will be written in the Lamb’s book of life and nothing can blot it out from it.

3. We will all face judgment.

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” John 5:28-29.

On the Day of Judgment, the righteous will be separated from the sinners.

1. Great White Throne judgment (Judgment of the Unbelievers).

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” Revelations 20:12.
“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” Revelations 20:15.
Those whose names are not found in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. This is the final judgment. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), our works cannot save us.

2. Judgment seat of Christ (Judgment of the believers’ works).

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” 2 Corinthians 5:10.
The judgment for our destination is no longer about our salvation. Our salvation has been given when we put our faith in Christ while we were still here on earth. It is our good works that will be tested. Any way we serve God will go through fire to test if it is built on sticks or if it will stand. Our words, actions and motives as Christians will be judged. Will you receive a reward?

YOUR VIEW OF ETERNITY WILL DETERMINE HOW YOU LIVE
“If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.

ABC Series: Baptism & laying on of hands

Read Hebrews 5: 11-Hebrews 6: 2.
“Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” Hebrews 6:1-2.

The basic of Christianity is faith in the finished work of Christ. According to the author of Hebrews, we need to move on from the basic teachings of Christianity and move on to maturity.
But what do the Jews believe about baptism? Baptism in the Old Testament means “washing”. Levitical laws required women who just had their monthly discharge to wash themselves as the “unclean” cannot enter the sanctuary to worship. This was what Bathsheba was doing when King David first saw her from his palace. This was done, not only for the hygiene but for ceremonial purposes.

WHAT BAPTISM IS NOT.

1. Baptism is NOT pouring. It means “to immerse.” Christian baptism involves the immersion of the whole body into the water. Pouring is done only when water is not available.

“People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” Matthew 3:5.

2. Baptism does NOT cleanse sin. It is the perfect blood of Jesus Christ that cleansed us from our sins. Jesus went through baptism as proof of his righteousness. He identified with our sins and became our substitute.

“Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented” Matthew 3:15.

3. Baptism is NOT a formula. Some people think of baptism as something with a right process of doing. Some think they need to be baptized in the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, while some think that it has to be done “in Jesus’ name”.

WHAT IS BAPTISM?

1. Baptism of Repentance.

“And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” Mark 1:4.

Repentance has to precede baptism. Baptism is a public declaration of the Lordship of Christ. An infant cannot choose his eternal destiny. You need to have adequate understanding to decide on this.

2. Baptism celebrates the newness of life.

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” Romans 6:3.

Baptism is not a manner of cleansing. For the Jews, it was an acknowledgement of a change of status.
When we go through baptism, we are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. We identify with his death, burial and resurrection. We bury our “old self”. And when we are dead, there should be no more reaction to the “old sin”. We rise up to a new life.

3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us power. He gives us spiritual gifts so that we can be a blessing to others.

“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about” Acts 1:4.

We were in a life of sin. God arrested us, changed us and convicted us to turn away from sins. When we receive baptism, we make a public declaration that we are now serving Jesus Christ.

SINCE WE BELONG TO CHRIST, WE MUST BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS

LAYING ON OF HANDS. We lay hands on other people so that we can be a conduit of the blessings of God. There is power transferred from the one who laid hands to the other person. Some of the reasons we lay hands on other people are:
a. To Ordain or Commission pastors. Laying on of hands is a sign or a stamp of approval for the ministry of men.
b. To minister the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus can fill us with the Spirit.
c. To impart spiritual blessings. As Moses transferred the anointing to Joshua (Deuteronomy 34:9) and the elders laid hands on 7 reliable men (Acts 6).
d. To impart family blessings. Fathers have the power to bless their children and their spouses. Jacob blessed his sons (Genesis 49). Our hands are used to nurture and protect our children, not to hurt them. Even in discipline, we use a rod not our own hands.
e. To minister healing. When we pray for the sick people, we lay our hands on them and believe that God will heal them.

Baptism is a celebration of belongingness to the Lord. We no longer belong to the world, we belong to Christ. And our special purpose is to be a blessing to others.