John 4:20-24 (NKJV) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 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.”
This passage shows us what God wants when it comes to worshipping Him—He is seeking worshippers. Therefore, it is dishonouring to God when we come late to church and skip the praise and worship segment because the very purpose of coming to church is to worship Him. Therefore, the most important portion of the service is the worship segment because it is all about God. It takes time for us to enter into His presence because we are easily distracted and so used to being dictated by our flesh and our emotions that some of us may even find ourselves uncomfortable with loud praise and worship.
The Word segment is necessary to build up our faith and to equip us to live out the lifestyle in Christ, and there are people who will queue up for hours to listen to a gifted speaker, but we’ve forgotten the reason we go to church is to worship God while also desiring to walk in His Word.
Luke 23:45-46 (NKJV) Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.
What privileges we have as compared to the Old Testament saints! There was a veil to enter the Holy of Holies, which only the High Priest could pass through after he had cleansed himself ceremonially, but this veil has been torn from the top to the bottom because Jesus’ death has satisfied the wrath of God towards the sin of mankind. Jesus has taken all our sins upon Himself and was judged on the cross of Calvary. In return, He has given us His righteousness so that we can approach God based on His holiness and righteousness. It no longer matters whether it is in Jerusalem or the mountains because God accepts us based on who we are in Christ, whether we are Jews or Gentiles.
Though we are imperfect, God chose to see us in Christ so that we are always welcomed into His presence. We worship in truth through the revelations that He has given us through His Word, and because He has made us into new creations when we were born again, we can also worship Him in spirit.
Sermon Series: ICS Worship Culture (Part 1)
真正的敬拜者
约翰福音4:20-24 我们的祖宗在这山上礼拜，你们犹太人倒说应当礼拜的地方是在耶路撒冷。”耶稣说、妇人、你当信我、时候将到、你拜父、也不在这山上、也不在耶路撒冷。你所崇拜的是你所不知道的;我们知道所拜的，因为救恩是从犹太人出来的。时候将到，现在就是了，那真正拜父的，要用心灵和诚实拜他。因为父寻求这样的人敬拜他。神是个灵，所以拜他的，必须用心灵和诚实拜他。
这段经文告诉我们当我们敬拜祂时，神想要的是什么—祂正在寻找敬拜者。因此，当我们去教会迟到，跳过赞美和敬拜的环节，这是对神的羞辱，因为我们来教会的目的就是为了敬拜祂。因此，服侍中最重要的部分是敬拜，因为这个部分全然是关乎神的。进入神的同在需要时间，因为我们很容易分心，习惯于被肉体和情感所支配，有些人甚至会对大声的赞美和敬拜感到不舒服。
证道部分对于建立我们的信心和装备我们活出在基督里的生活方式是必要的，有些人会排几个小时的队去听一个有恩赐的讲员，但我们忘记了我们去教堂的缘由本是为了敬拜上帝，同时也渴望行在祂的道上。
路加福音23:45-46 日头变黑了，殿里的幔子裂为两半。耶稣大声喊著说、父阿、我将我的灵魂交在你手里。说了这话、气就断了。
与旧约的圣徒相比，我们所拥有的是何等的特权啊!至圣所的入口处有一层幔子，只有大祭司按照仪规洁净自己之后才能进入幔子的里面，但这层幔子被自上而下地撕开了，因为耶稣的死止息了上帝对人类罪的愤怒。耶稣承担了我们所有的罪，并在加略山的十字架上受了审判。作为回报，祂把祂的公义赐给我们，使我们可以因着祂的圣洁和公义接近神。无论是在耶路撒冷敬拜还是在山上敬拜，都不再重要了，因为神是按着我们在基督里的身份接纳我们，无论我们是犹太人还是外邦人。
虽然我们不完美，但神选择在基督里看见我们，所以我们总是被迎入祂的同在。我们藉著神通过圣经所赐给我们的启示，在诚实中敬拜祂，又因为祂在我们重生的时候使我们成为新造之物，我们也可以在灵里敬拜祂。
讲章系列: ICS 的敬拜文化 (第一部分)
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