Jesus Is Truth And The Truth Is Out There

Flagship scripture : James 4:8

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

                        For review – we have learned in previous lessons:

1.   God wishes to draw near to us. But it is up to us.

2.    We hunger for what we feed on. We must regularly feed on and digest His Word.

3.   Protect our hunger – read and meditate on His Word daily.

4.    We need to want to be in God’s presence because of who He is not what He can do.

5.    We need to have the fear of God. Holy reverence.

Text scriptures : John 4:23-24

            23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Main Truth : a religious spirit is one who uses God’s Word to execute his own will

(Is obedient to God’s will and Word because of love for God and desire to do his Will)

*Intimacy with God happens to those who draw near to him in Holy Fear and reverence not in word or deed only, but from the heart.

           

Examples from scripture:    

1. Enoch

                                                            2. Abraham    

                                                            3. David

                                                            4. Noah

                                                            5. – Many others

Genesis 6:9

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God

Acts 13:22

 And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave their testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.

When we take on His hearts desire as our own, that is true obedience

*God is looking for those who will obey Him out of genuine heartfelt obedience

Jer. 11:7  For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.

Some examples from scripture - Moses, Joshua, David, Esther, Daniel – and others  (obeyed in truth)

A perfect example of regarding someone in word only and not in deed – no help all day and evening to wife when she asks for it, but at bed time telling her how much you love her and wanting sex from her.

                  

Gen. 22:5  is an account of Abraham’s worship as a way of life –

(praise is not a fast song and worship is not a slow song – as in some church services)

Gen 22:5  He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Worship truly is a life of obedience from the heart

                                   

Amos 5:23-24 gives us another testimony from God on the same subject –

23 Take the noise of your songs away!
   I will not listen to the music of your harps.
 24 I want you to treat others fairly.
      So let fair treatment roll on
      just as a river does!
      Let right living flow along
      like a stream that never runs dry!

·        Vine’s concordance says the Greek word for truth is aletheia and is defined as the reality lying at the basis of an appearance.

-         True worship is found at the base level of a human, which is the heart.

There are 3 levels of communication God denotes in scripture.

1.      Verbal – Matt 21:28-31  "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'  29" 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. 30"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. 31"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
      "The first," they answered.

Showing action is a higher form of communication than words

Also look up later James 2:15-16, 1 John 3:17

 2.   Deeds or Action – 1 Cor. 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

3.    Heart (highest level of communication) – Jesus refers to this level as truth  Isa 1:19   If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;

1 John 3:19  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence

God reveals Himself to those who really want to know Him –

Plslm 89:15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
         O LORD, they walk in the light of Your countenance.

John 14:  19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

-  We can see from scripture all of the people who have known God and been obedient in truth. I have to wonder how my life and yours would be different if and when we start to live this way.

Only those who worship in Him in spirit and in truth will know and see His Manifest Presence

·       The Word says “I stand at the door of your heart and knock, if anyone opens it I will come in and sup with him”

·       That means God want relationship with you and me BAD. (more than we do – until we know Him / have relationship with Him)