Scripture: John 4 v 23 - 24: "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."
Isaiah 29 v 4: "And thou shalt be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust."
Last night on Twitter I read many posts of people who have been deceived by their church or pastor and have chosen to leave their churches to seek fellowship elsewhere only to find that truth and the gospel of Jesus has been compromised in so many places. It prompted me to write about this today.
False worship is when you make an idol out of a spirit being, an object or a person. When this idol is more important than your love for Jesus, you are engaged in false worship. Many people make an idol out of their pastor; many pastors make an idol out of their ministry.
In the book of Samuel, "The Witch of Endor" tells the full story of King Saul consulting a witch to bring up or manifest, or as New Agers would say, channel, the spirit of the dead prophet, Samuel, that the King may enquire about the outcome of the war against invading Philistines. However the true spirit of Samuel did indeed manifest, terrifying the witch, and told Saul that the enemies of Israel would triumph but he and his sons would die. This was because he had made God his enemy through disobedience, especially turning from the Lord to consult a witch.
Our God is unchangeable, and what He called abominable in the Old Testament is still abominable in the New. Consulting the ancestors or even attending a seance conducted by a psychic medium are open doors for serious problems coming upon your life. Likewise idolising your ministry or pastor goes against everything we know about Jesus.
We are observing many serious signs of a false spirit invading the church universal, masquerading as the Holy Spirit, including false tongues, false miracles and hearings, hypnosis, trance, false preaching and false doctrines showing that the falling away spoken of in Thessalonians is well advanced.
The falling away is known as Apostasy and it grows as fast as the rising of the Antichrist. Changing truth into lies. It has crept in over the past forty years little by little twisting the power of God into unrighteous heresies. Lately it has become more blatant, less hidden and completely unacceptable. There are now Bibles available that have been authored by those engaged in New Age practices.
We must worship our God in Spirit and in truth. We must discern the spirit in the church we attend and the pastor who ministers to us. We must not swallow every teaching but check it carefully against what is written on the subject in the Bible.
If it does not line up with the Word take it to the pastor and ask him to explain it. If he is a true man if God he will humbly and kindly help you understand, or admit he has made an error. If he is full of bluster and anger at being challenged, you have a different kettle of fish.
These false ones most often meet a challenge by saying they have the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon them and we must, by faith, accept their words as coming from God. No matter what! This is pride and deceit at work, and it leaves us empty and disappointed. Or they may insist that being politically correct and obeying the law of the land is acceptable to God even if its the murder of the unborn. However, praise God that He has revealed a wolf in sheep's clothing in time for us to make a change.
To worship God in Spirit and truth we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Two different experiences. The baptism or immersion in the Holy Spirit is evidenced by speaking in tongues and other gifts. It is a once off experience from the laying on of hands of other believers that lasts forever.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit is a continual process that aids our spiritual growth into holiness, faith, love, peace and truth. We are being changed into the likeness of Jesus. His pure nature is the goal we aspire to reach. When we worship God in these attitudes it is acceptable and enjoyed by Him.
The only safe place on this planet is in the Living Ark. His name is Jesus Christ and He is able to save, heal, protect and deliver us from all evil. Before Jesus started His Earthly ministry, there was no way of dealing with the dark side. If you were engaged with demons on any level as in the Old Testament, such as witchcraft, idolatry, or homosexuality you were slain. In the New Testament Jesus took that death on Himself so that we could be forgiven and delivered from demonic bondage.
The biggest worldly false worship is of Hollywood idols: actors or actresses, singing stars or sporting icons, and don't forget, politicians! Guard your soul from falling into these traps. So many of those who were slavishly followed have been embarrassingly discredited. The first commandment has always been that you shall have no other gods but our Almighty God and His Son Jesus. It is only through true worship that we sustain our souls and avoid temptations.
As happened to King Saul consulting a witch causing his death, so it will be with us if we stray into wrong beliefs. Make a decision today that no matter how happy you are in your church you will ask God to confirm that it is in line with His will and His Word. Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you will find. Knock and it shall be opened. Ignore and its all on you.
Prayer: Heavenly Father You said we must not learn the way of the heathen or pagan people, nor those guilty of deception, but to renew our minds according to Your will. Help us to correctly discern our own lives, churches and homes by Your standards and the light You have given us to live by in safety and love. Let us try the spirits to make sure its You. In Jesus' name. Amen.