Passage

John 4:23-24
[23] "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. [24] "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today is the last day of the Chuseok holidays. Some of the people in the world do not want the holidays to end.
Some of them say they want to enjoy themselves more because it's the last day of the holidays, and others may think they need to rest because they are tired after traveling to their hometowns.
You are not taking the worldly rest or enjoying worldly pleasures, but instead you are keeping the Lord's Day holy in the church.
Palm 84:4 says, "How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You." As said, you are worshipping God and longing for the spiritual blessings rather than worldly pleasures.
So, for you to be able to receive all the blessings that God has prepared, I will deliver a message with the title, 'A Spiritual Worship Service'.
Our worship service is a ritual to praise God and give glory to Him.
It is a time in which we lift God up with our thanks and love.
We can meet the almighty God and have a fellowship of love through the worship service.
We can also receive material and spiritual blessings given by God in that love.
Especially, children of God have to keep the Lord's Day holy, and the essential part of keeping the Lord's Day holy is the worship service.
We have to keep the Lord's Day holy to be protected by God throughout the week.
There are also many other worship services including the Wednesday service, Friday all-night service, cell group service, early morning prayer service, home worship service, and visitation service.
These are the opportunities where you can please God and receive the answers to your heart's desires.
Abraham understood the importance of worship services, and everywhere he went, he built an altar to offer sacrifices to God.
Solomon pleased God with his one thousand sacrifices and received unprecedented wisdom along with wealth, fame, and long life.
But to receive such answers and blessings, we have to offer spiritual worship services.
Some people get into accidents or mishaps even though they say they keep the Lord's Day holy.
When this happens, they should check whether they have truly kept the Lord's Day, which means whether they really offered spiritual worship services.
A true worship service is not just the act of attending the worship service.
We can receive the blessings coming through the worship only when we offer spiritual worship to God.
In the book of Genesis, Cain and Abel each offered a sacrifice to God, and God accepted only Abel's sacrifice.
Cain did not offer a sacrifice that God wanted, but he offered it in a way that suited him, and it did not become an aroma acceptable to God.
Leviticus 10:1-2 tells us that Nadab and Abihu were consumbed by fire while offering fire.
It was because they used strange fire which God had not commanded them.
Namely, they gave a sacrifice in a way that seemed good to them.
King Saul also gave an inappropriate sacrifice that infringed upon the duties of the priests, and he was forsaken by God.
They thought they were giving sacrifices to God, but in their hearts they didn't have any reverent fear or love for God.
A sacrifice must be offered with a heart that is right in the sight of God and in a way that God wants and not in a way that seems fit in men's eyes.
When we offer worship services to God today, we can receive blessings only when we understand what a spiritual worship service is and offer it in the spiritual way.
Through this message I hope you will check how spiritual the worship service is that you are offering to God.

Main

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the first man Adam had had clear communion with God. But after he sinned, the communication was cut off.
But God prepared the way of forgiveness and salvation for Adam, who corrupted, and his descendants, and He opened the way for them to have communication with Him again. The passageway of communication was through the sacrifices of the Old Testament.
Especially, at the time of the Exodus from the Egypt, God gave the people specific ways of giving sacrifices through Moses.
As in the book of Leviticus, God let them know the methods of giving various offerings, including the burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering.
What we have to remember from the offerings of the Old Testament is that they had to offer the sacrifice of blood.
(However, in the case of grain offering, it is not a sacrifice of blood, since it's just grain. This is one of the exceptions to offerings and it is given for thanksgiving. The other offerings were associated with the forgiveness of sins and had to be blood sacrifices.
Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement."
For the mankind who became sinners to be able to communicate with God, they first have to be forgiven of their sins.

Because the wages of sin is death, to be forgiven of sins means we are redeemed from death and gain life.
In order to be forgiven of sins and gain life, they had to offer the life of the sacrifice in place of the sinner.
Namely, they had to catch the sacrifice and give the offering of blood, which is the source of life.
But the sacrifices from the herd, flock, or the doves could give them only momentary forgiveness.
For man's sins to be completely forgiven is possible only by the life of a man.
1 Corinthians 15:21 says, "For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead."
As written, the sinless Jesus became our sacrifice to save sinners.
He came to this earth in human body and died on the cross shedding His blood.
Hebrews 9:12 says, "...and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."
As stated, Jesus obtained eternal redemption through His own blood once for all.
Those who believe in this fact are forgiven of their sins of the past, present, and the future.
But it doesn't mean the sacrifices of the Old Testament have been abolished.
The sacrifices of the Old Testament were the shadows of the forthcoming Jesus, and in the New Testament, the external formalities of the Old Testament have changed into the worship service.
Now, we do not offer sacrifices with animals, but instead we attend worship services in the church.
The spiritual meanings contained in the sacrifices of the book of Leviticus are still applied in the same way in the worship services today.
The proceedings and ways of giving various offerings all have close connection with the formalities associated with the sacrifices in the Old Testament.
I cannot explain all those meanings here at this point, so please refer to the lectures on the book of Leviticus.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today's reading passage, John 4:23-24 says, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. [24] "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
When God accepted the sacrifices in the Old Testament, He did not smell the scent of the herd or the flock, but the aroma of heart of the one who was giving the sacrifice.
He considered how much those people revered and loved God, and accepted their devotion and the love of their hearts.
It's the same with the worship services in the New Testament.
God accepts the aroma of the heart coming from how wholeheartedly we prepare for the worship service, how much we long to hear the word of God, and with how much love we praise Him.
If we really long for worship services, it will show in our action.
For example, since I was a new believer, I have taken a bath with a godly heart on Sunday morning.
I put on clean underclothing and socks. I also wear the neatest possible outfit.
I don't mean we have to adorn ourselves brilliantly on the outside. I am talking about the attitude of our heart when coming before God.
I always prepared myself for the worship service so that I have never been late to the service. Even though a very young pastor preached I listened to the message with a reverent heart.
I listened to the message feeling as though I were standing before God Himself and sang praises with all my heart.
When I come before God to worship Him, I always prepared offerings and did not come empty-handed.
I always prepared clean bills for the offerings.
Long ago, it wasn't easy to get new bills, and when I didn't have new bills, I chose the cleanest bills and ironed them.
This way, I separated the offerings from my personal expenses, and I never spent these offerings even in emergencies.
I have been following the lesson I received when I was a new believer even up to this day.
I am not saying you should give God a large amount of offering, but what I am talking about is the attitude of the heart.
What God wants is your heart.
If you really fear and revere God, you will give to God everything including your attitude, time, outfit, and offerings as best you can.
You don't just unconsciously attend worship service. The worship is accepted by God only when you offer the aroma of your inner heart.
But some people, when they come to worship God, do not please God but rather build up walls of sin before Him.
For example, if you come to worship in the church and have quarrels, pour out your anger, speak words of untruth, or buy and sell things in the church, how can God accept that worship?
Also, it is an embarrassing thing to doze off, daydream, chat with people next to you, or to eat and drink something during the worship service.
It is also impolite and rude before God to leave the service for personal reasons before it is officially finished by the benediction or the Lord's Prayer.
Some people habitually come to the worship service in a hurry right on time.
If you are meeting with some seniors in this world, you will be neatly dressed and have the proper attitude and mind-set.
If you give a gift to that person, you will prepare something very nice that has no defect.
God is the Creator of all things in the universe who is to be honored and praised by all creatures.
So, when you come to worship and praise such a God as this, what kind of attitude should you have?
Considering this, I think you can understand what kind of mindset, attitude, and appearances you should have when you come to worship.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, offering a spiritual worship service is not only about the worship in the church.
It has a deeper and broader meaning.
Namely, our life as a whole should be a worship service giving glory to God.
Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."
As written, we can give God a perfect spiritual worship when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice.
Then, how can we offer ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice which is acceptable to God?
Simply put, it is to live by the word of God in the 66 books of the Bible.
More specifically, we have to follow the word in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Most of you know this passage very well, but let us go over it briefly.
In order to offer our lives a living spiritual sacrifice, first of all, we have to rejoice always.
Those children of God who are saved should be overflowing with joy just because of the fact that they are saved.

They are saved from the punishments of Hell, and they are set free from diseases, poverty, and all kinds of pain.
Thinking of this grace of the Lord, we should have overflowing joy in any kind of circumstances.
Next, to give our lives as a living sacrifice of spiritual worship, we have to pray continually.
To pray continually has three meanings.
First, it is to follow the habit and pray.
During His ministry on this earth Jesus always prayed habitually in solitary places, even when He was very busy.
Daniel prayed three times a day regularly, and Peter and other apostles kept their prayer times.
You should also fill up the amount of prayer as a routine, so that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will not run out.
In doing so, you can realize the word of God in worship services, and you can gain the strength to live by the word.
To pray continually means, secondly, to pray at all times in the Holy Spirit.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit strongly moves our heart to pray at times other than our regular prayer times.
If you obey such urge of the Spirit, you can avoid some great problems or you are protected from unexpected accidents. We hear such testimonies quite often.
To pray continually means, thirdly, to meditate on the word of God day and night.
In other words, it means you always should have the truth in you that is active and living, wherever you go and whatever you do.
Prayer is the breathing of the spirit.
Just like we die if we physically stop breathing, our spirit will also become weak and die if we stop praying.
We should not only cry out routinely in prayer, but we must also meditate on the Law of God day and night and keep it. This is the way to pray continually.
Some people cry out in prayer very well, but when they go back to the world after praying, they just follow the habits of the old self.
Even though you cry out in prayer for a long time, if you still live in your fleshly thoughts and untruths, we cannot say you offered a prayer with all your heart.
If you really cry out with all your heart in prayer, you can realize the word of God and receive the strength to live by the truth.
You yourself and people around you can feel that you are changing.
The word of God always dwells in your heart and you live with the communion with the Holy Spirit, so you can be guided by the Holy Spirit being prosperous in all things.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, last but not least, in order to give spiritual worship service, we have to give thanks in all things.
The almighty God takes care of our lives and answers to anything we ask in the name of the Lord.
If we just live in the word of God, He always fills us with His answers and blessings.
Even with difficult problems, God causes all things to work for the good.
Most of you know very well what the Word says about joy, prayer, and thanksgiving.
But how much have you really cultivated them in your actual life?
For example, what kind of attitude did you show to your relatives during these holidays?
Were you full of joy, thanks and the Spirit and did you shine the light on your unbelieving relatives?
Or, were your faces dark thinking that you were tired because you had to make so many preparations for the holidays? Did the untruth that was suppressed in you come out as you met with secular people?
Or just because you had different opinions or attitudes, please check whether you didn't serve your relatives in a way they were supposed to be treated.
If you offer a spiritual worship at each moment of your life, it is not difficult to melt the heart of your family and relatives.
You can touch many people around you with your constant joy and thanks and bright face.
And as you preach the gospel by the guidance of the Holy Spirit in prayers, it is only a matter of time to evangelize your relatives.

conclusion

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you will always be full of the Holy Spirit when you rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. Fleshly things cannot even come into you.
As you live such a life, you will be filled with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit easily in every prayer and worship, and you can have deep communication with God.
You can worship in spirit and truth in any kind of situation.
If you worship this way, you will realize the love and goodness of God the Father when you listen to the message in worship service.
You wouldn't just understand it with the head but the love and goodness will be placed in your heart as well.
You will gain the power to go into deeper levels of spirit, too.
Thus, the time of worshiping in spirit and truth is very precious time to cultivate the holiness and perfectness of God.
Such worship will be our heavenly rewards and the passageway for answers and blessings on earth.
If you offer such a worship every time, you will just be so happy and full of the Spirit in every worship service.
Even though you may have some difficult things physically, you can gain new strength and power in worship services, and when the service is finished, you will feel it ended too quickly.
I still cannot forget the happiness of the day when I went to the church for the first time to attend a worship service with my family members.
I have never lost that happiness even for a moment for last 36 years.
I always prepare for the service every week with so much happiness and expectations, as if I were meeting with somebody I love very much after a long time.
Especially, for worship service of feasts or special celebrations, I cannot even get to sleep.
As much as I have the longing for these things, God the Father always pours down His love and gives me more grace and inspiration during the worship service.
I hope you will also consider worship service very precious and offer it in spirit and truth all the time with all your heart, mind and soul.
Also, I urge you to offer your life a living and holy sacrifice by rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all circumstances.
I pray in the name of the Lord that God will accept your worship pleasingly, guide you into spirit and whole spirit more quickly, and bless you saying, "What shall I give you?"

[Amen]