A few years ago, I was leading worship at a church overseas at a service they called “Hunger Night.” It was my first time at this church and I didn’t really know what to expect. Once I started leading worship, however, the hunger for Jesus in the room skyrocketed and we went places in the Spirit that I hadn’t been to that often in corporate worship times. Their hunger put a demand on the anointing in a way that I wasn’t used to. It pulled greatness out of me and called me higher as a worship leader.
I remember one night, scrolling through Instagram, a guy’s post of his song came up. As I watched, I could feel what he was saying. He sang with such conviction and authenticity that it moved me. To be clear, he wasn’t actually worshipping, but he was expressing his heart. And expressing it in true authenticity. I thought—this is exactly what “in truth” is.
In John 4, Jesus said some profound things about worship. Out of all the things that God is looking for (which the Bible doesn’t list a ton of things), He is looking for worshippers. True worshippers. The kind that worship in spirit and in truth. But what does that mean? I don’t know about you, but I want to be the kind of person God is looking for. So let’s look closer at what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.
Every place has a culture. The dictionary defines a culture as “the sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another.” In other words, a culture is the “norm” for any given group of people. What is acceptable in some places may not be acceptable in others. How do you determine that? Culture. So, what’s the culture of the kingdom of God? Are we carrying the characteristics of kingdom citizens?
Do you remember when you saw the trailer for your favorite movie and couldn’t wait for it to come out? Then on the day of the premiere, people would dress up as their favorite characters and eagerly await the door of the theater to open. I imagine this is how it was when Jesus preached and demonstrated the kingdom. The prepared ones were excited to enter this kingdom Jesus spoke of. Then the day came when the door was opened—through the cross—and people officially entered the kingdom of God! This is the gospel of the kingdom.
There’s a key that makes way to the Kingdom of Heaven—one that many overlook or even resist. Yet, without it, you remain at the threshold, unable to step into the fullness of God’s reign. To reject it is to reject His will, but to embrace it is to pass from oppression to liberty, from darkness to light. This is the turning point. Everything changes here.
The message that Jesus preached was the gospel of the kingdom of God. He didn’t preach the gospel of salvation—that He died on the cross to redeem us and rose from the grave—because He hadn’t done it yet! His message was the good news of the kingdom of God. If that was Jesus' primary message, then we must understand what it means. After all, if we’re to seek first the kingdom (Matthew 6:33), we should know what we’re seeking!
We often think of trials as the things that wear us down, break us, or introduce fear into our lives. But what if trials don’t put weakness in us—what if they simply reveal what was already there? Scripture shows us that the real battle we face isn’t external; it’s internal. The enemies we see on the outside often serve to expose the greater enemy within. Let’s take a deeper look at how fear, not external opposition, is often the real giant standing in our way.
I believe there is much more that God wants to do during our worship services. We’ve settled for singing a few songs and moving on, but God wants to manifest Himself! In Elijah’s day, the altar of the Lord was broken down because of idolatry. He repaired it, then called on the Lord, and fire fell. Many people want the fire to fall, however, repairing the altar preceded the fire. The altar represents worship. It’s time to repair our impaired worship, bring it back to the biblical standard, and watch as God responds in power!
We’ve all inherited things from our family line—both good and bad. An AncestryDNA test might tell you where you come from geographically, but it won’t reveal the deeper inheritance: patterns, tendencies, and ways of living passed down through generations.
But here’s the good news: the dysfunctions may not have started with you… but they can end with you. You may not get to choose your family’s past, but through Christ, you can shape your family’s future.