The Fullness of Worship

The Fullness of Worship
from The Foundations of Worship

By Pastor Jack Hayford

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." --John 4:24

There are so many people who think worship is dull and monotonous. I agree. I’ve seen more dullness and monotony in Church worship services than most people. But I’ve also seen a lot of years of fullness in worship, and I’d like to share with you about that..

Jesus’ clear directive regarding worship in John 4:24 provides a remedy for dullness and monotony. The dullness comes when people are making the verbal sounds of worship, but their hearts are far removed from God because they are not filled with His Spirit.

Worshiping in Spirit and in truth means, of course, that you worship according to the truth of the revelation of God - His Word. Worshiping in Spirit means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be alive in the Spirit because you’ve been born again; and to be aglow in the Spirit because you’ve been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The fullness of the Spirit turns worship into something so incredibly vibrant that you wonder why anyone would settle for anything else. Worship becomes a vibrant connecting time between you and the Father. You’ve not only been born into relationship with God, but filled with the Holy Spirit, you’ve been begotten into with a dynamic worship experience each time you come before Him.

This fullness of worship was manifest at the Church’s beginning. What Jesus directed became the Church’s experience at its inception. The Bible says the day the Church was born, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and that they worshiped Him (Acts 2:4). Although they were speaking supernaturally in many different languages, the Bible says their worship was recognized by visitors from other nations who were there and heard and understood. Furthermore, those who understood said that the people were magnifying the wonderful works of God (Acts 2:11). They were worshiping the Lord. That’s Spirit-filled worship, whether it’s with song, whether it’s with understood utterance in your native language, or with spiritual language, speaking in tongues.

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14 observes that when you worship in the Spirit, give thanks as well. In that particular case, he was speaking of people who worship with spiritual language. In the private of my room, I may, at any time, lift my voice to my Father, worshiping in the Spirit. Even though the language is not be known to me, the fullness and warmth of worship overflows as I exalt Him who is worthy and, by that, give thanks well.

Gathered with the brothers and sisters in public assembly, with the fire of the Holy Spirit keeping everything warm and aglow, the fullness of worship is realized when people live in the Savior’s directive, in a continuum of the Church’s beginning, and understand the apostle’s observation that Spirit-filled worship is that which God always intended. It is why Jesus said we must worship in Spirit and in truth.

To order this one-hour video featuring 12 three-to-five minute teachings on various aspects of worship, click here. To learn more, read Pastor Jack’s book, The Beauty of Spiritual Language.

Living Way Ministries introduces, Spirit Formed. In this new half-hour television program, Pastor Jack speaks directly to viewers and teaches from God’s Word in an intimate and personal way. Spirit Formed is a more direct broadcast in line with our times and consistent with Pastor Jack’s practical approach to the Word of God. Check our television listing to find a station near you.

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture verses are from The Holy Bible, New King James Version,
(Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.

Used with Permissiom from Jack W. Hayford, The King’s College and Seminary, Van Nuys, CA 91405