Peace and grace in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 4:23-24
4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshiperswill worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
The true worship is encouraged by the spirit and truth.
John 17:17
17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
The truth is the Word that sanctifies us.
Thus, the true worship is encouraged by the true teaching Word in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The true teaching Word is able to sanctify our life. It starts from the heart or the storehouse of sins.
Mark 7:21-23
7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
7:22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
7:23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
The heart is purified from the will of uncleanness, evil, and bitterness.
Acts 2:37
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
If the heart is sanctified by the sword of the Word, we will be cut to the heart.
There are two responds to the purification by the sword of the Wordas follows:
We struggle with broken heart to face three thingsas follows:
God blesses us.
John 4:23-24
4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshiperswill worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
4:24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
The true worship is encouraged by the spirit and truth.
John 17:17
17:17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
The truth is the Word that sanctifies us.
Thus, the true worship is encouraged by the true teaching Word in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The true teaching Word is able to sanctify our life. It starts from the heart or the storehouse of sins.
Mark 7:21-23
7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
7:22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
7:23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man."
The heart is purified from the will of uncleanness, evil, and bitterness.
Acts 2:37
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
If the heart is sanctified by the sword of the Word, we will be cut to the heart.
There are two responds to the purification by the sword of the Wordas follows:
- The negative respond or being hard-hearted.
For example, Judas Iscariot who has spiritual position as an apostle and treasurer always avoids the sword of the Word. As a result, his heart is still dirty and spiritually withered; he cannot worship God, but perish forever.
Another example is King Herod who has physical position, but he refuses the purification of the sword of the Word. He becomes angry and beheads John the Baptist. As a result, he cannot worship God or being newborn. He still becomes a carnal man until he perishes forever. - The positive respond is being cut to the heart, gentle, and broken-hearted.
Acts 2:37-38
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptizedin the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We can confess the sin to God and others. After we are forgiven, we do not sin anymore. We enter the true water baptism and receive the new life or have the good conscience.
We struggle with broken heart to face three thingsas follows:
- The falling in sin up to the peak, namely the one of eating-drinking and marrying-being given in marriage.
Psalm 51:1, 16-17
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
51:16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;You do not delight in burnt offering.
51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,abroken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise.
For example, King David confessed sin with broken heart, so he became worthy in God's eyes.
If we confess sin solemnly, the blood of Jesus will forgive our sin, so we can live in righteousness. We are restored by God. - Facing the impossible illness.
Isaiah 38:1-5
38:1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the Lord: 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'"
38:2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,
38:3 and said, "Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
38:4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying,
38:5 "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.
God concerns every tear for life-surrendering to Him. He is able to heal the physical and spiritual illness.
- Facing Lazarus who had died for four days.
John 11:32-35
11:32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
11:33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
11:34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."
11:35 Jesus wept.
Mary wept because of her faith to Jesus. Jesus wept because of His mercy. Then, the miracle happened; Lazarus was raised from the death. It means that the spiritual miracle happens when we start to be honest. The physical miracle also happens. The impossible things become possible. It continues until we are changed to become perfect to greet Jesus' second coming on the glorious clouds.
God blesses us.