The Poor in Spirit Worship in Spirit and in Truth

February 12, 2017 / By

Today is the seventh day of our twenty-one days of fasting and prayer.  May God grant you extra strength in your resolve to faithfully practice this Christian discipline.

We feel God has revealed that the next dimension God has for the MCA Church Network of Ministries is to be entered through fasting, prayer, and worship.

Today’s lesson considers various ways to blend our primary text, “Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), with our secondary text, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).”

Blending these two texts together, we might say, “God is spirit, and blessed are those who worship Him with deep awareness of the truth that they are poor in spirit.” Consider and contrast Isaiah 57:15 with yourself.

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,     By contrast, I am low of spirit

who inhabits eternity,                                                     I only inhabit time and space

whose name is Holy:                                                       My name is saved by grace

“I dwell in the high and holy place,                               God is above and beyond me

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit     God stoops down to me

to revive the spirit of the lowly,                                 When I encounter God, I revive

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Consider and contrast the humility of God (Philippians 2:1-8) with human pride (Ezekiel 16:49, 50).

Have this mind among yourselves,    Behold, this was the guilt of your sister

which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a]                      Sodom, she and her daughters had

who, though he was in the form of God,        arrogance, abundant food and careless

did not count equality with God                       ease, but she did not help the poor and

a thing to be grasped,[b]                                        needy, “Thus they were haughty

but emptied himself,                                        and committed abominations before me

by taking the form of a servant,[c]                Therefore, I removed them when I saw it

being born in the likeness of men. And being

found in human form, he humbled himself by

becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

God-like humility is required to worship in spirit and in truth.

MCA Life Group Homework

Listen – My Story

  1. Last week we suggested that you begin to memorize the Beatitudes Matthew 5:2-12. How are you doing on memorizing scripture this week?
  2. In what ways, do you see pride in your life?
  3. Have you ever found humility in humiliation? Willing to tell your story?

 

Learn – Digging Deeper

  1. Does the Bible reveal fasting and prayer as a component of humility? Ezra 8:21

 

  1. True or False? Humility is a choice.  1 Peter 5:5,6

 

  1. True or False? God would never oppose me because I am a Christian.  1 Peter 5:5, 6

 

  1. True or False? Even though I am proud, I have God’s grace. 1 Peter 5:5, 6

 

  1. How does God respond to my choice to be humble? 1 Peter 5:5, 6

 

Life – Taking it Home

  1. In response to this teaching, what action steps do you need to take this week?
  2. Will you continue to memorizing Jesus’ Beatitudes? Matthew 5:2-12
  3. Will you commit to attending at least one of our prayer meetings this week? Monday through Friday 7 AM, Noon, and 7 PM options.

 

 

Lift – Prayer

  • Our Twenty-One Days of Fasting and Prayer is now in week two. Would you like your Life Group to pray for you in this regard?
  • During the Valentine’s season, most people think about the people they love. Will you pray for all marriages and relationships within the MCA Worship Community?
  • Please pray for the MCA Youth Ministries as the teens prepare for the Fine Arts Festival.