Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the PURE in HEART, for they shall SEE GOD.” PURE in HEART describes a heart DEVOTED to the LORD, single-hearted in devotion, looking to Him alone for His Spirit to fill us. This is HOLINESS (Heb 12:14). The PURE in HEART are the true WORSHIPPERS. It’s through the EYES of FAITH that we SEE GOD & His GRACE. When we SEE the Lord and His spiritual BLESSING for us, then we can RECEIVE His GRACE by FAITH. Thus, our ability to SEE God is vital. To SEE GOD & RECEIVE from GOD we must be single-minded (holy). HOLINESS is our VERTICAL relationship with the Lord. When we are HOLY (devoted) to the Lord, then His SPIRIT can FILL us, and then He EMPOWERS us to live a RIGHTEOUSNESS life in this world. There is a PROCESS of drawing near to God called WORSHIP, whereby we’re SANCTIFIED and PURIFIED by God’s Presence, so we can SEE God and HEAR God, and be FILLED with His SPIRIT. In WORSHIP we SURRENDER ourselves to God, and He takes possession of whatever we surrender to Him. Whatever we DEDICATE to God, He CONSECRATES. It begins with THANKSGIVING & PRAISE (Ps 100:4), which leads to WORSHIP in the immediacy of His PRESENCE, in which our heart fully opens up to God to be FILLED with His SPIRIT. Jesus introduced NEW TESTAMENT WORSHIP in John 4. By His death & resurrection He established the NEW COVENANT, making it possible for us to enter into a higher dimension of WORSHIP, unavailable before. Before the NEW BIRTH was made available by His resurrection, man’s spirit was dead to God. We were not functioning Temples of God, indwelt by His Spirit. So, man was not able to be a true worshipper in the fullest sense, but in John 4:14, Jesus announced the coming change in the New Covenant (Jer 2:13). In the New Covenant, the HOLY SPIRIT is in our reborn spirit as a FOUNTAIN of LIFE, constantly available to empower us. The first thing He empowers us to do is WORSHIP God, as He has made us His Temples, and the main activity in a Temple is WORSHIP. The natural direction of FLOW of a FOUNTAIN is UPWARDS. Thus, the HOLY SPIRIT in our spirit is wanting to fill our soul to direct & empower us to rise upwards to God in worship. The 2-fold FLOW of His SPIRIT in us: (1) As a (vertical) FOUNTAIN of LIFE, He first wants to fill us and empower us to WORSHIP God (John 4:14, v21-24), and then (2) as our heart is filled with His Spirit, so that He flows out of our heart as (horizontal) RIVERS of LIVING WATER (John 7:38-39). So, SPIRIT-FILLED living begins with our WORSHIP. Jesus’ teaching on New Covenant WORSHIP (John 4:21-24) is connected to His teaching on the NEW BIRTH of our spirit, when the SPIRIT indwells our spirit as a FOUNTAIN of everlasting life (John 4:14). Through the New Birth and this Fountain of the Spirit within us, we now can become true worshippers of God. As we worship, the Spirit fills us, and empowers us to fulfil our mission in life. In the Old Covenant, they worshipped God according to the TRUTH of God’s Word, to a degree, but only in the New Covenant is WORSHIP possible in SPIRIT, as well as in TRUTH, for only in the New Covenant does the New Birth and indwelling Spirit become a reality in the restored human Temples of God (John 4:23-24). Just as the Burnt Offering on the Altar was consumed by the continual FIRE of God (Lev 6:12), so as we offer ourselves as a living Sacrifice to God, the heavenly purifying FIRE of the HOLY SPIRIT consumes the impurities and idols in our heart (Rom 12:1). We must surrender to God to be filled with the purifying FIRE of His SPIRIT. Only God can PURIFY our HEART, and He does this as we enter into WORSHIP, offering ourself to Him as a LIVING SACRIFICE. So, as we WORSHIP, the SPIRIT PURIFIES our HEART, so that we can increasingly SEE the light of His grace shining into our heart (2Cor 3:16-18), for “the PURE in HEART shall SEE God” (Matt 5:8), and we'll be able to HEAR & understand His WORDS more & more. So, as a result of entering into WORSHIP, our soul will be RENEWED, PURIFIED & TRANSFORMED by God’s PRESENCE, as God’s SPIRIT fills our soul (Rom 12:2). As we WORSHIP God (Rom 12:1), He releases His SPIRIT to fill & renew our soul and empower us to do His will (Rom12:2), and a big part of which is to function in our spiritual graces & gifts. He gives us the UNCTION to FUNCTION in our spiritual gift (Rom 12:3-8). As we yield our members to God in obeying Him, His Spirit will flow through us as rivers of living water (John 7:38). As we surrender to God in worship, we’re filled with His Spirit, who then purifies, sanctifies, prepares & anoints us for the work of service (ministry) that He wants us to do. The release of our spiritual gifts flows out of our worship. We can't bypass being a worshipper. Otherwise, we're just operating in our natural gift in the flesh. Even if you have a strong natural gift, surrender it to God, so His anointing can flow through it to bless others. Then, it will become a spiritual ministry.
