God Is Seeking Worshipers Series

Intro: We come to John four and we find Jesus exhausted. The word translated worn out means to work until totally spent or exhausted. Jesus came in His worn out state to the woman at the well to teach us all what worship really is.

A good question to ask ourselves is why this woman? Why this place? Most Jews would have went the long way around this area. There was great hostility between the Samaritans and the Jews going back to 729 BC. This was the time when the northern kingdom called Israel was taken into captivity. All the nobles, chiefs and priests were taken into exile. The remnant that was left intermarried with foreigners. Jews would go twice the distance to avoid the area called Samaria. It was into this racial and social division that Jesus walked into completely worn out from His journey.

What we will see is that worship isn’t dry, boring or impractical. Jesus enters the racial division, religious confusion and moral corruption of the woman’s life and invites her to worship.

Worship is not an interruption of our regular weekly schedule. In worship Jesus intersects our pain, suffering, success, joys and sorrows and invites us to everything before God.

Revelation 7:9-17 Day and night the ones redeemed serve Him or worship Him day and night! The occupation of heaven and the saints forever is the worship of God.

I agree with Alistair Begg, he said, “Worship is the chief business of the church!”

Bro Bill do you mean we need to come to the church building every day and have a worship time?

No. There are two words translated worship in the old and new testaments. In Hebrew it is Shachah and the Greek is proskuneo. They both carry the idea of bowing down.

It makes much more sense to say the chief business of the church is to bow down before God.

I. Worship in Spirit – Your position before a Holy God

Worship that is true worship begins in the heart. Jesus walks directly into the confusion and chaos that is the woman’s life and offers her living water. We understand that she has not been saved or made right at this point because she lacks spiritual understanding.

Look at here response to Jesus offer of life giving water in John 4:11 Sir you don’t have a bucket. Are you saying you are better than Jacob? I mean this water was good enough for Jacob its good enough for me.

What happens when we come face to face with Jesus through His words? He reveals our heart and character. Worshipping God isn’t about the place, time or day it is about the condition of the heart.

True worship is surrender and submission of our inner man to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Illustration: Ronald Regan – D James Kennedy asked then Governor Regan

I have heard people tell me again and again I need to get back into church. Why? If there is no internal work of the Spirit of God leading to repentance and bowing down of your entire life before God. Why go to church?

Jesus addressed the external in order to deal with the internal. When the Holy Spirit brings God’s word to bear on your internal sins do you confess and repent or deflect and misdirect.

Worhip begins the moment we recognize our desperate need for a savior and bow our entire life before Jesus in repentance.

Worship in Spirit is not about location, denomination or externals. Worship in Spirit is about your heart condition. Worship is the business of heaven if you are not one in this life you will not be one in the next!

II. Worship in Truth – Your personal relationship with Jesus

John 4:22 You worship what you do not know.

Eugene Peterson said it well, “Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, not a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship.”

All true worship must be Christ centered. First worship is in Spirit, not simply external acts and ritualism. Spirit worship is from the insides out.

Worship in truth is focused on Jesus who is the complete revelation of God the father. Many believe the woman was deflecting or misdirecting. She responds with “I perceive that you are a prophet. You say over here, we say over there. Where am I supposed to get this life?

Worship in truth is based on a relationship with Jesus. John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father but by me.” Any other religion that says there is another way to God must come face to face with this truth.

Jesus is our mediator – He is the go between for us to God.