Have You Met God?

HAVE YOU MET GOD?

John 4:21-24

S: Worship

Th: My Life as God’s Light

Pr: GOD DESIRES TRUE DEVOTION.

?: How? How is it done?

KW: Ways.

TS: Since God desires true devotion, we will find in John 4:24, two ways that it is accomplished.

The _____ way true devotion is accomplished is…

I. SPIRITUALLY

II. TRUTHFULLY

RMBC 7/01/01 AM

INTRODUCTION:

1. Have you ever felt ripped off?

ILL Notebook: Worth (money’s worth)

There was a 70 year old woman who had to call a furnace repairman. After a quick inspection the man put some oil into the motor and handed her a $70 bill for labor. "Labor charges!" she exclaimed. "It only took you five minutes." The repairman explained that his company had a minimum one-hour charge on every house call. "Well, I want my remaining 55 minutes of labor," the lady responded, and she handed him a rake. The repairman spent the next 55 minutes in her yard bagging leaves.

Well, this woman made sure she wasn’t ripped off, didn’t she?

Nobody likes to be cheated.

But…

2. I wonder if God has ever felt cheated by our worship.

I wonder if God has ever looked into our gathering and been disappointed.

I wonder if God has watched our worship of Him and been dissatisfied.

ILL Notebook: Worship (jewelry store)

John Bisagno, pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church tells the story of his coming there to candidate for the position of pastor many years ago. He said that as he entered the auditorium it was dimly lit, with just a few people huddled together. They were singing some old slow funeral type song that was depressing. Later that day he took a walk in downtown Houston and came upon a jewelry store. It was some sort of grand opening and there were bright lights and a greeter at the door to welcome you in with a smile. Inside there was a celebration going on. There were refreshments and people having a good time talking and laughing with each other. They welcomed him and offered him some punch. He said that after attending both the church and the jewelry store, if the jewelry store had offered an invitation, he would have joined the jewelry store!

It is true.

We can be dull in church.

It can be seen as lifeless.

It can be uninviting.

Even to God…

TRANSITION:

You know…

1. The psalms tell us a lot about worship (Psalm 100).

A couple of Sundays ago, our Pre-K Bible School department gave us instructions on how to worship when they quoted Psalm 100.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

Come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

And his courts with praise;

Give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations.

That is a call to enthusiastic worship.

It is also a call to center our worship on God and His blessing.

But, you know…

2. We live in a culture that worships happiness.

We often bring that culture into this very room.

We want to come here and be made to feel good, perhaps even entertained.

We end up viewing God as Santa Claus, giving us what we want.

So when I am happy, God is happy.

This view too often bleeds into our services.

We say, “I didn’t get anything out of the service today.”

Have you ever caught yourself saying that?

Most of us have, I am sure.

But interestingly, it does beg the question of just what did we put into the service of worship?

This one thing is for sure…

3. GOD DESIRES TRUE DEVOTION.

He desires authentic worship.

He wants us to get worship right.

He wants us doing it because we want to do it.

But how is it done?

In the original language, the word worship means to bend down, to kiss or to prostrate oneself.

It is an act of humility.

It is a display and expression of honor and respect.

So…

4. Since God desires true devotion, we will find in John 4:24, two ways that it is accomplished.

Note our text today…

(21) Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. (22) You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. (23) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. (24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."