Purpose of Worship
Introduction
John 4 is a unique and intriguing story. It seems to be that Jesus leaves Judea and goes to Galilee to get away from the division that the Pharisees were trying to create. They were trying to divide the camp of John the Baptist and Jesus. They were going in the same direction and Jesus was not going to allow division, so He leaves.
A Necessary Stop
Vs. 4 seems to indicate that there was a drawing to Samaria. Not because of a road that leads there to get to the destination (we quickly learn that Jews did not associate with the Samaritans) but a leading of the Holy Spirit. Or as we learn later in vs. 34 Jesus was doing the “will of His father”.
Meeting Destiny
So He meets this woman at Jacob’s well. This was at Jacob’s well. Jacob had dug this well located in Shechem during his journeys. It was a place to provide provision and life to his family. It is not hard to imagine the importance of a well to a family and a community. Water brings a refreshing in life.
To me this a beautiful symbol of the church. A place of refreshing, a place of hope. A place where we gather to meet others. We don’t go at this alone. Jesus finds this woman meeting here alone, why? We are not told but the timing she meets and the fact that she is alone tells us that she is trying to avoid people. Maybe guilt, maybe judge mentalism.
This refreshing place had become a burden. Yet Jesus meets her where she is. Right at the place of need. He asks for a drink to remind her of the purpose, that banter back and forth about the judgments of the different cultures then Jesus make a most intriguing offer “living water”.
John 4:13-15 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (15) The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."
There is so much more at stake than just a drink but life changing living water. This peaks her interest. It peaks all our interest when we know we can come to God to bring a refreshing.
Jesus takes it a step further. He gets into her personal life. Why? So she can see how unsatisfied and unfulfilling her life has become. She has lost hope of a good relationship. She has lost hope of peace. She had given up on being happy just being settled.
Why did Jesus ask her to call her husband? Because there is no true conversion without conviction. - Courson
God wants us more than just to be settled or as we said last week to survive. Just barely looking for a little bit of satisfaction or joy to keep us going. He wants to bring a new life, life refreshing, life of hope.
Paul’s Prayer “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” —Romans 15:13
Let’s Settle this
In the next part the woman wants to get to the bottom of a question that has been troubling her. This is the idea of worship. In my mind I imagine her mulling over this question in her mind often. She knew something was missing when she would attempt to worship.
John 4:19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. (20) Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."
This is the missing piece. The idea of worship.
(21) Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. (22) You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
The Jews had the person and the system right but they missed the personal connection.
God is seeking
(23) But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Could it be that the woman was not simply raising a theological question? Could it be she was also revealing a subconscious desire within? Could it be that her question was not meant to sidestep the issue of her five husbands, but that she was saying, "I want to worship—but where? And how? What does it mean to really worship?"
The Father seeks worshipers. If this verse isn't underlined in your Bible, underline it now. Whenever you feel far from God, don't try to find Him. Let Him find you. He can find you a lot easier than you can find Him, so just start worshiping.
Where can I go to escape your presence?
Psalms 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (8) If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. (9) If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, (10) Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
With bended knee, lifted hand, and open heart, embrace Him through your praise. This is a real key for your Christian walk. When you feel God's a million miles away, worship. If it's in your car during lunch hour, if it's locked in your bathroom when everyone else is still asleep, if it's walking down the street—whatever it might take, get away and start worshiping. Start acknowledging the greatness and goodness of God. The Father is seeking those who do. - Courson
This is the #1 purpose in our life is to be “true worshipers”.
True worshipers
Matthew 15:7-9 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: (8) 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And [72] honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. (9) And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " [73]
Psalms 51:6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
Spirit and truth
(24) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
When I was growing up, people basically had to choose between worshiping the Lord in spirit, and worshiping the Lord in truth. If they wanted to worship the Lord in spirit, they would go to churches where they would hear statements like, "Wow! Wasn't that a great service? The Spirit was moving so powerfully, the preacher didn't even have time to give a message!" If they wanted to worship the Lord in truth, they would go to churches that seemed to believe that the Trinity consisted of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Bible—churches where there was no room for the Spirit to work spontaneously or for the gifts to be exercised congregationally. That's what's neat about the time in which we live. There is an understanding that God must be worshiped in Spirit and truth. They flow together. It's not either/or. "The words which I speak are spirit and life," Jesus said (see Joh_6:63). It's true—as we take in the Word, we grow in the Spirit. - Courson
Full Worship – with our whole self
Luke 10:27 So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' [80] and 'your neighbor as yourself.' "
Spirit – our essence
2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
a. the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
b. the soul
Some have even said breath.
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Truth –
The right connection and right way. Knowing the word of God.
First, Worship is more than music
For many people, worship is just a synonym for music. They say, “At our church we have the worship first, and then the teaching”. Yet every part of a church service is an act of worship: praying, Scripture reading, singing, confession, silence, being still, listening to a sermon, taking notes, giving an offering, baptism and communion services, making a commitment, and even greeting each other in service.
Second, Worship is not for our benefit
I hear people tell me, “Preacher I got a lot out of worship”. Yet we miss the point of worship. Worship is not for our benefit but for God’s benefit. We worship the trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There are a lot of benefits to worship but we don’t worship to please our selves. When we say, “I didn’t get a lot out of worship today” we miss the point. And to be honest we usually get out as much as we put in.
Third, Worship is not a part of our life, it is our life.
Constantly in the Bible we are told to worship him continually, praise him from sunrise to sunset. In the Bible we see that people worshiped God at work, at home, in battle, in jail and even in bed.
David wrote in Psalms 34:1 “ I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Paul makes it even more clear when he says in
“ Whether you eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31 )
Paul explains how we can “do all to the glory of God” in Colossians 3:23 when he writes “ And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily (diligently, willingly, without complaining), as to the Lord, and not unto men;”
I love the way the Message translates Romans 12:1 “Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life-and place it before God as an offering”.
This is what worship is all about. Worship is a lifestyle. Too many people think that worship is only what we do during a church service. Many times, as we talked about two weeks ago, this doesn’t translate to Monday. There is no transfer. We often forget that worship is what we do all week long. To me it is just enhanced on Sunday’s.
(25) The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." (26) Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."
Conclusion
The Lord’s Supper & Worship
Reminding
Who God is
Who we are
Where He has brought us to.
Psalms 105:1-8 Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! (2) Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works! (3) Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! (4) Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! (5) Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth, (6) O seed of Abraham His servant, You children of Jacob, His chosen ones! (7) He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. (8) He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
Refreshing
We call it the Lord’s supper for a reason. It is refreshing to the soul. It brings nourishment to the soul.
Proclaiming
What would worship be unless we proclaimed.
I love what the woman did after discovering who Jesus is “the Messiah, the anointed one” she went into the city of Samaria and called everyone saying John 4:29 “Come see a man”. Proclaiming.
