INTRODUCTION
As I read Christian magazines one of the most divisive issues in the church today is that of worship style. Many churches are working through the issues of contemporary verses traditional music styles.
There have been churches that have split of the issue of music.
I have heard people tell me that they could not worship with certain styles of music. Some people would have trouble worshipping without certain types of clothing.
When we visited Willow Creek, I was one of maybe 3 people with a suit on. One of the workers at Willow Creek said I must be a preacher. The attire of the church did not bother me, I felt somewhat uncomfortable in my suit that day. Some people would take issue with the casual dress of Willow Creek.
What is worship all about? Is worship the music we listen to. Is it the clothing we wear? Is it the translation of the Bible that we use? Is it the building we are in?
In our society today, for the most part we do not really get it when it comes to worship.
To many people, worship is about themselves and what makes them comfortable. I say this because of what people say about worship. If they are having a problem with worship, they will say it is the music, or the way other people are dressed or they will say that the building does not have enough stained glass.
Is true worship about us and what we want or should worship be something more than that?
In our text today, Jesus is still having His conversation with the woman at the well. Jesus has offered her living water and she has asked for it.
Jesus took her to the place where she knew that she needed it by talking to her about her life. In verse 19 the woman looks at Jesus and says that she perceives that He is a prophet. Then she asks Him a question about worship and where it is to take place.
Many people think that the woman is trying to change the subject, but I think she is truly seeking an answer to a question she has. I ma not sure that Jesus would let her off the hook if that is what she was trying to do. Also Jesus gives her a pretty complete answer to her question.
Today we are going to see what Jesus has to say about worship. As we look at the text today, you will notice that Jesus gives us a contrast between TRUE worship that God desires and false worship that God will not accept.
It is my prayer for you today that you see that worship is not about us, but it is all about Jesus.
SERMON
I. WHERE CAN WE HAVE TRUE WORSHIP? 20-21
1. The question.
Jesus, I know that you are a prophet, I would like for you to clear up a matter for me. READ VERSE 20.
The woman wanted Jesus to justify the place and the way that the Samaritans were worshiping.
The Old Testament indicated that the temple in Jerusalem was the place of worship after the temple was built. During the time of Alexander the Great, the Samaritans built their own temple on Mount Gerizim. They did this because their tradition said that Mount Gerizim was the place that Adam was formed and that it was the place he built his first alter. They also had many other traditions they had to try to make the place have some importance.
In the Old Testament, the place of worship was very important along with the way a person was to worship.
God gave very little freedom when it came to worship under the Old Covenant. God told the people how to make the tabernacle, what to make it out of and how to handle it. God told the priests what they would wear and who would be the priests.
In the Old Testament, the focus of the worship was on the elements of worship as well as where it happened.
2. Jesus answer
Let’s look at verse 21 for how Jesus answers this question. READ VERSE 21
In this verse Jesus is over turning the central feature in the Old Testament Law, the temple, the center of worship,
As I said earlier, the Old Testament had a worship that was focused on the outward things. God never intended for worship to be a ceremony, but with all the external things that came with Old Testament worship, God knew that would happen.
Jesus said the following in Matthew 22:37-40 when asked which was the greatest command of the Law, And He said to him, "’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
In Mark 7, Jesus chastises the Pharisee’s setting aside God’s Law for the traditions of man. READ Mark 7:1-13
Jesus was saying that the focus on worship would no longer be making pilgrimages, making signs, counting beads, killing animals or going to supposed holy places to worship. Jesus was saying that the focus of worship was going to change.
In MATTHEW 18:20 Jesus said, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Let’s look and see what Jesus taught about what needs to be involved in worship by looking at:
II. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED IN TRUE WORSHIP? 22-23
1. Knowledge v 22 READ VERSE 22
In verse 22 Jesus told the woman that they were worshiping in ignorance. The Samaritans only followed the Pentateuch (That is the name given to the first five books of the Old Testament. Gen, EX, LEV, NUM, DEU)
The Samaritans did not acknowledge the other Old Testament books so their understanding of God was very limited. They also added pagan (ungodly) things to their worship of God.
Jesus said that the Jews had the knowledge to worship God properly.
This does not mean that we have to know EVERYTHING about God before we can truly worship Him, but it means that we cannot properly worship whom we do not know.
As you grow in your faith and as you grow to know God better, your worship will mean so much more to you. As you grow closer to Jesus we will not have to do things in church to manufacture emotions they will come naturally.
Knowledge of God will cause us to stand in awe of Him. As we grow to understand who God is we cannot help but to bow down and worship Him.
2. Worship in Spirit v23
In verse 23, Jesus said that one of the elements of true worship would be the fact that worshipers will worship in Spirit. READ VERSE 23
Notice that Jesus now uses the term “true worshipers”
Instead of worship being centered on the external objects, but worship will come from the heart.
The many of the people of Jesus day had lost their heart for God because they got caught up in religion instead of a relationship with God.
WE have to guard against falling into the religion trap. If we are going to be a true worshiper of Jesus, we need to have a relationship with Jesus.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us how we can worship in Spirit. Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
A person who is worshiping in spirit is a person who has given their life to Jesus.
When we worship in Spirit, we are living our lives for Jesus every day of the week. We try to make sure that our conduct and our thinking reflects the God we serve.
Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-8 gives us a good example of what it means to worship in Spirit. When Isaiah had a recognition of who God was and a realization of who he was, he feel on his face and he was willing to do whatever God wanted him to do.
When you are worshiping God in Spirit, you will want to do whatever God calls you or asks you to do. That is true worship.
True worship is not the music, the building or the trappings, but it is what is at the heart of the worshiper!
3. Worship in truth v 23
Jesus also said that a true worshiper would worship in truth. Worshiping in truth means that we are not going to have to worship through shadows and types, but we have direct access to God through Jesus.
We do not need a priest to go through to worship God; we worship Him through Jesus. Jesus is our only mediator between man and God. (1 Timothy2;5)
Worshiping in truth also means that our worship of God is not fake, but that it is an overflow of the life that we are trying to live for Him. What you see on Sunday is what you would see out of me on Monday or any other day of the week.
Worshiping in truth means that we will worship according to the pattern set forth by God in the New Testament. In Acts 2:42 we are told, They (the church) were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
We cannot just make up our own way to worship God and do it in truth. We must worship God within the parameters He set in the New Testament. We have freedom within the parameters set, but we need to stay with things that will bring glory to God.
Now let’s finish up by looking at:
III. WHY DO WE NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN TRUE WORSHIP? 22-24
1. Because of our salvation v 22
Jesus told the woman in verse 22 that salvation was going to come through the Jews. Jesus was Jewish and God used the Jewish people to bring salvation to the world.
One of the reasons that we need to be involved in true worship is that through Jesus, we receive our salvation.
Worship should be the natural response for being saved from our sins and for being given the gift of eternal life.
2. Because God seeks true worshiper v23
Verse 23 tells us that God is seeking those who will be true worshipers, those who will worship in spirit and truth.
ROMANS 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."
In Luke 19 when Jesus had His triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His death, His disciples were shouting out to Him in worship, the Pharisee’s told Jesus to shut them up and He said in verse 40, But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"
God is looking for people who are faithful to Him. This is why in Matthew 7:23 Jesus said He would turn away people who claimed to know Him, but all the while they were practicing lawlessness.
3. Because God is Spirit v 24
God wants us to worship in Him Spirit because God is Spirit.
God does not dwell in a temple made with human hands (Acts 7:48) God id not confined to any one place.
ACT 17:24-25 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;
God can be worshiped at any time or any place or any day as long as the worshiper comes in Spirit (his heart and mind is in it) and truth (according to the New Testament pattern).
CONCLUSION
It is easy for us to get caught up in the forms of worship- how we sing what we sing, the times or the days of the week we meet. We can get caught up in the elements of worship, what we wear, the order of service.
We can be trapped in unbending tradition or hopelessly confused by the raging winds of contemporary trends.
That is not to say that music and other things are things we should not look at. WE do need to make sure that we are culturally relevant as the early church was in their corporate worship.
But at the heart of worship is the heart.
Jesus reminds us that worship is a spiritual activity.
While forms. Locations, times and traditions of worship have their place, but they are fruitless without hearts that have been filled to overflowing with the living water that comes from Jesus.
When we want to truly worship Jesus, it has to start with the heart, a heart turned toward God without hypocrisy or deceit. A heart that puts its’ focus on Christ alone.
God is not looking for religious people, but He is looking for people who truly love Him and want a relationship with Him.
Next week as we finish with our visit with the woman at the well, we will see what this woman’s desire for true worship leads this woman.
