Now IS The Time Of The True Worshipper
John 4:23-24
23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Prayer
Introduction
How Often have I heard a comment like this. Can you believe what they were doing in Church? Sometimes it seems that people are more worried about what the church is doing in the building than what the church is doing for the Lord. That is why many people say they don’t go to church because it is full of hypocrites. I know at one time that was an excuse that I used. We need to become the true worshippers of Christ and not be concerned with whether or not someone is chewing gum in the building. I think back to my childhood to a time when I was going to Pine Bluff. They met twice a month no Sunday school and evening services were at 2:00. One day a little old lady was eager to tell Brother Gilder that I was chewing gum in church and Brother Gilder replied no sister the Church is chewing gum in the building. And that is right. You should have seen her face she was expecting him to come down hard on me for chewing gum in church. But in reality she was being a hypocrite because she was more concerned with what was going on around her than what God was being preached. According to the Chicago Tribune a man named Joe from Rockford Illinois, ran a live internet sex site called Video Fantasy. Now Joe had a ten-year old son. On his home computer Joe installed filtering software to limit the surfing that his son could do on the internet.
Joe explained, “It’s not that I keep him sheltered, but my wife and I pay close attention to what he reads, what he watches on TV and what he does on the computer because we have a responsibility to him to be the best parents we can.”
Joe’s sense of responsibility to his son is commendable. Joe’s sense of responsibility to the children of other parents (and parents themselves) is deplorable.
Now that is a hypocrite. Some one who thinks more of themselves than everyone else. Too many of us think more of this building than we do the church. This is just a building made of wood and some concrete and some wire. There is nothing permanent about this building and in fact I can assure that one day this building will be destroyed. This building is not a factor in God’s plan. This building is not what is important.
What is important is the church. That is you and me and ever single believer here and across the world. Now some have here have gotten mad because the truth has been preached and it has hit close to home. They have stopped coming because their toes were stepped on. They don’t want to hear the truth. In fact some may say it is opinion and the only thing I can say is this it is the truth of God’s word. If something in you life is more important than coming to God’s church and serving God that something has just become your God. You have just as surely created yourself and Idol (another God) to worship as if you had molded or carved a figure to place on a table to bow down too.
God is a jealous God. He says in His word that we are not to have any other gods. And too many are placing other god’s first in their lives. For some it is money, others it is popularity or appearance, some place things or hobbies as being the most important in their lives, others make sports or entertainment the most important things in their lives anything that this world has to offer that we place before God is an Idol that we have just created and God is jealous. These become more important than serving God and God becomes jealous when one of His servants wonders off to serve another.
Now John 4:23-24 tells us that now is the time of true worship. It also tells us that true worship is the worship in the spirit. One of the Great doctrines that is taught in the Bible is that God is Spirit. He is not limited to time or place by a physical body. Many people try to limit Him to what we are able to do with physical bodies. God is spirit. Because of this God is ever where and every when at all times. God is not limited to the here and now by time. Time does not exist for God and He lives in the eternity past, now, and the eternity future.
Because of this it does not matter where we worship what matters is how we worship. Too many people place too much emphasis on a building. They build grand building. And what becomes important is the building. In fact the worship is centered on the building and it replaces the worship of God. You see to them membership in a particular church becomes more important. They look down their noses at other churches. You know when Richard and Gina came here and did their bum thing one or our members told some members of one of the larger churches in Winona about it. Do you know what their response was I am sure that was not a southern Baptist thing and their church would never do something like that. That is something they would not put up with. And you know what I agree with them that is something they would not put up with because their building has become more important than the worship of God.
In Dallas TX. there is a very large church there. They had a soup kitchen to feed the numerous homeless there they sent missionary teams all around the world. One morning as they came to services they say a dirty, scruffy bum sleeping next to the building. Every one who came by stepped over or around him. Little old ladies looked back with disgust and told their husbands we need to call the police. Deacons were told that this was church and we had a reputation to uphold what does it look to visitors to have a bum sleeping outside of the church especially one that you had to step over to get in. The whole church was in an uproar. 5minutes after 12 the preacher still had not come out of his office then 10 minutes people were getting ready to leave when suddenly his office door opened and out came the bum who was suddenly the preacher. He stepped into the pulpit and said I was hungry and you did not feed me I was thirsty and gave me nothing to drink, I was naked and clothed me not. Oh where are the true worshippers. We have all these wonderful programs for some one else to do but we are not coming to church for the right worship we in our haste have forgotten what is important and that is the true worship of God is in the Spirit. He then said go day and left. That was the sermon. Are you a true worshipper today? Do you know how to truly worship?
It is not where we worship or how big or wealthy a place is what it is all about is how we worship. We can worship Him anywhere and at any time because God is spirit. He is not limited to a particular place. You and I are the church. It is our attitude in how we worship that counts. Whether or not we are worshipping in the spirit or not.
Jesus says true worship involves the Holy Spirit. When we worship in the spirit we are truly worshipping. Are you worshipping tonight in the Holy Spirit? We need to because that is how God tells us to worship. The Holy Spirit helps us to worship by:
1. Being for us (Rom. 8:26 26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.) When we pray it is already caring our needs to the Lord. The Holy Spirit knows what we need already and it is praying for us. Is the Holy Spirit praying for you today is it leading your life.
2. It teaches us God’s word. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be sent to us and it would teach us and explain to us the word of God.
3. It tells us that God loves us (Rom. 5:5 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.) That wonderful sustaining love of God. The Holy Spirit teaches us and shows us how much God loves us. Tonight what is the Holy Spirit teaching you? Is the Holy Spirit teaching tonight? Have you surrendered today? Are you truly worshipping?
