Introduction to Scripture

Transcription

1 Introduction to Scripture Have you ever joined a conversation midway through it? Have you ever turned on a movie or TV show 10 minutes into its running time, or been stuck in the popcorn line at a theatre until after the movie has already started? It can take some time to figure out what s going on. A few months ago I flipped on a TV news show, only to catch an interview that had already begun. It was with a young woman from Brooklyn who had shocked the New York political establishment by defeating in a low-turnout primary one of the power brokers of her party. She was a newcomer to the national scene, and with very unorthodox views. While I didn t see the whole interview, what I did see gave me enough to get an idea of who she was and what her political philosophy was based on. Catching even a part of the action can be worthwhile. And that s what we re about to do with a lengthy story in the New Testament: we will join an extended conversation in progress and try to gain some significant insights from this limited sample. Here s the background: Jesus and His closest friends are traveling through a country called Samaria, the next-door neighbor to their own land of Galilee. Centuries of issues between the Jews and Samaritans made that part of the world as tense and conflicted as we find today between Israelis and Palestinians. Both sides had their share of legitimate grievances. They didn t like each other, and they avoided contact with each other as much as possible. Add to this complication the very gender-divided times, where there were strict rules and social limits on interactions between adult men and women. The up-

2 shot is that the conversation we will be eavesdropping on should never have happened except that Jesus had a spiritual and redemptive purpose in initiating it. Small talk transitioned quickly into very deep and profound waters. We join the action at John 4:19. S ir, the woman said, you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped? 21 Jesus replied, Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming indeed it s here now when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman said, I know the Messiah is coming the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. 26 Then Jesus told her, I am the Messiah! John 4:19-26, NLT The Topic: The Meaning of Worship What we learn in this portion of a fascinating and most unexpected conversation is all about what real worship of God means. In these few words Jesus blows to bits many long-time misconceptions and distortions ones which people in every generation typically embrace. Here is what we need to know, from the true Expert (for if you want to know how to worship God, who better to ask than God Himself, come in the flesh). 1. Worshipping God is not about a place. There is no single holy place where we have to go to communicate with our Creator and 2

3 Lord, because He is everywhere, unbounded by the limitations of space and time. It is understandable that we humans who very much are physically limited might make the mistake of focusing our worship on certain locations or certain buildings. Wherever we personally encountered God we tend to think of as a holy place. And because of our weaknesses and limitations, it often helps us to go to a special place set apart for worship in order to assist us in getting into the proper attitude and focus. But actually God can be worshiped anywhere. In another part of the New Testament promises His disciples Wherever two or three of you gather in my name, I am there with you. Secret believers huddling for worship in a room of a house church in Iran or North Korea to avoid government detection are every bit as much in a Sanctuary as those who walk into awe-inspiring Westminster Abbey in London. 2. Worshipping God does not require certain words, rituals or actions. For centuries the Jews had been obligated to perform various sacrifices to be forgiven of their sins. But Jesus makes it plain that with His arrival that era was finished. The time is coming and indeed is here now, He said. It started with Him. If only His alleged followers through the centuries would remember this. Churches have fought for centuries over differences about how to do worship. The Presbyterians in Scotland centuries ago split with their Christian brothers and sisters of the Church of England to the south over differences in what prayer book should be used for worship services. If Jesus had been there in person He would have knocked their wooden heads together and repeated what He said in John 4: All that matters is that you worship God in spirit and in truth. Worshiping in Spirit and in Truth Let s examine what that very significant sentence means. How do we worship God in spirit and in truth? Here is what I believe this means: The spirit is usually contrasted in scripture to the flesh or the body. Worshiping in spirit means that it s an inward act, a func- 3

4 tion of our minds and our emotions, not an outward act (as in going to a certain place, performing certain actions, saying certain words). It must come from within, or it s not real. It s just a performance, an obligation, a ritual. To worship God in spirit means that we seek to connect our real selves to the real Lord. You can sit in a worship service in the most beautiful cathedral in the world, you can listen to the greatest singers and musicians in all creation, you can hear the most brilliantly crafted and presented message the world has ever known by the most eloquent speaker and yet, that doesn t mean you have really worshiped God. If your mind was distracted or preoccupied, if your heart was cold and resistant and unbelieving, then you haven t worshiped because your inner spirit was never engaged. To worship in truth means that we are honest. The opposite of truth is a lie, phoniness, subterfuge, deception. It s easy to slip into being phony with God. We lie to Him when we pretend we re something we re not. We lie when we live in denial of our problems and our feelings. We are trying to deceive Him when we try to justify and excuse our wrong actions. The only attitude that leads us into the experience of truly worshiping the True God is honesty and vulnerability and transparency. We can never actually fool God anyway. He knows us better than we know ourselves. The Purpose of Worship The most radical or paradigm-altering implication of this new concept of worship Jesus presented to the world was this: The purpose of worship is to build and strengthen a relationship. With Christ s coming in the flesh, bringing the distant God down to our level and becoming accessible to every person, humans no longer need to worship in order to gain God s favor or His forgiveness or His mercy. We already have that if we have embraced Christ as our Savior. So the purpose of worship is to develop and grow the living, daily relationship with Him. It s how we get to know Him better, and how we give Him full access to our lives. It s what we need to keep us close, to abide in Him, to draw on His strength and resources. Regular worship sustains our souls like regular breathing sustains our bodies. 4

5 Worship is something we can do any time, any place, any hour of the day, and alone as well as with others. A friend once asked me if He could worship God on his golf course or on his fishing boat as well as in a church building. Of course, I answered. But be honest: Do you? For all our good intentions to commune with God in our own solitary ways, most of us aren t that disciplined or focused. We need the help, the structure, and the mutual encouragement we get from meeting together. It is why we swing open the doors every weekend multiple times: to invite you, at the time that s convenient, to come and join with others to do what our souls truly long for. We find that corporate worship is an invaluable component of living a Christian life in a relationship with Jesus. Here are a few ways to understand the purpose and the importance of what we do when we gather here each weekend. Corporate worship is a family meal time together. Friends of mine, Dave and Betsy, successfully raised their five natural children and two adopted children. Life as the kids were growing up was hectic and scattered, but there was an anchor that kept the family together: dinner times around their dining room table. They made a commitment, and kept it, that no matter what was going on they would all have dinner together every weeknight evening. Dave owned a thriving business that was very demanding, but he and his staff came into the office early every day so that all of them could get to their homes for dinner without working late. The various school, sports and church activities Betsy and the kids were pulled towards all took second place to the family table. It was there that they renewed their connections with each other. It was there that the family was a true unit. It wasn t the food that mattered. Very few of the dinners were memorable; sometimes Betsy cooked, sometimes the kids helped, and sometimes dinner was courtesy of the pizza delivery guy. The meals were forgettable, but the ongoing relationships were what counted. In the same way, we gather here as a family of God. We make it a regular commitment, because we need to keep our relationships consistent. It may well be that nothing which happens 5

6 here on a given Sunday is particularly memorable. You may not recall by tomorrow morning what I say today, or what the choir sings. That s not important. What is important is that you and I have the opportunity to reconnect with our Lord. Corporate worship is a discipline that trains our minds and our souls. Most of us have discovered the value that comes from exercising our bodies or practicing our hobbies: repetition builds muscle memory and skill; it keeps us on the right course. We encourage every Christian to make weekly worship a part of their personal discipline because the benefits are cumulative and because when we don t commit to a discipline, it is always easy to find excuses or be distracted. When I made the decision that I would exercise first thing in the morning five days a week, that became my habit. I didn t have to think about it each morning; it was built into my day. And it became easier, and more enjoyable to the point that if I missed a day, things didn t feel quite right. The same is true for worshiping God: if you build this discipline into your schedule, you ll find that missing a Sunday will feel strange to you. Worship is meant to be part of the rhythm of a healthy spiritual life. Corporate worship is a time to receive from others what we could not achieve for ourselves. The fall semester of my sophomore year in college I signed up for an Intro to Economics course. Economics was an academic discipline I, candidly, knew almost nothing about. I picked up the textbook a few days before class and began to read it. It might as well have been written in Sanskrit for all I could make out of it. Then the first class session came, and our professor had such a skill at making concepts understandable. I would have never grasped economics just by reading it on my own; I needed a gifted teacher to help me. Understanding theology and the Bible follow the same principle. Even smart and educated people can use some help to figure it out, and there s no shame in that. We are here every weekend to open up a part of the Bible and translate it from Sanskrit into the language of your daily living. It s free, and it s here for you, and we invite you to take advantage of this help. 6

7 How Did You Do? How do we evaluate whether a worship experience at a church is good or bad? Our society is constantly evaluating and judging. Candidates for office were judged at the polls a few weeks ago; some won and some lost. The college football journalists rank the Top Ten teams in order to pick who will get into the playoffs. New movies are critiqued and judged by internet polls on the website Rotten Tomatoes. A couple decades ago, big-city newspapers would hire columnists to be Phantom Diners ; these food critics would show up incognito at a restaurant, sample the food, and then write about it (grading a restaurant as one to five forks). In the city where I was living, the local paper for a year or two hired a Phantom Pew Sitter, who would drop in on selected local churches on a Sunday and then write up an evaluation of the worship service. The incognito critic had a checklist: Was the choir in tune? Did the preacher stumble over his words? Was his message muddled? Was the coffee hot? Were the donuts fresh? Did the bulletin have typos? Were the pews comfortable? Did any of the ushers drop an offering plate? You can certainly evaluate and judge a church by external standards like those. But ultimately, they are meaningless. Worship is not a spectator sport; we are all participants. We don t come here to watch other people worship God. Our sole purpose in being here is to do it ourselves. The only thing that matters is what happens inside a person when he or she attends a worship service. Has real worship occurred within them, in spirit and in truth, as Jesus said? The preacher may be ineloquent, the organ out of tune, and the parking lot filled with potholes. But if you spent time with the Lord and received what God had for you that day, then it was all worth it. Let me offer to you, as we close, a simple self-inventory you could take whenever you walk out of a church service (this one or any other). How did you do in worshiping God? What was one truth or insight you could take home with you, or something you were remind- 7

8 ed of? Did you allow yourself to feel God s presence with you? Did you talk with God about some area of your life? Did you give Him access to that part of you? Is there something you want to do differently as a result of what God has said to you? Are you refreshed and renewed? One Hour This one hour, out of the 168 hours of your week, can be the difference-maker that impacts for the good the other 167. But it will only happen if you give yourself fully to it. Jesus loves you and cherishes His relationship with you. And He wants that relationship to keep growing and stay fresh. So, what are you doing here? 9751 Bonita Beach Road Bonita Springs, Florida fpcbonita.org