1 (Slide 1) The Key to Real Worship John 4:23-24 Here is the Background to today's Scriptures. The Pharisees were powerful Jewish leaders. They were the largest and most influential religious party in New Testament times. They loved their huge following of people. Like groupies of a rock band, the people idolized the Pharisees. The Pharisees became puffed up and proud. Along came John the Southern Baptist, I mean Baptist. Many of the Jews began to follow John. The Pharisees lost some of their following, and it made them angry with John. The Pharisees claimed the authority to regulate the observance of religion, so they watched John like a hawk watches its prey. Next, Jesus entered the religious scene. The Pharisees examined Jesus conduct too. The Bible tells us that Jesus gained and baptized more disciples than John. The Pharisees were alarmed. More lost groupies. More concern. More anger. The Pharisees' pride was hurt. Their monetary collections were hurt too. Jesus was trespassing onto their turf. They were red-faced with fury. Jesus knew the envy and rage of the Pharisees were growing so rapidly that his life was in danger. His time to die had not yet come, so he traveled to Galilee, a country farther from Jerusalem, and much less under the Pharisees' control than Judea. Jesus didn't fear death and didn t shrink from suffering, yet he didn t needlessly throw himself into danger or provoke opposition. He could do as much good in Galilee, as in Judea, so he withdrew from immediate danger. Jesus had to pass through Samaria to get to Galilee. In Samaria, Jesus sat down by a well at lunchtime. He was thirsty. The disciples were off buying food. A Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. The two began a conversation about race and religion. The woman knew that Jews didn't usually associate with lowly Samaritans like her. I'm so glad we are diverse here and no one gets uppity toward people who are not just like them. No one treats anyone like a Samaritan. Race doesn t matter. Color doesn t matter. Education doesn t matter. Income doesn t matter. What matters is that we re family.
2 Jesus turned the conversation toward living water and eternal life. Have you noticed how the mention of eternal life can make a conversation uncomfortable? The woman began to squirm, and she redirected the discussion. She began to talk about the depth of the well. Jesus told her about her five ex-husbands and her current live-in boyfriend. Now he had her attention. Jesus obviously was a traveler just passing through Samaria. He hadn't been in town long enough to learn those things about her. She knew he must be a prophet. The woman talked about religion, being careful to avoid a discussion of eternal life. She talked about places to worship God. The Jews worshiped in Jerusalem. The Samaritans worshiped on Mount Gerizim, only a short distance from the well. On Mount Gerizim, they had built a temple similar to the one in Jerusalem. The proper place of worship was one of the main subjects of controversy between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus said, "A time is coming when you won t worship God on this mountain or in Jerusalem." The place of worship soon would change dramatically. Let's go to the well in Samaria to listen to the continuation of their conversation. As we join them, Jesus is telling the woman about real worship. (Slide 2) John 4 (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. Jesus told the woman that a new day had arrived. The rules for worship had been revised. Worship is not about location. God isn t looking for ritualistic worship in a specific temple. He s looking for real worshipers to worship anywhere and everywhere. The rules for our worship are the same as described in verses 23 and 24. Our worship is not limited to this church building. God is spirit, so he isn t limited to one place. He is present everywhere and can be worshiped at any time. We can worship God all day long, any day, and in any place. God isn t looking for location. He s looking for real worship by real worshipers. When God observes your worship, does he see real worship by a real worshiper?
3 It s not where we worship that counts, but how we worship. God wants real worship from any location. What is real worship? I know that worship is giving worth to God. Worship is worth-ship. It s telling God how wonderful and loving he is. It s acknowledging how mighty and magnificent he is. It s recognizing that he is the provider of our every breath. It s praising him for being the giver of eternal life. It s making God the focus of what we do. That s worship. But what is real worship? (Slide 3) Next, Jesus defined real worship. Real worship is worshiping God in spirit and truth. OK, we re getting a little clearer, but what is worship in spirit and truth? Let s look at the worship in truth part first. Jesus was talking about Judaism. Judaism, without Jesus, was a shadow of the truth Jesus would soon bring. The innermost room of the temple, where God s presence resided was not the truth of real worship. It represented the coming truth of God residing in the innermost part of people who accept him. Animal sacrifice for sin was not the truth of real worship. It represented the coming truth of Jesus final sacrifice on the cross. The offering of incense was not the truth of real worship. It represented the coming truth of Christians offering themselves to God. Access to God through the priest was not the truth of real worship. It represented the coming truth of direct access to God through Jesus Christ. Real worship must be in truth. It must not be based on ritual and man-designed activity. It must be based on the truth, the fact, the certainty of our connection to God through Jesus. Worship in truth is worship based on the truth that we come to God through Jesus and nothing else. Let s go on to the worship in spirit part. This is the essential part. This is the critical part. This is the part we must grasp and practice. This part, worshipping in spirit is the key to real worship. Like God, who is a three-part being, Father, Son, and Spirit, you are a three-part being. You are a spirit. You possess a soul. You live in a body. Today, you walked into worship in your body. You shook hands with your body. You sang with the vocal cords of your body. You read the words on the screen with the
4 eyes of your body. You put your offering into the plate with the hands of your body. You have worshiped with your body. Real worship is more than that. Today, you have worshiped with your soul. Your soul is the part of you that thinks and has emotions. You thought about God with your soul. From your soul, you felt close to God while we prayed. You experienced enjoyment while singing. The pleasure emotion came from your soul. You have worshiped with your soul. Real worship is more than that. Decades ago on Easter weekend, I went with some friends to Edisto Beach in South Carolina. After dark on Easter Sunday, we took a short walk to the beach. We saw a group of people huddled around a small fire. They were singing. Some had their hands raised. It looked like they were wearing choir robes. They sounded happy. They were worshipping with their bodies and souls. We walked a little closer to try to hear what was going on. Suddenly, someone stepped out of the bushes to block our path. He was wearing a black robe with a hood. The pieces of the puzzle came together in an instant. We had observed Satan worshippers having a black mass on Easter. They worshiped with their bodies. They worshiped with their souls. They worshiped sincerely, but there was no real worship. Their worship totally missed the mark. Please listen very carefully. So much of what passes for Christian worship these days misses the mark too. Church people expect worship to be the way they want it. They think worship is about them. They demand that the music style be their kind of music. They insist that the message make them feel good. They feel cheated if worship isn t entertaining and for their benefit. That is not real worship. You can come to this building, make people feel welcome, give a large offering, sing with an angelic voice, soak in the sermon, pray for people during the invitation time, and miss real worship. Real worship is not in body and soul. Real worship is in spirit. You can clap or raise your hands. You can shout, Praise you Jesus. You can feel great to be in God s house, and still miss real worship. You can use your body, thoughts, and emotions to worship in a thousand different ways and miss real worship. Real worship is not in body and soul. Real worship is in spirit.
5 Your spirit is the third part of your being. Your spirit is the real you. Your spirit is the part of you that will live forever with or apart from God. For a Christian, the spirit is the part of her being that the Holy Spirit makes alive to God, connected to God, and able to give real worship to God. Worship in spirit is worship from your spirit, not just your body and soul. The verses we read told us God is spirit and his worshipers must worship in spirit. Worshiping in spirit is not a spooky thing. It s not a paranormal, ghost-like experience. Worshiping in spirit is worshiping from your spirit. Real worship is giving worth to God from your spirit. It's not the actions of your body. It's not the emotions of your soul. It's the submission of the real you, your spirit, to focus totally on God. When worshipping from your spirit, the sequence of worship in the bulletin does not matter. A formal or relaxed worship style does not matter. The clothing of the ushers and pastor does not matter. Conformity to what you like does not matter. A connection to God is what matters to the spirit. God is a spirit and we worship in spirit. It s hard to describe worship in spirit. Worship in spirit is not about external pomp and splendor. It s not about a perfectly timed service. It s not about a well-dressed congregation. It s not about the arrangement of the chairs. It s not about a smiling choir. It s not about fabulous special music. It s not about a joke and a poem to go with the message. It s not about an eloquent preacher. Worship in spirit is about God and nothing else. It is submissively coming into God s presence. It is putting aside everything but God. It is opening your spirit to him and him alone. It is a complete focus on giving worth to him. It is 100% giving praise to him. It is absolute reverence to him. Have you seen a small child run to her father and wrap her arms around his legs to hold on with love? She doesn t see a thing in the world but her father. She has no other thought than for him. There is no competition for her love. Worship in spirit is like that. You run to your Father, God. You embrace him with love. Nothing distracts your focus. Nothing competes for your love. You are entirely his. I can t adequately describe worship in spirit, but I know without a doubt when I m there. I m absorbed with my Father, God. I want nothing else except him. I am fully aware of his majesty, glory, power, love, kindness, and unmatchable worth. I m in the
6 worship zone. I m lost in him. All I care about is God. My spirit touches his spirit. That is real worship. Worship in spirit is real worship. The essence of worship is proclaiming God's rightful worth and position. Real worship is why you should come to church: to sweep out the stuff that has crowded God from his central place in your life. Real worship sharpens your focus on God. Conclusion: The joy of worship begins when we break the chains of self to be free to focus on God completely. Is real worship of God your focus this morning? Did you take the five minutes before the service to focus on God? Did you let the music lead you to focused, worship of God? Was your offering an act of worship to God? Have you allowed the message to help you totally focus on God? Is real worship your focus this morning? Real worship is not about you, what God does for you, and how he benefits you. Real worship is totally about God. Real worship is not singing, but singing to God. Real worship is not about praying, but praying to God. Real worship is not about encouraging you. Real worship is about glorifying God. Real worship is not a ritual performed by your body and soul for your enjoyment. Real worship is an experience by your spirit for God's glory. We were created, and our spirits were born again, for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. Real worship recognizes that we exist for him. We breathe for him. We live for him. We spend our lives for him. We were made to worship him. Though I can't explain it exactly, when we give worth to the God of the universe, powerful things happen. When we passionately adore Jesus without shame, God shows up at our services. When we really worship, our lives are changed. Do you want to see powerful things happen? Do you want God to show up at our services? Do you want miraculous change in your life? Then, you must worship in spirit and truth. Worship in spirit and truth is the key to real worship. Let s pray.