True Worship

Remembering the Well

Our journey began around a well, and a deep conversation Jesus was having with the woman at the well. In that conversation Jesus talks to her about worship.

John 4:21–24 NRSV

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Isaiah 58 in my bible is titled “True Worship”. This is a glimpse of what it means to worship God in Spirit and in truth.

James 1:27 NRSV

27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

As we wrestle with Isaiah 58 how can we truly worship God in this way? Brothers and sisters I believe the key to the long awaited and prayed for revival is in putting the challenge of Isaiah 58 into action. Imagine the difference in our church, in our city if we could be a church who puts this into action.

Isaiah 58

WHATS WRONG

God has given Isaiah an important message to deliver to the people of God. A message delivered so loud God wants all to hear it.

The people of God are going through the motions of worship but they are truly accomplishing nothing. They think they are faithfully seeking God, but they are getting no response.

A good example from scripture of what’s going on is found in Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9–14 NRSV

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

God ends with is this what you call a fast? Is this truly what you think is an act of worship?

WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING

God lays out the kind of fasting, or acts of worship he requires from his people.

Free those wrongly imprisoned

lighten the burden of others

remove the chains and let the oppressed go free

Feed the Hungry

Give shelter to the homeless

Give clothes to those who need them

Don’t hide from family who needs help

A lot of this list lines up with the list Jesus lays out when he talks about the separation of the sheep and goats at the final judgement.

-Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31–46 NRSV

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

WHAT’S PROMISED

God leaves his people with a promise. If you fast if you worship like this, then I will respond. Your salvation will come like the dawn, your healing will swiftly come. The glory of the LORD will protect you, then you will call and I will answer, yes I am here!.

Let’s put this into action

Ephesians 2:8–10 NRSV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

Imagine with me for a moment what our church, what Haverhill would look like if we the people of God put God’s challenge into action. Imagine the difference we would make by the simple act of helping a local food pantry.

Imagine the difference in the life of a new family if we worked with the local pregnancy center. Imagine the difference if the church hosted an AA or NA meeting. Imagine the chains of addiction broken when a church starts a celebrate recovery ministry.

Brothers and sisters if we want change in this church, we need to start working with God to change the community.

Can we start putting this in action by collecting food for the food pantry whether its Someone Cares or the Common Ground.

Isaiah 58:9–12 NRSV

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. 11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. 12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.