Worshiping God in Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Opening Prayer:
Explain the context of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-26).
Jesus, on his way to Galilee, stops at a well in Samaria, where he meets a woman who came to draw water.
He asks her for a drink, and she is surprised that he, a Jew, would speak to her, a Samaritan.
Jesus tells her that he can give her living water, which is the gift of God and leads to eternal life.
The woman misunderstands him and thinks he is talking about physical water.
She asks him for this water, so that she will not be thirsty or have to come to the well again.
Jesus then reveals that he knows about her past and present relationships, which have been sinful and unsatisfying.
He tells her that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and truth, not in a specific location or tradition.
He also declares that he is the Messiah, the one who was promised to come and reveal all things.
The woman is amazed and goes to tell her townspeople about Jesus, inviting them to come and see him for themselves.
Many of them believe in him because of her testimony and his own words.
One of the main highlights of this passage we will delve into this morning deals with the concept of worship, in fact the word worship is mentioned 10 times in NKJV through out the conversation (v20-24).
Let us read those passages together,
Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.
You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God the Father is seeking true worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
To worship God in spirit and truth means to worship Him with sincerity, with faithfulness, and obedience, according to His revealed word and will.
Now why is this important, because God is spirit, and He seeks true worshipers who will honor Him in this way (John 4:24) It is God the Father who has set up the proper way to worship Him we don’t have any say about it. If we try to worship God any other way than the way God desires we are worshipping Him in the wrong way.
Worship: The Ultimate Priority 2. How Shall We Then Worship?
If God desires worship in spirit and truth, and if worship is something offered to God—and not just a show put on for the benefit of the congregation—then every aspect of our worship must be pleasing to God and in harmony with His Word
Let us begin by looking closer to what it means to worship God in spirit.
Worshiping God in spirit
Worshiping God in spirit
means worshiping Him from the heart, with sincerity and devotion.
What does that mean exactly, to worship from the heart? Well, we have to look within scripture to find what the Bible truly says about the human heart.
And what we discover is this:
The heart is naturally evil
The heart is totally depraved
The heart is selfish and self seeking
The heart is spiritually dead
The question then is this, how can a dead heart worship God? What do it mean to have a dead heart, scripture is very clear when it says
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Adam’s sin affected the whole human race, as he was our representative. This is what Paul explains in Romans 5:12, where he says that sin and death came into the world and affected all people because of Adam’s sin. Furthermore, Romans 6:23 tells us that death is the consequence of sin; sinners have to die, because sin cuts us off from God. Being separated from the Source of Life means, of course, death for us.
However, it is not only the sin we inherited that leads to spiritual death; our own sinfulness also plays a role. Ephesians 2 shows that, before we were saved, we were “dead” in our trespasses and sins (verse 1).
So a dead heart, one who is dead in their trespasses and sins is unable to worship God in spirit.
It is because of this spiritual condition, that we are completely unable to trust God or His Word.
Jesus repeatedly claims that we are powerless without Him (John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Jesus says that we cannot come to Him without God’s enabling (John 6:44
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Paul teaches in Romans 8 that our natural minds cannot submit to God, nor please Him (verses 7-8).
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Worship is not done by our fleshly efforts, the flesh of humanity in the current state is unholy, unpleasing, unsuitable to truly worship YHWH.
In our fallen state, we are incapable of even understanding the things of God 1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Just in this passage alone shows that an unregenerate person who has not the Spirit of God and thus can not even comprehend the things of God much less worship Him properly.
So the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship Him in spirit not flesh. This is where the gospel become a bridge or a catalyst to authentic worship.
A person must be regenerated by God the Father through Jesus Christ His son and lead to receive this gift by the Holy Spirit.
The act of God whereby He makes us alive from spiritual death is called regeneration. Regeneration is accomplished only by the Holy Spirit, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When we are regenerated, we are made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) and renewed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5
But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
It is like being born a second time, as Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3:3, 7.
So true worship begins with being regenerated by the His Spirit, meaning worship, true heart felt sincere worship is only possible through the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus would give to those who believed in him, and in accordance with the truth of God as it has been made known through the person and teaching of Jesus.
The Father seeks people who will worship him in the Spirit and in accordance with the teaching of Jesus.
This is a reminder that worship is not restricted to what we do when we come together in church, but about the way we relate to God through the Spirit and in accordance with the teaching of Jesus, and that touches the whole of life.
Illustration: David, a man after God’s own heart, who worshiped God with his whole being spoke these words while in the wilderness of Judah. Psalm 63:1-8
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Beautiful isn't it. David said, “I seek you God, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Jesus asked for water from the woman at the well. And then later said to her,
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Let me close with a story about another young man named David. He grew up in a church like ours, with hymns, creeds, and rituals.
He thought that this was the only way to worship God. He looked down on other Christians who worshiped in different ways.
But then he went on a mission trip to Africa, where he met a group of believers who had nothing but a tree, a guitar, and a Bible.
They worshiped God with simple songs, heartfelt testimonies, and fervent prayers. They welcomed David as their brother in Christ and invited him to join them in their worship.
David was amazed and humbled by their worship. He realized that they were worshiping God in spirit and truth, not in outward forms or traditions.
He learned that God is not limited by a place or a style of worship, but that He seeks those who worship Him with sincerity and faith.
He experienced a new dimension of worship that touched his heart and transformed his mind. He thanked God for showing him the true meaning of worship.
What about you?
How have you been worship God?
Do you worship Him in spirit, or do you rely on external things?
Do you worship Him with all your heart, or do you go through the motions?
Do you worship Him with joy and gratitude, or do you take Him for granted?
Jesus said, "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
Next week we will look closer at what Jesus meant about worshipping the Father in truth.
Let us pray!
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank You for this time of worship and fellowship. We thank You for Your grace and mercy that You have shown us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life.
Lord, we confess that we have sinned against You. We ask for Your forgiveness, Lord, and we ask for Your help to forgive those who have hurt us.
We come before You with a burden for those who do not know You. We pray for those who are lost, confused, and deceived by the enemy. We pray for those who are living in sin, darkness, and despair. We pray for those who are hurting, broken, and hopeless.
Lord, we ask that You would open their eyes to see Your truth. We ask that You would open their ears to hear Your voice. We ask that You would open their hearts to receive Your love. We ask that You would draw them to Yourself by Your grace and power.
Lord, we pray that You would transform them into true worshipers. We pray that You would teach them to worship You in spirit and truth.
Lord, we praise You for Your mercy and compassion. We thank You for Your salvation and hope. We thank You for Your glory and honor. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.