Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Open with me in your Bibles to tonight.

Upon arriving at Samaria, Jesus sent His disciples into town to buy food, while He stopped to rest at the community well.

Up to this point, Jesus

Upon arriving at Samaria, Jesus sent His disciples into town for food while He stayed at the community well.

While Jesus was sitting on the well, a Samaritan woman came there to draw water.

Now this unusual meeting set up a crisis for the Jewish custom of the day,

not only did the Jews avoid contact with all Samaritans, but Jewish men avoided speaking with all women in public - including their own wives.

But Jesus was different.

And when you consider that the Samaritan woman

But here, we see Jesus breaking all treating this Samaritan woman like a person as God spoke to Hagar and Rebekah.

like a person as God spoke to Hagar and Rebekah.

HE spoke to the woman of Samaria, not as other kosher-concerned Jewish men would have, but He spoke to her as God spoke to Hagar and Rebekah: with dignity and respect.

Not knowing what to make of Him, the woman immediately sets out on a series of probing questions.

As Jesus answers her questions, the woman repeatedly fails to understand (as many still do) that Jesus words pointed to the spiritual and eternal level of reality - not the physical.

Finally, the time for truth had come, but the story indicates that the woman wasn’t ready to accept the implications of the truth.

And in an attempt to change the subject, she says in vs19

And this really set

“Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

“Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“Our Fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

“Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

But 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.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Now - as we’ve discussed in our past studies on the subject, there is nothing more important in the life of a church or to the life of a believer than truly worshipping God.

And yet, there is an illiteracy among believers that has ultimately led to an ignorance of what it means to truly worship God.

Because this problem is so widespread - and yet so close to home, we’ve decided to call our church and all the people of God to make the proper commitment to worship.

we’ve been considering some of the important elements that are involved in true worship.

And because worshipping God is our highest priority, we’ve been considering some of the important elements that are involved in true worship.

And the best way for us to begin sounding the call to commitment - is to establish what it means to TRULY WORSHIP God.

We’ve chosen as our text, primarily because this passage opens up the greatest teaching on TRUE WORSHIP in the NT.

Now we’ve chosen as our text, primarily because this passage opens up what is perhaps the greatest teaching on true worship in the NT.

And in order to establish what it means to TRULY WORSHIP God, there are 4 critical elements that must be exposed and understood.

In fact, you’ll notice that in those 6 brief verses - the term ‘worship’ appears in one form or another a total of 10 times.

Last time we did some of the work and broke TRUE WORSHIP down to it’s essential elements, where we discovered 4 reasons why worship is so important:

And the reason

In fact, you’ll notice that in those 6 verses the term ‘worship’ appears in one form or another a total of 10 times.

So

And we’ve discovered 4 reasons why worship is of such great significance- right?

by TRUE WORSHIP is - by breaking it down into it’s critical elements.

Now - as we’ve done the work to expose what the critical elements of true worship are, we have discovered 4 reasons why worship is important:

1.

We said that True Worship is important because Scripture demands it.

2. We said that True Worship is important because our destiny is marked by it.

3. We said that True Worship is important because Jesus Christ commands it.

And finally,

And finally,

4. We say tonight, that True Worship is important because it is THE goal of our salvation.

And finally, we said that True Worship is important because it is THE goal of our salvation.

4. Worship is important because it is THE goal of our salvation.

We live in a world of people who refuse to worship God.

And we have identified that the only ones who can worship God - are those He has saved.

Obviously, WORSHIP is very important to God as well.

And yet, Jesus says in vs23 that ‘the Father seeketh such to worship Him’

In case you don’t remember who Jesus is talking about here,

And yet,Jesus says in vs23 that ‘the Father seeketh such to worship Him’

Turn with me to Philippians 3.

Turn with me to Philippians 3.

Turn with me to Philippians 3.

Here in his letter to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul identifies those ‘the Father seeks’ for us right there in vs3,

“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Now - when Paul declared that “we” are the true circumcision, he openly associates himself and the other apostles with the Gentiles and Jews who rely on Christ rather than trusting in religious rituals - in this case the ritual of circumcision.

By stating that “we” are the true circumcision, Paul openly associates himself with Gentiles and Jews who rely on Christ rather than the religious ritual of circumcision.

By stating that “we” were the true circumcision, Paul associated himself with Gentiles and Jews who relied on Christ rather than religious ritual.

Now let’s remember that the circumcision Paul refers to here is spiritual circumcision, not a physical one.

And while physical circumcision did serve to identify someone with the Jewish nation,

and did have value for purposes of ministry,

And while physical circumcision served to identify someone with the Jewish nation and had value for purposes of ministry, it had no value in commending someone to God,

and

had value for purposes of ministry, it has no value in commending someone to God,

Physical circumcision has NO VALUE in commending someone to God,

because spiritual circumcision IS NOT a matter of religious ritual - and it never was.

Now - we’re looking for the identity of those Jesus brought to our attention in , that ‘the Father seeketh to worship Him?’

First, I want you to notice that true believers worship by the Spirit of God.

Using a term that often referred to temple service (latreuō), Paul identifies it as an inward, spiritual worship - in contrast to the legalism of outward conformity to the law.

Secondly, true believers glory in Christ Jesus.

The term “glory”(kau-chao-mai) in the Greek, means to boast in or boast about something or someone.

‘what is the identity of those Jesus brought to our attention in , that ‘the Father seeketh to worship Him?’

Here, Paul contrasts the one who boasts of his own good works - with the one who boasts in the work of Christ.

Thirdly, true believers put no confidence in the flesh.

Again Paul refers to a self-righteousness that trusts in one’s own initiative and energy to gain God’s spiritual blessing.

Paul had arrived at a place where he could admit his own efforts were useless.

This surrender provided Paul with a new attitude that paves the way for a deeper trust in Christ,

and it will provide the same new attitude for all those who are willing to admit even their best efforts are worthless as well.

Now - the question is: what is the identity of those Jesus brought to our attention in , that ‘the Father seeketh to worship Him’?

Clearly the TRUE BELIEVER and the TRUE WORSHIPER are both one and the same people.

You say, “OK, but how did they become that way?”

Well, certainly not by choice.

The Cambridge Paragraph Bible: of the Authorized English Version.

(1873).

().

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.”

These are the redeemed.

We said earlier that the people in the world flat out refuse to worship God - right?

And if it wasn’t by choice - then they didn’t get there by determination either,

gives the basic definition of a non-believing, unregenerate, and godless person as one who refuses to worship God.