True Worship

Book Context: John has written this book so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, and by believing that you may have life in his name.

Prior Context: Jesus was with his disciples and they were baptizing more people than John the Baptist. People begin to question John asking if he cares and he says, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. The Son (Jesus) is from heaven, and ANYONE who believes has eternal life, but those who reject him have God’s wrath on themselves.

M.O.T: Evangelistic

C.I.T: Those who will worship the one true God must worship with the Holy Spirit in them and in the truth of His Word.

Thesis: In a world full of worship, those who worship God can only do so through Jesus.

Proposition: We should leave this place worshipping God thanking him for salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ.

“True Worship”

Introduction: I read about an instant cake mix that was a big flop. The instructions said all you had to do was add water and bake. The company couldn't understand why it didn't sell -- until their research discovered that the buying public felt uneasy about a mix that required only water. Apparently, people thought it was too easy. So the company altered the formula and changed the directions to call for adding an egg to the mix in addition to the water. The idea worked and sales jumped dramatically.

That story reminds me of how some people react to the plan of salvation. To them it sounds too easy and simple to be true, even though the Bible says, "By grace you have been saved through faith...; it is the gift of God, not of works" (). They feel that there is something more they must do, something they must add to God's "recipe" for salvation. They think they must perform good works to gain God's favor and earn eternal life. But the Bible is clear -- we are saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy" (). Unlike the cake-mix manufacturer, God has not changed His "formula" to make salvation more marketable. The gospel we proclaim must be free of works, even though it may sound too easy.

R.W.D. Daily Bread, June 2, 1992.

There are a lot of people who believe today that salvation is something to be attained through merit or some sort of act by the one being saved. They might say that salvation cannot be earned and is a gift but really, they mean it is for those people who need it, the really bad people, not good people like me. This woman that we met is an outcast to society. She is the high school drop out that got into drugs and alcohol. She has been married five times and is currently living in a situation of sin in adultery and fornication. She is the one you see begging sometimes for money at Kroger. She is the one who got pregnant out of wedlock. She is uneducated, she’s poor, and she is clearly lost right? She is clearly not a Christian. This woman is a completely different picture than Nicodemus who you can read about in chapter 3. Nicodemus goes at night to meet Jesus and if you know or remember he was a pharisee, a religious leader, a very moral person, a wealthy man with authority. He was the Westerville Ohio kind of person you know, paid his taxes, loved his family and provided for them. He took the kids camping and made sure they were in school. He was a good husband and Father, a real upstanding citizen. You’d see him at the new Chuys on Polaris Sunday Afternoon after church got out to give his family a real tex-mex treat. He was the one driving around a nice car and would sometimes pick up people to take them to church. He is the picture of the American dream and American Christian. As different as Nicodemus and this woman might be, they both are lost, and both need Jesus. You see it doesn’t matter what your status is in a community, whether your middle class, upper class, or lower class. It doesn’t matter if you’re Baptist, Methodist, or a cultist. It doesn’t matter if you’re working as a waitress or waiter living with your boyfriend or girlfriend or you work for a fortune 500 company in a nice home with your wife and kids. You need salvation only that Jesus can provide; you and I are just as lost as this woman and Nicodemus were. Everyone everywhere needs Jesus Christ to pay for their sin debt because they could never on their own period. This woman needed Jesus. And so, Jesus is at the well and has just uncovered her life of sin before her. You know Jesus cares too much about souls not to reveal to them their true state and need for Him as savior, we as Christians should be the same way. I know that’s hard, but that’s part of speaking the truth in love, we speak the truth. So Jesus tells her, and he offers her living water which is salvation. Now there are three truths that are taught by Jesus from this text about Worship. The word worship is used 9 times within these verses so there must be something important that we are to learn about worship.

Truth #1 True Worship is Not Geographical

1. In Verse 19 This Samaritan woman responds to Jesus’ probing statements about her sin with the idea of worship. She begins to speak about the differences between Jews and Samaritans and their ideas about worship. Now as a Samaritan she believed only in the first five books of the Bible also known as the Pentateuch, these are the books written by Moses. And within the Samaritan theological doctrine, they believe that the place to worship is on Mt Gerizim. This is the mountain where Abraham built an altar once he entered the promised land found in genesis 12. So they believe this is the place of worship. But the Jews on the other hand considered the rest of the Hebrew Bible that we have today as canonized or as scripture the other 35 books. They believe the place of worship was the Jerusalem Temple that was built by David’s Son Solomon. You’ve got these two different views of what true worship is and both are about to be corrected by Jesus. Now Jesus is worn out from his journey and stopped by Jacob’s well to ask for a drink from this woman that he knew was going to be there. We talked this morning about how talking to a woman as a Jew, especially a Samaritan woman was not culturally correct. Jews didn’t even talk to their own wives in public especially about theological issues. But that doesn’t stop Jesus, He doesn’t see a woman or a Samaritan, he sees a sinner in need of saving. And he tells her in verse 21 that “an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem”. What does he mean by hour?

2. He is talking about his death and resurrection on the cross. You see almost every reference when using this word hour in the Gospel of John Jesus is referring to the cross. In when Jesus was at the wedding and turned the water into wine and his mother told Jesus what was going on, he said, “What does that have to do with you and me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.” In when Jesus was revealing who he was saying that he knew the Father and was from Him (CSB)30 Then they tried to seize him. Yet no one laid a hand on him because his hour had not yet come”. In (CSB)20 He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come”. In when Jesus was at the festival Passover before a crowd just hours before he would be arrested, he said, (CSB) 27 “Now my soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour”. Jesus is saying to this woman that salvation has come and it is found within himself, Jesus. Salvation is not a thing but a person, it is Jesus! That is why he said and hour is both coming and is now here, because Jesus the promised savior was there and was getting ready to be slain for the sins of the world.

3. Now “this hour” implies that something new has come. Before this hour, those who worshipped God went to Temple. This hour will cause the true worshippers as said in verse 23 to worship the Father not based on location geographically but based on worshipping in “spirit and truth”. You don’t just worship God here at Church on Sundays and Wednesdays. If you are a Christian, your life is an act of worship. Many people who call themselves Christians believe practically that worshipping God is going to Church service and singing songs about Jesus. That is such a small part about what worship is. Yes, worshipping God does involve meeting as a Church body weekly and regularly to hear the Word of God and sing praises to our great God. But if that’s where it stops then you may not be worshipping the Father at all. Because only those who can worship God have to worship in “Spirit and in truth”. I believe there are many people in Church in America and even at this Church who cannot worship God because they are not worshipping in Spirit and in Truth. Which brings us to our second truth.

Truth #2 True Worship Comes Through Genuine Salvation

1. In verse 22 and 23 Jesus tells this woman that salvation is from the Jews and it is. This does not mean that salvation comes from the Jews and is only for the Jews, but that salvation has come from the Jews God’s chosen people to bless all nations. This goes back to when God promised Abraham that through his SEED which is Jesus that ALL the nations would be blessed. How can all the nations be blessed? By a single savior providing salvation for all people, but this savior was to come from the Jews. Jesus uses the same word for hour that he did in verse 21 signifying his atoning death and resurrection and says that when that hour comes and is now here because Jesus is there, the true worshippers with worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Now what does that mean? To worship in spirit and in truth?

2. When I was in football starting at a young age, we would be playing a game on a Saturday, and some players would be really stupid sometimes, I don’t know if was because we were young or because we were taking hits to the head at the age of 10. Either way sometimes kids wouldn’t know where they were. And many times, a player from the other team would come into our huddle after the play. And we would be sharing our play, and someone would notice this player that didn’t belong because he was on the other team. And whoever discovered him would say something like, “Hey! What are you doing over here”? And the Kid would look around confused say something like, “Oh sorry.” And run back to their side. I did that a couple of times and it’s funny and embarrassing. But they would go unspotted for a little bit, and sometimes they would even realize they were on the wrong side and correct themselves. The reality is they couldn’t hide it for long, they may have looked like they were on our team. I mean they wore the same pads, had a helmet and cleats, pants on and a mouthpiece in. They looked the part, but because they weren’t on our team they couldn’t play on our side. Their demeanor or jersey gave them away. They weren’t true teammates. People who do not worship in spirit and in truth are not true worshippers. They may look like it, and act like it. But just because someone can fit the part doesn’t mean it’s genuine. Repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is what makes someone a true worshipper. This is what Jesus means when he says those who worship the Father must worship in spirit and in truth. He is referring to salvation. Genuine worship comes from a heart that has been saved and ransomed, forgiven through the cross! Because any other kind of worship comes from filthy sin stained hands as an enemy of God. Genuine salvation is the only true worship there is because God must see Jesus in you and his blood removing your sins or you can never worship God.

3. God desires Christians to worship him! But they MUST worship in genuine salvation which is with the Holy Spirit dwelling within them because of the truth of the Gospel has affected their hearts, they are granted repentance towards God and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. You might be thinking shouldn’t this be teaching us how to worship, worship is not something you do to please God and be accepted, you cannot teach worship. True Worship comes from a soul that has been forgiven! It is internal within the heart! The Worship Jesus is talking about isn’t an act, but a state of being, an inward reality. It is worship that comes supernaturally through the spirit of God. But doesn’t Paul say in , “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship”? Yes, that is true, but Paul uses a different word than Jesus with different meanings. Paul uses the Greek Word letreia which is in reference to service as worship. Meaning it is our duty and it is reasonable to do things for God in service because of what he has done for us on the cross, we are living for him with acts of service because of gratitude for what he did for us. Jesus uses the Word proskuneo in this passage which means to express in attitude or gesture one’s complete dependence on or submission to a high authority figure. This means to prostrate oneself. Literally meaning lying stretched out on the ground with your face downward in reverence. Recognizing that your salvation was entirely free because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. You renounce everything about yourself recognizing that there is no good in you and that you have no chance whatsoever to be forgiven without Jesus Christ. This worship leads to the other worship in . This is worship of awe towards God because you finally see Jesus as precious and wonderful, because you finally love him because you realize he first loved you. You finally see yourself as completely helpless, a wretched awful sinner before God deserving of Hell, but that he forgave you in Jesus by taking your place on the cross as a substitute for your crimes against God. Jesus is talking about genuine salvation, true worship. It is an inward response to seeing Jesus on the cross. This worship of falling on your face because you now know God should kill you and send you to Hell for your sins, but he killed his own Son instead so that you might be set free and forgiven. This act of worship is simply saying to God Thank you”. If someone has this worship (proskuneo) they are a true worshipper, and it will always lead to worship acts of service (Letreia). You won’t have to beg this person to come to Church. You won’t have to bribe them to witness, you won’t have to convince them to give their service at Church or the money in the offering to make the Gospel known. This person has worshipped (proskuneo) because they have realized they have been forgiven much, and it leads them to love much and offer worship (letreia) acts of service towards God.

4. So he tells this woman that Worship is not about place, but about a heart that has been supernaturally saved by God through repentance faith in the Lord Jesus. It isn’t about Jerusalem or Mt Gerizim. Worship isn’t about Baptist or Methodists. It isn’t about singing hymns or modernized songs, it isn’t about KJV or ESV, It’s not about being rich or poor, a woman or a man. It’s about falling down on your knees when the Spirit illuminates the truth of your need for Jesus, and in thanksgiving and awe to the one who died for you, you can barely utter “thank you”. This brings us to the last truth. Truth number 1 True worship is NOT geographical. Truth number 2 True worship comes through Genuine salvation.

Truth #3 True Worship Comes Through Jesus Christ

1. In verse 25 when Jesus is finished talking to the woman, she responds and makes a reference to the messiah that is supposed to be coming. The Samaritans believed the messiah would be a teacher of the truth which they gathered from Duet 18, the Jews did not, they thought he would be some political figure who would overthrow Rome and set up the kingdom of Israel. Her statement makes sense with the Samaritan belief, she thinks when the Messiah shows up, he will make all things clear. He will be the one to show us the way. And she is right, he will show us the way. Because Jesus is the Way. And Jesus responds to this Woman at the well, I the one speaking to you just to make sure there is no confusion, and He. Jesus openly declares to this woman that he is the Christ, the Messiah. The Christ means the anointed one, the messiah, the awaited deliverer. This woman knew there was supposed to be a savior, which is why the Samaritans call him the savior of the world in verse 42.

2. You cannot worship unless you have a genuine salvation through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. There is no other way for you to be forgiven and saved. I cannot stress this enough; Jesus is the only way and there is no other way. Our culture hates absolutes when it comes to morality and salvation have you noticed that? You say Jesus is the Only way you will be called a bigot. You say to someone it is absolutely wrong to kill babies, you will be met with persecution. It is absolutely wrong to lie, and steal. It is absolutely wrong to have sexual contact outside of a marriage between one man and one woman, with anyone same sex or not. It is absolutely wrong to worship any other God than the God of the Bible. Our culture doesn’t like that. But they absolutely want their doctor to make the right incision for the right procedure and not kill them. They absolutely want their paycheck to go into their account. They absolutely want the pilot to land the airplane on the runway. When it comes to their benefit, they want it done exactly the right way. But when it comes to salvation, they say you can believe whatever you want. That’s a lie, you can only be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone according to scripture alone. You must place your faith in the Jesus that is revealed in the Bible not any other Jesus. You cannot have Jesus on one shelf say, “I am He”, and then some other religion on the same shelf say, “me too” and declare it’s true. Jesus is not an option among many options, no he is the Only way the Only option, you either submit to that and forever you will be with Jesus or you can reject that, and you will forever be in Hell. True Worship only Comes through Jesus.

3. Jesus told this poor woman, an outcast of society, an adulterer and sinner, that he was the Savior, the Christ. This woman had done nothing to deserve this encounter with Jesus. Guess what? You don’t either, but Jesus is here today talking and revealing himself to you, telling you he is the savior and to trust in him. How? Through the Bible, He has told you today that He is the only one who can save you. Will you trust in him today? Will you call out to him today? Christian, will you begin to worship God because of what he has done for you? And allow that worship to overflow into acts of worship, service towards God because of his kindness and goodness to save you.