I That Speak unto Thee am

John 4:1–26 KJV 1900

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, 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. 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. 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. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

Pre-Sermon Ice Breaker

Work can be an interesting place. I heard about one encounter with a boss and his employee:

The boss asks his employee, “Do you believe in life after death?” The employee replies, “Certainly not! There’s no proof of it.” The boss says, “Well, there is now. After you left early yesterday to go to your uncle’s funeral, He came here looking for you.”

Introduction

Worship is defined as the expression of reverence and adoration for God!

Worship has been described by some as boring. Other see worship as the most important element of a service, so much so that they would like us to do away with the sermon altogether.

In the past 20 years worship has been a battleground in many churches as they debated the virtue or vice of traditional verses contemporary music.

In the last 5 years the greatest challenge facing this and many churches has been the resources to enable us to worship - someone to play the instruments, sing the songs and lead the congregation.

The problem with our worship here is not that it is too traditional or too contemporary, too loud or too soft, too fast or too slow. The problem with our worship is found not in these exterior issues, but in interior issues, issues of the heart.

One of the central themes of our text today is worship. In John Chapter 4 we read about Jesus encounter with the woman at the well. The key verse in this passage is John 4:24

John 4:24 KJV 1900

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

What keeps you and I from worshipping Jesus in Spirit and Truth. We will explore 3 Areas of Concern regarding worship in this encounter. As we do we will discover the obstacles to worship that can be overcome not with a guitar or drums or tambourine, but with the human heart. Let’s Look at them together.

Body

I. The Area of Relationship - vs. 7-15

John 4:10 KJV 1900

Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

The first obstacle to worship is not knowing him. We can go back to the Old Testament. In Exodus God spoke to Moses and said, “Tell Pharaoh, ‘Thus saith the Lord, Let my people Go, that they may worship me.”

Exodus 5:2 KJV 1900

And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

Look at what Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John 4:22

John 4:22 KJV 1900

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

John 8:19 KJV 1900

Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

John 10:14 KJV 1900

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

To worship God in Spirit and in Truth you must overcome the problem of Separation - you must know Him.

II. The Area of Righteousness - vs. 16-19

John 4:16–19 KJV 1900

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

Isaiah 59:2 KJV 1900

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, And your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

1 John 1:9 KJV 1900

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What keeps us from dealing with sin? Pride

Exodus 10:3 KJV 1900

And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

James 4:7–10 KJV 1900

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

To Worship God in Spirit and in Truth you must deal with the Problem of sin. You must repent

III. The Area of Religion - vs. 20-24

John 4:20–24 KJV 1900

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. 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.

Colossians 2:8 KJV 1900

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

2 Timothy 3:5 KJV 1900

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

To Worship God in Spirit and Truth we must deal with the Spiritual Problem. We must remove the chains of religious tradition.

Conclusion

Worship is defined as the expression of reverence and adoration for God!

In John 4:25-26

John 4:25–26 KJV 1900

The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

This is truly an amazing statement by Jesus! For the first time he owns who he is to someone. And she gets it. He owns it in away that we may not even realize.

Look closely at your Bible notice that word He. It is in italics. The word He does not appear in the Greek. The translators add it, so it makes sense and sound right in English. But this is an “I am” statement. He is identifying himself as God, as Messiah, as the great “I AM”

When the Samaritan woman heard this, it changed her life and in that moment she believed in Jesus. Will you believe and worship him today?