"The True Worshipper"

The True Worshipper

(John 4:19-26)

Introduction:

A.  The book of Nehemiah is one of the most beautiful portraits of the people of God at worship in all of scripture. It is a wonderful climax to a sad chapter in the history of God’s people.
When they disobeyed God and forsook him to go after idols…..God allowed them to be invaded. The temple was destroyed, the walls of the city were broken down, and the gates burned. Thousands of the Jewish people were taken as captives. As of the time of the writing, the temple had been rebuilt. Yet, for the most part worship had not been restored. Many of the sins that had caused their troubles continued. Yet, God has a plan….and he has a man. He chooses a Jewish man serving in the King’s palace in Persia. A man who had never seen his homeland, one who had never seen the temple. His is the story of the true worshipper!

B.  After hearing how terrible things were in Jerusalem, Nehemiah weeps.  For some days he mourned, fasted and prayed.  Listen to part of that prayer (Neh. 1:5-7).  Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the King.  When the king sees this man he sees a man whose heart hurts and the king asks what Nehemiah desires.  With a quick prayer in his heart he answers the king, “Send me back to my home to rebuild it.

C.  If you know the story, Nehemiah goes to Jerusalem only to meet resistance from the Samaritans.  But in the face of the trials he set about the task of organizing the rebuilding of the walls.  With the walls build, Ezra the priest brought out the Book of the Law of Moses, standing on a high platform for everyone to see and hear him he opens the book and begins to read and all the people stood up in respect to hearing the very words of God read to them.  Ezra praised the Lord, the great God and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen!” “Amen!”  Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.  And they worshipped God in spirit and truth.  The people repent, confess their sins and they promised to live according to His ordinances.

D.  So what is worship?  Is it more than sum of our acts?  Is it more than entering this building for an hour or two?

I.  Jesus Talks About Worshippers

A.  William Temples says, “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose — and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.”

B.  Let’s come to the text that was read in John 4.  We know her story and some of us feel as though we have lived it.  After discussion about living water and her immoral life there is but one topic left – worship.  “Sir, I cans see you are a prophet.  Our father says we should worship on this mountain and you Jews claim that the place of worship is in Jerusalem.”  This isn’t the first time Samaritans have viewed Jerusalem with contempt.  It’s all opinion.  Sarcastically, one might say, “All religions are essentially the same.  There are many pathways to God.  Pick which one you like and go for it.”  WRONG!

C.  It is not about “this mountain” or “Jerusalem.”  Read verses 21-24.  The truth is, it not about place, but about our heart coming before a holy God.  God is spirit, not God is A spirit, but God is spirit.  As God is light, God is love, or God is just; God is spirit.  Worship then is about who God is.  That is also why it is not “on this mountain or in Jerusalem.”  God as spirit is not limited to one place or a building.  We, as Christians are the temple of God, the home of the Holy Spirit.

D.  Worship is NOT about what we know.  I can know a lot about the worship elements, but that doesn’t mean I worship.  It is not an act or rule.  Worship is not about something merely physical or intellectual or emotion.  It is all of those coming together.  It is about our heart and mind living in submission to God.

E.  Here was a woman whose relationships and reasoning were wrong.  Jesus comes along to give her a new relationship and new reasoning.  He wants her to see God through relationship not ritual.  If worship is not sincere then it is not worship.  Coming today did not mean you worshipped today.  You may leave this gathering and never have worshipped God.  It was only your mountain.

II. What The Father Seeks

A.  Jesus says the father seeks worshippers.  God is looking for people who will worship him in the manner he has described and from the heart he has given.  Does how I worship make a difference?  Yes.  In the OT the sons of Aaron offered up to God what was called “unauthorized fire.”  Those two men died by the fire of God.  They died because they did not approach God in holiness, they did not honor him.  We can worship incorrectly.

B.  The church in Corinth came together and did more harm than good in their worship.  They were calling something the Lord’s Supper that was not the Lord’s Supper.  They took worship to God and caused division within the body.  And for that some were sick and others asleep.

C.  Yes, you can worship God in a wrong manner.  To worship in spirit and truth is more than just worshipping how you like.  Worship is about God always.  We talk about “seeker sensitive worship,” the problem is our worship is not about the seeker, it’s about God.  We talk about contemporary worship or traditional worship, the problem is our worship is not about style but about God.  God does the seeking.  God seeks those who will honor him, reverence him, come before him with their whole heart in devotion.  God is not seeking a Sunday morning slot in your life, he seeks your life.  Worship goes beyond this hour, it is about who you are every moment of every day.  The collective question we ask is, “Does our worship glorify God instead of me?”

D.  We sing, pray, give of our money, listen to God’s word being read and explained, and participate in the communion through the taking of the body and blood of Jesus.  But if I do those truth things, but have no spirit behind them, is that worship?

Conclusion:

A.  It is a wonderful experience to be in worship to God.  Worship transforms me.  I fix my eyes upon him.  I know where my help comes from.  Worship energizes me and helps me to focus other parts of my life back to God.

B.  Worship may best be understood by the scenes of heaven given to us through John’s revelation.  There around the throne no one argued over worship style and song.  There around the throne no one got upset at the length of the time because time meant nothing.  Instead, we find them crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!”  They continue “You alone are worthy to receive glory and honor and power.”  It was simply about God.

C.  I pray we can worship collectively and individually during the week in spirit and truth.  I pray that our worship will capture our hearts and help to mold us into the image of His Son who has saved us from our sin and open the curtain for us to enter his throne room.       D.  If you are not a child of God, have not given your life to him in repentance and baptism then worship carries little value.  Today is the day of salvation.  Let worship start here by dedicating or rededicating your life to Him who is able to do more than you can ask or imagine.  If we can help in that personal dedication, then come as we stand and sing.