Sunday, September 16, 2012
WORSHIP THE FATHER
John 4:23-24
What is the
Lord looking for in the people He has created?
Is He searching for servants, for a man who will serve Him as faithfully
as Moses did? Is He looking for workers,
for one who will accomplish as much as the apostle Paul? Is He after martyrs, people who will lay down
their lives, even as Stephen did? You
might be thinking, “Well, that leaves me out.
I can’t stand with people like Moses, Paul, and Stephen.” I have good news for you. You can be among those for whom God is
searching. For whom is God seeking? That’s right, He is seeking worshipers.
This
morning we have come together to worship the Lord. Maybe we should turn the lights down a bit,
just to make the atmosphere more conducive for worship. Perhaps we should have you parents talk to
your kids, just to remind them to be really quite during this time we have on
Sunday morning. And what about those who
are leading the worship? Have they put
in sufficient time to make sure they can properly lead the songs we sing? I should make sure the phone is unplugged,
and let me remind you to turn off your cell phones. Can you think of anything else? Is this the way to approach worship?
When we
come to God’s Word, in the second book (Exodus) we come to the construction of
the tabernacle. The tabernacle was
certainly a place of worship, for the Lord Himself said to Moses, “And let them
make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Ex. 25:8). God chose to set His presence in the tabernacle
in a special way. His people came there,
and later to the temple, in order to worship God. Listen to David’s words in Ps.
5:7, “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy
mercy, and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.” The Lord designated a special place for
worship. That is why, when Solomon
completed the temple, we read these words in II Chron. 5:13-14…
It came even
to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be
heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice
with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD,
saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house
was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; 14 So that the priests could not stand to
minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house
of God.
But now
let’s move forward a few hundred years and see what Jesus has to say about
worship. Let me describe the scene for
you. The main character is hot, sweaty,
and thirsty. The supporting character is
an adulteress five times over. These two
main characters are at odds with one another with respect to race, religion,
culture, and gender. They are members of
two opposing groups which despise one another.
And the story doesn’t take place on the Sabbath. Nevertheless, in the midst of this real-life
scene we encounter the most precious explanation of worship to be found
anywhere in the New Testament. Can someone
direct us to the scripture which tells this story? Yes, it is John 4. We know it as the story of the Samaritan
woman, or the woman at the well.
Let’s read
the story again from John 4:1-42…
Therefore,
when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized
more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left
Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He
needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near
the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied
from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of
Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His
disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the
woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a
drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of
God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked
Him, and He would have given you living water." 11 The woman
said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.
Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You
greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself,
as well as his sons and his livestock?" 13 Jesus
answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14but 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." 15 The woman
said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come
here to draw." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come
here." 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."
Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' 18 for you have
had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that
you spoke truly." 19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a
prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that
in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 21 Jesus said
to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on
this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship
what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 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. 24 God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman
said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).
"When He comes, He will tell us all things." 26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 27 And at this
point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no
one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with
her?" 28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city,
and said to the men, 29 "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.
Could this be the Christ?" 30Then they
went out of the city and came to Him. 31 In the
meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But He said
to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." 33Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone
brought Him anything to eat?" 34 Jesus said
to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His
work. 35 Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes
the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields,
for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who
reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows
and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this
the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you
to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have
entered into their labors."39 And many of
the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman
who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." 40 So when the
Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed
there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word. 42 Then they
said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we
ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.
I have far
more I would like to say than I can fit in this morning. So I am praying that the Lord will give me
grace to share what He would have us hear.
I encourage you to keep this passage before you and ask the Lord to reveal
more than what we can discover this morning.
I. The How and the Whom Above the When and Where
You have
heard brothers here quote John 4:23-24, “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. 24 God is Spirit, and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jesus’ words are worthy of quotation, study, and application. God the Father is seeking people to worship
Him. So does He want people to serve
Him, to be involved in His work, to lay down their lives for Him? Yes, but He is first of all looking for
people to worship Him. The truth is that
what we think is effective work and service means nothing, if we are not
worshipping the Father in Spirit and in truth.
Paul said that it is possible to give our bodies to be burned and it
mean nothing (I Cor. 13:3). As we saw
when we looked at Mary, true and effective service for the Lord flows out of
worship.
So how do we worship God the
Father? In our world great emphasis is
placed upon the when and the where of worship.
We are going to see that Jesus focuses on the how the whom of
worship. Jesus said that all those who
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. His words imply that there are many who claim
to worship Him, but it is not really worship unless it is in spirit and truth. We see this all through the Old
Testament. Jesus Himself quoted from the
Old Testament: “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me
with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But
their heart is far from Me’” (Matt. 15:7-8). We don’t want to be like those
hypocrites, and we don’t have to be.
Jesus tells us how to worship the Father in reality.
We must worship the Father in
spirit. Basically, that can be taken in one
of two ways. First of all, it can be
taken in contrast to outward, heartless worship. It is that outward worship Isaiah and Jesus
were condemning. The same prophet Isaiah
condemned that kind of worship in many other places. Isaiah describes the spiritual state of God’s
people in Is. 1:4-6...
Alas, sinful
nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are
corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy
One of Israel, They have turned away backward. 5 Why should
you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no
soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not
been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
We
might think that means the people were shaking their fist at God and refusing
to have anything to do with Him. But now
listen to Is. 1:10-15…
Hear the
word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You
people of Gomorrah: 11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to
Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And
the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or
goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required
this from your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no
more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the
Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the
sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They
are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you
spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many
prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
Do you
understand? This “brood of evildoers,”
as Isaiah called them, were continuing to assemble for worship. They were bringing their sacrifices,
outwardly observing the Sabbath, and praying.
But we know something was desperately wrong, because God was fed up with
their so-called worship. They were going
through all the motions of worship, but they were not worshiping Him in
spirit.
Surely no
one has to tell us that this is a great danger for us as well. Not only do we see this pattern all around
us, but it threatens to swallow us up as well.
Everyone of us is in danger of going to the right place at the right
time, but not truly worshiping the Father.
But praise God that in the midst of the danger, we have the knowledge
that our Father is seeking people to worship Him in spirit and in truth. He is not looking for us to do something; He
longs for us to be something -- worshipers of Him.
If we are
to worship the Father, we must worship Him not only in Spirit, but also in
truth. While “in spirit” describes how we
are to worship, “in truth” emphasizes whom we must worship. There are people all over this world who are
offering worship, but whom are they worshiping?
The people of some primitive tribe in the jungles of Africa worship
idols that they can hold in their hands.
The Muslims worship Allah, who is not the true and living God. The majority of Americans worship man, who is
the creation of God. When the Father
calls us to worship Him in truth, He is inviting us to declare His worth, the
worth of Him who is the Lord God Almighty, who created this entire universe and
everything in it. When we worship the
Father in truth, there is no mixture in our worship. We bow before Him as the only God. “There is none holy as the Lord; for there is
none beside Thee; neither is there any rock like our God” (I Sam. 2:2). He and He alone is the true God, and
worship in truth looks only to Him!
So we see
that Jesus emphasis how we are to worship and whom we are to worship. We must worship in spirit -- not with
heartless outward forms, but with sincerity of heart. We must also worship in truth, letting the
revelation of God convict us that He and He alone is worthy of our worship.
II. So Who Can Be a True Worshiper of the Father?
We cannot
ask that question without being reminded of the great gulf between God and
man. We sing it quite often: “For thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth;
thou art exalted far above all gods.”
Those are not just the words of
the song; they are part of the Word of God, for they form an exact quote from
Psalm 97:9. Is it any wonder that when
Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up in His glory, he said, “Woe is me, for I
am undone”? No wonder John, when he
looked upon the exalted Christ, fell at His feet as a dead man. God is the potter; we are the clay. Not only is God the Creator while we are the
creature, but then we have the problem of sin.
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your
sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Is. 59:2). God can have nothing to do with sin, because
His eyes are too pure to look on evil (Hab. 1:13). In light of this great gulf between God and
man, how can a mortal man worship such a righteous and holy God? How can we even get close enough to worship a
God who is so mighty and majestic?
Here in
John 4 we find good news! To whom is
Jesus speaking these words about worshipping the Father in spirit and in
truth? Yes, He is speaking to the
Samaritan woman. On the surface, we
might conclude that this woman had too many strikes against her to become a
worshiper of the true and living God.
After all, she was a Samaritan.
Israel (Palestine) was divided into three provinces -- Judaea, Galilee,
and Samaria (show on “arm map”). When
the Assyrians conquered Israel, the northern kingdom, they carried away the
nobles into captivity. The remnant that
was left intermarried with the pagan people around them. The Samaritans were the descendants of those
mixed marriages. As a result, the Jews
hated these half breeds, and the hatred was returned. Not
only was she a Samaritan, but she was also a woman. Notice how she responded, when Jesus asked
her for a drink: “How is it that You,
being a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?” (4:9). In that culture men did not openly speak with
women out in public, especially when the woman was a perfect stranger.
The problem
doesn’t end with the fact that she was a woman of Samaria. After her likely sarcastic reply to his
request for a drink, Jesus began to tell her about the living water He could
give her. Of course, Jesus wasn’t
talking about the water that came from that well, but the woman couldn’t
elevate her thoughts above the physical.
That is when Jesus made a very penetrating little statement: “Go, call your husband” (16). When she answered by saying that she didn’t
have a husband, Jesus then revealed that He knew all about her sinful
life: “You have well said, ‘I have no
husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your
husband” (17-18). No wonder this woman had to come draw water at
noon, in the heat of the day. She was an
outcast, for all practical purposes being a prostitute.
Why on
earth would Jesus waste His time on a woman like that? Wasn’t He looking for worshipers? That’s why this story is such good news. That woman would become one who worshiped Him
in spirit and in truth. If such a woman
as this could worship the Father in spirit and truth, is there not hope for
every one of us? Do you feel like there
is some sin that keeps you from worshiping the Father in spirit and truth? This woman’s sin did not disqualify
her. But maybe the problem isn’t how big
your sin is, but how often you have repeated it? Look at this woman; she was guilty of
long-term sexual immorality, but Jesus told her that the Father was
seeking worshipers.
Of course,
there is a key. No one can worship the
Father in spirit and truth until He is indeed your Father. That is the key. When Jesus began to speak to this woman about
the living water, she could only think about having physical water that would
relieve her from the toil and shame of coming out to the well. Then when Jesus exposed her sin, she resorted
to the religious diversion. “Sir, I
perceive that You are a prophet” (19).
That seems well and good, but she didn’t stop there. She went on to say, “Our fathers worshiped on
this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought
to worship” (20). She was much more comfortable talking to
Jesus about the religious controversy between Jews and Samaritans than the
controversy between her and God. Jesus
used her comment about worship to reveal the truth to her. And believe it or not, Jesus went on to tell
this woman straight out that He was indeed the Messiah (25-26). Such a revelation was very uncommon, but He
openly told her who He was.
Judging from the fact that she went into the city and began
to say to the people, “Could this be the Christ,” we gather that she believed
Jesus. Wouldn’t it be something to know
how her life changed from that day forward?
We will know some day.
Listen to
me. The key to worshiping the Father in
spirit and in truth is not what we do, but who we are. Are you His child? Is He your Father? If you have drunk the living water from
Jesus, you can worship the Father in spirit and truth. You can open your heart to the Lord God
Almighty, who has become your Father through the redemption of His Son. Your past is no barrier whatsoever, if it is
under the blood of Jesus. Your present
is not a problem either, if you simply open your heart to Him who gave His Son
to be the propitiation for your sins.
I know some
of us pretty well. Perhaps you are
thinking, “I don’t identify with the woman at the well, but I still have
trouble worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth.” I have good news for you this morning. Consider the disciples of Jesus, the twelve
apostles. They were in town getting some
lunch, as Jesus was talking to the woman.
Though they were the chosen apostles, we don’t hear about them
worshiping the Father in spirit and truth.
As a matter of fact, when they came back from town and saw Jesus talking
to the woman, they were amazed. They had
to choke back the urge to say, “Why are you talking with this Samaritan woman?” They certainly didn’t understand the kind of
worshipers the Father was seeking. When
Jesus refused lunch and told them He had food to eat that they knew nothing
about, they responded just like the woman had first responded; they couldn’t
get beyond the physical. They just
didn’t get it.
Outwardly
the apostles were not like the Samaritan woman.
I doubt that any one of them was guilty of open adultery. None of them had a mistress on the side. After all, they spent their time with
Jesus. But though they walked with the
Master, they didn’t understand this kind of worship. You can’t identify with the woman, but can
you identify with the Twelve? You are
consistently around the things of God.
You read His Word; you pray; you come to services. But are you worshiping in spirit and in
truth? Good news, brothers and sisters. Though the disciples didn’t get it at this
point, they would. The time would come
when they too would worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Like the woman, they would become his sons
and would know Him as Father through the redemption of His Son Jesus.
So what is
the key for fine upstanding people whose hearts have a tendency to become cold
and dry? He is our Father. That’s it.
Jesus didn’t say, “God, the Almighty, is looking for worshipers.” No, He said, “The Father is seeking such to
worship Him.” It doesn’t matter what
you’ve done, as long as He is your Father.
Earlier I
said that there are two basic ways of taking the words “in spirit.” First, we can take it to mean that worship is
from the heart and not just outward. You
may have noticed that I didn’t mention the second possibility. Let’s consider it now. Some would capitalize the “S” in “Spirit,”
making it refer to the Holy Spirit. That
would mean that a person cannot truly worship the Father apart from the Holy
Spirit. Whether or not Jesus had that in
mind, it is certainly true, isn’t it?
Back in John 3:6 we see a connection between our spirit and the Spirit
of God. “That which is born of the
Spirit is spirit.” Until the Holy Spirit
gives us life, we are spiritually dead, cut off from God by our sins. But when the Spirit works in us the new
birth, we then have spiritual life and are fully capable of worshiping the Father
who is spirit. The Spirit who ushered us
into life can usher us into true spiritual worship. In reality, He is the only One who can lead
us to worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.
Conclusion
I told you
that there is far more here than we can even begin to explore this
morning. Isn’t it a blessing that we all
have access to God’s Word. Many
believers in the world come and listen to the Word read and preached, and then
go home without it. Oh yes, they have it
in their hearts, and the Spirit will help them remember, but they don’t have
the privilege of reading it in their own Bibles. You have that privilege. May the Lord give us grace to avail ourselves
of that privilege and go back through this precious passage.
John Piper
says that we must worship the Father with heart and head. Our worship must be spiritual in nature, coming
from the heart rather than outward forms.
At the same time, our worship must be informed by the mind,
understanding whom it is that we are worshiping. He is the Almighty, but He is our Father.
Here is
what I want to send you home with today:
The Father is actively seeking people to worship Him in spirit and
truth. You can be one of those
people. That’s simple, but it is the
absolute truth. There is nothing that
prevents the child of God from worshiping the Father in spirit and truth. Let’s remember these simple things…
…
Focus on the Father, not on yourself
(worship Him in truth)
…
Rely upon the Spirit, not your own resources
…
Don’t let the outward forms consume you, but open your heart to Him completely
Have you
heard that little statement: “That boy worships
the ground he walks on.” It is used in
different contexts, but I have heard it used of a son and a father. The father isn’t much of a dad at all. Really, he’s not much of a man. He’s drunk a good part of the time and is often
in trouble with the law. Nevertheless,
his young son worships the ground he walks on.
Though his dad isn’t much, he’s still his dad, and he longs to be like
him. If the natural desires of man can
inspire such reverence, surely it should be easy for us to worship our
Father. We make it difficult when we
focus on ourselves, but when we humble ourselves as little children and open
our hearts to our Father, how can we do anything else but worship Him?
Earlier we
read those familiar passages from Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4-5. Why?
So that we can be reminded of one great truth -- when we truly see God
for who He is, we will forget about ourselves and worship will flow from our
hearts. May we long to see Him as He
is.
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