Worship God in Spirit and In Truth

Transcript

GR
GR 345
1/20/1980
Worship God in Spirit and in Truth
John 4:16-26
Gil Rugh

John’s gospel and the fourth chapter in your Bibles. John chapter four. Let’s have a word of prayer before we begin this portion this morning.

Father, we thank you for your great love for us. Father, that we have the great privilege of belonging to you, for the privilege of coming together in your presence today to worship you and adore you, to have the Spirit minister to us from your Word according to our need. We ask, Father, that it might be a time when your purposes are accomplished in each of our lives individually. Lord, not just a time when we have come together and left but a time when the Spirit has ministered to us. When we are made more aware of the great God that we serve and we’ve been fitted to glorify you more fully in our lives, for we pray in Jesus’ name

In the fourth chapter of John we have been talking about Jesus' confrontation with the Samaritan woman at the well, and we have noted that this is a striking contrast with the personal confrontation in John chapter 3. In John chapter 3 Jesus confronts the man Nicodemus, and Nicodemus is at the opposite end of the religious and social scale of the day in Israel. He is a man who is a religious leader, esteemed and looked up to. He would be at the upper end of the social strata, and yet Jesus confronted him and said 'Nicodemus, unless you are born again you will never see the Kingdom of God.’

When we come into John chapter 4, we confront a person who is at the opposite end of the social scale, an immoral despised woman. A person who is at the opposite end of the religious scale as far as the Jews are concerned. An outcast in an apostate religious system. Yet Jesus confronts her with basically the same message—You must believe that I am the Messiah, the Savior of Israel so that your sins can be forgiven, and you can have a personal relationship with God.

The confrontation takes place in Samaria. Jesus is on a journey from the southern part of Palestine, the region of Jerusalem in Judea, up through Samaria into Galilee toward the north. And as He travels through Samaria, He stops at the well to rest, the disciples having gone into town to buy food. The Samaritans and Jews were in conflict with one another. They had two opposing religious systems, and yet at the well this woman comes to draw water and Jesus says to her 'Give me a drink' and she is amazed that a Jewish man would ask her a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. Jesus uses this contact to develop the discussion of living water. This woman has come for physical water to satisfy physical thirst. Jesus says 'I can give you living water to satisfy your thirst forever.' We're going to see as we move through this section today that this woman has been pursuing a course of trying to satisfy the spiritual longing of her soul through physical means. There is a hunger, there is a desire for something more, something else. And just as you get a drink of water and need another drink of water later on—and oh that is so satisfying. But a little bit of time goes by and you find you are thirsty again. So it is in the spiritual realm, that people as they seek to fill that void, that longing, on the inside. They go from this to another thing. They find 'Oh, that is so satisfying' and a little bit of time goes by and there is that longing again and they are looking for something else. And this is the course that this woman has been following. What Jesus wants to offer her is that which will satisfy her spiritual thirst, the longing of her soul—the inner person, so that you never thirst again.

The woman's interest has been captured. And when Jesus tells her in verse 14 that whoever drinks of the water that I give shall never thirst again, she says 'Oh, give me this water and I won't have to make this trip all the way to the well anymore.' So her interest has come to the point where she believes this man may have something that she could use. But she hasn't made the transition to spiritual things yet. She's still thinking about satisfying spiritual thirst. So with verse 16 after she asks for this water, Jesus doesn't follow through and say 'Now let me tell you, I'm not talking about physical water, I'm talking about spiritual water.' He almost drops that. She says ’Give me the water’ and He says 'Go get your husband and come on back.1 Now it seems like He has changed the subject and going down a different road, but He has not. This woman has been awakened to the point of desiring the water that Jesus has, but she needs to understand and grasp that Jesus is talking about spiritual water. And to come to realize your need for spiritual water, you must first confront the reality of your own personal sinfulness. This woman knew she had a need—we’ll see as she has tried to satisfy it with what the world had to offer—but she had not identified clearly the need that she had. As we talked in our last study, there is a numbness often as we try to satisfy that inner longing with what the world offers, it often numbs us to the reality of our need. But it hasn’t really satisfied the need.

So He says 'Go get your husband and come back.' And a little later on she will leave and come back with some people of the city, but her answer at this time is rather curt, sharp, and brief. Three words, as were originally expressed. ’I have no husband'—four words in our English text. That's it. The discussion doesn't go on. Before, she had asked 'Well why do you ask me a Samaritan woman about the water and want a drink, and tell me about this living water, give me this living water...' Now, very simply, I have no husband. What Jesus has done is touch a sore point. He has touched the sin in her life, and you know what that's like. When you're talking with a person and you're leading up to presenting the gospel and you put your finger on the sin in their life, it is a tender point. She has no interest and no desire to delve into this area. She doesn't say 'Look, I don't have any husband. I have had a variety of husbands,'—plural. She simply says 'I don't have any husband.' And Jesus responds and says 'You have spoken well. You tell the truth.' Verse 17, "Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, 'I
have no husband'; for you have had five of them.'" I don’t have a husband. But she didn’t know that Jesus knew all about her. He says, ’You have had 5 husbands.’ And she's not done. "And the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly." I have no husband. You’ve had 5 and now you’re living with a man whom you are not married to. What He has done is draw out here this woman’s basic longing and desire, and how she has attempted to satisfy the thirst of her soul.
We talk about the new morality. But you know Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. Two thousand years ago. Here is a woman who would even be a little ahead of what we see today. Five husbands—that's a lot. We often think of the Hollywood-type culture, multiple husbands. We think now maybe 2 or 3, but 5! That’s a lot even by today's standards. And she's already divorced the fifth! And she's living with a man she is not married to. You talk about the new morality and living together, and we see this now with some of the discussion that comes out about divorce and the cost of divorce, the advantages of living together. Well this woman, 2,000 years ago, had already thought this all through. You know, it's getting old to get married, get divorced, get married, get divorced, let's just live together! Then if it gets old, we won't have to go through the divorce procedure!

You see what Jesus is drawing her attention to? The longing that she has that's not met on the inside. She had that inner desire, that inner thirst. And she was trying to quench it by sexual pursuits. So easy to do. I have that longing, that inner unrest. And what happens? Oh, I get married. This is wonderful, this is what I always needed; and then the newness wears off.
And pretty soon that longing is stirring and it must be that I'm not married to the right woman or the right man. Then I meet just the right person. Oh, that will meet my need. This is the one that I've been looking for. I made a mistake the first time. And I enter in to that, and oh it's so wonderful. But what happens? Just like drinking water, isn't it? Oh, it just satisfies my thirst, it feels so good. Boy, I am satisfied. I just drank a big glass of cold water (I shouldn't use this because some of you told me last week you couldn't wait to get home to get a drink!). It’s just so refreshing. I just know this is what I've been wanting and longed for. What happened? Day doesn't go on too far but what you're thinking, boy, I could go for a drink. I'm really thirsty. And that's what's happening here with this woman. No, this isn't satisfying. But she's looking to external things.
It must be the wrong husband. It must be the wrong sexual relationship that is not meeting my need. She hadn't properly identified the need that she had. That's what Jesus is drawing her attention to—her sinfulness, and the pursuits that she is following to try to meet the need. And there is a principle that is true for every situation here. Not everyone is trying to satisfy that longing on the inside they have by sexual pursuits, but we're trying by the pursuit of material things. We're trying by the pursuit of status or power or other things. But one things that characterizes all of these pursuits is that they are external. People are trying to satisfy an internal, spiritual need by external, physical things. And they cannot satisfy. They can only numb you to the reality of your need. They take the edge off of the thirst but they haven't really quenched it. And time goes by and you realize, I'm not satisfied. I need something more. There must be something else. There is something missing in my life and so we move on to something else. We cannot satisfy that inner unrest, that inner longing that void, by external things. All you can do is numb yourself to the reality of it, to satisfy it temporarily. Everything external is only temporal and can only satisfy for a short period of time.

So He has drawn this woman's attention to the greatness of her need. You are thirsty, but what you really need is not something from the physical realm but something from the spiritual realm. Now, He has said 'You have spoken truly’ and in verse 19 the woman says the statement that you can almost picture the shock. Here you have this man, a stranger, a Jew. He has engaged her in conversation and now He has unfolded her life. Down in verse 29 when she returns to the city, she tells the men of the city ’Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. This isn't the Messiah, is it?' So she says to Him in verse 19, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet." There's a little bit of a shock here when He responds to briefly and to the point. You've said you don't have a husband; you're right, you had five and now you're living with a man who's not your husband. 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.' A prophet would be one to whom God had revealed information about this person. This is supernatural. And note what she does now. Still you know, you're uncomfortable. Remember when you were confronted about your sin? You were beginning to be made more aware of the fact that you were a sinner and what you needed was a personal relationship by faith in Jesus Christ? You begin to get uncomfortable and squirm. How many people have you talked to and as you lead up to share the gospel you come to the issue of their sin, and what do they right away say? You know, there are a lot of religions today and everybody has their own idea. There's the Protestant and the Catholics and the Jews and the Buddhists. And everybody thinks they've got something. What are they doing? Trying to take the edge off. What does this woman say? 'Sir, I believe you are a prophet.' And here is a religious problem. "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Problem! The Samaritans say 'Worship at Mt. Gerzim.' The Jews say 'Worship at Jerusalem.' Now this is really a problem—how are we to worship God? You note she doesn't say my problem is really how am I going to take care of my sin? My problem is yes, I have this longing and I keep going from one man to another, and it only satisfies for a time. But that inner hunger and thirst is still there unquenched. She, in effect, is changing the issue. We have a problem of worship here, don't we? That does tie to her sin because she is very acutely aware as it is exposed that she is a sinful woman, but how are you going to deal with sin? You've got your ideas as a Jew. We've got our ideas as Samaritans.
Who is to say who is right? If you've talked to many people about their sin and salvation, you've heard the same question. Who is to say who's right? Everybody has their own idea.

Interesting how Jesus answers. "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.'" What Jesus does is say 'The real issue is not the place of worship.' The essential problem is not Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem because there is coming a time when you won't worship God in either place.
What He does is come to a common ground here. He'll say that the real battle is not between Mt. Gerizim and Jerusalem. That's not the basic issue. That can be very helpful when we're sharing the gospel. There are points of agreement but often we want to agree with this person so much that we present areas that we agree on and stop there. Jesus does tell her it doesn't matter the point of worship is not where you do it. Gerizim or Jerusalem. Now she sits back and says 'Oh, that's good. So wherever where you worship and how you worship is fine.' NO. He goes on to hit her right where the conflict is.

Verse 22. The place of worship, in verse 21, is not a crucial issue. But you have brought up the subject and let me tell you what the crucial issue is. "You worship that which you do not know." In other words, the place of worship, Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem, is not the issue but let me tell you what the issue is. The issue is that the Samaritans are ignorant of spiritual things! When it comes to true worship, the Samaritans are ignorant! Now that's getting right to the point! Sometimes we want to be so kind and so mellow and emphasize 'Oh well, yes, you're right. We agree here.' But it is important to see where the disagreement is. That’s the issue. The issue is not that I agree with a person about the virgin birth. Or I agree with a person about the deity of Jesus Christ. The crucial issue is that I disagree that you can be saved by works. I believe you must be saved by faith alone. I must be careful that I don’t emphasize simply what we agree on and then we can go on hand in hand. Jesus said the issue is that Samaritans are ignorant of spiritual reality. That’s a strong statement.

You talk to someone who is involved in a worship system and say ’Yes, it is true. It doesn't matter where you worship. But let me tell you something. You worship in ignorance.’ That's blunt, to the point. And what is the conflict here?

Verse 22, "We (referring to the Jews) worship that which we know." So it’s not just that the Samaritans worship in ignorance, the Jews have knowledge. So there is a conflict here. And while it is true the place of worship is not the significant point, I want you to understand something. And that last statement in your Bible ought to be underlined. "Salvation is from the Jews."
So you want to know, Samaritans or Jews—who are right? The Jews are right.
The crucial issue is not worshipping at Jerusalem or worshipping at Mt. Gerazim, let me tell you. The Samaritans are in ignorance about spiritual worship. Salvation is from the Jews. The Jews are right. What He is saying here is basically the same thing Paul said to the Romans. What is the advantage of being a Jew? It is a great advantage in every way. The Jews were committed the oracles of God. The Entire Old Testament was given through whom? The Jews. And the heart of the Old Testament and what the crucial issue is as Jesus talks to her is salvation. In who? The Messiah of Israel who Himself is a Jew. Salvation is from the Jews. For the Samaritans to be saved, they are going to have to believe in the Old Testament Scriptures and the Messiah that those Scriptures reveal. They are going to have to believe in the Jewish Messiah who is the Savior of the world. Salvation is of the Jews. This is the issue. So you see how He has brought this woman right to the heart of the matter? The issue is salvation is found in the Jews, and the Messiah of Israel is the Savior of the world.

But verse 23 He picks up the thought that He has mentioned in verse 21.
"An hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers, shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is a spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

So He has said there is coming a time when you won’t worship in Mt. Gerazim or Jerusalem. But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father inspirit and truth. What He is driving home here is that even though Jerusalem at this time is the center of worship, it is the prescribed place throughout the Old Testament. It is the place where those who truly worship God come to offer their sacrifices and their worship. It was demanded that if at all possible, Jewish men come to certain appointed feasts to Jerusalem to worship at the temple. That was the appointed place. Jesus says there is an hour coming and that hour is even here when the place will be irrelevant. Worshipping in spirit and truth is all that will matter. Worship in spirit and truth has always been the crucial thing. But worship in spirit and truth through the Old Testament was also connected with worshipping in a certain place. Now not everybody who went to that place to worship, worshiped in spirit and truth. For those who did worship in spirit and truth came to that place. So you see the difference. God, through Isaiah (in Isaiah chapter 1) spoke about many who were coming to the temple to offer their worship and says it is repulsive. Don’t come any more. Because they weren't worshiping in spirit and truth. But many who were truly worshipping in spirit and truth, they were the ones who were to come to the temple according to the prescribed pattern, at the prescribed place.

Jesus said the time has arrived when the only issue is worshipping in spirit and truth. The place is a non-issue. And the time is now here because the Messiah is here. That’s why He says 'the time now is' because the Messiah of Israel had come. The One in whom the Old Testament picture would be brought to completion. The book of Hebrews develops this in detail. All Old Testament worship prefigured Christ and His coming and what He would accomplish. Now that He is here, that system is to be brought to completion. So the only issue is worshipping in spirit and truth wherever that worship occurs. And He says "such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers." We'll talk about 'spirit and truth' in a moment. But note He says, 'the Father is seeking these kind of people to worship Him.' And I take it what He is talking about is the work of the Father in calling out those who are to be believers in Him.

It's the work of the Father. "There is none that seeks after God, no not one." But the Father is about seeking out calling out a group of those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. And Jesus drives home the point here to this woman. The Father's initiative, the Father's aggressiveness so to speak that is resulting in a group who do worship Him according to the matter and mode that He has prescribed.

He says 'a group that worships in spirit and truth'—the reason given in verse 24:"God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The statement 'God is spirit' refers to the essential part of the character of God. The statement like 'God is love' or 'God is truth' refers to that which is basically His character. He is spirit as to His being. He has no physical, tangible existence. He is a spirit being. The only tangible physical manifestation is Jesus the Son who reveals to us the Father. Now since God the Father is a spirit being, then it follows through that He must be worshiped in the realm of spirit. Since He is not a physical being, physical activity is a non-essential part of worshipping Him. What is essential is if worship is carried on in the realm of the spirit because He is spirit. He is in the realm of the spiritual, spirit—non-physical, non-material. So He must be worshiped in the realm in which He exists. He is not a physical being that could be set up here as an idol or a statue, so He cannot be worshiped in the realm of the physical or material as far as mode of activity is concerned. So that even when we, physical beings, worship Him, we must worship Him with the immaterial part of our being, the non-physical part. I do not worship God primarily with this physical body. I worship God with the spirit part of my being. Now I may go through certain ritual and activity with the physical part of my body; and the tragedy and danger is, not only for unbelievers but believers also is that we being to do what the Samaritans had done, the tragedy that the Jews had drifted into by doing certain physical, external things to worship God. I went to church to worship today. Meaning,
I went to a certain building, I did certain things, I sang certain hymns, I stood at the right time, I sat down at the right time, I said the right things, listened to the right words and then I went home. I worshiped. That’s what the Jews thought and what the Samaritans thought. Jesus says God is seeking people to worship Him not by going through certain physical activities, but to worship Him in spirit and in truth. And 2,000 years later, we have failed to grasp the reality of the fact that the place of worship is not the issue. Some people come to this building and worship God. Some people come to this building and don’t worship God. Yet everybody in the service goes through the same activity. But physical activity is not worship. Worship takes place in the realm of the spirit, the non-material part of a person. So some who come worship, and some who come don’t worship.

Second. These two words ’spirit and truth’ are closely linked together.
They have one preposition—the little preposition ’in’ for both words. This
ties them closely together. It takes place in the realm of the sphere of my spirit, the non-material part of me as a person. And, it takes place in the realm of the truth. Worship of God must be according to truth. Now if just stop and think a moment that seems awfully logical. Would you want to say we want to worship the One true, living God falsely? We must worship the One true, living God according to a lie? You say, No, No, you couldn't say that. It must be according to true.

Alright. That's what God is looking for. You note. He's not looking for people to worship Him—period. He's not looking for people to worship Him according to their own ideas. He is looking for people to worship Him according to truth. Now the truth of God is contained in the Word of God. The truth of God is another title for the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus said in His prayer in John 17 as He prayed to the Father, "Thy Word is truth." So what we're saying is that I must worship God in the spirit part of my being, according to His Word. According to the truth that He has revealed to me in His Word. That is the standard and guide for truth. And the foundation of it, of all true worship, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Since no man comes to the Father but by Me, Jesus says, and He is the Way, the Truth, the Life; then anyone who is going to worship God must worship Him through Jesus Christ. "There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." The only people who will worship God are those who worship Him through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the truth. So I come to believe in Him as the One who died for me. And at that time I am forgiven my sin, given access into the presence of God. So now I can come into His presence and worship Him.

The word 'worship'—the English word 'worship' originally was 'worth ship'. Meant to be ascribing worth. That's what worship was viewed as—ascribing worth to God. The Greek word here means to bow down before. To do homage before someone, to kiss the ground before someone. To kneel down and kiss the hem of the garment would be the idea. To bow down before, to do honor to this one. And really what happens when I worship God according to what is revealed in His Word according to my relationship with Jesus Christ, in effect, in the realm of my spirit I am bowing down before Him. I am doing homage before Him. I am ascribing to Him the greatness, the glory that is His by virtue of being the One and only God, the creator and sustainer of all things. That’s true worship. That's why I can come and be part of a group like this and not worship because I've not bowed down in my spirit. I'm not doing homage and doing honor to Him. I'm sitting here wondering when I'm going to get to go home. And I’m thinking I'm worshiping because I'm sitting in a certain bench like the person next to me is sitting in a building called, as a misnomer, a church. I think I'm worshipping even though I'm wondering 'who's going to win the game today.' Boy, let's see. They've got this on this side, and this on this side. Oh! Service is over. Didn't even realize it. Great! It's good to go and worship, isn't it? Has nothing to do with it. I didn't worship at all. I didn't bow down before Him. I didn't do homage to Him. I didn't prostrate myself before Him. So you can see it is a spiritual matter. That's what God is looking at. He's not looking down and saying, 'Oh, isn't it wonderful. They're all taking up a seat this morning.' That's not the issue.
God says 'That's terrible. I can't stand that.' When people begin to go through religious motion, that's when God says it's an abomination. Can't stand it.

Couple of key passages. Jot down Proverbs 15:8, we don't have time to turn to it. Proverbs 15:8 says "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to God." The sacrifice of the wicked—that means when the wicked person brought his sacrifice to offer it to God, God says that's abominable. That's an abomination to Me, that they are trying to worship Me. Why? They haven't dealt with the basic issue. They're not worshipping Me at all. They are challenging God. They are doing that which God says is an abomination.

Look back in Matthew 15. I think of all areas this is crucial for us to understand. I see no part, no validity, and no use to religion at all if it does not bring a person to the point of being able to worship God. It boggles my mind why people are religious. I understand something of it because they were created for a relationship with God, and they are seeking to fulfill that purpose for existence but wrongly. But if religion does not bring you to the point of being able to worship God, what good is it? You note what Jesus says in Matthew 15. Again, He is rebuking the religious leaders of His day for their religious activity. Again, I repeat. The strongest, harshest language in the Scripture is directed towards religious people. Note what He says to them in verse 7. "You hypocrites!" That’s getting their attention. It’s not making friends! But it's getting to the heart of the matter. You religious hypocrites! "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.'" You note the issue. The issue is the spiritual part of man, the immaterial part of man. With their lips they were saying they honor God, but their heart was far away from God. They are going through external motions, but on the inside the reality wasn't there. "In vain do they worship Me." What made their worship vain, empty, worthless? "'Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of Men.'" You see what the issue is? They were teaching as doctrines to be adhered to what men said! And God never said worship Me according to what men say! He said Worship Me according to the truth That's the issue. Jesus said the reason your worship is worthless, of no value, is you are following what men say. Not what God says, and you must worship according to truth. Now how many people are filling places 'of worship' (quote) going to church, going to the synagogue, going to their place of worship as we often title those buildings, etc. and yet are not worshipping God? Because it is not according to the revelation God has given in His Word. And that’s the issue. If I don’t worship Him according to the truth, according to His Word, then I don’t worship Him in spirit either. They are linked together. Those who worship in spirit are those who worship according to God’s Word. Those who worship according to God’s Word are those who worship in spirit. Everybody else goes through the motion, obeying the commandments of men.

Now note here. This has nothing to do directly with external activity.
I think we need to understand that. We pride ourselves in the fact that we are not a ritualistic church. We do not have an involved literacy. It's a good word. Comes from the Greek word having to do with the priestly service or function, used of believers a number of times in the New Testament. But we say we don't have a great ritual. And we think that is significant. You know the presence or absence of a ritual has nothing directly to do with whether you are worshipping or not. I could go with a group of believers who believed the Word of God who had much more ritual in their service than we have and still worship God with them. We look back and point at externals and say that was wrong, they had that ritual. That is not what is wrong unless the ritual is contrary to the Word of God such as the Mass. But in the general activity of standing at a certain time or sitting at a certain time, that has nothing to do with whether or not you worship. Some of us pride ourselves that we wouldn't stand up. If they tell me to stand, I'm going to sit; if they tell me to sit, I'll stand. I'm not ritualistic! What I'm really saying is that I've got my own ritual! Now what we're really saying is that those groups who don't have a ritual like we have really don't know how to worship. That has nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it at all. I could ask you to stand up while I had the Scripture reading—Holland London always does that! I've never been where he read the Scripture where he didn't stand. Had nothing to do with whether it's a ritual or worship or not worship. Could ask you to turn around and face the back wall while we sing our hymns. Some people would say ’How can you worship by facing the back wall?’ Has nothing to do with it, does it? It’s the constant tendency of the flesh to bring these things into the realm of the physical and make those the issue. Now I do believe that I would have to be with those who are worshipping according to the truth to have any fellowship in worship. I have no place where the truth is not proclaimed and believed, and call that a worship service. Boggles my mind that believers should be part of that. But then there is great variation in the manner and modes and forms that are followed. We need to be careful that that doesn’t become a focal point for us. And we begin to settle in. And we develop our own ritual here. Our own literagy. Because all we have to do is change a little bit in the order of service and we are deluged with 'I don’t like that change!’ Well, I can see maybe we don't like it, maybe we don't think it's effective for one reason or another. But we need to be careful that we don’t think ’If I don't sit at this time, if someone says stand instead of sit, they have interrupted the worship.' No they haven't. They're just doing an external form differently. Worship is a matter of where my mind is. We need to be careful about that. Often my mind is running in an area it ought not to be running. And the flesh is all stirred up about an issue. And instead of being prostrate before God and worshipping Him, I'm all taken up and I’m the one out of kilter and not the others.

And secondly, I want to say on this—about our emotions. Worship has nothing to do directly with your emotional activity. Now, I’ll say this on two sides. (1) People say 'I really felt like I worshipped today.' I had a preacher who came up to me after the service and said ’That was a great service, but I don’t really feel like I worshipped.’ My first reaction was about his spiritual problem. What do you mean, you didn’t FEEL like you worshipped? There wasn't enough emotional activity here. We need to be careful we identify worship with a certain feeling we get. But, feeling isn’t worship. Some of you will have many feelings this afternoon as you watch a game. But that won't be worship. Some of you watch a sad story on television or read it in a book and that really moves your emotions but that’s not worship. It’s not the presence or absence of the feeling of worship. It is the attitude of my heart that determines whether I'm worshipping. Now we swing to the other side; and I think we’re probably on the other side. We think you’ve got to keep emotion out of it. Otherwise, it will degenerate. I think the natural thing on many occasions is that emotions be moved as I worship God. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with people who are moved emotionally in their worship. We sometimes think if anybody would get too emotional, isn’t that terrible! Why? It’s a non-issue. Presence or absence of emotion is not the determining factor of worship. But we set ourselves as the standard. They cry too much, they shout too much. No. Oh they? No they don’t cry enough, they don’t shout enough, they don’t worship. What are we saying? These external manifestations. What does God say? He says it has nothing to do with it. Some people who are crying and shouting are not worshipping. And some people who are crying and shouting are worshipping. That has nothing to do with anything! Now don't do it here! No, I don’t mean it that strongly! I agree we could fit—I could do things that are distracting in the general tone of our service. There are a number of things. But our worship as believers, we worship Him wherever we are. We should. I ought to be worshipping in the spirit and truth Monday morning and Wednesday afternoons and Friday nights. I don't have to come here to worship Him. One of the greatest times of worship I have are alone by myself with the Lord in the Word. Some of the warmest times; they are often some of the most emotional times. I think there is value and indications in Scripture that we need to come together and worship together—but that’s not the limit.
I want to worship Him this afternoon as this morning. And tomorrow night as much as today. The freedom as believers and as the children of God.

Now come back to John chapter 4 just to tie this together. These are those that God wants to worship Him—those who truly worship Him. That 'must' there in verse 24, "those who worship Him must worship Him"...we noted that’s a word often used by John to denote a divine imperative or necessity. It is something that must take place. It’s not an option. It’s not a good idea to worship Him in spirit and truth. If you are going to worship Him, you must worship Him in spirit and truth, otherwise you are going through a hypocritical activity which God says is an abomination. This woman is coming to a realization now of who Christ is.

Isn’t this the issue? I come what? Through a conscious awareness of my sin. I think that's a prerequisite. I had to become conscious of my sinfulness before I became conscious of the fact that Jesus Christ was the Savior who died to cleanse me from my sin. And that’s where this woman has come.

Verse 25. "The woman said to Him, ’I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ);"—Messiah and Christ meaning the same thing. The Greek word ’anointed One’; Christ, the Messiah from the Hebrew meaning ’the anointed One.’ "When that One comes, He will declare all things to us." She’s beginning to get the picture now. As He has revealed my character and who I am, presented this truth—you know, the Messiah is coming. "Jesus said to her, 'I who speaks to you am He.'" We talk about that expression in the gospel of John later on over in chapter 8 where it is used several times as a statement of the deity of Christ, but here Christ fully reveals Himself. Fullest revelation He has given to this point. "I am the Messiah. I am the One you must believe in." And this woman has come around to the point of recognizing who He is. Now she is not fully settled yet. We’ll see that in subsequent studies. But she has come to that necessary awareness. She is a sinner. He has revealed her basic character. That's the beginning point. You have never worshipped God if you have never come to the point where you recognize you are a sinner. Secondly, you have never worshipped God if you have never come to the point of recognizing that Jesus Christ is the only One who can deal with your sin.
You must believe in Him. He is the One who has come to be your Savior. He died in your place on the cross. He was raised because He had accomplished salvation for you. When you believe that, then you are forgiven your sin. Brought into a relationship with God and I access into His very presence is now yours and you can worship Him. Not only here with other believers but every moment of every day you have that freedom to walk in that relationship with Him.

Two questions. 1) Have you ever worshipped God? Have you ever come to realize that you are a sinner and that Christ is the Savior, and you've believed that He died for you personally? That's the beginning point. He is the truth.

Secondly, as a believer, are you guilty of going through the motion and not the reality? Do you come and take up a seat and think because I'm going through what everyone else is going through that's good enough, that's worship? Today, what has been the state of your heart and mind? Have you really been prostrate before God? Really acknowledging Him and His greatness? Really ascribing the praise and glory that He alone is worthy to receive?
It's so crucial that we don't just come together and go through the motions, but that we come together and worship Him who alone is worthy to be worshipped. Let's pray together.

Father, we thank you for the greatness of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Father, what a Savior He is that He could provide a salvation that could cleanse and forgive us, each one, from all sin. Lord, I pray for those who may be here who have yet to have the privilege of worshipping you, have yet to believe in Jesus Christ, that they might believe in Him even this morning. That the Spirit would open their hearts and minds; would seek them out and draw them to yourself.

Lord, for those of us who have believed, oh how important that we not be guilty of hypocrisy in our lives. Lord, going through the motion—the external activities, failing to submit in Spirit to you. Lord, we desire to be a people