Folks, please remember from our introduction to this series last week: We are not just supposed to be people who come to worship … regularly … or occasionally, but we’re supposed to be worshipers who worship God with our whole selves (heart, soul, and mind), no matter when & no matter where… Becoming true ‘worshipers’ should be one of the most important things in our lives—something that we were actually born to do! And anytime we worship, as worshipers, we need to make sure that we worship the way Jesus said was important. How’s that? Let’s go to the Gospel of John, Chapter 4 to find out today…
Now, just to set this up a bit … most of you will remember the story of Jesus, as he meets with and talks to the Samaritan woman at the well. During the conversation, Jesus zeros in on some areas of her life that he could not have known about naturally—only supernaturally. Well, as a result, the woman declares him to be a prophet… Listen:
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” 21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” – John 4:19-24 (NLT)
It’s interesting … in this section of scripture Jesus expresses a clear preference for Jewish worship over Samaritan worship. He says, “You worship what you don’t know; we worship what we do know … for Salvation is from the Jews”—talking about himself, of course… Yet, he really says that even Jewish worship is lacking when he states, “But the time is coming….”
In honestly evaluating what Jesus was saying here, it seems possible for us to have a better form of worship, say, than those people down the street (whoever that might be). Yet, even we still may not be worshiping exactly as God wants us to…
So, what is it that God wants? There’s the question of the day… And our scripture for the day tells us: Jesus said that those who worship him—true worshipers “must worship in spirit and in truth.” Let’s take a look at what those two things really mean right now…
GOD WANTS WORSHIP THAT HAPPENS IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT… Do you remember, from English classes, what a synonym is? Well, the words spirit and heart are synonymous, scripturally! So, what does that mean?
A brief lesson in language: synonyms are words that can be exchanged for one another—having the same meaning… In the biblical context, heart and spirit are basically synonyms—they are synonymous (can be exchanged for one another)… So, another way to say what Jesus was saying here about worship is this: We have to be worshipers who have heart! That’s what God is looking for!
To be true worshipers means to engage ‘the inner self.’ It means not just going through the motions, but responding to God with an honest … heart! Since scripture is always the best commentary to scripture, let me try and explain this further from the words of the prophet Isaiah… God’s desire for us to worship in spirit (with heart) is made clear in Isaiah 1:10ff (NLT):
“Listen to the LORD, you leaders of ‘Sodom.’
Listen to the law of our God, people of ‘Gomorrah.’”
Now, please know that God is not really addressing the people of Sodom & Gomorrah here. This is God’s (through Isaiah) poetic way of addressing his chosen people, Israel. Using the names Sodom & Gomorrah, he’s really saying, “I’m not very happy with you!” God, here, has resorted to calling them names… And, then the conversation goes on:
“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony? 13 Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting— they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings. 14 I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
– Isaiah 1:11-14 (NLT)
Now, hold on just one minute! Who was it who had asked for all these things? Who was it who had asked for the feasts … and the incense … and the offerings … and the sacrifices? WHO WAS IT? IT WAS GOD… Folks, this seems kind of wrong to me! God asked them to do these things, but now God is chastising them for doing the very things he asked them to do? So, what’s the deal here?
By this time, the people of Israel were probably so good at all of these things that they could do them without even thinking about them… Exactly! They were going through the motions … but not approaching God with an honest heart (or spirit)… There’s what was wrong! They were ignoring the spirit of what they were doing!
Folks, we too are creatures of habit: How often have entered into worship and done the same thing—failed to worship with our whole spirit … or heart? Let’s be honest: Have you ever caught yourself sitting in worship, listening to the message or singing a song of praise … and wondering what’s for dinner today … or if the grass is going to be dry enough to mow this afternoon?
Routine can be—is not necessarily, but can be—the enemy of true heartfelt worship (which is why we change things up just a bit from time to time)! Let me give you another example…
Suppose I go through an unchanging routine each day in my relationship with my wife. If, out of rote, I simply repeat the same phrases and perform the same actions, they can easily lose significance. Can you imagine the Type-A spouse who every morning goes through a carefully planned checklist to be certain they haven’t missed anything? Each morning after reviewing the checklist, he’d call out to his wife: “Honey, I love you.” Then he thinks, ‘There, I took care of that one’ and checks it off his list for the day. Then he moves on to the next item on the list in the same way… The next day, the same thing…
How long are those words (or any other actions) going to be special? The relationship could easily become an external ritual only … with no heart. The same thing can happen to our worship… Honest, biblical worship must engage more than our mouths and hands; it must come from ‘the inner self,’ the heart, the spirit… One pastor is quoted as saying, “A sinister blindness comes upon us as we get used to what goes on around us.” Lord, don’t let that ever have a chance of happening around here! And, besides worshiping in spirit … or ‘with heart’…
GOD WANTS WORSHIP THAT IS ALL ABOUT TRUTH… God’s truth comes from God’s word! Many people today take their cues about worship from their childhood experiences instead of from what the Bible says… Unfortunately, much of what we learned as children came from the culture around us … or from traditions not necessarily based in God’s word. This is the reasoning behind this worship series: We want to make sure that we are worship in TRUTH—the truth that comes from God’s word; scripture must provide the boundaries for what’s acceptable to God!
Remember Jesus’ words from Mark 12:30 (NLT), when he’s talking about the 2 most important commandments: “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” There’s a biblical mandate for worship; the very idea that a halfhearted, namby-pamby effort might be pleasing to God is absurd!
Think of your relationship with those you’re close to in this life… If you never really demonstrated your feelings toward one another—never offer a gentle, caring word or a compassionate touch (or physical passion if you’re married), what kind of a relationship would that be? If it happens to be a marriage, would you be concerned? (You should be!)
In the same way, there is more to worshiping God than just thinking nice thoughts toward God. If that’s all we ever do, we’re missing much of the relationship that God describes in his word… and maybe we ought to be concerned about this relationship, too! Folks, true biblical worship involves both—worshiping in spirit and in truth!
- Spirit or heart—coming from the inner self, the real us…
- Truth—following the mandates of God’s word for this relationship we’re in…
The Lord wants us to be biblically accurate in our worship (truth), but our worship must come from a heart that is turned toward Him (spirit)! Both halves of this equation are essential … if our worship is to be pleasing to God!
All of the actions of worship must be physical demonstrations of spiritual truths, too…
- We all know that it’s possible for someone to be kneeling, but still standing on the inside…
- It’s also possible to raise your hands, but inside your fists may be clenched…
The actions are important, but only when motivated out of a heart that has turned toward God. Do you want your worship to be pleasing to God? Then, take that first step … of turning your heart totally toward God. There’s no half-way when it comes to true worship. The woman at the well … and the people of Israel … already learned that! It’ll be all or nothing; are you ready?