John 4:19-30 (The Message Translation)
19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”
21-23 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.
23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship.God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”
25 The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When He arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”
26 “I am He,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.
28-30 The woman took the hint and left. In her confusion she left her water pot. Back in the village she told the people, “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” And they went out to see for themselves.
JOHN 4:19-30 HOW DO WE WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH?
Springford Baptist Church: August 8, 2021.
When you think about it, if our worship of God is confined to about one hour, one day a week, that would be missing so much opportunity for what God intends our worship experience to be.
I want us to have a closer look at the conversation Jesus has with the woman at the well (recorded in John 4). There are things for us to learn here about our relationship with God and our worship of Him extending to every aspect of our lives.
Worship happens when this woman goes to carry out a daily activity of drawing water and encounters the Son of God. Where and when do we meet Jesus in our daily activities? How are we conscious of God’s Presence when we are in the kitchen fixing breakfast? Are we expecting Jesus to travel with us in our vehicles? What if we realize that when we sit in our living rooms, Jesus is right there with us? Jesus is with us in every conversation. He knows every anxious thought. He is able to provide understanding when we feel confused or uncertain. All of this is amazing and true.
Throughout our exploration of LISTENING FOR GOD AS WE WORSHIP GOD, we have maintained that worship is recognizing God for all that He is and responding to Him with all that we are.
This includes realizing that wherever we are, God is with us and longing for us to notice and to express our love for Him in sincere and humble worship.
It is obvious that this woman at the well really wants to know the truth of who God is and what worshipping Him involves.
As part of their conversation, when Jesus has already offered her the gift of living water so that she will never thirst again (John 4:13,14) Jesus now goes on to explain what true worship is:
23-24 “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship.God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”
Isn’t this incredibly reassuring to know that what God our Father is looking for is for us to be simply and honestly ourselves before Him in worship?
What I see in this is that we come to God as we truly are and worship Him as he truly is.
This does take honesty doesn’t it? We do not come to God pretending to be something we are not. God is already well aware of who we are and how we are. He welcomes us to come just as we are to Him and to marvel at His love for us just as we are.
This is so unlike many human relationships where people are trying to be what they think someone else expects them to be whether with family and friends or in a work setting.
Does our worship of God engage our spirits in the pursuit of truth?
Yes, we can come to God, just as we are, but that does not mean that we leave that holy encounter with God unchanged.
Worship of God and coming as we are to God, calls us to something higher.
In worshipping God, we are made aware of the immensity of His love for us and how that compels us to see ourselves for who we can be before God.
Let me ask. Do you know your true self? Who are you when everything else but who you really are gets removed?
God is willing and able to help us to accurately see ourselves for who we are and to know how much we need Him. This reveals the beauty of worship.
Typically our most honest prayers come from our lips when we are feeling most in need of God. This is when we get to the heart of who we are and reach out to God as He is.
Jesus already knew everything about this woman at the well. He knew her sad history of broken relationships, that she’d had 5 husbands and the man she was now living with was not her husband.
What is the response of this woman to what Jesus says to her?
25 The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When He arrives, we’ll get the whole story.”
Notice what Jesus replies:
26 “I am He,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”
This is the wonderful reality of us coming to God in our everyday worship! We don’t have to wait any longer or look any further! He is all that we need! And so we worship Him!
The attitude of the disciples toward this woman is very different than the attitude of Jesus:
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe He was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.
The woman feels uncomfortable with their obvious lack of acceptance. Jesus accepted her as she was, but they did not.
How might our attitudes of judgment toward others prevent them from choosing to come as they are to find the acceptance and love of Jesus as people have opportunity to discover Him for themselves? How might our attitudes of judgment toward others prevent us from entering into worship of God?
Thankfully, this woman is most impacted by her encounter with Jesus. When she returns to her village she urges,
Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?” (vs. 30)
We are told that they went to see for themselves.
Will we pray that our encounters with God coming as we are and finding Him as He is will result in others also wanting to come and see for themselves the truth of who God is and all that He can be for them?
This can happen as we worship God in spirit and in truth!