What Jesus said

About Worshiping God

Adapted from the series,“Jesus Said” by Michael Wiley

http://www.sermoncloud.com/the-vine/what-jesus-said-about-worshiping-god/

A woman visited a large and very formal church one Sunday. She kept shouting out "Amen," during the sermon. One of

the ushers hushed her, but she kept shouting "Amen" until finally the usher approached her and, in a loud whisper asked, "Madam, what are you doing?” “I'm praising the Lord,” she said. To which he responded, “Well, this is no

place for that sort of thing.”

John 4:22 ESV You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for

salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when

the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

We have worshiped God this morning. Have we? The fact is, I don’t know if you have worshiped or not. Most churches

call the Sunday morning service a “worship” service, but whether or not you worship God is actually up to you,

not the music, or the leader, or the message, or anything else. You decide

whether YOU worship or not.

The English word “worship” comes from the Old English word “worthship,” a

word that denotes the worthiness of the one receiving the special honor or

devotion. (NNIBD)

The most frequently used word translated worship is;

G4352 προσκυνεω proskuneo pros-koo-neh'-o From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss,

like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or

figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

(Strongs)Occurrences: 212 (KJC)

The next two words give the idea serving or of ritual acts, like sacrifice.

G3000 λατρευω latreuo lat-ryoo'-o From λατρις latris (a hired menial); to

minister (to God), that is, render religious homage: - serve, do the service, worship (-per). (Strongs)

Occurrences: 22 (KJC)G2999 λατρεια latreia lat-ri'-ah From G3000; ministration of God, that is, worship: - (divine) service. (Strongs)

Occurrences: 6 (KJC)

Here are 3 more. They give the idea "to fall back before" not of fright but awe. -

bodily movement associated with an inner feeling.

G4576 σεβομαι sebomai seb'-om-ahee Middle voice of an apparently primary verb; to revere, that is, adore: - devout,

religious, worship. (Strongs) Occurrences: 10 (KJC)

G4574 σεβασμα sebasma seb'-as-mah From G4573; something adored, that is, an object of worship (god, altar, etc.): - devotion, that is worshipped. (Strongs)

Occurrences: 2 (KJC)

G4573 σεβαζομαι sebazomai seb-ad'-zom-ahee Middle voice from a derivative

of G4576; to venerate, that is, adore: - worship. (Strongs) Occurrences: 1 (KJC)

Two more translated worship.G2151 ε σεβεω υ eusebeo yoo-seb-eh'-o

From G2152; to be pious, that is, (towards God) to worship, or (towards parents) to respect (support): - show

piety, worship. (Strongs) Occurrences: 3 (KJC)

G2356 θρησκεια threskeia thrace-ki'-ah From a derivative of G2357; ceremonial

observance: - religion, worshipping. (Strongs) Occurrences: 4 (KJC)

A.W. Tozer said, "Worship is the Missing Jewel of the Evangelical church.“

A wife asked her husband after the church service: "Did you see the hat

Mrs. Jones was wearing?""No," said her husband, "I didn't."

"Did you see the new dress Mrs. Smith had on?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I didn't," said her husband.To this his wife replied: "Well a lot of good it does YOU to go to church!“

Worship should be a large part of the Christian's life.

Today we want to go to the town of Sychar to hear what Jesus said about

worship.

John 4:4 ESV And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a

town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his

journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman

from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

The Region of SamariaA good orthodox Jew would not be in this region let alone, be speaking to a

Samaritan woman. Samaritans and Jews hated each other—that hatred went back

hundreds of years.Go back to Joshua and find, when the

tribes originally settled there. Some land north of Jerusalem was allotted to

Ephraim. Later this area became the Northern section called Israel.

The Southern part which included Jerusalem was called Judah (the word

Jew comes from Judah).Israel was overthrown first by the

Assyrians, then the Persians, then the Babylonians, then the Romans. We don’t have time to talk about all the different invasions over their history, all the way

up to Britain pulling out and Israel becoming their own country again in

1948.

Back a little – almost 800 years before Jesus talked with this Samaritan woman, Assyria invaded Israel. They dispersed many Israelites and peppered in among

them some Assyrians. With the Assyrians came foreign gods and

intermarriage producing a new racial group known as the Samaritans.

As Americans we are very accustomed to being “mixed.” There is purity of race

in many parts of the world. We are mostly mutts here in America.

By the first century Samaritans only worshipped Yahweh, but only accepted

the Pentateuch as Scripture. They rejected the Psalms, proverbs, and

Prophets.They had a temple on Mt. Gerizim, but it

had been destroyed in 128 B.C.

The red lines trace

Jesus route

taking Him through

Samaria.

So here we are: John 4:8 ESV (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?"

(For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying 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 water with, and the

well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our

father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons

and his livestock."

13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to

eternal life."15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw

water."

16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no

husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18

for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.

What you have said is true.“19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that

you are a prophet.

20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem

is the place where people ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman,

believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in

Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation

is from the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will

worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to

worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit

and truth."

Like most people the woman was primarily concerned with her physical

needs.

The Samaritans worshipped on Gerizim, the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, both thought the other was wrong while they were right. Jesus points out it will not matter where the true worshiper is, but two things do matter – that they (we)

worship “in Spirit and truth.”

Jesus pointed to the true worship. God, he said, is spirit. Immediately a man grasps that, a new flood-light breaks over him. If God is spirit, God is not

confined to things; and therefore idol worship is not only an irrelevancy, it is

an insult to the very nature of God.

If God is spirit, God is not confined to places; and therefore to limit the

worship of God to Jerusalem or to any other spot is to set a limit to that which

by its nature overpasses all limits. If God is spirit, a man's gifts to God must be

gifts of the spirit. Animal sacrifices and all man-made things become

inadequate. The only gifts that befit the nature of God are the gifts of the spirit--

love, loyalty, obedience, devotion.

A man's spirit is the highest part of him. That is the part which lasts when the

physical part has vanished. That is the part which dreams the dreams and sees

the visions which, because of the weakness and faultiness of the body,

may never be carried out. It is the spirit of a man which is the source of his

highest dreams and thoughts and ideals and desires.

The true worship is when man, through his spirit, attains to friendship and

intimacy with God. Genuine worship does not consist in coming to a certain

place nor in going through a certain ritual or liturgy nor even in bringing

certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of

man, speaks to and meets with God, himself immortal and invisible. (DSB)

Through Christ one will worship God (being born of the Spirit) in spirit. God is

spirit—we will connect to Him in sprit and truth. That’s why I said, and I’ll say it

again. “The worship of God is actually up to you, not the music, or the leader, or the message, or anything else. You decide whether YOU worship or not.

One person rightfully explained worship as the Out-flowing of the in-flow and

over-flow of the Holy Spirit in the believer.

Now, I can’t talk about “spiritual worship” without going to the best

example of it in Scripture, Isaiah 6:1 ESV In the year that King

Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train

of his robe filled the temple.

2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet,

and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" 4 And the foundations of the

thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with

smoke.

5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I

dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the

LORD of hosts!" 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand

a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

7 And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips;

your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said,

“Here I am! Send me.”

This text teaches us two great lessons.

1. Gives us a biblical example of the worship experience.

2. Helps us understand the process God desires to bring us through.

Look for this process as you begin a lifestyle of worship.

Revelation of God1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled

the temple.

2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet,

and with two he flew.

It was a great time in Israel. The Economy was great with peace,

prosperity. Then King Uzziah died. They experience the lack of leadership.

All significant worship begins by seeing the Lord. We must focus on Him. We must get close to Him. We must put

away world & get to Him.

"The Sect of NIL"Morris was passing a small courtyard and heard voices

murmuring. He went in and saw an altar with a large zero in the middle and a banner that said

'NIL.'White-robed people were

kneeling before the altar chanting hymns to The Great Nullity and

The Blessed Emptiness.Morris turned to a white-robed

observer beside him and asked, “Is Nothing Sacred?”

Realization of His Holiness3 And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" 4

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Everything else fades in His presence.

John 4:28 ESV So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and

said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this

be the Christ?"

Recognition of your sinfulness5 And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost;

for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the

LORD of hosts!“One of the tendencies of being close is

seeing our own sinfulness. This is why many stay away, they don't

want to get personal.

Recognition begins to melt us, we begin to confess.

1 John 1:9 ESV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our

sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Renewal of your perspective

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he

had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips;

your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

How blessed we are that Jesus gave His life as an atonement for our sins.

1 Corinthians 15:3 ESV For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also

received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

Acts 22:16 ESV And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'

Having the guilt of our sins taken away, forgiven, gives us a new perspective on

everything.

It cleanses us from pride, lifts us up beyond all things in life, makes us

realize He is LORD.

Response of your lifestyle8 And I heard the voice of the Lord

saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send

me."

Response to real worship is commitment.

Without commitment real worship has not taken place.

Isaac Watts"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross“

1st & last.

When I survey the wondrous crosson which the prince of glory died.My richest gain I count but loss

and pour contempt on all my pride.Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small:Love so amazing so divine

demands my soul, my life, my all.

Application Steps

Focus on God realizing His Holiness then everything else fades in His

presence. Recognize your sinfulness. Renew your perspective. Respond by change in your lifestyle spending time

with God daily living a life of obedience. Memorizing Scriptures, hymns and

choruses will lead you in tough times.

All words translated worship have the nuance of submission and require

movement, be it physically prostrating yourself in homage showing reverence, adoration, participating in a ceremonial observance, divine service, or mentally throwing yourself down at Jesus feet in

awe, revering, adoring Him.

Worship is not just paying homage, it is outward act from inward feeling. If

inward feeling is not there you'll never have worship. It all starts by seeing

God. Have you looked?