## In Spirit and In Truth #1

## John 4:20-24

I would like to tackle an important subject for each of us. True worship! What is it? Do we do it? What can we do to make sure that we are truly worshiping God? In our text this evening, Jesus is dealing with the woman at the well. There is a discussion that should be of great interest to all of us. Jesus discusses worship.

After speaking of water, both physical and spiritual, after Jesus tells her of her own private life, she changes the subject to religion.

- She points toward Mount Gerazim and says, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." v20
- Jesus skillfully sidesteps the question of location and drives for the subject of motivation (v21-22).
- It was not an issue of Mount Gerazim or Jerusalem.
- Worship was and is an issue of the heart.
- Jesus said "true worshipers" worship the Father "in spirit and truth."
- He says that "the Father is seeking such to worship Him."
- He says that "God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth."

It seems that churches major on one or the other but rarely are balanced with both aspects of worship.

- On one hand you have those who emphasize the "spirit" to the point of extreme.
- Jump a pew, laugh uncontrollably, or fall over and pass out.
- Just as guilty are those that have neglected the Spirit.
- Churches that are so cold and calculated that it seems the Spirit of God has become a subject that we just don't talk about.

We seek a balance in this area of worship. We must be balanced if we are to truly worship God!

I. Common Misconceptions.

A. Worship Always Takes Place in Church.

1. When we hear the words "worship service," what picture comes to mind?

a. My guess is that you thought of a room with pews, instruments, songs and hymns and of course preaching.

b. Do you know that much of what happens in a service is not worship?

c. And that much real worship never happens in a service?

2. If we define worship as enjoying the presence of God and we realize God is ever present with us…

a. Then we can worship any time or any place.

b. While driving in our car, sitting at your desk, lying in our bed, relaxed in your recliner.

c. It doesn't matter where!

3. In fact, the Scripture makes it plain that worship was never intended to be only for corporate services.

(Psa 119:164) "Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments."

4. The truth is, unless we learn to worship God everyday through the week, we are probably not worshiping Him on Sundays.

5. We are probably just "playing church."

B. Worship is an Outward Expression.

1. People express worship to God in different ways.

a. Some sit quietly with bowed heads.

b. Some shout a loud "Amen" or "Hallelujah."

c. Some lift their hands. Some sing strongly.

d. The Bible commends all these expressions and more.

2. We are all different. We worship differently.

a. My expression of adoration to God may be different than yours.

b. One thing is certain:

c. We cannot worship God when we are judging each other.

3. True worship is not about the songs, the vocals, the band or the choir.

a. All of those things contribute toward a great expression of worship

b. But the essence of worship is when our heart and soul connects with the Spirit of God.

C. The People on the Platform are the Focus.

A little boy sat in the back seat of the car as his parents drove home from church. They complained about the selection of songs, the off key soloist and the boring sermon from the pastor.

Remembering how much his dad gave in the offering, the boy said, "All in all, you have to admit it was a pretty good show for a dollar."

1. Often we judge church based on how well the "up-fronters" did.

a. Was the music good? The choir? The soloist?

b. Were there any glitches in the sound system?

c. Was the pastor's message dynamic and interesting?

d. Did people respond to the altar call?

e. If that's our thinking, we are not worshiping!

2. Don't get me wrong. God deserves our best.

a. I'm thankful for great music and modern technological enhancements.

b. I'm thankful for competent folks to lead us, but we don't need any of those things to worship God.

c. We need to take the premium off performance and put it on praise.

3. We often applaud when someone sings.

a. Why? There's nothing wrong with applause in itself.

b. It's a form of affirmation and appreciation.

c. However, in church we don't applaud for the same reasons people applaud in a secular music show.

(Psa 47:1) "O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph."

D. The People in the Pews are the Audience.

1. If we learn one thing about worship, I hope we learn that we are not the audience.

a. God is the audience.

b. We are all on the platform.

c. We all play a part in worship.

2. Have we played our part today?

3. The question is not, "How did the musicians do?" or "How well did the pastor preach?"

4. Rather, the question is, "Did I worship God today in spirit and truth?"

I will close for now, but we will revisit this subject of worship. Next week I want us to consider several lessons we can learn from God's Word concerning 'true worship'. But for now, let's consider ourselves for a moment. We are at the close of the day we set aside for worship. Have we worshiped God today? To worship Him, assumes that we have a relationship with Him. We cannot offer true worship unless we are His children. We cannot offer true worship unless we our right with Him. We cannot be right with Him unless we are right with others.

(Mat 5:23-24) "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; {24} Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."