WORSHIPING IN TRUTH
John 4:21-24
One more worship Top Ten List for you. These are the Top Ten Indications That Your Worship Service Might Be a Bit Too Relaxed. Top Ten Indications That Your Worship Service Might Be a Bit Too Relaxed:
10. The choir wears bath robes and bunny slippers!
9. Every prayer ends with "Yeah, God, You be the Man!"
8. The church just replaced their old pew bibles with the ABV (Authorized Barney Version)!
7. The last time the word "sin" was heard in the sanctuary, it was in reference to the hardness of the pews!
6. The most conservative member of the congregation is the Youth Minister!
5. The Preacher refuses to preach without his pipe and slippers!
4. The last time an Altar Call was made, the congregation was encouraged to use their cell phones!
3. The baptistery was replaced with a Jacuzzi!
2. 60% of the mission budget was funneled into purchasing reclining pews!
And the number one indication that your worship service may be a bit too relaxed is:
1. No one in the congregation has ever heard these words of Jesus, "Pick up your cross and follow me!"
Well, we are continuing our look at worship today, looking at Worshiping in Truth. You can follow along with the outline on the back of your worship folder as we examine what the Word of God has to say about Worshiping in Truth.
You will remember last week that we talked about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman, and the contrast between Samaritan worship, and Jewish worship in that day. You may remember that the Jewish worship held to a strong cultural belief in what they saw as truth revealed by God, but it completely lacked any emotional element. It had become routine, and sterile.
On the other hand were the Samaritans. Very passionate worshipers. Very emotional worshipers. But worshipers that were missing the other half of the equation. Do you remember the equation for Biblical, authentic worship?
John 4:21 (read through 24). Spirit and truth. So while the Samaritans had the spirit thing going, they were missing the other vital element . . .truth. In fact, in many ways you could describe the Samaritan worship as false worship.
Let’s look at three characteristics of Samaritan worship that could very well result in it being labeled False Worship.
A. It selected what they wanted to know and understand about God, and omitted the rest.
Basically the Samaritans chose the part of scripture which they wanted to perceive as truth, and just threw out the rest. In fact, they only accepted the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Old Testament. They rejected all of the rest of the Old Testament. They rejected all the messages of the prophets, all the devotions of Psalms, all the wisdom of Proverbs, and narrowed what they believed to be truth, and what they expressed in their worship down to simply the first five books of the Old Testament.
You have probably encountered people that do something like this. There are Christians living totally in the New Covenant. If it appears before the book of Matthew, they want nothing to do with it. And anything you read them from before the book of Matthew they will quickly discount as being “Old Covenant” material.
A worship that just picks and chooses what we want to believe or accept about God, a worship which only acknowledges the parts of His Word that we are comfortable with, a worship which rejects Biblical knowledge and wisdom that is available to us. . .is a false worship. It is not a worship grounded in truth.
What do people say when they take the stand, “I swear to tell the truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth.” The whole truth. . .is this whole book.
A second way in which the Samaritan’s worship was false was that. . .
B. It was an ignorant worship.
The Samaritan’s only got part of the command. They thought they were loving the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul. . .worshiping in spirit. . .but they weren’t loving the Lord with all their minds.
Remember in week one of this series we looked at Romans 12:1 which tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. Well, we aren’t supposed to remove our brains before we offer that sacrifice. If we are to offer our entire being in worship to God as a living sacrifice, that includes our minds.
This was the accusation against the Samaritans by the Jewish Rabbis. They said that the Samaritans simply worshiped not out of love and knowledge, but out of ignorance and fear.
Just listen to this story from the settling of Samaria back in II Kings 17:24 (read through 29). Now, follow what is happening here. People are being sent to settle into Samaria, but because they are not acknowledging God, He is sending lions out to destroy them. So rather than convert to God, rather than walking in devotion and obedience to God, they simply decide they need to send up a priest who knows how to appease this particular God of the land.
But did you see what else they were doing? Verse 29, “Every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made.”
This is worship out of self-preservation. Rather than focusing in on the Lord, they are trying to please and appease as many gods as they possibly can. So they may recognize God as the source of these lions and destruction but there are other gods they don’t want to hack off either, so they just continue to allow every other god and or idol to enter into the shrines for worship.
This is because their worship is ignorant. It is not based on knowledge and love for God as the one and only true God, it is based on ignorance and fear. Jehovah was the God of the land. It would be dangerous not to include Him in their worship, so they throw Him in the pot too. But they don’t desire to know Him anymore than any of the other gods.
Some Christians are so opposed to intellectualism, and education that they attempt to live a life of worship that seems to excuse a lack of knowledge.
Look at what it says in I Peter 3:15 (read). A defense, a reason. We can not effectively witness to the world around us if they ask us why we worship God, and we say, “I don’t know. Just ‘cause. Why not?” Our worship shouldn’t be ignorant.
And this doesn’t mean that you have to earn a Ph.D., or degree in Biblical studies. But we should be about applying our mind to the things of God. Taking notes during the message, attending a class such as Firm Foundations which provides you with ground level knowledge and truth. Bible Study Fellowship, Sunday School, personal devotions. . .all of these are great ways to make sure that our worship does not lack knowledge and truth, and simply become a false worship.
I read this quote this week, “Religion may begin with an emotional response; but the time comes when that emotional response has to be thought out.”
One more way in which we can see that Samaritan worship was a false worship. . .
C. It was a superstitious worship.
You know what superstitions are, right? Buildings without a 13th floor.
Listen to some of these common superstitions in the world of sports. From Baseball: Some players believe it is good luck to step on one of the bases before running off the field at the end of an inning. It is bad luck to touch the baselines while running off and onto the field between innings. If a pitcher is throwing a perfect game or a no-hitter, never speak of it while it’s going on.
How about basketball: the last person to shoot a basket during the warm-up will have a good game. Any bowlers out there? A bowling superstition is to continue a winning streak, wear the same clothes. The number 300, a perfect score, on your license plate will increase your score.
We probably have some fishermen or fisherwomen in the crowd. Fishing superstitions: fish may not bite if a barefoot woman passes you on the way to the dock. Or try spiting on your bait before casting your rod to make fish bite. Most importantly, don’t tell anyone how many fish you’ve caught until you’re done or you won’t catch another.
Football: it’s bad luck for a professional football player to take a new number when he is traded to another team. Golf: start only with odd-numbered clubs. Carry coins in your pockets for good luck. Ice Hockey: players believe they’ll win the game if they tap the goalie on his shin pads before a game. Many players must put their pads and skates on in exactly the same order every day.
Rodeo. Bet you didn’t know there were Rodeo superstitions. How about avoiding wearing the color yellow. I thought they would have wanted to avoid wearing red. Another one, always shave before a competition. . .though they indicate this one is for men only!
Tennis players walk around the outside of the court when switching sides for good luck, and avoid stepping on the court lines. People have all kinds of superstitions.
There are a lot of people that will refuse to walk beneath a ladder, will recognize if a black cat crosses their path, will pay special attention to the number 13, and will all the while say that they aren’t superstitious. Will read their fortune cookie, check out their horoscope, and not step on a crack so they don’t break their mother’s back, but will all they while say that they aren’t superstitious.
Likewise, there are people who are coming to church, going through the motions, worshiping God, but they are doing it out of a fear of the day of reckoning rather than out of love and gratitude for what God has done in their life.
Follow this with me, worship not given out of a need to worship God, or a desire to worship God, but out of an attitude that says it is too dangerous not to worship God. That religion that says, “I’m not all that fond of this Christianity stuff. . .but I sure don’t want to go to hell.” That is superstitious worship.
I really better worship God this week because I have finals coming up. I really better worship God this week because a loved one is in the hospital. I really better worship God this week because I’m in financial trouble. That is a superstitious, manipulative, false worship. Not worship in spirit and in truth.
Some characteristics of the Samaritan’s worship. Highly charged emotionally, but false because it lacked truth.
So let’s look at some important truths today. If we are going to worship God not just in spirit, but in truth, what are some important truths for us to understand?
First, how about some truths about worship. What is. . .
The Truth About Worship
In the Old Testament there is a wide variety of words which are translated in our Bibles as worship. However, that does not necessarily mean that the Hebrew word originally used was intended to convey “worship” as we define it today.
An example would be the word mishmereth. It occurs roughly 80 times in the Hebrew, and literally means “to keep, to safeguard, to watch.” So it is used to describe keeping the command, ordinances, and laws of God. But often finds its way in English translations as “worship.”
And there are a number of other Hebrew words which find their way to an English translation of worship. Interestingly enough, many of these words are strictly utilized for expressing a negative reference to worship. Such as Nebuchadnezzar demanding that everyone worship the monstrous idol he created, or individuals worshiping other false gods.
But when you want to understand the truth about worship in the Old Testament, you can come to a Hebrew word “shachah”. Of the almost 200 times it is used, it is nearly always translated as worship, and almost always in reference to worshiping God. And when you get into the depth and meaning of this word, you come up with this idea of falling down on one’s face, or falling prostrate in front of an object out of reverence and devotion to it.
It is used to refer to the Day of the Lord when it describes all people, tribes, and nations all gathered together, and falling down before the Lord, and worshiping Him.
So what truth about worship do we glean from this Old Testament word?
Worship is humble devotion to God.
It is something that should not be afforded to anyone, anything, or anyplace else. But in humble reverence we fall down at the feet of Jesus, and worship him.
Think of the songs we have sung together, “We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus.” Or “Only a God like You, could be worthy of my praise and all my hope and faith. To only the King of all Kings will I bow my knee and sing, give my everything.” Or “You along I long to worship, You along are worthy of my praise.”
“Shachah”: falling down before God in humble worship.
What about the New Testament? What truth about worship can we glean from there? Well, similar to the Old Testament, there are a number of words for worship. And similar to the Old Testament, many of those words are utilized to describe worship of a false God, or idol.
But one word in particular I want to share with you today is “proskune”. Occurring more than 50 times, in the King James Version, this word is solely translated as worship. And if you were to give it a very literal translation, it would mean to “kiss the hand of.”
Probably sounds strange to us, but most of us have seen this depicted in a movie at some point and time. A subservient person approaches a king, or queen, or someone in a position of authority, takes a knee, takes hold of the hand of the honored individual, and kisses their ring.
And while there is a similar sensing of humility to our Old Testament word, this adds another truth about worship to the picture.
Worship is humble service to our King.
I enjoy the show “The West Wing”. And periodically as they face or overcome a great challenge, they will dramatize a dynamic moment where the staff of the president are gathered there in the oval office, and they go around one by one declaring, “I serve at the pleasure of the president.”
Our worship is declaring that we serve at the pleasure of our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer, our King. It is “proskune”. Approaching the throne, bowing down before God, reaching out to kiss His hand, and saying, “I’m yours Lord, use me as you will.”
Worship does not just pick and choose the parts of God we want, it does not operate in ignorance, it is not superstitious and fearful. . .it is humble devotion, and humble service to our king. Remember the word we used back in the five “W”s – Surrender. Proskune.
Another important aspect of truth is not just the truth of worship, but the truth about who this King is that we worship? It is one thing to know the truth about worship, what is. . .
The Truth About Who We Worship
Well. . .Jesus seems to think there is one vital thing that this Samaritan woman needs to know about who she is to worship. He says, “God is spirit; and those who worship Him, must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” God is spirit.
What did that mean for this idolatrous nation? What does that mean for our idolatrous nation?
Two things I want to highlight. If God is spirit, then. . .
1. God is not confined to things.
Back in those days, that meant that not only was idol worship irrelevant, but it was an insult. To suggest that God could be confined to some small statue. Even some large statue. To suggest that there was a way to define, limit, and say, “See that. . .that is God. That is Him. What you see is what you get. That thing we have created is the totality of God.” That fails to recognize that God is spirit.
We still do this today. It is mighty cliché, but worth repeating, you can’t put God in a box. You see, we may not melt down our jewelry, and create some gold little statue and restrict God to that. . .but we might as well. Because we still say that, “Well, God can do this, but not that.” “God can work in this way, but not in that.” “God can be here, but not there.”
We put God in all kinds of boxes. Financial boxes. Physical healing boxes. Emotional recovery boxes. Spiritual bondage boxes. Denominational boxes. Theological boxes. Church tradition boxes.
But Jesus says, if you want to worship God in truth, you need to recognize the truth about who you are worshiping. God is spirit. So He cannot be confined to your boxes, He cannot be limited by your expectations, and He can not be defined by your limited belief.
If God is spirit and is not confined to things, then a second thing we know is truth is that. . .
2. God is not confined to places
The truth about worship is that you can not confine worship of God to this sanctuary, to Wesleyan churches, to churches overall, or any other place. In our short marriage, Debbie and I have had the privilege of worshiping with churches that were experiencing the presence of God in a Homebuilders Association Ball Room, a high school gym, an old Jitney-Premier grocery store, an elementary school cafeteria.
In Arlington, Texas, Pantego Bible Church has planted a church that meets as a coffee house. Not in a coffee house. Not at a coffee house. They meet as a coffee house. In Deep Elum, in the heart of Dallas, Texas, The Door meets as a night club. Not in a night club, or simply at a night club, but as a night club.
Just this past Sunday this idea of emerging churches in unique venues was talked about in the Herald-Leader. Listen to a few of these quotes. . .
“For many in this generation the worship style of their parents feels impersonal: not bigger than their daily, media-intensified lives, but smaller.”
A 28 year-old says, “My generation is disconnected with dead religion.” This young man actually left a mega-church, to attend an alternative church which meets in a school gym and has basketball games after the services.”
God is not confined to places. But that means even more than just those other facility types. If God is spirit, then you can worship Him in your car, at your workplace, sitting at a ball game with your family, during a BBQ, rocking an infant in the middle of the night, mowing your lawn, changing your oil, or changing a diaper.
Remember, worship is humble devotion and humble service to our king. That involves Christian parenting, community service, loving your neighbor as yourself, and loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Make sure you hear this today. If you take nothing else away from our time together, I hope you will get this:
Your worship of God can be limitless, if you will stop limiting God.
Don’t box Him in, don’t restrict your worship to a certain place or time, but recognize the truth about who He is, and the truth about what worship is. . .and you will truly be freed to live the Five “W”s of worship. Worshiping God in full surrender, everywhere, all the time, because He is worthy.
So what is the conclusion of the matter. After a three week exploration of worship, what is. . .
The Truth About Our Worship
I read it this week written out in this manner, “True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible.”
The true, the genuine worship is when people, through their spirits and minds, attain to friendship and intimacy with God. When the part of you, where dreams are made, visions are seen, thoughts, ideals and desires are formulated. . .when that part of you, the highest part of each and everyone of us, is given over to God. . .that is true worship.
It isn’t about your temple on Mt. Gerizim versus their temple in Jerusalem. It isn’t about Samaritans versus Jews, Protestant versus Catholics, Wesleyans versus Nazarenes, and hymns versus choruses.
It is about worshiping God in spirit and in truth. The truth that worship is humble devotion and service to God. The truth that God is spirit. And the truth that we desire to live differently than the Samaritans and Jews, living on opposite, extreme ends of a continuum. . .but instead desire to live a balanced life of worship, that as Jesus declared thousands of years ago, is worship in spirit and truth.
I want to take just a moment as we close today for some time of confession. While you are sitting there, I want you to think about which end of the spectrum you have probably been guilty of leaning towards. Has your worship been loaded with emotion, passion and spirit. . .but at the neglect of truth, study and intellectual pursuit of the things of God.
Or are you sitting there recognizing that you have had the truth about God in place for a long time, but your spirit, your emotions, your passion have been restricted in your worship of God. You have held back a part of you that wasn’t ready to cut loose and dance.
Right where you are seated, just take a moment and confess that to God today. Ask Him to forgive you for one-sided worship, and ask Him to open your heart, your mind, your spirit to authentic balanced worship.
(Pause)
Now I want you to confess any attitudes about worship that you took into this month that were not Godly. Maybe a judgementalism against spirit filled worshipers. Maybe an attitude against traditional worshipers. Maybe defensiveness against modern worshipers. As you look back at God’s Word, and what worship is truly about, confess to God those thoughts and expressions you have had that are not productive to a body of believers attempting to grow together, and worship in spirit and in truth.
(Pause)
Finally, there may be some of you that have never really looked at worship before. And as we talk about such things as offering our lives to God as a living sacrifice, you recognize that you have never made that commitment. You have never just said, “God, I am yours. I bow my knee, kiss your hand, and offer myself in humble service to the King.” If that describes where you are at, just deep inside your Spirit, pray this along with me:
“God, I need you. God, I want you. Not out of fear, or superstition. But as I look at the sacrifice you made for me, it is my desire to worship you by offering my life back to you as a living sacrifice. Come fill my soul. Take residence in my heart today. Help me to become a true worshiper of the one true God. . .and to worship you with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength. God, I’m lost without you. Come and rescue me today. Amen.”
If you prayed that prayer today for the first, or the fifteenth time. I’ll be standing right up here following the service, and I hope you will come and let me know that you have made an exciting decision to give your life in full service to our King.
(Song - You Are Worthy Of My Praise)
