1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 We've been talking together about what it means to be a believer priest. 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:19,440 One of the responsibilities that we have as priests unto God is that of worship. 3 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:26,600 A.W. Tozer has said that worship is the missing jewel in the evangelical church, and if that 4 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:33,600 is in fact the case, then I believe that we ought to search diligently for that precious 5 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:40,600 treasure and seek to add the understanding of what it means to our lives as well as the 6 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:45,160 action to our lives. 7 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:50,920 We've seen in previous study together that worship simply means giving honor and glory 8 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:57,360 to God that is due him, because of who he is and what he has done. It is a scribing 9 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:02,200 worth to God. And how shall we do that? 10 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:09,200 Well, if something is done more than just in one service or two services a week, we 11 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,660 have tried to show you that from the word of God's standpoint, real worship is a way 12 00:01:14,660 --> 00:01:21,520 of life. It means to live well pleasing to the Lord. Last Sunday night we noted in a 13 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:28,520 number of passages how we live well pleasing to him. We live a life of worship which is 14 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:34,480 well pleasing to God when we are considerate for other believers, especially those who 15 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:41,160 are weaker in the faith, according to Romans chapter 14. We live a life of worship that 16 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:48,160 is well pleasing to the Lord when we are involved in winning the lost, Romans chapter 15. 17 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:54,200 A life that is well pleasing to the Lord and is therefore a life of worship is one that 18 00:01:54,200 --> 00:02:01,200 is a life that gives, including the giving of substance, of money, to the work of the 19 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:08,200 Lord, Philippians chapter 4. It means also to conform my lifestyle to the qualities of 20 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:15,200 goodness, righteousness, and truth, Ephesians chapter 5. 21 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:22,960 And finally it means to conduct myself with a seriousness about life. Not that I am to 22 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:29,960 go around half depressed, but there is to be a gravity, a seriousness about my attitude 23 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:36,960 toward the way that I live. I should recognize the preciousness of life, 1 Timothy chapter 24 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:43,960 2. Now if I live that way, it means that when I get together with you on Sunday, that the 25 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:51,320 worship service is simply going to be the overflow of my heart and your heart. That's 26 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:56,520 what worship, corporate worship is. It is the overflow of our hearts because of the 27 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:02,040 overflow of our hearts because of the way that we have been living the whole last week. 28 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:09,040 It should not be a disruption or a change in us as we come to church. It is a very natural 29 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:15,400 thing for us to do, to share together in the worship of our Lord. And we have seen too 30 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:21,720 that worship is a divine priority. It ought to come before our walk with God, it ought 31 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:28,720 to come before our work for God, worship. I was noting this evening that as soon as 32 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:35,720 Noah and his family got off the ark, what was the first thing they did? They built an 33 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:42,720 altar and they worshiped God. The very first thing they did. When Abram left Ur of the 34 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:48,960 Chaldees and got into the land that God had promised him, what was the first thing that 35 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:55,960 he did? As soon as he got to Shechem, he built an altar. And then he traveled on to Bethel 36 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:05,120 and there he built an altar. Worship is God's priority for our lives. It's a daily priority, 37 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:12,640 I hope for all of us. Not just those few minutes that we can spend in prayer and in study of 38 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:19,640 the word, but daily in our lifestyle, worship of God is to be the priority, to live well-pleasing 39 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:26,920 to him. Perhaps the key to true worship is discovered in John chapter 4. I'm going to 40 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:35,960 ask you to turn there with me to look again at the conversation that Jesus had with the 41 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:42,960 woman at the well in Samaria. This well is located at Shechem where Abram built his first 42 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:51,120 altar. John chapter 4. We'll start in verse 5. 43 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:58,120 So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave 44 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:12,160 to his son Joseph, and Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being worried from his journey, 45 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:17,920 was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria 46 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:24,080 to draw water. Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away into 47 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:29,280 the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman, therefore, said to him, How is it that you, 48 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:34,960 being a Jew, ask me for a drink, since I am a Samaritan woman, for Jews have no dealings 49 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:41,120 with Samaritans? Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it 50 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:46,200 is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you 51 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:53,200 living water. And she said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is 52 00:05:54,240 --> 00:06:00,640 deep. Where then do you get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, 53 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:06,160 are you, who gave us the well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle? Jesus 54 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:11,240 answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again, but whoever 55 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:16,800 drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall 56 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:23,800 give him shall become in him a well of water, springing up to eternal life. The woman said 57 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:29,760 to him, Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way 58 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:36,760 here to draw. He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered 59 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:43,560 and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband, 60 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:49,960 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This 61 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:56,680 you have said truly. The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our 62 00:06:56,680 --> 00:07:00,800 fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place 63 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:06,520 where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming 64 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:13,520 when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father. You worship 65 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:20,840 that which you do not know. We worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 66 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:27,420 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father 67 00:07:27,420 --> 00:07:34,420 in spirit and truth. For such people the Father seeks to be his worshippers. God is spirit, 68 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:41,420 and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Let's bow together. Lord, 69 00:07:44,900 --> 00:07:51,900 our prayer is that as we come to this text, that you would show us truth here, and then 70 00:07:52,140 --> 00:07:57,620 that you would apply that to our lives so that we may be true worshippers. In Jesus' 71 00:07:57,620 --> 00:08:02,420 name, amen. Two simple questions I'd like to approach 72 00:08:02,420 --> 00:08:08,460 tonight as we look at the text that we've read. The first one is, whom are we to worship 73 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:15,460 if we are to be true worshippers of God? Secondly, how then am I to worship? First, who am I 74 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:25,500 to worship if I am to be a true worshipper, as Jesus puts it? Well, he says twice here, 75 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:32,500 you shall worship the Father. Do you notice that? Verse 21, verse 23. Verse 21 says, the 76 00:08:35,860 --> 00:08:42,860 hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you worship the Father. 77 00:08:42,860 --> 00:08:49,860 Verse 23, the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. And then in 78 00:08:49,860 --> 00:08:56,860 verse 24, he gives us a further insight. He says, God is spirit. So in answer to the question, 79 00:08:56,860 --> 00:09:03,860 whom am I to worship? The answer is, I am to worship the Father who is spirit. I believe 80 00:09:04,860 --> 00:09:11,860 it's significant that Jesus uses the term Father again and again as he speaks to people. 81 00:09:11,860 --> 00:09:18,860 This term Father is filled with meaning. It is a term of dearness and intimacy which 82 00:09:18,860 --> 00:09:25,860 our Lord wants us to know with God. When we think of one who is Father, we think of one 83 00:09:26,340 --> 00:09:33,340 who is in the first place a begetor, who is the source of something, or who is the progenitor 84 00:09:33,340 --> 00:09:40,340 of the family. I believe that thought is involved here. Jesus told his disciples when they pray, 85 00:09:42,340 --> 00:09:49,340 they should say, our what? Our Father. After his resurrection, he said to his disciples 86 00:09:49,740 --> 00:09:56,740 through Mary, I ascend to my Father and your Father. And then he said, I ascend to my Father 87 00:09:56,740 --> 00:10:03,740 and your Father. In the Old Testament, the Jews could not call God their Father in a 88 00:10:04,740 --> 00:10:10,740 personal sense. He was the Father of the nation of Israel. God identified himself as Father 89 00:10:10,740 --> 00:10:17,740 to them, as a people, as a corporate body. But our Lord wants us to know that we may 90 00:10:17,780 --> 00:10:24,780 call him Father personally. The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, I beg you, please, please, 91 00:10:24,780 --> 00:10:31,780 the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, I bow my knees before the Father from whom the whole 92 00:10:31,780 --> 00:10:38,780 family, in heaven and on earth, derives its name. God the Father is the progenitor of 93 00:10:39,340 --> 00:10:46,340 a spiritual family. He causes us to be born into his family through the word of God which 94 00:10:48,020 --> 00:10:54,540 is implanted in us and by the quickening of the Holy Spirit when we trust the Lord Jesus 95 00:10:54,540 --> 00:11:01,540 Christ. We at that moment become a part of his family. And that family, as Paul says, 96 00:11:02,660 --> 00:11:08,540 is right now divided between heaven and earth. There are many who are in heaven. There are 97 00:11:08,540 --> 00:11:14,660 those of us who are still on the earth. But we are one family, God's family. Again, in 98 00:11:14,660 --> 00:11:21,660 Galatians 4, the Apostle says, Because you are sons, notice that, because you are sons, 99 00:11:21,660 --> 00:11:28,660 God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son in our hearts, crying, Abba, what? Father. And 100 00:11:30,020 --> 00:11:36,520 so when we speak to our fathers because he is our begetter, he is the one who has caused 101 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:43,520 us to be born anew. And then when we think of Father, we think of one who has authority. 102 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:50,520 And that, too, is appropriate. The Apostle, again in Ephesians 3, says, There is one God 103 00:11:53,440 --> 00:12:00,440 and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. The first phrase there 104 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:08,400 says he is above all. All authority is the Father's and he has committed it to the Son. 105 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:15,400 And then when we think of the word Father, we think of one who provides, don't we? And 106 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:23,040 that's why Jesus said in the prayer for the disciples, Our Father, give us this day our 107 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:30,120 daily bread. He wants us to realize that our Father is our provider. Again, the Apostle 108 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:38,000 says, I bow to the Father that he would grant you. And then he talks about strength in the 109 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:44,000 inner man, the spiritual needs that we have. He is our provider. Again, in Timothy, he 110 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:51,000 writes about God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. God wants us to enjoy 111 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:58,200 life to its fullest and he provides for us so that we might. And so whom are we to worship? 112 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:05,920 We are to worship the Father. But it says we are to worship the Father who is Spirit. 113 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:12,920 That is a key verse in the Bible telling us of God's essential nature that God is Spirit. 114 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:18,620 It means in other words that he does not have a body of flesh and bones despite what the 115 00:13:18,620 --> 00:13:25,620 Mormons say. He is Spirit. He is immaterial. As the Apostle says it again to Timothy, immortal 116 00:13:25,620 --> 00:13:32,620 invisible God. He is the eternal, unchanging, living Spirit who is everywhere, present at 117 00:13:34,980 --> 00:13:41,980 all times. It's not that he can be everywhere when he wants to be, but it is that at every 118 00:13:42,340 --> 00:13:49,340 instant he is everywhere. He is omnipresent. And he is that because he is Spirit. And so 119 00:13:49,340 --> 00:13:56,340 that affects our worship. We are to worship the Father who is Spirit, who is everywhere 120 00:13:57,460 --> 00:14:04,460 present all at the same time. I've heard some people say, well yes, I sure agree with that 121 00:14:05,220 --> 00:14:10,220 and I don't have to go to church to worship. I can go out in the woods in my backyard and 122 00:14:10,220 --> 00:14:14,340 worship. I don't have to go to church. Have you ever had people say that to you? Sure, 123 00:14:14,340 --> 00:14:21,340 I guess we all have. But the fact is that that is not true. Although the Father who 124 00:14:23,380 --> 00:14:30,060 is Spirit is everywhere present at once, he has commanded us not to forsake the assembling 125 00:14:30,060 --> 00:14:36,540 of ourselves together, hasn't he? And the fact is that in a very special sense he dwells 126 00:14:36,540 --> 00:14:43,300 in the church though he is everywhere present. In the Old Testament there was the tabernacle 127 00:14:43,300 --> 00:14:50,300 and then the temple. It wasn't that God confined himself to that one place, but that 128 00:14:51,340 --> 00:14:58,340 was the place where the people were to focus upon for his presence. He was everywhere present 129 00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:05,500 in the Old Testament too. Today we do not say that God dwells in this building. He does 130 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:12,380 when you are here, but he leaves with you. Because you see today the temple of God is 131 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:19,380 not the church, the structure. It is the church, the body, the people. We are a living temple. 132 00:15:22,420 --> 00:15:28,180 Keep your finger here in John 4 and go over to Ephesians chapter 2 for a moment. Ephesians 133 00:15:28,180 --> 00:15:35,180 chapter 2. I'll begin reading in verse 19. Previously 134 00:15:35,180 --> 00:15:42,180 we have looked at the preceding verses in conjunction with our peace with God. But in 135 00:15:46,420 --> 00:15:53,420 verse 19 he goes on to say, So then, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are 136 00:15:54,340 --> 00:16:01,340 fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household. Having been built upon the 137 00:16:01,340 --> 00:16:08,340 foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom 138 00:16:09,940 --> 00:16:16,940 the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in 139 00:16:18,140 --> 00:16:25,140 whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. There is 140 00:16:25,140 --> 00:16:32,140 truth here that I'm sure is far beyond our ability to comprehend, but let's notice at 141 00:16:32,980 --> 00:16:39,980 least this. That you and I in this age are the dwelling place of God. And that as his 142 00:16:41,420 --> 00:16:46,580 people when we gather together for corporate worship, there is a very special sense in 143 00:16:46,580 --> 00:16:53,580 which he is here. We are his living temple. We are like living stones that are being fitted 144 00:16:56,420 --> 00:17:03,420 into place for his dwelling in the Spirit. So when you and I gather for worship, it is 145 00:17:05,140 --> 00:17:11,700 in a very special sense that we say God is present. He is present because we are here, 146 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:18,700 not because he lives in this place. Who are we to worship then? We are to worship the 147 00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:25,700 Father who is Spirit. Now a word concerning the Son. It is impossible to worship the Father 148 00:17:28,540 --> 00:17:35,540 who is Spirit and to fail to worship God the Son, Jesus Christ. They are identified together 149 00:17:35,540 --> 00:17:42,540 as being one in essence. So one cannot say I worship God, but I reject Jesus Christ. 150 00:17:43,940 --> 00:17:50,940 That is impossible. No man has seen the Father at any time. Why? Because he is Spirit. But 151 00:17:52,740 --> 00:17:59,740 the only begotten Son has led him forth expounded so that we can understand God and see him, 152 00:17:59,740 --> 00:18:06,740 so that we can say he who has seen the Son has seen the Father. They are one in essence. 153 00:18:07,140 --> 00:18:14,140 Have you ever noticed the times when there is a phrase like the God and Father of our 154 00:18:17,660 --> 00:18:22,140 Lord Jesus Christ? Before coming over tonight, I started going through the introductions 155 00:18:22,140 --> 00:18:27,140 to Paul's epistles. Do you know that in every single one of them, without exception, 156 00:18:27,140 --> 00:18:34,140 there is that phrase or one very, very close to it? He speaks about God the Father and 157 00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:41,140 our Lord Jesus Christ, or God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As soon as he begins 158 00:18:41,380 --> 00:18:47,380 writing his inspired epistles, the Apostle wants us to notice that we cannot separate 159 00:18:47,380 --> 00:18:53,380 God the Father from God the Son. So as we gather for worship, we are not worshiping 160 00:18:53,380 --> 00:19:00,380 the Father who is Spirit to the exclusion of God the Son. We worship them as the triune 161 00:19:00,380 --> 00:19:07,380 God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But Jesus, as he expresses 162 00:19:07,380 --> 00:19:14,380 our worship, says we are to worship the Father. That is a general statement. Likewise, generally 163 00:19:14,380 --> 00:19:20,380 we are commanded to pray to the Father. There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with addressing 164 00:19:20,380 --> 00:19:27,380 a prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ or to praying to God the Spirit. But that is the exception 165 00:19:28,380 --> 00:19:33,380 rather than the rule. Most of our praying should be directed to the Father through the 166 00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:40,380 Son by the empowering of the Spirit. We worship God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. 167 00:19:43,380 --> 00:19:48,380 Then in answer to the second question, how then are we to worship? I want you to notice 168 00:19:48,380 --> 00:19:58,380 what Jesus says in John chapter 4. He says, verse 23, the true worshipers shall worship 169 00:19:58,380 --> 00:20:07,380 the Father in spirit and truth. Again in verse 24, those who worship him must worship in 170 00:20:07,380 --> 00:20:14,380 spirit and truth. Two important phrases that we want to look at briefly. What does it mean 171 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:21,380 to worship the Father in spirit? Well, we have already said that God cannot be confined 172 00:20:21,380 --> 00:20:28,380 to a building. The purpose of the Old Testament tabernacle and later the temple, the purpose 173 00:20:28,380 --> 00:20:35,380 of the Old Testament ritual and ceremony was simply to stimulate and to focus worship. 174 00:20:35,380 --> 00:20:41,380 That is why there were times when God told the people, don't bring me your sacrifices, 175 00:20:41,380 --> 00:20:50,380 bring me your repentant hearts. God was not as concerned about the ceremony as he was 176 00:20:50,380 --> 00:20:57,380 the heart. He instituted the ceremony. He had them construct the building so that their 177 00:20:57,380 --> 00:21:09,380 focus of worship would be on him. But unfortunately the Jews caused their worship later to focus 178 00:21:09,380 --> 00:21:16,380 on the ritual and the building and forsook the God who instituted it. How capable we 179 00:21:16,380 --> 00:21:25,380 all are of that, of maintaining the form, the outward, the ritual and forsaking the 180 00:21:25,380 --> 00:21:31,380 living worship of the living God. It's true when we come to the Lord's Supper. There 181 00:21:31,380 --> 00:21:40,380 are some people who give an undue emphasis to the elements of the Lord's Supper. There 182 00:21:40,380 --> 00:21:48,380 are those who say that it becomes the body and blood of Christ. There are those who say 183 00:21:48,380 --> 00:21:56,380 that there is some mystical presence with the elements, that Christ is with them in 184 00:21:56,380 --> 00:22:02,380 his body and his blood in some way, though they don't become literally body and blood. 185 00:22:02,380 --> 00:22:06,380 The former position is the one of the Roman Catholic Church. The latter position is the 186 00:22:06,380 --> 00:22:11,380 Lutheran position. One is called transubstantiation, which means that these elements are changed 187 00:22:11,380 --> 00:22:17,380 into the body and the blood of Christ. The other is consubstantiation, which means that 188 00:22:17,380 --> 00:22:25,380 he is present with these elements in some mystical sense that is rather undefinable. 189 00:22:25,380 --> 00:22:30,380 We believe the Bible teaches neither of these positions, but that rather the Bible says 190 00:22:30,380 --> 00:22:39,380 that these elements are only elements. These elements are given to us so that our focus 191 00:22:39,380 --> 00:22:46,380 may be upon Jesus Christ. We don't want to focus upon what we are doing to the exclusion 192 00:22:46,380 --> 00:22:52,380 of the Lord. Rather, we want to allow these elements to bring us into his presence in 193 00:22:52,380 --> 00:23:01,380 a very special sense so that we remember him as he commanded us to. God intends for this 194 00:23:01,380 --> 00:23:09,380 to prod and to stimulate the heart to worship. He says, this do in remembrance of me. In 195 00:23:09,380 --> 00:23:15,380 other words, what we are about to do tonight is to cause us to remember him, to concentrate 196 00:23:15,380 --> 00:23:24,380 our focus upon him, to worship him. We worship not in rituals or in ceremonies or in symbols. 197 00:23:24,380 --> 00:23:30,380 We do not worship in a temple. We do not come to a church building because God is here, 198 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:38,380 but rather we are to worship in spirit. That suggests, says John MacArthur, that God is 199 00:23:38,380 --> 00:23:46,380 to be worshiped everywhere at all times by his people. We don't have to be here to worship. 200 00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:51,380 We may worship anywhere and at all times. If the day should come, God forbid, that in 201 00:23:51,380 --> 00:23:58,380 this land we would lose our freedom of worship. We might as well gather under a tree somewhere 202 00:23:58,380 --> 00:24:04,380 and worship there. God will be just as present in that case without the organ and the piano 203 00:24:04,380 --> 00:24:10,380 and the pews and the roof as he is present with us now. Because he is present as we gather 204 00:24:10,380 --> 00:24:19,380 together. We are his temple. We are to worship in spirit. And we are to be careful as we 205 00:24:19,380 --> 00:24:26,380 come to ceremony. We come to elements like this. Not to focus upon them as an end in 206 00:24:26,380 --> 00:24:31,380 themselves, but to allow these things to bring us into the presence of the living Christ 207 00:24:31,380 --> 00:24:40,380 as we focus on him. And then he says we are to worship not only in spirit, but in truth. 208 00:24:40,380 --> 00:24:47,380 I believe what that means is that the true worshiper recognizes the truth about himself 209 00:24:47,380 --> 00:24:57,380 and God. I believe that this Samaritan woman was short on both counts here. Her worship 210 00:24:57,380 --> 00:25:04,380 was not one in spirit. She wanted to argue about where to worship. Whether in this mountain, 211 00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:13,380 Mount Gerizim to the Samaritans, or in that mountain in Jerusalem. She was hung up on 212 00:25:13,380 --> 00:25:19,380 the place. And so Jesus says if you are going to truly worship the Father, you have to worship 213 00:25:19,380 --> 00:25:29,380 in spirit. And then she wanted to look over her sin. To put it under the rug so to speak. 214 00:25:29,380 --> 00:25:35,380 As she talked about worshiping God. It was a matter of an intellectual conversation. 215 00:25:35,380 --> 00:25:40,380 She didn't want to go much deeper than that. The ritual was fine to talk about, but that 216 00:25:40,380 --> 00:25:47,380 was the farthest she wanted to go. Nonetheless Jesus said go call your husband. And immediately 217 00:25:47,380 --> 00:25:57,380 he unmasked her hypocrisy. The truth was revealed. And so then she could become a candidate 218 00:25:57,380 --> 00:26:05,380 as she faced herself and she faced God for being a true worshiper. For a true worshiper 219 00:26:05,380 --> 00:26:13,380 worships in spirit and in truth. One who worships God today must worship in truth. Men attempt 220 00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:20,380 to put God on their own level. Sometimes we do that too, don't we? Sometimes read Psalm 221 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:29,380 51 and notice what God says to his people in that psalm. It condemns the outward. It 222 00:26:29,380 --> 00:26:38,380 condemns the ritual. The superficial religion. God expresses his concern there about those 223 00:26:38,380 --> 00:26:46,380 who talk about his covenant and yet who deny him in the way that they live. And he says 224 00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:54,380 to his people, your folly is that you thought that I was just like you. You thought that 225 00:26:54,380 --> 00:26:59,380 you could live like you wanted to and that I would accept that. He condemns them for 226 00:26:59,380 --> 00:27:07,380 that attitude. And men today still attempt to create God in their own image. But God 227 00:27:07,380 --> 00:27:15,380 demands that true worshipers see him as he really is. That they learn the truth about 228 00:27:15,380 --> 00:27:22,380 him. And how is he? What is the truth about God? The fact is that he is glorious in his 229 00:27:22,380 --> 00:27:33,380 holiness. Perhaps that is the brightest diamond of all of God's attributes. God's holiness. 230 00:27:33,380 --> 00:27:39,380 Worship brings a confrontation with sin in my life. I believe that is what Jesus did 231 00:27:39,380 --> 00:27:47,380 with this woman. He confronted her with her sin. And when I come to worship God day in 232 00:27:47,380 --> 00:27:54,380 and day out, as I meet with you for corporate worship, it brings me into a confrontation 233 00:27:54,380 --> 00:28:00,380 with sin in my life. And I see myself as I really am. That is what happened to Isaiah, 234 00:28:00,380 --> 00:28:07,380 isn't it? As he was confronted with who God really is, he saw himself as he really 235 00:28:07,380 --> 00:28:17,380 was. And he fell on his face and cried out, woe is me. I am an unclean man. Wasn't that 236 00:28:17,380 --> 00:28:24,380 Job's experience as well? He says, I have heard of you with the hearing of my ear, but 237 00:28:24,380 --> 00:28:34,380 now my eye has seen you. Wherefore I retract myself and I repent in dust and ashes. What 238 00:28:34,380 --> 00:28:41,380 happened to Job? He saw himself as he really was. You see, worship does that when we worship 239 00:28:41,380 --> 00:28:49,380 in truth. And so the genuine, the true worshipper sees God as he is and sees himself as he the 240 00:28:49,380 --> 00:28:56,380 worshipper really is. And that brings him to a point of genuine worship. As we come 241 00:28:56,380 --> 00:29:04,380 to the Lord's table tonight, that should be our experience. Having worshipped with God 242 00:29:04,380 --> 00:29:09,380 through this week and having met together in the fellowship of worship on this Lord's 243 00:29:09,380 --> 00:29:18,380 Day, we now come to the Lord's table when we will be brought to a realization of the 244 00:29:18,380 --> 00:29:26,380 price that was paid for our redemption from sin. And we see the holiness of God as it 245 00:29:26,380 --> 00:29:36,380 is reflected in these elements. His holiness demanding a perfect sacrifice for our sin. 246 00:29:36,380 --> 00:29:43,380 That sacrifice being the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, as 247 00:29:43,380 --> 00:29:50,380 we come to this table, we see ourselves as we really are. As needy people. People who 248 00:29:50,380 --> 00:29:57,380 by the grace of God have been justified and redeemed. But people nonetheless who need 249 00:29:57,380 --> 00:30:06,380 cleansing in our daily walk. This is a good time for us to examine ourselves as we are 250 00:30:06,380 --> 00:30:12,380 commanded in scripture. So that as we come to this table, we come with prepared hearts 251 00:30:12,380 --> 00:30:19,380 so that we may be true worshipers. Let's bow together. 252 00:30:19,380 --> 00:30:29,380 Heavenly Father, help us to be true worshipers. To understand what that means as we meditate 253 00:30:29,380 --> 00:30:39,380 on it. Then to practice true worship. We confess that so often our worship revolves around 254 00:30:39,380 --> 00:30:47,380 place. It revolves around material things, even like these elements that we're about 255 00:30:47,380 --> 00:30:58,380 to partake of. Teach us what it means to worship in spirit. And then teach us what it means 256 00:30:58,380 --> 00:31:08,380 to worship in truth. Cause us to see you as you really are, glorious in holiness. And 257 00:31:08,380 --> 00:31:14,380 deliver us from self deceit so that we may see ourselves as we really are. Allow that 258 00:31:14,380 --> 00:31:26,380 then to bring us into confession and humility before you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 259 00:31:26,380 --> 00:31:53,380 As the men come and as we prepare for this time, I'm going to ask you just to sit and 260 00:31:53,380 --> 00:31:56,380 pray.