David Alsobrook - True worship

True Worship

David Alsobrook

True Worship

"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou has well said, I have no husband: For thou has had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he" (John 4:7-26).

When Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman He stressed that worship should not be associated with a place as much as it should be connected with a Person. The way we are to worship that Person, Jesus taught her, is in spirit and in truth.

Jesus struck down the idea of conventional worship with a place when He said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father." That is to say, "the hour is coming when you are not going to associate worship with a mountain of Samaria or a city of Israel. You are not going to think of worship in connection with a geographical place, or with a building. You are simply going to worship the Father regardless of the physical surroundings."

"But the hour cometh, and NOW IS, when the TRUE WORSHIPPERS shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him." What truly matters is not where you worship, but who and how you worship Him.

As in the past, many people presently associate worship with a geographical location. One is often asked, "WHERE do you worship?" And expressions such as "I worship at such and such a church" are often heard. When confronted with her sin by divine revelation, the Samaritan woman turned to religion in her conversation with Christ in an attempt to sidestep the issue of personal sin. She, as many people will do today when under conviction for their sins, tried to begin an argument with a Jew on the right mountain at which to exercise worship. Her reply to Jesus' disclosure was, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.' Often I've been told, "My parents raised me in the Baptist church; where do you attend church?"

No small wonder Jesus told her that she, as well as the rest of Samaria, did not know what they were worshipping! "Ye worship ye know not what...." How true that is of many denominations that claim the name of Jesus today. At the door of the building, one is handed a rundown of the events of the coming hour even to the closing prayer! She was correct in asserting that the Jews associated the city of Jerusalem with the PLACE men should worship. External formalism and outward correctness had replaced heart-felt sincerity in the worship of the unseen God in Israel. The general thought seemed to be, "Make sure you are in Jerusalem during the Feast Days." They did not know what they were worshipping, but it certainly was not God!

Centuries before, in Isaiah, God reproved the externalities of Israel's religious observances. Yahweh grieved, "... this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me ..." (Isaiah 29:13).

Similarly Amos said that Israel went to the house of God in order to sin! "Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning ..." (Amos 4:4).

Carnal Christians, if such a creature truly exists, do the same thing today as history repeats itself with attendance contests, social parties, and preachers who clown (or is it clowns who preach?). In a vain attempt to entertain the personality-conscious church crowd, how much true worship is offered to the invisible God in the charismatic/pentecostal realm? Our heavenly Father desires His children to worship Him in reality with hearts of sincere love and devotion to Him.

Our English word "worship" is actually a contracted form of an earlier word "worthship." Although the "th" has been dropped from the word due to its awkwardness of pronunciation, the beauty of the thought remains. Please ask yourself before reading further: "Do I show God His worth to me when I worship Him?" There are definite patterns of true worship revealed to us in the Word of God. As we yield to the Holy Spirit we receive power to worship God. Are you willing to yield your whole being to the Holy Spirit, to worship the Father in any form of praise the Scripture enjoins?

I am not speaking of the forms of men's vanity, but the forms or expressions to worship God which are found in His Word.

Jesus told the woman at the well to worship God in truth. Later in John's Gospel He prayed to the Father to sanctify the disciples with truth adding, "... thy word is truth" (John 17:17). We are to worship God according to the Bible pattern; not according to a form of godliness that denies the power of true godliness.

Twice Jesus affirmed that true worshippers worship "in spirit and in truth." In my opinion the "in spirit" of true worship is the FLOW in worship. The "in truth" of true worship is the FORM in worship. We must have both the flow and the form if our worship is to produce light much in the same way as the light that fills your home at night. It requires a "flow" of electrical current together with the proper "form" of electrical wiring and facility. Take away either one and the lights will go off. Worse yet, take away the form but keep the flow and you will be calling the fire department!

We have beseeched the throne, "Lord send the fire, send the power, pour out the Spirit," etc. God has mercifully answered these requests many times only to see His power dissipate into wasteful displays of fleshly excesses. It often happens that a

"vessel" explodes because it is not purged and prepared to carry the power of God.

Even as the electrical wiring contains the proper form to conduct electricity, likewise the Word of God contains the proper pattern to channel the moving of the Spirit. When Jesus fed the multitude He did not instruct His disciples to leave the remainder of the feast for the birds and ants. We sing "He's more than enough" thinking that what is left over is to be left behind.