Do you go to church to worship, or do you bring it with you? Listen to Adrian Rogers.
Now, friend, worship goes beyond the church service. Worship goes beyond music. Worship goes beyond if you’re in a liturgical church, candles and incense.
You show me how you worship, and I will tell you what God is worth to you. If your worship is not true worship, you have a low estimation of God. Worship is all that we are, responding to all that God is, revealed in Jesus Christ.
Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the real truth of the gospel, presented in the timeless teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We were created to worship God. It is life’s greatest privilege and supreme duty to worship Him.
It is the act of worship and coming together as a worshiping church that transforms our lives from monotonous to momentous. If you have your Bible, turn to John chapter 4 as Adrian Rogers shares this profound message, A Worshipping Church.
Take God’s Word, John chapter 4, and look if you will in verse 23. Jesus said, But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshipers 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.
Now, we’re going to revisit this morning a passage of scripture that I’ve shared with you down through the years. Over and over again, it is a pivotal passage, and it is a basic passage on worship. Ask you a question.
What is life’s highest good? Is it service? That’s wonderful.
Is it sacrifice? Indeed, that is glorious. But church, you listen to me, the bottom line…
Are you listening? Of all of life, life’s ultimate priority, life’s highest good, life’s supreme duty, life’s greatest privilege is worship. I want that to be riveted in your heart.
I’m not just talking to you rhetoric. I’m talking about, to you, something that is transformational, something that will change your Christian life from the monotonous to the momentous. I’m talking to you about something that will free you and something that will fulfill you, something that will glorify God through you, something that will give you great joy.
Now, this is a marvelous chapter, this 4th chapter of John. Jesus is on a journey, and the Bible says he must needs go through Samaria. Now, that was not the easiest way.
Now, that was the mountainous way. If he’d wanted to take the easiest way, he would have gone down the… alongside the River Jordan.
I’ve made both trips many times. But Jesus must needs go through Samaria. Now, the Samaritans were left over from the exile, and they intermarried, and the Jews thought of them as a mongrel race, and looked down upon them, and the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans.
The Samaritans were hostile to the Jews, and vice versa. But now, Jesus is going through Samaria, and in the middle of the day, he’s hot, tired, worn. He’s sitting on the curbing of a well.
It’s called the Well of Jacob, or Jacob’s Well. It’s a deep well. I’ve drunk water out of that well.
It goes way down deep. You can take some water and pour it, and wait a long time before you hear it splash in the bottom. Now, that well is still there today.
And Jesus was sitting on the curbing, the parapet, around that well. The disciples had gone into the city to get some food because it was lunch and they were hungry, and there was not a McDonald’s in sight. And so they’d gone into the city to buy food.
And this woman comes out there. Now, this woman was what we would call a shady lady. She’s the shady lady of Samaria.
She has been married five times. Today, we’d give her an Academy Award. She’d been married five times, and now she’s living with a man without even the benefit of a marriage ceremony.
And she comes out there, not when the other women came out to draw water because they would look down upon her, maybe spit on her. So she comes out there by herself to draw water. And Jesus is there, and Jesus says to her, would you give me a drink of water?
She said, how is it that you, being a Jew, would speak to me of Samaritan and ask of me of water? He said, well, if you knew who was talking to you, you’d ask him and he’d give you living water. She said, what do you mean living water?
You don’t have anything to draw with. The well is deep. And Jesus now begins to speak to this thirsty woman about real living water.
A drink that would satisfy her forever and ever and ever and ever because Jesus Christ is what every soul thirsts for. He’s the water of light. Look at this poor woman.
There she was bound by sin. She’d gone from husband to husband to husband. And she got deeper and deeper into sin.
The cords of sin had bound her. Not only was she bound by sin, but she was blinded by Satan. She didn’t know the way out.
She had religion, but religion was a washout to her. It had not satisfied her hungry, thirsty soul bound by sin, blinded by Satan, and broken by sorrow. Think of this woman.
Think how pitiful her life was. Jesus’ heart went out to her in compassion as he goes out to you in compassion. And this woman needed to lift her eyes from the things of this earth and learn how to worship.
And so Jesus teaches her now about worship. And Jesus said, God is spirit, not a spirit. The King James says a spirit, but may be better translated.
May God is spirit. And they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Three things I want you to learn about worship today.
May God the Holy spirit impress them upon your soul or rivet them into your consciousness and cause you to remember them forever and ever. first of all, I want you to see what I’m going to call the meaning of true worship, the meaning of true worship. Now this woman knew about worship, but she didn’t understand true worship.
Look if you will in verses 19 and 20. The woman saith unto him, sir, I perceive thou art a prophet. Our fathers worship in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Now what she wants to do is to get up a discussion about worship. She didn’t know anything about real worship, but she knew about religion. As I said, religion had been a washout to her.
Now what she wants to do right now is to argue about religion, to argue about worship. You Jews say that Jerusalem is the place to worship. We say here in Samaria, our mountain is the place to worship.
Now if you’re a prophet, you tell me which is the right place to worship. Now I want you to see the tension that was here. You remember, obviously, the Jews and the Samaritans are not getting along.
Now the Samaritans worshiped in ignorance and zeal. Now notice what Jesus said. Look down in verse 22.
Ye worship, ye know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. The Samaritans worshiped in ignorance, but they worshiped in zeal.
As a matter of fact, I have been to Samaria. There’s still a group of Samaritans to this day who have the five books of Moses and an ancient scroll. I’ve seen it.
The Samaritans had rejected all of the Bible, all of the Old Testament, except for the five books of Moses. And they were so certain that they knew the truth. They were so certain that their worship was the right worship, and nobody else’s worship was the right worship.
So what they had was zeal and ignorance. May I tell you that today the world is saturated with that? It’s not that people don’t worship.
Oh, they have zeal, but it’s ignorant worship. Do you know what a fanatic is? Somebody who has lost his direction and doubles his speed.
That’s what these Samaritans were doing.
Jesus said, You’re worshiping in ignorance. You don’t know what you are worshiping.
Now, that’s the Samaritans. What about the Jews? While the Samaritans had ignorance and zeal, the Jews had the truth, but they didn’t have any zeal.
The Jews had dead orthodoxy. I would reference to you Mark chapter 7 and verse 6. Jesus is speaking to them.
He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but the heart is far from me. Now, over here, you have ignorant zeal. Over here, you have dead orthodoxy.
Now, that’s the other part of the world today. Some people are worshiping with ignorant zeal and others with dead orthodoxy. Some frying fanaticism and some freeze informalism.
But they don’t have the vitality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, folks, listen. The answer here is not formalism or fanaticism.
It is true worship. True worship. We don’t have to have enthusiastic heresy.
We don’t have to have lifeless orthodoxy. We don’t have to have heat without light or light without heat. We need true worship.
You know, it’ll be a great day in your life. It’ll be a great day in any church when you stop enduring religion and start enjoying true worship. I want you to understand this, folks.
This is the bottom line. This is the highest good. This is the ultimate privilege to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Now, look again, if you will, in verse 23. Jesus said to this woman, The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers, underscore that, the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Now, look at that word, worship.
Do you see it? That word comes from really two words, worth and ship.
You see, worship deals with worth.
You show me how you worship, and I will tell you what God is worth to you.
You show me how you worship.
And my dear friend, I’ll tell you what you think of God. If your worship is not true worship, you have a low estimation of God. Worship is all that we are, responding to all that God is, revealed in Jesus Christ.
That’s what worship is. Now, friend, worship goes beyond a church service. Worship goes beyond music.
Worship goes beyond if you’re in a liturgical church, candles and incense.
Again, I want to tell you that worship is all that you are, responding to all that God is.
Now, you’re going to worship something. You see, listen, man is incurably religious. Man has a God-shaped vacuum, and he’s trying to fill that vacuum.
So you’re going to worship something if you don’t worship the true God. You’re going to worship in dead orthodoxy or ignorant zeal. Are you going to worship some idol?
Anything that you love more, fear more, serve more than the Almighty is your idol. Some worship images. There is no image, no likeness that you can use as a substitute for God.
Isaiah chapter 40 verse 25, To whom then will ye liken me? Or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One? Now, what is the meaning of true worship?
It is worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Now, secondly, what is the motive of true worship? Why do we do this?
Look again in verse 23, but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. If you don’t mind marking your Bible, mark the word spirit and mark the word truth. Then it goes on to say, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Now, why would we worship? Because that’s what God seeks. That’s what God seeks.
That’s what God wants of you.
Save yourself, God wants me to worship.
The Father seeks that. For two major reasons. Reason number one is for what worship does for the worshiper.
What worship will do to you. You see, we become like what we worship. That’s the reason idolatry is such a sin.
first the man molds the idol, and then the idol molds the man. We become like what we worship. Now, that’s true in the negative sense.
It’s also true in the positive sense. The more you worship God, the more you will become like God. As you contemplate the Lord, as you worship the Lord, as you keep your heart open to the Lord, you will be changed more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
But not only for what worship does for us, but because of what God desires for himself. God desires worship for himself. The need for worship is rooted in the very nature of God.
How did Jesus describe God in this passage on worship? Listen very carefully, and don’t miss this. The Father seeketh such to worship him.
You see, God wants us to worship, first of all, because what worship does for us, it changes us. And then what worship does for God, it gives him pleasure. The Father seeketh such to worship him.
A Father wants love. Now, let’s move to the third and final thing. I’ve talked to you about the meaning and the motive.
Let me talk to you about the method of true worship. Look again now in verses 23 and 24, but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him. Now, Jesus is speaking to this woman.
Now, she talks about worship, but she doesn’t have real worship. It is ignorant worship. What is the method of true worship?
Jesus said, we’re to worship in spirit. He’s not talking about the Holy spirit. He’s talking about the human spirit.
That is, worship comes out of the inner man. Romans chapter 1 and verse 9, Paul said, for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit. He’s talking about the human spirit.
Now, the human spirit cannot worship unless it is enjoined with the Holy spirit. But God the Holy spirit comes into the human spirit to help us to worship. That’s the reason you have to be saved and spirit-filled to truly worship.
Now, if you’re having trouble worshiping, may I tell you what your problem is? It’s in your spirit. If you get bored in church, the problem is your inner spirit.
Listen, friend, when you get your heart right, a service is not going to be boring. You’ve never been in a boring worship service. There is no such thing.
You worship in spirit and then you worship in truth. Now, worship that is not built on truth is not true worship. Worship built on truth goes beyond spirit.
It goes beyond subjectivism. Psalm 145 verse 18, The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. Your worship of God will never rise above your knowledge based on truth.
Some people say, well, what are we going to have today? Are we going to have a Bible study or a worship service? Yes.
Some people think, well, when we sing and pray and praise and fellowship, that’s worship. Friend, the preaching of the Word of God is worship. We worship God in truth.
And if we don’t do that, the church becomes syrupy. It becomes subjective rather than objective. Psalm 47 verse 7, For God is the King of all the earth.
Sing ye praises with understanding. That’s spirit, and that is truth. If you have all emotionalism, you blow up.
If you have all truth, you dry up. But if you have spirit and truth, you grow up.
Jesus said we’re to worship in spirit and in truth. Jesus gave us the great commandment, and it deals with worship. Mark 12, verse 30.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God… Now listen… .with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.
This is the first commandment. Remember I said, what is the highest good? What is the bottom line?
What is the ultimate privilege? Here Jesus is saying it so clearly. We’re to love God.
How are we going to love Him? I want you to write down four words and put them in your purse, your pocketbook, your shirt pocket, and carry them with you this week. The first word is passionately.
We’re to love our God passionately. That is, with all of our heart, as much as in us is. Half-hearted worship is an insult to Almighty God.
Does God have all of your heart? Passionately. Number two, you’re to love Him selflessly.
With all of your soul, the soul is the self. You’re not to be self-centered. We’re to serve Him selflessly.
When you take your mind off of yourself and put your mind on God, stop saying, What am I going to get? And begin to say, What am I going to give? The church is transformed into a worshiping church.
And we are to love Him thoughtfully, with all of our heart. A full heart is no excuse for an empty head. Serve the Lord with knowledge and wisdom.
Love Him in spirit and in truth. And then we’re to love Him practically, with all of our strength.
Everything we do, whatever you do in word or deed, do all to the glory of God.
What is worship? It’s giving God glory. There is no place that is not a holy place.
There is no ground that is not sacred ground. There is no time that should not be a time of worship. So when we come to church, to the worship service, we don’t come merely to worship.
Listen, church, we bring our worship to church. Remember what I told you, that you worship in spirit, and you cannot worship in spirit unless you’re first born again. To be born again means to be saved.
It means to have Christ in your heart and have you receive him into your heart by faith. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Believe that Jesus Christ paid your sin debt with his shed blood on the cross.
Believe that God raised him from the dead to show that he is the son of God. Believe that he can save you, wants to save you, and will save you if you trust him. And then trust him with a childlike faith.
Don’t ask for any special feeling. Don’t ask for a vision. Just put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust him to save you. Father God, I pray now that many in this building will give their hearts to Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
Do you agree with what Pastor Adrian Rogers said just now? If you want to give your heart and life to Jesus Christ, pray something like this from your heart. Oh, God in heaven, I agree with you today.
You are holy. I’m not. My sin separates me from you.
But Jesus died in my place. He shed his blood on the cross, and you raised him from the dead to prove that he is the son of God. And right now, I ask you to come into my heart and life, change me from the inside out, transform me through the power of Jesus Christ.
I pray today, in His name, Amen. Well if you prayed a prayer like that from your heart just now, we’d love to celebrate with you. Go to our Find God’s Love page at the website, where you’ll find answers you may need about your newfound faith.
Go to lwf.org/radio, and click the tab that says Find God’s Love. Welcome to His Forever Family. We can’t wait to hear from you today.
Now if you’d like to order a copy of today’s message, in its entirety, call us at 1-877-LOVE-GOD. Mention the title, A Worshipping Church. You can also order online, or you can write us at LWF, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee, 38183.
The ultimate privilege is to love God and worship Him in spirit and truth. Today love Him passionately with all your heart, selflessly with all your soul, and thoughtfully with all your mind. And join us next time for more from Adrian Rogers, right here on Love Worth Finding.
We were so encouraged by a message from an international listener who said this, The program is so edifying for me and my family. Since listening, I’ve accepted and recognized how I can be a better mother and a prayerful wife. Now, by the grace of God, my husband also listens to the program.
Every day, we are trying to give priority to the word of God and lead our family. God bless you. Well, here at Love Worth Finding, we are passionate about helping believers cultivate a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.
And to thank you for your gift of support right now, we’d love to send you a copy of the new book, A Final Charge to the Church. Though the messenger is gone, his message continues. This book contains transcripts from the final series that Pastor Rogers preached from the pulpit in hopes that we’ll go forward together as a unified church to conquer new ground for Jesus Christ.
Request a copy when you call 1-877-LOVE-GOD.
