Worship Distinguished

I believe John 4:20-24 is the most significant New Testament passage on the subject of worship - so we must understand its truths.

Our text is a conversation between the woman of Samaria and our Lord Jesus Christ. She says, "Our fathers worshiped 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 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: (italics added). The word "worship" appears eight times in this passage. Therefore, it is essential that we understand what our Lord is saying here.

Most people go to church for what they can get. Some people just check out the church page in their newspaper to see who's playing where on a given Sunday, and go for what will appeal to them or "bless" them. Well, if you go to church just for what you can get out of the music, or what you can get out of the sermon, or just to get blessed, you've missed the point. The music and the sermon aren't ends in themselves, they are but stimuli to cause you to worship God. And if you have any thought less than that, you've missed the point!

We go to church to worship God, and that's done by giving, not getting. We go to offer something to Him, not to receive from Him. Granted, if we offer to Him the praise due His name, we will receive at His hand. There is blessing in giving, for the Lord is quoted as saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35b). So, worship is giving to God, not getting.

Do you worship when you go to church? Is that what's in your mind? Do you prepare your heart for worship? When you are getting dressed, or when you are in your car on your way to church, is your heart eager to worship God? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? Well, if you haven't, I'm going to force you to do so in these chapters. In fact, my purpose is to force you to make a decision about whether you're going to worship God or not. My objective is to make you think, first of all, about what worship is; second, whether you're doing it or not; and third, if not - will you? And if you won't, then you're going to have to deny what the Bible says. I want to force you into a corner where you have no other alternative than to do what God says, or not do what God says, and know clearly what you've done

Worship Defined

What is worship? Let me give you a definition: Worship is "honor paid to a superior being." It means "to give homage, honor, reverence, respect, adoration, praise, or glory to a superior being." In Scripture, the word is used indiscriminately to refer to the homage given to idols, material things, or to the true God. So the word in itself is not a holy word, it only describes honor given   to a superior being.

Essentially, then, worship is giving - giving honor and respect to God. That is why we, as Christians, gather together on Sunday. We don't gather to give respect to the preacher or those in the choir, we gather to give honor to God. The sermon and the music are just to be the stimuli that create the desire in our hearts to honor Him.

Worship Depicted

Let me illustrate this idea of worship.

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