Welcome to our time of worship. It's great to be able to do this again and so as we come now let's just bow before our God and ask for his grace upon us as we seek his face. I'm going to begin our time together reading from Psalm 95 verses 1 to 6. Psalm 95 verses 1 to 6. Let us hear God's word. O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth. The peaks of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for it was he who made it. and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker. Well, let us draw near to our God together in prayer. Let's pray. Oh our wonderful Father, we desire to come today to worship and to bow down before you because you are so great, you are so powerful, you are so wise, but also Lord because you are so merciful and loving and forgiving toward us. Lord, we ask that you would please draw very close to us. We seek you. And we ask that we all would be aware of your presence as we approach you today. And may you grant to us a heart of worship. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Let us come and sing together a wonderful hymn that expresses something of the greatness of our God, how great thou art. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder I've heard throughout the universe display Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art When through the woods and forest plains I wander I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees From lofty mountain grandeur And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze Then sings my soul and my Saviour God to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul and my Saviour God to Thee And when I think that God, His Son not bearing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee When Christ shall come with shouts of acclamation And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow in humble adoration Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art We're going to come now to a time of confession. So let us bow before our God and humble ourselves in his presence. Let's pray. Our God, we humble ourselves before you. We're aware, Lord, of our many failings. We're aware that each one of us falls short of Your glory, that we've disobeyed You, that we've done that which is not pleasing in Your sight. And Father, we ask that You would again extend Your forgiveness toward us. We have confidence, our God, that You will because you sent your Son into this world so that we might be forgiven. Lord we pray that you would encourage us today, lift up our heads, fill our hearts with hope and we ask that in all these things your wonderful name may be glorified. We pray in Jesus name, Amen. We're going to read now from Luke 24, as we hear our assurance of God's pardoning grace toward us. Luke 24, 46 to 47, Jesus said these words, Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning at Jerusalem. What a wonderful, amazing truth this is. That just after Jesus had risen from the dead, he told his disciples to go out and proclaim that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be announced to all the nations. That is why Jesus came, so that you and I could find forgiveness. Let us place our full confidence in Him alone. Let's sing together our next hymn, And Can It Be. And Can It Be And can it be that I should gain An interest in the Savior's blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love, how can it be That Christ my God should die for me? Amazing love, how can it be That Christ my God should die for me? He left his father's throne above, So free, so infinite his grace. Emptied himself of all but love, And bled for Adam's helpless grace. What mercy this, immense and free! For O my God, it found out me! What mercy this, immense and free! For O my God, it found out me! Long my imprisoned spirit lay As bound in sin and nature's night Your sunrise turned that night to day I woke the dungeon flamed with light My chains fell off, your voice I knew. I rose, went out, and followed you. My chains fell off, your voice I knew. I rose, went out, and followed you. No condemnation now, O I dread, Jesus, and Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine. Old I approach the eternal throne, Let's draw near to God now in a time of prayer. Let's again with joy seek His face. Oh, our God, we humble ourselves before you. For surely there is none like you. Father, we pray that you may again be merciful to us and be near us. Oh, how we long for your nearness. The nearness of our God is our good. And we long, Father, to know more of your love, more of your acceptance in Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you for the Lord's Day. We thank you for the opportunity to come into your presence and to worship you. We thank you that you desire to meet with us You've set aside a day that we might come and spend time with You and enjoy You. Oh Lord, may You indeed be known by us today. Father, we thank You for how You've provided for us. You've given us all things. You have given us life. You've given us breath. You've fed us. You've given us shelter. You've given us families. You've given us every good thing that we enjoy. And we praise you for it, Lord. And so we do not come before you today grumbling and complaining and focusing on those things that we lack. We confess together that we deserve nothing. The only thing we can claim before you as our right is that we be judged for our sins. And so, Lord, we come humbly before you with a grateful heart, even while acknowledging that things in our lives, some things, are challenging. Father, we pray that you would continue to uphold us, continue to provide for us, continue to sustain us in these days. Our God, we have much need. Lord, we have need of your protection, not only for ourselves but our families, particularly we think of those that are elderly and of ill health. We think of their needs in this time when the risk of getting this virus would be greater. We just commit them into your hands and ask for your mercy. We think of all of those that are sick, not just in this country but all over this world. And Father, we think of their needs. We pray, Lord, for those particularly whose lives are threatened. We long that they would hear the message of Christ. Father, we know that life here is brief. Life here is uncertain. And that's true of every one of us. And we only have a brief time to come to know Him who is life. And so Father we would ask for your great mercy for your message to go out to these people and that many may hear and believe and be saved. We pray for our family members in particular. I'm sure all of us have family members who do not know you and our hearts break for them. Father we know that they are under your wrath right now and justly for they have turned their back upon you and they have done things that they know to be wrong and it is right that you judge them. Father, we ask for them and plead with you for your mercy to be extended to these also. Lord, we don't ask as if they have any right to your mercy, just as we have no right to your mercy. For then it is no longer mercy. Lord, we ask you because you're kind and you're gracious and you do delight in bestowing mercy on those who have no claims upon it. We ask that you would help us as believers to be bearing a clear testimony to your grace in our lives, that we would present ourselves to the world as children of God, not as sons and daughters of this age, but of those that belong to heaven. Help us, Lord, to live a distinct life, not to be influenced and moulded by this world, but to live according to your word, to live in obedience to your commands. and to show ourselves as people alive from the dead. Oh Lord, we ask that you may continue, Lord, your work in us. We pray, Father, that you would change us, that you would transform us, We pray for the work of Your Holy Spirit within us. We pray that He would be using Your Word and prayer as we draw near to You. We pray that Your Word would be powerful in our hearts, bringing about change, changing our very thinking. As Paul said that we're not conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Lord may these minds of ours be renewed. Lord we ask that you would be with your church It is so difficult and challenging for us to be a church, a spiritual family, when we are separated from each other. We pray that this time would not be to the detriment of the body of Christ, but that we would actually experience your blessing and our binding together, and that there would be a renewed commitment to each other. that we would be more earnest in prayer for each other, more diligent in contacting one another and seeking to be involved in each other's lives. So Lord we pray for your great mercy. And Father we must pray for our nation and our leaders what wisdom they need, and we pray that you would guide them. And we do ask, Father, that this nation may be humbled. That we might be brought low from our great pride and self-sufficiency. Indeed, Lord, we have shut you out of our lives. We have thought that we could live by our own strength and wisdom. But as we can see now through this virus, that is a myth. We need You, the Living God. You're in control of this world, not us. We are frail, we are feeble, we are easily brought low. We ask that we would learn to come and cast ourselves upon You. And so Lord, look with favour upon us, have mercy, we ask. bring this nation to its knees that it might call upon your name. Lord, we thank you for our time and we pray that you would continue with us throughout this time of worship. May it be to your glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to come now to the reading of scripture and our first passage is from Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 1 and we're going to read verses 10 to 20 and I chose this passage because in a moment we are going to look at the topic of worship. And here is one passage among many in the Old Testament where God expresses his attitude toward the worship of many of the Israelites in Isaiah's day. So let us read and consider this passage together. Isaiah chapter 1 verses 10 to 20. Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. What are your multiplied sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires of you this trampling of my courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer. Incense is an abomination to me. New Moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Reprove the ruthless. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Let's sing a fitting hymn now in light of what we've just read, but also as we come to God's word. The hymn is, God has spoken by his prophets. God has spoken by his prophets, spoken his unchanging word. Each from age to age proclaiming, God the one, the righteous Lord. In the world's despair and turmoil, one among her still holds fast. God has spoken by Christ Jesus, Christ the everlasting Son. Brightness of the Father's glory, with the Father ever one. Spoken by the Word incarnate, long before all time began. Light of light to earth descending, man revealing God to man. ♪ God is speaking by his Spirit ♪ Speaking to the hearts of men ♪ In the age long word expounding ♪ God's own message now is then ♪ Through the rise and fall of nations ♪ One sure faith is turning fast ♪ God abides, his word unchanging ♪ God the first and God the last Let's come now and pray and ask for God's help as we focus upon his word. Let's pray. God, we do want to be hearers and not hearers only, but also doers. We pray, Father, that you would give us soft and tender hearts now. as we think together about worship. May worship be a passion, something of the utmost concern to us because it is of the utmost concern to you. hear us our God as we consider our passage today we ask in Jesus name Amen let's turn to John John chapter 4 verses 7 to 26 We're not going to examine all of these verses, we're really only just looking at verses 20 to 24. But so that we get the context, I'm going to read from 7 to 26. This is a time when Jesus spoke to a woman at a well. Let's hear God's word together. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. She said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? You are not greater than our father Jacob, are you, who gave us the well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?' Jesus answered and said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw. He said to her, Go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have correctly said I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said truly. The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain. And you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people, the Father seeks to be His worshippers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, he who is called Christ. When that one comes, he will declare all things to us. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. We are not of the world. And there is no more clear demonstration of this than when we are in corporate worship. In corporate worship we come together as citizens of heaven, joining not only with those that we can see here on earth, but with those who have gone before us in heaven. joining with the angelic beings in unison singing praise to our triune God. What we do in corporate worship, we do in the presence of God. We do it through the atoning work and intercession of the Son of God and by the power of the Spirit of God. What we do in worship certainly is not of this earth. It belongs to another realm. And through our worship we say to the world that we do not belong here. This worship that we bring, Lord's Day by Lord's Day, has such a powerful shaping influence upon us. It really is the most important thing we do here on earth and it causes us as we engage in it week by week to look more like those who dwell in heaven and less like those who dwell on earth. But Satan, our great spiritual enemy, knows this. And he has infiltrated the church. And he has corrupted its worship to make even worship to be more of the world and less of heaven. And as a result of this kind of worldly worship, the world is attracted to it and the church gets excited because it brings the world in. But unfortunately such worship does not have a positive shaping influence upon those who engage in it. This I believe has happened in our day and we're in desperate need of reformation. We need to come again to the pages of scripture and understand its teaching concerning this most important activity of life here on earth as indeed in heaven. We need to come again to the pages of scripture and re-evaluate what we're doing when we join together in corporate worship. To help us do that today, we're turning to John chapter 4. And perhaps in this passage is some of the most important teaching of Jesus on this subject. As we work our way through the verses before us, verse 20 to 24, we're going to look at three points. And the first we're going to see from this passage is that some worship is unacceptable to God. Some worship is unacceptable to God. Secondly, we're going to see that God seeks true worshippers. And then lastly we're going to look and examine particularly verse 24 and ask the question, what elements are essential to true worship? And there we have some answers to that question. So let us look then at our first point that some worship is unacceptable to God. Certainly this is true from reading through the Old Testament, but it's seen here in these verses before us. Jesus was talking to a woman. He was a lung. He was talking to her about spiritual things and he pointed out to her that she had five husbands and the person that she was living with was not her husband at all and so she changes the subject. She turns to discuss an issue of controversy. Controversy in her own day and it was over worship. Controversy over worship is not a new thing. The question that she had, the question of controversy in her mind was over the right place of worship. She says in verse 20, our fathers worshipped in this mountain and that's the mountain in Samaria, Mount Gerizim. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus then proceeds to answer this question that this woman brought. He answers in two ways. First, I think what he says is that place is not the real issue. Yeah, it is an issue, and the Old Testament does address it, but it's not the real issue. Verse 21, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. He's really, in a sense, diverting her. He's saying that while it was an issue in the Old Testament, a time is coming and now is when it won't be an issue at all. Then he answers her in a second way. And he tells her that she has a bigger issue than the right place of worship. She had not only the wrong place, but much more importantly, she had the wrong God, or at least the wrong idea of God. Listen to what Jesus says, verse 22. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. So Jesus says that the worship that she is bringing is ignorant worship. She does not really know the God that she professes to worship. And it's interesting what Jesus says here. He doesn't say, well, you're not doing too bad. I can see that you're sincere. You're not far off. You've just got a few little things wrong. No, he seems to say that the whole of her worship was wrong. You don't know the true and living God. You have not experienced God's salvation and therefore the worship that you bring is unacceptable. The worship that she brought and that indeed the Samaritans as a whole brought was unbiblical. They departed from Old Testament teaching. And that's why he says, I think, salvation is from the Jews. It is only Jewish worship that is sanctioned by God. Although, of course, Jewish worship had its problems. At least to some degree it was based on the teaching of Old Testament scripture. So he says in effect to this woman, you need more than to get the place right. The whole thing is ignorant and therefore worthless. Now of course the way that Jesus dealt with her was exceedingly gentle. He was not harsh with her because in a sense she knew no better. But even so, even though she didn't know any better, still he told her that the worship that she brought was ignorant worship and therefore worthless worship. So we can see from this passage today that some worship is unacceptable to God. Now this is simple and a straightforward point and can be established by so many places in Scripture. But it may seem strange to people today because we live in an age where anything is permissible. that I determine what is right for me, including often worship. We have the attitude that nobody has a right to tell me how I worship. I can worship as seems best to me, as feels relevant to me. But of course worship, biblical worship, doesn't work like that at all. We have so much teaching in the scriptures on right worship. We could almost say that the whole Bible is a worship manual. From cover to cover it teaches us about how to worship God and to worship God rightly. And it also warns us so often about unacceptable worship. Just briefly, I'm going to mention four examples of unacceptable worship in the first four books of the Bible. We're warned about Cain in Genesis 4 and his half-hearted worship. We're also turned to one of the greatest incidents of unacceptable worship, the golden calf in Exodus 32. which was where the people of Israel came to Aaron and they wanted to worship and they wanted Aaron to make a golden calf for them. This is man-centered worship and it was flat-out disobedient worship in direct violation of God's command to make no idols that he'd only recently given to them. In Leviticus chapter 10, we read of Nadab and Abihu. And them bringing to God what might be termed experimental worship. They were trying out a new form of worship. They were messing with the specific recipe for the incense that God commanded to be burned before him and God struck them down dead. And in Numbers 16, there's another example of worship where the sons of Korah brought incense in their bowls before the Lord. They thought it was their right to come and draw near to God just like Aaron did. And so they brought their arrogant or presumptuous worship and they found that it was unacceptable to God. And that is an extreme understatement. And so we have these examples in the first four books, these four massive examples of unacceptable worship. We could say perhaps that the greatest sin in the Old Testament is to worship in the wrong way. It's not irreligion that is presented as the most odious thing to God, but corrupt religion. It angers God, and especially when people ought to know better. We are given so many warnings in the Old Testament and also in the New, because it is our human tendency. It is far more common for us as humans to bring unacceptable worship to God. And certainly we can see Satan behind this. Satan is most certainly not against worship. We can almost say that he's not really even against certain kinds of worship that are directed toward God. In fact, he promotes worship when it's corrupt worship. He infiltrates it, distorts it, perverts it, and encourages us to bring that to God. I suggest that we today also are in danger of this same error. Indeed it is a perennial error that we as the people of God are in danger of committing. And this should be a cause of great concern to us. you're a believer today it should be of the utmost concern to you that God is worshipped rightly and that you or others are not bringing to him unacceptable worship. It hangers God, it displeases him and should also displease us. We can remember that one of the few times that Jesus was exceedingly angry in his earthly ministry was when he went into the temple and saw what was going on there, a place of worship and they were selling things and he drove them out. And so we should be filled with a similar anger, disgust over false worship and distortions of worship and it should lead us to come and examine our own hearts before God and cause us also to return to the scriptures and to examine what it says about the way God should be worshipped. Well secondly, Secondly, we see from our passage today that God seeks true worshippers. God is concerned about worship and he seeks out true worshippers. Verse 23, but an hour is coming and now is when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for such people the Father seeks to be his worshippers. I find this an amazing statement here in verse 23 that the Father seeks worshippers. Not every kind of worshipper of course but true worshippers. The word that Jesus uses here for worship is a word that means to bow down, to bow down, to bow down in reverence and submission. But of course it's not to be restricted to merely outward bodily actions. It really refers to an attitude of the heart that bows down and falls before the living we come in worship before him and we ought to acknowledge him and we ought to see him as supreme and as the one who is so worthy of our praise. This word indicates what really worship is about, he is the focus, it's to bow down before him and the great aim of worship is to honour him. Worship is not about making much of ourselves. It's not about us. Our eyes are drawn away from ourselves and they are placed upon our great God. It's about being awed in His presence. It's overwhelmed with His splendor. This is what worship is. It's an activity that exalts our God and abases man. Man here is brought low, right to the ground. It's as if we cannot get any lower. before this great and splendid God. That's what this word is about, to worship, to bow down. God seeks such people, such worshipers. It's as if he looks out among all the people that might be gathered together in worship services, to look out and to find those who are true worshippers. Now God is not impressed with great crowds, that's not what he seeks. He doesn't seek for large auditoriums with a great number of people singing loudly to his praises. What he's looking for is true worshippers. In ancient Israel, worship was something that went on all the time. Every day they had their sacrifices being brought before the temple. Always the temple was a place of activity. It was often crowded with worshippers. There was so much worship going on. And yet at the same time, as we read through the pages of the Old Testament, we see that not many of them were true worshippers. And perhaps that is the same as it is today. But we must understand that while God does seek worshippers, He only seeks true worshippers. And He only receives the worship of true worshippers. All other worship is ultimately worthless. And so you and I ought to seek to be among that number of true worshippers. Is God seeking you to be his worshipper? Of course we all fail, none fulfill this as we ought. But at least we can glean from this and see that there are some, there are some who offer truly acceptable worship toward God. And he delights in that worship and he delights in them. Are you a true worshipper? Do you want to be? Is that your aim? Do you desire to bring that which is truly worshipped to God? Do you desire to exalt His name, to humble yourself in His presence? Our aim, brothers and sisters, ought to be to bring true worship to God. Worship that can really be called worship. Worship that's of this nature, this bowing down, this humbling ourselves before Almighty God. This worship that is God focused. So much worship it seems to me is nothing of that kind. It is not God exalting and man humbling worship. So much worship, it appears to me, is people-focused. It's all about me and my worship experience. But I must tell you, if that is the case, if that is true, then it is idolatrous worship. That's really the kind of worship that we read so often in the Old Testament, when the people were worshiping Baal. It was people-focused worship. It was about them and what they got out of it. And that's really the nature of worldly worship. Worldly worship. The worship that the people of this world can enjoy and can join in with. But the moment we make worship about us. It is no longer worship. As we've seen, God wants worshippers, not idolaters, who think that what's happening is about them. How many people, and at times we can fall into it, that we want worship to be about us, Maybe we can remember times when we've said things that express this idea, that we want it to be this way or that way. We want the worship change to suit us. We want the music that we like. We want the Bible version that we appreciate. We want the temperature and the seats to be just right. We want the sermon to be the length of what I find helpful. I want, I want, I want. But can we see how wrong that is? Worship isn't about us. It is meant to be about God. And so as we're coming and thinking about worship and how we should worship, the question must not be, what will please people? What will meet the needs of those people that are there? Although I'm not saying we're totally unconcerned about those things, it just must not be the first question we ask. Or about being relevant to people. Who? To people of the world? In many ways worship should not be relevant to the people of this world. It's relevant to the people that don't belong to this world but belong in heaven. attracting newcomers? How do we attract them? Again, we'll end up with worldly worship if we're going down that route. Because worship is not about people in the first instance. We are the ones that bring it, but it's not people focused. It's about bowing down. It's about exalting God and humbling ourselves. All of these answers that I've just brought to the question are all about making much of people, but not about God. And I think that if we assess our worship that goes on, or so-called worship that goes on today, It suggests that most is off track and cannot really be called worship. Brothers and sisters, we must ask the right questions. And I would suggest that the right question is this, what pleases God? what pleases God. You could phrase it in a different way, you could change the words a bit, but in essence that's the question that we need to ask. Because worship is about Him, worship is about making much of Him. And in the end we actually discover that that is what is good for us. Because then in worship, when we are exalting our God and humbling ourselves, we are acknowledging our humanity. There is nothing more human than worship. There is nothing more that expresses our being made in God's image than when we worship. There is nothing better for us, nothing more wholesome, nothing more right than for us to worship, to bow down and to humble ourselves before this great and awesome and kind God. Oh my friends, he seeks worshipers. It's all about him. And as we come with this aim, we are on the right road to bring acceptable worship to him. Well, let us turn to our last point. Our last point. What is essential to true worship? What is essential? Well, of course, as we turn here in our last point, I'm not going to be dealing with all of the particulars about worship, but simply what Jesus teaches us here. These are great principles that need to be fleshed out. I will do so very briefly. What is essential to true worship? Verse 24, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Note the word must in verse 24. Those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. Jesus is saying that this is the only way to render true worship to God. And as we look at what Jesus says here about spirit and truth, there really gives us at least three questions that we can ask of our own worship or of any worship to determine whether this worship is a worship that is acceptable to God. The first question is this, is it spiritual? Is it spiritual? We must worship in spirit. Now as we come to this word here, there is some ambiguity. My version that I'm using here has spirit with a lower case s, which indicates that the translators believed it was speaking about our human spirit. Some other translations believe that it should be printed with a capital S referring to the Holy Spirit. I'm not sure which, I think both are true. Both are true and that's the way I'm going to explain it in terms of both. First then our human spirit. He says this, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit. That seems to be the reason why we're to worship in spirit because of who God is. God is non-physical. God does not need anything from us in terms of any physical things like Paul said to the Athenians in Acts chapter 17. We don't bring God anything as if he needs something from our human hands. It also indicates here that God wants more than merely outward worship. Outward worship is not unimportant We have many references to outward forms of worship in scripture, but the scripture also says that mere outward worship is insufficient, because God wants the heart. God wants your heart. Do we bring our hearts to God? Does God have our hearts? Do we want Him above all else as we come to worship? Are we bringing ourselves to God? Are we presenting ourselves to Him in all that we are and laying ourselves before His feet? Or are we in worship only in body? Is our mind and heart elsewhere? Or do we all we bring is the mere forms of worship? So much worship does focus on the outward. We can see it in the ceremonies that are often part of people's worship. but also the entertainment style worship that is brought today. It is so outward. Such churches often look with disdain on those more liturgical churches, but really they're very similar. It just looks different outwardly, but at heart it's outward. It's about music, it's about lights, it's about atmosphere. But heart worship isn't about all of those things. I would suggest heart worship really isn't interested in those things. Heart worship is interested in God Himself. Heart worship will never be satisfied with outward forms. True worship wants God Himself, wants to draw near to Him and wants to use those things that God Himself will use to bring us to God. And when we think about it that way, what are those things that God uses to bring us to God? Well, the prayer, the Word of God, the sacraments, singing, they're things that God uses to bring us closer to Him. And we won't need it all dressed up in all kinds of outward garb, but we'll just want the heart. that is the heart of worship, the simple things that draw us near to God. So God is Spirit and we must worship Him spiritually, of our own human spirit or our heart. But also we must see that how essential it is to bring Holy Spirit worship to God. Because by nature we can't worship God. By nature we don't love God, by nature we do not adore God, by nature we don't want to lay ourselves at God's feet, rather we want God to lay himself at our feet. We are not captivated by the superlative greatness of God but we are captivated with ourselves. Before we can bring any worship that's acceptable to God, we need the Holy Spirit to reorientate our heart and make us God-centered people. This is the worship that we must bring. And let me tell you that this worship, this kind of worship, this true worship, is not at all attractive. to those who are spiritually dead. In fact, to those who are spiritually dead and God's not working in them, there is nothing more repugnant to them. So we must worship in spirit. Is it spiritual worship? That's what we want to ask. Is it of the Holy Spirit? Is it focused on the heart rather than all the outward things? But he also says, worship in spirit and truth. And there's two questions that flow from this. The first is this, is it Jesus focused? Does this worship centre on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, because particularly in John's gospel, Jesus is the truth. He is the truth of God presented there. Who is God? Well, God came down to earth. You want to know God? Look at Jesus. And so this worship, this worship that is true, is Jesus-focused worship. It focuses on his life and death and resurrection, his achievements, his person. True worship also exalts the sacraments because they speak of Jesus. Is it Jesus-focused? That really answers another question. What God are we worshipping? A God of our own imagination like this Samaritan woman was? Or the God that has come and revealed himself to us in Jesus? Is it Jesus focused? And then the last question, is it biblical? Is it biblical? Of course we have the Bible in our worship. We're to read the Scriptures. We're to hear the Bible explained because through the Scriptures God speaks to us. And so that is going to be a major part of worship. But more than that, the Bible ought to determine what we do. We are to worship in truth. The Bible is the truth. Way back in the 1500s, as the reformers were looking at the Roman Catholic Church of their day and seeking to advance its reform, they came to assert a principle and it says basically this, whatever is not commanded forbidden in worship. Whatever is not commended is forbidden. In other words, we're not just to make up what goes on in a worship service. We are meant to look to Scripture. We are meant to find explicit biblical warrant for all that we do. And if we can't find explicit biblical warrant for it, then we are not to do it. Is our worship biblical? Are we doing what God has said? Or have we made it up to suit ourselves? Can you defend what we do when we gather together? As we normally do, and Lord willing we'll do soon, When we gather together can you defend, or even what's being done today and being recorded, can you defend what we do from scripture? These are vital questions that we must ask of the worship that we bring so that we might bring acceptable worship to God. Is it spiritual? Is it Jesus focused? Is it biblical? Oh my friends, I believe we're in need of a day of reformation. We need to reform our worship, we need to turn again to scripture, we need again to ask the right questions. Because in so many ways the world has infiltrated the church. And so that our worship has become so much about us and what we do and what we like and what we find acceptable. rather than stopping and asking, what pleases you our God? May there be a day when we again as the people of God in this land unite, unite in true worship, unite in the worship that Jesus speaks about here. the worship of bowing down to the living God, joining together, one in heart, one in voice, to exalt our God, while at the same time as humble ourselves before him. For that is true worship, and such worship as the Father seeks. Amen. Let us pray. Father we bow before you Lord we acknowledge before you our great pride and our great self-centeredness and how this is these attitudes have been brought within the church and into our worship and we ask your forgiveness And it grieves us, Father, to think that what we do when we gather together may not be pleasing to you. Lord, we don't want to waste our time. We don't want to insult you. We ask, we cry out to you. Please, may the worship we bring be honouring to you. May it be true worship. Help us and guide us through Your Word and by the power of Your Spirit. We ask these things in Jesus' name, Amen. Let's sing together, Behold Our God. ♪ Has held the oceans in his hands ♪ ♪ Who has numbered every grain of sand ♪ ♪ Kings and nations tremble at his voice ♪ ♪ All creation rises to rejoice ♪ ♪ Behold our God seated on his throne ♪ ♪ Come let us adore him ♪ ♪ Behold our King Who has given counsel to the Lord? Who can question any of his words? Who can teach the one who knows all things? Who can fathom all his wondrous deeds? Who has felt the nails upon his hands Bearing all the guilt of sinful man God eternal, humble to the grave Jesus, Saviour, risen now to reign Behold our God, seated on his throne Come, let us adore Let's conclude with prayer. Indeed, Lord, you are high and exalted. And we pray that we would truly bow before you and adore you. Father, we ask that you would so work in each of our hearts and make us more and more true worshippers. That we may be filled with awe in your presence and we may be brought low and we might see ourselves to be just human. and you to be the great and everlasting and infinite and all-wise God, and that our minds and hearts would be lifted up to you, and we would be astonished at what we see and what we come to know of you. Please, Lord, may our hearts be filled with overflowing of adoration towards you. Please be with us and go with us, Father. And help us and encourage each of us to seek you more earnestly. And may your blessing, blessing of Father, Son and Spirit abide on each one of us. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.