Sunday, June 16, 2019 – John 4:1-26 (NLT)

Jesus said that God’s true worshipers would worship Him in spirit and in truth. Jesus would state clearly that “God is Spirit” (John 4:23-24, NLT). Therefore, the logical conclusion is that we are called to worship Him in His realm to which He has called us when we were ‘born from above’ (John 3:3, GW) or ‘born again’ (John 3:3, NLT). The key to worship God in His element is not something learned or generated in this world; it comes from God Himself.

How can we know of God’s spirit’s resonance with our own spirits? Jesus told Nicodemus that it is like the wind. While we cannot see the wind, we can certainly discern it’s effects (John 3:5-8, GW).

HE NEVER SAID ‘STOP!’

The Gospel accounts provide multiple incidences where people would be suddenly overwhelmed with the divine nature of Jesus’ presence. Some examples include the calming of the storm on the lake of Galilee (Matthew 14:33), the ‘sinful woman’ who bathed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair (Luke 6:36-50), the Gentile woman who worshiped Jesus and begged Him to heal her demon-possessed daughter (Matthew 15:21-28), and the blind man, sought out by Jesus, who could now see but was excommunicated from the synagogue (John 9:35-38).

Jesus never asked anyone to stop in their worship of Him; although, He did ask Mary to stop ‘clinging’ to him because He had not yet ascended (John 20:17, NLT). Worship was always appropriate when Jesus was in the presence of people who were overwhelmed by His divine might, power and love. Resonance. Wind. Spirit to spirit.

WORSHIP JESUS ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

We conclude that worshiping Christ is always the right thing to do. Any time, wherever we are and whatever we may be doing is always the appropriate time and place to worship Him.

As stated by John Piper:

“All the world worships something. From the most religious to the most secular, all people value something high enough to build their lives around it—even if unconsciously. Jesus demands that every person in the world build his life around the infinite worth of God in Jesus. Consider what you are worshiping. Then ask Jesus to open your eyes to the truth of God’s supreme worth and to awaken your spirit to treasure him above all.”

– John Piper, What Jesus Demands From The World, 2006, p. 104.