Quote for the Day

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Today's Prayer

This week ask God to allow you to see His will for your worship. Bow before Him and allow His Holy Spirit to be your worship.

John 4:1-26

John 4:1-26 (NIV)1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left and went back once more to .4 Now he had to go through . 5 So he came to a town in called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”17 “I have no husband,” she replied.Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in .”21 Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in . 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”26 Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Message

The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is one that many remember and often quote. The water that leads to a thirst-free and everlasting life is a common theme for many sermons. It is a great story of the love and compassion of Jesus; it shows us His care for people and His very reason for coming to earth. He is greater than the namesake of the well, Jacob. Jesus explains to the woman and others that He is in fact the Messiah they seek.Many great truths are packed into these few paragraphs. I would like to focus on verses 23 and 24 which say, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Jesus had just spent the last few minutes gently explaining to the woman that it was all about God, not Jacob, not the water, not her past, but about God and her relationship with God. God desires the same relationship with us, one that is based on spirit, NOT on the flesh. Oh, how we get confused today. We wander from church to church looking for the perfect service that suits OUR needs. We search each week for the perfect preacher, the best music, the most popular kids’ program. We want worship that serves our needs and lifestyle. God desires a relationship with us that is spiritual, not worldly. Yes, we need to be part of a church. YES, it needs to teach truth. Foremost we need to see that our relationship with God is one of spirit. Once we do that we can see what plans He has for us right where He has placed us.This week ask God to reveal His Spirit to you as you worship Him with the Spirit He has given you. Seek His face in the pews of the church where He has placed you. Stop wandering and looking for what excites your flesh and instead seek His Holy Spirit. This week worship God in Spirit and truth right where you are.