JOH 4:19 "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 Jerusalem."
21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
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."

As we’ve looked at this portion of God’s word over the last few weeks we’ve seen this Samaritan woman’s hesitancy to accept the kindness and mercy of Jesus who has extended living water to her, which is nothing short of eternal life from the hand of God.

She has essentially scoffed at the idea that a Jew would be interested in her well being let alone her eternal destiny, and she has expressed that attitude in a response to Christ’s clear offer of spiritual water when she insists that physical water is what she wants.

JOH 4:15 "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."

But this is where Jesus begins to cut to the heart of the matter as He speaks to her heart and sin problem.

JOH 4:16 "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."

It isn’t until the all-knowing God and Savior addresses her sin that she begins to realize that she is hearing a word from God as she responds, "I can see that you are a prophet."

A prophet is one sent from God to give a message or reveal something to men, and she understands that this Jew has been sent from God to speak to her and now she is ready to hear from God.

But in her admission that Jesus is sent from God she wants to justify herself and in a sense debate the issue the Jews have with the Samaritans which is, who is correct in their true worship of God? And this is where we pick up with our text this morning.

JOH 4:20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

Now keep in mind what is happening here. She realizes that she is in the presence of a man sent from God. She no longer denies that. But she then brings up the issue of worshiping God which is something she hasn’t been engaged in, probably in years.

This is sort of a defense mechanism people will use to justify their sin. As I’ve said before I find it fascinating when people that I’ve worked with over the years, since the Lord called me to the ministry, find out that I’m a Pastor.

I mean, on the job I’m just an employee like them. I clean toilets, I repair windows, I take care of the buildings and do all the things a maintenance person does. And when a new person comes on board I don’t wear a T-shirt with the words, "God’s Prophet" on the back.

In fact, I make it a point just to be real with them as any person should be with other people. But eventually we start talking about each other’s families and likes and dislikes. And before long they find out that I’m a servant of Jesus Christ. I tell them I’m a Pastor of a local church in town.

And it’s amazing, at that moment, the transformation that comes over them. I’ve had people want to repent of their language when they find out. I’ve had people all of a sudden want to tell me how they used to go to church, or how they’ve got a relative who goes to church, all in an effort to make themselves feel less threatened by the truth that they really want nothing to do with God.

It’s as though they want me to know that they’re really not that bad of a person. And in a sense this is exactly what this Samaritan woman is doing when out of nowhere she wants to talk about spiritual things when up to this point she wanted nothing to do with spiritual things.

Up to this point, before she realizes that Jesus is a messenger sent from God, the only thing she wants to discuss is H2O. Now, all of sudden she wants to talk about worshiping God. What a transformation.

JOH 4:20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

She is essentially saying that, "we Samaritans are a worshiping people of the one true God, but you Jews have tried to make us feel guilty as we worship God on Mount Gerizim, so that no matter how spiritual we want to be you would never consider us a holy people."

With our Lord being a Jew she is very sensitive to the way Jesus would view her spirituality, despite the fact that she is not a worshiper of God either by the standards of the Jews or the Samaritans.

Now, it’s not as though she is being indignant here. At this point she realizes that Jesus is truly one sent from God and she wants to make her case that if she were to accept the words of this prophet she would have a difficult time in doing so since she would not be allowed to go to Jerusalem as a Samaritan and worship God there.

And since she realizes that this prophet would not accept Gerizim as a legitimate place to worship God, she’s between a rock and hard place. But notice that she is using her own reasoning as it relates to worshiping God.

The fathers she is referring to are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are, after all, carrying on this conversation right there at the well of Jacob, whom she called father in verse 12.

She is making the point that she has a legitimate argument that the Samaritans are well within their rights to worship God at the temple which is on Mount Gerizim, which, by the way, both Jesus and this woman could see from the well.

A little history sheds some light on this. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had no such restrictions when it came to worshiping God. When they came to a place where they wanted to honor the Lord they simply built an altar and worshiped.

GEN 12:6 "Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him."

This is the very area in which the Samaritans now live. It would be after the time of the Patriarchs when God would tell His people specifically where He wanted them to worship.

DEU 12:5 "But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks."

At this point it is not specifically told where this particular place is. Since the Samaritans didn’t accept any prophets after Moses they only had the first five books of the bible, which we know as the Pentateuch, which were written by Moses.

And since Abraham set up an altar there in Shechem the Samaritans felt they had the true place of worship which was later to be a Temple built on Mount Gerizim, the place which was considered to be holy by both Jews and Samaritans.

Remember, it was Mount Gerizim where the blessings of God’s covenant were pronounced, whereas it was Mount Ebal, opposite Gerizim, where the curses of God’s covenant were to be pronounced.

The problem, however, is that Moses made it clear that the place in which God would choose for their worship must be according to God’s revelation. And God made it clear that Jerusalem is the place He chose for the Temple, which would later be built by Solomon.

The Samaritans did not consider the law, but made their determination according to the fathers, as this woman is doing.

In other words, the law of God was not the final determining factor for the Samaritans, but the traditions of their fathers as they perceived them. And in many ways it’s the same for us today.

Instead of the authoritative word of God being our final determining factor for salvation and sanctification, people are prone to rely on the traditions of men. Instead of relying on the word of God which doesn’t change, people are quick to want to change what the word means. After all they say, we live in a changing society and the bible must change with us.

Yes, it was once said that such practices as homosexuality was sinful, but we are so much more enlightened today and we need to accept such practices as noble among those who want to worship God in their own churches and in their own way. Who are we to tell them they can’t worship God in their own way?

Yes, it was once held that Jesus Christ claimed to be the Savior, but there are those who know that He is not the only way, though He was certainly a holy man and wonderful teacher. And therefore if people today want to promote other ways to God other than Jesus Christ then who are we to tell them they’re wrong?

If people aren’t relying on the teachings and traditions of the fathers, they’re making up their own. And they feel justified in doing so because they don’t believe in the authoritative and inspired word of God as delivered to us by God’s prophets and apostles.

God will not be mocked. He has set out the only way in which we can truly worship Him and that is through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man and redeemer of mankind.

And so, when people suggest that born again Christians cannot claim Jesus Christ as the only way to get to heaven we must politely and lovingly, and yet boldly claim that He is. In our Lord’s own words, "I am the way, and the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by Me."

JOH 4:21 "Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews."

What Jesus is saying in verse 22 of our text is that you are wrong in your analysis that just because your fathers worshiped in this mountain that it is the true place for worship. It is not the wisdom of the fathers, but the obedience to the word of God which counts.

And it is the Jews, not the Samaritans, who were given the word of God. "You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews."

The Samaritans were misguided. Their worship of God was not acceptable to God. The Jews on the other hand were given the word of God and they worshiped, not in ignorance, but in the true knowledge of what God wanted. And the reason they were given such revelation was because it would be through them that salvation would come.

But let me point something out here about Israel and their worship of God. It was not simply because Jews went to the temple in Jerusalem that set them apart as true worshipers of God. It was not because they partook in all of the forms of worship in Jerusalem, from the sacrifices to ceremonial washings, that they were deemed true worshipers of God.

It was a combination of faith and obedience to God that set them apart. True worship of God was more than going through the motions. Israel had fallen into this trap many times in their history.

MIC 6:6 "With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

This is exactly what Jesus was saying when He partially quotes this passage.

MAT 9:13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

In other words, I want a heart which truly seeks after Me; a heart which accepts Me by faith. A heart which is humbled and desirous of a Savior as you do My will in obedience.

And so, Israel could not simply claim to be true worshipers of God because they had the law and were dutifully doing the things the law said. God wanted worshipers in Israel who dutifully obeyed because they loved the Lord.

MAT 22:36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

Now keep in mind that this was not a New Testament teaching. Jesus is quoting what was given to Israel after they received the law from Moses.

DEU 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts."

It’s the heart of man which God wants, not just his going through the religious motions which we’re all prone to do. And my prayer for this country, as we go through one of the most tragic incidents in our history, is that people in this country will truly seek the Lord and not just name the name of God to distinguish themselves from a group they consider to be less than godly because their religion is different.

If this country wants a true spiritual awakening it will have to be much more than having a moment of silence at a football or baseball game. If we truly want God’s blessing it will have to be Christians humbling themselves first as we encourage all people everywhere to humble themselves before a God who wants to deliver us from our sin through faith in Christ alone.

JOH 4:21 "Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
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."

This would have been an amazing revelation both to this Samaritan woman and all Jews of that time. "A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem."

What Jesus has just said is that both Jews and Samaritans will have to come to grips with the fact that no one location will restrict true worshipers of God.

And what this also means is that not just the Jews will be true worshipers of God, but all men everywhere who embrace Christ by faith.

But He qualifies His statement, which suggests that this time is in the future, by saying in verse 23 that a time is coming and has now come. What our Lord means by this is that both now and in the future the true worship of God will be worldwide, not restricted by any geographical location, but only restricted by the condition of the heart.

But notice in both verse 23 and 24 that Jesus emphasizes that true worship of the Father is in spirit and in truth. And that this is the kind of worship the Father actually seeks after in His people as He seeks out His people.

But what does it mean to worship God in spirit and in truth? Unfortunately, there are groups in the church at large today who have complicated this in such a way as to create a sort of small elite group who are most holy and are the true worshipers within the larger group of Christians.

And so, for example, if you don’t speak in tongues you obviously can’t worship the Lord in the spirit, since tongues is the determining factor as to whether or not you have the Spirit of God in your life. There are groups who believe and teach this. But what does God’s word say?

1CO 12:29 "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?"

The implied answer is that no, not all are apostles or prophets or teachers. Nor do all work miracles or have the gifts of healing. And not all speak in tongues.

Others will suggest that to worship God in the spirit is to worship in an emotional way where everyone will see your worship as you either fall on the floor, run around the building, dance around in the spirit or any other way you think shows the Spirit of God moving you to do such things.

Now, let me say that there is nothing wrong with worshiping God in an emotional way. But your emotions might be different from mine. It is not our emotions alone which determine our spirituality, or whether we are worshiping in the spirit.

And this is where that second aspect of Christ’s response to this woman must come in. We must worship in truth and it is the truth that will determine if we are worshiping in the spirit.

Now, let’s keep the context in mind here. Jesus just told this woman that you Samaritans worship what you do not know. In other words, you don’t worship according to the truth of God’s word. He then goes on to link spiritual worship with truthful worship.

The first thing to be noted is that there is no true or truthful worship outside of a true relationship with the living God. Unless one is born again, as they embrace Jesus Christ alone by faith, they cannot be considered true worshipers of God. How do we know this?

HEB 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

This doesn’t mean that the world doesn’t attempt to worship God or that they in their hearts don’t believe that they are true worshipers of God. But the truth is that to worship God in the spirit one must have a relationship with God as they are indwelt with the Spirit of God as the result of placing their faith in Christ.

If a person has not placed their faith in Christ then they cannot have the Spirit of God. Paul points this out to the Roman Christians.

ROM 8:9 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

Only those who have the Spirit of Christ belong to Christ, and only those who have trusted Christ alone for their salvation can be said to belong to Him. And so, no one can say to any truly born again Christian that they don’t have the Spirit of Christ. All true Christians are indwelt with the Spirit of God who seals us for the day of redemption.

And so, to worship God in the spirit, first and foremost, means that we worship Him in a spiritual way, as opposed to a fleshly way, because we have the Holy Spirit who leads us to worship the Father in the way in which He desires, according to His word.

A.W. Pink puts it this way. "To worship in spirit is to worship spiritually. To worship in truth is to worship truly. They are not two different kinds of worship, but two aspects of the same worship. It is the action of the new nature, as the sparks fly upward, to return to the Divine and heavenly source from which it came."

Worship is a heart exercise. It’s not going through the motions of merely singing the words on the screen but praying those words directly to God as our hearts along with our voices are raised to Him.

ISA 29:13 "The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men."

And so, even Christians can outwardly look like they’re worshiping God in the spirit as they get all emotional and raise their hands and say hallelujah and so forth, but that does not necessarily mean they are worshiping in the spirit at all. If they are only doing those things for attention they may actually be worshiping in the flesh at that moment, which is not spiritual.

Again, let me say that I approve of raising your hands in worship if that’s what you are led to do. I approve of being emotional as you cry out to God and declare His greatness and salvation. I approve of any true worship which is orderly and honors God.

I’m only making the point that simply because someone does these things does not make their spiritual worship any better than my spiritual worship which may not involve some of those outward manifestations.

On the other hand if God is moving you to worship Him by raising your hands to Him, for example, and you don’t, then you may want to consider if your lack of outward demonstrations of worship is spiritual worship.

But however we decide to worship God in the spirit it is only spiritual as it is in the truth. If we are worshiping God and that worship is out of accord with God’s word then that worship is false and is not spiritual in nature.

For example, no matter how sincere someone may be, if their worship involves things which detract from God’s holiness then that worship cannot be considered spiritual since it is contrary to the truth of God’s word.

Flapping your arms as you mimic the wings of an eagle and running around the sanctuary making bird sounds is not promoted in God’s word as that which is orderly or God honoring. That is not spiritual, it is lunacy.

To encourage people to disengage their minds in worship as they are told to let go and let God, as they invite an "anything goes" attitude, promotes such things as people dropping to the floor and writhing around on the ground for long periods of time.

To encourage such behavior as you delete things like prayer and the teaching of the word of God from the worship experience is not spiritual worship.

But as I said earlier neither is a mere rote approach to worship where prayers are recited or songs are simply sung because someone tells you to turn to page 25 and sing Amazing Grace.

Worshiping God should involve our minds, our souls and our hearts. Worshiping God should allow our spirits to ascend to the throne of God and by faith know that He is there to receive our worship and that it pleases Him. These are the kinds of worshipers, Jesus says, that the Father seeks, those "with a peaceful heart and a rejoicing spirit." (A.W. Pink)

May our lives demonstrate an attitude of worship, not just on Sunday mornings, but every moment of our lives. In this way, people will see that we are a worshiping people and that our God is worthy of such adoration.

He is after all, Creator, God and Savior. There is none like Him. Praise God!

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