True Worshippers
“The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped 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 worshippers 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. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” (John 4:19-26)
Today’s Morsel: Through study, we know that the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. But what many fail to realize about the gospels is that they are training instructions for leaders. We find that when we read the gospels, Jesus chooses twelve men and trains them for the mission that He would have them perform. The stories listed in the gospels are training tools to teach us how to deal with and answer people that we may encounter of our journey. In today’s lesson, Jesus encounters a woman at Jacobs well in Sychar or Shechem. This is the place that Jacob returns to when he returns into the land of promise from his uncle Laban after 20 plus years. It was here in this place that Levi and Simon kill all the males of Hamor and his son Shechem for raping their sister Dinah. Scripture says that Jesus had need to go through Samaria. The disciples wanted to go a different route because they knew that the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. But Jesus had need to go there because His mission was to seek and to save that which was lost. And after sending His disciples away to buy bread, he encounters a woman at the well. And their discussion leads not only into discussion of living water, the Holy Ghost, but also the true place for worship. She tells Jesus that our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Why was Jesus telling her that she should be worship in Jerusalem? Here’s the reason, I believe. Scripture says, “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.” (Zechariah 14:16-17) Every nation was to worship in Jerusalem. But the Samaritans were worshipping in that mountain because they had allowed division to divide them. They were now worshipping many things and many gods. We must not allow anything or anyone to prevent us from worshipping the Lord our God. Jesus said that God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Do you know where you ought to be worshipping?
Sing: To worship You I live, to worship You I live, I live, to worship You. To worship You I live, to worship You I live, I live, to worship You. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Thought For Today: True worship always springs out of an understanding as to who God is and what He has done for us.
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