“Worship: True or False – Jesus’ Promise, Your Choice”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Transcript:
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Okay, here’s what it’s time for. It’s time for a quiz. So I want you to put all your papers and notes away Get out a instrument to write with. Normally, they would say something like a number two soft lead pencil. Right? And so have Have you heard those words before? Some of you probably heard them recently. Yeah, some of us know it’s been a while. But nevertheless, that same thing. It’s time for a quiz. Do you remember what it used to do to your stomach? Even if it was, well, here, here is a cartoon. It smells like a quiz, a pop quiz. Here’s a guy named Nate. As a matter of fact, it’s it’s big Nate course, we got a couple of Nate’s Nate’s Stewart, Nate Rittichier, we got some Nate’s around here that we’re aware of a big Nate book. Evidently, this is a series coming into class, look at the teachers face. I don’t know if you can see this up here. But that thing of the stomach turn the heart job. Well, I want you to know this morning, we are not going to have a pop quiz. But we are we are going to listen in on a promise. But let me ask you this when you had a quiz, what kind of questions Did you prefer? ones that were like? Multiple choice. Okay, how about filling a blank? That No, not fill in the blank? How about true and false? Was that good? Yeah. Or say hello, on the line low on the line as say, true and false. He at least had a 50% chance, right? You know, you get 5050 odds here, even if you’re completely unaware. So this morning, what we’re going to be looking at not a pop quiz, but a promise and a promise that has to do with true or false and it’s in john chapter four. So I’m going to ask you to turn the air to john chapter four, where we’re going to hear some promise that Jesus makes about worship, in a context of worship, true or false. Here’s Jesus promise and your choice. JOHN, chapter four, we’re going to pick up in john chapter four, at verse number 21. So if you have your Bible, or if you have your app, I’d like you to go there. JOHN, chapter four, we’re going to zero in on verse 21. And as we’re doing this, I want you to know that this takes place Jesus promise is given it’s announced in a conversation. It’s a conversation that’s taking place at lunch break. It’s a conversation that’s taking place at a lunch rest break near the water fountain, and it’s between a woman
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and Jesus. Just to verify Oh, at all I’m telling you is true. Look with me in john chapter four. at verse three, it’s talking about Jesus here you can see that in context, verses one and two. And he Jesus left Judea and departed again for Galilee. Now, if you remember the, the outlay of the Holy Land, the Palestine, especially in the time of Jesus, there was Judea down here in the north, and then immediately to the south, there was or excuse me, but that backwards, it was in the south, and immediately to the north, there was some malaria. And then immediately to the north again, there was Galilee. So Jesus is traveling here from the south, up to the north, and it says this, he left Judea verse three and departed again for Galilee, and he had to pass through some area that’s in the middle. So he came to a town in sumeria, called side char, side char near the near the field that Jacob gave it, given to his son Joseph Jacobs well was there are so Jesus weary as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well and it was about the sixth hour hour. Now it was 6am. That was the first hour that was when the Jewish day started. So we are about at high noon, when the sun is at the pinnacle. It’s at its highest point there in the sky, and it’s warm out and they’re traveling. And Jesus takes a break, you know, he came in the flesh. And as coming in the flesh, he experienced everything that we do. We’re eating, and he sits down by the water fountain, and a woman comes there, a woman who comes to draw water there at the well. And as she does, he enters into a conversation with her about the water, etc. And that’s where we pick up
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our texts at verse number 21.
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Jesus said to her woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on 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 the hours coming and is now here. When true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit, and
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in
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truth. Worship. True and False. Jesus promise. And as he makes clear here, your choice relative to this promise. Jesus is talking to this woman that at Sychar, which is just about two miles north of Jacob’s well. It’s a modern day city that’s called Askar. And in that modern day community, there is recognition of the closeness of Jacob’s well now this town sits just outside of t he mountain called Gerizim. There’s mount Gerizim. And that Mount Gerizim is the mount that she talks about, on this mount. So this morning, as we take a look at this worship, true and false. It’s not a quiz. But believe me, this is one that you want to get right. We’re going to talk about worship to God. For people through Christ, we’re going to talk about worship true and false. Because that’s the way Jesus talks about here. And your choice to be engaged in true worship. Or something less, something false. Now we’re going to talk about it in this way to God, worship is important. We’re gonna see how important here for people worship is true or false. And we’re gonna see how Jesus lays that out to her and not only for her, but for people thereafter. As a matter of fact, when he says to her, you he says it in the plural for more people than her alone, for people worship is true or false. And finally, through Christ, worship is genuinely experienced, and we’re going to see how that is to take place. So this is what we’re going to be looking at this morning and the place for us to begin here. The best place to start is how the worship conversation comes up with this woman. How is it that Jesus gets to the point of talking with her about worship at lunch break near the drinking fab? How does he get there? Have you noticed with me in chapter four, we’ve already seen that it’s at lunchtime around the drinking fountain, and Jesus speaks to this woman about a thirst that’s not quenched enters life, a thirst that’s not satisfied that is ongoing for her, not only for her, but for all the rest of the people
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who exist
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on the planet. There’s a thirst there’s, there’s something more, there’s something else. There’s just not contented. It’s the Edie talks to her by this avenue.
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Look at verse 13.
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Jesus said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But verse 14, whoever drinks of the water that I will give, will never be thirsty, again. Now, that’s part of this promise we’re going to be looking at. It is a promise about satisfaction, a satisfaction that comes from within the water, verse 14, that I will give him or her, since he’s talking to a woman, here, I will give him or her will become in him or her, a spring of water, welling up to eternal life, a life that goes on and is continuous, knowing it in both directions, eternity past and eternity future. This is what is promised a satisfaction of life that is coming from within, and goes on. Grasping and reining in life, as the New Testament says, from the past, to the total future, all of it.
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And the woman has an interest.
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Verse 15, the woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come to draw water. out with her interest. Jesus then
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presses a point about her involvement.
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He talks about her personal life very personal, and some of the dark, secretive things of her life that she really wasn’t wanting to
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talk about
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at all. As a matter of fact, she so doesn’t want to talk about this, that she immediately begins to change the subject here. She begins a switch, she puts a spin on this getting, have you ever had anybody do that to you? You’re talking to them, and they’re there. They don’t want to go here. So they spin to change the subject? Well, that’s exactly what she does. And that’s where our text picks up. Verse 20, verse, excuse me, verse 19, the woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet, our fathers worshiped on this mountain, Mount giros them, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. Now, this worship thing, even though this is a switch, is exactly what Jesus wants to focus on with her. This is where he wanted to go. So he is going to talk with her about this. So to God, worshipping is important. Jesus begins to point out how important it is to God by saying to her, the father is seeking people to worship Him. Notice how he answers or verse 21 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, it’s an appeal. Trust me on this. Will you trust me? Trust me, trust me. Believe me. The hour is coming when neither on this mountain mount Giro Zeb, nor in Jerusalem at the temple, will you worship the Father, you and he’s talking here in a plural you, you worship what you do not know her. Other people, we referring to himself and the Jewish people worship what we know for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship the Father, in spirit and in truth. For such people, the father is seeking to worship Him, the father is seeking people to worship him this this idea of worshiping Him, this, this idea of him seeking worship of him. What this is saying to us is God with desire looks to find people who have
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who have
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this. Well, let me let me pause for a moment right here and give a little context from the Bible of the idea of worship. Worship is in the Bible, from the beginning of it, right to the very end, from the book of Genesis to Revelation, this is talked about in various words are used for worship, the one that she uses here is a word that means to kiss towards, it’s kind of like
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that kind of thing.
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It’s that you have a expression of
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admiration, an expression of
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that’s the term that she it’s kind of used for a dog, you know, a dog doesn’t go, but a dog comes up, have you ever had a dog come up and lick your hand, it’s just, and that’s their kiss towards. And that’s what was used. That’s where this term kind of comes from the dog. doing that, of course, this isn’t about dogs, it’s about people. And the point that I’m making that word isn’t the only one that’s used for worship.
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There are other ones and I’m not going to go through them, I’m just going to kind of bring this together by saying all of them, all of the words that are used for worship, refer to holding a value, a sense of worth towards something, or someone or some place, a person place or thing that there is a sense of value of admiration of appreciation. And and that sense that sentiment that holding of this value gets expressed
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in
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in a way of service to this. Let me give you an example. There’s a guy that I worked with, while I was going through seminary. And while I was going through seminary working, we would talk at the lumberyard. And he told the of how much he valued or appreciated vacation so much. And here’s his service to it, that every paycheck, he would take a set amount of money, a designated amount and put it aside so that he could have his they keishon. That was a sense of admiration, a value of worth that he held for this, that he gave service to yet actually put $1 value on this so much every paycheck. Some people do that with Christmas, right? Yep. Some people do that. But it’s not confined to a thing like vacation. Some people value a car. And they do that, as a matter of fact, they carried debt in order to do that, as a matter of fact, most cars are that way or a person and there is there is such a value for this person that I
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well.
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Here’s what’s always said if you’re going to have a relationship. You’ve got to Invest in it, right? You’ve got to it’s got to be invested in.
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That
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is the idea that’s throughout the scriptures of worship, a sense of? Well, the English word worship comes from a compound word, it comes from the Old English word for worth, or value. And then ship added to it as being a state or condition
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that you’re in.
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I’m in a state or condition of carrying a sense of value or worth, for this thing.
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Now, we’re talking about
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the worth ship that we hold, and express in some form of service. To and for God. That’s what we’re talking about. And what, what is the degree of value and service that we are to hold for God? As matter of fact, it’s the first priority direction that we get from God. You know, it’s called the first commandment, you shall say this with me. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind with all your strength. That’s, that’s the value. That’s it. That’s it. And it’s what carried in us and expressed in serving us service to God expressing that
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value,
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which we all know that where this woman talks to Jesus, saying,
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Where does that take
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place for us? This
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to God? Does it take place? I mean, correctly, here, Prophet correctly. Where does this take place? Does it take place here, Mount gear is M. Now remember, this woman, according to verse seven is a Samaritan. It’s a Samaritan woman. She lives in this area. And there’s a history here. There’s a history between the Jews and the Samaritans. It’s a racial tension issue. And it’s like, real big. You see what happened in 722. The Assyrian swept down, and they took the Israel lights, the Israelis, Israel lights is kind of the biblical term, Israel, Israelis, it’s the way we call them today. He took those people and he took them into exile from Assyria. And they also brought from other places other foreign nations over which the Assyrians had domination, they brought people to this area of Israel, and they forced the A eradication of this race ism by forcing marriages and intermingling and that kind of they forced it, they forced it to happen. And so, and you’d like to read about this, you can it’s in Second Kings chapter 17, the whole chapter verses one through six. So what happened when they returned is that they, when they returned from exile, the Jews looked at these Samaritans, these Samaritan two or half Jew and half some other pagan nation race, and they looked at them with the stain. As a matter of fact, they wouldn’t let them worship at the temple. And so the Samaritans made their own. There on Mount Giro Zim, they built a temple to to worship God, the God that they saw in the first five books of the Bible because that’s the only ones that they, they bought his value the first five books of the Bible, and they worshiped him there. So when this Samaritan woman comes to Jesus and asked him this question, she’s talking about something that has years and years, centuries of racial tension since 722, B, C, and thereafter to Jesus day. That’s a little deep. That’s a little deep. So she says, To turn the attention away from this topic of her dark, secretive life, she turns it to what’s correct in worship, what’s correct in blowing a kiss towards God? Is it correct that we do it here, as the Samaritan say, or in Jerusalem, like you, Jews set and that’s where Jesus gives the response to God.
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It’s not here.
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It’s not there.
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A time is coming.
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And God is seeking it now. A people
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to worship.
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it’s that important to God. He’s seeking people here. And I want you to know, this wasn’t a brand new idea. This had been said over and over and
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over that God is seeking people.
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There are some passages the eyes of the Lord, look down. I’m having to see if there’s anybody who understands if there was anybody who seeks God, Second Chronicles 60 eyes of the Lord, run to and fro to out to Whole Earth, there, they they’re looking for people. And in Proverbs chapter 15, verse three, the eyes of the Lord are in every place, he is seeking, he is looking, this is where that God look down even the book of Genesis like they bought, and he saw the wickedness of men, he was looking at them seeking where they were out into Psalm 3139, you search me, you know, my path, my lying down my rising up, you know, what you are intimately acquainted with all my ways. And I want you to know that this is done on a scale of all people, but it’s done individually, with all people. God is looking sikhi all from all people, but individually, relative to, you know, my
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path.
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You are intimately acquainted with my all of my ways. And that brings us to the next point here, and it’s this, the father knows where people are at with
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him on this.
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He knows where they’re at. He’s seeking with desire, some who will be in this state of worship towards him, and he knows where the people are at the passage says it like this, he is looking for such people, people who are characteristically in this condition, this state to worship Him. He is looking for people in
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that
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state. As a matter of fact, we have all the passages that I just noted. And in all of those passages, or all of those passages, God talks about knowing where the person is. He knows where every individual is, and he knows we’re all people.
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Here, let me show you this.
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There it is, the eyes of the Lord look down from heaven to see if there’s any who’s understand if there’s any seek God, they have all turned the side together, they have become unprofitable there is none who understand Now listen to this. No,
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not
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what its individual. Also, Second Chronicles chapter six, verse 19, the little Lord, eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout all the earth. So that God will show himself strong to anyone whose heart is while to him. Proverbs 515, three, the eyes are in the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. He knows the point of all this, he knows, he saw the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart, he knows, he knows, you know, me, you know my path, you know, my thoughts. From afar, God knows you. He knows where you are at this worship is important to him, he’s seeking it out. And he knows he knows where you’re at. Now, I want to ask a question here. Concerning
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worship,
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being important to God, a kind of worship that
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we value him.
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We honor respected Meyer adore him.
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What what’s, why is that so
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big to him?
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What’s the big deal
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about that?
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He wants it to be a condition where we so value him that we serve we give service to this value like person does for a vacation, like a person does for car servicing and paying for keeping? Why? What what I mean, don’t ask, doesn’t everybody want to be worshipped? What do you say? It doesn’t everybody want to be valued, appreciated, honored, respected, admired, even adored, don’t we? So what’s the is this kind of some self centered thing with God?
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The Bible tells us
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that, that God
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has so arranged the best for people that we are to give honor to whom honor is do.
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Romans, chapter 13, verse seven,
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give honor to whom honor is do. So when we honor a person who is achieved or accomplished, we’re actually behaving in line with God because He says, give honor to whom honor is do give respect to whom respect
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is due.
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The Bible tells us that that we are to honor the king. Give respect to the king,
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and all people
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at x, where he says that to us,
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the guy that the Bible tells guys,
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First Peter, chapter three, verse seven,
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honor your wives, live with him an understanding way, giving them honor, giving honor to the wife. Respect, appreciation, admiration, the value, a sense of worth, that you live with. wives are to Ephesians chapter five, respect their husbands, children are to honor their parents Ephesians
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chapter six,
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which is the first command of God, which has a promise, and every one of these expressions of honor is for our good, he says that the children that it will go well with you, and you’ll live long on the earth Ephesians chapter six verses one in two. So Honor
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your father and your mother.
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Now, the whole point here is that we give honor to the person to the degree and to the place and the position that they’re in according to what’s due them. Okay, let’s think about God. What’s his place? creator sustainer originator what what what’s his position He maintains everything keeps it going. So the honor we give to God is according to the same honor that he has expressed to every person, what’s do them. And what’s do God when we fully understand this is to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And what to do a neighbor is to love your neighbor like.
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Like what?
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Like you love you,
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like you love you do to them like you would have done to you. In such a circumstance. This is the big deal about God, I want to add this for people, this worship of God can be true or false. It’s not true. If a person doesn’t know God, look at this. He says to the to the woman, verse 21, believe me, woman, then again in verse 22, you worship what you do not know, her worship, her worship is proving to be false. Not true, because she didn’t know what she worship. The Samaritans only took the first five books of the Bible, and junk all the rest. And the god they came up with just like Psalm 22 tells us, who is a God, who many people think is just like them. There’s a guy who wrote a book that’s called God has a name. And in the introduction to this book, john mark, what’s his last name? alita. Do you remember carmi, kind of Ted Comber. This this guy wrote a book. And in the end, in the beginning of this, he says that he has a friend who teaches up in Minnesota, and he teaches in a Bible college. And when he teaches about the person of God, he starts out by asking a person. So what do you like? What do you don’t like? What do you what kind of personality do you have? and ask them about them? And then he goes on and say, you know, God has personality too. What do you think God’s personality? What does he like? What does he not like? And he said, surprisingly, over and over these exactly line up. God likes what I
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like.
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God doesn’t like what I don’t like, God is a Republican, like I am. God’s a Democrat, like, like, like we’re supposed to
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be like I am.
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And it’s amazing how this lines up. Because of not knowing God, we fabricate in our own thinking what he’s like, and that is not true worship. When the person who you’re worshiping you’re really don’t know, you worship what you don’t know, they had this to the great,
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eternal being.
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And they didn’t know
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they didn’t. It’s not true. They worship what they did not know that second Corinthians 17 just points that out. So clearly, it’s not true when it doesn’t have salvation. That’s what Jesus says here. Notice, you worship what you do not know. We Jews worship what we know for salvation is out of the Jews, this rescue this thing of being confident that you’re going through Heaven, through the death of Jesus Christ paying for our sins, his burial and his resurrection, this salvation through the Messiah, which comes out of the Jews. If you don’t have it. It’s not true worship, it’s always been off. It’s, it’s not correct. The woman gets this, that it comes to the Messiah, because look at what she says to him. at verse number 25. The woman says to her, sir, I know that Messiah is coming, the one who was called the Christ and when he comes, he’s going to make everything clear to us. Jesus point is that if you do not have the salvation that comes through the Jewish Messiah, this isn’t this is Not true worship, you have never appropriately valued and adored God with a service that loves him without being
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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