Worship: Is It Acceptable To God? Part 2

As you read and understand John 4, Christ uses the doctrine of worship to evangelize the lost.  Yes, that's what I said, evangelize the lost.  Now you may be saying, "well that's what our church does with it's music, PowerPoint, videos, dancers, worship team, etc."  "Our church has grown because we do so many things that draws people in; we do a great job of that."  I don't want to burst your bubble, but that isn't going to cut it.  John 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

God is not indifferent on how we are to worship Him. As a matter of fact, He is very specific regarding what is acceptable and what is not acceptable worship.  When Jesus began to evangelize the Samaritan woman, He did not have his disciples breakout into a "worship service."  No where in this text do we see Jesus leading this unregenerate woman in a song service.  What He did do to evangelize this woman was to preach to her the Word of God and singled out her sin.  The only way anyone will be evangelized, drawn to Christ, and converted, is by the foolishness of preaching, not singing.  Sorry worship leaders.

Let's take a little closer look at the passage in John 4. Verses 3& 4 "He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must needs go through Samaria."  Jesus leaves Judaea to head to Galilee takes a detour through Samaria.  Jesus had one purpose in going through Samaria, and that was to seek and save that which was lost.  This is further demonstrated later in John 4:23 in the passage which Jesus says, "...for the Father seeketh such to worship him."

So what is our "take-away"? What are we to learn from this?  First, it is God the Father that does the drawing.  We do not seek Him; He seeks us.  We do not find Him; He finds us.  It is the Good Shepherd that leaves the ninety-nine to find the one.  Listen to this beautiful passage: Christ in His high priestly prayer to the Father, says in John 17:12,  "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."  Those that are sought by the Father, given to the Son will be kept and "none of them will be lost."

Secondly, Jesus used the doctrine of worship to do the evangelizing.  After Jesus told the woman that the man she was then with was not her husband, she quickly recognized that He was a prophet.  And, as most "religious" people react once they know they are in the presence of conviction, she used the "worship" card.  She turned to show a side of religiosity to prove she was not as bad as she has just been made out to be.  You can almost hear her say, "Well I go to church every Sunday. In fact, I have been going to this church my entire life."  "My parents go to that church and so did my grandparents."  Friends, do not hang your hat on church membership or even being on staff at a church.  The nail on which you hang your hat will be the death nail to seal your doom.


Let me remind you of this dreadful scripture in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."


May the Lord so grant you each ears to hear and eyes to see so that you may come to Christ.  You will enter into the presence of God by only one way and that is to see yourself undone.  It will not be what you have done or where you have attended church or how often you have attended church.  It will only matter if you have bowed to the one true and living God and worshiped Him aright.

By His Grace,
Eric