Deeper Worship

EVERYONE can praise, but not everyone can worship.

When the disciples left Jesus by the well of Samaria, they did not know what would happen in their absence.

Not long after they left, a woman came to draw some water.

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Everyone can praise, but not everyone can worship

GIVE me a drink, he said.

The Samaritan woman asked Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans).

THE WOMAN did not know that God does not save by race but by grace.

God desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge and recognition of the [divine] truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

JESUS said to her, “If you knew [about] God’s gift [of eternal life], and who it is who says, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him [instead], and He would have given you living water (eternal life).”

She told Jesus that he had no bucket and rope to draw with, yet he's talking about the living water.

When you have no understanding of God, you limit his capabilities.

Then she asked him if he was greater than her father, Jacob, who had given them the well.

Sometimes, what you know [education] can limit your understanding.

EVERYONE who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.

The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water [satisfying his thirst for God] welling up [continually flowing, bubbling within him] to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

AND when Jesus told her to go and call her husband, she said she didn't have one.

Jesus told her she had had five husbands, and the one she was living with was not her husband.

She sought fulfilment and found none. And the woman asked if Jesus was a prophet.

JESUS told her that the Samaritans worshipped what they did not know.

So, it's possible to worship what you do not know and not realize it. But if you say you know Jesus, does he know you?

THE REALITY is that you cannot ascribe worth to a God you do not know; to worship God, you must know Him.

The knowledge will begin in the head and move to the mind.

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You cannot ascribe worth to a God you do not know; to worship God, you must know Him.

WHEN Jesus conversed with her, he was trying to change her mindset and give her the mind of Christ.

Every interaction with God is to draw you closer to him.

BUT a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers.

God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to humanity], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

You can only worship Him when you know Him.

Worship requires truth — the correct knowledge of God. It's in worship that truth is illuminated. It’s in worship that we defeat the enemy.

THE WOMAN said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ—the Anointed); when that One comes, He will tell us everything [we need to know].”

She acknowledged that her knowledge was insufficient and that she needed to learn more.

Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He (the Messiah).” (John 4:1-35)

WORSHIP is deep. No wonder when God searched for a man to replace Saul, he chose a worshipper, David.

Abimelech offered David consecrated bread. He bent the rule that David might have something to eat. (1 Samuel 21)

EZEKIEL used the analogy of the River of God to describe worship. It starts from the right side under the altar and flows.

Everywhere it goes, it brings healing and prosperity. (Ezekiel 47:1-12) The water continues to rise until you can no longer walk in it. You are carried by it.

WORSHIP brings us to a deeper place. It leads us into the wonders of God. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Worship

Isaiah saw the glory of God, and he saw himself in it. (Isaiah 6:1-7)

GOD does not intend for us to enjoy his presence and then leave. He wants us to tabernacle in it every day of our lives.

He exemplified it when the pillar of cloud led his people by day and the pillar of fire by night. (Exodus 13:21)

Moses moved from invocation to habitation.

When your life aligns with God, the deep begins to call to the deep. (Ps 42:7)

God is spirit, so he that must worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

He will tabernacle with your spirit, and everything will align with his plan for your life.

There’s a place you get to, and he speaks.

Final Thoughts

GOD gave worship so that we might become partners in his highest purposes—Dr. Jack Hayford.