Reaching Souls from Samaria to Cana                      John 4:1-54                                        (Continued)

2. CHRIST’S TESTIMONY TO THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (John 4:7-26) (Continued)
4. The Explanation of True Worship (John 4:20-24)
1. The meaning of worship
1. The word worship comes from worth+ship. It means to declare the worthiness of (Revelation 5:9-12).
2. Therefore, worship is not limited to a place or the performance of a ceremony. Rather, it is an inward attitude of reverence and exaltation expressed by an outward act of praise (Psalm 29:2).
2. The place of worship (John 4:20-21)
1. Not Mount Gerizim
2. Soon not to be Jerusalem
3. But wherever God’s people meet with Him (Matthew 18:20)
3. The character of true worship (John 4:22-24; Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31)
1. Sane (John 4:22) – “we know what we worship” (1 Corinthians 14:14-15, 26-33; Colossians 3:16).
2. Spiritual (John 4:24) – “in spirit” (Philippians 3:3)
3. Sincere (John 4:24) – “in truth”
1. Matching our deeds (1 John 3:18)
2. Without hypocrisy (Philippians 1:18)
3. Without falsehood (Mark 12:14)
4. The participants of worship (John 4:23)
1. True worshippers
2. Sought by the Father – “the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
5. The object of true worship (John 4:23-24)
1. The Father
2. God who is a Spirit
1. Changed in most bibles with “a” being removed so that “God is spirit.” However, this denies the personality of God making Him impersonal.
2. That God is a Spirit means that He is a spiritual being. He does not have a fleshly body. Therefore, He is not pleased by fleshly actions. A spiritual being demands spiritual worship.
6. The actions of true worship (John 4:24)
1. Praise (Psalm 138:2)
2. Prayer (Psalm 95:6)
3. Song (Psalm 66:4)
4. Giving (1 Chronicles 16:29)
5. Obedience (Hebrews 13:15-16)
5. Special Notes: What the New Testament Says about the Jew [Does the New Testament teach us to look on Jews as Christ-killers? Is the blood of Christ still on their hands?]
1. Salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22); Jesus came to fulfill the Jewish law (Matthew 5:17).
2. God’s word came through the Jews (Romans 3:1-2); this includes the New Testament books.
3. God’s gifts to man came through the Jews (Romans 9:4-5).
1. The law – the basis for all good law
2. The promises – the basis for all hope for man
3. Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 9:15; Hebrews 2:16; Isaiah 9:6)
4. The Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah (Acts 2:22-23).
1. They accepted the blood of Christ (Matthew 27:22-25).
2. But Christ prayed for their forgiveness because of their ignorance (Luke 23:34; Acts 3:17).
3. Jesus was rejected by all men (Acts 4:24-28; 1 Corinthians 2:8).
5. The Jews attempt to establish their own righteousness (Romans 10:2-3).
1. The example of Paul (Philippians 3:5-9)
2. The need of all (Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 Kings 8:46; Psalm 14:3)
3. The curse of the law (Deuteronomy 27:26; Romans 7:10-14; Galatians 3:21-22)
4. The redemption of Christ (Galatians 3:10-13; Romans 8:3)
5. The power of imputation (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-8; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
6. The Jews will yet receive their kingdom (Acts 1:6-7; Romans 11:25-27).
7. Some Jews will come to Jesus as Messiah even today (Romans 11:1-5).
6. His Expression of His Identity (John 4:25-26)
1. Her expectation of Christ (John 4:25)
1. He will come.
2. He will tell us all things.
2. The identity of the Christ (John 4:26)
3. CHRIST’S TEACHING OF HIS DISCIPLES (John 4:27-38)
1. The Wondering Disciples (John 4:27)
1. Their surprise – “marveled”
2. Their silence – “no man said”
2. The Witnessing Woman (John 4:28-30)
1. Her thrill (John 4:28) – “left her waterpot”
2. Her target (John 4:28) – “to the men”
3. Her testimony (John 4:29) – “is not this the Christ?”
4. Her triumph (John 4:30) – “they…came unto him.”
3. The Working Saviour (John 4:31-34)
1. The meat of the disciples (John 4:31)
2. The meat they knew not of (John 4:32-33)
3. The meat of the Master (John 4:34)
1. To do the will of God (John 5:30; John 6:38; Hebrews 10:7)
2. The meat offering (Leviticus 2); the bloodless sacrifice points to a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2).
1. A picture of the life of Christ
2. A picture of the life of the surrendered believer