Faithful in Worship

10/16/24 • 38 min

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Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: John 4:3-24

Our greatest need, privilege, and supreme duty as Christians is to worship God; it is the very reason we were created. We are invited, commanded, encouraged, and empowered to worship God because we become like what we worship.

Adrian Rogers says, “If you want to be utterly miserable, turn your life inward. If you want to be filled with joy, turn your life upward. Look into the face of God and learn to worship.”

In John 4, Jesus met a woman who had been blinded by Satan, broken by sorrow, and bound by sin. What Jesus shares with this Samaritan woman reminds us why it is important to be faithful in worship.

First, Jesus taught her the meaning of true worship.

It is easy to fall into the trappings of idolatry, insincerity, and iniquity. But, as Adrian Rogers says, “True worship is all that we are, responding to all that God is. It is the adoring contemplation of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ. We worship according to the worth we place on God.”

Second, Jesus tells us how to practice the true method of worship.

John 4:23-24 says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

We must be regenerated by the Father. We cannot worship a God that we don’t know; we must make certain that we have been born into the Father’s family. We must be activated by the Spirit; it is impossible to honor God apart from being filled with the Holy Spirit. We must also be regulated by the Word; true worship is linked with studying the Word of God, for we worship in spirit and in truth.

Finally, Jesus reminds us of our motives as worshippers.

We go to church not primarily for what we can get but for what we can give. We glorify God when we bring our worship to church; it reveals that He is of the utmost importance in our lives.

Apply it to your life

What does your worship life say about how much worth you’ve placed on God? Consider the meaning, method, and motive of true worship as you glorify God in your faithfulness to Him.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: John 4:3-24

Adrian Rogers says, “If you want to be utterly miserable, turn your life inward. If you want to be filled with joy, turn your life upward. Look into the face of God and learn to worship.”

In John 4, Jesus met a woman who had been blinded by Satan, broken by sorrow, and bound by sin. What Jesus shares with this Samaritan woman reminds us why it is important to be faithful in worship.

First, Jesus taught her the meaning of true worship.

Second, Jesus tells us how to practice the true method of worship.

Finally, Jesus reminds us of our motives as worshippers.

We go to church not primarily for what we can get but for what we can give. We glorify God when we bring our worship to church; it reveals that He is of the utmost importance in our lives.

Apply it to your life

What does your worship life say about how much worth you’ve placed on God? Consider the meaning, method, and motive of true worship as you glorify God in your faithfulness to Him.

Previous Episode

Faithful in Bible Study

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Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: 2 Timothy 2:15

If we want to live holy lives, to be sanctified and powerful in the Lord, we must learn how to be faithful in studying God’s Word.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

First, if you want to understand the Bible, you must receive the saving Author of the Bible.

Without Christ, we are spiritually blind, as 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

An unsaved man can read the Bible and appreciate its beauty, history, and moral precepts; yet he will never know the deep meaning of God’s Word until he’s born again. When Christ is in our hearts, our eyes are opened, our hearts are stirred and our minds are enlightened to the things of Scripture. Only then can we learn His statutes.

Secondly, we must recognize the sovereign authority of the Bible.

All Scripture is the breath of God, inspired by Him. The Bible interpreted by the Holy Spirit is the final authority—not human reason or conscience.

Third, we must resolve to make a serious analysis of the Bible.

It’s not enough to say that God is the author of the Bible or that the Bible is absolutely authoritative. We must rightly divide the Word of God, laying aside our intellectual pride and bringing our open minds. We must analyze it in context, with common sense and deep concentration. Read poetry as poetry, prophecy as prophecy, promises as promises, and precepts as precepts.

Lastly, we must respond with a steadfast application of the Bible.

To love God is to keep His commandments. Inspiration without obedience will cause the Word of God to sour within us rather than energize us. We must put these things into practice.

Adrian Rogers says, “Bible study gives you knowledge about God. Obedience gives you knowledge of God. You can study the Bible and learn about God or you can obey the Bible and know God.”

Apply it to your life

Are you exercising your faithfulness in studying the Bible? Read God’s Word in context, with common sense and full concentration today.

Next Episode

Faithful in Fellowship

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: 1 Corinthians 12:12

It is important that we understand that while Jesus Christ and the Church are not identical, they are inseparable. We cannot forsake the church; we must remain faithful in fellowship.

1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.”

This passage describes the church as a body, with Christ as the head. As our bodies inhabit our humanity, the church inhabits Jesus Christ. The body serves the life of the person who lives inside of it; likewise, we are Jesus’ hands and feet.

Adrian Rogers says, “Jesus is the invisible part of the visible church, and the church is the visible part of the invisible Christ.”

We are not just a collection of parts; we have life. The Holy Spirit moves us, therefore we are more than an organization... We are an organism. We have many members, but we have one agenda.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

The formation of the church body begins when the members are born again and spiritually baptized by the Holy Ghost. As a result, we are bound together as a single body in fellowship.

We share a common life, unified by the Holy Spirit dwelling in each of us. We belong to one another, casting aside any competition with one another or isolation.

We also show a common love as 1 Corinthians 12:25 and 26 say: “...that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Finally, we serve the same Lord; Adrian Rogers says, “Loyalty to Jesus means loyalty to His body; you cannot love Jesus without loving what Jesus loves.”

As Jesus loves the church—faults, failures, flaws, and all—so should we.

Apply it to your life

We are all somebody in His body; accept your role, whether you are an ear to hear or an eye to see. Be yourself and give yourself to the church; as we work with each other, Jesus Christ will be seen through us.