Sermon Listening Guide
Speaker: Rev. Wesley Burr
Scripture: John 4:19-34
Sermon Title: “True Worship"
John 4:19-34 (NIV)
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
The Disciples Rejoin Jesus
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
31 Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.”
33 Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?”
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
First Thoughts
- Have you ever been so thirsty it takes over everything? It takes over your focus, your priorities, and you don’t care about anything else until that thirst is satisfied.
- What if a lot of our stress, pain, frustration, and even sin is actually misplaced thirst?
- We keep going to the same “wells” over and over again thinking they will satisfy us and they never do.
- That’s where we find this woman in John 4.
- Jesus has exposed her “well” she keeps going to which is relationships.
- She tries to change the subject and Jesus brings it back to the issue of her heart.
- Often times we do this. We’d rather discuss things that don’t matter then deal with the issues that are affecting our hearts.
- BUT, Jesus doesn’t chase the distraction, he goes to the heart of the matter.
- True Worshippers worship in Spirit and Truth.
- Worship isn’t about activity—its about affection and alignment.
- Jesus then shows his heart by revealing He is the Messiah to a broken, overlooked, outsider woman.
- This leads to an immediate change for the woman.
- The disciples are confused.
- The woman leaves her water jar to tell everyone about the living water.
- She doesn’t wait until she has her life together, she goes and immediately tells everyone about Jesus.
- THIS IS EVANGELISM.
- The disciples ask Jesus about food.
- The disciples are confused about Jesus’ answer because they are focused on physical things and Jesus is focused on spiritual things.
- The disciples miss it.
- There are people in our life who are spiritually hungry and, often times, we miss our mission.
- But Jesus tells us, just as he tells the disciples, that the harvest is NOW.
- This woman at the well came for physical water and received spiritual water.
- We often times keep going to the same wells over and over again thinking that they will satisfy and they never do.
- Jesus offers us a deep, full well that truly satisfies.
- He offers life transformation. He offers himself.
- Jesus gives us new life.
- What is the well you keep going to to fill you up, to quench a thirst that only Jesus can truly satisfy?