church

INI
The Eighth Sunday after Trinity
August 2, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

OUR LORD GETS US READY FOR CHURCH
John 4:15-26

To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor
and glory forever and ever, Amen. This morning we turn our attention to the
fourth chapter of John's Gospel, beginning with the fifteenth verse, as follows:

"The woman said to Him, 'Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor
come here to draw.' Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.'
The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You
have well said, "I have no husband," for you have had five husbands, and the
one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.' The
woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers
worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place
where one ought to worship.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
Father. You worship what you do=2 0not know; we know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews. 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.' The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming'
who is called Christ. 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.' Jesus said to
her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" Thus far our text.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah who has come, Dear Fellow
Redeemed,

How do you get ready for church? In some families, especially those who live
far away, it's a long drawn-out process. They start getting ready way ahead of
time. Everything is organized: the family is fed, the children are dressed, and
the car is warmed up -- all in plenty of time so they can arrive a few minutes
early. With others it's different. I came from a big family, where getting ready
for church was always something of a controlled disaster. One kid couldn't find
his socks, and another had only one shoe. Somebody lost the offering check,
and somebody wasn't finished with breakfast. When we finally did get the
whole crew together and on the road, it seemed like we never arrived at church
with more than 30 seconds to spare.

Our text for today is about getting ready for church. Not about the mundane
aspects of physically preparing for Sunday services. Rather, today we hear Jesus
tell the Samaritan woman how a person can be spiritually prepared for
meaningful, God-pleasing worship. This is a lesson you and I need to hear, as
well. Only our Lord can tell us what true worship is, and only He can make us
truly worthy and well-prepared to take part in it. This morning's theme is:

OUR LORD GETS US READY FOR CHURCH
I. By showing us WHY we worship.
II. By showing us HOW to worship.
III. By showing us WHO to worship.

But first of all -- why do we worship? Why do we come before the Lord here in
His house every week? Mainly, it's because we have a need that only our God
can fulfill - the need for redemption and forgiveness. Obviously, there are a lot
of people who don't feel that need, or else this church and every other would be
packed to overflowing every Sunday. The Samaritan woman was on e of these.
She didn't understand what Jesus was trying to tell her. His words about "living
waters" went right over her head, because her conscience wasn't working right.
So Jesus gave her conscience a jab, by applying the Law to her life in a way she
couldn't possibly ignore. "Jesus said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come
here.' The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her,
'You have well said, "I have no husband," for you have had five husbands, and
the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.' The
woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.'" Jesus confronts
her gently, but firmly, with the Law. This woman had divorced five husbands,
and was currently living in sin with a man to whom she was not married.
Anyway, that got her attention. Now she had to face her sin. Now she wanted
to hear what Jesus had to say.

There's the old joke about the man who borrowed his neighbor's mule to plow
a field. He took him to the field, hitched him up and said, "Giddy up," but the
mule wouldn't move. He screamed and yelled - nothing. Finally the owner came
over, picked up a 2x4, whacked the mule between the eyes and said, "Giddy
up." The mule obediently began to pull the plow. "You see," he explained,
"first you have to get his attention..." God uses His holy Law to get sinners'
attention. It is not a pleasant experience, as the Samaritan woman found out.
But recognizing our sinfulness and our need for a Savior is a necessary step. Not
until a sinner has seen his sin and cried out with Paul, "O wretched man that I
am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" - not until then is he ready
to receive Jesus into his heart. Only when God has gotten our attention with
the harsh demands of the Law are we ready to hear the sweetness of the
Gospel.

Our Lord gets us ready for church by showing us WHY we worship. There's no
question about that - we simply have to! We're sinful creatures in need of
forgiveness, and our Lord is the only one who can supply that forgiveness. The
Samaritan woman felt that, and so do we. But we're not ready for church yet. T
here's another dimension of worship we need to understand, and Jesus reveals
that, too -- by showing us HOW to worship.

This simple woman was no Bible scholar. She didn't have a degree in theology,
and she didn't need one. She knew that her sin was the problem, and that
church was the place to go to find an answer for the problem. Her question now
was -- which church? "The woman said to Him, 'Sir... our fathers worshiped on
this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought
to worship.'"

"Which church should I go to?" she asked; "Where is the right place to
worship?" The Samaritans believed that the only place to worship was their
temple on Mount Gerizim. The Jews taught that true worship could ta ke place
only at the Temple in Jerusalem. But Jesus had news for her. The question isn't
where, he said, but how. "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, the hour is
coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the
Father. ...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.'"

It makes sense, doesn't it? -If God were a physical person, you'd have to go
where He was to worship Him, whether it be Jerusalem or Mount Gerizim or
Dallas or Pittsburgh. But God is spirit. He can hear your confession, receive
your prayers and forgive your sins no matter where you are!

We know what's not necessary for true worship - not a particular building, or a
particular town, or even a particular country. But do we know what is
necessary? Our Lord is the One who gets us truly ready for church by showing
us HOW to worship; namely, "in spirit and in truth."

The first describes the attitude we bring with us to church. We don't come here
to God's house in order to be seen by others - that's the simple hypocrisy that
was so common in Jesus' day. Real worship has nothing to do with how you
look to other people. Nor is attendance at worship a means of chalking up
points with God. Real worship is a thing of the spirit. It has to do with the faith
that lies in your heart. It's a trusting response to our Savior's invitation, "Come
unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." --Mt
11:28. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that, starting fr om that moment, real
worship would take place wherever sinners gathered in a spirit of faith and
sincerity to seek their Lord's forgiveness together.

Real worship must be in spirit -- and in truth. That means that the object of our
worship must be the true God that is revealed to us in the Bible. Finally and
most importantly, our Lord gets us ready for church -- by showing us WHO to
worship!

Your "spirit" may change from one Sunday to the next. One week you come to
worship with your heart aching to hear the Gospel, and your ears eager to learn
from God's Word. The next week you're tired, or maybe you're distracted by
something, or perhaps you have trouble applying the message to yourself. That
can happen; that's why we ask God every Sunday to "create in me a clean heart,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me." But though our spirit may change from
Sunday to Sunday, God's truth never changes. And that's one of the best things
about our worship -- we worship the true God! His Word is truth!

Oh yes, the skeptics of our day will continue to repeat the sneering question of
Pontius Pilate, "What is truth?" Which is just another way of saying what? That
there is no absolute truth. They deny that there really exists any objective truth
that applies to everybody. "And even if there is such a thing as truth," they say,
"what makes you tiny bunch of Lutherans in the CLC think that YOU, out of
all the worlds millions, know what it is?" Don't be afraid of them. What is
truth? Turns out that's a pretty easy question to answer - all you have to do is
open your Bible to the 119th Psalm and read: "The entirety of Your word is
truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever." -- Psa
119:160.

God is the One who truly gets us ready for church. He has revealed the truth to
us in His Word. He has given us a reliable lamp to guide us in the Way. He has
shown us everything we need to know to worship Him "in spirit and in truth."
That's why Paul refused to be intimidated by the skeptics of his age; he said, "I
am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes." Paul recognized that the very height of eternal
truth is embodied in the person of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

But back to our text. I wonder how much that Samaritan woman had guessed
about Jesus by this point. He obviously knew all about her past. He had the
answers for all her questions. She knew He was at least a powerful Prophet. But
was He perhaps more than a prophet ? "The woman said to Him, 'I know that
Messiah is coming' who is called Christ. 'When He comes, He will tell us all
things.'" Jesus didn't keep her in suspense. She was grasping desperately for a
way out of her sin and guilt, and He placed salvation squarely in her hands.
"Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'"

I who speak to you am He! What a simple and wonderful revelation! Jesus
identifies Himself as the Messiah - the promised Savior of the world. How the
pieces must have fallen into place for the woman when Jesus said those simple
words. No wonder He knew so much about her! Now it made sense what He
said about giving her “the water of eternal life.” What wonderful Good News:
she didn't have to go to Gerizim or Jerusalem to find God, because God was
standing right in front of her! Here was her Lord: the One who gently prompted
her confession of sin, and the One who promised to pardon her. Did she believe
Jesus? Did she take advantage of His offer? She sure did. Go home and read the
rest of John chapter four – she not only received Jesus by faith herself, she went
and told all her neighbors the wonderful news as well! Verse 39 tells us, "And
many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the
woman who testified."

Do you want to worship in spirit and in truth? Are you, like that woman,
burdened with sin and seeking a way out? Look no further! Today Jesus says to
you, "I who speak to you am He." The Son of God is present with us right now
in this building. It is His Word you are listening at this moment. Jesus Christ has
placed salvation squarely in your hands. With His perfect life, He fulfilled all
the commandments for you. He has provided a cloak of righteousness for you
to put on, in which you can stand before God clean and pure. Put it on! How
soothing it is to wear that cloak, how wonderful to be folded in its purity! By
giving up His life on the cross, Jesus has made a way for you to escape the
consequences of your sin. Take advantage - make your escape! Scripture
promises, "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." By
defeating Satan and reclaiming His life on Easter morning, Jesus secured
everlasting life for you, as well. His promise stands sure: "Because I live, you
will live also." -- Jn 14:19. So take Him at His word! Find comfort in the fact
that Jesus is your Good Shepherd, a Good Shepherd who promises that nothing
and no one will be able to snatch you from His loving arms!

Finally, by all means do share this good news with friends and relatives,
co-workers and neighbors whenever you can. God has been gracious to you and
welcomed you into His Church, what a privilege to be able to share the worship
of the true God with others. Be actively on the lookout for these precious
opportunities. I got in the habit of putting a church business card in my shirt
pocket each day, and seeing if I could find some way to get rid of it before the
day was over. You know – talk to somebody about the most important thing
there is. You can do it, too. Just do what Jesus did – make it about that person’s
life. Bear in20mind that, whether that person knows it or not, you possess the
thing they need most in the whole world: the Gospel, the key to eternal life. So
don’t be stingy with it! Determine each morning that, with God's help, not a
single chance to share the Good News will slip past you. Proverbs 25:11 says,
"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." You simply
don't know how that powerful Word of God - that "dynamite" of the Gospel -
will affect those people to whom you speak. Mighty things are accomplished
when God's Word is spoken! Think of it - you may be the messenger God uses
to usher many souls into the kingdom of salvation. Imagine if it could someday
be said of you what was said of that Samaritan woman: "And many of the
people of that city believed in Jesus because of the word of YOU who
testified!"

For many of us, the Sunday morning routine could stand a little improvement.
Many of us wish we could sta rt out a little sooner, or get a little better
organized; then maybe we'd have time to be a little more thoughtful and a little
less hurried about our worship. Perhaps give ourselves the time to read the
Psalm and say a prayer before worship. And that would be a good thing. But the
best preparation for worship doesn't lie in our hands at all. Let us always
remember: by showing us WHY we worship, by showing us HOW to worship,
and by showing us WHO to worship – our Lord is the One who truly gets us
ready for church! In Jesus' name, AMEN.