What If Your Worship Reveals God’s Worth To You

What do you picture when you hear the word “worship” and what happens when your picture is too small? We ask a blunt question most of us avoid: are we worshiping God, or are we worshiping an experience we like? Drawing from Jesus’ refusal to worship Satan in Matthew 4 and His conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4, we talk about why worship belongs to the Lord alone and why it can’t be reduced to a room, a routine, or a mood. 
 
We dig into what worship actually means ascribing true worth to God and why the place of worship is never the main issue. The real question is the object of worship. When music style, atmosphere, or a favorite speaker becomes the focus, we end up “worshiping worship” instead of worshiping the Father. We also tackle the hard truth Jesus makes unavoidable: true worship of the Father is only possible through Jesus the Son. That leads us into the essentials of the gospel response repentance, genuine faith in Christ, and the call to make that faith public through believers’ baptism. 
 
From there, we get practical. We list common ways we critique services and miss God, then return to Jesus’ definition of real worship: worship in spirit and in truth. Spirit means from the core of who we are, not surface performance. Truth means honest worship shaped by biblical revelation, not preferences or man-made tradition. If you want a healthier Christian life, this message reframes worship as a whole-life response to God’s worth. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review, then tell us: what most often pulls your attention away from God in worship?

Transcript

Mission And Message Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the teaching ministry of firm foundations ministry. Our mission is to help people build their lives on the truth of Scripture. Today, Dr. Timothy Mann continues his series, The Essentials of Being a Christian, with a message on true worship, what it is, what it isn't, and why it matters. Here now is Dr. Timothy Mann.

Scripture Reading And Context

What Makes A Church Service “Perfect”

Worship Is For God Alone

What Worship Means: God’s Worth

Place Matters Less Than You Think

The Object Of Worship Matters Most

Support The Ministry Message

SPEAKER_01 0:22

If you're going to have a healthy Christian life, then it is essential that you be a genuine follower of Jesus. Everything flows from there. You and I must be authentic Christians, genuine followers of Jesus. Jesus said, if anyone desires to come after me, if you want to be a Christian, if anyone desires to come after me, then let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. It's very straightforward with many implications. Today we're going to consider another essential to the Christian life. Matthew chapter 4, verses 8 through 10, and we'll also be looking at John chapter 4, verses 19 through 24. Verse 8. Again the devil took him, him meaning Jesus, upon an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, All these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. And then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan, for it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Now John chapter 4. John chapter 4, we're going to pick it up in verse 19. This is an encounter, interaction that Jesus had with a Samaritan woman. Kind of jumping into the middle of it. The woman, the Samaritan woman, verse 19, said to him, meaning Jesus, 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 not 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. We'll stop there. This is God's word. So let me ask you a question. And this is a rhetorical question. I don't want you to answer out loud. Here's the question. What is a perfect church service to you? What is a perfect church service to you? Usually, when we think of worship, we automatically think of a church service. Isn't that true? Usually, that's what we do. We think of worship, we automatically think of a church service. What is a perfect church service to you? C.S. Lewis, a 20th-century theologian, he had some thoughts on the perfect church service. Lewis wrote and said this. He said, As long as you notice and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing, but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice. Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes or light or print or spelling. The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of. Our attention would have been on God. So, maybe the best church service is the one you don't really notice. You're just thinking about and responding to the Lord. Anyway, be that as it may, there is more to worship than a good church service. In our text, in Matthew, Jesus was tempted and tried by Satan himself, and he responded with the truth worship is for the Lord God only, and we should serve him only. Now we all have inherently in us the inclination, the bent, because it's how we were made. We have this bent to worship something or someone or both. Many things lure us and pull on us to worship them. The Lord said, Worship is exclusively, though, for God. It's exclusively for God. Now Jesus in John chapter 4 has sought out a woman of a different ethnicity than himself, and she has a checkered past and a sketchy present. Sounds like some of us, right? And he's engaged her in conversation at the public well, and she recognizes him as at least being a prophet of God. And she asks him a question based on her cultural religious upbringing. Our, and I don't have time to get into all that this morning, but that's really the question. It's based on her cultural religious upbringing. There's a history behind it. That's why you ought to read the Old Testament. The New Testament makes more sense when you read the Old Testament and know what goes on in the Old Testament. Be that as it may. Our upbringing influences what or who we worship and how. Particularly when it comes to the religious context of worship. But, you know, worship doesn't have to be Almighty God directed to be worship. I mean, hundreds of thousands of people yesterday gathered in temples called stadiums all across the country yesterday and worshiped. They worshiped. That's just one example. And we could make a list. We could spend the next 30 minutes making a list of all the things that people worship. That you and I worship. But in this conversation, Jesus instructs this Samaritan woman who ultimately comes to believe in and trust Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior, and revival happens. But he, he, the one who deserves worship, instructs her and us regarding worship. And so here's the essential today. We need to be a true worshiper of the Father. Being a true worshiper of the Father is essential to a healthy Christian life. Being a true worshiper of the Father is essential to a healthy Christian life. Well, first of all, what is worship? That's a good question. What is worship? Now, part of the answer is seen in the fact that if you and I had been living in England during the early days in the early formation of the English language, say between the period of Jeffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, we would have not at all used the word worship. We wouldn't have used the word worship at all. We would have said worship. Worth ship. And we would have meant in that, worshiping the Father, we are actually assigning to God his true worth. Worship. What is he worth to you? What is God's true worth to you? It's evidenced in your worship of him. Well, let's make some observations from this passage out of John 4. If we're going to be a true worshiper of the Father, first of all, we need to recognize the place of worship is not the most important thing. We need to recognize the place of worship is not the most important thing. We can get hung up on a particular place or space as the essential part of worship, even to the point of what the place or space needs to look like. I mean things like I can't worship unless the lights are dimmed. I can't worship unless the lights are up. I can't worship unless there's some stained glass. I can't worship if there is stained glass. Now, remember, Jesus faithfully went to synagogue and he faithfully went to temple. Don't forget that. Jesus faithfully went to synagogue and he faithfully went to temple, but Jesus makes it clear that worship is not exclusive to a location. The location is not the most important issue. We need to recognize this. That's the first observation. Location is not the most important thing. Second observation we need to recognize. We need to recognize that the object of worship is the most important thing. The object of worship is the most important issue. Jesus said, true worshipers will worship the Father. True worshipers will worship the Father. Seems like today we have some folks who worship worship. Who worship worship. What do I mean? Well, they worship the experience, they place high value on the experience. They worship music. They worship the style. They worship a particular speaker or a particular preacher. Listen to me this morning. Worship is not something you experience. Worship is not something that you watch. Worship is something that you do. It's something that you do. You are actually ascribing worth and value. Greek word for worship has the idea of kiss. Or even to prostrate and kiss the feet. That's the idea. And so the object of worship is to be Almighty God. The object of worship is to be the creator. The object of worship is to be the Heavenly Father. The object of worship is to be the Redeemer of sinners, the triune God. Worship is glorying in our relationship with the Father because He is indescribably perfect and holy and just and righteous and loving and merciful and graceful, and we are not worthy of a relationship with Him. If the Lord Himself, if the Lord Himself is not the object of your worship, it is misdirected at best, and it is idolatrous at worst. If the Lord Himself is not the object of your worship, the more you get to know the Father through his revealed word, the more laser-focused your worship will be on the proper object. The Father Himself. That's an important observation that we need to make and adjust accordingly, if that's our need.

SPEAKER_00 11:36

Jesus said the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. And part of that kind of worship is aligning our hearts and our resources with what God is doing. If Foundations of Truth is strengthening your faith, would you prayerfully consider becoming a supporter of Firm Foundations ministries? Your gift helps us continue proclaiming biblical truth without compromise. Visit firm-foundations.org to give today. Now back to Dr. Timothy Mann.

Worship Through Jesus Alone

Repentance Faith And Baptism

Draw Near Through Christ’s Blood

Spirit And Truth Over Activity

Critiquing Services Versus Actually Worshiping

Defining Worship In Spirit And Truth

SPEAKER_01 12:06

What's another observation? Well, it's really straightforward, and it's this we need to recognize that worshiping the Father is only through Jesus the Son. Worshiping the Father is only through Jesus the Son. Jesus said, salvation is of the Jews. So the Messiah, who is the salvation for all who repent and believe, the Messiah comes through the Jews, not from any other source. And God did this by sending his own son into the world through the Jewish nation. And God sent him so that sinners through him might be saved. And he did this once for all. In his eternal purpose and plan for man's salvation, he took the sins of sinners and laid them on his son while he was being slain upon the cross. And he allowed his son to bear the sins of the world. And then he took his son and raised him from the dead, alive and forever. Amen. And he did what man had always failed to do, and that's this. In his son's resurrection, God began to build a lasting kingdom of righteousness, a new nation that is presently being made up of men and women from all earthly nations who desire and are willing to follow Jesus Christ supremely. He is calling out and forming a new people who have been genuinely born again spiritually, and these newborn people shall live eternally beyond just one earthly generation. These people are identified as its church, a body of people who genuinely believe and follow Him. Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 6, no one comes to the Father except through me. No one comes to the Father except through me. You can't have a relationship with the Father without coming through the Son. What does that mean? Well, it means you have to trust and depend on Jesus to be in right standing with God. You have to trust and depend on Jesus to be right in right standing with the Father. There is no forgiveness without Jesus. There is no salvation without Jesus. There is no future with the Father without Jesus. There is no true worship of the Father apart from coming through Jesus. Now, how do I begin a right relationship with the Father through Jesus? That's the question. How do I begin a right relationship with the Father through Jesus? You must repent. You must repent. Jesus said it. We looked at it last week. The apostles declared it over and over. You have to turn away from living your way, sir. You have to turn away from living your way, ma'am. The world's way. You have to turn away from sin's way. Listen, you can confess your sins to God. Do that. Do it now. Bow your head right now and confess your sins to God if that's your need. You can be sorry for your sin. That's a good thing. Tell God you're sorry for your sin right now. You can pray and ask God to forgive you. Pray right now and ask him to forgive you. But if you don't truly repent, if you don't turn, if you don't change direction, then you've not come through Jesus yet. I'm telling you, confessing your sins, saying you're sorry and asking him to forgive you falls short of repentance. If there's no change. It's not repentance. If there's no change. Now the other side of the same coin, as they say, is genuine faith in Jesus. Who he is. And what he has done, his death, his burial, and resurrection for your salvation. You're placing all your trust in Jesus and Jesus alone for the salvation of your soul. Will you truly believe on Christ now? Do you truly believe on Christ right now? Is it real? Is the answer yes? I do. Well, that's how you come to the Father through Jesus. And if you want to pray and tell him you believe on him, do it. Do it now. But listen to me, that prayer does not save you. By the grace of God, Jesus saves you through your faith. Faith is the channel. And if you repent and believe on Jesus, well, if you repent and believe on Jesus, then you must make it public by being marked as a follower of Jesus through believers' baptism. And if you have repented and believed on Jesus, you need to make it public by being marked as a follower of Jesus through believers' baptism. And that is, ladies and gentlemen, biblically your public profession of faith. Not walking the aisle, not standing down here at the steps. When you go in that water, in that watery grave, showing that you have died as self, that you have been buried, and you are being raised again in newness of life, that is you demonstrating I identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. I am a follower of Christ and I am unashamed. I don't care what you say down here. I want to see, are you going to be around a year from now? Are you going to be following Jesus two years from now, five years from now, six years from now? Listen, it's not a prayer that saves you, it's Jesus that saves you. If you've repented and believe on Jesus, what you need to do next is be baptized and make it public. You can only worship Almighty God through Jesus. But because of Jesus, you can draw near to the Father. Because of the blood of Jesus, which is shed for your forgiveness, you can enter the holiest place into the presence of the presence of the God of the universe. Listen carefully to the New Testament book of Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 19 through 25. Listen carefully. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the most holy place. And since we have a great high priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm. For God can be trusted to keep his promises. Amen. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. You can only worship the Father by coming through the Son. And we have that wonderful privilege. What's the next observation? Well, in this passage, it's this if we're going to be a true worshiper of the Father, then we need to pursue the essentials of proper worship. We need to pursue the essentials of proper worship. Our priority must be what Jesus said the Father is looking for. And what did Jesus say the Father is looking for? He said, true worshipers who worship in spirit and truth. True worshipers who worship in spirit and truth. Now, so the priority is not activity. The priority is not activity. Now, there are many biblical activities in worshiping God. Worship is active, it's not passive. Praise is an active component of worship. There are many other active aspects of worship that are very comprehensive. Some of the actions in the Bible include praying, singing, reading the scriptures, bowing, standing, clapping, remaining silent, shouting, crying, observing the Lord's table, teaching, giving offerings, working, serving, eating, drinking. Whatever we do is to be worshiped. But we can do any number of these activities, still not worship. We so often focus on activities. And we so often critique the activities. We say things like, I can't worship unless I have modern music. I can't worship unless it's the old hymns. I can't worship unless it's quiet and reverent. I can't worship unless it's exciting and upbeat. I can't worship unless they read a Bible translation, I prefer. I can't worship if the pastor is wearing a suit. I can't worship unless the pastor is wearing a suit. I can't worship unless we recite the right creeds and repeat the same prayers. I can't worship if we recite the same prayers and the creeds every time. What does that say about us? What does all of that say about us? Or we're always critiquing and criticizing in our minds. Well, she doesn't have a very good singing voice. He prays way too long. He's just raising his hands because he wants to be seen. He says, Amen, way too long. Too much. It's just for show. They shouldn't be clapping. They should be clapping more. The preacher preaches way too long. I don't like the text he chose to preach from. We can usually remember how long the worship service lasted, what we liked and did not like about it, but can we remember exactly when we actually worship the Lord? What does that say about us? Jesus defined real worship. He defined real worship. According to him, worship takes on two essential aspects. It is in spirit and in truth. Now, in spirit refers to the human spirit, the immaterial inner being in each person. The God-breathed entity that corresponds to the nature of God Himself, who is spirit. This means from the spiritual core of your life and being, from the innermost depths of who you are. This is the opposite of surface or superficial. Now, this is not specifically referencing the Holy Spirit, but genuine worship is Holy Spirit empowered. If you are saved, if you're a genuine follower of Jesus. In spirit. From the very depths. The phrase in truth. In spirit, and in truth, in truth means in a true way. In a true way. It does mean that we must approach God truthfully. That is, honestly or wholeheartedly. That's what Jesus was referring to in a negative way when he was quoting Isaiah as it relates to the people of his day, Jesus in his time. He said in Matthew 15, he said, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain. You can worship God in vain. And so, according to Jesus, no worship is true worship unless there is an honesty of heart on the part of the worshiper. We must not pretend to worship. We must worship truthfully. But it's not only sincerely and honestly, although that is part and it goes hand in hand with in spirit, but it also means in accordance with truth. In accordance with truth. We must worship, ladies and gentlemen, on the basis of biblical revelation. We must worship on the basis of biblical revelation. And that's also inherent in the verses I just quoted. Because the verse that begins, they worship me in vain, it immediately goes on to condemn those who have substituted, and I quote Jesus, the traditions of men, the rules taught by men for the doctrines of Scripture. Your word is truth, says the Scripture. So if we are to worship in truth, as God commands us to do, then our worship must be in accord with the principles and the admonitions of this book. Worship cannot be just anything we make up and call it worship. In spirit and in truth. This is the kind of worship the fathers wanting.

In Spirit: From The Inner Core

SPEAKER_00 25:28

You've been listening to Foundations of Truth, the radio and podcast program of Firm Foundations Ministries. True worship isn't confined to a place or a moment. It flows from a heart transformed by the truth of God's Word and the power of His Spirit. May your life be an offering of worship to him. For more resources, visit firm foundations.org. God bless you and stand firm in the truth of God's Word.