(#1) Worship Begins with GOD'S CALL
(John 4:21-24)
"For from him, and through him and to him are all things."
The First Point of the Compass, the "true north" toward which our worship points is God himself. Without him, there is no worship, and there are no worshipers. If our compass points any other direction, or if out of pride or laziness we stop looking at it, we fail to worship the true God. And so our worship must be, first of all, God-centered.
"But we already know that."
Yes. And that may be our greatest danger. "God-centered" worship, like all great truths, is so important that it may becomes a cliche. We may say it with utmost sincerity. But precisely because we hear and say it so often we do not stop to think what we mean by it.
In practice we may think it means, we must begin our worship by focusing our attention on God. Now that is extremely important. But it actually skips over something even more fundamental, without which there can be no true worship. Worship does not begin with what we do at all. Worship begins with what GOD does.
Worship Begins with God
One of the most often quoted texts about worship is Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman in John 4:23-24. More often than not we jump straight to, "those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" and forget what comes first. Our focus is then on OUR worship. But that is the result, the response. Why do we worship in this way? First , because "the Father is seeking such to worship him." Second, because "God is spirit." This article will deal with the first of these, the next with the second point.
The Call to Worship & to Life
"The Father seeks worshipers"
Worship is not an idea we came up with. It is God's idea. He wants to be worshiped and he seeks out worshipers, inviting them and commanding them to worship him.
The episode of the Samaritan woman is an expression of this call. From the beginning it is rooted in the Father's seeking. Jesus, carrying out the work of his Father who sent him (v.34), goes straight through Samaria, not around it as the Jews normally did, and makes a point of speaking to this Samaritan (a woman and an outcast no less!) and asking for a drink. He goes "out of his way" because he is seeking.
Now Jesus begins by telling the woman that he can give her the living water of eternal life. But the rest of the conversation shows us that Jesus is speaking of more than just "personal salvation." When the woman goes on to raise the question of where one should worship, he does not treat this as a secondary issue. Rather he shows that the worship of God is at the heart of his ministry. For he has come to announce a new era: "A time is coming when you [Samaritans] will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem" (v.21) Even more, "A time is coming and has now come " when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. (v.23)
This then is Jesus' ministry. He is sent to bring people back to his Father, to call them and to buy them back for God. He who comes "to seek and to save what was lost" is sent by the Father, who is seeking worshipers . So when Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman, his invitation to receive the living water is of one piece with the call to worship the Father.
An Ancient and New Call
This has always been God's call. God has compassion on Israel (Exodus 3:7), and sends Moses to deliver them from bondage in Egypt. But his goal is not merely freeing slaves from their suffering. What he wants is summarized in the words he commands Moses to speak to Pharaoh, "The LORD says, 'Let my people go, so that they may worship me!'" Seven times he repeats this command (5:1, 7:16, 8:1, 21, 9:1,13, 10:3).
So with a mighty hand he brings them out, to his mountain. There he again proclaims his purpose for his people--the people he has delivered by "carrying them on eagles wings to himself"-- that they be a kingdom of priests to him (Exodus 19:6). Then he comes down to Mount Sinai, and begins his "Ten Words" by declaring, "I am the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." This and the three commands that follow are about the worship of the LORD. This is what it means to be the people of the LORD.
But "the time is coming and now is"--for through Jesus Christ God brings about an even greater exodus. He redeems a people from every nation, as a royal priesthood, a people to declare the praises of him who CALLED us out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Pet 2:9-10. compare Rev 1:6, 5:10). God redeems us to worship him.
And so the Father who seeks worshipers finds them and brings them to himself, to Mount Zion. They are now becoming a great throng, worshiping around his throne (Hebrew 12:22-24). In Revelation 7 we see this throng redeemed from every people and nation, every land and tongue. Here God's people reach their destination. And what are they doing? They are enjoying the gift of life as they worship him.
They are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; And he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. . . . The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. (Revelation 7:15-17)
The Father calls us, wherever we are, to bow down and worship at his throne. As we do he invites us to drink from the river of life, the waters that flow from the throne of God (Rev 22:1), to come and feast at the banquet table he has spread for us. So let us hear his call. Let us come to his throne.
Come, let us bow down in worship!
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker! [Psalm 95:6]
Come and take the free gift of the water of life! [Rev. 22:17]
Come to the banquet, for all things are now ready! [Luke 14:17]
Putting it Into Practice
- What kind of "calls" do you use for times of worship? Do you hear both the invitation to receive God's gift of life and the command to worship?
- In what other ways do you remind yourself and God's people that worship begins with his call?
- If the Father is seeking worshipers, how are we part of his seeking and call to the world? How does our witness include both the command and the invitation? How do we express this call when we assemble to worship?
- (see Pathways Service #1)