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FULFILMENT OF JESUS’ PROPHECY OF JOHN CHAPTER 4 AFTER 2000 YEARS

(Saturday, August 22, 2020)

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:34-35; Mark 13:30-31 & Luke 21:28-33). These are the words of Jesus when he told his disciples about the end-time sign. The purpose of prophecy in the bible is given in Isaiah 46:9-10: “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.” Supernatural predictions are evidence provided to us for verification. Not a single prophecy from the Bible has been proven false. Many prophecies remain in the future, but all that have come to pass have been verified to be true. Thousands of prophecies from the Bible have been fulfilled. We testify that through COVID pandemic, God fulfilled another important prophecy that was spelt out by Jesus Christ about 2000 years ago that is recorded in John 4:23-24.

2.0 THE TRUE WORSHIPPERS SHALL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

Jesus’ statement to the woman from Samaria, “…ye worship ye know not what….” Jesus further says in John 4: 23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”.

God does not have a material body. He is invisible to human eyes (John 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:16). The fact that He is spirit means that He is not confined to one locale at a time. He is omnipresent. He has existed as spirit for all eternity, before He created the material universe. When we’re born again, we possess human spirits (John 3:6), which can worship Him. Because He is the only omnipresent spirit, we can worship Him anywhere and know that He is there.

Jesus’ words about worship to this unnamed Samaritan woman occur in the context of His witness to bring this woman to saving faith. We might not think that witnessing is the right context to talk about the priority of worship. But Jesus takes her implicit question (John 4:20) about whether Samaritan worship or Jewish worship is correct and uses it to zero in on the aim of the gospel: to turn sinners into true worshipers of God.

This is the hour indeed arrived when true worshippers of God are worshipping the Father in spirit and truth.. not in temples made with hands or buildings constructed of stone – nor on the tops of mountains. True worshippers are glorifying and extoling the Lord in spirit and in truth and they are instructed by God Himself on the sort of godly living that He requires from all His people.

3.0 A SIGNIFICANT TRANSITION HAS TAKEN PLACE

Jesus tells this woman that a significant transition is about to take place (John 4:23), “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” This transition has taken place in last 6-7 months due to outbreak of coronavirus across the globe. Jesus’ presence began this change from the old covenant to the new. Under the old way of worship, place was significant: all Jewish males had to appear before God in Jerusalem for the three annual feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16). But in the new way which Jesus inaugurated, He is the new temple (John 2:19-21). Believers are being built into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Peter 2:5). Thus, where we gather to worship is secondary. How and whom we worship is primary.

Unbelievers, such as the Samaritan woman at this point, often mistakenly think that if they go through the proper externals of “worship,” then things are okay between them and God. As long as they go to a church building and go through the weekly rituals, they figure that everything is fine. But they haven’t dealt with God on the heart level. They haven’t repented of their sins of thought, word, and deed. So, Jesus tells her that it’s not the externals that matter as much as the internal. We must make it our priority to become true worshipers of God in spirit and truth. So, God now is seeking worshipers who will bring Him glory, not just for an hour on Saturday or Sunday, but every day through all their activities. We can’t properly worship God on Saturdays or Sundays if we’re not worshiping Him throughout the week. We begin that process by repenting of our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. We grow in that process as we bring every thought, word, and deed under His lordship.

4.0 ALL TRUE WORSHIPERS ARE SINCERE, BUT ALL SINCERE WORSHIPERS ARE NOT TRUE

False worshipers either worship something other than God or they may attempt to worship the true God but do it in ways that actually dishonor Him. But either way, sincerity is not the only criterion for measuring true worship. For example, there are devout, sincere worshipers of Allah or Rama or Krishna or Buddha or the Mormon gods or the Jehovah’s Witness gods. But they are sincerely wrong, because they are not worshiping the only living and true God, who has revealed Himself in the Bible.

There are also Christians who are sincere, but their worship is man-centered. Sometimes it’s patterned more after the entertainment world than after the Bible. It draws attention to the performers, but not to the Lord. Or, on the other end of the Christian spectrum, some go through ancient liturgies week after week, but their hearts are not in submission to God. They mistakenly think that because they went through the rituals, they’re good for another week. They’re like the Jewish leaders of whom Jesus said (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13), “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.” So, we need to be careful not to fall into the category of false worshipers.

5.0 YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN

In John 4:24, Jesus says that these true worshipers “must worship in spirit and truth”. It’s a necessity. So, “You must be born again” (John 3:7), because it says, “those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Jesus repeats this twice so that we don’t miss it (John 4:23-24): “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” To be true worshipers, we must worship both in spirit and in truth. To worship in spirit without truth is to worship false gods. To worship in truth without spirit is to fall into dead orthodoxy. We may be doctrinally correct, but we’re lifeless. And, the Father must be the focus of our worship. Worship in the spirit is the inward faith of the heart which produces prayer, purity of conscience, and self-denial, leading to obedience.

6.0 CONCLUSION

As we’ve seen, personal worship is not restricted to a few minutes or hours on Saturday or Sunday mornings / evenings. In the context of 1 Corinthians 10:31, where Paul mentions glorifying God through eating and drinking, he is talking about relationships that do not cause offense to others, whether to unbelievers or believers (1 Corinthians 10:32). So how we treat others should be a matter of worship. Evangelistic or missionary efforts are a matter of worship (Romans 15:16). Giving to support Christian workers or to help fellow believers is a matter of worship (Philippians 4:18; Hebrews 13:16). Godly behavior is a matter of worship (Ephesians 5:10; Philippians 1:11). An attitude of praise and thanksgiving is a matter of worship (Hebrews 13:15). The point is, you can’t live a self-centered, worldly life all week long and then come to church on Saturday or Sunday and worship. Therefore:

• Make sure that you truly believe in Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord
• Establish a daily time alone with God in the word and prayer
• Eliminate all of the garbage [unwanted TV shows, Movies, Social Media, etc.] from your personal life that hinders your growth in worshiping God
• Put away distractions on LORD’s Day and don’t be a distraction to other worshipers
• Ignore others around you and remember that God is the audience
• Spend time worshiping God in His Creation