Return to Service - John 4:13-26

(John 4:23 nkjv) 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.

The whole structure of man and the thing we need to understand is that he was created by God and for God for the glory of God. Man was created by God and the purpose in all that man will do is to bring glory to God. Man was created to be a priest unto Him, for inside everyone is this overwhelming desire and the ability to worship.

Under the Old Testament God ordained a priesthood to represent His people before Himself. There were rituals and ceremonies that had to be performed and theses rituals were just a type and shadow or symbolic of the spiritual realities that were to come. What the priests did in the presence of the Lords were just shadows of things to come not the substance of things to come. It was in the priestly ministry of Jesus that all these things were fulfilled.

The priesthood of the Old Testament has been superseded and under the terms of the New Covenant every believer is ordained to be a priest unto God. We of course do not offer up the sacrifices of animals as did the Old Testament priest for our sacrifices are spiritual.

(1 Peter2:5 nkjv) you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

One of these important spiritual sacrifices that we need and should offer to God is the fruit of our lips.

(Hebrews 13:15 nkjv) Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

To offer up the sacrifice of praise to God has the same connotation as the word used in Exodus 24:5 then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord [nkjv]. Simply put the words used here [to offer up] means to activate, to stir up, to spring forth some thing towards some one in this case, towards God.

Now the word priest means to draw near and in terms of the law it was used of one that may draw near to the divine presence. A priest was one that could draw near to the presence of the lord that rested on the Ark of the Covenant contrary to the popular movie raiders of the lost ark. The presence of the Lord was not in the box it rested on the ark especially on the mercy seat.

Have you every wondered why man always challenges the way God has setup things, you would think that man created himself the way he carries on. It is a would be a good thing for man to drive out to a grave and be reminded that he is always just a breath away from eternity.

Now in Numbers 16 we have the account of Korah and the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, and they took men and challenged Moses and Aaron about them being the only ones that could approach the presence of the Lord, so God set out a criteria for those who would approach His presence and we find this approach in the fifth verse of this chapter.

(Numbers 16:5 nkjv) and he spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, "Tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is His and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.

Notice the three things that God said would pertain to the Old Testament priesthood. Those that are His, who are Holy and He would caused them to come near.Those that were His, in other words those that were set apart by God it was not some thing you could do your self no matter how good or holy you thought you were.

Under the Old Testament the priest represented the people and the function of the priest also represented the essential elements on which the covenant people of God’s relationship was to be based.

(Exodus 19:4-6 nkjv) 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

You follow the history of God’s covenant people through the bible and you see that this purpose was never realized and so now we have a new nation of priest unto God and that is called the church, the ecclesia of God, the called out company, those who have been called out of darkness into His most marvelous light.

(Colossians 1:13 nkjv) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

We are the church, called out and called to be holy for with out holiness the bible say no man shall see the Lord.

(1Peter 1:15-16 nkjv) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "be holy, for I am holy."

And (1John 3:3 nkjv) says, and everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We as the New Testament church are called by God to draw near to Him and to offer up spiritual sacrifices.

If what we are doing has stopped being a sacrifice in the sense of totally letting go, it has ceased to cost us some thing then it has ceased to be worship. If we are staying with what we know what we are comfortable with then what we are doing has ceased to be worship, if we are comfortable with how we are doing it then more than likely it has stopped being a sacrifice. The bible says dance before the Lord why do we not do this? Mostly we do not want to look stupid. What about clap your hands all you people or do we only do it when we feel like it? Where is the sacrifice? Where is the worship? Where is the ministry that we are called to as priest to minister unto the Lord.

(1Peter 2:9 nkjv) But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

When Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well in John four about worship, He was trying to set her mind right in the sense that it was not so much the place that she had placed the importance on, it was not so much the form that was presented, but it was the person or the one you are worshipping that was the important issue, the subject was not so much the material but the spiritual.

(John 4:23 nkjv) 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."

Jesus appealed directly to her religious conviction by saying, if you want to know the truth you will not find it in the formula of your forefathers but in the relationship of your own heart to God. Jesus was showing her that it is about the heart and the will of man and you dealings with God were through the spirit.

Worship has to be about giving God the highest place, the highest value and the surrendering of all things. It has to be about our desire to come into the manifested presence of the Lord.

Some times we in the modern church put more emphases on the word than we do on the presence of Jesus and when we do this as good as the word of the Lord is, we fall into the same trap that the religious leaders did in Jesus day

Note (John 5:39 nkjv); you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

Worship is laying all things at his feet no matter what they are be they good or bad. Praise is not praise if our mind is on some thing else.

In John chapter twelve we have a wonderful picture of worship. In this chapter we see Mary come with a costly jar of ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus and then she took her long dark hair, her crown and glory the bible calls it and wiped the feet of Jesus.All that was most honoured all that was most glorious all that was most expensive, Mary brought it to Jesus and ministered to him. This act of worship filled the room with a wonderful of aroma and it was not so much the ointment but the fragrance of ministry from the one that understood what true worship was. Worship that does not cost us some thing is not true worship.

When we come to Him what do we prize the most the form that we use or the presence that he will bring. When we come to him where do we stand in our life what really flows out of us? Stop and look to see what side of the cross we more at home with, are we always coming to it or are we with grateful hearts looking back to it. Our worship will be determined by where our feet are planted and when we gather our worship will be gendered by what we want or need rather than what we will sacrifice.Mary laid it all down for His presence. Worship esteems God, it beholds Him, bows down to Him, and it loves Him, reveres him, waits on Him and lays all things at His feet.

(Romans 12:1 nkjv) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

When the priest came before God in the Old Testament, God instructed them not to come into His presence empty handed. When we come we must worship in spirit and in truth for these are the ones that the Father is seeking.Truth of whom God is and what He has and is doing and when we worship it must be out of this truth so that our words, our action and our form in worship match our heart. God sees the truth of the realness of our attitude towards Him.

Psalm 24 puts it this way; (in verses 3 -5 nkjv) who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Jesus states that the heart and the mouth must be in sink when we worship for His accusation of the people was this;

(Mat 15:8-9 nkjv) these people draw near to me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

In the Old Testament, they worshipped GOD ALMIGHTY. Worship was an act removed from intimacy, and they worshipped Him as God. Today, we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and we can worship Him not only as God and I say that advisedly, we now as New Testament priest can worship God much more intimately as Father. The veil has been removed - Hebrews 6:19-20 "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Mechizideck."

We can know his presence in a very special way in that place of the worshipped heart. When we gather He wants to be with us and not just as an act of faith but He wants us to know his presence and what He wants to achieve when we are gathered together. The bible is full of plain ordinary people like us enjoying the presence of the Lord. We are his priest called to minister too His presence.

Ps 51:9-17 return to the beginning

Psalm. 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Just a little background first; This is A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him. David committed adultery. Then he thought to cover up his sin by deception, calling Uriah back from the battle under false pretense. And when that didn’t work, David again abused his authority and commanded his general to place Uriah on the front line of battle and then to withdraw – thus leaving Uriah to die at the hand of the enemy. And finally David takes Uriah’s wife and made Bathsheba his own.

David after being confronted turns back to God and cast himself on to the mercy of the God he had known all of His life. So this cry comes out of his heart, create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a steadfast spirit with in me.This same passage in the message paraphrase version says this; God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Oh God cries David take me back to the beginning create a genesis in me. Take me back to the beginning for I have lost my way I have forgotten that you are the creator of all things and I am created, take me back oh God so that again I am reminded of your awesome power of your incredible love.

David wanted God to speak life into a dead heart.We need to go back to return to the beginning and remember that God gave us a new heart and with that new heart and life, he has spoken a word of destiny into our lives and remember that we are designed by the living God to fulfill to bring forth and to subdue the circumstances that surround our lives.

Listen what God created pleased him for God looked the bible says at what He created and god said it is good. David cries oh God speak good things into my life and into my heart things that only you can create.
Listen we are created by God and for God and for the Glory of God and the wonder of this is, God has not left us to our own devices but he speaks a created word in to us so we can go forth and achieve what has been purposed in our hearts and lives.

Gen. 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

The right to rule over all things was breathed as a word of promise into the very fabric of our beings and we can if we decide we can if we make the decision nothing will again rule over us for we have in our dna the power of the breathed word of God to have dominion or if you like to overcome and not be overcome.

Jesus said in rev 3:21 to him who overcomes I will grant to sit with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne.

He who overcomes, that is our purpose to overcome and to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

God looks at you and in you and he says it is good; we have to allow the genesis experience that is in us to come forth and rule and reign just as we were designed in the first place.

Return to the beginning; God believes in you for we are made in his image and likeness and He has given you dominion because He believes in you, the key here is we have to start to believe in what God believes in; so many do not believe in what God has done in them.

David cried out oh God give me a genesis in my heart make me to know truth in my inner parts why, because we have got so far away from the truth, we have got so far away from the genesis experience.

Again beloved we are created by God and for God and for his glory, and our dna is from him which makes us very creative but he is the creator and if you take the creator away then we are left with nothing but evolution to worship, we need to return to the beginnings and discover our God afresh.

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

If you take God out of the equation then you have to take away the breath of life out of the equation and what do you have left? Not even evolution can be sustained with out the breath of life. So if you take away the foundation what do you have left?

David cried out oh God create in me a clean heart; a heart with no other agenda, a heart that is centered on truth on what you are saying and doing, a heart that is consumed with what you are consumed with.

Listen God does not loose interest in what He has placed in our heart; He has not lost interest in what He has breathed into our soul, the word of life that he spoke into our genesis. Our cry should resonate as David, oh God shape this week in me the week of creation the week of the foundation of all things that I may know truth deep in my inner being.

Again let me say this, God has not lost interest in your destiny, in the seed of greatness that he has breathed into your life; we need to establish this truth in our hearts and thank Him and agree with him for the bible says where to agree on anything in the earth it shall be established.

If we will agree with what God has and is doing in our life then we will see these things manifest when the circumstances of life rise up to rob us. God has not lost interest in your destiny.

Phil. 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

David says God there is a darkness in my heart, there is a void in me come oh God and do what you did in the beginning and call forth life out of the void and the darkness and let my heart live.

We have to have faith in what God has created and what he has placed in us. Just because today we don’t feel like we are great or we may not measure up to the standard of greatness of the world, we must understand that greatness comes not from perfection, but from the ability to admit that you are wrong and then to go on and make the necessary adjustments to bring about the desired change.

All of us make mistakes. All of us take the wrong paths at times. Getting it wrong is what we humans do best. Putting it right is what believers do best.

David said that God desired that we would have truth in our inward parts and in those places God would have us to know wisdom for that to happen he need a clean a new heart.

Psa. 15:1-2 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.

Paul prayed this prayer for the church at Ephesus,

Eph. 1:18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Paul prays this so that the church can see the truth of what they do no believe. A clean heart makes way for truth to find root. David also said God restore to me or return to me the joy of your salvation, the interesting thing is it had to be there in the first place for it to be restored or returned.

What David was crying out is, "Remove every impediment to joyful certainty of your presence." And that's appropriate for us as well, because we have temptations, habits, feelings, bad thinking, blindness, ect. We can be children of God and not live as if we are.

We need God to work to take away the impediments so that we are joyful instead of grumpy, fearful, and self-serving so that we are willing rather than resistant, so that there is nothing I would rather do than what God wants me to do.David is asking that the truth overtake him and that every obstacle be done away with.

With out a clean heart there is no room for truth to grow and then without truth there is no joy, there is plenty of information not much revelation.

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word, which I have spoken to you.

When there is no revelation this void is taken up with religion, which in turn deals a deathblow to relationship.

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is the year of the returns of God and much has been returned and there is much yet to be returned and we need to return to the beginnings and cry out to God for a genesis in our life, a fresh heart to all that pleases Him.