Evangelical Free Church of Embarass

They are called “worship battles.” You might have read about them in books or magazine articles on the subject of worship. Many people are writing about the battles going on today within Christianity concerning worship. Churches are even dividing over them, which is really a sad thing. Every now and then you’ll hear about a church that has split. When you ask how that came about, it’s sad to hear that it was over worship.

People leave churches because of the battles that go on over worship. You even hear about friends going their separate ways from one another because they can’t see eye to eye on worship issues. They have allowed the worship battles to affect their relationship with each other.

Statements from the worship battles

I will list some statements that you might commonly hear in the context of those battles. The statements may not seem that serious, but each one contains an element that can add fuel to conflict concerning worship. For instance, “We have always worshiped this way and I don’t plan to change.” The phrase that raises concern and can add fuel is “I don’t plan to change.”

A second statement: “This is the only kind of music that inspires me and makes me feel like worshiping.” The phrase that can add fuel to a conflict here is “the only kind.” Someone is narrowing it way down. There is also a troublesome statement in that remark: “it’s the only kind of music that makes me feel like worshiping.” Where have we come to when it’s the music that makes us feel like worshiping? Is it the music that’s supposed to do that?

Another statement: “I refuse to worship when worldly methods are used.” “I refuse” is one of those little phrases that can stir things up. But again, the comment, “when worldly methods are used” is troublesome. A lot of times people are using their own definitions of what is a worldly method and what is not.

Fourth, “Our worship needs to be creative and on the cutting edge, not old-fashioned.” The first part of that statement might be pretty harmless, but when you tack on “not old-fashioned,” that can add some fuel to a situation.

The next statement: “When they start singing hymns, I get turned off and tune out.” The part of that statement that throws on the fuel is “I get turned off and tune out.”

“To attract non-believers, our worship must be upbeat, modern, and brief.” The simple little words that can add fuel to a situation are “must be.” Those are strong words. The troublesome part is “to attract unbelievers.” That is not the purpose of worship. Worship is meant to declare the greatness of God, for His people to come together and honor Him and glorify Him. If it attracts non-believers, that’s great, but attracting them is not the purpose of worship.

We could go on with many statements that become part of the worship battles. Now, I want you to listen to some other statements. “Accept one another.” “Submit to one another.” “Regard one another as more important than self.” “Do not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” “Do not judge one another.” “Be kind to one another.” “Bear with one another.” “Honor one another.” “Encourage one another.” “Do not speak against one another.” “Do not complain against one another.”

Where did those statements come from? They come from the New Testament. All these “one-another” principles about our relationships are taught there.

I want you to look at one more of those “one-another” statements, in Romans Chapter 15. I want us to see what verses 5 and 6 say. It’s interesting to me to see how this one-another teaching concludes. “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other --- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other. Then, all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Joining together with one voice, giving praise and glory --- that’s worship, isn’t it? .

What Paul is saying is that we need to live in harmony with each other and have attitudes toward one another that are parallel with the attitudes Christ has, and then with one voice we can worship our God and Father.

So, why the battles? If we’re all familiar with these simple and basic one-another principles and if any church that does any studying and teaching on the New Testament is familiar with them, then why the worship battles that we read about and sometimes experience?

A worship battle in Jesus’ time

This morning I’d like to have you turn with me to the book of John, Chapter 4. I want to show you that this worship battle thing is not new to our generation. It’s not new at all. The chapter begins by telling us that Jesus and His disciples, after journeying, stop to rest at a well in Samaria. While Jesus is sitting there resting, a woman from the nearby town comes out to get water from the well. Jesus strikes up a conversation with her, and they begin to interact. In the conversation with this woman, we come to verses 19 and 20. “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So, tell me, why is it that you Jews insist Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” The woman brings up a controversy about worship that was going on at that time. She tries to get Jesus into the debate, trying to get Him to commit Himself and take sides.

The “right place” to worship

What was the issue in this particular battle over worship? It was the place of worship. The two sides were the Samaritan people and the Jews. They had a long-standing battle over which was the right place to worship. The Samaritans believed that it was at Mount Gerizim, which was very close to where Jesus and the woman were speaking. The Jews said that the right place and the only place to worship was Jerusalem, in the temple.

Implied in the woman’s question to Jesus was that she seemed to believe it was one place or the other. Either Mount Gerizim was the right place and the only place to worship and the Samaritans were right, or Jerusalem was the right and the only place to worship and the Jews were right. Based on the way she worded her question, trying to get Jesus into the ongoing controversy, she seemed to think that it was one or the other. Someone was right, and someone was wrong.

In verse 21 of Chapter 4 of John, Jesus replies. The interesting thing in His reply is that He doesn’t take sides. He chooses to not enter the controversy. He doesn’t take the position of the Samaritans, nor does He take the position of the Jews. Instead, His position was God’s position on worship. There was something more important about worship to Jesus at this point than the place where you worship, and who is right. We’ll get back to his actual reply later.

But first, to really get the impact of His answer and what He chooses to focus on, we have to understand the history of the Samaritans and the Jews. Turn to the Old Testament. Look at 2 Kings, Chapter 17. Remember, in this controversy over the right and only place to worship, the Samaritans believed it was Mount Gerizim. In Chapter 17, we are told that the Assyrians come to the northern kingdom of Israel, conquer it, and take control. In verse 24, you see that the king of Assyria transported groups of people from other countries and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel.

He did something that was common in those days. If you conquered a land or a city, you would send some of your own people there to take over and settle into that place. But there was a problem. The people who were transported there had no clue about the worship of the God of the Israelites. They didn’t understand the worship of God, Jehovah, that the Israelites practiced. In verse 27 of Chapter 17, the king of Assyria commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests from Samaria back to Israel. Let him teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.” So, one of the priests of Israel who had been taken captive is sent back to teach the foreigners about the worship of the Jewish God.

Verse 29 says, “But these various groups of foreigners also continued to worship their own gods.” It goes on to list some of their gods. Notice verses 33 and 34: “Though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow the religious customs of the nations from which they came. This is still going on among them today. They follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the laws, regulations, instructions, and commands He gave the descendents of Jacob.”

This is what happened. As these foreigners were being taught about and beginning to practice the worship of the Lord God in Israel, they also continued to set up their own idols and their own images. They continued the worship they were familiar with in their own countries. They ended up with a mixture of things in their worship. It became worship of the Lord, but it wasn’t true worship, because they didn’t follow the Lord’s instructions.

Then we come to verse 40 at the end of Chapter 17: “But the people would not listen, and continued to follow their old ways. So, while these new residents worshiped the Lord, they also worshiped their idols. And to this day, their descendents do the same.” Their descendents would include the Samaritan woman and her people, many years later.

If you were to go to Mount Gerizim during Jesus’ time, you would find the Samaritans worshiping there. You would see a lot of enthusiasm, spirit, energy, and passion. They would be dancing around, waving their arms, and singing. The problem was that when the Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim, there was a mixture of all kinds of things from other religions and practices. Some of them didn’t go along with the instructions from the word of God. At Mount Gerizim, you had enthusiastic, spirited, energetic, and passionate worship, but a lot of it was violating God’s word.

In the controversy, the Jews believed that the temple in Jerusalem was the right and the only place to worship. We talked a little about this two weeks ago, and learned from Matthew Chapter 15 that over the years the temple worship in Jerusalem had gotten to a stage where it was mechanical. The Jews still followed the Old Testament instructions. They still read when they were supposed to read; they still read what they were supposed to read from the Old Testament scriptures; they probably used the Psalms; they did the offerings and made the sacrifices.

But, as Jesus said in Matthew 15, it had come to the point where their worship was only with their lips, and their hearts weren’t in it. If you had gone to a Jewish temple worship in Jerusalem, you would have found everything happening according to instruction, but you would have found no enthusiasm, no spirit, no energy, no passion. You would have found people just going through the motions.

Those people were saying that Jerusalem was the right and the only place to worship. The Samaritans were saying that Mount Gerizim was the only right place. That was the controversy.

Jesus’ position is God’s position

Now, let’s go back to John Chapter 4, verses 21 to 24 to see how Jesus responded to the Samaritan woman. “Jesus replied, ‘Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming, and is already here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.” (I encourage you to highlight the word “and.” It seems like an insignificant word, but it’s important to what Jesus said.) “The Father is looking for anyone who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus, in responding to the woman’s question, says that the time has already arrived when where you worship is not the issue --- what really matters is how you worship. If you’re going to be a true worshiper, you must worship in both spirit and truth.

Worship in spirit

You need to understand that He’s not talking about the Holy Spirit. He’s talking about the inner spirit of a person. To worship “in spirit” means to worship from within.

Two weeks ago, we talked about worshiping “from the heart,” with commitment, passion, enthusiasm, devotion, awe, and love. To worship in spirit from within is authentic, true worship. That kind of worship is “loving the Lord your God with all of your heart.”

Now, the interesting thing is that the Jewish people in Jerusalem weren’t doing that. You already saw that in Matthew 15. The Samaritan people at Mount Gerizim were. They worshiped with enthusiasm, passion, devotion, and energy.

Worship in truth

After saying that worship must be in spirit, Jesus adds “…and in truth” as the other requirement. What does it mean to worship in truth? To worship in truth means to worship in such a way that it coincides with the true word of God. Worship isn’t just some emotional exercise. It is a thoughtful response to the truth of God’s word, and the God that is revealed in the word. Worship is loving the Lord your God with all your mind, according to the truth, so that the forms you use, the words you say, the liturgy, the songs you sing, and the messages that those songs present are according to truth. You must worship in truth.

Now, the interesting thing is that the Jews in the temple in Jerusalem were worshiping in truth. They were following the Old Testament instructions, and doing it the way the Bible said you should do it. But there was no spirit. At Mount Gerizim, they had lots of spirit, but they were violating truth with what they were doing in spirit. Do you see why Jesus says “in spirit and in truth”? The Samaritans at Gerizim worshiped in spirit, but they lacked truth in their worship. The Jews were worshiping in truth, but they lacked spirit in their worship.

When the woman asks who is right, Jesus answers that neither is right. It’s not about the place. The true worshipers that God is looking for are those who will worship Him in spirit from the inside with love, and in truth, with the mind as a response to the truth of the word and the God who has revealed it.

Both the Samaritans and the Jews thought that they were the true worshipers, because they each worshiped in what they thought was the right place. But the place doesn’t make you a true worshiper. I don’t even think that methods, forms, and tools make you a true worshiper. I don’t think there’s a certain style of worship music that makes you a true worshiper. Jesus says that the true worshiper --- the one God is looking for --- is the one who will worship Him in spirit and in truth --- both together.

So, friends, wherever you are, whether it’s your personal worship, whether you’re worshiping with other believers here or in another place --- no matter when it is, if you want to be a true worshiper, it’s not dependent on the place or the forms and methods. It’s dependent on whether or not you are going to worship in spirit, from the heart, with love for God and in truth, in a way that coincides with the truth of God’s word in response to the truth from His word. That’s the measurement that makes us a true worshiper. That’s what God is looking for.

I think that today, we could plug in any other controversy that comes up in Christian circles about worship, and Jesus’ response would still be the same. He would say that it’s not about place, methods, forms, or tools. The true worshipers that God is looking for worship in spirit and in truth --- that’s the measurement. We can’t sacrifice truth to worship in spirit. We can’t sacrifice spirit to worship in truth. God is looking for people who worship Him in spirit and in truth --- both working together.

Why the worship battles?

So, why do the worship battles continue? Why is there still controversy over worship, like there was way back then? I have an answer. There are worship battles today and there always have been worship battles because there is one “mother of all battles” going on. It’s a war that has always been there. Ephesians Chapter 6, verses 10 to 18, describes a spiritual war that has always been going on and will continue. Paul says the enemy is the devil. We don’t fight against flesh and blood, he says. We’re fighting against wicked spiritual forces.

That spiritual war is going on today, and the worship battles are just one part of that war. It’s one of the places where battles go on in the context of the big picture of the spiritual war. Marriage is another one of those battles that is part of the spiritual war. Family is another part. Our mind is another battlefield.

We could go on and list many arenas where battles are taking place, but they’re all part of the big picture --- a spiritual war. We have worship battles because there’s an ongoing spiritual war.

I want to take you through five statements that build on each other so that you can understand what I’m driving at as I bring this to a conclusion.

1. God and Satan, the two opposing forces in this spiritual war, actually have something in common. Each desires our worship. There’s no question that God wants our worship. We saw that clearly when we started this series. God says that He’s the only one that we should worship, but we also know that Satan desires our worship. He fell, the scripture says, by deciding he wanted to be god and be worshiped. In Matthew Chapter 4 (“The Temptation”), he even tried to get Jesus to worship him. God and Satan share a desire for our worship.

2. Satan doesn’t oppose worship. He only opposes the genuine worship of God. Our enemy has no problem with worship if you’re worshiping him or some substitute, an idol or image. He has no problem if you worship money. He has no problem if you worship yourself. He even has no problem if you worship God just in spirit but violate truth. He has no problem if you worship God just in truth, but it’s just lip service and not from the heart. He doesn’t oppose worship, but he opposes the genuine worship of God in spirit and in truth --- that’s what he opposes.

3. If we are worshiping God, and not Satan or his substitutes, Satan will attack. We can count on it. Like any other area of life, if we are following the will of God, bringing honor to God and doing it His way, there will be attacks as part of the spiritual war. If I choose to worship God genuinely in spirit and in truth, I will be attacked. If a body of believers chooses to worship God genuinely in spirit and in truth, they will be attacked.

4. We all know that a common battle strategy for Satan is to divide and conquer. If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know that in any area of life, divide and conquer is a method he often uses. He subtly gets in there and sees to it that believers are divided --- that’s how he conquers. When he attacks true worship, he will subtly try to get in there and divide. He’ll use the same strategy anywhere else --- marriage, the home, friendships, family, anywhere. He’s so predictable, and we fall for it every time. We know that he will try to divide and conquer, yet we fall for it. How’s he going to win over our marriage? Divide and conquer. We fall for it. How’s he going to win over our family? Divide and conquer. We fall for it. How’s he going to win over our friendships? Divide and conquer. We fall for it. How’s he going to win in the area of worship? Divide and conquer. And we fall for it. That’s his strategy.

5. Instead of battling each other over worship, let’s join together and battle Satan with worship. I’m going to say that again: Instead of battling each other over worship, let’s join together and battle Satan with worship. I suggest to you that one way of doing battle in the spiritual war is worship; that among the other things worship does, when you and I join together and truly worship God in spirit and in truth, we are actually fighting against the enemy. We are saying, “In your face, Satan. You don’t deserve our worship. None of your substitutes deserve our worship, and you’re not going to divide us over worship. We are going to join our voices, and in spirit and in truth we are going to worship God.”

The reason for the worship battles is the same as for marriage battles, family battles, relationship battles, battles in our mind, and any of the other battles in our lives as Christians. The worship battle is part of a larger spiritual war. Satan will attack any area that honors God; he will attack any part of our life that has the potential to bring glory to God. Worship obviously has potential to bring glory to God; that’s what worship is all about.

So, he’s going to attack. Divide and conquer is his most common strategy. But friends, we don’t have to lose the worship battles or any other battles. We don’t have to make Satan look good, and we don’t need to let him have his way.

I’d like to close with Romans Chapter 15, verses 5 and 6. “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other --- each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

When we refuse to battle our brothers and sisters over worship, we win and Satan loses. Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You that the one in us, Your Spirit, is greater than he that is in the world. Father, sometimes the spiritual war can be so hard, such a struggle in every area of life. Yet, Father, we’re on the winning side. Lord, we know the schemes of the opponent; we know his age-old tactics. He’s using the same ones in this area of worship today. And God, I pray that You would help us to determine that we will not cooperate and that we will not get involved in these worship battles. Help us, so that we will be people determined to worship You truly in spirit and in truth, and that we will learn more and more about what that means. Father, may the enemy be conquered every time we worship that way. May he be resisted every time we join together worshiping in spirit and truth. May You be honored and may You be glorified in that worship. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.