Now is the Time to Stand Up and Move in Faith

Shared on March 16, 2025

Introduction

Stewards like Paul, encouraged believers to walk as children of light in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  Key word being: walk.  To walk implies that one is moving, putting forth an effort, and taking action.  My concern today is that we, the children of light, aren’t moving.  So, as Jude told his readers, I say to you today – we must stand up and move in faith.

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

My sermon this week stems from a conversation recorded in John 4.  John 4:1-6 tells us that Jesus left Judea, traveling north to Galilee.  The route that Jesus chose to take would take Him through Samaria, to a city of Samaria that was named Sychar.  We are told that a weary Jesus chose to rest at Jacob’s well.  In modern times, this location is a holy site in the West Bank, located in Balta village.

A jaded and uncaring response

While He sat, resting at the well, John 4:7 tells us that a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw herself some water.  As she prepared to draw herself some water, Jesus sought for her to give Him some water to drink as well.

Now this Samaritan woman represents, I believe, a great many people living today.  You will see what I mean by her response to Jesus.

In her initial response to Jesus, the woman said, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman (John 4:9)?”  That doesn’t sound like the response of one who was going to be willing to give Jesus some water, does it?  It’s almost like her response was a ‘get your own water’ kind of response.

Then, after Jesus’ response to her, she said to Jesus, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.”  So, if Jesus could get Himself some water, He would have been unable to because He didn’t have anything to draw with.  The well was so deep she didn’t see Him being able to dive in to get water and she wasn’t going to do it.

So, this woman doesn’t seem to have the appearance of one who would help a man who was in need, does she?  We would say that her response showed a bad attitude.  She was snippy and rude in her response.  In fact, seeing that Jesus was weary, she comes off being jaded and uncaring.  Yes, she’s a very good representation of a great many living in the world today.

What Creates a Jaded Nature

Why was she so jaded and uncaring?  Part of the reason points back to the nasty history between the Jews and the Samaritans.  You see, the Samaritans were the offspring of those of the northern tribes of Israel breeding with Gentiles.  So, the Jews despised them because of that and essentially looked at them as sin.

The Jews also despised the Samaritans because they had a history of idolatry – the worship of idols.  The Jews believed themselves to be better than the Samaritans, and it created a hostile environment for the two peoples.  They may have done business with each other but they didn’t truly care about each other.  Their dislike of each other was to the point that the woman wouldn’t give a thirsty Jew water to drink!

Another reason that could explain why she was so jaded was due to her living conditions.  You see, the Samaritans were not a wealthy people, and with her being a woman, in that culture, she likely had very little.  In fact, in John 4:17-18, the conversation had turned to marriage and it’s revealed she had been married five times.  She wasn’t married at the time that her and Jesus were speaking but she was with another man!

Holding Back From Doing Good

Now, some today would applaud her and say that she was doing her thing or just surviving.  Others would say that she was for the streets – a woman of the world.  Yet, I, again, point out that she represents a great many living today.  No, not many of us have been married five times, but she still represents many of us living today.

You see, many of us are jaded and don’t care about the plight of others.  Like her, don’t draw water from the well to those who are in need around us.  The sad part is that the Samaritan woman had the ability to draw water from the well as she was going to get water for herself.  Yes, many of us can do right by others but we choose not to!  

Remember, we are supposed to be children of light!  We are supposed to move to help lift up others, yet, many of us are choosing not to!

What is it that is keeping us from moving to do good?  Like her, history – the past – greatly affects many of us.  Either we have been mistreated or those that came before us have been mistreated, and so we choose not to do because of what has been done to us.  

Like her, life is difficult for us – we have our hardships, trials, tribulations, and suffering.  So, because nobody looks out for us in our struggles, many of us will turn that attitude around and share it with others in need.

Many of us even wonder why God allows us to suffer if He desires for us to be a blessing to others!  James said it best when he said that the testing of our faith produces patience— increases our faith (Jas. 1:3).  James wrote that the testing of our faith makes a perfect and complete (Jas. 1:4).

You see, our trials and tribulations reveal a truth that we must learn – we need to lean on, depend on, and trust in the Lord.  If life was always sunshine and rainbows with everything going our way, we would never turn to the Lord.  Look at those who believe they have made it today – not many of them believe they need God for anything!

The truth of the matter is that our life is more than just this physical world that we occupy.  Yes, we are more than these bodies of ours; we are mental, emotional, and spiritual beings.  We face trials and tribulation in every facet of our being!  So, when we are tried and tested, as we are today, we ought to be drawing nearer to the Lord!  Growing in our so that we can continue to move by faith.

The Revealing of True Worship

Trying to get the subject off her life, John 4:19 shows us that the Samaritan woman perceived that Jesus was a prophet.  So, like many do when they are in the presence of a preacher, she chose to change the subject to something about faith and worship.  The Samaritan woman said to Jesus, “Our Fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship (John 4:20).”

Though she was trying to change the subject from herself, she didn’t understand that is where Jesus wanted the conversation to go anyway.  You see, Jesus could have traveled around Sychar to get to His end destination.  Jesus sat at this well for this woman – it was intended, not a coincidence!  The Samaritan woman didn’t realize it but Jesus had been conducting an interview, and she was the perfect candidate to be interviewed. 

Some of us may think that she had been doing a terrible job at this interview.  Yet, I want to point out that Jesus had not left!

A flaw revealed in our worship

So, where does worship take place?  What are your thoughts?  Like her forefathers and the Jews, many of us have set rules for worship.  You see, many of us think that worship is supposed to take place in a certain building at a certain time.  For some of us, that certain building is in our homes, behind the screen of a computer, tablet, or phone.

Some of us will say that worship is supposed to be an orderly service, even Paul said this!  So, we lay out our schedule of when the choir is supposed to sing, when the deacon is supposed to pray, when scripture is read, and when the preacher preaches.  We call attending this orderly service, “going to church”.  Yes, worship is an orderly service which we call going to church.

When we “go to church” we change, don’t we?  Oh yes, some of us dress up when we go to church, putting on our finest.  When we go to church, we become honorable and respectable, greeting each other, and being kind to one another.  My favorite one is that when we get on church grounds, we change the way we speak – there’s no cussing on church grounds!

There is a flaw in our worship, and this flaw has been present for a long time.  If you don’t believe there is a flaw in our worship, I would tell you that our society is proof that the flaw exists.

I want you to imagine a world where we are the person we change into for church, but outside of the church building.  Yes, imagine if we were that honorable and respectful person outside of the church building.  Imagine if we were respectful in our speech and not rude outside of the church building.

The flaw in our worship is that we change for going to church, and then we change again when we leave the church.  Which one is the real you?  You see, we ought not have to change to go to the church building.  Sadly, many are pretending church, pretending worship, and pretending faith.  Many so-called worshipers leave their worship, honor, dignity, love, respect, songs, prayers, lessons, and prayers in the building.

This is true worship

To answer the woman’s question about worship, Jesus said to her, “Believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father (John 4:21).”  

Jesus was telling the woman that worship isn’t just for a certain location, nor is it just for a certain time.  Jesus was telling the woman that worship isn’t done in a certain order.  So, worship isn’t just for a church building.  Worship doesn’t have to follow a certain order.  Worship doesn’t have to happen at a certain time.

Many of us, I genuinely believe, have to retool the way that we think about and approach worship.  Let me be clear about this:  there is nothing wrong with gathering together and worshiping together.  As Paul said, we should not forsake assembling together with our brothers and our sisters in Christ (Heb. 10:24-25).

Worship, I want you to understand, should move – not be stagnant, not sit still.  Many of us aren’t walking in the same light that we walk in when we enter a church building, and that is not right.  If we truly walked in the light of God, as a child of light, we would walk with honor and joy everywhere we go.  If we truly walked in the light of God, as a child of light, then those who love the dark wouldn’t feel so comfortable moving in wickedness today.

Jesus, again, said to the woman, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23).”  We must remember that the Lord has poured out His Spirit upon us!  The Holy Spirit abides and dwells with us wherever we go!

Paul said that our body is a temple and he was right about that.  We are a temple of the Lord, and therefore, every second we live and breathe, we are a place of worship!  Yes, everywhere you are is holy ground, or church ground.  So, what this means for a lot of us who like to change when we go and leave church, you must decide together whether you are going to be true in your worship.

In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul wrote that we who have received Christ should walk in Christ, rooted and built up in Him.  Again, the use of the word “walk” implies movement, motion, activity, effort, and action.  Your faith and your worship ought to stand up and move!  You should always be moving in goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Mankind’s Responsibility to the World

Our society has reached the condition that it is in today because we stopped moving in true worship a long time ago.  As James wrote, faith without works is dead.  The further we move away from God, the closer and closer our world draws to death and destruction.

Many of us love to blame God for all of the bad that’s in the world today while refusing to accept responsibility for what we, mankind, have put in the world.  Genesis 1:26 tells us that God made man in His image and according to His likeness.  Along with making man in such a manner, the scripture tells us that God gave man dominion over the earth.

Dominion is to have domain, authority, ownership, and control over.  God put man over the earth.  God gave to man the choice of how he would choose to live in this world.  Look at how we have chosen to live in this world!

In His nature, God is faith and is love.  Yes, the Lord is sovereign over all of His creation and He reigns in faithfulness and love.  Do we, mankind, reign over this world in faithfulness and love?

No, we choose to put stones of stumbling in the path of another.  Man chooses to move out of hate.  Man chooses to rob from another.  Man chooses to kill another.  Our every intent is selfish, greedy, and harmful.  We are the authors of many of today’s struggles and God watches to see what we are going to do about it.  God has given us the power to do something about what is going on today!

The Believer’s Responsibility

Man chooses to blame God and wait for the Lord to wave His hand.  God, we should understand, is not going to send another Jesus to this world.  The next time Jesus returns to this world it will be to call home His church.  

As a child of light, we must understand that God has given us a responsibility to each other.  Why do you think scripture repeatedly teaches us to love each other?  As a child of God, Jesus, again, said that we are to worship in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  As true worshipers, we have a responsibility to worship – to move – in Spirit and truth.

Today, I feel like Jude when I say that it is time for us to contend for the faith – to stand up and move by doing what is holy and righteous.  You and I have a responsibility to keep the Lord’s instructions!  Everywhere we turn and go, we should be moving in worship of the Lord.

I saw the other day where a certain man said that America is “woke no longer” to cheers and applause.  The wicked and the evil certainly desire for us to remain in the dark about their actions.  Yet, I tell the wicked today that Jesus woke us up and made us alive to what sin is a long time ago.  We who are awake and alive won’t be going to sleep any time soon as we see what you’re doing.

We, the true worshipers and children of light, we aren’t going to abandon our responsibility!  We are going to stand up and move in faith!  We are going to keep on standing and moving, no matter what!