True worship is knowing:

Who we worship
How we worship
Why we worship

4 Now he (Jesus) had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon, 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the spirit and in truth.” (John 4:4-24)

Who We Worship

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water (John 4:10).

Jesus says “if only you knew” - eídō ("seeing that becomes knowing") seeing is a gateway to grasp the spiritual truth (reality) behind it. If you would only let what you see sink in.

If you could truly comprehend what this incredible gift was, you would be filled with praise and thanksgiving—in other words, you would be worshiping the One who gave them to you! But she didn’t get it. She still focused on the physical, she had 6 relationship and still that was not enough. She said:

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one ought to worship is in Jerusalem [at the temple] (John 4:20 AMP).

She still thought worship was more about a place or sanctuary, rather than about a person.

The woman had no idea about this gift that Jesus was offering her - the gift of eternal life, love, grace, mercy, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, a personal connection with God, and much more.

This is the God of the Bible - who we worship and who has made it possible for us to know Him and to meet with Him every day.

“If we let this truth sink down - it would fill our mouth with praise and our hearts with thankfulness. ”

He is the only One who has the power to give us eternal life, He has made Himself known to us through the Scriptures - True Worship always points us to Christ! So we know Who we worship.

How We Worship

But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers (John 4:23 AMP).

1. True worship is Spirit-filled and Word-centered.

When we truly worship we rightly respond to the holiness of God. But much of personal and corporate worship today is shallow and powerless because the emphasis is on feelings over worshiping from a heart filled with the knowledge of who God is in reality.

Those who look to the outward expression, the performance, or place rather than having the heart and inner self focused on communing with God in spirit and truth miss the point of worship.

Worship is not passive observation of an event, that is, watching the song leaders worship and expecting them to get the congregation going, but it is an active response of love and devotion, celebrating who God is and reflecting on all He has done.

2. True worship is a life focused on God.

It is a life guided by and filled with the Holy Spirit and directed by the truth.

True worship will transform our lives, it will affect our whole being, inwardly and outwardly.
It will affect our attitude and our actions.

3. True worship is humbling ourselves under God.

Psalm 95:6-7 says, Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.

“Worship is realigning our priorities with His and acknowledging His rightful place in our lives.”

True worship is an overflow of a devoted life and affects the way we love our spouse, raise our children, our work ethic, and all our friendships and relationships.

4. True worship is done in community.

In Psalm 95:1-2, the Psalmist wrote let us (plural) come and worship God. He is speaking of corporate worship. The word “Come” in verse 2 literally means face to face with God.

Coming is something we must do. It is not a passive verb, indicating that we just allow ourselves to be brought into God’s presence. If we want to see the face of God we are called to take a step of faith and come.

Why We Worship

Why do we worship God? Because He is the only One worth worshiping. There is no person or thing greater than Him. He is the maker of heaven and earth.

In the midst of good and bad times, in the midst of the storms and times of darkness which can be so consuming and cause us to despair, we can still worship God.

We can search for Him in times of trouble and hear what He is saying to us through His Word, by His Holy Spirit. We want His words to sink deep into our minds and hearts. We want to know His will. The prophet Isaiah wrote,

But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. 2 When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (If only you knew) (Isaiah 43:1-3).