Will Your Father Find You?
Jesus goes to a place no one was supposed to go, speaks to a woman no one was supposed to address, and engages in a conversation deemed improper. Outside Samaria, at a well in the heat of the day.
The woman said to Him,
“Sir, I perceive you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say Jerusalem is the place to worship.” Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must—say ‘must’—look at your neighbor and say ‘must’—worship Him in spirit and truth.”
She responded, “I know the Messiah is coming, called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said, “I who speak to you am He.”
Will your Father find you?
Our country faces an epidemic of absent fathers. Some never spoke to their children, never loved them, or worse, abused them. I, too, am an imperfect father. Only our Heavenly Father is perfect.
Life deals us a hand we don’t choose. I didn’t choose my father, nor did you. Many seek a father figure. My dad met his earthly father only once after he was deserted, when I was five, and they chose not to connect again—a sad reality. It’s natural to want to know your father,
Jesus said, “I must go through Samaria.”
Jews avoided Samaria due to generational hatred. Samaritans, a mixed race of Jews and their oppressors, once ruled over the Jews, fueling deep animosity. Jews detoured around Samaria, but Jesus broke tradition, declaring,
“I must go.”
Why?
Not to meet a religious leader or a wealthy person, but an outcast—a Samaritan woman.
He tried to talk to her, but she resisted.
“Why are you, a Jew, talking to me, a Samaritan?”
Jesus asked for a drink; He said, “If you knew who I am, you’d ask Me for living water.” She challenged, “How can you give me water without a bucket?” It was a tense exchange, yet Jesus persisted, undeterred by her hostility.
He said, “Go get your husband.”
She replied, “I have no husband.”
Jesus responded, “You’re right. You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re with isn’t your husband.”
She said, “I perceive you are a prophet,” and the wall began to lower. She added, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say Jerusalem is the place.” Jesus explained, “The hour is coming when worship won’t be tied to a place—neither this mountain nor Jerusalem. You don’t know what you worship, but we do, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet now, true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such.”
Many sincerely worship their god, some with greater fervor than we show. Some climb steps on their knees or make pilgrimages to holy sites, believing it draws them closer to God.
But Jesus declared the era of sacred places is over.
The Father seeks those who worship in spirit and truth.
I suggest Jesus came looking for her. I believe he was recognizing her as an individual who desired to worship God in spirit and truth.
Jesus, “the everlasting father,” went to Samaria to find this woman. It’s recorded in your Bible because we need to understand that God overlooks many things to connect with a person who sincerely desires God and is willing to believe, embrace, obey, and evangelize others with the Truth.
How does the Father “find” you?
God is omniscient—He knows your every detail. It’s not about locating you physically, but finding in you an invitation, a place for His rest.
Isaiah says, “Heaven is My throne, earth My footstool. But I look to the humble and contrite who tremble at My word.”
If you want the Father to find you, worship in spirit and truth, not tied to a place or ritual.
What is spirit?
God made us in His image. He formed Adam and Eve from dust and breathed life into them, creating a soul—the unseen essence of who we are.
My outward appearance changes. I look older, feel older. My hair is thinning, a recent discovery that surprised me. But Scott Phillips isn’t this aging body; I’m the soul making choices, setting priorities. Salvation is for the soul, not the body, destined for eternity in heaven or that unspeakable place.
Worshiping in spirit means giving yourself entirely, emotionally, without reserve. At a recent campground service, people worshiped with raised hands, tears, and song—an emotional scene that defies logic.
Yet in those moments, God transforms lives. When your team wins or you achieve something great, you express emotion.
Why restrain it in worship to God? David, a man after God’s heart, wrote, “Clap your hands, all you people! Shout to God with a voice of triumph!” Scripture commands expressive worship, and when we obey, God inhabits our praise.
Worshipping in truth requires engaging God’s Word.
I love reading the Bible—it’s alive, supernatural. In tough times, it speaks like thunder: “I am your shepherd, your provider. Look to Me, and you will live!”
Even dry passages hold treasure. Make Scripture your daily diet, and you’ll find life. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Like physical hunger, spiritual hunger drives us to seek God’s truth, and He satisfies.
Will your Father find you? Consider the woman at the well, in an imperfect place and situation. Yet Jesus sought her. Perhaps she’d prayed, “Lord, I’m in a mess—help me.” Jesus went to Samaria for her. After their talk, she told the city, “I met a man who knew everything I’ve done!” The people came, heard Jesus, and believed, not just because of her words, but because of what they experienced.
Here is something I believe Jesus was telling her and us. She was qualified and was found by her heavenly father.
I do not doubt in Acts 8 when Philip went to Samaria, she was there and a part of the great Revival that happened.
God makes a way for you, even in the midst of brokenness.
The Father seeks those who worship in spirit and truth.
Here’s the invitation: Can we come forward, like the Samaritans, and say, “Lord, here am I”?
If you commit to worship the Father in spirit and truth, the Father will find you.
Above is the summarized transcript from the message I preached on Sunday, June 15, 2025.