Living Water
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Explanation of weekend events:
Preaching at Hope City Church
God doing unprecedented things!
His power is being poured out in ways we cannot imagine!
Thank you for allowing me to shar my testimony with Hope City Church!
This morning, we are continuing our series “Greater Love” with a message I feel is very timely and inspired of the Lord.
In fact, it is for this reason that I am preaching to you today in this manner. As I was working to make sure everything was covered in our absence, God laid it on my heart to present this Word to you for such a time as this.
I know this is different… I know we haven’t done this before… BUT… God is all over this and I believe He is going to do something truly amazing in this place! Will you believe this with me?
Are you ready to get to the Word? Turn to your neighbor and let them know… say “I am ready for the Word God has for me.” Now let’s get to it.
Open your Bibles to John chapter 4. I want to start off by reading our main text and then we are going to dig into the material.
John 4:10 reads
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.”
Jesus… is on the road again. He is traveling to Galilee and His journey took Him through Samaria. He ends up in a town called Sychar and… He takes a moment to rest up.
Now they didn’t have the amenities like we are use to when we travel.
There was no McDonalds, Wendy’s or Sonic to visit. There was no Corner gas station or Casey’s or Love’s gas stations to grab a snack.
In Jesus’ day, “convenience” stores did not exist!
And I want us to think about the purpose of these stores… why do we call them… CONVENIENCE STORES?
We call them this because they are strategically located to serve our most basic and common needs. They include:
Restrooms, food, something to drink, basic car supplies like oil, coolant, windshield washer fluid, sometimes even basic groceries.
Convenience stores are called such because they “conveniently” satisfy some of our basic needs in life.
Jesus stops to rest, not at a store or marketplace, but at a well - a place where the most basic need in life could be taken care of - our need for water.
The well was the only source for water. It was a hub… a place where people would gather at certain times of the day to collect what they would need. Wells were most often utilized in the cool parts of the day… early morning or late evening. It was easier to carry the load when the temperatures were not so hot.
Jesus arrives at noon - at a time when activity at the well would be… limited. And he runs into someone who was hoping to run into… no one. A Samaritan woman is there and Jesus asks her for a drink.
This is highly unusual because Jews and Samaritans did not typically talk to one another! In fact, She points this out in John 4:9
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.)
But then Jesus tells her what is serving as our main text today. “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.”
What exactly is… LIVING WATER? Where does living water come from? What purpose does living water serve?
I can only imagine these were the questions that began to run through her mind… it sounded amazing… but it also sounded like it was out of reach…
Living water is something unlike any other resource we know of. Living water is the ONLY THING that can bring a person… are you ready for this… TOTAL AND COMPLETE FULFILLMENT!
Jesus makes this clear in John 4:13-14
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.”
The water we know of from the tap does well to quench our thirst for a moment. But we will have to return once again for another drink. At some point, the fulfillment of the water will have to be renewed.
But with living water… the thirst is quenched… forever. You will never thirst again! And we are not talking about a physical thirst today, church… we are talking about what your soul is thirsty or hungry for. We are talking about satisfying your deepest need. The living water that Jesus offers is the ONLY source that can bring you true fulfillment!
In His greater love, God knew we would need this living water.
Before sin entered the world, that need was satisfied within the fellowship we had with God.
Adam and Eve were the only two human beings to walk this earth that knew what life was like WITHOUT a void…
But once sin became reality, the void was created, the separation was there. They hid from the presence of God instead of running to Him… and the world has been contending with this problem ever since.
And we have tried… we have tried to satisfy the need… to fulfill the craving within. Without the fellowship of God in our lives… we are left with a void… a craving… a longing for something more… something to complete us. We know something is missing… and we long to feel whole again.
This is why God, in His greater love, sent Jesus to offer to us that which can satisfy our souls.
This morning, I want to look at three attributes of the living water that Jesus offers us today. I want us to see how incredible this offer is and what it can mean for you and me.
Just as the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well was no accident… so is this moment no accident. God has something for you today. God has a work He wants to do in you today. Maybe you’ve been searching, maybe you’ve been trying to find fulfillment in other things. The Spirit of God is in this place to help you find what you have been looking for!
Living Water is NOT of this World.
Living Water is NOT of this World.
When Jesus spoke of the living water with the Samaritan woman… she was having difficulty in understanding WHERE this water would come from.
In verse 11, she observes that Jesus has nothing to draw water out of the well. She is struggling to understand where this amazing resource will come from?
Her curiosity is peaked… she is absolutely interested in what Jesus is offering and… who wouldn’t be! Jesus offered her something that would FULLY SATISFY the need she felt within.
But living water is NOT something that can be drawn from any ordinary well… IT CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN KNOWING JESUS. Living water is NOT of this world.
I want you to stop and think for just a moment… I want us to consider just how desperately people are looking for… fulfillment… they are looking to feel good… they want to be whole again.
My family and I ha the opportunity to watch the movie Jesus Revolution. This movie told the story of what took place in the 60’s.
The hippy movement was sweeping the nation. A generation of young people were breaking free of the normal routine in search of something… different. They were looking for hope. They were looking for truth. And they were looking for it… in all the wrong places.
What they were looking for… was living water. What they were looking for was not of this world. And when they found what they were looking for… it started a spiritual revolution unlike anything this nation had ever seen.
Our culture… our society… is back to looking for this wholeness in ALL the wrong places. They are looking for life in things that can only bring them death.
Consider this… just to our east are a couple of “ponds” that serve the water treatment needs for the town of Agra.
These ponds are smelly, and they are full of water that NO ONE should ever drink. I cannot imagine that anyone in their right mind would dip a glass in that water and take a drink. We know that water would take away life, not give it.
Unfortunately the dangers hiding within the water are not always so clear.
(Hold up dirty water) No one would want to drink this muddy water. It is clearly tainted and full of junk.
(Hold up clean water) But what about this glass… this looks good, right? It’s clear, it has no smell, and it looks like it came from the tap. This water, as clear as it appears, is full of bleach and salt. It looks okay to drink, but it will actually rob you of life.
The world is looking for life in all the wrong places! And while the “water” of this world may look deceivingly clear, it contains contaminants that will end up harming you.
We turn to things that are “convenient.” Things that are close, things we think will serve our basic needs, but in reality, church… THEY WILL LEAVES US IN LACK!
There is only ONE SOURCE OF LIVING WATER that will leave you lacking NOTHING! His name is Jesus!
The source of fulfillment and wholeness you are looking for comes not from a well, not from a bottle, not from any drug, hobby, interest, etc. It can only be found in Jesus!
Jesus wants to set you free of the need today. He wants to FULLY SATISFY your soul. But you must ask… and you must receive from Him the gift of living water.
Living Water DROWNS OUT Your Dying Past.
Living Water DROWNS OUT Your Dying Past.
The Samaritan woman… had been looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places. She had a history… a past… that she wasn’t proud of.
She was at the well at noon because she wanted to avoid… EVERYONE. But Jesus was there. And Jesus began to call out her need. After the woman asked for the water… Jesus does something… unexpected.
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.
Oh snap. Did Jesus really just do that? Why would He call out her past like that? Was He looking to embarrass her? This is why she hoped to not run into anyone and now Jesus just laid it ALL out on the table!
This woman had been looking for wholeness through relationships… the problem was… her solution was leading her deeper into her brokenness. And that is EXACTLY what sin does.
Sin leads us FURTHER from wholeness. Sin leads us DEEPER in destruction. And in this moment, Jesus called out her sin NOT to shame her but to lead her to freedom. Her answer was not going to be found in another bed… it was only going to be found in Jesus!
She kept going back… she kept doing all she knew to do. She was living in a cycle and living in a lie.
Maybe the love and fulfillment would come this time! Last time didn’t work out so good but maybe this time I will find what I am looking for!
It’s a trap of the enemy… a cycle of death and destruction he wants to keep you in. Satan wants you stuck in the search… lost in the hunt for what it is that will bring you wholeness.
GOD SENT HIS SON IN HIS GREATER LOVE THAT WE WOULD NOT BE LOST BUT BE FOUND!
Maybe you feel lost in the hunt. You have been searching, you have been longing and in the process… you feel like you are drowning in want.
Jesus Christ has come that your need might be FULLY SATISFIED and that your past would no longer condemn your future!
The woman was looking for it through relationships. Maybe you are looking for it through making a name for yourself or having the best business or by drinking your cares away or by looking like you have it all together or in weekend projects or in worldly ways.
You feel lost in it all… unsatisfied in it all… and… ashamed of it all. It’s all a mask… it’s all for nothing.
Maybe you can relate to the woman as she tried to hide from the rest of the town by coming to the well at an obscure time.
Maybe you’re hiding right now.
The good news is… The gift of living water that Jesus offers DROWNS OUT our dying past!
The woman in the story goes from hiding to testifying. She goes back into town and leads many to Jesus through her testimony. What did she tell them?
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”
He told me EVERYTHING I ever did! He revealed my longing AND He satisfied my need!
The town was FULLY aware of her lifestyle… she knew how to get around… but she had missed out on why she was doing this. JESUS SET HER FREE OF THIS LIFESTYLE AND SIN AND MADE HER WHOLE AGAIN!
This kind of turn around CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN JESUS!
Only Jesus can take your dying past and turn it into a testimony of His goodness and grace! You have to be willing to let go… you have to be willing to be honest… you have to LISTEN to what God is telling you RIGHT NOW.
Jesus wants to set you free of the need today. He wants to FULLY SATISFY your soul. But you must ask… and you must receive from Him the gift of living water.
Living Water TEARS DOWN Boundaries.
Living Water TEARS DOWN Boundaries.
There is one more thing I want us to see before we pray. The living water Jesus offers TEARS DOWN boundaries.
Per the standards of the day… the conversation recorded in John 4 should not have taken place. There are several no nos present that might have prevented the amazing outcome that took place.
Remember… Jews and Samaritans didn’t talk to one another.
Remember… She was a dirty rotten sinner… He was the light of the world.
Remember… She was a… she. In Jesus’ day, what influence could she have on the town she lived in?
I want you to see the results of this interaction. The woman at the well was NOT the only person who received from Christ that day.
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Jesus talked to someone He shouldn’t have been talking to. This woman had a terrible past, but because of her interactions with Jesus, she now had a redeemed future.
God used this Samaritan woman… to lead many in her town… to believe in Jesus.
Culture in that day would have looked down on this. But God, through the gift of His Son, turned a “shouldn’t have happened” moment into an “I can’t believe it” reality!
Church… it is HIGH time that we STOP operating according to “cultural” boundaries and begin moving as God’s living water would have us flow.
Look at Acts 2:17-18 for a moment.
17 “ ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
In this prophecy, God tears down ALL BOUNDARIES. We see NO LIMITATIONS based on age, social status, race, OR GENDER.
God’s Spirit will be available and poured out on ALL PEOPLE. And yet… we restrict what the Lord can do based off cultural boundaries.
We need to take the blinders off. WE MUST NOT GET IN THE HABIT OF TELLING GOD WHO HE CAN AND CANNOT USE.
The moment we begin to operate with boundaries in mind is the moment we stop drinking from the well that makes us whole again.
God’s living water knows no boundaries. He used a woman that was known around town to make Jesus known around that town!
Once our sin has come under the blood… one our life has been surrendered to God, we become a usable and missional part of the body of Christ.
What we need to stop doing is… building dams. When we try to dam up the living water of Jesus, we place ourselves in charge of the mission at hand.
Listen clearly to me. This is NOT YOUR CHURCH… this is God’s church. It is not your call who God uses… IT’S GOD CALL WHO HE USES. It may be someone of a different social status, someone younger in age. In might be someone recently set free of sin, it may be a man, a woman, or a child. Whatever the case… let’s not get in the habit of trying to control where God’s living water can flow!
Bottom line is this: Jesus wants to set you free of the need today. He wants to tear down some walls. He wants to FULLY SATISFY your soul. But you must ask… and you must receive from Him the gift of living water.
Will You ASK Him for LIVING WATER?
Will You ASK Him for LIVING WATER?
(HAVE THE WORSHIP TEAM RETURN TO THE STAGE)
God wants to pour this resource into your life today!
This living water is NOT found in this world. It has the power to drown out your dying past, and it wants to tear down any boundaries that might exist.
God doesn't want you trapped in sin. God doesn’t want you lost in wondering. God doesn’t want you feeling like something is missing… GOD, IN HIS GREATER LOVE, WANTS TO MAKE YOU WHOLE AGAIN!
But you have to want this wholeness. You have to call on the name of Jesus.
You have to be willing to STOP looking in all the wrong places. Stop drinking from the tainted and corrupt sources. Stop resting in what is convenient… and find TOTAL satisfaction in Christ Jesus.
God wants to set you free. And this starts when we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior.
I want us to close our eyes and bow our heads. I want us to draw in close to the Lord. And… I want us to be honest.
Where is your relationship with Him? Do you find yourself in passionate pursuit of Jesus… or are you living a life away from Him. Jesus is calling out to you today… offering you a gift today… something that can only come from Him.
Will you receive it? Will you believe? Will you give your life to Him?
We are going to pray a prayer together, and if you desire to give your life to Christ, I want you pray this with all your heart. I ask we all pray together in support of those who are giving their lives to Jesus.
PRAYER - Salvation
Lastly… I want us to stand across this place as I offer one more opportunity for prayer.
Maybe you’ve been distracted. Maybe you’ve been stuck in the past. Maybe you’ve allowed for boundaries to be established. Maybe… you’ve been drinking from the wrong well.
With all that is going on in the world, we can find ourselves walking the wrong path. Today.. God wants to get you back on track. Today, God wants to pour into you His living water.
Will you receive it?
If that’s you, the worship team is going to lead us in a song and I want you to raise both hands in the air and receive from God. Maybe you want to come to the altar… or you can stay where you are. But as I turn this back over to Amber… let’s receive from God today. Let’s allow Jesus to make us whole again!!!