Series: “WIJD” — Sermon #2 “Jesus Is Serving Drinks”

Series: “WIJD” — Sermon #2 “Jesus Is Serving Drinks”

“I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires.But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force! Jesus Christ founded His empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”   — Napoleon Bonaparte

Hebrews 4:3 (TPT) “For those of us who believe, faith activates the promise and we experience the realm of confident rest!”    It’s Done!!!

Hebrews 4:11 (TPT) “So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.”

INCREDIBLE CONTRAST OF TWO INDIVIDUAL LIVES:

John 3. Jesus meets at night with a religious leader. Thirsty individual but too proud and stuck in his religious constricts too meet with Jesus openly. Desperately empty and in need of life.

John 4. Samaritan Woman. Heat of the day. Alone. Broken life. Desperately empty and in need of a drink. Comes in the middles of the day so she doesn’t have to encounter people. Real tragic life. Once a little girl with hopes and dreams but life and culture have been cruel to her.

Religious leaders of Jesus day did not go through Samaria.   MAP
John 4:4 “But He needed to go through Samaria.”

BACKGROUND TO JOHN 4
People of God sent back by Babylon to set up temple … samaritans wanted to help … get out Half breeds
SO – the Samaritans went back home and built their own Temple on Mt Gerizim. AND – created their own version of the Abrahamic faith… They edited the bible… kept created their own worship center on Mount Gerizim…

The hatred between continue to grow over the years… AND – in the year 128 B.C… when the Jews had gained enough power they stormed Mt Gerizim and destroyed the alternate temple that had been built there. AGAIN – the relationship between Jews and Samaritans at the time of Christ was one of deep running hatred.

UNDERSTAND – the women of Jesus’ day and time – whether Jewish, Samaritan, or full-fledged Gentile – were for the most part deemed unworthy of respect, education, and religious training.

W. Wiersbe — Commentary:  “So intense was their dislike of the Samaritans that some of the Pharisees prayed that no Samaritan would be raised in the resurrection!”

Jesus took these Jewish young men down a road they had never traveled before.                                This Divine detour was designed to confront their learned culture of generational bigotry.   

3 Results Of Following Jesus:

1. We find ourselves moveing toward things we usually avoid.                                                                                                                                  2. We have our world view challenged.                                                                                                                                                                            3. We will gain a greater capacity to express His unconditional LOVE!

John 4:4-30, 39-42
4 But He needed to go through Samaria.
5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (NOON)
7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
She was once a little girl … played dreamed hoped … now she was waiting until the worst part of the day to draw water because she beaten down by life. 

She sees the well … a man sitting on it … a jewish man … a rabbi … I have to get water … I’ll face the abuse.

Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

He speaks to the woman and then asks her a very intimate question … WHAT!!!!!

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 

If you only knew who I AM!!!

11 The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

sounds good … I’ll have some … this is the best news I’ve heard … HOPE RISING 

JESUS THEN MEDDLES A BIT   WHY???   lets not just give you a future lets heal you of all your hurtful past

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

OUCH … I better change the subject … lets just say I attend a different church …ideology … beliefs

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”

WHERE IS GOD? 

Jesus … yes … I have found a thirsty one … His countenance brightens!!!

21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Its not about what you believe but who you believe in … its about a relationship with the living God

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.”

This could be the hope we have all been waiting for!!!

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

Turned her tragedy into triumph … MY PAST IS NOT A PROBLEM … I DON’T HAVE TO HIDE ANY MORE … MY STORY IS A VEHICLE TO REACH OUT TO OTHERS …
MY PAIN AND SHAME IS GONE … I’M HEALED!!!

30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  So powerfully set free that those who despised her were made thirsty as well … I want what she has!!!

IF YOU ONLY KNEW … WHO WAS SPEAKING TO YOU!!!!!

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ,[a] the Savior of the world.” 

Your freedom is a platform for manifesting the city-transforming power of the Grace of God.               Jesus encounter with this broken woman pain results in a city-wide revival.  Power of your testimony!!

Acts 1:8  “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses (Martus) to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  

W.I.J.D.  —  We are dispensers of living water.   Spring up o well within my soul!!

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