Intro: In his book He still moves stones
Max Lucado tells a moving story about a woman named Rebecca Thompson
A)Rebecca
fell twice from the
B)
The first fall occurred when she was 18 yrs old / She was abducted along w/
11 yr old sister Amy { Taken from
1) Drove to this Bridge Where
Rebecca was beaten & Raped / somehow convinced them to not do the same to
Amy
C) Both Rebecca & Amy were thrown over the
Bridge / Amy died at impact when her body hit a Rock
1) Rebeccas body hit a ledge
& fell into deep water/ but she
survived
D) Beaten/ bruised/
hip out of place - She hid between two big rocks & waited for THE DAWN
Well
the Sun came up / she was found / Physicians treated her wounds / her attackers
were caught & imprisoned
A)Life continued but the DAWN never came / See she
was never able to climb up out of that canyon
B) So in Sept. of 1992 19yrs later Rebecca drove back to
that Bridge w/ her boyfriend & two yr old baby Daughter
1) Kissed her daughter asked
Boyfriend to put her in the Car & that is when She Jumped boyfriend
startled when heard body hit water
C) That is when Rebecca Thompson died her 2nd
Death
A)Well the woman in Jn. Ch.4 is similar to Rebecca
she is a woman that had been beat up by life / hurt / heart broken &
rejected
B) She had been
married 5 times / slew of kids each looking like a different Guy
1)
After 5 failed marriages / after having her heart broken time &
time again she decided to give up on the marriage thing
C) So she was just shacking up w/ some guy it hurt less
if there is no commitment
D.) You
could say she was looking for love in all the wrong places that left her heartbroken
& empty
E)But that all changed for her the day she met
a stranger at a well outside of her city.
1) 4th of July Woman set free Rd v.1-15
Story teaches us
several lesson: 1st lessons in Evangelism:
1) The need to be led by the Spirit. v.4 Needed to go to
A)The Land of
B) The Areas of Judea and Galilee
were populated by Jews but the part in the middle
1)There was a long standing feud between the Jews
and the Samaritans. 400yr old feud
C) The Samaritans were known as half breeds { After
the fall of the
1) The Assyrians infiltrated the land and
intermarried with the Jews there.
D) When the Assyrians came they brought with them
their pagan religions and practices
1) What developed for a while there was a religious
system that was part Judaism / part Paganism.
In time the
residents of
A)They only accepted the
Pentateuch or the first 5 books of the OT as inspired scripture { The rest of
the OT they ignored. = More tension
B) When the Jews
returned from exile during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah
1) The Samaritans offered to help
in the construction but were denied by the Jews
C) They didnt worship in
1) Their temple was later
destroyed by the Jews
D) So there was a growing animosity between the Jews
and the Samaritans
1) MAP Jewish person traveling
From Judea to Galilee longer route along the coast line of Med sea to
avoid
So for Jesus to
say he needed to go thru
A)Reason: Divine appointment.- He
was being led.
B) Open to the leading of the spirit in our sharing
day to day movements
1) Running late / stuck in
traffic / person seated by on the bus / plane
C) Many times it is a divine appointment moment if
you are open.
Now As they came
to the city of
A)Famous Jacobs well
- major source of water just outside
of the city { Deep well 100ft deep.
B) Jesus stops there to rest weary from the
Journey over a small mt range - Tired
1) Humanity of Jesus
C) In opportune time and place: V.6 Sixth hour
noon hottest part of day
1) No one went to the well at that time.
D) Jesus sends his disciples to get food He waits
Here she
comes
She came no doubt at
this time to hide her shame: A)She came at this time
because she knew no one else would be there.
B)Tired of the staring / tired of the whispers /
tired of the gossip.
C) She had the reputation for being a loose woman many men.
D) She had the reputation of not being able to keep a man.
1)They would love her and leave her often times with
another Child to feed.
E) So she came at
that time because she was just plain tired of all the whispers all the
gossip.
#2
Jesus initiates conversation Give Drink /
He knocks on hearts
A)This is amazing: The one who spoke forth the
B)The one who shaped the
1) The one who could easily bring forth gallons of
wine now sits thirsty.
C) His way of breaking the ice neutral ground.
1) He doesnt
just dive in You are a woman with a
past. You
are a sinner -
D) Most effective evangelism Establishes a
relationship.
She is surprised: He is a Jew / she Samaritan & Also She is a Woman /
A)Men didnt speaks to women in Public especially the
religious leaders
B) #3 This Tells us that Jesus isnt hung up by social and culture
barriers
1) Doesnt see man or woman
rich or poor black or white Mexican or oriental - He sees human heart in need of His love!
C) At this point
Jesus opens the conversation to the spiritual He offers her LIVING WATER.
1)
You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep!
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?"
D) Here is what she is saying: How are you going to
do that nothing to draw and this is a great well Been here for 2,000 yrs
1) Continues to provide
refreshment meet the needs of the community {
RICH DEEP WELL.
E)What are you talking about?
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."
Profound statement: Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again.
#4 Jesus reveals mans need! He is unsatisfied.
B) On Thursday Denise and I celebrated our 20 yr anniversary:
surprised her Ruth Chris Gift card recent guest speaking:
We sat down at
our table immediately the waiter shows up wants to know if we want a bottle
of Panna water or
C) Bubbles or no bubbles W/out even thinking I
immediately said Panna no Bubbles please
1) Now I dont usually go to
places like that so it wasnt until he poured it and I noticed the look on
Denises face realized something wrong
D) I was going to have to pay for that water I
thought it was part of the deal
1) So the Bill comes and sure
enough there it is - $ 8.00 for a bottle of water. $8.00
But I have to
tell you it was the best water I have ever had amazing
A)In fact I havent been thirsty since I havent
drank anything since that night
B) For $8.00 a bottle I
wish that was true Be honest I was really disappointed didnt
really taste much different from normal water
1) Not only did I get thirsty
again I did that night two glasses of ice tea
C) Arrived home that night I had
some more water -
But you see
everything in life is that way: You will thirst again.
A)Business deal thirst again /
Promotion: thirst again
B) New house / car thirst again: Movie stimulate
all your senses Laugh cry / scream / angry / celebrate : thirst again
1)They
should warn us - Welcome to
.. thirst
again
C) Drugs Joint paper thirst again
1) Sex thirst again
There is nothing
in this life that satisfies the deep longing inside of the heart of man.
A)A.W. Pink: The seat of the
"thirst" within man lies too deep for the waters of this earth to
quench.
B) It is easy for us to forget that in our affluent
society.
1)So much emphasis on the outward
trying to look satisfied But inside there is a VOID
C) Jesus provides that which satisfies
Jesus is the infinite fountain: -
Great description
of the Love of God- His Salvation forgiveness / cleansing Refreshment
A)A fountain that just keeps flowing.
B)Story: picture of the love of
God rushing down like the Amazon upon one flower. one soul!
Revelation .21:6 I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to
him who thirsts.
Revelation.7:17 "for the Lamb who is in the
midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.
Psalm 23:2-3 He leads me beside the still waters, he restores my soul!
B) Be satisfied in the Lord
Psalm 36:8-9
8 They are
abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from
the river of Your pleasures. 9 For with
You is the fountain of life;
TRANSITION
C) Well she was interested in this water Said
please give me some. Dont have
to draw anymore
1) Jesus says V.16 go and get your husband. Why?
D) #5
Confront her sin He wanted her to see that she was trying to fill her
heart with the wrong things
1.) ROOT
ISSUE He loves us enough get to root issue / She needed to face her sin
-
E) Before
person can be refreshed by Christ they need to see their sin
1.) turn from sin turn to the
Lord
F)
Wonder if she thought is he hitting on me -
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."
Notice
what she does changes the subject
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
A.) We do
the same
B.) Change
subject run from - Sue
C.) Others
try to blame someone else
1.) Amanda - Aaron
The only way to be forgiven experience cleansing and refreshment is be
up front sinned! 3 options:
A.) Run
away / blame others / surrender
B.) At first she tries to run Where is the best
place to worship?
C) His response: Lesson in
Jesus tells her
it is not about location: It is about the heart
A)Spirit and truth
B) Spirit: 2 Things Sincere These people honor
me with their mouths but their heart is far from me
C) Worship is a deeply spiritual thing Enter the
throne room
1) Touch the heart of God He inhabits the praises
Enthroned when we sing
D) Truth: Is according to scripture:
Now there are 7 Hebrews
words for Praise each one - gives us insight into how worship declares our
faith.
1st
word is Barak used in Judg. 5:12 / Psa. 72:12-15 / Barak speaks of silent praise from the
Heart.
A)
There is no statement of
vocal expression in this word. /
B) But it is active in the
sense that kneeling - is associated w/ it.
C) It means to kneel to
bless - to salute ! It is a word that speaks of a deep Reverence !
2nd
Word is Halal - which is the most common word for praise found in the Bible -
99 times in O.T. & in 1/3 of the Psalms
A) Halal is the root of the word Hallelujah which literally
means to praise the Lord.
B) Halal means to shout / to
celebrate / to rave / to boast / & to sing loudly !
1)
It is a word that speaks of
a radical outward expression of worship- a real letting go - and worshipping
the Lord.
3rd
word is Yadah means to throw out the hands: It is used in 2 Chron. 20:21 and in
several of the Psalms .
A)
The
idea w/ this word is to throw out the hands to touch the throne of God!
B)
It
speaks of a thankful expression of worship
4th
word Towdah also involves the hands - Towdah means to lift our hands - it is the
most common word for thanks in
A) It speaks of lifting the hands in thanks for what God is going to do!
B)
The outward lifting of the
hands speaks of the inward lifting of the heart.
1)
Lam. 3:41 declares let
us lift our heart with our hands
C)
Yadah speaks
of giving - Towdah anticipates
receiving - daddy pick me up
1) The need or attitude of the
heart is displayed in the way we lift our hands
5th
Word is Zamar - speaks of instrumental praise - again used in several of the
Psalms - it lit. means to touch the strings to celebrate in song
A)
David as a worship leader
was always inventing musical instruments to be used in worship.
6th
word is Shabach = to commend to triumph to glory and shout with a loud voice !
A) - Now you get the idea here
w/ most of these words aside from Barak/
that God intends worship to be a
loud very expressive thing.
B) Excitement about the Lord
and his presence in our lives!
Someone once said that Loud praise is
not because God is deaf or hard of hearing - or far away , but it is because He
deserves great commendation, His glory & majesty are worthy of praise
Also note: God is seeking such to
worship Him!
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."
26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak
to you am He."
Jesus reveals himself to this woman - I am He
First
revelation of being MESSIAH
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 water pot,
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?" 30 Then they
went out of the city and came to Him.
She left her pot
{ Suddenly
what was the most pressing thing on her plate was no longer when she met
Jesus.
Bart left his coat
Disciples left their boats
She becomes an evangelist:
31 In the
meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."
32 But He said
to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."
33 Therefore
the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to
eat?"
34 Jesus said
to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His
work.
#3
Great Satisfaction in Service: My Food
.
'For My people have
committed two evils:
They have forsaken
Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves
cisterns broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jesus gives living Water
We have to be so careful
because we can be guilty of the same thing
A)Forsake the Lord go after
cisterns or wells that have cracks in them