Knowing God Series

KNOWING GOD PART 1

Study text: John 4:1-30

Introduction: the human heart always tends to do such things that are opposed to the will and purpose of God. Since the fall of man, every seed of Adam has inherent rebellion within his frame. The flesh is contrary to the spirit and unless it is brought to submission in a definite encounter with God, it will continue to make it impossible for you to walk with God. All who became friends of God were not naturally born so; they were conquered and subdued by the power of God. No man will naturally choose God; the nature we inherited from our mother’s womb is the enemy of God. If you do not have a definite encounter with God as yet, your Christian experience will be vague and without a clear foundation.

A) The woman lifestyle before she had encounter with the Lord. (vs 7-12. 16-18,19-20)

1. Argumentative, tribalistic and arrogant.

2. Ignorant of God’s gift, through religious with much head knowledge.

3. A life of hypocrisy and cover up.

4. She had unstable marriage and had married several men, and yet was not at peace even with the present man.

5. She faithfully followed the tradition of her fathers but without knowing the God of her father Jacob.

6. She gave attendance to places of worship rather than a personal knowledge of who they worshiped (vs 22)

7. She would fall for anyone who foretells or had a word of knowledge of her situation, even if it does not get to the root of getting her personally connected with God (vs 18-19)

8. She had a faint knowledge of the scripture concerning the Messiah, but not a personal encounter with Him. (vs 25)

9. She was eager to receive the water that solves her immediate problem of not coming to the well to fetch physical water again, but not the quenching of the real thirst of her spiritual life.

10. In all her troubles, she looked for the Messiah in all the men she had met in life, but found none that could satisfy.

- This woman could be typical of any religious, zealous person who is always in church but having not yet a deep life- changing encounter with the Lord.

B) How Her Encounter Came About

Vs 1-7, 16-26

1. Jesus left the crowd and deliberately came her way. He waited to meet her at a place of ordinary activity and at the point of her need.

2. “Give me a drink” was just the bait to get her into this unforgettable encounter with the Redeemer. Christ draws her to the point of conviction with great patience.

3. The particular need in her life was the point which Jesus caught her. She was overwhelmed when Jesus caught her in craftiness of telling lies or using “diplomacy” to evade a pointed question.

4. Jesus went beyond the hook to actually bring her to submission to the purpose of God vs 21-26

-An encounter that only ends with the hook without bringing a man to the point of total surrender is too superficial to bring a lasting effect in life.

C) The Outcome of the Encounter with Christ (vs. 26-30, 39-43)

1. She dropped the water pot she had carried for years and ran with a personal testimony of what had happened to her as she met the Lord.

- A real encounter with God will be able to release the past things and come into the midst of God’s people with the Joy of a changed life.

2. She became the herald of the good news.

-Many cannot be an effective witness today because they have not experienced such encounter that radically changed their lives.

3. She was no more defensive and argumentative. She was no more seeking theological explanations, she had a simple message “come and see the man......”

- A genuine encounter with God will make you a living evidence of His grace.

5. She became (so to say) the gateway unto the Samaritans.

-your encounter with Christ may be the link and the open door for the salvation of many around you.

- your personal encounter with God may also be the hope for the deliverance of may. Acts 9:15-16, 22:14-15

Notes:

-The woman came to the well confused but left with joy as she encountered the lord.

-check if you have ever had any such encounter with the Lord. What lasting impact did it leave with you?

- a deep encounter with God will immediately make you His witness.

Conclusion: apart from the encounter that brings a man to experience salvation from sin, there are several encounters for spiritual growth, for divine call into the service of God, for correction and reproof. Some wasted their encounters with God and went through irreparable damages in life. If you waste an encounter with God today, you may spend several years groping in the dark for direction. You may be given another chance but not without a scar.