THE WELL – A Place for Tired People
John 4:6-8 February 6, 2022
Introduction:
Last week we discovered that the well is a place for divine appointments...a place where our lives intersect with Jesus, but the well can also be a place where our lives intersect with others...providentially. That certainly was the truth for Jesus and a Samaritan woman.
Today we discover that the well is also a place for tired people. Jesus was tired when he got there...amazing that God would put himself in a body that is limited like ours, huh? But he did...“Tired as he was from the journey He sat down by Jacob’s well to rest...it’s about noon.”
But he’s not the only tired person to show up at this well. “A Samaritan woman came to draw water.”
She may be one of the most weary people ever encountered in scripture.
She’s a woman in a society that places them as 2nd class citizens. She’s a Samaritan, that means she’s bi-racial, and that comes with its own set of judgments, she’s a divorcee 5 times over, failed relationship after failed relationship. To the point where the guy she lives with now isn’t her husband...trading sex for some kind of protection...some kind of security...on a worldly value scale from 1 to 10...she’s a negative 4.
If Jesus tarries we’ll spend a Sunday looking at how our past can be forgiven at The Well, but for today let’s look at the effects of her life.
She’s at the well at noon...the hottest part of the day...not the time there would be a crowd there, it seems she’s even startled to see a Jewish man sitting there. Chances are her defense mechanisms are in place. Her expectations for this encounter probably come from all the other encounters she had with men...(force field up...sarcasm at the ready, set on stun...)
This woman has made bad choice after bad choice. She’s lived a lifetime of mistakes enough to wear her out, enough to make her conclude her life is scarred beyond hope. She comes to the well at this time to avoid respectable women. But the well is just the place for people like her and Jesus is just the answer for her weariness.
It’s so important we understand this truth:
I. SATAN IS THE GOD OF WEARINESS
Our culture seems to bow down and worship the god of weariness...we use it as a proof of our value, and a badge of suffering...don’t believe me...ask someone how they’re doing. 9 out of 10 times you get this response...“Man, I’m busy...” Basically this declaration is followed by a lengthy list of things required at their job, activities that require their participation for their kids, even Church stuff can be thrown in there for good measure.
How you doing? “Man I’m busy right now!” How you feelin’? “I’m worn out buddy.”
Sometimes it can even become a competition about who’s the busiest and who’s the most worn out.
This isn’t just for men...it’s for women, students, our children, the god of weariness attacks at all levels. He’s an equal opportunity “life stealer.”
In her book called, “Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families,” Ann Kroeker writes this: “America, the land of the high-achieving, multitasking speedaholics. We’re in perpetual motion, never resting, and never quite satisfied...American families are sucked into a vortex of activities and obligations. We pile on appointments, lessons, practices, games, performances, and clubs, and then shovel in fast food...western civilization’s high-speed, fast-paced, goal-oriented life has propelled us into a state of minivan mania.”
Kroeker also refers to a great book called, “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” by John Ortberg in which he tells about the time he asked a friend for some spiritual direction. Ortberg described the pace of life in Chicago, the rhythms of his family life, and the condition of his heart. He wanted to know what he could do in order to be spiritually healthy. After a long pause his mentor answered, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Ortberg wasn’t satisfied with this answer so he asked what more he could do. “There is nothing else, “the man said. As he reflected on that advice later, Ortberg made this observation: “Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day. Hurry can destroy our souls. Hurry can keep us from living well...for many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it.”
Listen I know that laziness can be a problem too...but our reaction to laziness shouldn’t be “prove you’re not by how busy you are and how tired you are.” Both of those are more about what others think about us...instead of living life in abundance with a real purpose.
There are a couple of tools the god of weariness uses to steal our lives and our joy...the first of which is:
1. Try to find your worth through others.
For this Samaritan woman I’m sure there was a glimmer of hope in each of the 5 husbands...He’ll treat me with value and worth, he’ll love me and make things better, he’s attracted to me so that must mean I’m worth something.
[I’ve known my wife for 36 years, and we’ve been married for almost 34 years. God was a part of our dating relationship
SHOW FIRST PIC OF RICK AND KARI (DATING)
and God was and is the priority in our decision making...but we have discovered our thinking at 17 and 21 has evolved over the last 3 decades.
SHOW WEDDING PIC OF RICK & KARI
I still believe she gets more beautiful each day...I get more scars, she gets more beautiful...not really fair for her, but our security and foundation isn’t build on the same things this world values. I believe Kari does respect me and is willing for me to lead our family, and I believe my primary job as far as Kari is concerned is to “try and love her sacrificially as Christ loved the Church.” Our value and worth isn’t found in a superficial “attraction.” Our value and worth are found in God’s plan and design. Do we do it perfectly, NO! But I want my daughters to be loved by someone in the way I love my wife, and I want my sons to love their wives in the way I love Kari...and vice versa.]
But many use this world’s method of value to be the way their worth is determined...and the way they determine worth....Outward beauty and a selfish expectation of “what can be done for me,” often bring people together on marriage or friendships, only to find that when something of real depth or pain comes...that relationship cracks like cheap plastic in the winter cold. Such was the journey of this Samaritan woman and thousands and thousands of men and women lied to by the god of weariness. It leaves you tired, broken, weary and thirsty for something better.
And the second tool Satan uses is:
2. Search for fulfillment in things outside of God.
If you go back with me to the Garden of Eden in Genesis...you’ll discover that Adam and Eve are fulfilled by overseeing the garden, finding completeness in each other, but most of all, “Being in an unspoiled, totally dependent relationship with God, their creator. He provided everything they needed for life and fulfillment...and longed to “walk with them in the garden in the the cool of the day.” And man it was “GOOD.”
The Samaritan woman also knew a lot about God, she even knew there was a promised Messiah. It’s just that her choices kept leading her farther and farther from Him. So He came looking for her.
Satan enters Eden with the plan to have Adam and Eve choose something outside of God as their fulfillment. Listen:
GENESIS 3:1-9
On every other day Adam and Eve ran to be with God; they couldn’t wait to share this intimate time...but not today...God’s plea: “Where are you.”
From that day on our nature’s have sought to find our fulfillment outside God....Independence courses through our veins...rebellion against authority is our Eden birthright...and the god of weariness still says, “you will not surely die, see how beautiful it is...look at how it will taste...it will make you wiser.” And over and over we grab for the forbidden fruit, each time we are surprised and disappointed to end up feeling cheap, guilty, and ashamed. We feel less valuable. Satan has mastered his technique. We end up more broken and more distant from God.
Amazingly though God hasn’t given up on us in our brokenness. God sometimes waits until we are worn out from life, and tired to the bone spiritually...and He comes to meet us.
He knows our search for love, for meaning, for happiness is often our search for God in disguise. It’s possible that when all our energies are exhausted He enters our ruins and says He can rebuild.
As Jesus sits at the well fulfilling a divine appointment...with a tired body, he still has the same heart...what is that heart?
II. THE HEART OF JESUS LONGS FOR A RELATIONSHIP WITH TIRED PEOPLE
There is only one place in scripture where Jesus personally describes his innermost being...the very core of who the Messiah is...it’s found in Matthew 11:28-30
MATTHEW 11:28-30
It’s that heart that brought Jesus to the well. And it’s that heart that wants this woman to have so much more. The world offers 5 hr. energy drinks...He offers living water.
I wonder, do tired people in this world encounter Jesus this way in the Church...Is the church a well for tired people?
[My church at Southland was that for me upon my conversion. Brewster created a youth group that focused on “a love the underdog” mentality. He helped bind us together with a hope that “God can restore...you to be a helper in that restoration.”
Hopefully we can continue to be the well where people can meet a Savior whose heart says “Come to me, all (pot heads, broken sons, divorced women), all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
If we’re going to represent Jesus at this well we call the church...ummmm...Well, then we have to have his heart. Gentle and humble...and inviting. He doesn’t say come to me politely or just to be nice. He invited people...tired people, worn out people into His presence because He loves them. He wants to help them, His heart is all about caring for them. Notice one or two things he does...
1. He does this one on one. The disciples aren’t there, and despite how it might appear...Jesus talks with her, about important stuff. He boldly enters into her life and shares love and truth. If we want people to come to church, it starts at the well, where we meet them in life...where we look for the divine appointments of God...and you have to believe Jesus is the Messiah, and the Holy Spirit is the living water that explodes from us like a fountain.
2. He does this with the goal of restoration, not condemnation. I’m not sure why other’s sin is so much worse than our own. Maybe viewing people that way helps us feel more superior...all I know is the sinless son of God is sitting at the Well with His woman...and we see a Savior at work...speaking truth, hope, and salvation.
What would happen if Jesus’ disciples, you and I, would start sharing one on one conversations about deeper issues with lost people, and then the church became a well where you found restoration instead of condemnation?
I tell you what would happen “The Lord will add to our number daily.” And the mature in Christ, and the newly saved will make disciples...and it all starts at the well.
Mike Yacconelli writes in Messy Spirituality “Most people don’t like sinners, don’t want to be around them, and whether they recognize it or not, make their disdain for the sinner very clear.”
One Sunday morning an older man showed up in our church and sat in the front row. His braided and partially dread locked hair hung below his belt; his extremely long frizzy goatee shot in all directions from his chin. His nervousness was obvious. I could feel his fear. When it came time for the welcome, I talked about how important it is for the church to be a place where a few somebodies and mostly nobodies feel safe, no matter how unsafe it is outside the church. When we stood for the giving of the peace, this man mingled throughout our small congregation. After the service, he came up to me, his eyes moist, and said “I’ve never been to a church like this. To be honest, I was seriously apprehensive when you announced the giving of the peace. I expected the worst. Do you know what it is like to walk into a church and not one person talks to you, not one person touches you, and no one even acknowledges your presence? I do. You can cut the rejection with a knife. You cannot imagine how alone you feel.”
Without knowing it, he had described the woman at the well. She came to the well alone. No one wanted to acknowledge her. The visitor to our church was shocked to have been touched, hugged, talked to, acknowledged. It made a deep imprint on him. Which is exactly what happened to the woman at the well.
It is tragic that many of us are afraid to pursue our desire for God because when we have made mistakes and the scars of our choices were visible, others have been quick to isolate us, to distance themselves from us, to question our sincerity and our commitment to change.
Let’s pray that we’re becoming a well for tired people...
