Alan Fadling, in his book An Unhurried Life, tells a parable of a king who had two servants.
One of the servants, for fear of not pleasing his master, rose early each day to hurry along to do all the things that he believed the king wanted done. He didn't want to bother the king with questions about what that work was. Instead, he hurried from project to project from early morning until late at night.
The other servant was also eager to please his master and would rise early as well. But he took a few moments to go to the king, ask him about his wishes for the day and find out just what it was he desired to be done. Only after such a consultation did this servant step into the work of his day, work comprised of tasks and projects the king himself had expressed a desire for.
The busy servant may have gotten a lot done by the time the inquiring servant even started his work, but which of them actually accomplished what was important to the king?
Alan Falding goes on to say, “Genuine productivity is not about getting as much done for God as we can manage. It is doing the good work God actually has for us in a given day. Genuine productivity is learning that we are more than servants, that we are beloved sons and daughters invited into the good kingdom work of our heavenly Father” (Alan Fadling, An Unhurried Life, IVP, 2013, p. 51-52; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, don’t confuse busyness with productivity. You see, a lot of people live busy lives without ever stopping to think, “What does God want me to do?” As a result, they hurry from one project to another. And they feel like slaves, wearing themselves out without accomplishing what God considers important.
On the other hand, some people, having discovered God’s will, do the good work He has given them to do. They know they are loved sons and daughters, because their heavenly Father has invited them to participate in His Kingdom work. As a result, they experience genuine productivity and live full lives without all the hassle and hurry.
The question is: What is God’s will for your life each day? What are the most important things He wants you to accomplish today? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 4, John 4, where Jesus shows us the Father’s will.
John 4:1-4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria (ESV).
Why did Jesus HAVE to pass through Samaria?
Most Jews skirted around Samaria to get to Galilee from Jerusalem, because they despised the half breed Samaritans. They had opposed the Jews’ return to the land after the Jewish exile in Babylon 500 years previously, so there was a lot of “bad blood” between them.
Even so, “Jesus HAD to pass through Samaria” Why? Because that’s what God wanted Him to do. Later on in the chapter, Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Doing God’s will nourished Jesus. It energized Him. That’s why He had to go through Samaria—It was God’s will.
John 4:5-6 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour (ESV)—or about noon, since their day started at 6 a.m.
It’s not the normal time for women to draw water, so it’s obvious the woman Jesus will meet there is avoiding people because she is ashamed about something in her life.
John 4:7-9 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans) (ESV).
Or more literally, Jews do not use dishes Samaritans have used. They certainly don’t drink from the same cup! In Jesus’ day, Jewish men considered Samaritan women to be constantly menstruating and thus unclean. Therefore, a Jew who drank from a Samaritan woman’s cup would become ceremonially unclean (Edwin Blum, Bible Knowledge Commentary).
Jesus’ request of the Samaritan woman was unthinkable, because Jews in that day refused to associate with Samaritans, men refused to associate with women in public, and good people refused to associate with immoral people like this woman, who is obviously ashamed about some sin in her life. No wonder the Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus asked her for a drink!
John 4:10-15 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water” (ESV).
The Samaritan woman thinks that Jesus is talking about tangible drinking water, perhaps an artesian well, or something like that. But Jesus is talking about spiritual water. In fact, according to John 7, Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit Himself (John 7:37-39).
So, what is God’s will for you today? Well, like this Samaritan woman, God wants you to…
TAKE A DRINK OF HIS SPIRIT.
He wants you to welcome the Holy Spirit into your life and find your refreshment in Him.
In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus, he must be born of the Spirit. Here, in John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman, she can take a drink of the Spirit. It’s the same idea, only a different metaphor. In other words, whether you’re a religious, respected ruler like Nicodemus or a disobedient, despised outcast like this woman, no matter who you are, Jesus wants you to receive His Holy Spirit.
In his book The Silver Chair, C. S. Lewis tells the story of a young girl named Jill. She's in the land of Narnia, and she's thirsty. At once she sees a magnificent stream… and a fearsome lion (Aslan, who represents the Lord Jesus):
“If I run away, it'll be after me in a moment,” thought Jill. “And if I go on, I shall run straight into its mouth.” Anyway, she couldn't have moved if she had tried, and she couldn't take her eyes off it. How long this lasted, she could not be sure; it seemed like hours. And the thirst became so bad that she almost felt she would not mind being eaten by the Lion if only she could be sure of getting a mouthful of water first…
“Are you not thirsty?” said the Lion.
“I'm dying of thirst,” said Jill.
“Then drink,” said the Lion.
“May I, would you mind going away while I do?” said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
“Will you promise not to do anything to me, if I do come?” said Jill.
“I make no promise,” said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. “Do you eat girls?” she said.
“I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,” said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
“I daren't come and drink,” said Jill.
“Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion.
“Oh dear!” said Jill, coming another step nearer. “I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.”
“There is no other stream,” said the Lion. It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion, no one who had seen his stern face could do that, and her mind suddenly made itself up.
It was the worst thing she had ever had to do, but she went straight to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted. You didn't need to drink much of it, for it quenched your thirst at once. Before she tasted it, she had been intending to make a dash away from the Lion the moment she had finished. Now, she realized that this would be on the whole the most dangerous thing of all (C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair, Collier Books, pp.16-18; www.PreachingToday.com).
To run away from Christ is the most dangerous thing of all. However, to run towards Christ and drink of His Spirit will lead to Him consuming you, wrapping you up in His life. After which, you will never be the same again.
So, what will it be for you? Will you run away from Christ and later face His wrath? Or will you drink the water He offers and experience new life in Him? God’s will is that you take a drink of His Spirit. More than that, God wants you to…
WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.
Honestly praise Him from the heart. Adore Him sincerely and spiritually. Look at what Jesus says to the Samaritan woman.
John 4:16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here” (ESV).
The woman had asked for “living water,” and Jesus tells her to bring her husband. Now, what has that have to do with the price of tea in China? Why does Jesus mention her husband when she asks for water?
John 4:17-18 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true” (ESV).
Jesus asks her to bring her husband, because He wants her to acknowledge her sin. She had failed in five marriages; and the sixth time around, she avoided marriage altogether and just lived with the guy in sin.
But that is what honest worship is all about—It’s not about hiding your sin. It’s about openly confessing your sin before the Lord, coming just as you are with no pretense.
In Luke 18, Jesus talks about “two men [who] went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).
The tax collector, with humility acknowledged his own sinfulness before a holy God. As a result, he left the place of worship a changed man. He went home justified, i.e., righteous in God’s sight.
God wants you to be honest about your sin when you come before Him in worship. But that was too much for this Samaritan woman, so she changes the subject.
John 4:19-20 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (ESV).
Jesus wants to talk to her about her sin, but she avoids that subject to talk about theology. She starts a debate about the right place to worship.
John 4:21-24 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (ESV).
Jesus informs her that worship is not about place; it’s about the attitude of the heart. Those who worship God must worship in spirit and in truth. Worship spiritually AND honestly. Don’t focus so much on place and practice. Instead, focus on the Lord, responding to Him truthfully and from your heart.
You see, the problem is worshippers tend to focus on style and place, not the Lord.
John Ortberg and Pam Howell describe the problem in terms of Scarecrow worship verses Tim Man worship. They write:
Some churches specialize in generating emotion. The platform people are experts at moving worshipers to laughter or tears. Attenders gradually learn to evaluate the service in terms of the emotion they feel.
In time, however, the law of diminishing returns sets in. Prayers are offered in a highly emotive style and bathed in background music. Stories have to get more dramatic, songs more sentimental, preaching more histrionic, to keep people having intense emotional experiences.
Such worship is often shallow, sometimes artificial, and rarely reflective. Little attention is given to worshiping with the mind. It produces people who have little depth or rootedness. They may develop a “zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). They become worship junkies, searching for whichever church can supply the best rush.
This is Scarecrow worship: it would be better if it only had a brain.
On the other hand, some churches focus keenly on cognitive correctness. They recite great creeds, distribute reams of exegetical information, craft careful prayers ahead of time. And yet the heart and spirit are not seized with the wonder and passion that characterize those in Scripture who must fall on their faces when they encounter the living God. No one is ever so moved that she actually moves.
This is tragic because, as Dallas Willard writes, “to handle the things of God without worship is always to falsify them.”
Those who attend such services may be competent to spot theological error, but the unspoken truth is they're also a little bored. Their worship is dry—it does not connect with their deepest hurts and desires. Rarely does it generate awe or healing, and never raucous joy.
This is Tin Man worship: if it only had a heart.
Some attempts to bring head and heart together have led not to the glimmering Emerald City, but to the Wicked Witch's forbidding dungeon guarded by drones. At times we've gotten it backwards, managing to combine in a single service the thoughtfulness usually associated with chandelier-swinging Pentecostals [and] the emotional expression of Scottish Presbyterians (John Ortberg and Pam Howell, “Can You Engage Both Heart and Mind?” Leadership, 4-1-99; www.PreachingToday.com).
The key is not to focus on the style, but on the Lord Himself. For worship is not about time, place, and style. It’s an honest, heart-felt response of all that you are to all that God is, says, and does. It’s not about the 10:30 hour on a Sunday morning in a beautiful sanctuary. It’s a 24-hour, 7-day a week lifestyle lived in gratitude and awe of a holy God, who loves you with an everlasting love.
Timothy Christenson put it this way: If worship is JUST one thing we do, everything becomes mundane. If worship is THE one thing we do, everything takes on eternal significance (Timothy J. Christenson, Leadership, Vol. 8, no. 2; www.Preaching Today.com).
Do you want your life to have meaning with eternal significance? Then make worship THE one thing you do. Let everything you do every day be an honest, heart-felt response to the holy God of love.
That’s God’s will for you! 1st, Drink of His Spirit. 2nd, Worship in spirit and truth; and 3rd…
TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIS SON.
Introduce people to Jesus. Let people know who Jesus is and what He has done for you. That’s what the Samaritan woman does after she comes to realize who Jesus is.
John 4:25-26 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he” (ESV).
Literally, “I AM.” That’s the personal name for God Himself (Exodus 3:14). The one speaking to you is the I AM—YHWH God.
At first, the Samaritan woman thought that Jesus was just another Jew (vs.9). Then she thought of Him as a prophet (vs.19). Now, she knows that Jesus is the Lord God Himself (vs.26). So what does she do about it?
John 4:27-30 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him (ESV).
This once despised woman can’t help but tell everyone she knows that Jesus is the Messiah! Her shame is gone as she publicly proclaims what Jesus has done for her. And the people respond. They have to see the man, who changed this woman’s life.
John 4:31-34 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work (ESV).
Jesus had to go through Samaria, because God wanted Him to minister to a despised Samaritan woman. He changed her life. He took away her shame and turned her into a bold witness for Him. Now, as crowds of people are coming out of town to see Him, He gestures toward the crowds and tells His disciples…
John 4:35-38 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (ESV).
Jesus’ disciples entered into the Samaritan woman’s labor. She sowed the seed, creating interest in Him. Now, His disciples will reap a harvest of new believers in Jesus.
John 4:39-42 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (ESV).
Through Jesus’ own words, through the woman’s witness and His disciples’ encouragement, many came to faith that day and experienced eternal transformation.
Now, that’s what God wants you to do. He wants to use you to bring people to faith in His Son. Whether you’re just planting a seed or reaping a harvest of new believers, God wants you to tell others about His Son.
Don’t worry about the results. Just share what you know about Jesus and what He’s done for you. Like Jesus, you’ll find it food for your own soul as you do God’s will.
Putti Sok told her Christian college friends, “Leave me alone and quit praying for me.” Putti described herself as a “Cambodian Buddhist girl,” even though she was born in Long Beach, California and grew up in Dallas. She said, “I figured I was Buddhist because my parents told me I was Buddhist.” She thought Christianity was just a religion for Americans.” Eventually, Putti came to consider herself “an evangelistic atheist,” challenging others to prove that God exists.
When Putti started her college education at the University of Texas in 2008, one of her goals was to build deep relationships. She succeeded in that, but some of her new friends were Christians who were active in a student ministry. During her sophomore year, Putti “hit a wall.” She said, “I began to see that everything I was doing was becoming meaningless. [And] if what I was doing didn't have eternal meaning, then it was all in vain.” She began to think, “If God is real, he should be able to hear my prayers.” Each night she began to pray that he would help her understand what she had been hearing from her friends because it seemed like foolishness to her.
Then one day Putti entered a closet in the student ministry building that had been turned into a prayer room. Inside she found a bowl filled with pieces of paper with the names of the students' friends. One after another she looked at the slips of paper and found her own name written on the slips.
She knew how strongly she had urged her friends not to pray for her and yet they had faithfully loved her and prayed for her anyway. She burst into tears that day in the tiny prayer room. “God was softening my heart then,” she said. The next night she felt that God was asking her for a specific response, so she welcomed Christ into her life.
“All of a sudden,” she said, “I had a desire to go and share with people. God is real, and he has changed my heart.” After that, Putti went to seminary and began studying in preparation for full time ministry (Michelle Tyler, "Ardent atheist becomes passionate Christian evangelist," Latest News from Southwestern, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 3-25-14; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s the way it works in God’s world. Just faithfully love people and pray for them. Then, as God gives you opportunity, share what Christ has done for you and watch as He begins to transform the lives of your friends. I know of no greater joy than to see people come to faith in Christ, and that’s what God wants for you!
God’s will for you every day is to drink of His Spirit, worship in spirit and truth, and tell others about His Son. If you pursue just these three desires of God every day, you’ll live a full life without all the hassle and hurry.
At the end of His life, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished.” So it must have been a success. But by human standards, his ministry at that point would have been judged a failure (James Martin, Leadership, Vol. 13, no. 3; www.Preaching Today.com).
Don’t worry about what others think. Just do what you know God wants you to do, so that you too can say at the end of your life, “It is finished.”
Or as the Apostle Paul put it at the end of His life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (1 Timothy 4:7-8).
