“God’s Goal”
John 4:4-29
God’s goal is not to make us happy, it’s to make us His, not to get us what we want, but to get us what we need.
Intro: Early in his career, Thomas Edison invented a vote-recording machine for use in legislative chambers. By moving a switch to the right or left, an official could vote for or against a proposal without leaving his desk. The machine would replace the tedious business of marking ballots, counting them, etc. Elated with the prospects, Edison obtained a patent -- his first -- and headed for Washington.
Eagerly he demonstrated his machine to the Chairman of Congressional Committees. This gentleman, while complimenting Edison on his ingenuity, promptly turned it down. "Filibustering and delay in the tabulation of votes are often the only means we have for defeating bad or improper legislation." he told Edison.
The young inventor was stunned. The invention was good; he knew it and the chairman knew it. Still, it wasn’t wanted. Said Edison later: "There and then I made a vow that I would never again invent anything which was not wanted."
Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, pp. 11-12.
The Bible has a simple story. God made man. Man rejected God. God won’t give up until He wins man back. The number one problem facing our society today is that people don’t realize their need of a relationship with God and some that do, don’t want it. In the Samaritan woman we see Jesus intentionally leading her to the “Goal of God”.
1. Jesus gets her attention. (v.7) “Give me a drink”
a). Sometimes we’re too busy asking God to give us, to hear His request of us.
b). What jar are you holding today? Is their something in your life that consumes your thoughts and attention? When the Samaritan woman came near to Jesus she was focused on drawing water and getting back to her house.
c). We as Christians should be focused on pouring out our lives for the gospel.
2. Jesus reveals the truth. (v.10) “If you knew”
a). If she knew the gift of God was available to her. Why didn’t she know? Because no one ever told her. Too many people today are burdened down with the water jars of this world unaware God has something better for them.
b). The water she was seeking was a temporary outside source that kept bringing her back to the well. The water Jesus offers is an eternal inside source that God provides within the soul.
Illustration: Our water system provides water to my home. I control how much water I use, and never use all that is available. It’s available at anytime but I only use it when I turn on the faucet. God has made living water available to everyone, He has installed living water lines to all of our souls, but not everyone is aware of what God has provided. It’s like even though my house has indoor plumbing I go to the pond behind my house draw out water then sterilize it and use it in my home. Now that would be very burdensome especially when you consider I have indoor plumbing available. By accepting the gift of God (salvation through Jesus Christ) we tap into God’s eternal water system.
Sometimes we don’t experience the full benefits of the living water flowing through us because of kinks. It’s like when you get a kink in your water hose, at the faucet the water pressure is good but at the end of the hose you get low pressure. Sin will cause our hose to kink and even though we have the living water flowing into our soul we don’t experience the results we should until we repent and confess. Are you tapped into this living water? Is it flowing freely through your life and watering those around you?
3. Her first question: Is God able? (v. 11) “The well is deep”
a). When we question what God can do through us we question God’s abilities more than ours. We must remember this is the same God who simply spoke this world into existence, parted the Red Sea, and spoke through a donkey.
b). “The well is deep” Jesus doesn’t bring something from deep within our human nature, He brings it from above. We should never struggle down to the depths of our human nature and try to get water for ourselves. The well of our human nature is too deep to complete us, to free us, and to save us. We must look to God.
4. Her first reaction: A quick fix. (v.15) “Give me this water”
a). Some people never show up to church unless they’re in need of a quick fix from God. Just going to church won’t permanently fix our blowouts.
Illustration: When we have major problems in our lives and families and show up to church one Sunday morning and expect God to fix everything just because we went to ONE SUNDAY MORNING CHURCH SERVICE. It’s like having a major blowout with your car; you know where the rubber comes completely off the rim. And pulling up to a service station and requesting them to plug your tire. God wants us to slow down and give our problems to Him and allow Him the time necessary to repair and or replace things in our lives.
5. Jesus’ first request: Confession “Call your husband” (v. 16-18)
a). She was looking to men to fulfill all her needs. She was unaware of her deepest need, which was a relationship with God. Her real problem was her ignorance of what God had for her. The five husbands and living with someone out of wedlock were a direct result of not being tapped into living water.
b). Confession is merely agreeing with God on matters of sin. “You are right when you say”
6. Her second question: Where do I worship God? (v. 19-20)
a). This denomination says, “you must be baptized in their church”. This one says, “you can loose your salvation”. This one says, “you can’t lose your salvation”. This one says, “you must receive the second blessing”. And this one says, “you must be baptized in Jesus’ name”. The theological debate of her day was the location of the worship. She was looking for the answer to who was right and who was wrong.
Illustration: A few years ago the Chicago Tribune reported the story of a New Mexico woman who was frying tortillas when she noticed that the skillet burns on one of her tortillas resembled the face of Jesus. Excited, she showed it to her husband and neighbors, and they all agreed that there was a face etched on the tortilla and that it truly bore a resemblance to Jesus. So the woman went to her priest to have the tortilla blessed. She testified that the tortilla had changed her life, and her husband agreed that she had been a more peaceful, happy, submissive wife since the tortilla had arrived. The priest not accustomed to blessing tortillas, was somewhat reluctant but agreed to do it. The woman took the tortilla home, put it in a glass case with piles of cotton to make it look like it was floating on clouds, built a special altar for it, and opened the little shrine to visitors. Within a few months, more than eight thousand people came to the shrine of the Jesus of The Tortilla, and all of them agreed that the face in the burn marks on the tortilla was the face of Jesus (except for one reporter who said he thought it looked like former heavy-weight boxing champion Leon Spinks!
7. Jesus’ answer: Truth, not feeling, place, or denomination. (v.21-24) “In spirit and in truth”
8. Jesus reveals who He really is: Revelation (v.26) “I who speak to you am he.”
9. Her response to the truth: Relief (v. 28) “Leaving her water jar”
a). When she drank the living water, everything took its rightful place. Leaving her water jar represented her leaving her burdens with Jesus.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32
b). Her past didn’t disappear, but her guilt and condemnation did. What a relief it must have been for her to realize that God accepted her just the way she was. After living a life of everyone looking down their noses at her the most important man she ever meet didn’t condemn her, instead He gave her what she needed. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Rom 8:1
c). When the living water is freely flowing through us it doesn’t magically make all our problems go away, but it will help us cope with our problems. It will free us from our mental burdens as we rest in the knowledge that God is at work in our struggles. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28
God’s goal for the Samaritan woman was accomplished. She got what she needed, living water, and she became a child of God.
Conclusion:
Illustration: Many years ago a man conned his way into the orchestra of the emperor of China although he could not play a note. Whenever the group practiced or performed, he would hold his flute against his lips, pretending to play but not making a sound. He received a modest salary an enjoyed a comfortable living. Then one day the emperor requested a solo from each musician. The flutist got nervous. There wasn’t enough time to learn the instrument. He pretended to be sick, but the royal physician wasn’t fooled. On the day of his solo performance, the impostor took poison and killed himself. The explanation of his suicide led to a phrase that found its way into the English language: “He refused to face the music.” (Just Like Jesus; Max Lucado)
Today you can pretend to be a part of God’s orchestra by just blending in with the crowd and going through the motions. No one notices here, because you say the right things, go to the right places, and hang out with the right people. And you can enjoy the comfort of being accepted by the crowd of your choice. But there will come a day when you must face the music, one day you will be separated from everything. On that day you will stand alone before God and give an account for your life, your decisions, and whether or not you were taped into the living water.
Only God can condemn you and only God can forgive you. God has placed within your hands the power to accept condemnation or accept forgiveness. Jesus is God’s son, He died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the grave victorious over death. If we accept His death on the cross for our sins then we will be forgiven. God’s goal for all of us is forgiveness.
