Little Walls ...... Big Barriers. ....
By Wade martin Hughes, Sr.
Kyfingers@aol.com
16 Walls Jesus tore down.
Hidden in Bible stories are many neat truths,
let us ponder
THE WOMAN AT THE WELL, AND SEE HOW JESUS
OVERCAME every obstacle that the enemy threw up,
I hate throw up, seems this woman was determined to throw up every excuse she could.
Jesus planned on reaching this woman and would not be hindered.
We must identify walls and tear them down.
What can little things do?
In 1871 in Chicago a big city,
there developed a big tragedy.
But it all happened from a bunch of little things.
One little lady was out
milking one little cow early in the morning.
There was one little lamp of oil burning.
One little flickering flame in the little barn.
The cow kicked the little lamp with the little flame burning in it.
The lamp fell over into a little bit of hay in the little stable.
The little fire spread to the next building then to the next building
and we have what is called
the 1871 Great Fire that burned
an area 1 mile wide and 3 miles long.
What if a little fire of God fell on a little dry young person and the fire of God communicates with the next young person and the next thing you know you have a revival burning with the Holy fire of God.
Our text is: John 4:4-42. The Woman at the Well.
I am not going to write this out, I depend on you to read it.
But this is a story that everybody is familiar.
There is a woman and Jesus deliberately takes his journey, he must needs go through Samaria, to reach her.
He needed to go because there was a lady with no hope.
While he was at the well, Jesus met a lady that came to draw water. Jesus said give me the drink.
The woman says how are you, a man, talking to me a woman? And a woman from Samaria?
I am going to show you little walls that almost made a lady miss her experience with Jesus.
1. The wall of tiredness.
Jesus was very tired but he was compelled, it was
very urgent that he go to Sychar, Samaria.
Any person has to watch fatigue for being tired
makes cowards out of great people.
Jesus got so tired, everything drained Him.
There was a little lady named Jael, she was a
little weak woman but she killed the mighty general
Sisera, because he was so tired she nailed his head
to the floor.
So Jesus had to overcome the wall of tiredness.
(vs. 6)
2. The second wall,was timing
and Jesus faced is found in vs. 6. It was the sixth
hour which was between 9 to 12 mid day.
Normal ladies were at home doing their work.
They normally went to get their water in the early
morning before the heat of the day.
This woman was a social outcast and she was not
allowed to go when the other women went.
So there was a wall of timing/scheduling that Jesus
had to overcome.
3. vs. 7 - the wall of sexes, there cometh a woman.
Jesus was at the well for water and this was a
woman’s job, not a man’s.
Besides that, in this time frame males never talked
to females in public.
So Jesus had to overcome the wall of gender before
he could effectively win the lost.
Gal. 3:28 says that in Jesus there is no male or
female, nor Jew or Greek.
4. THE WALL OF RACISISM.
That is found in vs. 9. Jesus was a Jew - the lady
was a Samaritan.
This would be like Catholic vs. Protestant,
black vs. white,
cowboy vs. Indian,
rich vs. poor,
teacher vs. student,
preacher vs. members.
There should be no walls of separation between
God’s people where we might be a little bit
different.
We must tear the wall down.
5. The fifth wall is the wall of ignorance.
It is found in vs. 10. If thou knew.
This lady never knew the real whole total truth.
Her religion involved superstition based on
ignorance.
And we all know that ignorance breeds ignorance.
2 Timothy 3:5, Matthew 22:29 says you do err because
you don’t know the scriptures. We must tear down the
walls of ignorance. Remember the stupid argument of
ignorance of whose wife will she be in the Judgment
Day.
6. The wall of physical limits,
vs. 11. Sir, thou hast nothing to draw water
with ....the limitation is the well is deep.
Physical limitations are but doorways and
opportunities towards the work of God.
7. The seventh wall that Jesus had to tear down
was the wall of authority, is found in vs. 12.
Are you greater than Jacob....
The wall of authority becomes a terrible barrier.
It often presents one person as an expert,
questions who is right,.. my mom said,...
the preacher said....
It is really what Jesus said.
There are not other authority figures.
8. The wall of misunderstanding/misinterpretation --
comes in vs. 15.
Give me water so I will never thirst again.
The woman never understood what Jesus was saying.
Often times in religious circles deep things are
not understood in the proper light of eternity.
For example: sure your gonna tear down the temple
and build it in 3 days.
They never understood he was talking about the
body.
On the cross Jesus said, Eli, Eli, Lama
Sabachthenia, and misunderstanding hears him
calling Elijah for a drink of water.
Often times misinterpretation comes because we
don’t listen.
The only exercise we get is jumping to conclusions,
running down friends, sidestepping responsibility,
pushing your luck.
9. The ninth wall is found in vs. 16
-THE WALL OF A SCARRED PAST.
In vs. 16 Jesus says go call your husbands.
She has 5 husbands, she has a name in her
community, she is a failure.
We must learn to quit fishing in the sea of
forgetfulness.
Bury the past or it will bury you.
10. The tenth wall is the wall of palliation.
This means to make less severe or to excuse your
behavior.
We could also call it the wall of denial.
It is found in vs. 17.
I have no husband.
Really sounds like a virgin, don’t it.
She is not telling the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. By her deceitful way of
answering, she is building a wall that Jesus must
tear down.
She is not acknowledging the scars of the past.
We think we have a safety net if we deny the truth,
but believe you me, the truth shall be shouted from
the rooftops.
11. The wall of religious differences, vs. 20.
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain and
you say we should worship in Jerusalem.
This would be much like an argument between two
different denominations’
We must bury our religious differences and base on
the word of God and being acceptant of others as
long as they use the Bible as the standard.
12. The twelfth wall is the wall of opinion.
We could call this public opinion,
but probably would be more like church opinion.
This is found in vs. 27.
His disciples marvel that he talked with a woman.
Here Jesus’s coworkers opinions could very easily
become a wall.
A brother’s opinion could be like the older
brothers reaction when the Prodigal Son came home.
Or like the preachers getting mad that Jesus healed
on Sunday.
13. The 13th wall materialism/carnality/appetites.
Vs. 31 - they said to Jesus, we’ve ate -- you eat.
And he says in vs. 32 I’ve got meat that you don’t
understand.
Sometimes human appetites can override spiritual
truths.
14. Wall 14 is the wall of procrastination.
In vs. 35 Jesus said Say not 4 months then the
harvest.
Putting things off until tomorrow can be very
dangerous and we can miss spiritual opportunities
simply by putting them off for a more convenient
season.
15. Wall 15 - the wall of her ugly past limiting
her current testimony.
I find this in vs. 41.
And many more believed because of His own word.
There is a credibility problem because of the past.
We need to keep our lives as pure and holy as
possible.
16. The wall of meeting Jesus and the meeting not
being personal.
Vs. 42 - we have heard him ourselves.
They take the story of the lady and make it
personal to themselves. You must have a personal
experience with Jesus.
For God has no grandchildren, only children.
We must overcome all the walls that would separate
us from being soul winners.
This story is absolutely amazing in that it exposes
every major barrier.
We must build bridges, not walls.
His servant,
Kyfingers@aol.com
Wade Martin Hughes Sr.
