Jesus and His disciples were on their way to Galilee from Judea
Contrary to how the devout Jews traveled, Jesus felt the need to go through Samaria..It was the most direct route, however, because of the dislike between the Jews and the Samaritans, devout Jews would take the long route, and go around Samaria.
The Samaritans to the Jews, were like those people that you mom told you to stay away from..Don’t go in their neighborhood..You know the ones…
The Samaritans were considered half-breed, and religiously challenged (their religious belief was partially Jewish and partially heathen) They were considered unclean to the Jew.
It seems that Jesus has a divine appointment scheduled in Samaria…
Though He had His disciples with Him, they went on into the city to buy food, while Jesus, ‘tired from the trip’, sat at Jacob’s well in Sychar, the city in Samaria
Now we are going to look at this woman that Jesus is soon to have an encounter with…
Here is a woman who seems to have had a rough time…First of all when Jesus sees her, she is approaching the well in the heat of the day, at noon, and she is alone. Most times the women would gather together twice a day and talk amongst themselves as they drew water.
This woman came during the heat of the day, alone, as though she were trying to avoid the other women. We know as we continue in the scriptures, that this woman had been married 5 times, and now she was shacking up..She was in sin and seemingly an out cast, who was downcast and discouraged, an outsider, a sinner and a loner…She was empty and void…looking for something and finding nothing…She had tried everything…She was looking for love in all the wrong places…
It had to be rough for this woman, because you know how people are..The world calls you by your problem, by your sin, your situation, condition and position. When you do something, you are no longer Toni; no longer Mike…Now you are a liar, convict, drunkard, drug addict; the world calls you deaf, dumb, mute, sick, and depressed; the world calls you a failure, molester, fornicator and adulterer;
But when you come to know Christ He makes you new, and even though the world may still refer to you as who you were; you become who God says you are to be; Now you are a child of God; joint heirs with Christ; more than a conqueror; able to do all things through Christ; You are fearfully and wonderfully made; you have been given power; you are no longer empty, but now you are filled; You are now able to do what you have never done; and able to stop doing what you have always done. People say you can’t, God says you can. People say you won’t, God says you will .
Get ready for your overflow!!
This woman was empty, but on her way to excess….she was in a spiritual drought on her way to spiritual overflow…
So here you have Jesus the Christ..the giver of life, sitting at the well resting..When here comes the Samaritan woman…
Jewish Rabbis did not talk with women in public, especially Samaritans. Jews would not use the eating or drinking utensils from a Samaritan…But Jesus asked this woman for a drink…
But how many know that Jesus goes where nobody will go? He will sit with those noone will sit with; He will share His identity with those who some believe, don’t deserve to know; Jesus will identify those who have the worst past; voted most likely to fail; has the worst reputation and situation; Don’t know where they came from nor where they are going; They feel hopeless and helpless; down and out; empty and void…
Jesus will go to the Samaritans in the world and pull them up; turn them around; deliver them; heal them; restore them; and renew them; He will save them; He will give them help and hope; peace and joy; rest and restoration; purpose and plans; He will change them from nothing to something; from empty to overflowing…Old things are passed away, behold all things become new!!
Get ready for your overflow.
Aren’t you glad that Jesus does not judge us the way we judge each other? Aren’t you glad that He does not say we’ve been too bad..we don’t have the right name, the right address, the right friends..Aren’t you glad He is not interested with our degrees and our affiliations; He is not interested in how well we speak or if we stutter; HE is not interested in the seniority of the saved, if you have been saved for 5 minutes or 5 decades..He does not care if your bible is red or black, leather or paperback; He is not interested in what you wear or the color of your hair; He does not care if we are male or female, young or old. He is not interested in the type of car we drive or the size of our house; HE does not care if we talk low or speak loud; Aren’t you glad that “God so loved the world that HE sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever…!!”
Get ready for your overflow!
So Jesus asks this woman for a drink and she is puzzled by His question, because the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans..He begins to tell her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water….
He goes on to tell her…”Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the watrer that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Get ready for your overflow!
He was saying… Continuing to drink of the water you have, will only fill you temporarily. You have been searching for something to fill the void..something to complete you..And nothing is working; nothing is filling…But I have something that will not only fill you, but it will cause you to walk in overflow; it will complete you and then spill over on your circumstances; it will spill over on your family and your friends and your co-workers…It is overflowing and everflowing..it never ends, but keeps you full
You know how it is…Some in here today are thirsty and wanting to be filled;
You’ve had 5 husbands, but your five husbands are whatever you have tried to do outside of Christ, to be filled.
It may be drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, cigarettes, over eating, overspending, bad relationships, or gambling; I don’t want you’ve tried, but I know that if you have not tried Jesus, you are still empty, and still thirsty.
But get ready for your overflow!
This woman was now interested in getting some of this water…
Jesus told her to go and get her husband…
After HE told her about herself…she thought Him to be a prophet..and began to question Him about the proper place to worship. (Jerusalem or in the mountain)
Jesus’ response was that the time is coming and now is, that people will not worship in the mountain or in Jerusalem, but the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth…
He was saying it does not matter where..it matters how…
Is it fake or is it real.. Do you believe or are you counterfeit? Do you love Him or are you perpetrating? Are you committed or do you waiver? Is your worship dependent on your circumstances?
When your worship is for real, you don’t sit back and watch others worship and praise…When your worship is for real, you aren’t standing back to see how someone sings..when your worship is for real, you don’t care who is watching…
You begin to think about who God is..You begin to think about His love and His faithfulness..
You begin to think about His goodness; You think about His grace and mercy; You begin to say “thank you Lord! Thank for what you’ve done! Thank you for who you are! Thank you for your love! Thank you for provision! Thank you for protection! Thank you for my family! Thank you for my friends! Thank you for my church! Thank you for never leaving nor forsaking me! Thank you for keeping me when I did not deserve to be kept! Thank you Jesus, for dying in my place; thank you for everlasting life; thank you for paying the price for me! Thank you for my senses! Thank you for a roof over my head, clothes on my back and shoes on my feet! Thank you! Thank you!!
Nobody can stop you from praising when you experience the overflow!
The woman told Jesus, “the Messiah is coming and HE will tell us everything.”
Then Jesus revealed Himself to the woman…
The disciples came back
The woman left her water pot and went to town..she told everyone, “Come, see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
This woman did not learn about Jesus in the church..The town did not learn about Jesus in the church. We have to take the gospel outside of the 4 walls of the church, church!!!
This woman said she had to tell it all ..She forgot about her emptiness; she forgot about her problems; she forgot about her lonliness; she forgot about her thirst!! She was walking in the overflow!
She had gone from empty to overflowing. Her joy and excitement was spilling out on everyone she came in contact with. The people came to see Jesus for themselves…Because of her witness the town was saved..She could not keep it to herself..She was in the overflow…
When you find that there is something better than where you have been and what you have been through, you want to tell everyone including those who turned their backs on you, when you were down; those who talked about you, when you messed up; those who criticized you, when you could only do what you knew to do; those you thought poorly of you, because you could not do what they did and did not have what they had; those who tried to set you up to fail and those who tried to sit you down . ..The love of Christ compels you. You will just want to tell everybody …..
Because now you are walking in the overflow!
… She was filled and overfilled. If we are filled with the Truth and the Spirit of God, we will not be able to keep it to ourselves..It just goes all over the place…We can’t help it…We have to be witnesses..We have to tell everybody and anybody.
If you have an ear, you are gonna hear
Are you filled? If you are filled, then are you telling everybody about somebody who can save anybody?
Jesus called on the disciples to take the message of unconditional love and forgiveness to all the people and to witness this message; we are to; share it, speak it, spread it, teach it, but most importantly, we are to live it.
It does not matter if it is in your family, on your job; if it is across the sea or across the street; if it is with someone you know or someone you just met. You need to be a witness.
v.35-38
Jesus told the disciples to look around; there are spiritually hungry people all around us everyday, all day.
The theme today is be still and be filled; it is not be filled and be still;
God is not looking for sponges to soak up, but for dispensers who will take in and give out.
You need to tell somebody that when you are filled with the Holy Ghost and filled with the Word of God; When you become new, and give your cares to Christ; when you call on Jesus and surrender to God, turning from the world and turning from destruction;
You need to tell somebody that God will set you free; deliver you from bondage; make a way out of no way; supply your need; save your family; answer your prayer; give you joy’, provide you peace; heal your wounds; comfort your heart; order your steps; direct your path; You need to tell somebody that salvation is free, and eternal life is forever; that God loves you most and God loved you first; You need to tell somebody that God knows your pain and He understands your struggles; that He will hear your cry and make your enemies your footstool;
You need to tell somebody that God will put food on your table and clothes on your back;
He will pay your bills and bring your joy back! You need to tell somebody that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose; and that there is nothing impossible for Him; nothing is too hard for Him; You need to tell somebody that He knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb, and before you were born He sanctified you (set you apart for His purpose) Tell somebody that God will give you overflow!!
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God’s overflow will spill over into your family…
God will fix your marriage and bring your children home;
He will protect you and keep you; and in your weakness He is strong.
He will lift you up when you are down and He will open doors no man can shut.
If you only knew that the Lord is able; His hand is not shortened that it can not save;
Nor His ear heavy that He cannot hear
Jesus is the Living Water, If you have not experienced the overflow of the Holy Spirit, you need to ask Jesus for a drink of Living water today!! If you have not experienced His goodness; If you don’t know about His grace and mercy….
Ask Jesus for a drink of Living Water…Exchange your emptiness for overflow..Exchange your lonliness for overflow..exchange your thirst for overflow..exchange your hurt for overflow..exchange your habits for overflow..exchange your sickness for overflow..exchange your weariness for overflow…exchange your unforgiveness for overflow…exchange your adultress relationship for overflow..exchange your addiction for overflow…exchange your drought for overflow..exchange your hopelessness for overflow…God wants you to experience the overflow, the fountain of living water springing up on the inside of you..…
Jesus said, ‘He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” The Spirit of God has power to change you; to change your situation; to change your mind; to change your condition!! The overflow!!!
Jesus is calling you out of fake religion into real relationship, so you can experience and receive the overflow!
He wants us to know that He can change our current condition and our past position..
For those who are not sure what He can do, let me remind you….
Because it is women’s day, I’ll remind you how a woman came to Jesus, who had suffered an infirmity for 18 years, and Jesus told her, ‘woman thou art loosed,’ and she was healed; Because it is women’s day, I’ll remind you how there was a woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, and after spending all she had, and trying every remedy there was, seeking ever doctor she knew, but only growing worse..she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was made whole; Because it is woman’s day, I’ll remind you how the syrophoenician woman came and stood in the gap for her demon possessed daughter, crying out, ‘have mercy on me!’ and Jesus healed her daughter that same hour; because it is women’s day, I’ll remind you how accusers brought an adulteress to Jesus and they wanted to stone her, but Jesus said, ‘He who is without sin, cast the first stone,’ and they left the woman alone. Because it is women’s day, I’ll remind you how Sarah, at the age of 90, had a baby when her womb should have been dead; and how Hannah had a baby, after being barren, when she cried out to God; Because it is women’s day I’ll remind you how Jesus cast 7 demons out of Mary and healed Peters mother-in-law. Because it is women’s day, I’ll remind you
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But if it were men’s day, I would remind you how blind Bartimeous, sat by the side of the highway yelling, ‘Jesus thou Son of David, have mercy on me,’ and Jesus gave him his sight ; and how Jesus gave sight to the blind man who was at Bethsaida, by spitting on his eyes; If it were men’s day I would remind you of the man Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda who had an infirmity for 38 years. If it were men’s day I would remind you of the man with the withered hand and how Jesus told him, ‘stretch forth thine hand,’ and it was restored; If it were men’s day, I would remind you how Jesus healed the ten lepers, when they cried out for help, and how one man who had leprosy worshipped him, and Jesus cleansed him and made him whole; If it were men’s day, I would remind you how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead…If it were men’s day, I would remind you how a man sick with palsy was bought to Him on a bed, and seeing the faith of the man’s friends, He healed the sick man and forgave his sins…If it were men’s day, I would reminded you
And if it were youth day, I would have told you how Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead; if it were youth day, I would have told you how Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, while some were mourning and some were laughing because they did not believe; if it were youth day, I would have told you how Jesus cast the demon out of the lunatic boy; If it were youth day, I would have told you, how Jesus called all of the little children to himself, and took them in His arms and blessed them; if it were youth day, I would have told you..
The Lord wants you to know who He is today….He wants to offer you an overflow of blessings and an overflow of life…”Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.”
And to those who have not committed; those who are not yet filled; those who keep stopping by the church, instead of being in the church; those who feel that there is no hope and there is not help…God is looking for you, and bought you here today…Jesus has an appointment with you today, just like He had an appointment with the woman at the well…He wants you to know Him, and who He is; He wants you to know that you do not have to hunger and thirst, because He is the Living Water and can cause you an overflow!
He says, “I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
If only you knew the gift of God and who it is that is speaking to you this morning, you would ask Him for living water. If you knew who is it that says today, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
If only you knew the Lord is ready to take you from the bondage of your past to the freedom of your future; He will take away your thirst and emptiness, and He will cause an overflow…where your joy and your peace and your salvation and your deliverance and your light is spilling over and it is falling all over everyone around you…Just like the woman at the well, Jesus will meet you right where you are. If you only knew, then you would not be able to stay in your seat.
If you aren’t telling everybody who He is; then you don’t know who He is; And you are the one He is calling today; If only you knew, you would not be able to stay in your seat; you would not be able to wait another day to receive Him; you would not be able to wait another day to answer His call; You would not be able to wait another day without telling everybody about your Savior; about your Lord; about your Father; about your new life; about your deliverance; about your healing; about your restoration; about your overflow!
All that you have done and all that you have tried will not compare to the filling that comes when you give your life to Christ.
The Lord is seeking those today who are thirsty; empty; hurting; downcast and downtrodden …He is looking for those who have been coming and not commiting..God has work for you and it is time to quit playing church…We are to be the salt of the earth, and if you have lost your saltiness, you are good for nothing. It is time to get busy..This woman at the well did not wait to see who was going to believe with her…she was not concerned with what others would think if she believed.
This woman was ready to receive the overflow; the fountain of the Living Water
The Lord says, He knows that you have been downcast and an outcast, that you have come to the well many times for a drink, but left empty; He knows that you have been thirsting for more, but did not know where to find it…But He wants to have a personal encounter with you today. He wants to fill you with living water…He wants to meet you at your point of need. Then you can leave behind the five husband and the man that is not yours; you can leave behind those worldly people and things that you used to try and fill yourself with; you can leave behind your reputation and humiliation; you can leave behind the chains that bound you and the words that choked you.
You can receive your overflow!!
I just stopped by to tell you about a man, who told me all that I ever did. I just stopped by to tell you about a man who can save you from destruction; who can deliver you from your pains and hurts; a man who can supply your needs and lift your head; a man who has all power and authority in His hands; I just stopped by to tell you about a man who sticks closer than a brother and who loved you enough to lay down His life for you!! I came by to tell you about a man named Jesus who is able to cause you to do what you have never done before…He can cause you to be who you have never been before …He can fill you like you have never been filled before…I just stopped by to tell you about a man, that if you only knew who He was; If you only knew what He could do…
You would come and receive your overflow!!
I’m just a nobody, trying to everybody about somebody who can save anybody!!!
.Somebody give God praise for the fountain of Living Water today..Somebody give God praise for choosing you and loving you and providing for you…Somebody give God praise for deliverance taking place and healing taking place and restoration taking place right now!!…Somebody give God praise for the overflow!!!!
