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Water, Worship, Work - Part Two Series
Contributed by Ken Mckinley on Jul 12, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: This is the 14th sermon in our series on John's gospel. In this sermon we look at Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, and we examine what true revival looks like.
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Water, Worship, Work – Part Two (Gospel of John Part 14)
Text: John 4:27 – 42
We’re continuing on with John 4 today, and just as a quick re-cap of last week, we read about how Jesus was going through Samaria and He and the disciples had stopped at Jacobs Well. The disciples had gone on into town to get some food, but Jesus had stayed behind and was resting at the well, when a Samaritan woman came to draw water. If you remember we talked about how she had a conversation with Jesus, and basically in that conversation; Jesus showed her that all the things she had been doing in order to try to fill the void in her heart, weren’t cutting it. The water was a necessary thing, but she’d need to come to the well and drink again. The men in her life, weren’t the answer to finding fulfillment and satisfaction… and the worship she was doing was ritual and religion, but true worship is done in spirit and in truth. And that’s really what the whole thing comes down to. She had a worship problem. She was trying to find fulfilment and satisfaction and contentment… she was trying to fill the hole in her heart with relationships, and worldly things.
But Jesus corrects this… He calls her out… and then He tells her that He is the Messiah, and that brings us to our text this morning. It’s John 4:27 – 42, please follow along with me as we go to
God’s Word - (READ TEXT).
So Jesus is having this conversation with this woman… and we don’t know what else He has said to her… all we know is what Scripture has recorded for us. He may have said more, or this may be it… but what we do know is that it has a huge impact on her. She leaves her water pot and heads back into town and starts telling everyone about Jesus. And this is the pattern we see all throughout the New Testament. People encounter Jesus, and they become believers, and they go and tell others. This is the normal response for a Christian. We are to let the light of Christ shine through us. We are to go and preach the Gospel. We are to go and make disciples. That’s what Christians do.
This Samaritan woman doesn’t have it all figured out. She doesn’t have all the answers. But she’s encountered Christ, and she’s got to tell others. I’m just going to say it. If you’re a Christian, and you’re not at least attempting to tell people about Jesus, then something is wrong. There’s a disconnect somewhere. You see; as human beings; it’s in us to talk to others about what we are passionate about. We talk to others about what thrills us, and what we are excited about. We talk to others about what we love and enjoy. None of us have any problems talking to people about the Sooners, the Pokes, the Huskers, the Thunder, or our own Trojans. We don’t… we’ll talk to people about sports for hours on end. None of us have problems talking to others about our favorite movies or TV shows… We’ll tell others about our favorite places to eat. We talk about politics, or certain issues that are important to us. And Jesus… Jesus is supposed to be the supreme love of our life… the supreme joy of our life… but if we’re not talking about Him, and telling others about Him, then maybe… just maybe – He really isn’t. Maybe; if we’re honest with ourselves, we’d have to say that what we’re most interested in, and what we’re most satisfied by, and what our supreme joy and love really is… isn’t Jesus… but you see Church, that’s why this text is so important and relevant to US… because you may not be like the woman at the well… you may not have been divorced 5 times, and you may not be shacking up with someone who isn’t your spouse… but ALL OF US – EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US, has committed spiritual adultery.
And yet – there’s Jesus… just like He’s saying to this woman. “I know all about you. I know all your sin. I know all your flaws and faults. I know that you’ve sought your satisfaction and fulfillment in the things of the world. I know you better than you know yourself… but grab your family and come to Me, because I’m going to show you grace and mercy, and love anyway.” You see; that’s what makes the Gospel – Good news! That Jesus came to save sinners!
The lady here rushes back to town… she can’t keep it to herself. She has to tell someone!
And what we see next is REVIVAL!