Well Encounters

I. Fear Is An Inhibitor

- Some time ago there was a commercial. I think it might have been a Kodak moment, or something like that. But in the commercial the day begins with a dad taking his little girl to a public pool. Once there, he’s found teaching her how to dive off the diving board. Both of them had high hopes of a successful diving experience. With great enthusiasm this little girl climbs up the ladder, and then suddenly things looked so different from up there. And she begins to inch her way out slowly toward the end of the diving board. She stops, looks down…and then -- this fear comes over her, and she just stands there. She stands at the end of board, staring down, then at daddy, then down, and again at daddy. Her father is now -- seen pleading with her to jump. He tells her, “It’s all going to be okay. But she stands there, paralyzed with fear, unable to trust herself to jump. The scene changes to a little later in the day. This cute little girl is back up on the diving board, but now -- she’s ready to take a leap of faith. She has trusted. She jumps off the board, and when she comes up out of the water, she’s excited, filled with sheer joy and exhilaration. She turns to her daddy and says, “Let’s do it again daddy!”

- So often we stand at the same place. We take on a challenge, and suddenly,

we find ourselves standing in the same place as this little girl.

- In front of you is the end of the diving board. You stare!

- The unknown just ahead. Desire, desire to go forward.

- Desire to jump.... but fear seizes you.

- And that’s when you have to trust, the All knowing God... the God who is

worthy of our all trust in each and every situation.

- And when we’ve learn to trust, -- life changes -- for us.

- There’s joy, excitement, wonder, and we cry out to God --

“Can we do it again.” “God, -- can I experience this again.”

II. Inhibitors Stop What Is Natural

- Most of us struggle to jump off the diving board, when it comes to sharing Jesus with

others.

- But, we don’t seem to have a problem sharing a new weight-loss program

to a bunch of sceptical over-weights.

- When we love our spouses. We’ll talk about our spouses.

When we love a sport. We’ll talk about that sport.

- But, when we talk about Jesus, it doesn’t just flow naturally.

- Flow like: -- this is who I am. I’m crazy about God.

- And you know, it’s awesome, what He’s did for me. It’s supernatural!

It’s incredible! I talk to Him. Yah, I pray, and He answers my prayers.

- I look for direction, and He tells me what to do.

It’s out of this world. It’s mind-boggling. I just know it, I feel it.

- I sense it, and things just work out.

- And because of the relationship I have with Him, my life today is real.

I can be real. I don’t have to hide. I’m free. He does it! He works.

- I just love Him and I want more.

- You see, we don’t tell it as it is. We don’t know how to converse with

people about God, unless it’s with other Christians.

- We’re scared to do it, so we don’t do it.

- And if we’re not scared and do it, it’s usually formal and in Christianeese.

- Jesus was a master at sharing -- what He was about.

- Let’s look and learn from Jesus.

- Notice in our passage, it says “Jesus had to go through Samaria.”

- He was going to Galilee. Now, no one was holding a sword to His throat.

[ no guns in those days :-) ]

He wasn’t forced to go thru Samaria. No! He was compelled to go that way.

- Jewish religious custom -- go around east of Samaria, then up to Galilee.

- Jesus, however, was compelled by the Spirit to go through Samaria.

- Why? To break the barriers.

- Samaritans came from the line of Joseph, the tribes Manasseh & Ephraim.

- After the Assyrian exile of half the Jews, and gentile invasion, marriages

intermingled. Then when the Remnant Jews came back to Jerusalem to

rebuild the temple -- would not let the Samaritans join the rebuilding.

So the Samaritans blocked the work of rebuilding the temple.

- The picture is much like today’s Christians and the unbelieving.

- Attitude, stay away from the heathen. Don’t mix. Don’t go to heathen

places. They’re getting more evil. But, we are in the process of getting