Buckets & Wells - Pt. 2

Recap:

The Bible has some form of the word joy written around 3,541 times

Joy = Cheerfulness

God doesn’t want you to be sorrowful - the Joy of the Lord is your strength (Neh. 8:10)

The Devil does not want you to have joy because if you have joy you have strength

Joy is the strength & the bucket that you can use to draw out water from the wells of salvation

When we choose joy we choose strength

Following Christ should affect every every of our life - including our personality & it takes faith and grace to change to be like Him.

A Big Encouragement:

When we try to change our personality or our behavior we often feel that we are faking it or we are not being genuine but it’s simply the process of change.

Change and new always feels unnatural until it doesn’t!

Don’t let an uncomfortable feeling stop you from making a change that is going to make you more like Christ & benefit you & others.

I wasn’t an encouraging person, until I made a choice to be an encourager.

Wells of Salvation:

A well is a source, a spring or a fountain

A well is a place that we can go to in order to find a cache of the thing that we need.

Jesus' journey to the Samaritan woman: Jesus traveled 35 miles from Jerusalem through Samaria to reach a well. (John 4)

Rebekah likely made 100–200 trips down into a cistern well to water ten camels. (Genesis 24)

The camels got thirsty along the journey because natural wells don’t follow us around.

Thirsty camels can drink over 30 gallons of water in one sitting (about 10 minutes)

Matthew 5:6 NKJV

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

What do you need when you are thirsty? LOTS of water

The well isn’t going to come to you.

The water won’t draw itself out of the well for you.

Isaiah 12:3 NKJV

Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.

When you receive salvation, you receive a well inside of you!

What is in that well?

salvation = yeshua (Yahweh Saves)! to be open, wide or free, i.e. (by impl.) to be safe; causat. to free or succor (aid or give assistance to)

Having a well within you means that you don’t have to look to the circumstances and situations around you to find what will satisfy.

Jesus (Yeshua) is the well that will never run dry!

We need joy to have the strength & the bucket to draw out of the well that is in us.

The Stanley Cup got it’s moment not too long ago & for many it’s sole purpose was so that they could carry water around with them and stay hydrated.

You have the “Stanley Cup of the Spirit” with you so that you can stay spiritually hydrated - takes sips by being constantly joyful.

Philippians 4:4 NKJV

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

Wells into Rivers:

John 4:11 NKJV

The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?

John 4:13–15 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water 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.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

John 7:38 NKJV

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

God’s plan & desire is that our well would turn into a river!

Over 200 million people rely on the Nile River for their livelihoods. The Nile is the world's longest river at a length of about 4,132 miles and runs through 11 African countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, and Sudan. What if we didn’t make people come to us and have to draw salvation out of us.?

What if we stay so full that life constantly springs up & flows from our hearts?

Isaiah 43:19–20 NKJV

Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.

God wants to turn your life into a river to feed the desert around you.

Isaiah 58:11 HCSB

The Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry.

Ways to Turn Your Well Into a River:

1. Get so filled that you overflow

- “Get under the spout where the glory comes out” - Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne

2. Stir up the gift of God that is in you (2 Timothy 1:3-7)

3. Don’t quench [suppress or subdue] the flow of the Holy Spirit by saying, “No” to God! (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Just One Thing:

When you’re thirsty, you always have a well of salvation within you - when you are full, become a river of life for others.

Discussion Questions:

In the past people were buried with the items they would need in the afterlife, what would you want buried with you if you could use it in the afterlife?

What effect(s) does the idea of having a well of salvation taking up residence inside of you have on the way you might choose to approach everyday life?

Please read Isaiah 58:11 and share if this is your currently lived experience. If so, how have you taken steps to experience this as your reality? If not, what are some steps you can take to make this verse your life experience?

What do you feel that you have to offer (practically) to others from the well and/or the river in your life?