Meet me at the well!

Intro:

Personal Stories of Renewal

Personal Testimony before Christ- As a young girl, excited for college I found my self terribly broken but didnt know it. I was looking for love and acceptance and belonging. I was angry and thirsty. I met an older man who was an upper class man. He was Muslim but he gave me attention and filled my temporary cup then i realized my thirst wasn’t being quenched, because he started to abuse me. And then I got pregnant . And I began to sense the Lord calling me to himself. So I surrendered my life and my future to him. An immediately I was restored. I had a new life even though I was faced with raising a baby by myself.

In my life I realized that spiritual renewal was both a starting event in salvation, but an on-going continual event in our sanctification. Because we still have to fight our flesh

Personal testimony after Christ-I was adopted as a drug addicted infant and I had unhealthy abndonment issues and unanswered questions. I was also rejected by my adoptive mother who admitted that she never loved me. I suffer from complex PTSD due to a history of childhood trauma. I entered adulthood with an inability to trust and connect relationally and harbored extreme hatred for the woman who raised me. That hatred was destroying my abilities to enjoy God’s relational gifts to me in my life. I needed restoration and that came through forgiveness. Finally after years of emotional pain related to her and my relationship I allowed myself to be restored by the waters of forgiveness.

Conference Theme Scripture

Psalm 80:1–3 CSB

1 Listen, Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine 2 on Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Rally your power and come to save us. 3 Restore us, God; make your face shine on us, so that we may be saved.

There is a story in the NT that I think does a good job of illustrating the truths of this theme text

Lets go to the well!!!

John 4:3–28 CSB

3 he left Judea and went again to Galilee. 4 He had to travel through Samaria; 5 so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 because his disciples had gone into town to buy food. 9 “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.” 11 “Sir,” said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.” 13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” 15 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.” 16 “Go call your husband,” he told her, “and come back here.” 17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered. “You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’ ” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.” 27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people,

Context:

John 4:3–6 CSB

3 he left Judea and went again to Galilee. 4 He had to travel through Samaria; 5 so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon.

(3-4) John tells us that Jesus needs to travel from Judea to Galilee. Galilee is North of Judea but sandwiched in between them is Samaria. When you notice the grammar of verse 4. It says he had to.

Why does John say that he had to? Because geographically, he didn't have to. He could have gone around.

Samaria was a place geographically that Jewish people avoided, yet, Jesus knew these people also needed a savior and spiritual renewal and He knew he had an appointment at the well.

(6) Our Lord, in his humanity sat down at the well to get a physical need met. It was in the midst of that moment that he met a woman, who was also thirsty.

I. The Thirsty Samaritan

John 4:7–10 CSB

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 because his disciples had gone into town to buy food. 9 “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”

(EXP)(7-8) In these verses John gives us two obstacles to fellowship between Jesus and the woman:

A woman-A Jewish Rabbi would not have conversation with a woman alone.

A Samaritan-Jews and Samaritan’s did not have any fellowship together as the Jews felt the Samaritan’s were less than them because of their ethnicity. They were Jewish and Syrian. They were half-breeds

Yet Jesus overcomes these obstacles by starting a conversation with her. He said to her “Give me a drink” Our Lord was not hinder by the long standing traditions of his time.

(EXP)(9-10) In these verses, the woman is well aware that Jesus should not be speaking to her because she is a Samaritan woman. We know this because she said that Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

(10) Jesus introduces himself to her. He never gets the drink. He sets a president by demonstrating that, Spiritual needs supersede physical needs. Jesus put his physical needs second for the sake of the gospel and her greater need.

And what was the greater need?

She needed to be restored spiritually. That is salvation.

II. The Confused Samaritan

John 4:11–15 CSB

11 “Sir,” said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.” 13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.” 15 “Sir,” the woman said to him, “give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”

(EXP)(11) The woman is confused, she can only see the physical need, not realizing that her need is a spiritual matter. Jesus, aware of her confusion addresses it in verses 12-24

(12-14) Generally, Jesus is telling her that physical water is temporary and he is trying to give her a water that is long lasting

(15) The woman is looking for something magical. So were leaving this point with her still being confused of her need despite what Jesus taught.

How did Jesus address her confusion this time?

This leads me to my third point

III. The Restored Samaritan

John 4:16–28 CSB

16 “Go call your husband,” he told her, “and come back here.” 17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered. “You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’ ” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus told her, “Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Jesus told her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.” 27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people,

(EXP)(16-18) Jesus addresses her thirst by dealing with a spiritual matter.

And what was that matter?

She was sexually promiscuous- having sex outside of marriage with multiple partners. and none of her relationships were legitimate marriages.

(19) She recognizes that He knew all things and she called him a prophet.

(20-24) In her emotional agony, she changes the subject and asks Jesus to settle a long standing disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews about where the messiah would choose to worship at

This woman is always focused on the physical, rather than the spiritual. Early in the versus she is thinking about physical thirst. Now she is thinking about locations of worship.

How did Jesus address it?

Jesus addresses our deepest need for an eternal relationship with a God who is willing to fellowship with you in spite of your gender, race, social status. or past sins.

What Happened to this woman?

(28) She forgot her physical need and her purpose changed

She became the town’s first female evangelist. Because of her, verse 39 happened

John 4:39 CSB

39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”

(39) Because of this divine appointment with Jesus, and this woman’s willingness to drink from the living water, many others were led to drink from that same living water.

Application

Everyone came here tonight with places in their lives that need restoration, refreshment, or renewal.

for some, thats very simple- you just need a vacation, a weekend a way with your hubby. You need to block out quiet time with the lord. you need to work out again. For others it’s related to our sinful choices

You may be communicating inappropriately with someone your not married to.

:You might have made your children lives and schedules an idol

You may have taken on things at church or at home that God didn’t tell you to take on, and now you are exhausted.

You may be actually engaged in an ungodly relationship, male or female.

There is nothing in your current situation that could keep a loving God from restoring you “with living water.” You just need to be willing to “meet him at the well.”

Over the years this song was been a wellspring of living water to my Christian Journey!!

Even my human desires, desire to crucify my soul Could not await the, the fact that You made me whole Time after time, I remind myself that Your mercies each day are new Help me, oh Lord, to establish and know that at Calvary I was redeemed

Even though I was a sinner, you commanded your grace and your love toward me

saved me from death and destruction gave me life eternally

Iniquity doesn't dictate my reward, you still love me and call me your own

Free, free from my past, free from the pain Free from the guilt that would cause me to be ashamed Once, once I was blind but now I see clearly The debt that I owe, Jesus paid for me No more chains are binding me, I'm totally free….Darwin Hoobs

Prayer and Renewal