Confessing the Gap and Why it's There

KiDZ Message

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Raise your hand if you’ve ever been really thirsty.

When you’re thirsty, what do you need? water.

Jesus once met a woman who came for water—but He knew she was thirsty in a bigger way.

Show them a large clear glass of water and a small glass of murky water

Jesus talked about something called “living water.” (big jar)

Read John 4:13-14

Living water isn’t magic water. It’s life with Jesus—being close to Him.

but, sometimes we think “if Jesus really knew some of the bad choices I make or bad thoughts I think, then he wouldn’t want to be close to me”

Sometimes we think we have to hide those things from Jesus to stay close.

That’s like trying to just deal with our dirty water on our own.

But Jesus already knows what’s true.

“Telling Jesus the truth isn’t about surprising Him—it’s about staying close to Him.”

“Does Jesus already know when we’re sad?” (Yes.) “Does Jesus already know when we’re scared?” (Yes.) “Does Jesus already know when we mess up?” (Yes.)

The truth doesn’t surprise him, but it brings us closer to him.

In lent we’ve learned that “in lent we repent”

Repenting is about moving closer to Jesus when we notice that we have dirty water

And Confession is about saying “Jesus I have dirty water, but you have clean water. Can I have your clean water?

And he loves to give us his clean water (pour in to overflowing until the small cup is clean)

SLIDE - KiDZ Big Idea

BIG IDEA:

Telling Jesus the truth helps us stay close to Jesus

Prayer (Very Gentle)

“Jesus, thank You that You know us and love us. Help us remember that we don’t have to hide from You. We want to stay close to You. Amen.”

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Main Sermon

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On Ramp

If you are new today, then welcome.

We are currently in the season of Lent

Lent is a season in the church where we get ready to celebrate Easter, which means reminding ourselves of why we need the good news about Jesus.

One practice that is a part of the life of Christians all year is Repentance. One of Jesus’ primary invitations throughout his ministry was “repent and believe the good news”

Last week we talked about how repentance start with Encountering Christ and then inevitable seeing a GAP

You just heard the scripture read, and in it the Samaritan woman did just that. But she did more than just notice it, she talked about it with Jesus.

We have a word for talking about the gap. It’s Confession.

CONFESSION

Confession is an essential part of the practice of repentance

Confession is at the core about speaking Jesus’ truth because Jesus tell us that his truth will set us free (John 8:31-32)

I believe the inverse is also true, that avoiding the truth will keep us enslaved.

I grew up Catholic, so confession for me brings up images is going in the confessional booth

primarily about admitting secrets

Admitting secrets may very well be a part of true confession, but confession is a much larger concept.

if we limit it to revealing secrets, we miss the point.

Secrets are kept secret for a reason though. We are afraid of what would happen if someone heard them.

Fear of embarrassment, shame, maybe danger to ourselves or hard to others.

Confession does battle against that fear, but not saying “don;t worry everything will turn out ok.”

It does battle by showing the fear the truth that Jesus creates.

Confession is at the core about speaking Jesus’ truth about our lives

“Not truth as we manage it—but truth as Jesus sees it.”

The visible truth about what we did or didn't do

but also, The invisible truth about why we did or didn't do it

Confession that is just about exposing us will always result in shame and motivate us to stay hidden

Confession that comes from a real encounter with Christ will move us toward life

My hope for you today is that as you encounter Christ and notice the gap between your self and the life he has for you, that you will have space to confess what is true and move toward Christ who is the source is Life.

It’s exactly what we saw happen in the scripture story today

THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL

Before we look closely at the text, I want to name something clearly. This story is not about confession, It’s about Jesus and what he’s doing.

Confession shows up in this story not because Jesus demands it, but because when people truly encounter him the truth is no longer as scary as they thought it was.

SCRIPTURE John 4:4-30

John 4:4–7

“He had to go through Samaria…” (v.4) “Jesus, tired as he was, sat down by the well…” (v.6)

Notice what John tells us before anything else happens.

Jesus “had to” go through Samaria. That’s not because it happened to be on his way, it was divine direction

Notice how Jesus arrives: tired, sitting, thirsty. I expect he went out of his way to be here at this moment.

The story does not begin with her sin. It begins with Jesus choosing to be there.

Reminder of the cycle of repentance

SLIDE - Cycle of Repentance

Encounter -> Confess -> Move -> Receive -> Obey

Jesus does not wait for confession to offer life. He is pursuing us because he loves us. He will go out of the way to find us.

I wonder how many times Jesus has gone out of his way to reach you?

SCRIPTURE

John 4:10–15

“If you knew the gift of God…” (v.10) “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again…” (v.13)

Now watch what Jesus talks about—and what he doesn’t.

living water, thirst, Eternal Life

He does not talk about her past/buffering yet.

Before Jesus names anything broken, he names something deeper—desire.

He doesn’t say, “What’s wrong with you?” He says, “You don’t have to stay thirsty.”

Jesus is not primarily interested in managing behavior. He is interested in offering true life.

As a pastor I have found that people are much more ready to confess things that they would otherwise hide when the deeper desire is seen and hope is offered.

Confession comes easily when our burdens are seen clearly

John 4:16–18

“Go, call your husband…” “I have no husband.”

This is the moment we often misunderstand. Is Jesus setting a trap here? Is this a “gotcha” moment?

Four words. No explanation. No defense. No justification.

“I have no husband.”

The text does not show us a woman being exposed. It shows us a woman who no longer needs to hide. He clearly sees it all already and offerred her hope FIRST!

Jesus is certainly impacting her with truth, but not by rubbing her nose in her burden or getting her to prove her remorse for bad behavior.

Jesus is revealing truth be offering something better than what she has been able to discover herself.

This is a picture of what happens when someone truly encounters Jesus

But it’s not a simply on/off switch for her. This all sounds too good to be true. She is not seeing Jesus clearly yet.

John 4:19–26

“I see that you are a prophet…” “True worshipers will worship in spirit and truth…”

She starts to defend her truth by seeing him as her stereotype of a Jewish Rabbi

But he continues to reveal his truth by showing that he is not confined by her expectations.

Jesus doesn’t defend himself or interrogate her. He simply reveals truth no matter what questions she asks.

Jesus’ Truth can hold up to our questions. It’s after we start to see it that we can begin to confess it to be true.

John 4:28–30

“She left her water jar…” “A Man who told me everything I have done”

She come looking to fill a thirst in the best way she knew how, even though she knew it was inadequate

She encountered Jesus

She left the old thing behind and took up the new thing. She left confessing Jesus’ truth as her own.

Confession for her was not admitting she had 5 husbands,

it was admitting that the jar wasn’t quenching her thirst and Jesus was the Messiah.

Confession is not the point of the story. Jesus is.

But confession emerges naturally when people discover they don’t have to hide from him.

invite band up

THE ART OF REPENTANCE

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So today you are not being asked “what are you hiding?”

Today you are being shown Jesus who says “if you knew about my water, you would put down that Jar and drink my water instead”

And he is inviting you to his table to come and drink.

And you can do that through the art of repentance.

PRAYER

Lord, as we enter into a Rhythm of repentance this morning, we are grateful.

You helped us see you clearly today

you see our sin. all the ways we try to deal with the burdens of life. You’ve seen our addictions, our anger, our fear, our opinions, our codependences, our judgement

You have offered us something more. Something you promise will satisfy now and forever

You have offered us yourself

Continue to meet us as our truth becomes formed by yours so that we might see our lives and the world around us how they truly are.

AMEN

A RHYTHM OF REPENTING

Explain how Communion practices the same rhythm we did last week in a different way.

SLIDE - Cycle of Repentance

Encounter Christ

Confess the gap

Move toward Christ

Receive his invitation

Obey his instruction