Living with a Label

Labels… We all have them

Some have been given to us / While others we give to our self.

Perhaps your label is a result of a decision you made or didn't make

Perhaps your label is a result of life you were born into.

Perhaps your label has been unfairly assigned to you...

Whatever the case, Negative labels choke out the abundant life Christ has for you and Me.

They tend to stick to us & follow us everywhere we go

They tend to Isolate & Dominate our mind

They Usher in guilt, shame, & Condemnation at every opportunity for progress.

They remind you of what you have done, who you were, how much you have failed

They remind you that you will never change, You will always be this way.

They tend to make you numb to life and choke out any hope of change.

I’ve heard it said “The quickest way to believe a lie is to repeat it over and over again...

I’ve heard it said “The quickest way to believe a lie is to repeat it over and over again...

The quickest way to believe a lie is to repeat it again...

The only way to shatter the label is to understand the truth...

We

Stigma of a label

Life you were born into

It doesn't matter what your Parents, Teachers, Friends, Spouse, ___________________. They don't define you!

Teachers Said

A decision that you made

All those things might be true

Friends, Spouse, ___________________

God is the one who defines us. The one who created you, sent Jesus to die for you, The one who has great plans for your life.

Jesus has taken your label, your failure, your fear, your sin and nailed it to the cross

His disciples shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free.

So Whatever label/labels you are carrying… Slide

Some are true and Others are not...

You Must Remember and Remind yourself that you are Forgiven, Redeemed, Loved, Chosen, Valuable Slide

Redeemed

Loved

Chosen

I say all that to to setup a the backdrop for today's encounter with Christ.

Valuable

In every way, the Samaritan women is different than Nicodemus.

Only similarity is the truth that Jesus loves them both and is headed to Calvary to pay for both of there sins.

So before we get into the text let me introduce you to here.

Here is a lady who has wore the label as promiscuous for some time.

A lady who is numb to the social stigma that follows here

A lady who knows just enough about religious things to deem herself unworthy.

A lady who is callous to the difficulty and demands of life.

It simply is what it is and there is no hope for someone like her.

It is for this Lady! That Jesus Must go to Samaria.

I'm so thankful that we have a savior who seeks the lost, that its not dependent on us to find Him.

(Going to approach this text a bit different than i normally would since we are coming at it from this angle?)

The Trip

The Talk

The Testimony

The Trip

John 4:1–5 NKJV

1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. 4 But He needed to go through Samaria. 5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

John 4.1

Slide with Map - Culutural Implications

Another Label

Sensitive to the Spirit - God may be leading you in a different path because he has a divine appointment lined up for you.

The Talk

Jesus broke the ice

John 4:6–9 NKJV

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

john 4.

She knew the stigma… I can almost here the pain in here voice.

Jesus offered Hope

John 4:10–15 NKJV

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” 11 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? 12 Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 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.” 15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

I think Jesus heard the pain too, he offered her hope.

I love the picture of living water - it’s different than stagnet water

The woman oblivious to who she was talking too and what he was talking about states the obvious.

Jesus takes the physical and transitions to the spirtual.

He reminds her of something greater than physical thirst

He addressed the spiritual thirst all mankind has, and told her that it was only found in Him.

What an offer, you would be foolish not to respond to that offer. Still needed a little clarification.

Salvation is more than being saved from Hell.

Jesus addressed sin

John 4:16–18 NKJV

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”

john 4.16-

Another Label. A true one at that

The very reason she is getting water at high noon.

To truly receive the offer of salvation, sin must be dealt with.

The Gospel can never be good news until one embraces the bad news.

Jesus removed intellectual barriers

John 4:19–26 NKJV

19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

john 4.19-

We are not going to deal with the theological implications of this verse this morning, but Jesus addressed her legitimate question with truth.

There is going to be times in sharing your faith that we must be willing to do the same.

This is why we must understand that Evangelism is relational, understanding processes of how to share is good but it will always be a canned approach if we are not willing to have conversations with others.

People are very skeptical of spiritual things, and if the spirit is convicting them, God is going to use you to remove some obstacles.

Discernment -

The Testimony -

John 4:28–30 NKJV

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

John 4:28–31 NKJV

28 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, 29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” 30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him. 31 In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”

I love the zeal of new believers! The life blood of a growing church.

Left it all behind and went and proclaimed that she encountered the Messiah

A desire to share that experience is fruit of a sincere decision to follow Christ.

John 4:39–42 NKJV

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of His own word. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

john 4.39-

Her label was Her platform… It no longer matter what others thought of her or what she thought of herself. She experienced the freedom of the truth.

Your Sin doenst define you, The savior does.

Your Guilt is silenced when the blood is applied.

The Condemnation is no longer present.

She allowed Jesus to REDEEM her past and she offered it to Him to see others come to saving faith.

Something powerful when you trace back your History and realize that he was turning it to HIS STORY.

Close with This...

If you have been saved then you have a story & If you have a story then it’s worth sharing!

If you have a story it’s worth sharing...

Do things a bit differently, I want to open the floor for you to share your story of how or when you came to christ, maybe share the circumstances in your life.

A Troubled Woman

Missy, Deb, Scott

A Thirsting Woman

A Transformed Woman

Bound by sin

Blinded by Satan

Broken by sorrow