The Wearied Savior

John 4:1-26

            I had the opportunity to visit with my mother this past Tuesday.  My brother David came by and we had a pretty good visit.  As is so often the case, we began to reminisce about days gone by.  Betty never got to meet my dad but I’ve told her a lot about him.  One of the things I remember best was his unwillingness to waste time and the fact that he hated being late.  What that meant was that he was forever looking for shortcuts.

One set of grandparents lived in Dresden, TN and the other lived in Sidonia, TN (20 miles apart).  We took turn about visiting first the one and then the other every Sunday.  To get to Sidonia from Martin meant a drive of 40 minutes if you stayed on the main road through Sharon.  But if you took the road via Parker’s Levy it was possible to get there in 25 minutes. The only problem was that there were three old wooden bridges at Parker’s Levy.  Two of the bridges were at least 30 feet across and were always in need of repair.  I can well remember my dad walking across the bridges while my mother drove.  He had to walk in order to lay boards across the holes in the bridges. 

In John Chapter 3, Jesus had made a rather bold statement:  “God so loved the world….” Now in chapter 4, He proceeds to demonstrate the truth of His words.  Jesus left Judea on His way to Galilee.  Most Jews required a journey of three days because they avoided Samaria.  Jesus, unlike my father, did not choose His route because it was a shortcut but because He desired to share the Gospel with the Samaritans.

Jesus was tired and thirsty from the length of the journey and so He stopped at Jacob’s well.  While there, a woman approached to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink.  This simple request set in motion the process through which a sinful woman came to know Jesus as her personal Savior.

A.     Jesus was weary yet unwilling to rest from His work

B.     Jesus refused to use His power to make His life easier

He would gladly feed thousands but not a morsel for Himself

C.     I can imagine that our Lord is more weary with this generation than with any other

I.                   Picture the Weary Savior

A.     Wearied by the sins of mankind

1.      Drug and alcohol abuse

2.      Abortion and child abuse

3.      Homosexual and heterosexual promiscuity

4.      Wars and hatred

B.     Wearied by the formality of our worship

1.      No excitement or praise

2.      Habit has taken the place of Spirit leadership

II.                 Now Picture Our Waiting Lord

A.     He waits for those that have thirst

1.      That are tired of just going through the motions

2.      That desire to know and do His will

B.     He waits for the most sinful

C.     He waits for His people to tire of ministry without heart

III.              Let Us Allow Our Hearts To Be Broken

A.     Weary of our sinful and apathetic ways

B.     Let us wait and watch for His appearing

C.     Ask of Him the Living Water

D.     Be filled daily with His Spirit and run to tell others

Is He wearied by our refusal to humble ourselves and seek His face?  How long has He waited for us to seek Him out and ask of Him the grace to be of service?