Worship Call 0637 LIving water

Fiends , let's get exposed! Psalms 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. I recently read a story about a rather pompous-looking deacon who was endeavoring to impress upon a class of boys the importance of living the Christian life. 'Why do you think people call me a Christian?' the man asked. After a moment's pause, one youngster said, 'Maybe it's because they don't know you.' I don't know if this is a true story -- but I'm sure we've all experienced hypocrisy in our own lives. Mark Twain said "We're all like the moon, we have a dark side we don't want anyone to see". Hypocrisy is a dangerous thing. It has turned a many a man away from the Lord to search elsewhere for answers. It can ruin an entire generation and more after them. But we have the opportunity to change those generations for the good of God's kingdom! Those of us who know and love God must never stop allowing Him to search our "dark sides" so that we can more effectively be used as vessels to lead the hungry multitudes to Him.

Friends, let's come against the hypocrisy in our lives. During this season of Passover, let's ask the Lord to search our hearts today and uproot the things that need uprooting. Let's give our all to God again. Your family in the Lord with much agape love, George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah Bradenton, Florida

And this is another fine day in the Lord as we come together once again to fellowship in God’s word.

today we wish Momma Bee a very happy birthday and all of God’s Blessings.

the disciples had gone into the city to purchase supplies. Jesus remained behind at the well. this was a divine appointment set up by Jesus, unbeknownst to the one whom he was to meet.

The Woman is alone when she carries her empty pot down to draw water from the well. She comes not in the morning when it is cool, nor the evening when it was cool, but she comes at the hottest time of the day, at noon.

Maybe just so that she would not have to be under the scrutiny of the other women who looked down upon her.

Where ever it is that we encounter Jesus for the first time whether it is in a crowd or alone it is really on a one on one basis. Jesus deals with us as if we are the only one in the world.

Point of Doctrine:

You and I were not scooped up impersonally in a crowd.

Salvation is personal between the lost sheep and the shepherd.

Matthew 18:12–14 (NASB95) — 12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 “If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 “So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

3. when you were called, it was Jesus saying, “I want you. I choose you.”

4. knowing that God chose you and not the other way around, should inspire a greater spiritual self esteem that each of us in Christ is loved personally chosen by the creator of this universe.

Did you chose God? or did he chose you?

was it that you invited the Lord in your heart, or did he call you be in Him?

Ephesians 1:3–9 (NASB95) — 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

John 4:10 (NASB95) — 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.”

Jesus invokes three questions within the woman’s mind

who are you

what is this gift of God

what is this living water

You see, as the woman came to draw water, Jesus came to draw the woman. As the still water sat in the bottom of a dark well the woman’s soul without life lie in the darkness of her own depravity.

the woman came with greater needs than just water, and maybe she knew it or maybe she did not.

John 4:11 (NASB95) — 11 She said to Him, “Lord,κύριος [kurios /koo·ree·os/] n Lord not in the heavenly sense but a respectful sense, as in sir.

You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?

That living water was not down in the dark cold well. She was standing before the Living water.

Come to think of it, How many women did we find at any particular well in the bible?

There was first Hagar the Egyptian maid who encounters the Lord at the well when she Fled from Egypt?

There was Abraham’s servant who came to the well where he would find a bride for Isaac.(Gen 24:10-27)

Jacob met Rachel at a well(Gen 29:1-11)

There was the well where Moses meets his bride Zipporah(Exod 2:15-22)

Stands to reason, if one was looking for a bride it would be at a well. It was the maidens work to carry the clay jar down to the well to draw the water and return balancing the pot on her head. I could also imagine that it was a place where the maidens were met by their bo’s that they might have some private fellowship outside the scrutiny of their Fathers.

John 4:11 (NASB95) — 11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?

The woman apparently had something to collect the water. She either was not offering it, or she understood that the Jew would not take anything from a Samaritan’s hand having touched it herself.

The options for the living water was limited. The only source of water that the woman knew was down in the well. She had not yet understood that this stranger was the source the greatest gift.

Jesus is the Living water

It was the living water that we first encountered in the bible that flowed out of the mountain in Eden and water the whole land. (Genesis 2:10-14)

He is that rock that what struck in the wilderness by Moses which brought out living water. Numbers 20:9–11

Paul identifies that rock as Christ

1 Corinthians 10:1–4 (NASB95) — 1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

Jeremiah 2:13 (NASB95) — 13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.

John 7:37–38 (NASB95) — 37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Revelation 7:17 (NASB95) — 17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 21:6 (NASB95) — 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

Revelation 22:1 (NASB95) — 1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,

Revelation 22:16–17 (NASB95) — 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.

And by the way, Just as the living water emerged from the ground to water the land in Eden, so will this living water come from the grave.

This woman may have been burden with a number of things.

she may have been burden with loneliness

Burden with the Labor that it took each day in the heat of the day to draw water

Burden with her sin living in guilt and shame.

Burden with no legitimate marriage.

Burden with the lot of life with no foreseeable future.

Burden with no hope

burden with no life but a future grave for her.

And here at the well, What was being offered to her which she was yet to understand?

John 4:12 (NASB95) — 12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”

It is funny that the Samaritan woman who is a mix race recognizes that same father between the two. “Our Father.”

was she speaking of all Samaritans?

Or was she saying to the this Jew, “Your ancestral father and mine?”

Are you greater than the one who provided this for us from long ago and it continues to be used. Are you offering something greater than this provision?

Okay. Lets compare the two.

John 4:13–14 (NASB95) — 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;

The water that the woman had to labor for day after day only sustained life, and that life was not so happy. not so fulfilled, could have even been a life of drudgery for all the reasons that we have already stated. but none the less they had to have water to sustain their dreary lives.

the work for this water is vanity

as Solomon points out

Ecclesiastes 1:2–3 (NASB95) — 2 “Vanity of vanities,” (Or Futility of futilities) says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” 3 What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun?

Psalm 39:5–6 (NASB95) — 5 “Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah. 6 “Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.

How often have you heard someone say, or reply when asked, “What’s going on?”

“Same Ole, Same ole”

Nothing new under the sun as I go on with the same ole thing.

Monday morning we have another roof to put on somebodies house. How many roof’s have I put on a house? I don’t know. but it don’t matter, I need the pay to support me and my wife this day.”

How many alarm systems have I repaired? don’t know don’t matter only the work today is what in focus.

another day’s routine. Oh, how it gets old.

We drink from the same well, and when the pot is empty we have bring that pot down again and fill it up and again and again. and if we don’t we go thirsty.

what is Jesus offering

John 4:14 (NASB95) — 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

From the bible Project

Eternal Life Script References Introduction 00:00-00:35

Jon: If you know very much about the story of the Bible, you’ve probably heard that Jesus offers “eternal life.” Sounds nice, but what does Jesus mean by eternal life?

Tim: Well, Jesus adopted this phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures. In English, it’s translated eternal life, or sometimes “everlasting life.” But the phrase literally translated from Hebrew is “life unto the age.”

Jon: Life unto the age? What does that mean? Tim: Yeah, it’s a dense phrase, and to understand it, we need to first talk about what an age is in the Bible. Jon: Let’s do it. What Is an Age?

Tim: So the Hebrew word for “age” is ‘olam, and it refers to a period of time.

Jon: What length of time? Tim: Well, any length of time actually, and it can be in the past or in the future. What matters is that it’s a period of time with some common attribute that remains constant.

Jon: So for example? Tim: So like the time of Abraham and his descendants, all the way up to Moses. The common attribute is, it’s the time of Moses’ ancestors. And so Moses can say “remember the days of the age, the years of past generations and elders.” 1 Jon: Okay! 1. Deuteronomy 32:7 00:36-01:37 Tim: Or an age can be shorter and in the future. Like Samuel, who is going to spend his whole life serving in the temple. During his dedication, his mother Hannah calls this an age.2 Jon: So an age is a period of time that has a unique and constant characteristic. Tim: Exactly. Jon: And there could be all sorts of different ages, depending on what you want to focus on. Tim: You got it. And so someone could live in two ages at the same time if those ages happen to overlap. The Age of Life vs. the Age of Death Jon: Okay, so back to this phrase “life unto the age.” What age is this talking about? Tim: Okay so, in the beginning of the biblical story, humans are made from the dust of the ground. This is a common biblical image for creatures that are mortal, that is, they live in an age where they could die. But God takes humanity and places them in a sacred garden, where they’re invited to experience a new and deeper kind of life.3 Jon: By eating from the tree of life. Tim: Yeah. We’re told it offers them life unto the age—a life of infinite potential—because it connects them to God’s own divine life. Jon: But the story takes a turn, and instead of accepting life unto the age, they eat of the tree of knowing good and bad.4 Tim: Right. Taking from this tree means seizing life for themselves, on their own terms, apart from God’s wisdom. Jon: And so they’re exiled from life unto the age, and they go into the age of death. They mistrust each other. They do what is right in their own eyes. Things get really violent.5 Tim: Exactly, and so the whole rest of the story of the Bible can be thought of as a choice between two different ages—the age of life on our own terms that leads to death, or the age of God’s own life. 5. Genesis 3:8-24, Genesis 4:1-8, Genesis 6:5 01:38-02:50 2. 1 Samuel 1:21-28 3. Genesis 2:7-9 4. Genesis 3:1-7 Jesus Offers Access to the Age of Life Jon: And while humanity has rejected God’s life, God promises he’ll open the way back. Tim: Exactly! And it’s that promise that ultimately leads the story to Jesus. He’s presented as God’s own life become human so that both ages overlap in him. He lives in the age of mortality and death and in the age of eternal life, at the same time.6 Jon: And so he can offer people access to life unto the age. Tim: Right, it’s like what Jesus says in the Gospel of John: “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” 7 Jon: Yet just like humanity rejected God’s life in the garden, Jesus was rejected and put to death. Tim: But God’s life is more powerful than death. And so Jesus rises from the dead and he can offer God’s life to others. Like the Gospel of John also says… Jon: “Whoever trusts in him will not perish, but has eternal life.” 8 Tim: That is life unto the age. The Age of Life Now and in the Future Jon: Cool! Now most people think of eternal life as something that happens after you die. But in the Bible, access to this age is something I could have right now. Tim: Yeah! Remember, Jesus was the place where the age of God’s life meets the age of death. And that means that when people trust him, they can experience eternal life here and now.9 Jon: But we also still live in the age of death, so what happens when I die? Tim: Well, just like death couldn’t overpower God’s eternal life in Jesus, similarly, we can remain alive to God even if we’re physically dead. In the Bible, this is called being “with Christ,” 10 and it’s not talked about very much because it’s not how the overall biblical story ends. The focus of the Bible is about when the age of life completely overcomes the age of death, and those who are with Christ are recreated to share in God’s eternal life.11 Jon: A world where the age of death no longer has any power. Tim: Exactly. Because life that is fully connected to God’s own eternal life and love is a life that will never end. 10. Romans 6:8 11. Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelations 21:1-5 03:54-05:30 7. John 17:3 8. John 3:16 9. 1 John 5:11-12, 1 John 5:20 6. John 1:1-3, John 1:14, Colossians 2:9 02:51-03:53

seeing the overlap, and knowing we possess eternal life now, that as we continue our laborious effort day to day to earn a living and sometimes things may seem mundane same ole same ole we at the same time have an abundance of living water flowing out from us. that living water not only gives life but also refreshing. and thus on a hot roof one enjoys the cool refreshing living water. yes, we must continue, but the hope (confident expectation) of the life unto the age we are living in the light of eternity rather than the doldrums of a life that only ends with a perspective of a grave.

Even in the heat of the day with the living water, one has an eternal sense of destiny.

Eternal life does not mean something that we have wait for, but we have it now. It is not simply positional that when we die we have avoided Hell and now we can go to heaven. it is about our lives now, living for and in Christ and though we remain on this earth our joy is found in the fact that when our Labor comes to an end rather than going to the grave as someone takes our spot we move on into the life unto the age where we are absent from the body and face to face with the Lord.

we can have this divine perspective now. Living water means it does not depend upon the life we have now it is the reality of the life without end.

no lesson tonight

Thursday we will finish our genesis 19-24 bible challenge