16 Aug (John 4)

The Gospels: Jesus is Our Living Water

John 4

(v.9) First of all, this is not coincidence...Jesus planned this from the beginning! The Samaritans were despised by the Jews, for they were a mixture of Jew and Gentile. This is similar to the offspring of American Indians and European Settlers...they were called "half breeds" and viewed as lower than pure Indians. We will see later, that Jesus uses a Samaritan as His example of good works. Luke 10

Of course, this thinking is not from God, and is a result of the Jews not following God for centuries. We see this kind of thinking throughout history, where if someone doesn't look like you, you are told that they are not good. This is the work of Satan, for there is only ONE RACE of people...the human race!

(v.13) Jesus is our Living Water...He fills the whole in our heart that thirsts for truth and peace.

(v.17) This woman told the hard truth...she was living in sin...and Jesus rewarded her confession by telling her more of His Truth.

(v.26) Some skeptics say that Jesus never said He was God and the Messiah...here is one verse of many that refute that!

(v.34) Jesus is the Word of God, and the Bread of Life...we need to feast on Jesus in His Word, to gain the strength and spiritual nourishment for living a fruitful life.

(v.38) The people in the Bible we read about, and the prophets and missionaries before us have sown the seeds...we need to reap the harvest by speaking out and letting the Holy Spirit draw the lost to Him. We need to do our part...sitting on the sidelines is not an option!

(v.41) Jesus used this one woman as His springboard to reach the whole city...He does that with us too! Just think if we reach someone in a family, then that whole family may be saved because of it...we need to speak about what Jesus did for us, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest!

(v.44) Many people in Nazareth and nearby cities couldn't get over that Jesus was the son of Joseph, the carpenter. They couldn't see that a carpenter could raise God Himself in the flesh! Many pastors have the same problem themselves, for their families and friends from their youth knew how naughty and imperfect they were! However, when we meet someone at church, who got over drugs and a criminal life due to the power of Jesus, we rejoice and admire them...we need to have the same view of the family member or friend who had the same conversion.

(v.50) I point out to my kids that if we look at all the healings that Jesus did, the people involved were faithful, and they believed who Jesus was, and that He had the power of God. With that said, God does heal the unbeliever as well as the believer, but we are more likely to be heard by God if we are walking with Him and trusting Him.