Witness At The Well

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Scripture

   Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 

John 4:39, NLT

Quote

There is in every heart a sense of lack, a deep hunger of thirst that only Jesus can satisfy.

~Charles Erdman {Commentary on John, page 46}

My Thoughts

I had everything planned to a T yesterday and then evidently I forgot my plan. I skipped a point in my sermon and realized this when I got to the conclusion. I tried going back to the point I had missed, which I did, but then I forgot to go back to the conclusion. It was one of those days. Seems to always happen when I am excited about a message. The first mistake was trying to do two sermons in 20 minutes which I did not accomplish. However, I think the notes are good and I wanted to share them.

The first I call: LESSONS AND MORE FROM JOHN FOUR

  1. There is in every soul a thirst, a sense of lack or need which only Jesus can satisfy.
  2. Man, by nature, seeks to satisfy the needs of the body while neglecting the spiritual needs of the soul.
  3. Those who truly worship God do so in spirit and truth.
  4. There is an ever evolving process in knowing Jesus…first the woman saw Jesus as a Jewish man, then a prophet, then the Messiah and finally the SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.
  5. The Gospel has a universal appeal: Jesus is the Savior of the whole world
  6. There is some power in our testimony [word] but there is more power in the word of Christ.
  7. The key to being a positive witness is Compassion. 

JESUS THE PERFECT WITNESS

  1. He appealed to her sympathy… “Please give me a drink” [v.7]. Jesus engaged the women in conversation by asking her a simple question. The question was non-confrontational; it was not threatening. The key is He got the woman in a dialogue and Jesus listens more than He talks. Matter of fact, until you get to verse 21, the woman had talked twice as much as Jesus. The key to His witness was his compassion and listening shows compassion. A great witness is one who can engage in conversation without putting the person being witnessed to on the defensive.
  2. He appealed to her curiosity… “If you only knew” [v.10] We are all curious but women more than men. This is what got Eve in trouble. Instead of trusting God with the secret, she just had to know. If you don’t think this statement will engage drop a hint that you know something that your wife doesn’t know. She how well that goes for you. She will be like Deliah, she will drive you nutts until you tell her what you’ve been keeping from her. A man will stop trying to find out but most women will not let up until they know. When Jesus said, “If you only knew,” they peaked her curosity.
  3. He appealed to her need… “Go and get your husband” [v.15]. This woman was trying to fill the void with earthy or romantic relationships. She had been married five times and was now shacked up with some old boy. She told Jesus that she didn’t have a husband. This was the TRUTH, that is always a good place to start.
  4. He appealed to her conscience… “You are living with a man you are not married to” [v.18] The woman probably knew what she was doing was wrong and she was probably laden with guilt.
  5. He appealed to her religious instincts… “You don’t know what you worship” [vc.21-24] The Samaritans had a temple on mount Gerizim at one time and of course, the Jews had a temple ubiquitous Jerusalem. Jesus said a time is coming when those temples will not mean a thing.
  6. He appealed to her hope… “I know the Messiah is coming” [v.25]
  7. He appealed to her faith… “I AM the Messiah” [v.26] Once Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah, the woman was confronted with a choice: was Jesus who He professed to be?

Extra

I want to give you a heads up: we may miss a couple of days or the rest of the week. We have internet at the new place but I am not sure that it will work at the office. I had a cat-5 wire here because I was too far for the wireless to pick up. We will see today or tomorrow but be prepared. LORD will we will be tying up lose ends today. If all goes well we may get our porch back on our building and the power hooked up.

Have a great week and thanks for reading the blog. Thanks for all you do.

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