Sermon Info
Summary
Jesus takes the initiative with us. Jesus left heaven and came down to earth in order to “seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Because of our sin, we were lost - separated from Holy God. Yet, Jesus takes the initiative to come to us. Regardless of our race, our past sin, our religious background, or our socioeconomic status, Jesus comes to redeem and restore each one of us. Let’s receive God’s grace in His Son, Jesus, and then share His love with others.
Content
All We Need
For many of us, it can be easy to add to our faith. We know that we have Jesus as Christ followers, but if we just had financial stability, then we’d be happy. Or, if we just had perfect health. Or our dream job. Or a relationship and a family. We think Jesus plus (fill in the blank) will bring us fulfillment, peace, and joy.
But that’s not what our faith teaches us. Time and time again, the things of this world will let us down. You lose your job. Your health fails you. Your child rebels. The one person who isn’t supposed to hurt you does. That’s why faith is meant to stand on Jesus alone. Regardless of what fails us in this world, Jesus is all that we need.
Jesus loves all people, and He longs to have life-changing conversations with us. A conversation with Jesus can change everything. When we give our lives to Him and let go of relying on the things of the world, we are receiving all that we need. No longer are we drinking the “temporary water” of the world but the “living water” that comes from Christ alone.
What the Bible Says about the Hurt
All of us have been hurt by something or someone. We each have had loss and hurt and brokenness that have affected us deeply. The same goes for the Samaritan woman that Jesus encountered at the well in Samaria in John 4. Jesus sees this woman at the well and takes the initiative to talk with her. He begins a conversation that, consequently, changes her life, her eternity, and the lives and eternities of others in her town.
In this conversation that Jesus has with her, He does several things. First, He tells her about the living water that can be found in Him alone. Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14) In this, He’s referring to Himself as the living water. Time and time again, this woman was trying to find her hope and peace in things of the world, and they were failing her.
That’s the second thing that Jesus does in this conversation. He shows her that He knows her deeply by referencing things that she had done and experienced in her life. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” (John 4:17-18) This woman had made past mistakes and made sinful choices, yet what Jesus is doing here is not condemning or shaming her. Rather, He wants her to know that she is seen and known, despite the mistakes that she has made.
Then, lastly, Jesus reveals to her who He is. The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you - I am He.” (John 4:25-26) Jesus reveals Himself first as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman. What an incredible thing! He wanted this woman to know who He was truly, so that she, ultimately, could be saved.
As a result, she left and told those in her town about Jesus, the Messiah, and her life was saved – and the lives of those who were impacted by her testimony. This one conversation with Jesus changed lives. Forever.
Have you found the living water found in Jesus alone or are you still searching for temporary satisfaction in the things of the world?
When the Samaritan woman finally realized the truth of Jesus being the Messiah, she found such joy – a joy that she had never experienced before. After a lifetime of trying to find her satisfaction in the things of the world, she experienced living water.
And this living water is offered to us, too. The Messiah–King Jesus, our Friend, and our Savior–came to earth to save us and to be our living water. Like He did for this woman, He reveals Himself to us, too. He wants us to accept His offer of living water. He longs for us to stop looking for things in this world to bring us temporary happiness and fulfillment.
Have you found the living water found in Jesus? Have you had a conversation with Jesus like the one He had with the Samaritan woman? We don’t have to continue drinking the water of the world that does not satisfy. Jesus’ living water is free to each of us – and it will never run dry.
