Tonight at church, I was in my element. The pastor was a guest. From Africa. A pastor & lead church planter from the Congo. He spoke through a translator, because even though he knew a bit of english, he wanted to share the Word of God in his heart language, Lingala. So, his words were translated into english as he went. I curled up Indian style in my chair, even though I was wearing a skirt. I think I listened more intently to the main speaker, as opposed to his translator. It was absolutely beautiful. I felt so at home, as I listened and learned.
He spoke mainly from John 4, where Jesus encounters the Samarian woman at the well. She has come to gather water. At the hottest part of the day, to avoid the whispers and stares of the other women. He asks her for a drink, and she is floored. She questions Him, “Why on earth would a Jew consider her, a Samarian, worthy of being spoken to, let only worthy enough to draw a drink from the well for him?” He turns the tables on her. “If you knew who you were talking to, who it really is that asks you for a drink; if you knew the very gift of God, you would have asked Him for water, and He would have given you living water.” Just as Nicodemus was confused when Jesus said you must be born again, so in her natural mind was this woman confused as to what this living water was and how it was accessed. “Sir, you have no cistern with which to draw water from this very deep well. Where do you get this living water?”
I picture Jesus smiling here. Clearly, she has no idea of who Jesus is. She has never heard of Him. Like oh so many still in our world today. He peered down into the well. “Everyone who draws and drinks from this well, will soon be thirsty again. But whoever would drink from the water that I will give to him, his thirst will forever be quenched. Rather, the water which I will give to him shall become in him springs of water welling up into eternal life.” This woman’s mind reeled. What? “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst again nor ever have to come to this well to draw water again.” Again, I picture a smile here. She’s still not seeing Me beyond what her mind can grasp. How often we still do that with Jesus. We limit Him with our intellect. He is so much more than what we can wrap our heads around. That’s why our hearts must be involved.
“Go, get your husband, and bring him back with you.” He shoots for her heart here. He knew she had no husband, as she quickly replies to Him. He knew that she had indeed had 5 husbands, and that her current mate was not her husband at all. He went to the core issue of us all. Our dark and doomed hearts, prone to lives of sin. Sure, we may not have had 5 husbands. But sin is sin, and it is deeply rooted in every single one of our hearts. By striking her here, her heart becomes involved. It has quickly and irrevocably entered the scene. And it peers into the spiritual nature of this conversation. “I perceive that you are a prophet, one sent from God.” Her mind is definitely still in the mix though, as she calls to mind the fact that He is a Jew. “We worship here, you worship in Jerusalem.” But Jesus is not simply a Jew, He is salvation. “Believe me,” He says. Jesus knows what He is talking about. He helped write this story, from the very beginning. We can trust every single word out of His mouth. “A day is coming, yes, the day is here now, when the Father will be worshipped neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. No, this day is when people can now worship the Father in spirit and truth. For that is whom the Father is seeking and pursuing these worshippers even now. God is spirit, unseen but felt, and those who would worship Him do so in Spirit and in truth.” She blinks back doubts. “I know that the Messiah, the Christ, is coming, and when he comes, he will tell us all things.” Again, a smile. “I AM this one, who speaks to you.”
Mouth wide open, she runs, leaving her jar behind. To tell her whole village to come, to come and see! The Messiah has come! The Christ is here!
The speaker tonight connected this story with two passages in Jeremiah:
“My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken Me,
the fountain of living waters,
and have made their own cisterns [jars],
broken cisterns which can hold no water.” (2:13)
“They have forsaken the LORD,
the fountain of living water.” (17:13)
I am amazed tonight as I revisit these truths. We have been given complete access to the fountain of living water. Even more incredible, Jesus places this fountain within us!
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ This He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive…”
We have received this Spirit, this living water. Our thirsts are quenched. That’s why when we seek out other rivers, trying to gather other waters in our broken cisterns and jars, we aren’t satisfied. Those waters drain quickly, because our cisterns are full of cracks and holes. We are the jars (2 Cor. 4:7), made whole in Christ! And He is the living water. Our permanent satisfaction (listening to that in Lingala was downright stunning).
The last point was found after this woman left her jar behind. Ever since Abraham, God’s covenant has always been about blessing. We were meant to be a blessing to others. She dropped everything, and ran back to her village to tell everyone that Jesus is here. He is still here, dwelling within His true worshippers. Are we letting Him overflow from our hearts? Are we seeking to bless others with this living water? What jar do we need to cast aside in order to run our race?
“Come! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters!”
Isaiah 55:1
He spoke mainly from John 4, where Jesus encounters the Samarian woman at the well. She has come to gather water. At the hottest part of the day, to avoid the whispers and stares of the other women. He asks her for a drink, and she is floored. She questions Him, “Why on earth would a Jew consider her, a Samarian, worthy of being spoken to, let only worthy enough to draw a drink from the well for him?” He turns the tables on her. “If you knew who you were talking to, who it really is that asks you for a drink; if you knew the very gift of God, you would have asked Him for water, and He would have given you living water.” Just as Nicodemus was confused when Jesus said you must be born again, so in her natural mind was this woman confused as to what this living water was and how it was accessed. “Sir, you have no cistern with which to draw water from this very deep well. Where do you get this living water?”
I picture Jesus smiling here. Clearly, she has no idea of who Jesus is. She has never heard of Him. Like oh so many still in our world today. He peered down into the well. “Everyone who draws and drinks from this well, will soon be thirsty again. But whoever would drink from the water that I will give to him, his thirst will forever be quenched. Rather, the water which I will give to him shall become in him springs of water welling up into eternal life.” This woman’s mind reeled. What? “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst again nor ever have to come to this well to draw water again.” Again, I picture a smile here. She’s still not seeing Me beyond what her mind can grasp. How often we still do that with Jesus. We limit Him with our intellect. He is so much more than what we can wrap our heads around. That’s why our hearts must be involved.
“Go, get your husband, and bring him back with you.” He shoots for her heart here. He knew she had no husband, as she quickly replies to Him. He knew that she had indeed had 5 husbands, and that her current mate was not her husband at all. He went to the core issue of us all. Our dark and doomed hearts, prone to lives of sin. Sure, we may not have had 5 husbands. But sin is sin, and it is deeply rooted in every single one of our hearts. By striking her here, her heart becomes involved. It has quickly and irrevocably entered the scene. And it peers into the spiritual nature of this conversation. “I perceive that you are a prophet, one sent from God.” Her mind is definitely still in the mix though, as she calls to mind the fact that He is a Jew. “We worship here, you worship in Jerusalem.” But Jesus is not simply a Jew, He is salvation. “Believe me,” He says. Jesus knows what He is talking about. He helped write this story, from the very beginning. We can trust every single word out of His mouth. “A day is coming, yes, the day is here now, when the Father will be worshipped neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. No, this day is when people can now worship the Father in spirit and truth. For that is whom the Father is seeking and pursuing these worshippers even now. God is spirit, unseen but felt, and those who would worship Him do so in Spirit and in truth.” She blinks back doubts. “I know that the Messiah, the Christ, is coming, and when he comes, he will tell us all things.” Again, a smile. “I AM this one, who speaks to you.”
Mouth wide open, she runs, leaving her jar behind. To tell her whole village to come, to come and see! The Messiah has come! The Christ is here!
The speaker tonight connected this story with two passages in Jeremiah:
“My people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken Me,
the fountain of living waters,
and have made their own cisterns [jars],
broken cisterns which can hold no water.” (2:13)
“They have forsaken the LORD,
the fountain of living water.” (17:13)
I am amazed tonight as I revisit these truths. We have been given complete access to the fountain of living water. Even more incredible, Jesus places this fountain within us!
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ This He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive…”
We have received this Spirit, this living water. Our thirsts are quenched. That’s why when we seek out other rivers, trying to gather other waters in our broken cisterns and jars, we aren’t satisfied. Those waters drain quickly, because our cisterns are full of cracks and holes. We are the jars (2 Cor. 4:7), made whole in Christ! And He is the living water. Our permanent satisfaction (listening to that in Lingala was downright stunning).
The last point was found after this woman left her jar behind. Ever since Abraham, God’s covenant has always been about blessing. We were meant to be a blessing to others. She dropped everything, and ran back to her village to tell everyone that Jesus is here. He is still here, dwelling within His true worshippers. Are we letting Him overflow from our hearts? Are we seeking to bless others with this living water? What jar do we need to cast aside in order to run our race?
“Come! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters!”
Isaiah 55:1
I have been studying this passage with our 6th graders the last week or two! I definitely don't feel like they fully understood it, but I loved it.