Jesus, the Living Water: Quench Your Thirst

But but first it says, then leaving her water jar. This is a remarkable detail in the story. It's exciting too. Because remember, she came to the well for water with her vessel, but now she leaves that jar behind. Now why does that happen? Why does she leave that that jar behind? You know why? Because when you find living water, the the old wells that you've been going to, they lose their power over you. It's not what you need anymore. This is what repentance looks like. Repentance looks like dropping the jar. Okay? Repentance is leaving the jar behind. [01:10:33] (41 seconds)  #DropTheJar

And here's what Jesus does. He cuts across ethnicity. Couldn't get that word out. Ethnicity. He he cuts across hostility. Jesus cuts across gender norms. Jesus cuts across moral reputation, all of this. Jesus crosses lines that we would never cross. His grace crosses those lines. You know, it's interesting. Jesus begins by expressing his thirst. He makes himself vulnerable. How about that? Before he exposes her vulnerable vulnerability. And you know what that tells us? The gospel moves towards us. [00:52:22] (44 seconds)  #GraceCrossesLines

Listen. Jesus does not shame you for being thirsty. Here's what he does. He invites you. Jesus invites you. He invites you. And he says, if you knew the gift of God, he looks at you, and he loves you. He's, oh, if you could only see, if you could only taste, if you knew the gift of God, everything when your life would brighten in Lent, this season we're in right now. This is the season to admit, to say to God, God, I'm thirsty. And God, the wells that I keep on digging, they're shallow. They don't hold any water. They're tainted. [01:19:32] (46 seconds)  #InvitedNotShamed

And and this is where I think we need to understand something about sin. We tend to think of sin merely as rule breaking. Right? That's one understanding, but there's another understanding because sin is actually also misdirected thirst. It is it is reaching out to fill a deep need, a need that God intends to fill and only he could fill by other means. So so in other words, like for instance, your your problem is not that you want happiness or that you want joy in your life. [00:59:10] (41 seconds)  #SinIsMisdirectedThirst

But but here's what you realize when you sit back, there's a diminishing return on all of it. And so here here's the question really that that lies at the root of it all. It's this. Where do I go to get life? Where do I find something that satisfies? That that is what the woman at the well is ultimately asking. Where do I go to life? And underneath the question is a wound. [00:48:37] (35 seconds)  #WhereDoYouFindLife

And and yet many people, many of us are insisting on living off of explosions. You know, you want that. When the fire settles into something steady, you feel cheated. And you get restless. And you feel like you're you're you're being deprived. And here's what happens. People move on. And they move on to new purchases or new platforms. It's just a new distraction. That's all it is. [00:47:59] (32 seconds)  #BeyondTemporaryHighs

And, hey, here, this is it. This is the moment that Jesus is creating at the well. This is what he's creating. He's not exposing the woman in order to shame her. He is bringing her story into the light so that grace can meet her there. Do you see? And this is what he does for you this morning. This is what he does for me. This is what he does for us. Let's continue. Verse 19. Verse 19. Sir, the woman said, [01:02:53] (27 seconds)  #GraceMeetsYouInLight

And and this is a life. This is eternal life marked by love, marked by joy, marked by peace. And you could drink again, and you could drink again, and again, and again. This is the life of Jesus. These are living waters. And it's and it's not some cistern you have to refill. This is a spring that flows, that the source is not you, it's Jesus Christ. [00:56:02] (27 seconds)  #JesusAtTheWell