Transformative Encounters: The Power of Christ

This story is familiar to you it's the story of a great change a great transformation that took place in this woman's life a woman who was living in sin and had been living in sin figures notorious for her sinfulness undoubtedly in the city in which unit but meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ everything is transformed. [00:01:20]

Whosoever drinketh of this water the water in the well shelters to give me that's the world welcomes satisfied gives temporary relief but it can never do more than that so whosoever drinketh this water shall thirst again but whosoever he says drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall beginning of well of water springing up into everlasting life. [00:02:00]

Now we know perfectly well that to me this is something purely formal and Dextre and so much of what passes as a religious worship is nothing but that it's a formal act it's something entirely extra other kind of parade there are those in the forces and other places who do this and not because they're interested in it because well it's the thing to do and it may avoid them certain beauties and so on and it's something entirely mechanical and formal. [00:05:07]

The trouble with all of us is that we tend to come to him with our own ideas and with our own demand we've all done this we may be still doing it we want certain things so we approach Christ we approach the Christian Church which represents him and which has his method we approach him I say with certain demands what do we want will we want comfort press we want this consolation we want some medicament that can be in with the bruisers of life or it may be that we want peace we want to banish war. [00:13:03]

As long as we are coming with our demands and desires and asking for and almost insisting upon them and virtually telling him that if he doesn't give us these we are not interested in it until our backs upon Christianity or denounce God and so on well that that is the very reason why we will continuously are in trouble and in pain and in sorrow in misunderstanding and know nothing about this blessed life which the Son of God came into the world together. [00:14:40]

The particular blessings of the Christian life are only all is obtained as the result of something else they can never be obtained directly what a vital principle this is you see we come as I say with particular desires particularly never and we believe we can get them directly. [00:15:13]

The first thing we have to do is to realize that we've got to put aside our demands and requests and we've just have a submit to him we come as we are and we allow him to deal with us and the handless and then what would he do well this is again one of these primary fundamental things even though the first thing the Lord Jesus Christ ever done it is the make assess the right questions he makes us face the real problems and it's very different from everything we've ever thought. [00:25:20]

He gets us to face the real questions we are always facing not wrong questions what do I mean well you see the first thing he does is what he did with this woman he always starts by making us face ourselves Ghanshyam in which told me all things that ever I did is not this the Christ what doesn't work she's been made to face herself she hadn't done that before. [00:26:53]

The men have been supremely lists of those who say I'm such a rattle caucus I deserve nothing but destruction of damnation I'm so rotten that I have no right to expect a single blessing from God it's the men who feels that the most astounding thing in the universe is that God can look upon him at all and have anything to do with him that's the man who's going to be blessed. [00:36:09]

He makes us face him himself and not merely his teaching that's the travesty that takes place on this Sunday every year teaching of Christ misinterpretation of course but they think of the Sermon on the Mount is nothing but a treatise on pacifism and so the teaching of Christ in the world needs to apply the teaching of Christ and then some will be saying it's like this and something like that and all claiming their book the teaching of Christ this is going to solve all our problems it's wrong it's wrong if you take the teaching of Christ and turn it into a philosophy or an idealism or a political system it will not work. [00:38:19]

The first thing you'll do is to give you an entirely new understanding of life and of death and of eternity this is the victory that overcometh the world even our the moment you have faith in him the moment he gives you this new life you've got me understanding and you know the first thing that we'll do for you even able to see through the world see through it I mean by that see for what it is the pump on the power of the glitter it's nothing nothing at all it's children playing you enable you to see through the world and all its sham and hollowness and anything because it's all there that leads to the misery in the shame and all the problem you see through it you know you'll even enable you to see death in a different way. [00:43:30]

He enables me to see beyond it death is just this little narrow sea that divides me from that land of pure delight you know the story don't you have him um Isaac Watts he was born and brought up in Southampton and it's said that he got this whole idea of looking across that narrow strip of see at the Isle of Wight probably right he said that there's nothing wrong look at it whether the green team would want to be on forever beyond we'll see this is what Christianity does see you don't live for this world only after people are not Christians Christian doesn't do that he's got a blessed hope he sees the glory that is awaiting him so he doesn't shiver on the brink no no he sees beyond it he sets his affections and things above not on things of the other even death loses its terrors of this Hollow for him while he still left in this world of time this blessed person this Christ is still willing I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me so that whatever may come to meet me I shall be moved he that drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst never whatever happens the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. [00:46:02]