Seeking God's Love Amid Life's Distractions

Growing up as the son of a pastor, I didn't always remember every sermon my dad shared, but there was one that really grabbed my attention. It was from the Gospel of John, chapter 4. In it, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. This shook my mentality of wanting to do whatever I wanted to do. It made me realize that Jesus had an appointment, and He was required to do something. This made me think of the phrase, "not why me, but why He." If God has a plan, it was established from the beginning of time, and its purpose is perfect. Jesus had to go through Samaria in order to fulfill God's perfect plan.

He came to the city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave his son Joseph, and Jacob's Well was there. Jesus, being wearied from his journey, was sitting thus by the well, and it was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink," for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

The situation was very similar to the story of Rahab. The spies went to spy out the city to plan the attack, and Jesus was going through Samaria to get to another destination. The spies went to spy out the land so that they would meet Rahab, and God would provide deliverance through Rahab. Jesus told his disciples he had to go through Samaria, but why did he have to? It was to meet this woman, and it was part of God's perfect plan.

The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, being a Jew, asked me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." Knowing the scripture, we know that this was a step that had to be taken in order to bring about God's perfect will.

The woman at the well asked Jesus how she could get the Living Water. Jesus replied that whoever drinks of the water He will give will never thirst again. He then asked her to call her husband, to which she replied that she had no husband. Jesus then said that she had spoken correctly, for she had had five husbands, and the one she was with now was not her husband. Jesus then declared that an hour was coming when true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and truth. The woman then said that she knew the Messiah was coming, and that He would declare all things to them. Jesus then said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

What is significant about this statement is that Jesus declared clearly to a Samaritan woman, who was living with a man that was not her husband, that He was the Messiah. This is similar to what Anna said when she saw Jesus as a baby, and what the disciples said before Jesus called them out. This story shows that it is not about the individual, but rather about looking to the Messiah.

Jesus and the disciples had just come from the city. The disciples were concerned about food and were urging Jesus to eat. Jesus replied that he had food to eat that they did not know about. He explained that his food was to do the will of God and to accomplish his work. Jesus then pointed out that the fields were white for the harvest and that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together.

Jesus then had a conversation with the woman at the well. He told her that the day was coming when his worshipers would worship in spirit and truth. Jesus was drawing attention to the spiritual realm, not the physical realm. He was teaching the disciples about what it means to worship God. Jesus was teaching the disciples an important lesson through the woman at the well. He was telling them not to focus on the physical needs, but to focus on the spirit and the truth.

The disciples went into the city and came back with food, but they had missed the mission. However, many of the Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the word of the disciples and the woman who testified. Jesus stayed with them for two days, and many more believed because of his word. They said, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is indeed the Savior of the world."

Jesus was teaching them that it is all about Him and that it is not by power, but by His spirit. He was reminding them of the words of the Psalmist, "Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord." He was also reminding them of the words to Joshua as he went out and conquered.

Rahab, the woman at the well, and the Samaritan woman are all examples of people that God chose to use in powerful ways. The setting of the Samaritan woman's story is a great reminder of how God works. He teaches a lot throughout his time with them about sowing and reaping and the harvest. He reminds them that it is the Father who gives the harvest, and that there is a time to sow and a time to reap. It is not about us seeking Jesus, but Him drawing us to Him.

Jacob's well was important because it was a reminder that the provision was from God. It was unusual for Jesus to be in Samaria because the Samaritans were considered unclean by the Jews. They were rejected because they were mixed. When Jesus met the Samaritan woman, her first response to him was that their fathers worshiped in this mountain and that the Jews said that in Jerusalem was the place where they ought to worship. This shows the tension between the two groups.

In the wilderness, right, so you can live a lot longer without water than you can without food. And so when Jesus is talking about living water, he's talking about something that is essential to life, and he's talking about something that is essential to spiritual life, and that is faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman about the Living Water. He explained that it was a gift given by God, and when you drink of it, you will never thirst again. This is a semblance of the children of Israel when God delivered them through water. Jesus came preaching and baptizing with water, and this is a picture of the birth of water and spirit. Living Water is a water of salvation, the washing and cleansing with the Spirit of the Most High God. It is faith in Jesus Christ. Without water, one cannot live, and the same is true for spiritual life. Jesus is the Living Water, and when one drinks of it, they will never thirst again.

Moses was communing with the Lord on the mountain when temptation came before him. How did they live 40 days and 40 nights without water? Is that physically possible? They had Living Water. How did Moses have Living Water? Well, Moses was in the presence of God on that mount. Jesus was offering something and someone in whom you will never thirst again. What does that mean? It means he will meet literally every need. Jesus is that Living Water, and that's the promise he was sharing with her.

The world and its people are hungry for something, but nothing in this earth will satisfy the need. There is only one that satisfies the need, and that is Jesus. The woman at the well had five husbands, and the one she was with was not married. Jesus called attention to this and offered her salvation and Living Water, regardless of who she was. He knew who she was before offering her Living Water, and it was all about him.

The Samaritans were also looking for the Messiah. Part of the legend was that the Messiah who came would be the one who knows all things. The woman asked Jesus a trick question to see if he was the Messiah, and he answered correctly. The question was which mountain do we worship on? Jesus answered that they should worship on the mountain he was on. He answered her question in the way that anyone else would have answered her question.

The woman asked Jesus a question, and He answered her. Was it an answer that she expected? Absolutely not. Only the Messiah could answer the question like He did. He told her that true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth. This was a powerful message of hope for all people, the Samaritans, Jews, and Gentiles.

To worship in spirit means to be born again, to have the spirit of the living God dwell within you. To worship in truth means to worship the Jesus of scripture, not the Jesus of our imagination. We know Jesus by reading His word. The difference between the way Jesus answered her question and the way anyone else would have answered it is that only He could provide a message of hope and salvation to all people.

The Samaritans and the Jewish people responded differently to Jesus. The Samaritans were looking for the Messiah that was spoken about in the scriptures, while the Jewish people were searching for a king. The key difference was that the Samaritans were looking for someone to worship, while the Jewish people had already decided who they wanted Jesus to be and what he would look like. This was part of the plan that Jesus allowed to happen, as it was not yet the time of the Jews, but the time of the Gentiles.

God sometimes asks us to do things that make no sense to the world. We should ask the Lord to lead us in ways that make no sense because we want to follow Him just for the joy of following Him. There may be times in our lives when God asks us to do something that doesn't make sense, like when He used Harry to reach Chinese people.

I come to First Baptist Church Montpelier every Sunday because this is God's calling on my life. It does not make sense to the world, but I think it's worth it to spend some time thinking and praying about what must I do, Lord? What must I do that makes no sense to the world? Doing that, you're walking and worshiping according to the spirit rather than according to the flesh. We need to train ourselves to do that more.

The children of Israel were led through the Dead Sea, which makes no sense. The only way to avoid Pharaoh's armies was through the living water, trusting in God. It can be a scary prayer, but it is a spiritual discipline that we need to develop.

As Christians in America, we are so distracted, and everything is so easy for us. We have these rituals and times, but it is important to ask God what must I do today? Jesus didn't even explain it to the disciples; he just said we gotta go this way. To them, it made absolutely no sense.

God commends His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The Samaritan woman at the well was a living, breathing picture to the disciples and all of us of what Jesus was about to do and did and accomplish. We don't earn, obtain, achieve, or accomplish His love by our own power, but it is all about Jesus. He had to introduce Himself to us, open our eyes to see, and fill us with His Spirit so that He could accomplish His perfect plan and will in us. He has done the same for all those who have been born again, and He is still doing it.

There are times in our life when we feel sinful, but it's not about us; it's all about Him. He saved us according to His perfect love.

Father, thank you for your word and the beautiful picture you gave us of the woman at the well. You had a plan, and you accomplished it perfectly, teaching an amazing lesson to the disciples and each of us today.

We want to pray that if there is anyone here or anyone within the sound of my voice that does not know you as their Lord and Savior, that they would understand the love you have shown us. Romans 5:8 says that God commended his love toward us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

In Jesus, there is living water, the fulfillment of every hunger, and there is life and no one else other than Jesus. If they confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God has raised him from the dead, they will be saved.

Father, continue to reach your elect and fill your church, your church Universal, and complete the task in the mission. Come quickly, Lord, let it be so. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.