Sonsofthesea has moved to our new location! We’re in the midst of unpacking and will return on Saturday, February 8th, at 12:00 p.m. Until then, we continue to lift you up before His Throne of Grace. May you continue to follow us as we follow Jesus…
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Recently, while listening to Dante Bowe sing, The Goodness of God, the Holy Spirit got hold of me; opening the eyes of my understanding, He stretched me. Drawing me in, I was given a peek, just some small glimpse, of what God’s goodness meant—has looked like, in my life. I was wrecked and repenting by the time He was finished showing me, yet I was left hungry for so much more. I had tasted, and it was good! I knew this was no one-time revelation, no amuse-bouche’. Rather, it is a fine dining experience. A multi-course meal whose unique, rich, layered, subtle textures and flavors will have me revisiting this experience of God’s Goodness, over and over and over again…
The Holy Spirit took me back to specific days and seasons in my life; revisiting very specific sins. I was able to see glimpses of myself in the thick of it—covered in my filth, yet seemingly not carrying. Selfish. Oblivious to anything other than what I wanted or needed to make me happy or feel satisfied, at that moment. I saw the bars and the many men and the lies and the sex. The sneaking around. The adultery. The hurt I’d caused my parents and later, my children, friends, and family. I saw my filth stream before my eyes like some twisted, lust-filled, foul-mouthed, underground movie. I saw myself stealing, hustling, getting high, watching porn. I saw when I was molested as a child. I saw my depression, my wanting to die, my neglect. And then I felt the weight of my wretchedness; instantly.
I understood the Holy Spirit wasn’t condemning me, He’s already forgiven me. Rather, He was allowing me to feel the weight of that disgusting filthiness once again that I might be stretched, opened up in some new way, to drink in this heightened, vivid, understanding of just how good and loving and kind and merciful, how patient and long-suffering this God, my Jesus, is. Not that over-used, over-worked, knee-jerk, ‘God is good’ kind of goodness, rather His pure, life-changing, transformative, loving, goodness. The very goodness that caused Him to hold tight His Cross willingly lay down upon it, then allow those He was offering His very life for, to drive their sin through His Perfect flesh. That kind of Goodness…
A Goodness that is far too big, and deep, and wide, for my puny, finite mind, thoughts, and feelings, to fully take in! God had seen each of my sins. And still, after seeing them all, He came to me, personally. He came in a way like no one in my life had ever come; in the gentlest of ways, as softly as the softest of summer breezes. He was just, there. Suddenly. I can close my eyes and go back to that moment, it’s so alive and vivid still; I can feel His nearness as deeply now, more actually, as I did then. And, from that moment until today, I am His and He is mine.
I’ve experienced the goodness of God that Dante was singing about in my own life, without a doubt. I too have sung of the goodness of God. Read about it in the Scriptures, certainly. I’ve witnessed to folks about His goodness. Posted and shared quotes and pics extolling that goodness on social media sites; sharing it personally with new believers. Yet, I had never stopped long enough to truly dig down into the depth of just how far back His goodness had been active in my life; just how far back it truly reached. In that moment, by the revelation of The Holy Spirit, I saw, more, I felt and understood in a new way, just how far back His goodness reached. It went Ephesians 1:4 back, Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:13-18 back, to mention just a few examples. It went standing over the void back…
I’ve taken many cursory glances at this reality over the years, mind you. But in truth, never really sat alone with the thought of His goodness and what it meant in my life—all of my life, giving it the time it so richly deserves. I never knew it in my bones, felt the reality of it churning around in the very depths of me until that moment when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to all of what God had watched me do in my life. All those days and nights and instances I thought I was being so slick. When I thought I was being so careful, so clever. When I felt the darkness of some strange room was all the hiding place I’d ever need; my sins were safe there, hidden.
Friends and brothers and sisters, I’m not here today sharing my dirt with you for any reason other than to be transparent and to encourage that one who may be here now; feeling as filthy dirty as I was then, would be still, had it not been for the Goodness and love and mercy of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am here today to share with you the wonder and the beauty and the Awesomeness of God. Of exactly what He can and will do in the life of the one He grabs hold of. I say He grabs hold of because I had nothing to do with that. I surely didn’t deserve it. I wasn’t praying for it, honestly. God hadn’t even been a thought that had crossed my mind in any real way—until He did. Until that ‘suddenly’ moment when, in hindsight, I now understand was the Holy Spirit giving me the desire to go to a particular church at a specific time. And I went. I followed that ‘feeling’. And right there, in that Catholic Church, in the midst of the priest’s sermon, The Holy Spirit came for me. And, as I said earlier, He came as softly and gently as the softest of summer breezes. There were no beams of light streaming through the stained-glass windows, no choir of angelic voices singing holy songs, just a deep, the very pit of me deep, and oh so subtle, shift inside. And from that moment, sitting in that Church with my then lover at my side, unashamedly languishing in the pit of my adultery, the Goodness of God has kept one such as me. John 10:27-29…
Friends, I am not here today to point you towards something I’ve read or heard tell of. Something that’s been sung about or shared. I’m not here to regurgitate someone else’s story of how they met this God who offers us—all of us, this goodness we must experience for ourselves. I’m here because I know Him, love Him, have been afforded the privilege of serving Him. I’m here to point us each towards the only one that can and has and will always, until the very last, pour this fresh clean water of His goodness and His love, His unfathomable capacity to forgive us—over us. The One who loves us too much to leave us where we are—whether we’ve known Him for years and years or have just met Him today—or will meet Him soon, I pray. I’m here today to share with you that this Good God has so much more for you and me. He is troubling the water, stirring up something inside of you. Step in and be made whole. Be restored, made clean. Be refreshed.
Brother’s and sister’s and friends let us not settle for the common. For swimming in the shallow end because we can manage that nicely on our own. Cry out to God to rid us of our preconceived notions and ideas of who we believe Him to be and ask Him instead to show Himself to us afresh, new. Let us cry out to God right now in repentance, for mercy, and for more of Him. May He draw us each into an ever deeper and wider, a more pure and True understanding of who He is—and of ourselves, in Him, as He intended us to be and live and share and give and love and serve each other —Psalm 145:5-7.
Friend, if your reading this today and can relate. If you’ve not yet asked this Good God that I’ve spoken of today to be your God, come into your life and change it as surely as He has changed mine—and so many countless others like us; ask Him now. Don’t wait another day, please. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11.
The all too familiar saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is just plain wrong. Ask anyone who has suffered a tongue lashing from one who is verbally abusive. Words can, and often do hurt. Even those spoken inadvertently. Our words have the potential to turn a friend into a foe and to momentarily break the strongest of Spirits…
While reading verses 22 through 36 of John, Chapter Three, the carelessness of the words spoken in verse 26 struck me. Instantly, the term “friendly fire” came to mind. According to Wikipedia friendly Fire is defined, in part, as; An inadvertent attack by a military force on friendly or neutral troops while attempting to attack the enemy.
Whether it was the group of the religious leaders of the day, led perhaps by Nicodemus, Jesus’ nighttime visitor (vs. 23), or John’s own disciples that were speaking in today’s verse is up for debate. What our Scripture does make clear is, whichever the group, they apparently saw Jesus as competition. The closing words of today’s verse certainly alludes to that fact. “And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” That said, what we may never know for certain is whether their words were intended to spark jealously within John or, were they testing his loyalty? Had underlying insecurities perhaps, driven them to speak in such a self-interested manner? Only God knows the intentions of a man’s heart. And how does any of this in any way connect to friendly fire?
In short, words. The power behind our words. Words can bring death or life! Talk too much, and you will eat everything you say –Proverbs 18:21. Remember brothers and sisters, we as believers are soldiers. And, from the moment the Lord called us to join in the battle until the day He calls us home, we will never leave the battlefield. Let us then be ever vigilant, friends. Not allowing ourselves to be lulled into thinking that simply because we stand behind the pulpit, are active in ministry, lead the team, or are heading up the committee that the enemy of our soul isn’t circling right there next to us. That he isn’t prowling, watching and waiting for any opportunity to discredit us, to use any word spoken in haste as a weapon to wound a fellow brother or sister. Even our anxious words, spoken half unawares.
Never forget our enemy’s sole mission is to take us out, to discredit us, use our every careless or inciteful word to cause wounds in another that may cut so deeply they’ll walk away bruised and bloodied. We’ve each, at some point in our Christian walk, experienced friendly fire, if not, we’re bound to. We’re surrounded with people who, much like ourselves, will fall short and be hurtful. For me personally, knowing our propensity to wound each other lends added weight to our brother Peter’s words to the Church Elders…
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour –1 Peter 5:8.
So with this in mind lets reread the definition of friendly fire: An inadvertent attack by a military force on friendly or neutral troops while attempting to attack the enemy. But what is an inadvertent attach? Inadvertent is defined by Webster as; not resulting from or achieved through deliberate planning. Being unpremeditated, thoughtless or careless. Friendly fire, though not deliberate, has the potential to be as deadly as the bullet aimed intentionally at the heart. And in listening in on the conversation of those who were speaking to John, we hear words that have this potential to maim and destroy as surely as any misdirected bullet or bomb does. In not recognizing Jesus as one of their own, these men failed to understand that any conflict, any fallout that may result from their attempting to stir John up would, in fact, be, friendly fire.
Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly –Proverbs 11:9
John, however, appears to have escaped being wounded in this exchange. The closing verses of this chapter make that clear. John knew who he was. More importantly, he knew who Jesus was. He was not threatened by Him in any way. Rather, he delighted in Jesus. He was humbled to have been chosen to serve Him at all. Perhaps it was, in part, this Divine revelation of just who this Jesus is that had shielded John from the effects of the friendly fire that whizzed all around him?
When we are willing to bow low in the service of our God, to forsake all for Him that we may gain Him, to shed, let go of, our egos and titles and the recognition they may bring our way and simply be used as one delighted to draw the attention of others solely to the Lamb of God that walks among us still—He then, delights in blessing us. Not in some, we earned it way, rather as a Father who delights in loving and blessing His children. What daddy doesn’t want to keep his children safe? Jesus is, after all, our fortress and our shield. His Mighty Hand ever covering us that no weapon formed by the enemy of our souls will either prosper nor thwart His plan.
In John, we see a man not wishing to be anything other than the best, most faithful, diligent, and, submissive version of himself he can be—Scripture makes this plain. But rather than taking my word on this, listen instead to what John has to say concerning himself and His Lord. Go ahead, draw in, I’m certain he won’t mind your listening in: …”You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. –John 3:28-31.
In the perilous times in which we live, in this hour of darkness and deep confusion we must know who we are in Christ, our purpose. Just as John did. Know this friend, no man’s careless words can take from you what God has for you, whether great or small. Stand firm then in your calling, hold down your place on the battlefield. God sees you and He has a purpose and a plan for your being exactly where you are. John understood this. He rested in it. Don’t allow another’s insecurity, doubt, indecisiveness or fear-filled words to cause you to duck, shrieking back! Not even friendly fire can take us out, if, like John, we’ll just hold fast to God knowing, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven” –John 3:27
Friend, if you are with us today and have yet to ask Jesus into your heart, don’t wait another moment. We never know what’s coming just around the corner. My hope is that you’ll take the time now to invite Him into your life. “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” –Romans 10:9-10. But don’t stop there friend. Find a Bible-based church and attend. Read Gods Word daily and grow in your new relationship with Him…
Your ways are not like mine.
Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”
In preparation for this week’s teaching, I went to sit beside the ocean to get alone with the Lord. I parked the car close to a popular local inlet where the small craft anchor. A particular dingy caught my eye…
Staring at it I thought, “that little guy looks as though it could sink at any moment.” Compared that is, to some of the sturdier-looking, larger boats anchored nearby. Looking away, I continued on in prayer. But once again this little boat caught my eye. This time, however, it appeared to be listing. Signaling the beginning of an inescapable watery demise. “I had a feeling that little boat would eventually go down. It didn’t appear at all seaworthy.” As I continued to watch what I saw instead caused me to literally shout, ‘no way!”’ The waves had caused it to shift directions and I saw it was fully righted! Not only had that little boat not gone under, it was effortlessly bobbing along being piloted by the tides that had it safely hemmed in. What I was certain I had seen had been little more than an optical illusion. My eyes playing tricks on me. A complete misread on my part…
And then God spoke. Impressing on my heart that: I wasn’t to always trust what I saw in front of me rather, to steadfastly rely solely upon what I know to be True of Him. Trusting in His Sovereignty, mercy, grace, and, power. He reminded me to always have my faith securely anchored in Him; my mind and thoughts captive to His will alone. There are many illusions in this world…
Satan is a master of illusion and deception. And, He is busier now than ever knowing his time is at hand. God’s elect must be even more vigilant. Leaving no opening in our armor through which he might gain entrance. “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible” –Mark 13:22.
God had convicted me of the cracks in my own armor; as quickly as I had judged this little boat of being unseaworthy, so too had I judged myself unworthy to serve Him by comparing myself to those I felt were far more gifted—more qualified than myself. I’d allowed temporary feelings of unworthiness to serve God and His people to supersede what I know He alone has called and equip me to do. Serve! Whenever and wherever He leads me. I was instantly humbled by the realization that not only had I been allowing myself to entertain lies, questioning my very election, entertaining my fears, doubts, and insecurities as one entertains friends; allowing them access into places mere acquaintances are not permitted, I had, unawares, projected my feelings of inadequacy onto that little boat! Thus, falsely judging us both as unseaworthy…
That’s when God convicted my heart! Who was I to judge the gifts He’s given me? His grace? Who was I to question His reasoning for choosing me for Himself?
And so, if I don’t make it my business to stay close to Christ daily, standing firm and fixed, minute-by-minute on who He says I am, I will, according to my own estimation, find myself sorely wanting. Unworthy to serve such a Holy God—or His people. Knowing my own sin and shortcomings I will judge myself as a vessel of dishonor, rather than one of gold or silver having been made pure, not by my own works or worth, rather by His. In this Truth, I was allowed a far deeper, more personal revelation of meaning behind Paul’s words: “But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man’s day; but neither do I judge my own self”–1 Corinthians 4:3.
Our self-worth, my self-worth friends, should not be grounded in the esteem or opinion nor in the rejection of others—man’s flesh is far too fickle, untrustworthy, and ever-changing to ever take fully to heart. First, it blows this way and then that. One minute calling out Hosanna and with its next breath, crucify Him! Neither should we fully put our trust in self-assessments, least we think either too highly or too lowly of ourselves. Yet if our conscious pricks us, we must be certain to examine it. But it is to God alone that we must look to for every good thing in our lives. Starting with the foundational Truth of who we are and who He is in our lives, ministry, work, and worth. Only His Truth is irrefutable. Our sure standard.
His Word clearly tells us: “All else is sinking sand…” –Matthew 7:24-27.
Now, before I move on, allow me to clarify a point: By no means do I mean to suggest that we should not examine ourselves, our lives, and hearts, our consciences. Quite the contrary, as Christians, we must keep a close eye on the condition of our hearts and thoughts, our words, and actions. Through prayer and the reading of the Scriptures, through our daily communion with the Holy Spirit, we must ask the Lord, day by day, to search out anything in us that is not of Him. And, should our conscience convict us of sin, we must, by His power, rid our lives of its corrupt root; least our hearts become hardened by its unchecked presence. We must repent, quickly.
Our Scripture verse today harkens back to the days of King David who, at the time of this writing has been dead some 250 years. Thus signifying that our Scripture verses are directed not at unbelievers since they are directed at David and Israel, but rather at believers. And, though applicable in Isaiah’s day surely, they are also prophetic; reaching their hand into the pocket of today’s Church, speaking directly to you and me. God’s Truth is eternal and unchanging. Our verses declare, in part, just who God is and who we are in comparison. There is no room in His declaration for neither question nor doubt. God’s Sovereignty is on clear display in these verses. Therefore, as believers living in times fraught with illusions, lies, and false accusation, we must be convinced, resolute in the fact that we are who God says we are and not fall prey to those feelings that swing us this way one moment and that another, tossing us first here, then there…
Beloved, if this has hit your heart if you’ve been judging yourself as I’ve judged myself of late, may I suggest you steal away and spend some quiet time alone with the Lord. Ask Him to reveal afresh the Truth of who you are in Him and to make clear to you once again, your purpose and calling in Him. The field is white my brothers and sisters, we must be steadfastly about our Father’s business throwing off, as our brother Paul instructs us, every weight that hinders us.
And friend, if you find yourself here today saying, I’ve felt like this too! Know this, God has led you here as surely as He led me to that little dingy. If you’ve yet to ask Jesus to come into your life as Lord and Savior, please do it now. He’s led you here and He loves you. But He won’t force Himself on you…
They did this, it’s true. Yet, they didn’t do it alone. God had safely hemmed them in as they walked across this parted sea on a dry seafloor. It was so dry, in fact, that neither carriage wheel nor full-grown man was lost to its once sopping, sandy, sea bottom. We can read the account of their crossing over and the subsequent death of their captors in the Scriptures —Exodus 13:17-22;14.
As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. –Exo. 14:16.
There’s a Word of confirmation for someone in today’s verse: Just take that next step regardless of how things might look to you. Even though your flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” Choose to believe instead, that God’s got your best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or to stay put; so do you. Even when the path He’s chosen for you looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; in spite of your fears.
If I were to stop here, life and hope and confirmation have been tossed out like a life ring to that one soul that was in jeopardy of going under. Yet the Holy Spirit isn’t finished speaking with us…
Their prayers had been answered. God sent them a man to help deliver them from days of brutal oppression and unalleviated struggles. God had sent Moses to free His people from Pharaoh’s tyrannical grip. How apt that this man who had gone from freely strolling the opulent halls of Egypt’s palaces, to spending 40 something years in Midian’s wilderness as a shepherd, be called to return to the very place and people he’d fled from; in fear for his very life. This same man who knew well the deadly ire of Pharaoh was being used to deliver and lead a people he was born kin to, out from under Pharaoh’s despotic grip.
Here’s a lesson to us all: God can send the very one that once hung out in your enemy’s house to save you. Not that Moses was such a one, mind you. Nevertheless, don’t judge who or how God has chosen to save you. – Exodus 14:2-4; Isaiah 45:1–8.
And so they stood, leader and followers; much like a ship that has gone aground. Momentarily hemmed in before this outwardly impossible path which led to their safety. Moses at the fore, the lion’s share of those following him at the aft. Each facing the near mile divide of salty sea that separated them from the safety they so desperately longed for, there on its other side. (To put this in perspective, safety loomed some 17.6 football fields across a seemingly impassable sea!) All the while behind them, a demented Pharaoh with his army of Egyptian fighting men were rapidly closing in. Doggedly eating up the ground that stood between them both. This blood-thirsty band of despots locked onto them, like some weapon of mass annihilation, determined to land a swift and deadly blow.
Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward –Exodus 14:12;15.
As it was with Moses and the Israelites, so it is with us. Our enemy Satan seeks not to simply destroy us rather annihilate us –John 10:10.
Yet when all appeared hopeless, when the scent of defeat rose thick above any other scent in the very air they breathed, God did what only God can do. He made a way where, just a nano-second before, one simply had not existed.
And, He’ll do the same for you and me!
Now God may have used Moses to lead His people to the very edge of their deliverance, but He alone would save them from certain death. This is simply who our God is. He alone is mighty to save! God will use any man He so chooses to take us so far. But He will not share His glory with another…
It is at the end of Chapter 13 that we begin to catch a glimpse of God’s perfect plan of deliverance for His people. In His Sovereignty, God chose to lead these people to freedom via the long way home, when a much shorter route was available. But why? Why would God place these worn and weary people He had sent Moses to free in such a seemingly indefensible position?
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt –Exodus 13:17-18.
Here is where we clearly see that God’s ways are so far beyond us. And, also, why we are instructed to walk by faith, and not by sight. Not allowing ourselves to be led, like one with a ring through their nose, by our fickle feelings. God knew that His people would be weary from wear after leaving Egypt. He also knew a formidable enemy lay in wait for them. Being tried in the wilderness would help to prepare them for the fight that lay ahead— for those events just beyond their knowing. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it –1 Corinthians 10:13.
So, now, seeing the sea parted some mile wide before them, these frail, frightened souls numbering 2-3 million, men, woman, and children, had each to decide whether they would take their chances walking between these walls of towering seawater, or stay put and do battle with a known and deadly enemy.
And so will we…
Friends, there will be times in our walk with the Lord, when, in His leading us towards the fulfillment of His promises for us, in His shaping and reshaping of us, we, like these Israelite’s, must decide if we’ll also take that next step of faith. In spite of how things around us might appear. Even though our flesh may be screaming, “this is crazy!” We must choose to believe instead, that God has our best interest at hand. Just as the Israelites had the choice to cross over or stay put; so do you and me.
Even when the path He’s chosen for us looks both frightening and unappealing, just keep moving in the direction He’s led you and trust Him; despite the walls of water that surround you. In spite of all your fears...
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant –Exodus 14: 29-31.
Friend, if you’re here today and have not yet met the One who will never leave you alone in your wilderness. Never abandoned you to fight one single battle on your own; won’t you ask this Jesus to come into your life and show Himself real to you, now? Ask Him to take up your fight for you. He will if you’ll but sincerely ask…
In considering our plans, dreams, and desires, Solomon informs us that not one of them will flourish or prosper if God is not their Source. If He has not added His amen to their propose…
We see the nascent beginning of this truth revealed in the lives of Adam and Eve. In their desire to do things their way. To deliberately ignore God’s clear counsel and commands. And, we continue this day to see the fruit of their choice evidenced in the heart of every man —Genesis 2:15-17; 3:6; Proverbs 16:25; Romans 5:12.
Man can think up, lay down, prepare for, plot and plan all he likes…
And, doing some of that is both necessary and scriptural. But here’s the bottom line. We were never created to live rogue lives outside of God’s will. Nor are we capable of making any lasting or fruitful plans of our own. –John 15:5. God knows that left to the devices of our fallen nature we simply aren’t capable of seeing beyond the end of our own noses! Beyond our selfish wants and desires. Hence, we’ll constantly run after not only what isn’t best for us, more, we’ll chase after the very things that might kill us! –Genesis 2:17; Jeremiah 17:9.
Our original parents being the perfect example of where following our most base desires will lead us; away from God’s best for us. Having been ruled by their own, they rebelled against God. Against His Sovereign providential care. His plan that is both pure and, at its core, empowering.
All that they might chase after sin, instead. Going their own deadly way…
And, If we aren’t intentional in our desire to do life God’s way—we too, will predictably end up just running about aimlessly chasing after all that we think we want. Blindly making plans for our lives. Plans for where we’ll live and work. How we’ll acquire all that we need. That promotion—that home. What ministry we will serve in—head up. Who we will marry and when? Do I have children? And, if yes, how many? Forgetting entirely that God is in control. And, that He has a plan far greater for our lives than anything we could spend the currency of this lifetime chasing after.
Here then, in part, is God’s answer to our striving; made plain in His Word…
1). Commit everything, every-single-thing, each plan, every desire, that thing or the person you want, that place you’d love to live, the church you’d like to be a part of, to the Lord: Proverbs 16:3; 12:15; Psalm 37:4-5. 2). Then, and only then, craft a way to realize your Godly desires: Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 20:18; 15:22; Jeremiah 29:13. And, then, once you have entrusted your plan to God, take your hands off of it; trusting Him instead, with its every detail: Ecclesiastes 11:3–6; Psalm 37:5; 84:11; John 16:13.
All of this begins, however, with a truly clear understanding that we are no longer in charge of our lives. If that is, we’ve committed them to, surrendered them over to, God…
And, If we have entrusted the Lord with our lives, isn’t it just plain foolish not to entrust our every plan to Him as well? Before that is, we run off half-cocked trying to set them in motion on our own?
Christian, would hold back some piece of yourself from God? Close some chamber of your heart or life off from His loving counsel as Adam and Eve did? Are you attempting to cover the shame of your wanting what you know God has said no to, with some hastily stitched together fig leaves? Don’t you know there are no amount of leaves sufficient enough to hide your rebellious desire? Learn from our first parents and expose them instead! Submit them, willingly, lovingly as children of the Light and of the day, to God. Asking Him which way you should go; what it is that’s best for you. After all, He alone holds that answer.—Proverbs 16:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:5.
Follow instead, in the footsteps of Ruth. A gentile widow who, not even knowing God’s law or His plan for her life, determined in her heart to follow after and care for Naomi, her widowed, childless mother-in-law. —Ruth 1:14-16.
She choose what she knew to be right and just over sticking to the safe and familiar. Over making a way for herself. God took Ruth’s simple heartfelt plan and not only did He bless it for her good by leading her into Boaz’s field, but He also multiplied it as our loving and benevolent Father so often does. –Ephesians 3:20-21. From the union of Ruth and Boaz came Obed. Thus Ruth’s desire that Naomi be cared for until the Lord called her home, is fulfilled in Him. Additionally, she’d have this child now, to love and comfort her in her old age. She too then, had been restored through Ruth’s simple, selfless love. And, this same child would grow up to be the father of Jesse, the grandfather of King David; a man after God’s own heart. Obed, an ancestor of Jesus. We find his name in both Luke and Matthew’s account of Jesus’ genealogy…
All this because one woman determined in her heart to seek the best for another. And God, seeing her heartfelt desire to fulfill the law of Love, blessed it. —Ruth 3:10-4:17; Matthew 1:5-6; Luke 3:32.
When choosing God’s plans over our own, look also towards Esther example. Witness her choices to do what was right and good in the eyes of God,—Esther 5:1–7:10. Consider also, our brother Joseph. –Gen 45:4-8; 50:19-21. Study the life and works and sacrifices of the apostles. Look towards Paul and Peter and Philip. –Acts 9; 16:6-34; 10:1-4; Acts 8.
Each of these had plans of their own. A way they thought things should be and go. Yet, because they belonged to God, each determined in their own hearts to love Him, first. To choose His way over their own. Following after all He had for them. Leaving their plans to die an unattended death. And, as a result of their submission and obedience to His plan; His Church was born. Thus we, the gentiles, were brought into the covenant God had made with Abraham. –Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-21. Further, we have the great benefits and honor of knowing the will and Word of our Lord, through His written Word. –John 14:26; 21:25; Revelation 21:5.
My brothers and sisters, I challenge you to ask this question of yourselves:
What is true about me? What is fixed?
Do you wholly believe that God has a plan for your life? Do you wholly believe that there is not one accident or misstep in His plans? Do you believe wholeheartedly that God has established your steps? That He goes before you making even the crooked paths straight? Making ways out of no way? Do you believe, from the very core of your being, that you are loved and cherished by God? And, that there is not one thing outside of His will for you, that could ever remotely satisfy you? If so, your heart is properly postured to seek the Lord will, making your requests known to Him. –Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 1:4; 2:13; 4-24.
If you are wavering at all, decide to be fully in. Then, all else will fall into place. Remember, there is Only One Right Way. One Established Way. Seek this Way with all of your heart—all ways. Hebrews 11: 6.
Then, come what may, your steps will be firmly established. –John 14:1-6.
Beloved, you’re going to be okay. You are not alone. These Truths are your birthright as a son or daughter of the Living God. Let that soak into you for a moment…
And, dear friend, if you don’t yet know the Lord, believe, please, that He has led you here today because He loves you. And, understand this: He is tugging at your heart that you might surrender it to Him and His established good and perfect plan for your life. A life spent with Him requires you to take this step of trusting Him. He will do all the rest. Don’t hesitate, I pray! Take that step of faith today. Choose Jesus! –He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. –Titus 2:14.
What is our brother John saying to us? What is it he is trying to open our eyes to see—more, our lives to be filled with and built upon? Verses 17 &18 answers this, in part. Our ability to have confidence in the day of judgment. And that perfect love, faith in the finished work of Christ, in His complete, benevolent love for us will dispel all of our fears.
Whether or not we believe it, the day of God’s judgment is coming. More, whether you believe this or not, you will face God and give an account for your life. Perhaps the greatest part of that account being why you chose not to believe in His Son? Yet John does not leave us alone with this knowledge of the coming judgement. Equally, verse 17 also instructs believers on just how to have this confidence or boldness on the day of judgment. And in verse 18 he instructs us how to cast fear out of our lives.
John Piper summarises these 2 verses this way: “These are simply positive and negative ways of saying the same thing: getting rid of fear is the negative way of saying become confident. I hope we all take the day of judgment as seriously as John does. So the main point of the text is clear: John wants to help us enjoy confidence before God. He does not want us to be paralyzed or depressed by fear of judgment. Nothing would make John happier (1 John 1:4) than to produce a generation of Christians who were utterly confident that God would accept them on the judgment day.”
Yet verses 17 and 18 are somehow wanting minus the glue that binds them together. The Truth found in verse 16 that girds them. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him –1 John 4:16. This gem is key to understanding just where this ability we must have to gain this confidence John speaks of, comes from.
Yet what does this love look like? And, how do we, as mere men, mange to love as God loves?
The Apostle John makes it clear that if we do not have a relationship—not a head knowledge, not our parents passed on religion, but an authentic relationship with Jesus—we cannot abide with God. More, we will not be able to love as God loves because it is the perfect love of God in us, at work in us, and not our own anemic, flawed love, that enables us to love as God has commanded us. You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works—James 2:22.
With this in mind, let’s follow along with John as he lays out how it is, we must take in, pattern ourselves after, and, have full, fixed confidence in—this love…
1). As we live in God…
That is, firstly, accepting in our hearts that God’s love for us is indisputable. Believing too, in the proof of His love. That this same God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for us—literally in our place. And, that, finally, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, if we accept Him, God places His righteousness over us—covering our sin, eradicating our shame. Just as surely as He placed the bloodied skins of animals over a naked Adam and Eve –Genesis 3:21. We are made clean then, in His Pure, Spotless Blood, shed on our behalf. This acceptance is the nascent beginnings of our faith walk. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life—John 3:16.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing—John 15:5.
2) Our love grows more perfect…
The perfecting of our love for God and, conversely, for His people, is accomplished and grows in the crucible of relationship. In the friction of the day-to-day. Firstly, in our relationship with God. And, then, from its foundation springs our relationship with our neighbor. It is in our everyday walk with God, in the smallest of moments, of details, that He graciously reveals Himself. Demonstrates His great love and providential care for us. These tiny, at times seemingly insignificant, and easily overlooked moments string together forming our trust in Him. Our lifeline. An abiding love and trust we may not realize we have until life happens and then bam! Suddenly there they are; having been being built-up within us—unawares.
Our foundational relationship is with Christ Jesus. A lifelong, stabilizing gift crafted by God upon which our walk with Him begins. And, then, from this shoots grow; our love takes action and we desire to see others love Him as we do. “In this, that is in your love for each other, God’s love is put into action and so reaches its appointed goal. It does not remain at the imperfect stage of mere talk but reaches the stage of action. Perfect love is love that does not die on the vine. It’s love that comes to fruition”—John Piper.
No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us –1 John 4:12
3) So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment...
Fear implies judgment. That is all fear outside of deferential fear. More accurately, respect for God. Being awed by Him—to our very core. Overcome, undone by who He is. His majesty. His splendor. His unfathomable love. His being all-powerful and all-knowing. Creator of all things. All of them. The knowledge that our next breath and heartbeat are afforded us at His discretion. Reverential fear is not only healthy, more, it is also fundamental in the life of every believer. Least we get so puffed up and proud, thinking all that we have and do and accomplish is by our wit and hand. It is this reverential fear in us, in part, that produces both our humility to bow low before the Lord while propelling us to also go boldly before Him. Lowly in our reverence and boldly in the full confidence we have that when God sees us—He is looking at the finished work of His Son. He is looking straight at Jesus, we being hidden in Him.
On the other hand, to fear God on the day of judgment, to feel afraid, would imply that we have not loved as we ought. That some doubt lingers in us. That we do not look like Jesus. Are not clothed in His righteousness. We do not have His perfect Love as our garment. Remember, perfect love cast out fear. Our fear (doubt) before God reveals that we have not loved as we have been commanded to love—purely without reservation nor judgment. We need Jesus! Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure—1 John 3:2–3.
4) …perfect love expels such fear:
Our confidence in the finished work of the Cross, in Christ abiding in us—His Spirit residing in us, and, in Gods perfect love living and flowing from us; empowering us to love others as He would have us to love them, has commanded us to love them, demonstrates the perfected love of God at work in our lives. In everyday words—the more we surrender to the will of God, the closer we draw to Him, the more we are being shaped into the image and likeness of His Son; day after day after day. This change in us breeds lasting confidence that when we finally stand before the Throne of God, it is Jesus that The Father will see. His perfection—and not our sins and shame and short-comings. Not our sullied, flawed, imperfect selves—rather His Spotless, Perfect Son. And so we come boldly before Him. Trusting completely in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Because of who God is and what He has done our lives, we can entrust ourselves into His Hands—just as Jesus has. God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good—Numbers 23:19?
If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love — 1 John 4:18. Friend if you have read through until now and know that do not have the relationship with Jesus described above—a personal, intimate, loving relationship; then please, don’t let the sun go down on this day without asking Jesus to come into your life. Don’t go one more day without Jesus as your friend, your guide, your Lord. Ask Him to come and live in you—and you with Him. No man is promised tomorrow. And, truth be told, aren’t you hungry for more than you have right now? Jesus wants to love you, to help fill your life with everything its been missing—starting with, and most importantly, Himself.
And, now, to my brothers in Christ. Allow me, please, to encourage you. If there was some check in your Spirit as you read, some doubt that lingers in you, some sin that weighs you down, go before your Father and confess. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything in you that is not of Him. Then, take courage and turn from it, beloved, regardless of the cost. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us —Hebrews 12:1
Snatched: To take or grasp abruptly or hastily; to attempt to seize something suddenly.
You beloved are that burning stick that has been snatched from the fire. A sinner saved by His amazing grace! Like Joshua before you, you have been washed clean—made new by the sacrificial shedding of Blood. The Spotless Blood of Jesus shed on your behalf. If, that is, you have accepted Jesus as your Lord…
To enter into any meaningful and lasting relationship requires intentionality. To deeply consider your commitment. A deliberate, deep and highly personal choice born from the wanting to share and grow, exchange and receive. To sacrifice and serve another or others; come what may. A conscious laying down of one’s life born out of genuine love for the well-being of the other. Entering into a relationship with Jesus is no different. It ought to be born from a deep desire to connect with this One, like no other. Remembering this: once that relationship has been established, you’ve then been set apart to both serve God and His people. And, then, to spend eternity with Him…
Yours will not be an eternity spent in the hell, that place of separation and torment that was neither created nor intended for you or any man. It was created for Satan and all those fallen angels who followed him in his rebellion against God—Matthew 25:41.
You fellow believers, are the ministers of the Most High God. Those chosen from a long line of royal priests. And yet, even though you are the King’s kid still, His ownership of you stands above your service to Him. Your priesthood—your role in ministering before the Lord exists solely because He alone has bestowed its use and service, privilege and anointing, upon you.
Ah! I have my filthy garments on. I cannot pray to Him. I cannot praise Him as I would.” I know what it is to come and preach to you sometimes, and to feel such an overwhelming sense of my own unworthiness, that, were it not, “Woe unto me if I do not preach the gospel,” I would not come on this platform again, for it is hard to feel that your garments are defiled even while endeavoring to be God’s mouth to men—Charles Spurgeon.
Friends, we cannot curry the favor of God. There’s not one thing we can do to earn “our spot.” Earn His Love for us. His forgiveness. Not-one-single-thing. Without God’s mercy and His election of us, take away His unfathomable love for us; our sins demand we spend eternity in the hell created for Satan and his gang of fallen angels, separated from God. As all those who deliberately chose to rebel against Him—deny Him, will. Not popular, I know. But it’s Truth nonetheless. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? —1 Peter 4:17. Now, with that knowledge ever before us, may we be about working out our salvation. Never forgetting the very heart of the words cried out by our brother, Paul.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death…? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! —Romans 7:24.
May this be our cry too, brothers and sisters. May we, like Joshua and Paul, and a remnant of the nation of Israel before us—like every saint that has been or is yet to come, never lose sight of how—by whose power it is, we either stand or fall; least we begin to think too highly of ourselves and risk being humbled by our Lord and, accused before His Throne by the one whose joy is found in pointing out our sins to Him.
My true position, as a Christian, is to be always ministering to God, always standing before His altar. –Charles Spurgeon.
Satan stood at the right hand of the Angel of the Lord accusing Joshua of every sin he and his people had committed. And Satan stands there still; pointing out our sins as well. Accusing all those who dare to believe in The Name above all names! Jesus!
But, here’s the good news beloved…
Jesus Christ has the final Word! He is always, “a very present help in times of trouble”—Psalm 46. There is nothing that Satan can say or do to tear you down before the Lord. We see this Truth not only within our Scripture verse today, but this same Truth permeates the Word of God. Jesus knows everything Satan will use in His attempt to destroy you—to kill you and, He’s got you covered. He’s covered your every sin with His precious Blood. You are now the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
When God spoke to Zechariah concerning the forgiveness of Joshua’s sin, the stain on the priesthood, and the sins of Israelites—you were right there in the center of God’s heart also; represented in the person of Joshua. You stood there before the Lord in all your sin, with all of your faults and flaws, and, you were covered by God’s intentions towards you. Your filthy clothes were also removed, and, in their place, the new raiment of Christ’s righteousness was placed on you. Covering your guilt and shame, you were cleansed and then redressed from head to toe!
Beloved, now when God looks at you, it is His Son—The Spotless Lamb slain for your sins, that He sees.
The rebuke is forcibly applicable to the case in hand. He says, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire.” Satan says, “The man’s garments are filthy…”
“Well,” says Jesus, “how do you expect them to be otherwise? When you pull a brand out of the fire, do you expect to find it milk-white or polished?” No, it had begun to crack and burn, and though you have plucked it out of the fire, it is in itself still black and charred. So it is with the child of God. What is he at his best? Till he is taken up to heaven, he is nothing, but a brand plucked out of the fire—Charles Spurgeon.
Can you even fathom so great a love, my friends? Whether or not we can wrap our heads around this, the Truth of God’s love stands fixed. Our firm foundation. God loves you and He gave His only begotten Son to die for you that you might be restored into right relationship with Him—John 3:16.
That is the very heart of the Father’s love towards you, beloved.
The Apostle Paul says it this way: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us so that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit —Galatians 3:13-15.
You have been snatched from the fire so that you might have a relationship with the Father…
That you might spend your remaining days running after Him. Seeking Him out. Loving Him and spending time with Him. Desiring Him above all else. Above everyone and everything—placing even yourself at the very top of that list of those, you are willing to sacrifice up to Jesus. Understanding now, you are no longer your own. You have been purchased at an exceedingly high price—1 Corinthians 7:23.
So, then, be re-minded beloved: Just as Joshua was lovingly and thoroughly cleansed and prepared, so too have you been cleansed. You too are being prepared for something unimaginable beloved; to become the bride of this Christ who came and gave His life in exchange for yours. That’s Good News! The very One who reached into that all-consuming fire and said, “Not this one. This one is my own.”
Accordingly, as it was with Joshua and Peter and Noah and Mary, with Paul and John and Father Abraham, brides each, made ready for their wedding day; so too has every detail of your life been, and will forever remain in the All-Knowing and capable hands of the Father. He has spared no expense on preparing you for that day that will rival no other.
The day you meet Him face to face…
That day when your fullness of joy spills out at His feet in loving gratitude. In praise and thanksgiving. In holy adoration.
Beloved, if you have forgotten, as we sometimes do, just how deeply you are loved and cherished by God, then please, ask the Holy Spirit to re-mind you. To fill you once again with the fullness of His Word concerning His great love for you. May you experience renewal, being re-united with the One it is you belong to; have been betrothed to.
The One in whose name you have been called to minister…
I believe each of us needs to stop, from time to time, and reflect on this enormous Truth. To recalibrate, realigning ourselves with our True North.
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end—Hebrews 3:12-14.
I like that closing sentence, “And the angel of the LORD stood by.” Oh, yes, we want Him always to stand by. When you have your new garments on, when you wear your mitre, you still want His presence. “Abide with us,” must be our daily prayer. We want still His strength, His comfort, His smile, the help of His arm, the light of His countenance—for if we have Him not, we shall soon slip from our steadfastness, and have reason to stand again, like Joshua, with filthy garments on—Charles Spurgeon.
Friend, if you are here today and have not asked Jesus into your heart know this; God Himself has called you here. These words should be little more than a confirmation. A quickening inside of you that says, “I believe this is God. I believe this is Him answering my question, God, would you truly love someone like me?” He says yes. Yes, I love you. Yes, I led you here. And no, there is nothing that you have ever done that is so filthy that my Sons Spotless Blood will not wash it clean. Just ask me in and let us begin the journey I have planned for you…
The Lord said to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Israelites, concerning you and me: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future—Jeremiah 29:11.
She was thirsty. Truth is, she had been thirsty for quite some time. Her thirst was so voracious that not one of her 5 husbands nor her current lover was able to fully sate it. Yet thirst isn’t what sent her out to fill her water jugs on this hot afternoon; shame had caused her to steal away towards Jacobs well in search of much-needed water….
Being thirsty will do that to you…
It caused her to venture out into the high heat of the noonday sun simply to avoid the pain caused by those whose eyes were filled with loathing. To shield herself from the incessant, not-so hushed conversations that were laden thick with toxic contempt. Conversations so loud and pernicious their acrid poison pierced her own thoughts. “Five husbands, the shame! Harlot! Do you see who she is living with now? Don’t even look at her! Wicked creature! Filthy dog.” Each word a confirmation, an echo of what her own heart accused her of during her hours of stark isolation. “Spoiled. I am forever spoiled. So dirty. Filthy. Good for nothing other than shame. No one of value will ever look at me again…”
Each acrid word a fist. And, blow after blow, the assault just kept coming…
She should be used to it by now. The years of feeling shame. Dodging and weaving and avoiding. Of isolating—and telling herself whatever she needed to hear at that moment so as not to lose her mind. And, now, after having endured the exacting heat of the noonday sun that she might avoid the words of those women whose not-so hushed conversations stung like bees, after carrying her pain and shame this long way, this burdensome weight of knowing just how far she had fallen, how barren and parched she truly was; she’d arrived, finally, at Jacob’s well as thirsty as she had ever been. Finally, she was alone—well almost. A man was just there; sitting on the edge of the well. Will I never escape the reach of these insistent, needy men?
I wonder what this one wants?
They all want something…
He had walked into what most Jews of His day considered enemy territory. You see, Jews did not socialize with Samaritans. It just wasn’t done. To give you an idea of the strict division that existed between these two factions, think of the rift that has existed, and exists still, between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Or, drink in the sheer hatred and rivalry that exists between the Crips and the Bloods, or between any other bitterly opposing faction you can think of. This will give you a glimpse into the climate that existed between the Jews and Samaritans…
The deep chasm that divided them dated back before the separation of the northern and southern Jewish Kingdoms. These Samaritan Jews had become renegades. Mere half breeds in the eyes of any self-respecting Jew! Worshipping Yahweh and all those other strange gods, idols of all sorts. Surely, they were not true Jews!—1 Kings 12; 2 Kings 17.
Hence, why no self-respecting Jew would be caught dead in a filthy Samaritan village! Yet Jesus intentionally walks right into the middle of the years of bitter animosity and rivalry. Cutting through, like a hot knife through butter, all their religious, cultural, and social barriers simply by lovingly affirming their worth. He does this specifically to offer this thirsty woman a drink that would forever change, not only her life but would radically impact all those who knew of her reputation as well.
That’s what the love of God does. It changes you from the inside out. And this same love had caused Jesus to come and sit at Jacobs well, waiting. To restore—wash clean, make new, enliven. To offer new life to, a new way. Turning the world as she had known it, upside down. He came to tear down the division, the isolation, and, all of her false misconceptions. To break down those burdensome laws that men had implemented. He came to fulfill instead, every Word that God has ever spoken. And so much more. During His ministry, Jesus hungered after every Word that His Father spoke. They were His daily Bread. They were who He was. They were Him. What sustained Him. He lived to do the will of the Father—to speak what He heard His Father saying. To bring the love of God to a lost and dying world.
A world that hungered and thirst after anything that would satisfy it, however briefly. Even if it was killing them…
And so He asks this woman standing at Jacobs well, this one who is hiding in plain sight, for a drink of water. Jesus knows that what He has come to offer her far exceeds any thing she might give to Him—even unto her very life. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” –John 4:23-26.
In being afforded the honor of listening to this seemingly unorthodox conversation, we walk away with the privilege of having witnessed the love of God on full display. His heart and intentions freely poured out in the person of Jesus Christ, for Jew and gentile alike. (John 4:7-30)
She thought this Jew who showed up in her Samaritan village wanted something from her. After all, why else would a Jew stop to rest at a Samaritan well unless they wanted something? Why would any self-respecting Jew, say nothing of a Rabbi, talk to a Samaritan woman? It was unheard of! Rabbis didn’t even talk to their wives or daughters in public, never mind a Samaritan woman! To this very day, if an orthodox Jew should marry a gentile, the family will most likely hold that son or daughter’s funeral. Leaving no room for interpretation—they are dead. Both to their family and to their community.
Hence one reason why it had not occurred to her that this Jesus, a Jew—the Messiah, would ever come to a lowly Samaritan village simply to talk with her. To give something to her—not take one more thing from her; as so many had. Yet, even though He had shared with her all He had come to offer, even though she clearly understood this was no ordinary Jewish man, no ordinary Rabbi; still she wasn’t able to see through the gossamer veil of His parable (4:13-15).
Our sins blind us to His Truth…
So Jesus takes a different tack, a more direct approach. He purposely uses His knowledge of her sins to remove the scales from her eyes that she might truly see Him. Grasp at last His true intentions in coming to her. And it works! (John 4:16-19). More, through this one thirsty woman’s stepping from death into life, an entire village that had only moments before slammed their doors in her face, now opened their hearts to her after hearing her repeat all that this Jesus had revealed to her. John’s account informs us that because of what she had told them about this Jesus—about all that He had told her concerning herself, most came willing to listen to all He had to share with them. And, they not only listened to Jesus, but they were also thirsty for more! And, so, they asked Him to stay on with them because their hearts had been opened to hearing more from Him. Just as hers had. (4:39-42).
Friend is it possible that you, much like this woman at the well, are at a place in your life that you believe Jesus would never enter in to? Would never cross whatever barrier needed to be crossed that He might find you? Do you believe your sins are too great? Have you, like our woman at the well, bought into those not-so-hushed conversations concerning your worth?
If any of this rings true for you know this:
Just as surely as Jesus tore down every obstacle that He might save this one woman—He will do the same thing for you. He already has…
You are not too dirty, to hooked on whatever your choice of drug or drink is. There is no number of men or women you have had sex with that prohibits Jesus from loving you. Straight, gay, bi, drunk, drugging, stealing, not even the taking of life will separate you and God.
Jesus did not expect this woman to clean up her act before He was willing to come and talk with her, reveal the Truth of who He is to her. He knew that once they had a real conversation—once her heart was genuinely open to hearing what He had to say to her, He would then begin to lead her into the life He had created her to live. More, she would joyfully follow after Him! Leaving behind all those sinful choices that had once separated them…
He knew she was thirsty. He also knew He was exactly what she needed that she might never thirst again…
How about you? Have you also been thirsty for a long while too? Are you willing to leave what you’ve relied on until now at the well? Drinking deeply instead of what it is Jesus has to offer— a new life in Him? …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 10:14-16.
If you hear Him speaking to your heart today please, stop and listen to all He has to tell you about yourself. Ask Him to sit awhile with you. To become your Lord and Savior. After all, He came all this way that you might….
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