Give God Time
Prayer and Praise.
Jesus said, “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” Matthew 26:40, so we start our journey of giving God time to work in us, by praying this hymn… ‘Above All…’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_cxhf5ISeg
A Word in your ear
John 4: 1-14 The Samaritan Woman (Part 1) “Living Water”.
(Acknowledgements to the Complete Jewish Bible.)
4:1 When Yeshua (Jesus) learned that the P’rushim (Pharisees) had heard he was making and immersing more talmidim (disciples) than Yochanan (John) 2 (although it was not Yeshua (Jesus) himself who immersed but his talmidim [disciples] ), 3 Yeshua (Jesus) left Y’hudah (Judah) and set out again for the Galil (Galilee).
Jesus moved onto Samaria because the religious leaders were trying to create problems for John the Baptist, (see John 3:25). They used the number of baptisms by immersion of Jesus’ disciples to try to create friction which was their worldly way of thinking. But it didn’t work as John was happy to hear it as he had been pointing everyone towards Jesus anyway, which is where the famous saying comes from, ‘He must increase, and I must decrease.’
4 This meant that he had to pass through Shomron (Samaria).
Jews had been forbidden by religious leaders from going through Samaria as they were seen as traitors for marrying Gentiles during the exile. So Jews went 70 miles out of their way just so as to circum-navigate Samaria when traveling between Jerusalem and Galilee.
5 He came to a town in Shomron (Samaria) called Sh’khem (Sychar), near the field Ya‘akov (Jacob) had given to his son Yosef (Joseph).
Jesus was not going to avoid the Samaritans just to please the religious leaders. Jesus and His disciples arrived at the town’s water well.
6 Ya‘akov’s (Jacob’s) Well was there; so Yeshua, exhausted from his travel, sat down by the well; it was about noon.
Jesus was exhausted as He had become truly human.
7 A woman from Shomron (Samaria) came to draw some water; and Yeshua said to her,
“Give me a drink of water.”
Jesus was gasping for a drink of water – which shows us just how human He was.
8 (His talmidim [disciples] had gone into town to buy food.)
Whilst Jesus had fed 5,000 men plus women, He didn’t use His powers for Himself.
9 The woman from Shomron (Samaria) said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for water from me, a woman of Shomron? (Samaria?)” (For Jews don’t associate with people from Shomron.)
Because of the point made earlier, at v.4 above, the woman was very surprised that a Jew was even talking to her as Jews were to hate Samaritans – hence the parable of the ‘The Good Samaritan’.
10 Yeshua (Jesus) answered her, “If you knew God’s gift, that is, who it is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink of water,’ then you would have asked him; and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus answered at a deeper level immediately. Jesus was ‘incognito’. He was the Son of God who became human – in order to do a job.
11 She said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket, and the well is deep; so where do you get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Ya‘akov, are you? He gave us this well and drank from it, and so did his sons and his cattle.”
The woman simply didn’t understand and just reduced the conversation back to earthly things!
13 Yeshua (Jesus) answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never be thirsty again! On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!”
Summary.
Jesus didn’t blame her for her ignorance. He reverted the conversation back to higher things immediately. Jesus stuck to His point… that she would get thirsty again with this water but the water He gave would be a spring of water that constantly springs up inside forever and ever, giving life eternal, because it never stops…
Now finally Jesus had got her attention – which we look at next time.
Worship and Prayer.
“… He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray.” Matthew 14:23.
Jesus taught His disciples what we call ‘The Lord’s Prayer’; (Luke 11). Listen here to Albert Malotte’s ‘The Lord’s Prayer’.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever;- Amen.
Prayer Suggestions;-
- The world. (ie ‘For those in authority.’) Pray that western governments will not cave into MP’s introducing bills to make transgender teaching part of the school’s curriculum, as has started happening.
- The ‘suffering church.’ https://barnabasfund.org/nz/pray/daily-prayer/#previous-dates
- Your own situation. (Suggest ‘needs’ rather than ‘wants’.)
Today’s Verse… Who is Jesus? John 4:14 “On the contrary, the water I give him will become a spring of water inside him, welling up into eternal life!”
Today’s Challenge
The ‘Spring’ Jesus mentions in John 4:14 is the Holy Spirit.
Peter tells us that the Holy Spirit is available to all who repent and are immersed as believers… (Acts 2:38).
We just have to ask. Have you?… (John 16:24).
