# 68 Those Difficult Trips To the Well

# 68 Those Difficult Trips To the Well

Joh 4:6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. (noon)  7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. 10 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." 11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." 15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' 18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."

Coming to the well of Jacob at noon is a little odd. Most people drew water from the well at sunset, but this woman comes here during the heat of the day, at a time when she is not likely to bump into anyone. Can’t blame her. Coming at noon helps her to avoid the whispering attacks on her lifestyle. Wouldn’t it be great if she could just avoid the well completely?

If she had this “living water” that this Jew was talking about, she would never again be thirsty, and she would never again have to expose herself to public shame. She would never again have to come to the well of Jacob!

Coming to the well at noon was a constant reminder to this woman of the sin in her life. If Jesus would just give her this living water, she wouldn’t have to do this anymore.

But Jesus has a surprise for her and us as well. As He responds to the woman with a command! He says, “Go call your husband and come here.” He cut right to the quick. His charge to the Samaritan woman to bring her husband was nothing but a call to repentance. Repentance and living water go hand in hand. They are constant companions and necessary gifts from God. Jesus said in  Joh 16:8 that when the Holy Spirit comes He convicts people of their sin! "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned, ” and the surest proof that God is at work in a person’s life is when they say that and mean it!

Living Water, (the Holy Spirit,) brings forth repentance from the sin-polluted well of our hearts. It gets it out in the open where it can be dealt with through the blood of Jesus. Know this, when you ask God for the gift of Living Water, He will also bring along the gift of conviction and repentance.

If you have ever driven a point to strike a well, you will see the similarity here. A pipe with a sharp point is driven to a place where water is likely to be found. When it hits the water table, the water springs forth through the pipe. Conviction and repentance are like that point. God knows right where to drive it, and when it hits home, conviction of sin, pierces the heart, and brings forth godly sorrow over our sins, and it results in a gushing forth of forgiveness that springs forth to everlasting life.

Living Water brings repentance, and repentance brings confession, and confession brings forgiveness, and the clean slate of forgiveness removes guilt and shame and those difficult noon time trips to the well.

# 67 Ditch the Bucket and the Rope

Joh 4:10 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." 11 The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? 12 "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" 13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life

Jesus makes the offer of living water to the woman, but for the moment she is thinking in physical terms, and asks a very realistic question. Jesus has no bucket. He has no rope! This is a deep well, you can’t just lean down and scoop out water! “Where then do you get that living water?”

What an excellent illustration of grace! Living water available with no physical means of our own to obtain it That’s grace! Salvation with no physical means of obtaining it! All we can do is look to the Giver of the Living Water and receive it! This bucket of grace goes deep down into the well of your heart! It must, because that’s where grace must reach to turn on the valve so the living water can spring up into everlasting life!

Then the woman continues: “Are You greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well, and drank from it himself?”

Jacob represents the Law, his well was dug with hands, his source of water required human effort, but the water of grace, which Jesus brings is placed in the heart without human effort.

Jesus replies by asserting that His water of grace is indeed greater than Jacob’s water of works. Jacob’s water will never fully satisfy your thirst, you will always have to come back for more, but the living water of Jesus forever satisfies!

The problem with the Law, (Jacob’s water) is you never know when you have done enough for your salvation, so you forever thirst after good deeds and your heart is never at peace, never satisfied. The lives of those who seek to live under the Law are marked by a lack of joy and a frantic desperation. . In fact, many just give up and say, “Oh what’s the use,” and they live as if there were no God, because He seems so cruel and demanding to them.

But the water that Jesus offers is different! There is no more frustration about being “good enough” to get to heaven.  One who drinks of the living water of Jesus  already knows he can’t be good enough, and simply accepts the offer of forgiveness and righteousness in the finished work of Jesus. He becomes our righteousness instead of the Law, and the water that He gives becomes a fountain of water flowing from the deepest part of the heart and springing up into everlasting life. He will produce that which leads to eternal life, rather than us.

That my friend is pure grace, and it will give you the peace that passes all understanding. Let go of your bucket and your rope and let Jesus bring the living water to you!

# 66 THE Gift Long E

Joh 4:10 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."

The gift of God! I thought God gives us all sorts of gifts! What is Jesus talking about here, “The gift of God!” Is it salvation? Eph 2:8 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”

Is the gift Jesus Himself? Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The gift He speaks of here is the gift of living water. But what does He mean, “living water?” We don’t have to guess because in Joh 7:38,39 we are told what living water is! "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

This should not be a big surprise to us because this gift was prophesied in  Isa 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;

Peter further affirmed this gift of the Holy Spirit when he preached his first sermon on the Day of Pentecost! Ac 2:33 "Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear”

How vital is this gift? Why is it called “the gift?”  Because it is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that saving faith comes our way. Only the Holy Spirit causes us to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Messiah! 1Co 12:3 says, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”

Living water! The Holy Spirit! The gift!   Ask for living water today! Lu 11:13 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

# 65 You Would Ask Him

Joh 4:5 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

 10 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."

The Samaritan woman is puzzled by this Jew who asks her for a drink of water. Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. But Jesus doesn’t get bogged down in a discussion of the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans.  (Seems like we could learn from that in today’s world)

He has something to offer the woman far greater than a debate. She has already sensed something different about this man. There is an air of freedom about Him. (One aspect of the fragrance of Christ that we would do well to grasp) He is so secure in who He is that He can speak directly to a woman of ill repute, a Samaritan at that, and ask her for a drink of water!

Jesus avoids a direct answer to her question, but gives her the answer that will give her the same kind of freedom if she is willing to receive it. “Ma’m if you knew who you were talking to, and if you knew the gift of God, (new life in the Spirit) you would have immediately asked for that gift, and He would have given it to you!”

Isn’t that the truth!

As I look back on my own life, I get glimpses of how often Jesus was speaking to me and I didn’t realize it. If I would’ve known, really known, that it was the Son of God, that He was the One sent to die for my sins and the sins of the world, that He is the One now seated at the right hand of God the Father, I would’ve fallen on my knees and cried, “Lord, have mercy om me, a sinner!”

If I would’ve known the gift of God given through Jesus, I would’ve asked immediately, “ O Lord give me that gift, for it is worth far more than this life could ever offer! Never mind my false ideas about religion and salvation. Never mind my false sense of security in my own perceived goodness. Never mind the stale and stagnant waters of tradition and legalism. (The well of the Law of Jacob’s well) Lord, Christ, have mercy on me and give me the living water of Your grace!”

Friend, do you really know who has been talking to you through the Gospel? He speaks to you through His Word and your circumstances just as He did to the Samaritan woman. Ask God to remove the veil from your heart that you might know who it is that is speaking to you! You are engaged in a conversation with the One sent by the Father. The One who knows everything you have ever done, yet loves you so much that He still died for you. Knowing this, you will believe, and believing you will ask for the gift of God, and He will give you Living Water!

# 64 What Are We Here For

Joh 4:4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

I want to spend more time in the Concordia Self-Study commentary as we get their spin on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The commentary states:

“The love of Jesus which could be brusque with Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, here deals gently with the wayward woman of Samaria. Gradually and patiently, yet in just one conversation, He leads her to see in Him more than a tired, thirsty, and impertinent Jew. Even more than a mysteriously attesting personality who has a gift to give. More than a mere prophet who can tell her all her secret sins and point her beyond the competing claims of her faith and the Jewish faith. He points her to a new and true worship in which all men may join, a worship made possible and acceptable by the gift of the Spirit (The Living Water) and His revelation of the truth. He leads her to a dawning recognition of Him as the Christ whose coming resolves the religious riddles of the past. He makes her a believer and a witness and she enjoys a witness’s reward; Her fellow townsmen come to Jesus, prevail on Him to stay with them, and find in Him the Savior, who, though He asserts the primacy of the Jew in God’s counsels of salvation, excludes no one from salvation. He is the Savior of the world. For Jesus, this little bit of evangelization, done in transit was no little thing! He was doing the will of the Father who seeks worshipers and that was the food He lived on! The Savior of the world looks down the missionary road that leads through Samaria into the far corners of the world, and His joy is full!”

.”

What a great recap of His “needed trip through Samaria!”

Are you finding yourself grasping for a little more joy these days? Maybe it’s time to understand more fully your call to be a witness. God has called you and gifted you to be a part of His witnessing church!  Are you just playing at church? Are you hoarding the Living Water? Are your spiritual gifts being used in a body of believers to win the lost to Christ?

Wake up! Get involved with a local congregation! It’s time for the church to ask ourselves…..”What are we here for? What is our ultimate purpose?” (Hint, it’s not to hide fearfully under a bushel basket)

Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

# 63 Three Witnesses

Joh 4:4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

Jesus needed to go to Samaria. He had a divine appointment with a misinformed sinner who would soon become an informed evangelist! I like the recap of this encounter as told by me Concordia Self-Study Commentary. It says:

“Nicodemus, high-minded Pharisee, ruler and teacher of Israel; John the Baptist, witness, voice, friend of the Bridegroom, a shining lamp in Israel; and third, the woman of Samaria. These are an ill-sorted company, for she was alien to Jewry; No good Jew would set his lip to a Samaritan water jar.

“How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” (Jn 4:9)

She was walled in by sectarian pride and prejudice, “Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself?” (Jn 4:12)

She was hemmed in by a low horizon of physical desires and satisfactions, living with her sixth man. She had a past and present that she preferred not to discuss as she quickly changes the subject when Jesus brings the matter up.  With all this seemingly going against her, she joins the company of witnesses of which John was first.

If the story of Nicodemus shows that nothing less than faith will avail, her story makes it plain that nothing more than faith is needed.”

Let’s allow that last statement to sink in for a moment.  “Nothing less than faith will avail.” In other words, “Nicodemus, all our good works, self-righteousness, growing up in a good Christian home, church attendance, etc, will avail us nothing without a personal faith in Jesus Christ….yet (Samaritan woman,) “nothing more than faith is needed!” In other words it doesn’t matter about your past, your lack of good living, your lack of a good Christian upbringing, you too can be included in the kingdom by simply putting your faith in Christ. He will forgive your past and clean up your future.

Bottom line: Faith matters!

# 62 A Divine Mission

Joh 4:4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

There was a woman at a well who needed to know that divorce, adultery, and fornication are sins. A woman who needed to know that the “living water” that can wash away those sins was talking with her one on one! In short, a woman who needed to know Jesus! God’s timing is impeccable!

This woman was a Samaritan, and a brief history of Samaria seems fitting at this point. The Samaritans were a mix of people that ended up occupying the land which was formerly known as Israel’s northern kingdom. The details are found in 2 Kings 17:24-4, let me try and sum it up for you.

Some 700 years before Christ, the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom and as was their practice, they carried off the conquered people into captivity and then resettled the land with people of their own choosing.

They were men from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvath, and they were placed in various cities of the conquered northern kingdom. These people did not fear the One true God, so the Lord sent lions among them and killed some of them.

The Assyrians had this idea of localized or geographical gods, so the king had this plan to send in a Jewish priest to teach the new inhabitants the rituals of the “God” of the land. They didn’t know they were dealing with the God of every land!

The priest set up shop in Bethel and taught the people that they should fear the Lord. The people ended up with a mix of religions, fearing the Lord, but also serving carved images!

This is the country that Jesus “needed to go through!”  He had to straighten out a misguided people who had displaced the Jews of the northern kingdom. A people who claimed Jacob as their ancestor. (Jn 4:12) A people who claimed their Mt Gerezim as the only place to worship God (JN 4:20)  and yet a a people who believed a Messiah was coming, one who would tell them all things. (Jn 4:25)

Having displaced the Jews in the land, the Samaritans were hated by the Jews. Most Jews would rather walk around Samaria than through it because association with a Samaritan was viewed as uncleanness. But Jesus would not walk around Samaria. He “needed to go through it!” He had a divine appointment with a Samaritan woman with very loose morals and a distorted picture of God! A woman who, once saved, would go and tell others!

Jesus was on a divine mission seeking those who would worship Him in Spirit and in truth, (Jn 4:23)

Here He was, ever the Shepherd, seeking the lost. Ever seeking to make the unclean, clean. Perhaps He is seeking you today. He knows your uncleanness, and He has come to tell you, that your uncleanness can be washed away by living water that He brings. He desires to cleanse you and I from the inside out, washing away sins forever by His death on the cross, and promising you and I new resurrected life with Him as you trust in Him as your Lord and Savior.

Surrender to Him and know with the rest of the Samaritans, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Joh 4:42 Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

# 61 God's Timing In Your Life

Joh 4:1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

 4 But He needed to go through Samaria.

It’s timing. So much of the ministry of Jesus was about timing. He was always at the right place at the right time. He didn’t leave Judea out of fear of the Pharisees. He left because the time wasn’t right for the Pharisees carry out their plot to kill Him.

One of the puzzling things in Scripture is this matter of timing! How did Jesus know when the time was right? How did the disciples know when their time was right? How did the Apostle Paul know when it was time to flee a city and when it was time to be arrested?  How do we Christians today know when to hold up and when to fold up? How do we know when to flee and when to stand?

I have no pat answer for you in this regard. It boils down to trust. Will you trust God to act in your situation or not? A couple of Bible verses may be helpful for you in this regard.

First of all, clean up your act through confession and repentance. If you want to hear God, you’ve got to get within earshot!

Jas 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Next, declutter your mind, Shut the distractions of the world out of your mind and spend time in God’s Word, listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit!

 Isa 30:21 Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left.

Finally, begin your day with your soul lifted up to Him, (surrendered to Him)

 Ps 143:8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.

The mantra of all God’s servants has always been, “Here I am Lord, what is it that You would have me do!

God’s timing for your circumstances is coming your way. Draw near to Him, surrender to Him, and wait on Him! His track record of perfect timing is impeccable! We don’t need to know how we will know; we just need to trust that He will reveal our path to us as we do these things!

# 60 But Your Time Is Always Ready

Joh 4:1 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), 3 He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

What a strange parenthetical remark. Jesus made disciples through baptism, yet He didn’t actually do the physical baptizing. Why is this important to note? It’s important because, the physical act of baptism is always done by His disciples, His church, but the spiritual or supernatural work of baptism is done by Jesus. It’s the answer to the question Jesus posed in Lu 20:4 "The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?"

It’s done by men, but it gets its clout from Jesus!

But there’s more going on in this passage from John that is worth noting and it has to do with God’s perfect timing. Jesus and His disciples are making more disciples than John, and when Jesus is aware of the fact that the Pharisees are noting this, He decides to move on to Galilee.

Here’s the thing, when the Pharisees start watching you, trouble lies ahead. They were a jealous bunch and didn’t want these upstarts like John and Jesus ruining this good thing they had going with religion.

It’s not that Jesus was afraid of trouble, it’s just that the time for real trouble (according to God’s timeline) had not yet arrived. The Pharisees would desire to see this disciple maker done away with soon enough. In  Joh 7:1 we read, “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.”

Jesus opted to stay out of Judea because the time of His sacrificial death wasn’t right yet. His unbelieving brothers on the other hand urged Him to do the opposite. It’s like they were seeking to force the issue in order for themselves to be convinced that He was the Messiah. In Joh 7:3-6 we read, “His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 "For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him. 6 Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

Note our Lord’s reply to His unbelieving brothers:  “The time isn’t right for Me, but the time to believe in Me is always right and ready for you!”

Pilgrim heed these words! Your time is ALWAYS ready! It may be right now! You don’t need Jesus to show up in miraculous ways in your life. All you need to know was accomplished in God’s perfect timing when He gave His only Son to be crucified for your sins!

Jesus paid the price for your sins on the cross and God accepted the price when Jesus rose from the dead. This is history. It is the truth! Receive it! Believe it! Today is the day of your salvation! It’s always ready and available to you, just as it was for the brothers of Jesus! 2Co 6:2b says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

# 59 You'd Better Love the Son

Joh 3:35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

 36 "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

You better love the Son! The Father loves Him, you better love Him! The Father loves Him and trusts Him and has placed all things in His hands including your eternal destiny. It’s a matter of life and death! You need to love and trust the Son as the Father does! Ps 2:12 puts it this way: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

Verse 36 is very similar to what Jesus stated in verse 18: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Pretty scary thought isn’t it? Cast the Son aside and the wrath of God abides on you! But wait a minute, if the wrath of God abides on an unbeliever, how come the unbeliever so often seems to have everything going for him? The Psalmist often lamented this fact of life, Ps 94:3 says, “LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?” The last verse of that Psalm has the answer:  Ps 94:23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, And shall cut them off in their own wickedness; The LORD our God shall cut them off. (Ps 94:23)

To those who reject the Son, the unbelievers I say, enjoy your life now, because it is the only hint of good you will ever see because when the Son returns, all that is good will be taken away from you forever. You shall not see life, but the wrath of God will abide on you forever.

Now you enjoy the sunshine and the rain, “for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Mt 5:45b) but then all that is good will be permanently removed, and it will be swift and sudden.

Picture yourself sitting on the limb of a tree, the saw has already been put to the wood, and you and the weight of your sins are seeking to permanently separate you from the life-giving tree.

Suddenly, either through physical death or the return of Jesus, the saw cuts through and you will be permanently separated from the love of God!

But here’s the Good News, as long as you have breath in your body, you still have time to repent and come to saving faith in the Son! It’s called grace and it is being extended to you now! Receive it and live, refuse it and God sha

# 58 Not By Measure, The Fullness of the Spirit

Joh 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.

God the Father has sent His Son and the Son speaks the words of the Father. No words were held back! The fullness of the Holy Spirit was in the Son and all things were placed in the Son’s hands.

This “fullness of the Holy Spirit” is poured into those who receive the Son. The Holy Spirit comes with the package and God holds nothing back. Joh 1:16 reminds us: “And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

In verse 35 we see that that Father has given all things into the hands of His beloved Son Jesus, a truth reiterated by Jesus in  Mt 11:27 "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

And in  Joh 5:20,21, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. 21 "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

The unmeasured fullness of the Holy Spirit poured out on His church through Jesus. God the Father holding nothing back from His children, yet, why are we so weak spiritually? The problem is not with God, it is with us and our sinful flesh! We are so easily distracted from all that really matters!

God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit as we read in  Eph 5:18, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”

The problem isn’t wine, it’s dissipation! Wine is just an example of being dissipated. The word dissipation means squandering. Wine squanders your senses, but that’s not all that squanders in our lives. We fill our lives with things that really don’t matter and we put the Holy Spirit on the back burner if in the kitchen at all! Distracted by the allures and cares of this world we miss out on all that God has for us!

God doesn’t measure out His Holy Spirit, we have His fullness dwelling in us through faith, let us seek to eliminate those things in our lives which squander away our time and our affection, and rather tap into the fullness of the Spirit that dwells in us!

# 57 You're the Only Jesus Some Will Ever See

Joh 3:33 "He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

John continues his testimony concerning Jesus. The Holy Spirit spews out confirmation from John that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! God “sent” His only Son into the world to testify of the kingdom of heaven. To tell us and show us what He has seen and heard!

I am reminded of the priestly prayer of Jesus found in John 17:7,8, “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. 8 "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.

This is what Jesus did, He testified of the Father. Few received His testimony but those who did, certified that God is true.

This is an amazing statement concerning our witness as Christians! Jesus was sent to speak the words of God to us, and as many as received His words, receive the unmeasured Holy Spirit of God! This Holy Spirit then lives in us, works through us, and puts God, and heaven on display for the whole world to see!

Our actions, our lives, as a regenerated, “born again” believer in Jesus Christ ought to reflect the reality of the existence of God! We ought to be changed creatures, and that change should be cause to others to consider the reality of God and the veracity of His Word.

Of course God doesn’t need us to prove His existence, all of His creation testifies to His existence. Ps 19:1-3, says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.”

But we have been given the privilege of presenting the character of God to a dying world! It starts when we receive the Holy Spirit and ought to continue as long as we live. 2Co 3:18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The question begs to be asked, “How are you doing in this matter of reflecting God to the world?” Truth is, most are content to stop at the knowledge of their salvation and leave it be at that, but your neighbor needs to know Jesus. Your family members need to know Jesus. Let’s get at it people!

And the way you get at it, is to continually engage in God’s method of transformation found in  Ro 12:1,2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Get into the Word and let the Word get into you! Remember, you may be the only Jesus some will ever see! Your life should be lived in such a way that God is certified as the real deal!

This reminds me of an old Gordon Jensen song, “You’re the only Jesus!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJenByd9bcE

#56 Scripture Interprets Scripture

Joh 3:31 "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 "And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony

Have you noticed some of the things that John has been talking about here are just echoes of what Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus?

In verse 27 he said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.”  Jesus told Nicodemus in verse 5, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (being born again is a gift from heaven!)

In verse 31 John says: "He who comes from above is above all.´ Jesus told Nicodemus in verse 13, “"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” (Jesus has come from above!)

In verse 31b John says: “he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.”  Jesus told Nicodemus in verse 12, "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”(Jesus is above all!)

In verse 32 John says, “"And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.” Jesus told Nicodemus in verse 11, “We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.”(Jesus’ testimony is from the Father!)

Uncanny isn’t it? How could John know the very things that Jesus had spoken to Nicodemus? How could he pass along these same teachings to his disciples? The answer of course is that John  was being led by the same Holy Spirit. This repetition (as with all repetition in Scripture) puts extra wallop in his words as we see the convicting and confirming work of the Spirit in action.

This is the sound biblical principle of scripture interpreting scripture, and a reminder to us all that when things are repeated in scripture, they are important and worthy of extra attention.

In this case, it is vital that we understand that Jesus “came from above and is above all!” It is vital that we note that He testifies of the things He has “seen and heard from the Father.”

Jesus is above all! Bow to Him! Believe that He has a message for you directly from the Father. Hear it! Receive it! Obey it!

# 55 Let the Courting Begin!

Joh 3:28 "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' 29 "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 "He must increase, but I must decrease.

John was highly revered by the people and they have come to him with a concern about this Jesus. He is now baptizing and “all” are coming to Him rather than John!

John seeks to console them by jogging their memory a bit. He says, “Look, I’ve been telling you all along, I am not the Christ, I have been sent before Him.” Then he uses an illustration to help the people understand his role more clearly.

He likens the situation to a wedding. In this scenario, the bride is the church, (those who believe the message,) the bridegroom is Jesus, and John is the friend of the bridegroom.

John recognizes that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah (groom) and rejoices greatly, because the process of the long awaited marriage between the Lamb and His church is about to get started. Let the courting of Jesus to His church begin!

So much more could be said about the wedding customs of the day and the marriage of the Lamb to His church. 

In the arranged weddings in the Jewish culture, a price was agreed upon for the purchase of the bride. We know the purchase price was the blood of Jesus. Once paid, the groom would go off and prepare a house for he and the Mrs. When the house is complete, the groom returns to take his bride home.

This is where we are now in the timeline of the great wedding. Jesus is preparing a mansion for His bride, and we are waiting for His return. He said in Joh 14:3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

What a celebration that day will be when the Groom returns to claim His bride (You and I and all believers!) May we all wait for that day with joyous anticipation! “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Rev 19:9)

# 54 What Do You Have That You Did Not Receive From God?

Joh 3:27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

What a great statement of truth from John! Would that we would all receive it! It sure would strike a death blow to the mentality of entitlement. Why, the very breath we breathe is a gift from God, not to mention all the other gifts we receive from Him.

I like to look at cross-references in the margin of my Bible and thought it would be helpful to share some of them with you today concerning this statement from John.

Ro 12:5-8, Paul writes of the various gifts given to the body of Christ, and in v6 he says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us”

 According to what? According to grace, according to that which comes from above!

In 1 Cor 3:5, Paul writes: “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?” In other words, these weren’t Paul’s believers, or Apollos’ believers, they only believed through Paul and Apollos AS THE LORD GRANTED. As the Lord grants is another way of saying grace!

Even more to the point is  Jas 1:17,18a “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth,”

And finally, Peter, speaking about spiritual gifts in 1Pe 4:10 says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

There are more references concerning the gifts that come to us from above, but these were just the cross references in one of my Bibles!

This is liberating truth! It takes all the pressure off you and I to perform to earn gifts from God. Our part is to receive and then seek to be good stewards of what God has given us. There is no room for pride in such an arrangement. No room for competition, just humble obedience and total trust in God for the results.

After all what do you have that you did not receive from God?

#53 Baptism: A Breeding Ground For Dispute

Joh 3:22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified--behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" 27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

Jesus and His disciples are baptizing in one part of the land  and John is baptizing in another. It’s what Christians do….they go and baptize! Everything is going along just fine. John’s not in prison, people are coming to faith and getting baptized, but then a dispute arises between John and the Jews concerning the Jewish rite of purification.

The nature of the dispute is not revealed, but to this day, it seems that baptism has always been a breeding ground for man-made disputes. What a pity. Back in the day between the Testaments, there was a sect of the Jews called the Essenes. They placed great emphasis on ceremonial purification by water. Maybe they didn’t agree with John’s method. Maybe they didn’t agree with who should be doing the baptizing, or who should be baptized, Maybe they didn’t like the idea that you only needed to be baptized once.

Sounds like the same kind of arguments we hear today.

At any rate, their biggest concern seems to be that this “Jesus” and His disciples have also picked up on this “baptism” thing and every Tom, Dick, and Levi are now coming to Him to be baptized!

Let us all pay close attention to John’s reply because it is at the heart of the divisiveness the church has had with baptism through the ages.  John says, “"A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

Jesus reiterated the same truth when He challenged the religious leaders of the day with this question from  Lu 20:4 "The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men?"

Both John’s reply and the question of Jesus can be simply restated this way.  “Is baptism something God does for us or something we do for God?” The answer to that question will go a long way in settling baptism disputes.

If it’s something we do as men….then differences will arise, but if it’s something God does for us, it’s pure grace and well, let’s just stop our arguing about it and do what the Bible says. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Mt 28:18-20)

So, “Go, with the authority of Jesus!  Make disciples of all persons by baptizing them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then teach them all that Jesus has taught, confident that Jesus is with you in all three aspects of the Great Commission.