# 69 One of the Elephants In the Room

Joh 4:16 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." 19 The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 "Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Perhaps you’ve heard the comment, “There’s an elephant in the room.” It is used to describe a problem that people pretend isn’t there. Truth be known, there’s a whole herd of elephants in the room of the modern-day church, but the one we’ll talk about today is one of the more prominent ones.

Jesus has just promised this woman, “living water,” for the asking. She asked, but the water is not forthcoming. Instead, Jesus asks her to “bring her husband” to Him. You see, there was this little matter of repentance that needed to be taken care of first, without it, the flow of living water would be blocked.

The woman, when confronted with the matter admits to Jesus that she doesn’t have a husband, but obviously doesn’t want to talk about it as she seeks to move on to another subject ignoring the elephant in the room of her life called fornication and adultery.

Jesus compliments her on her honesty, but then lets her know that partial truth doesn’t cut it with God. God is seeking those who worship Him in spirit and in truth, and the truth here is that the woman has had five husbands and the one she is living with right now is not her husband! Boom! Jesus goes right to the heart. She is a fornicator.  He knows every detail of this woman’s life and He knows every detail of mine and yours.

If you were to meet Jesus at the well right now, and he would ask you to bring your spouse to Him, what would YOU say? What would you say if you were living with someone, sleeping with someone whom you were not married to?

1Co 6:9 ,10 says, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

This is serious stuff that Jesus brought up at the well!

But look at the next verse in Corinthians! “11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit (Living Water)  of our God.”

It doesn’t have to be like this! Living Water and fornication don’t mix. Living Water cleanses, fornication defiles. Mt 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 "These are the things which defile a man,”

These are the things which impede the flow of Living Water from the heart, and they needed to be taken care of in the life of the woman at the well, and in many cases, need to be taken care of in the church today. They are “elephants in the room that need to be addressed, and they are addressed through confession, repentance, and a forsaking!

I wonder what the woman at the well did in regards to her living situation with her boyfriend after she met Jesus. Do you think she just continued status quo, or do you think she addressed the situation and took corrective measures? Do you think she opted for worshiping in truth or continue in living the lie?

She was caught in the same sin that the woman caught in the act of adultery was caught in. Remember what Jesus told her? “I do not condemn you, go and sin no more!”  It’s not easy chasing this elephant out of the room, but Jesus will help you through all the obstacles. Let Him help you and let the unrestricted flow of living water begin in your life today!