The Woman at the Well
Sarah Street · Tidal Church Moncton · August 13, 2023 · Twisted Scriptures series
Sarah Street looks at the woman at the well in John 4 and shows how Jesus offers living water, the Holy Spirit, to people who feel empty. She invites listeners into a close, daily relationship with God that overflows into serving others.
More from Sarah Street · The Twisted Scriptures series
Topics: Holy Spirit, Identity, Mission & Outreach
Transcript
[0:01] Good morning. Good morning. My husband and I got married when I was 22 years old. And up until that point, I had always lived at home with my parents, even in university. I went to nursing school in Moncton and I lived at home. So my husband Mark and I basically became adults together. And on this particular night, we're arriving home from our honeymoon and it's late at night and I'm like, filled with all this sort of like giddiness and rainbows and butterflies, and I'm just like happily anticipating what's surely gonna be my happily ever after. And that's sort of like my mind frame as we're coming in. It's late, just flew in, we've got our bags, we flip the lights on, I go to the washroom, I come out of the washroom and in the back of my mind I kind of hear this water running still.
[0:53] And I turn around and I see that the toilet has now filled and it's now overflowing out of the bowl. And so I do what I've always done up until this point. Normally I would yell, "Daddy!" and instead I'm like, "Mark!" And he runs into the bathroom and he is like, "Okay, turn off the water. I'll go check the basement." And he runs off. And me being the very mature 22 year old I am at this time, I'm too proud to tell my very new husband that I have no idea how to turn the water off on the toilet. And so I kind of just like approach the toilet and I'm like, "Okay." So I jiggle the handle and that doesn't work. And so I decided to take that heavy cover off the back of the toilet and I put it on the ground and it's disgusting in there.
[1:43] And there's this like chain, rusty chain. So I'm lifting it up and down and something's happening, but the water's still coming. And there's this like big black bulb that's slimy and I'm like squeezing it and that's not working. And all this while, this water continues to pour out of the toilet and this whole time Mark is in our very first home that we own in our very first night. And he's watching water now come through the basement ceiling and eventually he runs upstairs and he just rushes in and he turns this little handle that's in the back of the toilet, there's like this metal thing, and he turns it and the water just stops. And I'm like, "Huh, who knew?" And I turn to look at my new husband and he's looking at me with this face of like confusion, a little bit of disbelief, maybe a little bit of horror.
[2:41] And I'm standing here and I'm devastated. I'm so embarrassed. Like, here I was just with all these hopes and dreams of our blissful beginning of our lives together. And instead I'm like this adult who just got, I feel like a kid, not an adult. I feel like a kid that just gets smugged in the place with adulthood. And I, everything within me just wants to back up and be like, "You know what? I'm out. Like, obviously I'm not cut out for this. I don't have what it takes. I am out." And I don't know if you've had moments like that, moments when you just feel like you have nothing to give that situation. Like you're just not equipped for what you're facing.
[3:26] And I know I've certainly had many moments like this in my life, you know, moments that are much more serious than the one that I described. And these moments kind of make me feel like an empty cup, if you will. And the truth is we've all had empty cup moments. We've all had times in our lives where we just feel like we have nothing. Have you heard that saying that you can't pour from an empty cup? Like, you can't give what you don't have. And the truth is, we all have empty cup moments. And for some of us right now this morning, whether you're in person or online, you're in real valleys in your lives this morning. For some of you, you're here and it's financially like there's more leaving the bank account than there is coming in.
[4:15] And you don't know how you're gonna make it to the end of the month. Maybe you're here today and it's relationally like maybe you are experiencing marital breakdown right now. Maybe it's loneliness or really major hurts in the important relationships in your life. For you, it might be illness. Maybe illness is impacting your body and you're feeling scared and out of control. Or maybe it's impacting someone that you love and you're feeling scared and out of control. Or maybe for you today, you feel like you give and you give and you give. Maybe it's your kids, your work, your coworkers, your friends, and a lot of times you just feel like an empty cup, like you don't have enough to give. That has certainly been true in my life.
[5:02] And I can't think of a better example of someone in the Bible who's living an empty cup life than the woman at the well. And we're gonna look at John 4:4-6. And the Bible says that Jesus is passing through Samaria at this time. It's about noon. He's tired, He's thirsty, and He stops at this well. And in verses 7-10, it says, "When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give a drink?' His disciples had gone into town to buy food. And the Samaritan woman said to Him, 'You are a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a drink, for Jews do not associate with Samaritans?'" And there are a few characteristics here that point to the fact that this person probably didn't have a lot to give. And the first thing right off the bat, she's a woman.
[5:55] And at that time she had no rights. She had no ability to earn an income. She's completely dependent on a man for her very survival. And most men, especially a single man, would never be caught at that time talking alone with a woman for fear of their reputation. And you see that in verse 27. It says, "The disciples returned and they were surprised to see Jesus talking with a woman." So right off the bat, this person's a woman. Secondly, she's a Samaritan. You see, Jesus is a Jew and Jewish people didn't associate with Samaritans. There's this huge divide between these people groups and you see that in verse 9 that we just read.
[6:41] Jesus comes to her and asks her for a drink and she responds, "You are a Jew. I am a Samaritan woman. How can You ask me for a drink?" So this person is a woman, she's a Samaritan. And thirdly, she's broken. In verses 16-18, we learned that this woman has had five husbands, and the man that she's with now isn't even her husband. I can only imagine the pain that this person has gone through just for the sin and brokenness that resulted in broken marriage after broken marriage, after broken marriage. Like, how is she feeling at this time in her life? And finally, in all likelihood, this woman was an outcast.
[7:26] And we can assume that because we see her approaching the well by herself at noon. And at that time women had to, like, travel distance to the well. And oftentimes they would go in the cool of the morning and there'd often be large groups of women heading to the well at the same time. So the fact that she's enduring the heat of the day at noontime and she's by herself suggests that she's likely trying to avoid the people of her village. And maybe that's because of her reputation. So she's a woman, she's a Samaritan, she's broken and she's an outcast. So you can see this person really is at the lowest of lows. If I'm having a bad day, her days are probably worse. And so Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. As we read earlier, she responds questioning Him, "How can a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink?"
[8:18] And Jesus responds like this in verse 10. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would've asked Him and He would've given you living water." "Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw with, and this well is deep. Where can You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as also did his sons and livestock?" And Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give will become like a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
[9:07] I think it's important for us to understand the historical context of this story. So up until this point in the Old Testament, we see God using specific people in the Bible. Like Noah, He tells directly how to build the ark. Moses, you know, God shows Himself through the burning bush. We have Daniel in the lion's den, David and Goliath. We see story after story of God using certain people, and more specifically, He uses this group of people, the Israelites, to reveal Himself to the world. And you don't have to read long through the Old Testament to realize that it is a really dark time in the world, like Jesus hasn't come yet. And this is full of awfulness.
[9:55] There is, however, one specific place in the Old Testament where you can find God's presence. And the Holy of Holies is one of the most sacred places in all of Judaism. You see, God first gave Moses instructions on how to build this tabernacle and they travel with it, and He tells them how to construct it in the middle of their camp so that God could be with the Israelites as they travel to Israel. And then later God gives King Solomon instructions on how to construct this more permanent temple in the city of Jerusalem. And within this temple there's a sacred room, the Holy of Holies. And in it, the ark of the covenant is there, and that is where God's presence was. And this Holy of Holies was meant so that God could be present on earth without harming people with all His power and His glory.
[10:47] And at the time of this story, the second temple of Herod, there's some pictures there, was being built in Jerusalem. It took 46 years to build. What is this massive structure with gated retaining walls and the Holy of Holies? You can see there, it's in the middle, and only the high priest can enter this room, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. It's a sacred Jewish holiday. And only after he's gone through a series of very intense steps of preparation can he enter this room. And the Bible says there's a temple curtain, which is a barrier between the holy place and the rest of the temple. In Exodus 26:30 it says that the temple curtain was woven of blue, purple and scarlet thread and fine woven linen.
[11:37] It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherub. So you can see there's this like physical barrier that's keeping people from God's presence. So when Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in verse 10, if you knew the gift of God, this woman, especially a Samaritan, she probably knew the stories of God in the Old Testament. She probably knew of God, but she didn't know God. And obviously the way that the scripture's written, she had no idea of any gift from God that would be for her. So here we have this completely empty woman, an empty cup if you will.
[12:24] She's got nothing to give, and she's standing in the presence of Jesus Christ, Son of God. And you see Him speak into her life in a really powerful way. And guess what? Her experience of encountering Jesus is completely life changing. I love how the New Living Translation says in verse 28. The woman left her jar beside the well and ran back to her village telling everyone, come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could He be the Messiah? This woman who's an outcast, who's purposely enduring the heat of the day to avoid the people of her village, this woman who has carried this jar all the way to the well experiences God.
[13:15] And suddenly things that are important are no longer important. She's dropping the jar and she's heading back to the village towards the people that likely have judged her. And the Bible says she ran back. You get this sense of sort of urgency or excitement. She's running back to tell everyone. She's not considering or analyzing what she just went through. She has experienced something that has changed her, and she's naturally running and telling everyone, come and see. It's incredible. And the theme we have going right now is Twisted Scriptures. And this is how this particular scripture's been twisted for me in the past. My daughter's 10 years old and she's just starting to have her own faith and she's learning about God. And one night after I put her brothers to bed, I went in her room and she was doing her devotions or spending time with God, and she told me that she really wasn't sure how to go about doing it.
[14:17] So she decided to write all of her sins on a piece of paper. And she got halfway through the piece of paper, and then it kind of dawned on her, she's like, why am I doing this? God forgave me for this. So she crumpled it up and then went on to read her Bible and pray. And it really struck me, like, here you have a young girl and she's yearning to experience God. She wants to have a faith and a relationship. And her first human instinct was to dwell on her sin. And I have also struggled a lot in my faith with a temptation to hold on to my own brokenness and my own sin and my own shame. I've worn it around. Sometimes I've even considered it humility.
[15:06] And I've read this story of the Samaritan woman at that well and how this woman had five husbands and now she's onto the sixth. And my reaction has been like, wow, I'm so glad that Jesus came to save her, but do you see how my focus is on her sin and shame, just like my focus has been on my own sin and shame? Do you know that old saying, I'm just a sinner saved by grace? It's an old saying that I've heard a lot, and I understand the heart behind it. I do. But when the story reads sinner, salvation, evangelism, heaven, which are all really important parts of the story, don't get me wrong, but we're actually missing a really important part of the story.
[15:56] And I've read this story so many times just that way, completely missing one of the main points. And please hear me out. I am not minimizing the fact that God sent His one and only Son Jesus on this earth to die for our sins and secure our eternal salvation. That is one of the most treasured things in my life. But you see, we have been sinners, we were sinners, we have been saved by grace. But there's this huge part of the story of our life here on earth. God has called us to be so much more in this life. In Colossians 3:12, Paul writes to the people of Colossae and he says, therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, I'm gonna say it again, it's so good. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved.
[17:02] You see, this Samaritan woman was chosen by Jesus. He knew exactly who she was. In verse 15, the woman said to Him, sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water. And He told her, go call your husband and come back. I have no husband, she replied. And Jesus said to her, you are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you've had five husbands, and the man you have now is not your husband. What you have said is quite true, sir. The woman said, I can see that You are a prophet. You see, when she approached the well, God knew exactly who she was. He knew she was a woman, He knew that she was a Samaritan, He knew she was broken, He knew she was an outcast. Yet, Jesus chose to come to her.
[17:54] She was chosen, made holy and dearly loved, and Jesus chose this Samaritan woman to reveal living water. You see, this living water is the missing part of the story, and it's completely life changing. But before we dive in, I'm a nurse by trade, and I just have always been fascinated with how the body works and human, just the science behind human biology. And it's really incredible to me just how important water is to our existence. We need at least eight glasses of water a day, and it's estimated that about 75% of us here today are at least mildly dehydrated.
[18:39] I mean, how many of us can say, I consistently drink at least eight glasses of water a day? We got a couple hands, so I'm good on you. And even mild dehydration can have impacts on the functionality of our organs, cognitive ability and mood. Dehydration can cause constipation, fatigue, mood swings, dizziness, concentration difficulties, muscle cramps, dry skin, headaches, weakness, loss of stamina, blood pressure changes, kidney function. And I could go on. I sound like an infomercial for a drug company, but water is so important, and if you're still not sure, ask someone like the Samaritan woman, or someone today who's traveling long distances in the heat to get to clean drinking water. Water is vital to our human existence on this earth.
[19:29] And likewise, living water is vital to our spiritual existence on this earth. So what exactly is this living water? If we go back and take a closer look at verse 10, He tells us, Samaritan woman, if you knew the gift of God and the one who asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water. There's three things here. We have God who has this gift for us. We have Jesus, the one who it is you ask for a drink, and then we have living water, which is the Holy Spirit. You see, this is a beautiful description of the Trinity. In case you didn't realize, Christians believe that the Trinity is God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that they're all separate, yet they're all the same. It's this beautiful complex idea, but one that's important to understand, that we recognize that one isn't more important than the other.
[20:31] The Holy Spirit isn't more or less than God, but rather a way that God connects with us today. And Jesus talks about this living water again later on, and He confirms it's the Holy Spirit in John 7:37 and He's speaking to a large crowd and He says, let anyone who's thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scriptures have said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. And by this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. If Jesus is being vague before with the Samaritan woman, it's very clear in Scripture now that this living water is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is a gift from God.
[21:26] In Luke 11:13, Jesus said, if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? You see, it's this living water is a beautiful gift from a loving heavenly Father. We have this great God who loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. John 3:16, but also He's left us this gift of the Holy Spirit in John 17: 7. Jesus said, but I tell you the truth. This is Jesus.
[22:11] It's to your advantage that I go away, for if I don't go away, the Helper, or the Holy Spirit, will not come to you, but if I go away, I will send Him to you. You see, Jesus died for our salvation, but also because of His death, Jesus paves a way for the Spirit of God to no longer reside in the temple, but to reside in the hearts and the lives of anyone who asks. Amen. Amen. Matthew 27:50 says Jesus is on the cross and He shouts out once again and He releases His spirit. And at that moment, the curtain in the sanctuary of that temple, that physical barrier, is torn in two.
[23:03] It is this beautiful symbol of the barrier that's keeping the average person from the presence of God. Jesus came and He died and it was broken because God desires relationship with you. I've known God since I can remember, and I asked Jesus into my life at the age of four after a Sunday school lesson in this very church, and I've had what I would consider a relationship with God for a very long time, but for a long part of my life, I was often just feeling like an empty cup. Don't get me wrong, I would have filling moments, I would have encounters with God. It may be like a sermon that was really convicting or a really awesome worship service.
[23:56] You know, a lot of my filling moments happened in this very church, but a large part of my life I would have this, like, awesome encounter with God and then a long period of time would pass. And in that time I would give and sort of give and give and give of myself, you know, to my work, to my family, to my friends, just to feel like an empty cup again. In fact, a lot of times I'd leave Sunday morning and I'm feeling good. That was a great service. I'm ready to hit the week. Let's go. And then I give and I give and I give. And then I just come crawling back the next Sunday morning just desperate to have a word from the Lord again. And there's a very big difference between living your life from one spiritual filling experience to another and having a consistent, deep, meaningful personal relationship with the Almighty God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[24:57] I'm talking a personal relationship between you and God. I'm talking about a direct connection to Him. I'm talking about a direct filling, you and Him. What was once only available to the high priest, only once a year after a series of intense steps of preparation, that is now available to you and I at any point in time. And I can't articulate well just how amazing life in the Spirit is, but Jesus does a good job at it. In verse 11, the Samaritan woman asks Jesus, where can you get this living water? And in verse 13, He answers, everyone who drinks this water, the water in the well, will be thirsty again.
[25:53] But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give them will become like a spring of, well, water welling up to eternal life. In John 7:37, let anyone who's thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow out from within them. You see, everyone has empty cup moments and the world has a lot of suggestions on how to fill your cup. I mean, I hear self-care a lot. Like, girl, you need some self-care, Netflix and chill, that'll fill you up.
[26:39] There's worldly pleasures, there's sinful things in this world. Putting yourself first, you only live once. The world has a lot of suggestions, and sure, maybe those things make you feel full for a moment, but let me tell you what the world offers. You will quickly fade away. They are not long-lasting and they will leave you feeling thirsty, sometimes even more thirsty at the end. Living water, life in relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. Forget being an empty cup. Forget having the spiritual experience just to pour yourself out again, just to have that happen again.
[27:25] I'm talking about rivers of living water flowing out from within. Forget about feeling thirsty again. Rivers of living water are always bad in the bathroom. Amen. But rivers of living water are life-giving. When it's the Spirit of God filling your cup up so much that you are so full of God, it's overflowing. And suddenly I find myself like the Samaritan woman, things that were once important are no longer important. I'm dropping everything and naturally wanting to come and tell you, come and see, loving people serving the church, caring for our neighbors, ministry.
[28:20] It's no longer exhausting, like I'm just giving the last little bit that I have left with the Spirit. It's like God is filling me so full of His presence that it's naturally there is excess, there's actually extra and it's naturally pouring out to those who are around me. This is the living water that God is offering you right now. And it's completely life-changing. So how do we drink this living water? Like, come on, Sarah, this sounds great, but give it to me practical. How do I have this living water? I'm glad you asked. In Acts 2:38, it says, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[29:14] So first, you need to admit that you are a sinner, that you've messed up and you need to accept the forgiveness of God. Repent and be baptized, and then this gift of the Holy Spirit will be given to you. And after that, there's a few practical ways that I think we can be in relationship with the Holy Spirit. First one, right off the bat, is submission. Jesus actually talks about the Holy Spirit in John 14:15-17 when He says, if you love Me, obey My commandments, and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He is also the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. If you love Me, keep My commandments.
[30:00] See, we have to submit our lives and be willing to obey God as He leads, knowing that He is a loving heavenly Father who only wants what's best for us. What the world views as religious rules or obligations is actually freedom in Christ. Just like a loving parent would tell their child, don't eat that whole chocolate cake for supper. Your stomach's gonna hurt. God has given us a set of commands as a loving heavenly Father to protect us from the pain of the world. Romans 8:10, but if Christ is in you, even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.
[30:48] There is freedom and there is a life in submitting and following God. Secondly, there's worship. And Jesus actually talks to the Samaritan woman about worship later on in verse 23, yet a time is coming, He tells the Samaritan woman, and has now come, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. I love Psalm 22, 3, God inhabits the praises of his people and playing worship music in your car, in your home, on your phone. It's such a practical way just to invite the Holy Spirit into your situation. But also there's having this heart of worship.
[31:36] There's having this spirit of looking for God throughout your day, looking for his blessing, looking for his faithfulness, and thanking him throughout your day. This heart of just worship and thanksgiving. It's part of drinking living water and being in relationship with Him. Thirdly, there's prayer, and I know you feel like you just got tricked. These all just sound like religious practices, but actually these are gifts from God, like I explained earlier. Instead of viewing prayer as a religious chore that you have to get done at the end of the day or maybe bless your meal, view prayer as this incredible gift and privilege to speak with the Almighty God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[32:25] Just like a friend, God is my very best friend, and I no longer say prayers at a designated time because I know it's good for me. I'm talking to God all throughout my day constantly. He's the first thing in my mind. I'm inviting Him into the situations I'm encountering as I'm encountering it. God is our very best friend, and in John 14:15 it says, "If you love me, obey my commands. I'll ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He's also the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth.
[33:11] The world cannot receive Him because it's not looking for Him and it doesn't recognize Him, but you know Him because He lives with you now and later will be in you." You have God throughout your day, invite Him into everything. 1 Peter 5:7, cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you. Fourthly, we have truth or the word of God. And one of the coolest things of living water and living life with the Holy Spirit is that God actually wants to speak back into your life. He wants to speak into the situation that you're in right now.
[33:57] I don't have all the answers, but He does. And God speaks to us through so many different ways, but He does it through the Bible. If we look back in John 14:15, "If you love me, obey my commands. I'll ask the Father, and He'll give you an advocate who will never leave you. He's the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth." In verse 26, "But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." You see, God wants to lead you like a loving heavenly Father, and He does this through the Bible.
[34:48] And perhaps don't open the Bible trying to get that designated amount of chapters in because you know you should, not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but I would challenge you to open the Bible in awe and reverence, knowing that this is the active and living word of God. He wants to use this to speak into the situation that you are in right now. God wants to lead you into all truth. Praise Him. Absolutely. What is He trying to say to you today? Open up and find out. I would challenge you.
[35:35] He also uses sermons and devotionals and music and nature. There's many ways that God can speak back into our lives, but it will always be in truth, in alignment with the word of God. He wants to lead you into all truth. And finally, life in the Spirit is full of fruit. But I really wanna tell you what life in the Spirit is not. Life in the Spirit. Living in relationship with God is not a perfect life. And sometimes I think we can believe this trap that if I live my life for God, He's gonna protect me from all harm and He is just gonna bless me beyond measure, and I'm just gonna have this ooey, gooey, sort of Instagramy type of life, these shiny Christians.
[36:27] And that is not true. In fact, in John 16:33, God promises the opposite. "In this world, you will have trouble." He tells us, "But take heart, I have overcome the world." And in the beginning of that verse, He says, "I tell you these things because in me, you may have peace." You see, you are going to have struggle, you're gonna have hurts, you're gonna have illness, you're gonna have grief, mental health challenges, traumas and loss. As long as we live in this broken world, we will encounter its brokenness, but life in the Spirit produces fruit that doesn't make sense given our circumstance.
[37:21] Romans 5:5 says, "We know how dearly God loves us because He's given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with love." "I tell you these things because in me, you may have peace." And the fruit of the Spirit is Galatians 5:22. The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are so much better than anything the world could offer us as a temporary pleasure. These are gifts that will leave you never thirsty again. And the worship team's here and later we're gonna sing and the prayer team's gonna come.
[38:06] And you might be here this morning or you might be listening online and you have no idea what I'm talking about. Maybe you've heard stories of God like the Samaritan woman, but you don't know God. You don't know anything about a gift for you personally. But just like the Samaritan woman, it is no accident that you are here or you are listening online. You see, just like Jesus knew exactly who the Samaritan was that morning as she approached the well, He knows exactly who you are today. And just like the Samaritan woman, Jesus chooses you. You are chosen, and you can be made holy today. And you are dearly loved.
[38:59] You might be broken, you might be an outcast. You might be a completely empty cup with nothing to give, but before you've done one thing to change your situation or one thing to clean up your act, God chooses you just as you are. You are chosen, made holy and dearly loved. All you have to do is admit that you're broken. And I would invite you, if your spirit is stirring this morning, to say this prayer if you're at home, or come forward and pray with someone on our team, if that's you this morning, and just admit, I'm broken. I've messed up, and I accept the forgiveness and love of God, and the gift of the Holy Spirit is waiting for you.
[39:46] God's presence is available to anyone. This isn't for the high priest, this isn't for the pastors, this isn't for the leaders of the church or the people who look like they've got it all together. This is for the broken. This is for the outcast. This is for the old, and this is for the young kids. This is for every nation and every tongue. God's gift is for you today, and you just have to come. Maybe you're here this morning and like me, you know God, you love God. But for a long time you've been doing it on your own strength. Things like prayer and church and reading the Bible, spending time with the Lord, worship.
[40:33] They've all seemed like religious chores that you're just struggling to get done. Maybe you're here this morning and you've had encounters with the Holy Spirit. You've experienced God for yourself, but so often you've gone from encounter to encounter like an empty cup. If you feel God speaking to you, pray as we sing. Invite Him into relationship. God desires to have relationship with you. He wants to work in your life directly and consistently. He wants you to talk to Him all day long. He wants to speak back in your life. And just like the Samaritan woman was telling her community, come and see. I'm here saying come and see God the Father and God the friend.
[41:20] Maybe you're here this morning and like the Samaritan woman arrived that day carrying a jar. Maybe you came this morning and you were carrying something. Maybe it's sin that you just don't wanna quite let go of. Maybe it's unforgiveness. Maybe it's bitterness. Maybe it's busyness. I don't have time for that. Are you carrying busyness this morning? Maybe it's mixed up priorities like, yeah, God's great, but there are things that are a lot greater, and this jar is one of them. If you came in, if God is speaking into your heart right now and He's showing you something in your life that you are carrying that's keeping you from relationship with God, I would invite you as we sing to pray and give that to God.
[42:16] Verse 20:28 says, the woman left her jar beside the well. She dropped what she was carrying at the feet of Jesus. And maybe this morning you need to come forward and pray and drop whatever it is you're carrying at the feet of Jesus so that you can experience open arm submission freedom in Christ so that you are free to run. Maybe you're here and you need a whole perspective change this morning. Did you know that the woman at the well was the first person that Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah? Two, in the book of John, this Samaritan woman, sinner, outcast, she was actually chosen by God, and many believed that she was the first evangelist that there was in verse 29. Many of the Samaritans from the town believed in Him because of this woman's testimony. Despite her social status, her local reputation, her means, this woman was chosen to make a huge impact in her community.
[43:30] What is God calling you to today? Who in your circle does God want you to love? What ministries in this church or this city does God want you to be a part of? How does He wanna use you to make a difference in this world, but not in your own strength? You could try to do it on your own, but trust me, you will feel like an empty cup. God wants to work in you. He wants to work through you. He wants to fill you up so completely with His presence that it is naturally outpouring to people in our community. Ministry becomes exciting and natural and wonderful, and it's all in His power. It's all for His glory.
[44:25] I'm gonna end with this. What would it be like if every single person here this morning knew God in a deep, intimate, and personal way? What would our church be like? What would the ministries here be like if we all had a direct connection, a direct outpouring into our life? What would our city be like? What if we all lived exactly the slogan that we've said Sunday after Sunday to close our service for many years? God's love in us, so deep and all-consuming in us, like rivers of living water that is completely filling us and the access is to the world.
[45:26] Because love changes everything. Let's sing.