"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters."
Psalm 23:1-3
Good day! Let's begin our study........
"Father, You alone are worthy of praise and worship. Teach us this day how to worship You. I seek the forgiveness of my sins because I know it is against You and only You that I have sinned.
I pray that You will speak to us through the reading of Your word and teach us new and wonderful things about Your Son and the Holy Spirit.
In Jesus' name........amen."
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Last May, I read a new book that came out titled, The God Delusion by a biologist named Richard Dawkins. He is a renown atheist who seeks to persuade people not to worship the God of the Bible or any god.
You may wonder why I would read such a book, well it is because I have spent some time arguing with atheists in the past and I am familiar with their arguments. I wanted to see if this man had come up with anything "new" since then.
He hasn't. His arguments against God are exactly the same arguments I have been hearing for years. It made me laugh, but also it made me sad because this author doesn't just not believe in God, but he actually HATES the God of the Bible......a God he has obviously never met.
In this book, he labels God as:
unjust
hateful
vindictive
malevolent
jealous
and misogynistic
For those of us who know God, we can see that this writer does not know God at all. For if he did know the God of the Bible, he would know that God is just, loving, merciful, gracious, forgiving, and above all, NOT misogynistic.
The story of the Woman at the Well is a story of redemption. It is the story of how Jesus chose to reveal Himself to one woman. He chose the place, time, and person. This story is also where Jesus reveals the Holy Spirit as the Living Water and Himself as Messiah.
And He did all this with a woman of ill repute. Doesn't sound very misogynistic, does it?
Let's begin our journey with Jesus...........
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John 4:1-3
"Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee."
We have here at the beginning of our story, the setting: Judea. In John 3, we learn that Jesus is teaching in Jerusalem about being "born of the Spirit" to Nicodemus. He also teaches that He is the light and about coming to the light so evil deeds can be exposed. John the Baptist is also exalting Christ far above himself. We finish the chapter with John saying:
"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
So, chapter 4 leads in with how the Pharisees, who thought their problems were over once John was dealt with...but here we see that Jesus and His disciples were also baptizing!
Jesus, therefore, decides to leave and head for Galilee.
Notice here that it is Jesus who makes disciples. Disciples of Christ are not born. We are transformed...we are made by Christ.
Please read:
Romans 12:2
This is why we do not allow Nathan to read the Harry Potter books. In those books, Harry Potter is told that he was "born" a wizard. That he had no choice in the matter....and therefore no consequences for his actions as a wizard.
We told Nathan early on that Christians are not born, but made by God. Transformed through His atonement only through faith alone.
In the Harry Potter books, both "good" characters and "evil" characters use withcraft (evil) to do their deeds without consequences or responsibility. One reviewer of the books, an economist, said that the economy of the Harry Potter books was way off. There seems to be no payment due for using magical means. Nothing is owed or taken away when the characters use their magic.....therefore, there is no personal responsibility involved.
To her, this was not a lesson she wanted to teach her children.
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"The success of the gospel exasperates its enemies." - Matthew Henry
The Samaritan woman will be used to spread the Gospel in Samaria and further exasperate the enemies of Jesus and His gospel.
John 4:4 "But He needed to go through Samaria."
Here is a map of the region. You can click on it to see where Jesus needs to go....
Samaria
At this time in history, Samaria was made up of mongrel Jews. They knew some of Jewish law but also mixed it with pagan practices to form their own religion. Many Jews did all they could to avoid entering into Samaria. But here we see that Jesus "needed to go through Samaria." in order to complete His journey.
Jesus had to do the will of His Father.
Please read:
John 5:30
Jesus, being God, could have parted the Jordan (again) and easily walked through it to avoid passing through Samaria. But He chose to enter into it. He did the will of God.
Please read:
Jonah 1:1-3
Did Jonah do the will of God?
Jonah 1:4-9
Did Jonah know God's character?
Jonah 1:10-16
Despite Jonah's disobedience. God still brought believers to Himself.
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Life Application
It is always in our best interest to obey God's word at all times. It is in our best interest to know the character of God. When He tells us to go, then we go and obey.
As Jesus did....we are to do.
Please read:
John 5:24
John 8:31
John 9:51
John 14:15
John 14:23-24
1 John 3:16
We were not left here without a word from our Creator. He has given us new life, but He also gave us His words. We are without excuse.
As we study here, we will begin to see just how Jesus meets a sinner, confronts her sin, reveals Himself to a sinner, then transforms her to use her for His glory.
Pray that Jesus will do this to you as well!
Until next time...........
"The Spirit-filled life is not based on emotions, although you are likely to feel various emotions as the Spirit works in you and through you to produce the character of Christ Jesus in your life and to replicate the ministry of Christ Jesus in your life and the world.
The Spirit-filled life is also not something that a person can study from afar. The Spirit-filled life is experienced. It is lived out by real people in real life facing real, and sometimes difficult, circumstances and situations.
The Spirit-filled life is marked by purpose, power, and effectiveness. It is not something that you do, but something that you are because of who is living and working inside you. God desires for each of His children to live a Spirit-filled life, and He expects you to be led by the Spirit on a daily basis."
-Charles Stanley
(Relying on the Holy Spirit, 1996, p. viii of Introduction)
Blessings,
Ruth
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