Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The Living Water: Lesson Nineteen

"Husbands love your wives,

just as Christ also loved the church

and gave Himself up for her,
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water

by the word..."


Ephesians 5:25-26




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Let's pray...........




"Father, we have studied here about how You use Your word to cleanse us and purify us. I praise You for giving us a way to be in Your presence. Without You we are nothing. Thank You for showing us how to please You.




I seek forgiveness of sins today as I know that my thoughts and my words have not always pleased You this day. I know that it is against You that I have sinned. I pray, Lord, that You will wash me with Your water and cleanse me with Your word.




I pray for each lady reading this study that You will wash her with Your word and sanctify her for Your good works. Bless her with every spiritual blessing and renew a steadfast spirit within her.




in Jesus' name......amen."




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John 4:25




"The woman said to Him, 'I know Messiah is coming' (who is called the Christ). 'When He comes, He will tell us all things.'"




Messiah




In this encounter with the woman at the well, we read how the woman was stirred up by the Holy Spirit to speak about the coming of the Messiah...the Christ (in Greek).




In her pagan religion, she was told about the coming of the Messiah, the Annointed One, who would bring life to the believers.




In this conversation with the Lord, we see that she has been made to think about the Messiah to come. Something in this "visitor" before her has stirred up these beliefs. Jesus had confronted her sin, spoke to her about true worship of the One True God....and now she is thinking about the Christ she was told of in the past.


Please read:


Matt 16:13-17


In this conversation with His disciples, the Lord asks them who they say that He is....and Peter, stirred by the Holy Spirit, names Him "the Christ".


Contrast this conversation with the one Jesus had with the rich young ruler:

Luke 18:18-23

Here Jesus questions the rich young ruler about what is good...and only God is good. Jesus challenges the young man's sincerity and flattery by suggesting that he doesn't know what is good unless he knows Jesus as God.



Next, the Lord convicts the young man by listing the commandments. Instead of being stirred by the Holy Spirit, the young man is confident in himself and fails the Lord's test to sell all he has and give it to the poor. Then the Lord asks him to follow Him and be one of His disciples.


Did the rich young ruler recognize the voice of his Shepherd?


"But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich."


When he heard the words of the Lord, he remained unchanged and uncalled. He did not know his shepherd's voice....he did not follow.



The Samaritan woman has the faith of a believer in the coming of the Messiah, but, as Jesus pointed out, she does not know who the Messiah truly is. Yet her faith has brought her to this point. Jesus is close to changing her life forever.

She hears the voice of her Shepherd....will she be changed? We'll soon see.........



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Life Application


"When He comes, He will tell us all things....."


How many of us are really praying for the Lord to come and come quickly?? How many of us can hardly wait to see His face?


I once heard a Christian woman exclaim that she did not want the Lord to come yet because her son was only 5 and she wanted to have grandchildren.


This was obviously spoken by a Christian woman who does not know all about the Lord, His word, and what it means to be in His presence.....As wonderful as the experience of having grandbabies is, I guarantee seeing the Lord will be a much more glorious experience.


I used to think like this woman did when I was younger. I did not want the Lord to come yet because I wanted to do so much living. But now that I see the world and all the evil in it....I pray for the Lord to return now!


What happens when we set our sights on things of the earth? Our eyes become dimmed and unfocused.

Please read:

Ps 49:6-9

Job 31:24-28

Ps 52:7

Here the poor Samaritan woman obviously hopes on the coming of her Messiah. She has lived and experienced pain in her life (imagine 5 husbands!) and now she just wants to see this Annointed One who will tell her all things. Is He real? Will He come? Her faith is contagious.

2 Tim 1:12

Our God is able and will keep His promise.

As Christians, it is our duty to serve our Lord. It is our duty to put the each thought captive to Christ. We are to pray for the coming of the Lord....desire it far more than riches of this temporary dwelling.

2 Cor 10:4-6

1 Tim 6:17-19

Like the woman at the well, we must deeply hope and desire the coming of the Messiah who will tell us all things. Desire it, pray for His coming....hope in the Lord.

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Until next time.........

"We are those to whom these things especially belong. We may hear Christ saying to us this day, 'I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done.' For the words of Christ in the text were not only spoken to the twelve, but are also spoken unto us. We have now had respresented to us, though in a very imperfect manner, the example that Christ has set, and what reasons there are that we above all others, should imitate it.

It is not only our great duty, but will be our greatest honor, to imitate Christ and do the work that He has done, and so act as co-workers with Him."

-Jonathan Edwards(1703-1758)

(Altogether Lovely, 1997, p. 196)

Blessings,

Ruth







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