Leaving It Behind

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Jesus frees us to leave behind everything we know.

John(84) (Part of the Believe(74) series)
by Jason Stansbury(10) on July 21, 2019 (Sunday Morning(337))

God's Will(9), Sacrifice(16), Witnessing(11)

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Leaving It Behind

John 4:27-42

 

  • A Bit of Background

    • John 4:27

    • The Samaritan woman seems to gradually understand more and more about Jesus’ identity

      • 4:9 – “a Jew”

      • 4:12 – “Sir”; Greater than our father Jacob?”

      • 4:19 – “A prophet”

      • 4:27 – Jesus: ​​ “I am he” (the Messiah)

  • Leaving It Behind

    • John 4:28

      • The woman only came to the well to get water

      • She hasn’t yet drawn water

      • Now she is abandoning the task of getting water altogether

      • WHY?!

    • John 4:29

      • The woman is starting to get it!

      • If Jesus is who she thinks He is, the He’s worth abandoning everything else for

        • She’s not sure: ​​ “Could this be . . .?”

        • AND YET, she broke out of her normal patterns to tell the other Samaritans about Jesus

        • “. . . she had met Jesus, who had filled her with a desire for a quality of life that she had never dreamed ​​ of and who had revealed Himself to her ​​ as the One through whom that life is ​​ imparted to men and women.” ​​ [Anders]

        • PRINCIPLE #1 – Jesus frees us to leave behind everything we know

        • Jeremiah 2:13

        • MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS TO: ​​ Leave behind ​​ the parts of my life I’ve made for myself

  • Jesus Secret Food

    • John 4:30-32

    • John 4:33

      • Continuing the trend of missing the point (Nicodemus, the woman, now the disciples)

      • Understandable, and yet shows the disciples’ priorities

      • It’s on this topic of priorities that Jesus seems to be correcting His disciples

    • John 4:34-35

      • Translation: ​​ Check your priorities! (Deuteronomy 8:3)

      • In Christ, we are free to focus on His will as He takes care of the rest ​​ 

      • PRINCIPLE #2 – When we focus on the will of God, He sustains us

      • MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS TO: ​​ Consider where the “harvest” may be “ripe” in my life

  • Being a Witness

    • John 4:39 – Despite everything in her life, this woman is a sufficient witness because of her encounter with Christ

    • John 4:40-41 – Those who have heard the woman’s testimony are now seeking a personal ​​ encounter with Christ

    • John 4:42 – The woman fulfilled her role, and Jesus ​​ has taken care of the rest

    • How did Jesus witness?

      • He was friendly

      • He asked questions

      • He showed concern for human need

      • He faithfully explained the scriptures

      • He emphasized good news for thirsty people

      • PRINCIPLE #3 – “Witnesses are not responsible for converting people; their task is to tell the truth about what they know.” ​​ [Anders]

      • Sometimes we are so focused on representing Christ that we forget to be like Him

      • And if we aren’t representing Christ in our attitudes, what good are our words?

      • MY NEXT STEP TODAY IS TO: ​​ Commit to representing Christ in my actions and attitudes.

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