Thursday, September 25, 2008

Leaving our waterpots behind.

John 4:28 The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith unto the men, come, see a man that which told me all the things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?
These two verses come from a very familiar story in scripture concerning a Samaritan woman at a well, and her conversation with Jesus. In this story we find that Jesus not only lays her sins bare and shows here her need of a savior, but he also tells her that he is capable of giving her the living water that will cause her to never thirst again. When Jesus finally announces that he is the Christ, the woman that has already professed her belief in the Messiah, leaves her waterpot behind to go tell others of this radical transformation that has just taken over her life. There is a beautiful picture presented here in the woman leaving her waterpot behind at the well when she left to tell the city of Jesus.
The first thing I want you to see is that she was leaving behind the very thing that had sustained her up to this point. In it rested her every hope of staying alive, in the time and place that she lived, if you did not have a waterpot and someone else did not draw water for you, you would die! This woman left it behind because she now had a greater sustaining force in her life than water, even as Jesus said, "my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me". Do you want to know why we have such weak, anemic and empty christians in this country? It is because we still rely completely on the physical things for our sustenance and know nothing of the meat and drink that this woman was partaking of, which was to do the will of her Father.
Secondly, I want you to see that the waterpot that she left behind epitomized her entire old way of living and it was left behind when Christ changed her. When a person is converted there will be some changes that immediately begin to take place, the things that once brought you pleasure will turn to gravel in your stomach. Everything about her old life had become so unimportant and even despicable in her eyes that she left it behind. If you have a regenerated soul your old ways of living ought to no longer pleasurable to you, and you ought to leave them behind to take on a new life.
This waterpot was also her mission up to this point, she came to the well with one purpose in mind, to get water. When Christ saved her, all her goals and missions had changed, she left that well and all her earthly ambitions about drawing water had been forsaken. How many of us have goals, plans and missions for our life that are exactly the same as before we claim we were converted? This woman had the same goal as every other woman in that village, to get water; she became unique when she dropped that bucket. So often I am like that woman, in that my goals for my life look just like everyone else's, to get money, to get fame, to get a step up in the world. When the truly unique thing to do would be to drop those ambitions for the sake of Christ. If I have put off the old man and put on the new, if my stony heart has been replaced with one of flesh, why wouldn't my goals and plans change, why wouldn't I leave my waterpot at the well? Her plans didn't just change for the sake of changing though, she replaced them with Christ's plans and goals, to tell other of Him.
If Christ has converted you, then I would ask have you left your waterpot at the well in every sense of the phrase? Have you left behind your sustenance, your sins, your dreams and goals in your haste to obey Christ? If not I would beseech you to make this the day that your waterpot is dropped, and you trust completely in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

2 comments:

  1. Brother, you are correct in saying that many Christians today care more for the physical than the spiritual. Paul reminds the church constantly that her care should not be toward earthy things but toward the spirit by which she has life and in which she is joined with Christ! Thank you for that reminder!

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  2. Have I heard this sermon somewhere before??? That sermon needs to be posted on Sermon Audio...talk to the man in charge and get it done!!! the church worldwide ought to hear it...thanks...

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