Look Who Moved Out (Part 4)

A witness in the court of law is only supposed to do two things that are supposed to tell the truth and supposed to tell of what he or she saw or heard. That's all they not called to be responsible for the verdict of the other testimony might influence the verdict, but is not the responsibility that they are not required to know all of the intricacies of the law and in the nuances of the law. They're not required to understand all the of the procedures in the protocol of the court did not required to even understand the process that takes place two things tell the truth tell what they've experience what they saw and what they heard and that's precisely what this Samaritan woman did. She was a credible witness for Christ. I hope you already turned in your Bibles to John chapter 4 we saw in the last message. How when she had that encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw how.

First you put on some defense mechanisms. She rattled off some canned religious formulas that never brought her satisfaction. Religion never bring satisfaction.

Only Jesus does. And once Jesus pierced through that religious veneer of hers. She went into the valleys, testifying about Jesus, come and see, and CSO. She said, commencing. What did Jesus do to change this woman's life. I wanted to listen carefully because it is so simple it really is. We saw in the last message how he did not try to be philosophical. He did not try to impress her but how much knowledge he has notable now. The water he did not try to give her some psychological advice. He did not pontificate about her lifestyle.

He even did not try to analyze her sociological situation. He didn't know any of this instead he lovingly put his finger on the very source of her pain and then his willingness to heal the pain. Jesus knew that this woman was regarded as a moral pariah in her village and he did not try to add to her pain. Not try to shame her or embarrass her. She had plenty of money but he sought to deliver her from the very source of her pain. He sought to rescue her from the very core of her agony he sought to heal help from the very center of her anguish he sought to help her face. Not to the central problem of her life is in the Bible is very clear for prevention to take place in anyone's life. There are two steps there is repentance and there is belief one is human, the other one is divine. Repentance is a human act that I come and repent of my sins believe our faith is a divine act regeneration of my heart in a change of mark is in divine act and until we admit our needs. We cannot experience the transforming power of God in our lives. And Jesus knew that until she faces up to her core need.

She cannot be set free. In fact, this is the biblical principle action which is used by a lot of groups like AA and many others until they bring a person face-to-face with their need and confess to me than admit the need. They cannot be help.

How did Jesus do that well first thing you said to her dorm. Bring your husband will I have no husband. Which is technically correct, technically correct, you know some people tell half truths and they convince themselves they are technically correct later.

Abraham lied when he got to Egypt I want to try to save his skin so he lied about Sarah and he said to my sister.

Well, he was technically correct. She's half-sister is he convinced himself that his technically right. But he knew he was lying.

Sadly, some Christians do the same thing. They tell half truth and they convince themselves that they are technically correct that technically right.

I built with people caught in ministry who constantly give you half truths because they convince themselves that they are technically correct. I personally got into trouble at times because I acted on the basis of somebody giving the half-truth and made decisions and and I got into deep trouble because they convince themselves they were technically correct when they confronted that smokescreen will never allow you to get to the very core of your problem. That is why Jesus had to pierce through the fog of that technicality. You have seen how to read about how some criminals get off Scott free because of technicality, but God knows the full truth and Jesus said you're right. You're exactly right in saying that you have no husband at this moment you somehow conveniently left out the fact that you have five ex-husband's, you overlook that little detail and by the way, the matter of this guy with whom you shacking up right now is not your husband living with one of the reasons why the church in the West is so weak and insipid is because there are so many people in these churches were going around being technically right. They rationalize and explain away the moral failure instead of repenting of it. They convince themselves that everybody is in the same boat and they tell themselves that this is the way we have to do business as they convince themselves that this is just the way society has been we can help. But this is just how you live and let live, and it goes on and on and on. In reality, history shows us so clearly that the very secret of true, genuine Holy Spirit survival is a true repentance not covering up and being technically right as long as we try to be technically right as long as we live in denial and evasion and putting up defenses as long as we never get to the core of our sin, whatever it may be only you know it and I know it we will not see a genuine Holy Spirit survival. I know many of us are praying for people praying for revival all over the can as I travel the nation I sleep. I hear people praying for revival, but beloved until we come clean with God and become a repentance. People know how to repent before God, when are going to see the genuine Holy Spirit survival literacy clouds literacy masses, but not a genuine Holy Spirit survival. And just in case you think that I'm a superduper guy.

I want you to know that when I am before the great physician who sees the very depths of my heart. I weep bitter tears of repentance when I'm on that examination table on a daily basis before the great physician on the face of repentance and those of us who really want a genuine Holy Spirit survival will better start repenting of the very core of sin in our life whether it be pride Weatherby telling half-truth, whether it is stealing God's ties and money and keeping it in our pockets, whatever it may be only know what it is and only know what it is for me until then when I going to see God move with a harvest so with me appeal to you today begin to say Lord what is my part, hindering the revival, stopping your work from going forward, stopping harvest from being reached.

Because of the way I live because the way I conduct myself because of what I deal with you because the way I deal with others. In fact, there is a whole modern evangelical movement today which really is promoting this type of thinking this a repentance is old-fashioned. Repentance is not consistent with gray so they say.

Repentance is not for believers back to the Samaritan woman the way Jesus led her into repentance was not by scolding her. It was not by shaming her.

It was not by embarrassing her was not by ridiculing her.

It was not even by condemning her, but by accepting her and loving her. Something she has never experience from her own people. This is new to she had never seen that.

And while I'm at it. I want to make a distinction because there are a lot of preachers and teachers and schools.

Even Christian school's teaching kids that in order to be tolerant.

That is to accept people that you have to accept their sin, whatever it may be that that is the curse of the age and that is why I always want to make sure you understand what I'm talking about. He loved her.

He accept her but he never accepted her sins. He had never winked at her sin. He never rationalized her sin. He never said well it doesn't matter really well-adjusted and I got the pressure from LL on you and you had to do this and he just couldn't help with me and after all the justice and your disposition. No, no, and we need to pray for wisdom and really cry to God for wisdom so we know what it is to love a sinner but never winked at sin Weatherby in our life or on the life of others. But Jesus accepted her as a person and he led her into confession and repentance.

He reached into her innermost being. He exposed her realize he revealed to her the secret of her emptiness.

He revealed to her the secret of her first when he did this she dropped her defenses. She opened up like a book. Obviously, men used her. I daresay abused her. I don't want to get into psychoanalysis analyzing the people in the Bible.

I don't do that. But then she sees a man who did not want anything from her, but who want to give her something, something she desperately needed.

He wanted nothing from her, but he wanted to give her everything she longed for everything she thirst for freedom from guilt, forgiveness of sin's restoration of dignity and peace of mind, joy unspeakable and eternal life is short. Glory to God, for she found finally true in real genuine love to beloved this woman could be a woman or a man that you know perhaps that person feels rejected and consequently feels as if they have no worth perhaps that person has been emotionally so wounded and inflicted in adolescent years under carrying these burdens. Perhaps a person has such convoluted ideas of who God is, whatever and wherever there are they have deep thirst for true love and acceptance.

Only Jesus can give you that perhaps, like many in our culture. The Samaritan woman experience what it is to fall in love now I'm talking about is been so many years ago. I guess she experience that tingling sensation you know ill and talk about the lightheaded euphoria the fluttering of the Harton and the throbbing of the Paul's. Most of our modern music is all about this kind of love and that but I hate to disappoint you by telling you that you can go through all of these what I call trappings of love without experiencing true love.

Falling in love can only go so far but true and lasting love is far deeper, true and lasting love says I'm committed to you no matter what, for thick and thin on their and that is why Jesus ever so gently confronts the Samaritan woman about her fruitless search, as if to say to her, your fruitless search not only ruin your reputation. But it destroys you from the inside, but the only gift of God that only Jesus can give her can truly quench the thirst of the heart. Only the living bubbling flowing water that we saw in the last message that water of the Holy Spirit can set you free and make you whole and that is why she unashamedly boldly ran into the village streets village that has ridiculed her village that has looked down at her village that mumbled every time she walked by the street. She walked into the same streets and she testified that the Lord Jesus did for her, and say: see that's all you supposed to do.

That's what a witness supposed to do, tell the truth to what you see in your and so she did, and that's all that you and I supposed to do. I know through the years and as you know, lived in different cultures and I've seen it, I see people complicate the process of witnessing really do and that's what scares a lot of people and in the diner keep the motion, the keep quiet because they heard somebody complicated the process but is not a complicated process, it really isn't. I heard not long ago about a man who moved into a new neighborhood and he was trying to get on with this to the person next door and he walked to this person and is one of those people complicate things and he said to his neighbor. He said the are you a member of the Christian family and just to talk like that in America to scratch his head and he had no idea. I said that no not really but I think they live 2 miles down the road limits ability rephrase this, he said, are you lost medicine now not really been here for 30 years. Served to try again is a little put it this way said are you ready for the day of judgment, and is it well when his identity is all it could be today could be tomorrow.

He said will when you find out. Can you let me know because I know my wife would like to go birthdays bless our hearts. Verse 20 the Samaritan woman was still hung up on what church to go to.

And Jesus said to her, as far as my father in heaven is concerned because he is. Therefore, he primarily cares for the condition of the heart of the worshiper, not the building. We still have hangups about this.

I will really do we still talk about William on a church that meets my needs are a church really like a church that has my taste of music and we talk about all the stuff but beloved listen to may only be bold with you as if is something you that's an indication that is a heart problem.

These are questions that avoid the very core of Christian worship and what Christian worship is all about. Verse 23, those who worship my father worship. You may notice.

And in truth. God is far more concerned about the spiritual condition of the worshiper.

Then the building that they go to God is far more concerned about confessing and repenting believers than personalities. God is more longing for a genuinely broken heart, genuinely sacrificing heart a genuinely loving heart, not personalities. If you go to worship thinking. What can I get out of it today.

You want it, wondering they don't help from church to church and never feel settled. Why is a heart problem that needs to be dealt with.

This would Jesus say if you go to worship, saying, Lord, I came to give you give you glory your honor. Pay your homage magnify your name praise your name. Thank you and lift your you gonna be blessed out of your socks. A man verse 29 she said to her village friends, see she forgot her water jug and she became an evangelist and a great and that is true and genuine conversion. In fact, that's all the Jesus expects of us tell people to come and see. We saw how these four friends brought their friends to the feet of Jesus. Then we saw how the boy brought his once to Jesus and hear the Samaritan woman brought her village to Jesus and the wonderful government. See, see Jesus. And that is why Jesus points out to the disciples and said to them, you know, when it comes to harvesting and planting of wheat or whatever it may be timing is, of necessity, timing is very important, but when it comes to spiritual harvest time is irrelevant. Planting and harvesting can take place in a heartbeat.

You can plant, harvest, all at the same time and the one thing that the planter and the harvester will have in common is that they're both going to be rejoicing both of you will be celebrating Jesus planted a seed harvest of the soul and that soul went in and harvested seed and reaped a whole village verse 39 minicamp the Christ believing her testimony and there.

Jesus stayed for two days in that city today. Jesus saw a harvest of repentance among the very people that were despised and that were rejected by all the Jewish rabbis in the Jewish public, Jesus saw salvation and vast numbers among the very people whom the Jews had to walk to and I have extra days in their order to avoid going through the very beloved all around you all around you. There are people that you have probably given up on all around you.

There are people that you not paying attention to people that you thought there are beyond salvation. People that you have totally ignored people that you try to avoid but to expect that desperate for the living water. They are desperate for spiritual worship and worship in the spirit they are desperate for inner healing. There are desperate for salvation. They are desperate for forgiveness and release many years ago there were a group of men who were panning for gold in the mountains of Montana.

All of a sudden one of them come across a large rock and sure enough, there is is golden and then they all went to that same spot them and they all began to find that precious metal cover so excited and start yelling. We found it. We found that we found it was found gold but then the counter had to interrupt the celebration just for a little bit in order that they may go down to the town and to buy some supplies they needed supplies but before they went down they had a meeting and they agreed and covenanted with each other.

Not a word. Not one word to the people of the town we going to keep that to ourselves and so they go into town. They bother supplies enter their utter amazement, they look back halfway up in their whole lot of people from the town were following them. The leader basically was and since he looked at his group and he said who squeal the people of the town answered that question. This is nobody squealed, but we saw it all over your face you shorted on your face.

Beloved. Sometimes a face of joy can testify to Christ our faces of peace can testify to Christ our faces of love for genuine love for people can testify to Christ and all you can say, see, see, remember this, we are not in the world testifying to Christ, but we are in Christ, being witnesses to the world. Thanks for listening to this message from Dr. Michael use that recently featured on leading the way.

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