ABUNDANT LIFE VISION
THE LIVING WATER. JOHN 4:7-15
“A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch) The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water.” The woman said, “Sir, you don’t even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this ‘living water’? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?” Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst-not ever. The water I give will be artesan spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.” The woman said, ‘Sir, give me this water so I won’t ever get thirsty, won’t ever have to come back to this well again!’” MSG.

Dear friends, I greet you in the name of the Lord and welcome you to today’s teaching, I pray that the living water in our lives will never run dry. I want us to understand that we humans focus on the physical too much when we have not met God without considering the spiritual which makes it hard for us to understand the spiritual when we see it. The Samaritan woman in today’s topic as we all know did not know God and it showed in her conversation with Jesus. But for the love and mercy of God, Jesus opened her eyes and put her on the right path.
The living water refers to the Holy Spirit which can only be received through salvation. John 7:38-39 “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart. (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not entered into his glory.)” NLT. Anyone who does not confess Jesus as his Lord and savior cannot receive the gift of the living water. The Holy Spirit is the gift God gives to all believers for direction, teaching and fellowship. Acts 1:8 & John 14:26. Furthermore, one of the duties of the Holy Spirit is to preserve the children of God in order to reign with God on the last day. Jude 1:24. “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.” NLT. This scripture validates what we have in John 4:14 “But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” NLT. The wish of God for our lives is to give us eternal life with him in heaven which can only be done by surrendering our lives to Christ and by sustaining power of the Holy Spirit.

In light of this, there are some things we need to learn from the encounter the Samaritan woman had with Jesus.

1. The living water is for all. John 4:9
Traditionally. The Jews had nothing to do with the Samaritans as they were seen as impure to the Jews. Because of this, the Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus, a Jew would ask her for water knowing fully well who she was. What the woman did not realise is that Jesus (the messiah), came for all and not for some people. Just as the bible says in the book of Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work saving everyone who believes-the Jew first and also the Gentile.” NLT. God made a plan after the fall of man in the garden of Eden to redeem the whole world through Jesus, not only to the Jews nut to everyone created by him.

Therefore, as long as you have answered his call Rev 3:20, you become his child and he will give you his Spirit (Living Water). This is the main aim of God who made his son manifest in order to destroy the works of the devil (sin) and give us eternal life. 1Jn 3:9.

2. Through the living water, God wants a permanent relationship with us. John 4:14
Revelation 3:20 says “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” NLT. Right, from the beginning, God has always wanted to have a relationship with us. He visited Adam in the cool of the day in the garden of Eden. Gen 3:8. The grand plan of God is to have us reign with him in heaven for ever but he wants the relationship to start here on earth by giving us his Spirit who relays the thoughts of God to us and guides us. 1 Cor 2:10 “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” KJV.

3. Jesus is better than all men, dead or alive. John 4:12
In this scripture, the Samaritan woman asked a question. She asked if Jesus was greater than her ancestor Jacob and his sons. Little did she know that Jesus is the creator of the earth and everything seen and unseen were made through him. John 1:3-4. In addition, John the Baptist testified about the superiority of Jesus in the book of Matthew 3:11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” NLT.

4. God is bigger than our problems. John 4:15
The Samaritan woman wanted to use the living water to solve her problem of having to come and fetch water at the well from a long distance. She did not understand the full picture of the living water and had not come to realise that for her to have access to the living water, she has to put on her the yoke and burden of Jesus which is not heavy and in turn when her salvation is sure, God will in turn solve her problems. Matthew 11:28-30 “Then Jesus said, come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” NLT.

On this note dear friends, if you are reading this and you desire the living water but you have not given your life to him or you have lost your salvation and you want to reconnect to him, say this prayer after me; Lord Jesus, I come to you humbly and I confess that I am a sinner, save me and be my Lord. Wash away my sins and take me into your fold and give me your living water. Amen. If you recited the prayer, I rejoice with you and I welcome you into the fold. Do well to join a bible believing church as you begin your new life in Christ. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you dear friends.

If you have been blessed by this write up and you have questions, comments and contribution, you can contact Abundant Life Vision on the following platforms:
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But why didn't Jesus fully explain the living water to the Samaritan woman?

The time he wasted using proverbs/idioms he could have just gone straight to the point instead of the long stories.

Jesus preached through proverbs and parables to get people's interest and attention. After that has been done, he explains himself better to them. That was his style to people who had never met God in flesh before.

But why didn't Jesus fully explain the living water to the Samaritan woman? The time he wasted using proverbs/idioms he could have just gone straight to the point instead of the long stories.[/quote]