Mt. Carmel Church | using someone with significant issues to be a witness
Ben, welcome to the roads, welcome, Mt. Carmel Church all of you watching online. So great to have all of you with us this morning. My Name’s Chad, my wife Donna of the pastors here. We’re pumped about the series that we’ve been on board already had a great service today. Thank God for what he’s done and spoken to us, but we are in this series called your story more than a post, so if you want to get your bibles out, your sermon notes out of your worship guy, or you can get on your youversion Bible App, you can get the sermon notes off of there. Let’s open up our bibles to John Chapter Four, John Chapter Four. Just excited about the Bible. That’s why we shout happy about what God’s speaking into our lives. Your story more than a post. How many has been enjoying the series so far? You got something out of what God’s been speaking to you.
Yeah. Yeah. Good. Mt. Carmel Church The first week we talked about rayhab and how she went from Harlem to hero. What a great story of redemption to how God turned her situation around her, turned her life around, used her. Then the second week we talked about Larry Legion and a legion Larry, however you want to call him and how God used someone with significant issues to be a witness to his community. Then last week we talked about Peter and his ups and downs and we realized how in our relationship and our walk with God, we’re going to have some ups and downs in our relationship and so we can’t get discouraged that are downs. Don’t have to define us. Say, man, that we’re not going to be stuck just because it’s a down moment or a down season. That’s not the end of our post. You know there’s a future.
There’s more to it. Mt. Carmel Church We can do that. Well, today we’re going to talk about someone that had a major issue with rejection and disappointment and so we’re going to talk about a great story and see how that translates into our lives. Let me start off with a question. Have you ever had someone go somewhere and a conversation for you really weren’t prepared to go, nor did you want them to go that they just took the conversation somewhere where you didn’t want to go, like you maybe even said these words don’t even go there. Don’t even go there with me. Maybe you waved your hand a little bit. I don’t know what she did, but you’re like, don’t even go there. I’m believe there’s issues in our life. There’s areas in our life that maybe we don’t want to talk about. Areas of disappointment, areas of hurt, areas of issue. That’s part of our story that. Well I want to dig into today and find out what’s. What are your caution tape areas. If I say caution tape, you know those. The caution tape that goes, that’s a barrier. These are subjects that you put up the caution tape and you say you don’t go past this May. Maybe it’s 12. We could call your mind field topics. You know that no one can talk about that when they’re carrying on a conversation with you. They got to be careful not to step in that one spot.
We’ve got these issues. Mt. Carmel Church We’ve got these minefield issues. This will we won’t talk about because what if? What if? The place that you’re trying to avoid at all costs was the place you needed to go the most? What if the topic you were trying to avoid is the place that God really wants you to address? What if the place of your greatest freedom and victory in your life was on the other side of the door of your greatest disappointment? What of what you’re looking for in life, your freedom, your joy, your peace, your whatever your it is. I’m looking for that. When that happens, I’ll be good. What if that was on the other side of the door of your greatest heart?
Now, I’m not talking about going back and revisiting everything you’ve ever done in your life. I believe in the blood of Jesus. I believe in. If you’re anyone be in Christ are a new creation, old things passed away, behold all things become new. I believe in that. I don’t believe you have to go back to all your sins and re confessed them, readdress them. I don’t think you have to go through all that. I’m talking about the things, the places where you haven’t let Jesus in yet. I’m talking about the places where we boxed those off and say, Jesus, this is your space. This is my face. We can talk about whatever you want to talk about. As long as you don’t bring up this space, as long as you don’t want to go and dig up that issue, that disappointment, that hurts. We don’t about anything. You know I’m great front of people, Mt. Carmel Church but just don’t. Here’s my caution tape.
What if that one area was the part of your story that Jesus wants to revisit the most? Let’s take a look at a story in the Bible that I believe may speak to us today. We’re going to talk about the story of a person who had to go where they didn’t want to go before they could go for. They never thought they could go. They had to go where they didn’t want to go before they could go where they never thought they could go and John for I’m going to start reading in verse one. It says, therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard, had heard, that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John. Though Jesus himself did not baptize, but Mt. Carmel Church his disciples did. He left Judea and departed again to Galilee, so he left Judea and departed again to go to Galilee, but he needed to go through Sumeria.
He needed to go through Sumeria. Everybody say needed. Needed. So if you look on a map, if you’re in Galilee and you want to go or judy and you want to go to Galilee, then just geographically you can see on the map, the blue part is Sumeria. There. You’re in the bottom. You’re in Judea. You want to go to Galilee. The shortest distance between two points is what? It’s a straight line, so just go straight north. You. If you want to go to Harrisburg, the easiest ways go through Eldorado. Mt. Carmel Church If you want to go to Crossville, you need to go through Karma. Now. You might be able to go other routes, but it’s the easiest way to get there,
but the problem was is that the Jews did not go through Sumeria. They hated the Samaritans and we’ll get into the reasons why they didn’t like them, but they would not go through that area, so they would literally go around, cross the Jordan, go into where the Green party is, Korea, go up through to capitalists and come around to gals. They would go around Mt. Carmel Church
barrier to get to where they were going, but Jesus said he needed to go through Sumeria. Why did he need to have the warden needed? The definition of the word needed. Their means to bind or to tie up means under authority of someone else. He was bound. He was tied up to go through some area. He was under the authority of someone else to go to some area, so in other words, someone else was leading him to go there. He didn’t want to go there, but somebody else was leading him to go there. Who could that be? In John Chapter Five, Jesus said this, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the father do, for whatever he does, the son also does in like manner. So who’s directing Jesus on this trip? It’s the father. He’s directing him. Paul said this in acts, he said, I go bound to in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there.
That word bound is the same Greek word. That means he’s literally under the authority of someone else under the direction he’s bound or type. I need to go to Sumeria. I’m under the direction of someone greater than me. Something bigger than me is leading me to go there. This is the key part of the story and setting the stage. So now go into verse five. So he came to a city of Samaria called Sychar. Near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son, Jesus and Joseph Jesus. Joseph called Secar. It’s called Secar. Now it’s called Secar. That wasn’t really the name of the place, the literal name of the city. A historian was actually check them, but it was called Secar. Why was it called? It was called Sukar by the Jews, and if you look at what’s the car means, you might get some insight into why the Jews called this place. They called it that. Mt. Carmel Church The word Sukar actually means false hood or liars or drunkards. So the Jews called the place for the Samaritans lived this city, the city of liars and drunkards.
So where was Jesus bound to go? Where was he tied to go? Where was he led to go? Where did he need to go? He needed to go to the city of the liars and the drunker.
In other words, he said, I need to go to this place. This is why Jesus said in the Bible that the the, well, those that are healed have no need of a physician, but the sick do. He said, I didn’t come to call the righteous, but I came to call the sinners to repentance. Here’s the heart of God. I want to go where the liars and the drunkards live. I need to go there because I have something for them. He’s not wanting to walk around the liars and the drunker he’s wanting to walk right up to him. Can anybody besides Mt. Carmel Church
me, thank God that he walked into your liar, drunkard self and came and touched your life. He walked into my lawyer, drunkard village. I’m thankful for that. So this is where he goes. He goes to this village and just give you an idea of where he’s, where he was. Now Jacob’s well was there Jesus therefore being wearied from his journey, sat thus by the. Well, it was about the sixth hour. So it’s about high noon. Heat of the day in the Middle East. It’s hot as he decides to set by. Well the verse eight or verse, what am I? I’m silver six. Sorry about the sixth hour. So it’s high noon and knows what happens. He’s wearied from his journey. He’s tired. Mt. Carmel Church He’s walked all morning. You know, he walked on foot this journey. So he gets there. It’s around somewhere around 32 to 8:40 miles that he walked.
How many years? Walked 30 miles today to church will give you a tee shirt, but he but he walks around 32 to 40 miles and he’s tired. He’s, by the way, it made me think, if the son of God doing what the father asked him to do can get tired. How much more am I going to get tired doing what God asked me to do? Once in a while, there’s going to be times in your life when you’re going to be weary, there’s going to be times in your walk with Jesus. If you’re listening to me today, you’re in one of three categories. Either you have been weary, Mt. Carmel Church you are weary or you’re going to be wearied. It’s way it’s going to be. That’s not lack of faith speaking to you. It just means we’re going to be moments in our walk with Jesus for we’re going to get tired.
We’re going to get exhausted. We’re going to be places where we need to be fresh and Jesus doesn’t condemn us when we’re worried. He gives us three words. When you’re wearied, he says this in Matthew. He says, come to me all you heard, tired or weary and heavy laden, and I’ll give you rest. Come to me. He doesn’t. Rebuke is a how dare you get weary. You’re never supposed to be tired if you’re a true Christian. He says, when you’re weary, come to me. Come to me. Come to me because what’s going to happen when you come to me, I’m going to give you what you need. I’m going to give you refreshment. I’m will give you rest. He goes on to talk about. Take my yoke upon you. Mt. Carmel Church My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Come on. If you’re carrying a heavy yoke, if you’re wore out this morning, come to Jesus.
Come to him. Let him give you refreshment. Let him give you, give you a cool drink of water. Let him take your big burden off of your back and put his light burden on your back. That’s what he said. So he’s wearied and then look what happens. Verse seven, a woman of Samaria came to draw water and Jesus said to her, give me a drink. And notice in verse eight, now says, for his disciples had gone away in the city to buy food, a woman of some area doesn’t even tell us her name, just a woman of some area, a woman have some area of woman. What’s. What’s her story? What’s this woman’s story? I’m reading this story. I’m like, okay, what’s her story? Then I said, what’s her name? Mt. Carmel Church It just says a woman didn’t give her the dignity of mentioning her name. So I gave her a name.
I gave her a name. I call her Rita Rita. No fire you calling her rita. I’ll tell you why I called a reader in just a moment. But so rita is a woman of Samaria. Two strikes against this woman. Number one, she’s a woman. And in this society, in this culture, women were a very little value. Women could not own property and women could not be used as a witness in a trial case because men did not believe words coming out of their mouth. This was the case of a woman is terrible time. So she’s a woman one. And number two, she’s a Samaritan. Mean woman’s bad enough, but now she’s a Samaritan woman. This is a person in a tough spot. Mt. Carmel Church Samaritans were half breeds of the Jews. They they intermarried with other nations and so the Jews despised the Samaritans. That’s why they wouldn’t walk through there.
Jews literally wouldn’t even use the cup. They wouldn’t drink after and they wouldn’t eat after anything that was belonged to a Samaritan. They would. They would rather go through hardship than be helped by a Samaritan. That’s why Jesus chose the parable of the Good Samaritan helping them because the Jews would be like, whoa, Whoa, whoa. Samaritans helping them. Mt. Carmel Church. If a Samaritan would help them, that a priest wouldn’t help them, so he’s using that to show the analogy to them or the comparison to them that the Samaritan that you think is awful, maybe the one that I want to use, so this is what they thought of Samaritans and how how bad it was so serious. A woman of Samaria and Jesus says this, give me a drink.
Give me a drink.
Now I’m thinking about this woman. Number one, what’s her story and why is she drawing water at high noon? Mt. Carmel Church When I studied and find out that all the women only came to the well to draw water at two different times a day at the morning or at dusk. Why is this woman coming at noon all by yourself?
I believe it’s because she was planning on no one else being there. Maybe it’s because if we look at her backstory, she wasn’t allowed to come in the morning or at night. Reader dealt with, dealt with rejection, so I called her rejection. Rita, because Rita needs a name for us to value Rita. We need to know. Read a story. So he asked. He says, give me a drink now. Wait a minute. Remember what I said? The Jews would not even drink or eat after a Samaritan. He says, give me a drink. We read that in English. We think thank this. You know, we just asked for a drink, but when he said give me a drink, he was communicating something much deeper than what we understand. He was saying to her, I will drink after you. Mt. Carmel Church I a Jew will drink after you a Samaritan.
I was he saying to her, I’m communicating value to you as a person. I recognize you’re a woman and I recognize you’re a Samaritan woman and I’m still willing to drink after you. Jesus is doing much more than just making a statement because he’s thirsty. He’s inviting her interrelationship. He sang to someone who been rejected over and over an outcast of society. He says, I want you. I want you. I want you. I want what you’re drinking. I want to drink with you. I want to hang out with you. Come on, let me have a drink. I know that your cup is filled with sin. I know your cup is filled with issues, but Mt. Carmel Church I will drink out of your cup where you are right now in your life. I’m not asking you to give better and come to me. I’m coming to you right now where you are.
That’s what he’s saying. When he says Gimme a drink. He’s inviting her to come out of her mess into his life. Mess so powerful. So look at verse nine. Here’s her response. He says, give me a drink. You think of something nice. I just told you a great picture about what he’s really saying and liquidity says back. She says, Mt. Carmel Church then the woman of Samaria said to him, how has it, did you being a Jew? Ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Now I got to get myself in the story.
And when I, when I, when I read this, I like to see what’s, uh, how the interaction going. I’m picturing this woman who’s giving him a little Sass. I believe there’s a little bit of sarcasm here because she’s used to Jews being rejecting her. She’s use to Jews being mean to her. She’s used to Jews being hateful and judgmental, being racist and trying to point out how they’re better than them. So I, Mt. Carmel Church I can imagine her when she’s getting ready to dip her pot, her water pot down in the well, that Jesus says, give me a drink. I can imagine her looking at her, looking at him and beginning to save or not. But when I picture it, she’s probably got her hand on her hip and it’s probably out a little bit like this. She’s probably got her head cocked back and it’s probably Bob and a little bit when she says, how is it that you being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman for you juice have nothing to do with us. Some merit tense. Remember, I’m not sure that’s how it played out, but that’s how I picture in my mind as I delve into the story and roleplay out. That’s how I see Rita. Rita has got a little bit of an edge.
Love Rita. But notice in verse 10, so she gives some Sass back and goes political on him. Go social, political. She brings up more barriers. Why? He should not be talking to me. You shouldn’t be talking to me. All right? I’m a woman of severity, but also also you’re a Jew of Samarian. So I’m a. you’re a Jew. I’m a woman. You shouldn’t be talking. She keeps trying to bring up barriers on why God, why Jesus should not be talking to her, and Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Look what he says in verse 10, Jesus answered and said, if you knew the gift of God, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that says to you, you give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water, living water. Notice. See, she had this edge because I believe she had a preconceived notion about Jewish men. She had been rejected by men her whole life and Jewish men were the worst, so she only assumed that I come in contact with another Jewish man. This is going to be another bout of rejection. She’ll see, Mt. Carmel Church says, I’m going to reject you before you reject me. Have you ever had a relationship with someone who tried to reject you so they wouldn’t get rejected by you?
So she. She had a preconceived notion. I’m sure there’s a lot of Jews that would confirm her preconceived notion of what, what it’s like, but Jesus was a Jew. He wanted to change that, pre that misconception, and she was confused because he’s treating her nice. He’s asking for a drink he’s willing to drink after, so what is it different about this guy I’m on? I’m worrying about this. How many people out there in the world, maybe watching online or maybe friends that you know that have a preconceived notion about the church, have a preconceived notion about Christianity, have a preconceived notion about the roads itself. How many people out there have a preconceived notion and based on how other people have retreated them and talk to them and done them, they don’t want anything to do with church. They’ve had bad experiences in church because people have been hypocritical, judgmental, too faced backbiting and the church, so in the church, if that’s the way it is, I can get that outside of the church. So how many people have had Christians and if you’re looking for Christians that are going to disappoint you, you don’t have to look very far. It’s going to happen, but Jesus offered something outside the norm. So Mt. Carmel Church I’m asking what if we did what Jesus did and did something outside the norm and treated people with honor and respect before we judge where they are? What if we extended an offer to a olive branch to have relationships with people before we decided if we agreed with everything they believed in,
just food for thought. Just food for thought. Mt. Carmel Church So now look what he says. He chose not to argue in, in verse 10, and he tells you this, how many times I believe this person, this lady, Rita, she was used to people choosing their position over her. As a person. I’m going to talk to you for just a moment. Are you ready? You okay with this? Or you listen to me. Here’s what I found so much in the church world. We value positions over people.
Yes.
Now I’m not talking about compromising the word of God. I’m not talking about backing off of your convictions and saying I don’t believe in something the Bible says. I’m talking about using, trying to use a position to get in the way of reaching a person. Jesus chose not to argue over this Jewish and Samaritan thing. He said, you can go there all you want, Rita. I’m not going there. I want you to focus on me. The gift of God. I don’t want you to focus on our differences. I want to focus on something that you need and I have what you need too many times where we’re arguing over platforms that don’t matter. Can I just give a few just so I can make it real and get home. You know, sometimes we’re, Mt. Carmel Church, uh, we’re taking issues with things that don’t matter when we’re trying to win. People don’t get drawn into arguments over Nike versus under armour hot button topic right now. People just want to, are we going to value people? Are we going to add value positions? Let me try another one you’d like that don’t get drawn into arguments over Republican versus Democrat for some of you came out. Some of you came out right there.
That was the one. Sure
I’m going to sing. You don’t have to believe some not saying you don’t have your positions. I don’t. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about valuing people, respecting people. Real problem. We got the reason we got problems in this world. The way we do is because people don’t honor respect people anymore. They will choose their position over people. They will throw people away for a position. Jesus was not going to throw this woman away even though she was in a wrong position. If you study this deeply, culturally, morally, she was in a horrible place. He had no cultural right to honor this woman. She’s a Samaritan woman. We’re going to find out she’s a five time divorced woman. He had no cultural right to honor this woman and he did anyway. No Jewish man would be doing what he’s doing. Let’s choose not to argue. Mt. Carmel Church. Maybe we don’t argue over things like standing versus kneeling for the anthem. Now. That’s where you got me riled up. Ha. Come on.
I’m not saying you don’t have your opinion. I got my opinions, but I’m not allowed, in my opinion, to rob me of a person that God values. We’re going to talk to them and we’ll look at them. They’re going to say, you know what? I believe this and almost I believe that under, but let’s talk about you as a person. Let’s talk about who you are. Let’s talk about who God wants you to be. Huh? Let’s see. I’m not going to make an argument between us. We’re not gonna make an issue of social economical or political issue. Rob, you have a relationship with connecting with people and that’s what Jesus was saying in this example. You’re a Jew. I’m a Samaritan. You shouldn’t be talking to me. Oh yeah, Mt. Carmel Church, yeah. Whatever. Let’s keep talking. Let’s keep talking. How about a drink? Give me a drink. What aren’t you a Republican? I’m a democrat. I’m a Christian. You can’t be that political party and still be a Christian.
What
am I going too deep? Now we need to send her down. Some of you getting a little itchy. Just relax, relax. Notice what you said. If you knew, if you knew the Gift of God, I’ve got to go on for time’s sake and there’s a lot in this. This story is filled with nuggets. He said, if you knew the gift of God, you realize our problem. Most of the time is not what we do know. It’s what we don’t know. I found this in my life. Maybe you can be. My problem in life is not knowing who I am
or what I’ve done. My problem is not knowing who I am in Christ. He said, if you knew the gift of God, if you knew who you could be in God, if you knew what I wanted to give you, you wouldn’t be worried about your issues, but that’s another part of the story. So the woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deeper than do you get that living water? I believe she probably used air quotes. Where do you get that? Living water. Reed had an edge to her. I’m telling you, she had a little Sass. Mt. Carmel Church Are you greater than you do here? Rita talking right now? Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us
this well and drank from it himself as well as his sons and his livestock? Are You greater than Jacob? I don’t think so. I can just imagine
so. Notice Jesus didn’t get into argument and justify himself. He just said, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. Jesus wants to offer us something on the inside that overrides the lack of on the outside. See, a waterpark can only get you a drink for a little while, but a fountain on the inside of you. We’ll keep you fully refreshed all the time. See, Mt. Carmel Church some people are thirsty. You know teenagers. You understand how the application that we’re thirsty is now they’re thirsty. Worked with some of the older people you have no idea. What I’m talking about. Thirsty now is you’re desperate. You a little bit too thirsty when you’re looking for satisfaction and other areas and God’s saying, listen, you may be thirsty and you’re trying to fill voids in your life that only Jesus can fill. You’re trying to bring. Reach out for other things when you can only do it through him. So he says, I’m going to put this in you. It’s going to be a fountain on the inside of your verse 15. Then the woman said to him, sir,
so he’s done. He’s talking about spiritual things. She thinks he’s talking about natural things and those she’s, she’s still on the natural. Verse Fifteen, I believe she said this kind of jokingly, again, more sag sarcasm. She says, sir, if she had friends, CBI five, and I’m about now this has given me this water that I may not thirst norcom here to draw water anymore. That’s what I’m talking about. Yeah, give me some of that water so I have to do that anymore. Mt. Carmel Church then Jesus drops a bomb.
I believe if she sarcastically laughing and joking with him, I believe Jesus maybe pause for a moment. He said,
go call your husband.
You give me some of that water to. What’d you say?
Go call your husband. I mean, immediately I believe her countenance fell.
Dr Headd don’t have a husband. Jesus said, you’re right. Mt. Carmel Church
You say, right, you don’t have a husband because you’ve had five I’ve and the guy that you’re living with right now, he’s not your husband either.
He just used a word of knowledge by the Holy Spirit to call out five. Well, he didn’t say you’ve probably been married. Well, he called out all five of them. You’ve been divorced five times and in this culture you gotta realize women could not divorce men. Men only divorced women. So Mt. Carmel Church this woman had been rejected five times. She had been kicked to the curb five times and now she’s living with a guy who won’t even commit to her. He wants his cake and eat it too, so I’ll have relationship with you. I just ain’t gonna marry you.
How much rejection is read a dealing with in her life and and of all the things that Jesus could talk about, he had the audacity to say, go call your husband. As soon as he said, go call your husband. It went into that rejection as she said, oh no, things just got real. You want to go there? I was fine talking about this water, talking about your low, found bang that was cute and all your little living water, Mt. Carmel Church but don’t get into my business.
She built a wall up and she comes out clause. Why? Because I believe this sometimes Jesus wants to go to your deepest hurts to bring deepest healing. Is it coincidence that this is all happening by a well or is it significant that Jesus wants to go deep into our hearts and bring healing out of the places that are hurting us the most? He said, go call your husband. She said, I don’t. I don’t have a husband. I don’t have a husband. I’ve been rejected five times. Mt. Carmel Church I’m a five time failure. I’ve screwed up my whole life, but he goes on. He says, here
you spoke. Truly you don’t have a husband now and and verse 19. Then the woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you’re a prophet. No kidding. Notice Verse Twenty, our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship. Notice what happened. We’re not talking about water anymore. All of a sudden she’s asking about what’s the right way to worship God? Jesus flipped the script and went to a place of her greatest, hurting her greatest rejection, her deepest heart, and said, that place. That’s where I want to bring healing into your life, and from there she began to ask God through Jesus. She’s like, okay, where am I supposed to worship? How am I supposed to worship? And he goes on to tell a woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this nor in Jerusalem. Worship the father. You worship what you do not know, but we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews, but the hour is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth, for the father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. And the woman said,
I know that the Messiah is coming who is called Christ. Mt. Carmel Church When he comes, he will tell us all things she’s saying out of her heart. She’s, I believe that the Messiah is coming and when he shows up, he’s gonna. Tell me everything I need. I’m believing for the Messiah to come. And then Jesus drops the mic on him. Verse Twenty Six and says, I who speak to you, am he? In other words, everything you’re looking for is standing here, right in front of you. All the hurts, all the rejection, all the disappointment, everything that’s gone wrong. I’m right here and I want to help walk you through it.
So at this point, the disciples come walking up and they marveled that he talked with a woman. Again, culturally, I believe this is why he said all the disciples into town to buy food and left him by himself. You know, one of them wanted to stay with him to kill, help protect. Mt. Carmel Church You knew Peter was there with his sword wanting to help protect him, but Jesus, like no Peter, go on into town. You will not be able to handle what I’m getting ready to do. You will botch this up somehow.
You will cut off Rita’s ear or something. Man, I’m trying to. Mt. Carmel Church I’m trying to touch Rita,
so they come in, they was like, you know why? Why are you talking with her? And then the woman left her water pot and winter weight into the city and said to the men, come see a man who told me all the things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ? She left her water pots. She left her source of refreshment because she’d found a new one. I don’t need my water pot anymore. I’ve got a fountain. I’ve got something that’s never going to run dry and notice what happened. I love this. It’s just inserted in the Bible. Sometimes you can read over these things and you miss them. She went into the city and said to the men,
yeah, Mt. Carmel Church said to the man. I read that and it’s like God said, read it again. Said to the men, said to the man, said the man, he said, you remember what I showed you? That women could not be used in a trial as a witness because men didn’t believe him. Who did I send her to? I sent her to the men because I wanted the men to know that I can use not only a woman, but I can use a five time divorced woman that’s living with a man. I want them to know that the voice of God coming to their city of liars and drunkards, the testimony, the story of this woman is what’s coming to save. She said,
could this be the Christ? The five time divorce. The woman brought the message of hope and Christ to a city. It was changed by someone that they would not recognize, disregarded or rejected an outcast, couldn’t draw water in the morning or at night. You’ve got to go at noon. Nobody wants to be around you, Rita. Nobody wants to talk to you. You’re filthy scummed. Your life is awful. You’re a reject. That’s the one that Jesus said. I want to talk to her and I want her to be the one to tell that Jesus is here. The Messiah is here. Salvation is here.
The stories are amazing. We’ve got a story of a couple right here in our midst that I want to show you this video. Powerful, powerful, what God can do when you put him first and trust him with your life. Check out this video.
Hi, my name is Jenny and this is my story. Me and my husband Dustin Jones. We met in 2008 and just three months later he proposed in five months after he proposed, I found out I was pregnant and one month after that we got married and we were very in love and super excited to get married, but the reality of marriage sad and very quickly and we just found out how hard it was. I was very sick with my pregnancy. We had medical bills, financial stress. I’m just becoming new parents in the responsibility of that. We would just get these horrible, horrible argument. We’re both Christian, but we were in and out of church and I just would be like good for a few weeks and then bad for a few weeks. I just felt like I constantly disappointed or failed him and those two things together kind of produce the perfect trap and I eventually was unfaithful to Dustin.
It lasted just three months, but during that time I was just completely different person. Dustin found out and he was devastated and so was my family, but he wanted to make things work, but he called pastor Chad and pastor Chad told him to come home and for me to just tell him everything that had happened, get everything out. He told me to call pastor Chad. I called him and I told him everything and just said I was willing to try to stay because it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t have any feelings for him. I remember him telling me what your feelings are alive. They’re not based on, you know, God’s word, so they’re not the truth and if you change your focus, your feelings will follow. And we just spent every spare minute focusing on God or each other and it was very hard.
In the beginning. We are both very sad, but we just kept pressing in and we. I would just get with God anytime I felt like that, to get peace and comfort in. We counseled with pastor Chad once a week and we went to church every Sunday and every Wednesday, only four or five weeks later, he began to change both of us. My sadness and heaviness lifted and I started to have feelings for dust and again, and today, six years later, I am so in love with my husband. God has turned the water into wine concerning my marriage were best friends. We are so happy and you know, it was just so overwhelming to me that in my biggest style, you’re, you know, God didn’t leave me in my biggest failure. He, his love came down and rescued me
and read a story. We find a woman who was an outcast of society, but God used her. If you read on down and the end of the chapter, chapter two talks about how she went and invited all the people to come and the people of Samaria came out and they said, Jesus, we, we believe in you now because of the word, the testimony of this woman. I don’t know what your story is, but Dustin and Jenna’s story is a powerful one from someone who walked through it with them personally, doesn’t happen like that very often. I wish I could say they all turn out that way, but they don’t, but I want to honor Dustin Agenda and God the three of them that get all the credit for what happened because they had to choose to do certain things. Jenna had to choose a new path. Dustin had to choose to release her and forgive her and to walk a new path. They each had to overcome hurdles and hurts in their story.
They both had difficult sides. It wasn’t just one person had difficult side. They both had difficult sites and you may watch that and you may sympathize or empathize with one side and say, oh, I understand that one’s point of view. I can’t believe that one. I can’t believe that one didn’t. I can’t believe that. When did I. I don’t know how how it translates for you, but I know this. Whatever your story is at one moment in their life, when I’m on the phone with them at that post, at that snapshot, it doesn’t look good, but now you see six years later and it’s a neat. It’s a testimony video of what the goodness of God can do, so you may be in a snapshot right now for it’s not good, but if you will let Jesus come into your situation again, we live in a reality. Not all marriages workout. I wish you could say they did what she could say that every one of those scenarios, it looks like that on the screen it does.
I believe Jesus wants to speak to read us or men. Maybe your story didn’t turn or maybe you’re in that situation or been in that and you can’t get past it. Maybe it’s not infidelity. Maybe it’s a different deal. I don’t know what it is for you. I’m not trying to pigeon hole you into a corner. I’m just saying whatever your story is, God is inviting us to open up the caution tape and let him come in and help you write for you all. Will you let him heal that hurt? Will you let him come in and talk about that area that you don’t want to talk about?
Because I don’t want your whole life to be defined by what happened to you or through you. Either one of those individuals on the screen could have been defined by that moment. One could have been defined by what they did and one could have been defined what was done to them, but they both made a choice. It says, this post will not be the end of our story. We’re going to write another chapter. It was hard, hard months, months of deep diving, months of prayer and months of giving themselves to God. I’m telling you, it takes cooperation. One can want it, one could be all in for it, and if the other one does not cooperate, doesn’t want any part of it. It’s going to create challenges. So I believe this. I believe when I asked about this topic and my God, you are you willing to open up all these rejections issues? He’s like, yeah, I want to come in. I want to come in. I want to heal.
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