Who are your people? John #14

podcast: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/1f442c4f/who-are-your-people-john-14-john-41-42 We left her standing there near the well, talking to a most unusual man. She is fully aware that He knows all about her - that she has had ‘five husbands and the man she now has is not her husband’ - yet has not spurned her. She thinks to herself, ‘If He knows this about me, it is not just His words that are great ... it is not just His manner that is arresting or even His willingness to engage me in conversation. No, his knowledge of me, the authority and kindness with which he speaks, his offer of living water can mean only one thing--He is the One I have waited all of my life to see—this is my Messiah!’  “I am He,” Jesus tells her, “the One speaking to you.” She knows it is so, and turns to run back to her village, no doubt an outcast because of her lifestyle. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could this be the Messiah?”  Friends, I love this story because Jesus went out of his way to go and meet this woman in Samaria. He broke all the rules, talked to her and showed her a better way of life through love and because of his love. The entire thing is captured in John chapter four. We know because of her lifestyle they would have had little to no respect for her, and yet whatever she said or something about her, made them stop what they were doing and come and check out Jesus. Come they did and they believed. John wrote, ‘many Samaritans from town believed in Him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.”’ Therefore, when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days. Many more believed because of what He said. And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.” What an illustration of the love of our Heavenly Father! After all, Jesus did not say or do anything unless prompted by the Father.1,2 When Jesus walked out of his way to go to the well in Samaria to meet this woman, it was all designed by the heart of God. Think of it, in one evening, her relationships with her neighbors were changed forever; they saw the change in her and loved her because she introduced them to Jesus.  Ah . . . do you see it? Do you see the heart of God?  God specializes in healing relationships and restoring broken lives; oh, he is good indeed! So excited by her discovery at the well, the woman invites the people from town to come and meet Jesus . . . [one of the most effective means of sharing your faith-- invite people to meet the God who has changed your life!] . . . well, the townspeople come. Then they ask Jesus to stay with them and he stayed two more days, teaching them and talking with them. This woman reminds me of so many people around us these days, looking for answers, looking for hope, looking for purpose, looking for fulfillment somewhere, sometimes just about anywhere.  Thankfully, the solution is still the same. His name is Jesus, and he is still the source of living water. People you know - on your job, at school or in your neighborhood - are waiting to find the love of Jesus. You have the chance to tell them how he has met you where you are, loved you, set you straight, and given you an endless bright future. Will you tell them? Christine 1 - John 3.34              2 – John 5.19