John 4: 10 Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift
of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked from him,
and he would have given you living water.
sn’t water a wonderful substance? It is so
cheap and we take it for granted, yet we cannot live without it. When you are thirsty it
is still the best thing you can use to quench your thirst. Most of your body consists of
water. In fact every living thing contains water. Life cannot exist without it.
This account of Jesus and the woman at the well has been the subject of many sermons
and bible studies. We can learn so much from it. We can learn about how to witness, how
people respond to ministry, how the Holy Spirit works, and how Jesus works. Today I want
to look at another emphasis from this famous passage. I want to consider some of the keys
to blessing and receiving the anointing power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had been traveling and was weary from the journey. It was midday and the sun was
probably hot. He was tired and thirsty. He needed the strength and refreshment that water
brought. So when He saw a woman coming to draw water from the well, He asked her for some.
But He had a purpose in doing this. He realized that a person without the Spirit was like
someone who was weary and thirsty. And this woman was no exception.
So Jesus used the water as the starting point for a teaching here. He offered the woman
something that would satisfy her weary soul and bring spiritual refreshment. He was
offering the anointing power of the Spirit. But there were a few principles that needed to
be applied before she could get this water. I want you to see and understand each one,
because they are the keys to entering into the revival power and anointing of the Spirit.
Firstly Jesus told her that He had something to offer her that was better than what she
had. He told her that it was the Gift of God and that it was living water. The anointing
of the Spirit is not something that we have to work for or deserve. It is a gift of His
grace. It is not dull religion or works. It is a living thing. It bubbles and brings life.
Then He told her that she would need to ask for the living water that He had to offer.
The Lord never ever imposes Himself on us. He does not force His blessings or His purpose
on us. He is pictured standing at the door knocking, and waiting for us to open up and
invite Him in. Until we do He continues to woo us in love. But He will never break down
the door.
The woman was a bit confused about what He was offering, but once Jesus explained it to
her, she immediately wanted this water. She asked Him for it. Of course she didn’t
fully understand what she was asking for. All she could think of was having this wonderful
water and not having to come and draw all the time. She was looking only at the blessings
that would come with it. She did not realize that it would bring some changes in her life.
Jesus’ next statement took her totally by surprise. He told her to go and get her
husband and bring him back. Of course Jesus knew exactly where she stood where husbands
were concerned. This was a major problem in her life. It was her area of greatest failure.
But Jesus wanted her to realize that the coming of the blessing was going to bring changes
to her life. This part of her life was going to change.
Many miss the point here. Jesus was not telling her to sort her life out before He gave
her the water she had requested. He wanted her to see that the blessing would affect every
area of her life, and especially her failures. But it would also cause things in her life
to be exposed and removed. This is a common area of confusion on the subject of revival.
People think that in order to bring revival, they have to start dealing with sin in their
life. The fact is that revival brings a removal of sin, not the other way around.
The woman tried to avoid the issue that Jesus had raised. She acknowledged that He had
been correct, but now she tried to get ‘spiritual.’ She got into a theological
discussion. Isn’t it amazing how when people are confronted with their failures, they
will try to cover it up by getting super spiritual? And of course they will try to justify
their actions.
Then she got into an argument about doctrine. In modern terms she might have said
something like, "Well the Pentecostals and Charismatics say we should speak in
tongues and the Holiness people tell us we should be sanctified and the Baptists tell us
we should be baptized, but who is right?" Jesus directed her back to what counted
– the Spirit of God. He told her that God is worshipped in the Spirit, not in church
organizations.
Her last ditch attempt to escape was when she brought up the Messiah. In effect she was
trying to tell Jesus that she was not prepared to listen to a mere man, but would only
listen to God. When you confront a person with their failures they are quick to say that
they listen only to God and not man. Never mind the fact they do not know how to hear the
voice of God. God often uses human vessels to speak forth His words. Jesus was speaking
the words that the Father had given Him to speak. But people saw Him as just a man.
The end came when Jesus took away her final argument, by presenting Himself as the
Messiah. And when she arrived at that point, she got to the end of herself. Now she was
finally ready to receive the gift of the living water that Jesus was offering. This is
exactly what is going to happen when you start to seek the Lord for the living water that
He offers in the Spirit. You are going to go through a time of testing that will expose in
you everything that will be affected by the coming of this anointing.
Perhaps like the Samaritan woman you will look for excuses to escape the things in your
life that you know are going to have to change. Perhaps you will use theological arguments
and get into doctrinal discussions. Maybe you’ll try to pretend that things are fine
with you. But you will have to come to the end of yourself before you are going to see
what you are desiring of the Lord.
You are going to have to realize that you do not deserve His blessing. You are going to
have to admit that you are failure without His help. You are going to have to admit that
your life falls hopelessly short of what you should be. You are going to have to
acknowledge that you don’t have all the answers. And you are going to have to come
face to face with the King of Kings and acknowledge that He is your Lord.
When you reach that point He will pour on you, in abundance, the gift of His grace. The
living water will spring up within and flow out of you to bless and meet the needs of
others. Your ministry will spring forth in power. Revival will come.
