- We must always remember that the spirit realm is superior to the natural realm. Nothing natural has authority over anything spiritual, but things spiritual determine things physical.
- The tendency of modern religion to overemphasize carnal prosperity is one of the greatest hindrances to spiritual discernment and true conversion. Messages centered around earthly possessions and services designed to stimulate emotion subtly lure followers into sensuality and spiritual insensitivity. This renders large bodies of church goers ill-prepared for the unseen enemies surrounding them.
- With all things physical, spiritual discernment and power are critical for the effectiveness of a believer, and the source of both is the Holy Spirit. We must remain connected, through out worship, to our heavenly Father who is the greatest source of spiritual power and authority. As we discussed in the scriptures of Deuteronomy 28, the benefits and blessing of God are conditional, being based on our obedience to the Lord’s commands.
- At all times, we must walk in the worship that maintains our position under the protection and provision of the Lord.
*John 4:7-24 (KJV) “7There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 8(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) 9Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. 10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 11The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
15The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”*
- Jesus asks a Samaritan woman to draw water from a well. Samaritans were outsiders, mixed by blood, in custom and in culture with non-Jewish residents during times of Babylonian captivity. In a way, Jesus request for water can be seen as a reflection of all men’s requirement, Jews and especially Gentiles, to demonstrate obedience to God’s commands.
- A well is a method to draw water, a life sustaining resource which represents the laws of God, from beneath the surface of the earth. As an interesting side note, water exists not just in oceans but beneath the surface of the earth. So, God’s law is inescapable and everywhere. For those who walk in sin and disobedience, the consequences of His laws await them. For those who walk in obedience, the protections of His laws belong to them. In several places and ways throughout scripture, water even comes up even through ground. Again, as a primary sustainer of physical life, water symbolizes that the law of God sustains eternal life.
Genesis 2:4-7 4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 7:10-12 10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
- This Samaritan woman had multiple husbands of which Jesus was knowledgeable. This can be seen as a prophetic revelation that all outsiders, prior to knowing Jesus, were once wed/connected to several sinful partners, yet we still mercifully given access to living water. (Ephesians 2:1-5)
- Samaritans and Jews had differing beliefs about the physical place where one should worship, but Jesus clarifies that the physical place of worship is inferior to the spiritual place of worship. This is indicative of how many denominations of religion today prioritize the physical appearance of their buildings, their obeisance to physical laws or the experience of their worship “productions,” when true worship comes from the heart of the individual. That worship is revealed in every aspect and area of our lives, and we should be found worshiping Him in whatever we do.
- We never know when Jesus will show up and require that we produce water. Times of sudden distress reveal what is in us whether our well is dry or not. If our worship is connected to an outside source, a certain “holy day” of the week or any other limited environment or context, then we are effectively relying on an external water source rather than the internal one of the Holy Spirit.
- Ultimately, the woman was drawing physical water from a well, but she had no idea that the source of living water stood before her. This symbolizes that many are able to follow religious laws and portray a religious image, but far less are able to truly and continually walk in the law being empowered by the Holy Spirit within! Worship is a lifestyle and is not limited to a moment, a song or a building.
*John 7:14-39 14Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? 16Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.
19Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? 20The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee? 21Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel. 22Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. 23If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? 24Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Is Jesus the Messiah?
25Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? 26But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? 27Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. 28Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. 29But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. 30Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. 31And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?
32The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him. 33Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me. 34Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come. 35Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find him? will he go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles? 36What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come?
Living Water
37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)*
- The Holy spirit can produce water faster than men can draw it. In other words, the deeds that reveal the Spirit and determine our eternal fate are generated and sustained by what can be drawn from within. If there is living water within the wells of our inward man, our eternal life will be sustained. If there is no water within (we are full of carnal and religious vanity) or if we can only rely on what we can draw from a well outside of us (religious practice), we will not be able to sustain eternal life.
- Our discernment is enabled by an indwelling Holy Spirit, not access to a well of religious knowledge. The reason the Pharisees could not discern that Jesus was the Messiah is because they were full of evil within. The way they acted towards Jesus was fueled by what was inside of them. As religious competitors seeking vanity, they could only see Jesus another religious challenger and not a Savior.
Luke 12:11-12 11And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: 12For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
- Discernment is not just about what you are able to see, but how you’re able to act and respond. Often that response is not voluntary but involuntary and empowered by the Holy Spirit who moves without our intellectual calculation. Our lives are preserved for our ministry so long as we are obedient to it. We should be confident that nothing can kill our flesh before its time, and nothing destroy our spirit! (Dream of Dad praying).
- Our works ARE our worship, and our worship is in spirit and truth. We draw upon the well of water of the Spirit within us to discern the world around us and act according to the will of God.
Isaiah 12 1And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
