Joh 4:1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
Joh 4:2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples),
Joh 4:3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.
Joh 4:4 And he had to pass through Samaria.
Joh 4:5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Joh 4:6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Joh 4:7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
Joh 4:8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
Joh 4:9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Joh 4:11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
Joh 4:12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
Joh 4:13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
Joh 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Joh 4:15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Joh 4:16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”
Joh 4:17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;
Joh 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
Joh 4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
Joh 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
Joh 4:21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Joh 4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”
Joh 4:26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Joh 4:27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”
Joh 4:28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
Joh 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
Joh 4:30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Joh 4:31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.”
Joh 4:32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
Joh 4:33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?”
Joh 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
Joh 4:35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.
Joh 4:36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.
Joh 4:37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’
Joh 4:38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Joh 4:39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”
Joh 4:40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.
Joh 4:41 And many more believed because of his word.
Joh 4:42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Joh 4:43 After the two days he departed for Galilee.
Joh 4:44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)
Joh 4:45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.
Joh 4:46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.
Joh 4:47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
Joh 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”
Joh 4:49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
Joh 4:50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.
Joh 4:51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.
Joh 4:52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
Joh 4:53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.
Joh 4:54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

1) People “in the church” starting trouble again, but it leads to a great story

7) We have the story of the Samaritan woman which introduces the concept that God loves all of us, both Jew and gentile. While the Jewish people are still his chosen ones, that does not mean he loves us any less - he just has a slightly different part of his plan for each party to fulfill.

I believe that every person walking the earth today has some kind of prejudice against another man. I introduced this idea to my wife, and she was aghast - “I am not a racist!” … I was not talking about racism (though that is part of the problem). Satan has confused us with an acceptable substitute. We are trained in the American society that prejudice solely refers to racial bigotry. (more specifically white on black prejudice) I’ve never met a person from Samaria, but I’m thinking that they did not look all that different from the Jews. By focusing so strongly on race, we miss out on every other form of prejudice that God is trying to work out of us.

That my friends is how Satan gets us. He doesn’t show up in pointy horns saying “I’m the devil, lets go kill some schoolchildren”. Rather he gets us slightly off the word of God so we miss the entirety of God’s will. I refer to it often as the “acceptable substitute”. Close does not count when it comes to God

We are prejudiced against social classes, sex, enconomic standing, religion, and even the color of hair (wonder why brunette women love a good “blonde joke”?). God shows us through Jesus that he wants us to break down these walls. The first and easiest way is to stop participating in the jokes, and replace times when we think improper things with prayer for that person. I dont feel like praying for Irani Arabs when I see them on the news saying that they would win a nuclear exchange w/ Israel, but I imagine Jesus’ flesh would not want to pray for the same people that struck his face and spit on him. For our example, he prayed to the father for him. My wife and I started policing each other lately when those situations arise. I usually crack a smile when she asks me to pray for someone that just cut me off in traffic. I say (with a grin) “Can’t I just hold onto this anger and bitterness just a few more minutes?”. We then laugh it off and pray. Sometimes it isn’t that easy though. The more we do it though, the easier it gets and the less things will bother us.

14) Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit and the grace of God - we now have what was missing in our lives. We no longer thirst for the unrighteous, but rather are filled by the peace and grace of God.

18) Jesus reveals truth into her life so she may grow stronger in the Lord - it is like John 15:2:

John 15:2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Jesus wishes to do that to us. We get to points where sin in our lives impedes further progress. God will point out our “5 husbands” if we ask.

24) We do not look for the natural - worshipping God through the Holy Spirit

26) Jesus reveals himself first to the simple and poor - they are more willing to accept him. Look at the million-person crusades in Africa involving those in destitute poverty. Then, look at the difficult mission fields of Australia and Japan which are well-developed nations.

31-34) The flesh cries out to be fulfilled in the physical sense, but God provides the real sustenance we need - life. I was sitting down to study the word, and I started remembering all these things that I “needed to do”. Lately I have been getting up do do them so my mind would be clear before studying. Good intention - poor execution. I need to remember that God’s word is the most important.

I remember hearing a preacher say, “I have so much to do today that I will spend the first three hours in prayer.” That does not seem to make sense by the world’s standards, where everything is “Go, Go, Now, Now.” In reality though, spending time with God maximizes our effectiveness. God will show us the best way to do something, help us to organize our time, and give us peace and joy in the process. My mind moves like a jackrabbit after a triple-espresso, so this will be a major challenge for me - how about you?

39 & 41) Some believe when the hear the word of God through a preacher, or through our testimony. Some people though, are more like the Apostle Thomas - doubting until they experience it ourselves. This is the most difficult way to go through life - these people (I was/am one of them) usually learn most lessons the hard way because of pride and lack of faith. For these people, we could try all day to lead them through Christ through our testimony. The answer is to find a way to get them to look in the word for themselves. There is a famous preacher (can’t remember his name) who came to Christ when he was trying to prove the Bible to be full of lies and inconsistencies. He opened the pages, and God slowly transformed his heart.

48) Oddly enough, there are some Christians who still believe that miraculous healings just occurred in Jesus’ day. Jesus addresses this here. The official from Capernaum wanted Jesus to physically come to his home to heal his son, when Jesus could heal him standing where he was. The Holy Spirit is everywhere - physical distance does not restrain spiritual things, and neither does time. Jesus heals today.

I have personally experienced this in the form of a tooth that was regenerated. I had a large crack down the center of one of my front teeth, as it was being squeezed by the others. I was afraid it would have to be pulled, so I prayed that God would heal my tooth. I am not even sure when it exactly happened, but my tooth was healed at some point in the few months between when I prayed, and when I went to the dentist. While I have antecdotal evidence of teeth recalcifying, It could not happen that quickly. I have also experienced colds that immediately went away when everyone in my office was horribly ill. Fortunately I have not had need for much more than that, but I could recount numerous prayers my wife and I have uttered for loved ones that have come true. Is it because we are special? Heck, no - God gives this power to all that believe.

Mark 11:23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him

Pro 4:1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight,
Pro 4:2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.
Pro 4:3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,
Pro 4:4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.
Pro 4:5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Pro 4:6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.
Pro 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
Pro 4:8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
Pro 4:9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”
Pro 4:10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.
Pro 4:11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
Pro 4:12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.
Pro 4:13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.
Pro 4:14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.
Pro 4:15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.
Pro 4:16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
Pro 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
Pro 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Pro 4:19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
Pro 4:20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.
Pro 4:21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.
Pro 4:22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.
Pro 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Pro 4:24 Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.
Pro 4:25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.
Pro 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
Pro 4:27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

1) This refers to the Jewish practice where the mother would be responsible for both the male and female children until around age 5. After this time, the sons would be turned over to their fathers for instruction in living. Unfortunately many children do not grow up with their fathers due to divorce, but situations do not change the truth of God’s word.

For those who did not either know their fathers or receive proper instruction for life, we may turn to God, the supreme father, the perfect father, and the Holy father. He can undo in a year’s time what 18 years with a lousy parent burdened you with. We should still honor our parents and forgive them, but we’ll just take it one step at a time…

5-6) God is still “selling us” on why we need wisdom - we need to seek after it like it is the most valuable treasure

Proverbs 2:5 “if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure”

I’ll spend all day looking for my keys or spend hours comparison shopping online for an ipod, but will I spend hours researching God’s word?

15) Hey, real life situation just occurred right before I wrote this sentence. I was having a conversation with a person, and the opportunity came up to criticize a person that gives us some trouble. Unforunately I did not enter the path of the wicked. I went right down it and criticized the person. I felt the Holy Sprit trying to stop me even before I knew what words I was going to speak. I wish I had listened.

I was looking for ways to witness to this particular person I was talking to, and look at what a lousy example I just was. The person said, “I love it when I see your spiteful side come out”. It sure hurts to hear those words -talk about convicting. I feel like I just erased months of “good behavior”. Before I was a Christian I enjoyed when Christians cussed or got angry, too - I suppose it validated my behavior in some strange way.

Fortunately the last part of the verse says “turn away from it and pass on”. Guess that’s all there is to do - repent, accept Christ’s forgiveness, and be ready to speak words of life, edifying others.

16-17) Ever known anyone like this? They just go around spreading misery and destruction. I remember as a small child committing acts of vandalism, wondering “how many dollars of damage I caused today”. That my friends is a child who is following the lead of a darker power. If we are not introducing our children to Jesus, someone else will introduce themselves (and we don’t want that one around our kids) Taking them to church doesn’t absolve us of praying as a family, studying the word, and talking openly about God.

My family never talked about God, and we knew absolutely nothing that was in the Bible other than the usual stories that we see cartoons about around the holidays. My family chose to make IQ scores their idol. Let’s not put our children at the distinct disadvantage of having to find God after they have screwed up their lives, and those of people they love. Let’s get them started early. If you already have children, no day is too late - start now. I recall the story of numerous pastors who came to the Lord after they had children. Even as adults, the children remembered the change in their parents lives with great joy.

24) Our tongues are our most dangerous weapon and our biggest adversary. We’ll suggest all kinds of things with our mouth that we dare not do with our bodies. Just as God spoke words of faith that created this universe, we can speak words of doubt and hate that can erect walls between us and God. I have been praying lately that God will help me monitor every word out of my mouth before I speak it. I have not obeyed perfectly, but I can see some changes. Sometimes I seem disconcertingly quiet to others, but I am sure God will continue to fill my heart so these words of faith will continuously pour out of my mouth.

25) Remain focused - our society is always trying to get our attention, usually to sell us something, be it a product or idea. The only ideas we need are Gods, and those come from his word and through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In closing I pray the Lord’s prayer

Matthew 6:9-15 (ESV)

9Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread,
12and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Amen - thanks for joining us. Please share your thoughts, impressions, and stories by clicking on the comments tab below.

Have a blessed day!

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