1 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,160 Hi and welcome to the Via Zion Sermon podcast. 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:13,440 We are a local church based here in Chennai, India. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:16,680 We are so glad you are with us and hope that this will 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,880 encourage, inspire and instill fresh faith in you. 5 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:24,040 We have a fresh word for you today called It is Well with My 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,080 Soul. We look together at God's Word 7 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,400 and hope to discover the joy that comes from enjoying God's 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,880 presence more than attempting to serve Him or ask Him for things 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:39,200 that he already knows we need. As you listen in, will you check 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,960 the condition of your soul and ask God to help you live with a 11 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:45,320 fresh understanding of who He is? 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,560 Hi Church, what a joy it is to bring God's word to you today. 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:52,320 We have been looking at the book of Romans and then Gesham shared 14 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:58,000 with us about prophet Elisha and Naman and today we're going to 15 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,480 be looking at A2 part series. We're looking at part one of it 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,800 and I have titled it it is well with my soul. 17 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,760 You'll see why in a bit. But two weeks back when I was 18 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,120 doing my quiet time, this particular verse from Isaiah 19 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,080 just jumped off the page at me and it just left me riveted. 20 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:17,680 It left me with more questions. It didn't really minister to me, 21 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:19,160 but it left me with a lot of questions. 22 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,600 And I want to share that verse with you and then explain to you 23 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,680 why I was so puzzled. It says Isaiah 12 verse three 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,640 says. With joy you will draw water 25 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,400 from the. Wells of salvation. 26 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,880 Now I know that the prophets had these different images that they 27 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,080 used to explain certain biblical principles, but this is the 28 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:41,560 first time I was reading of salvation being likened to a 29 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,520 well from the wells of salvation. 30 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:46,840 And interestingly, it says with joy you will draw water. 31 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,440 And this, this was a season, this has been a season where 32 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,680 there's been a lot of hard work that we had to put in on 33 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,440 different things. A lot of striving and joy 34 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:56,720 wouldn't be one of the predominant emotions of the 35 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,400 season. Excitement maybe, exhaustion, 36 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,920 yes, but joy, maybe not. And when you look at the whole 37 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,520 the verbiage that is used, it says with joy you will draw 38 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,440 water. And if anyone of you have seen a 39 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:13,520 well, if you've seen a well in a village, you've seen a. 40 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,320 If you have a well in your house, you know that a well to 41 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,240 take water out of it requires a lot of effort and. 42 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,160 The the the adjective used to describe that would not be joy. 43 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,880 It's a lot of, you know, back breaking, exhaustive work. 44 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:30,160 And so this verse just didn't leave me. 45 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,080 It kept, you know, hounding me. And I decided, OK, let me get 46 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:34,280 into it. Let me find out what this 47 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,000 actually means. What is God? 48 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,920 Telling me from this passage, and so here's what what I 49 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:43,160 deduced over the period of two weeks, and this is what I want 50 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,600 to share with you. And I believe God has a word for 51 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,120 each of us that love him. God is calling us into a place 52 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,880 of drawing water from the wells of salvation with joy. 53 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:55,000 Now, here's the thing about salvation. 54 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,280 Salvation is a free gift. We looked at that in Romans. 55 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,520 We did nothing to deserve it. It's purely the grace of God 56 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,240 because of which we had salvation offered to us. 57 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,280 And we just respond to it. And it's amazing because the 58 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,560 minute we respond to it, you know, with repentance, He 59 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,880 forgives us. We are called, you know, into 60 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,840 the we're called righteous. We're made, you know, it's 61 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,720 imputed. Righteousness is given to us. 62 00:03:16,920 --> 00:03:20,680 We are counted and credited to be, you know, a child of God. 63 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,120 We are now one in the family. And it's amazing. 64 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,160 This whole concept is so beautiful, feels so simple. 65 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:27,680 But you know the hard part of that. 66 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,240 The hard part is living out that righteousness, living out that 67 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,720 salvation. Every day, working out our own 68 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,160 salvation is what is hard because every single day of our 69 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,680 lives until we reach eternity, we have battles, we have 70 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,880 obstacles, we have setbacks, we have our glory moments, we have 71 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:48,320 our terribly hard moments. And in between all of the stuff 72 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,960 that follows, being human is so dramatic that joy sometimes 73 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,680 seems to elude us. And I believe that's where God 74 00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,280 is calling us. He's asking us, rather than to 75 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,760 strive and struggle to make it through this Christian life, 76 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:05,240 He's calling us to a place of joy. 77 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:10,280 For too long we emphasize on on what not to do, that we've 78 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:14,800 forgotten what we must do. I'm reminded of how Adam and 79 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:19,240 Eve, when they were created and before sin crept in, they had 80 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,320 this undisturbed walk with God. He would walk with them in the 81 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,800 cool of the day, in the garden. And primarily God had created 82 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,160 them for relationship. God had created them to enjoy 83 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,800 His company. And today I want to leave that 84 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,960 with you, that God is calling us into a place of enjoying His 85 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,120 presence. The wells of salvation are given 86 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:45,400 to us in Jesus, but the call on us is to enjoy God's presence. 87 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,840 That joy comes from a place of being with him, of resting in 88 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:54,520 Him, of communing with Him. And so I want to just go a 89 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,840 little deeper to understand what these wells look like. 90 00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,600 What are the struggles that we face? 91 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,600 How do we practically draw from these wells? 92 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:03,880 That's what we're going to be looking at today. 93 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,920 And we're going to be looking specifically at the story of 94 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:09,520 Isaac. Now, we look at Abraham a lot. 95 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,800 Abraham, the man of faith, he was the patriarch, you know, the 96 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:14,560 father of all nations and all of that. 97 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,440 We know this about him. Now, one thing that we didn't 98 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,480 emphasize on when we look at Abraham was Abraham dug a well 99 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:24,000 in in the land of Beersheba and the promised land. 100 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,840 He and his servants found a, they dug for water, found a well 101 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:30,600 and they made a oath around it with the king of the land 102 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:32,000 saying, you know, we dug this well. 103 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:37,120 Fast forward about 70 years later, Isaac, his son is in the 104 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:39,840 very same land. He is in a place called Gerar. 105 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,880 And the interesting thing about Isaac's life is it's marked by 106 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,840 him digging wells at different points along his journey. 107 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:52,200 When we look at Jacob, Jacob had this habit of building altars. 108 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:55,920 Isaac only, it only mentions Isaac building 1 altar, but it 109 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,160 mentions him building many wells, digging many wells. 110 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,520 And so today we're going to be looking at what this actually 111 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,840 indicates to us in today's time and the time that we live in. 112 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:09,840 If you know anything about how a well is dug, a well is 113 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:12,760 basically, now we have these bowel drillers. 114 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:14,840 You know the guys who come, they have a drilling machine and they 115 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:17,520 dig down deep. And at a certain point when 116 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,000 they're digging, water rushes in and they know they've hit the 117 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,800 aquifer, the aqueduct, the underground source of water. 118 00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:28,320 But in the olden times, they would actually dig manually 119 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:31,640 through the ground in the desert, in the Negev Desert. 120 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:35,960 They would dig and go deep until they reach the water source. 121 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:38,840 And once they reach the water source, there was no need of a 122 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:42,280 pump or anything to draw it up. Just by virtue of pressure and 123 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:45,200 the way it was angled, water would rush into the cistern, 124 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,640 water would rush into the well. And today the same goes for 125 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,080 wells which are being dug everywhere. 126 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:53,000 You see a garden, you find an old well that maybe was dug 127 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,560 50-60 years back. These are both rain fed, but 128 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,040 mostly fed by underground springs. 129 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,040 And the interesting thing about a well is if you if you watch 130 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,160 these guys who come to dig a bow well, they won't stop at the 1st 131 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:09,400 place that they hit water. They usually go deeper than 132 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:11,440 that. The reason being, sometimes you 133 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,000 can hit a shallow point of water entering, but that won't be a 134 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,040 permanent source. You need to go deeper into the 135 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,000 bedrock of that place to find a deeper source of water so that 136 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:24,960 the water is more perennial than the other one. 137 00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:29,760 And I want to ask you today, have you been in this place, in 138 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,280 your Christian walk, in this walk with Jesus, where you have 139 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:33,920 been content with the shallow with him? 140 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:37,920 I know Psalm 23 by heart. I know Psalm 91, I'm good. 141 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:40,160 I know what to do. I know about the blood of Jesus. 142 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,440 I know about the Spirit of God. I think I'm sorted. 143 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,800 I know all the big words. But God is saying, like the 144 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,800 psalmist says, deep cries out too deep. 145 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:51,160 Our God is a deep God. He goes deep with us and he's 146 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,920 longing for us to go deep with him. 147 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,560 We cannot be content with the shallow life anymore. 148 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,560 Too many of us are living hand to mouth, hand to forehead, 149 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,560 heads bowed, fists clenched because we are not willing to go 150 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,280 deeper with God. We are so stressed. 151 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,080 We are striving. We are so exhausted. 152 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,880 We have lost hope purely because, purely because we have 153 00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:22,440 not gone deeper to the source. I want to encourage you with 154 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,320 this. You cannot stay content with 155 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:27,640 what you receive in a church service for two hours on a 156 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:28,840 Sunday. That's not enough. 157 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,960 You cannot go. Deeper by saying just read the 158 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,679 verse of the day. You cannot grow deeper just by a 159 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,480 nice discussion with Christian friends. 160 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,919 You need to go deeper with yourself, with your Creator. 161 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,799 God is calling you to draw deeply from the wells of 162 00:08:43,799 --> 00:08:46,080 salvation. It is the. 163 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,480 Endless presence of God. I love that when you read about 164 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,720 Moses and Abraham, there was a continual communication with 165 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,040 God. It never ended it it, it didn't 166 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,720 end even at the time of death because they just crossed over 167 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,040 into eternity and we're with him forever. 168 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,680 And I wonder if we want to live that those kind of victorious 169 00:09:05,680 --> 00:09:10,640 lives, lives of impact that we need to go that deep to actually 170 00:09:10,640 --> 00:09:13,000 live with that kind of purpose and impact. 171 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:19,800 In ancient times, a well was so, so pivotal to their very 172 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,640 existence, very pivotal to their sustenance because you have to 173 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,680 understand it's a desert land where Abraham was settled, where 174 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:29,680 Isaac settled. These were desert lands, barren. 175 00:09:29,680 --> 00:09:33,040 And in the midst of that, they made the effort back breaking 176 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,200 work of digging, digging, digging until they found water. 177 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,440 It was a persistent effort that they put in, and the water that 178 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:45,760 was brought out served to fuel entire communities, entire 179 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,600 households, entire livestock and herds of these families. 180 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,720 It was so important. Without the well, without the 181 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,480 water that came from it, the entire community would perish. 182 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,240 And so these wells were life saving. 183 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,080 These wells were central to their sustenance. 184 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:04,160 And so today, as we look at Genesis 26, I want you to keep 185 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:08,080 your Bible open at Genesis 26. It's a story of Isaac's 186 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:12,040 prosperity against all odds. It's the common theme of his 187 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,720 story is that his people dug wells as they moved. 188 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:18,560 From place to place. And we're going to look at that 189 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:22,440 a little deeper to understand how we on this journey of life 190 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:24,920 can also dig wells right where we are at. 191 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,000 OK, so we're going to be reading Genesis chapter 26. 192 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,200 I'm first going to read from verses one to six. 193 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,560 It says now there was a famine in the land besides the previous 194 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,400 famine in Abraham's time. And Isaac went to Abimelech, 195 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:37,880 king of the Philistines, in Jeddah. 196 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:41,280 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, do not go down to Egypt. 197 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:43,240 Live in the land where I tell you to live. 198 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,320 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will 199 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,600 bless you. For to you and your descendants 200 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,760 I will give all these lands, and will confirm the oath I swore to 201 00:10:51,760 --> 00:10:55,400 your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as 202 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,400 numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them all 203 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,000 these lands. Through your offspring. 204 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,600 All nations on earth will be blessed because Abraham obeyed 205 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,120 me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my 206 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:11,240 decrees, and my instructions. So Isaac stayed in Jarrah. 207 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,520 We're going to just pause there. If you notice, there's some very 208 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,200 important things. There's a famine in Isaac's 209 00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:17,800 time. There was a famine in Abraham's 210 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:19,000 time. It's the same problem, but 211 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,280 different generations. OK, New family, though. 212 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:24,280 Isaac, Rebecca and their twin boys. 213 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,560 Same promise. The promise that was given to 214 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:28,640 Abraham follows Isaac. He says you're going to be a 215 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,080 blessing, and you're going to be a blessing to many others. 216 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,680 I'm going to bless you. But there's an old problem which 217 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:36,040 has come back. It's the famine. 218 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,320 But there's a new solution this time. 219 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:42,120 The last time there was a famine in the land, Abraham and Sarah 220 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,720 moved to Egypt. This time God says don't move to 221 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,800 Egypt, stay in Gerard and Isaac. Stayed, it says. 222 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,760 Now in between this, just after this for a few verses, we see a 223 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,000 mistake that is repeated across generations. 224 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:00,080 Abraham and Sarah lied to the Pharaoh, lied to Kim King 225 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,320 Abimelech about Sarah being his sister. 226 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,560 And they get caught. But then, you know, God is so 227 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,880 graceful, God is so gracious that he just, you know, says 228 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:11,400 it's fine. I'm going to, you know, look 229 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,640 after them. I'll protect you guys as well. 230 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,000 Coming down to the next generation, Isaac tells 231 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,320 Abimelech the same thing. He says she's my sister. 232 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:23,120 And they leave her alone again. He has to come face to face with 233 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,960 ABI Malik and say, yeah, sorry, I had to say that because my 234 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,600 wife is very beautiful. You see how some things repeat 235 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:30,600 across generations when we're not careful. 236 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:35,000 But the interesting thing about Isaac was he was obedient to 237 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:36,800 God. When God said stay, he stayed. 238 00:12:37,520 --> 00:12:39,240 I want to ask you this before we move on. 239 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,680 Have you moved? When God asked you to stay? 240 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:44,120 Did God ask you to stay in that marriage? 241 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,400 Did God ask you to stay in that job? 242 00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:50,080 He said, wait, I've got a moment when you need to move, but did 243 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:54,160 you move prematurely? An important part of seeing the 244 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:58,440 prosperity that comes from God's hands is that we need to stay 245 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,600 when He asks us to stay and move when He asks us to move. 246 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,440 Continuing from verse 12, Isaac planted crops in that land and 247 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,600 the same year reaped a hundredfold because the Lord 248 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:13,120 blessed him. The man became rich, and his 249 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:15,800 wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 250 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:18,680 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the 251 00:13:18,680 --> 00:13:21,760 Philistines envied him. So all the wells that his 252 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:25,240 father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the 253 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,680 Philistines stopped up, filling them up with earth. 254 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:31,400 Then Abhimalyk said to Isaac, Move away from us. 255 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:33,440 You have become too. Powerful for us. 256 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,000 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the valley of 257 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:41,240 Girar, where he settled. Isaac reopened the wells that 258 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:44,120 had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the 259 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:48,160 Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them 260 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,000 the same names his father had given them. 261 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,800 So look at this interesting thing. 262 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:56,840 Something supernatural is happening in Isaac's life. 263 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,840 He is having an increase during the time of famine. 264 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:01,920 Famine. Nothing grows. 265 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,840 There's no rain, there's no crop growth. 266 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,720 Livestock are languishing. Nothing much is happening. 267 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:12,000 It's a very still environment. But here it says Isaac planted 268 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,880 crops and in the same year he reaped a hundredfold. 269 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:17,720 That is nothing short of supernatural. 270 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:19,800 That is not natural. That is not something that 271 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,560 happens. You ask a farmer, That's not 272 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,160 something that happens. And so it says because the Lord 273 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,280 blessed him. It was not the ingenuity of 274 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,480 Isaac, it was not his good luck. It was because God blessed him. 275 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:36,120 And it says he became rich and his wealth kept increasing. 276 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,120 And it says that his wealth induced the jealousy and the 277 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:44,760 insecurity of the Philistines. Now, here, you have to 278 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,360 understand, here there's a plot twist. 279 00:14:47,600 --> 00:14:52,120 Isaac is the wealthy Chieftain. He is flourishing in the middle 280 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:54,960 of a desert. He's flourishing in the inner 281 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,960 valley. He is flourishing when the rest 282 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:04,480 of the land languishes. The edge that he had was a 283 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,080 supernatural favour of God. It was not him. 284 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:09,240 It was not because he was so special. 285 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:11,880 He was special. He was the son of of Abraham. 286 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,920 But there was something else that was on him that gave him 287 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,480 this kind of favour. And you have to understand that 288 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:23,480 when we experience that level of favour, there's bound to be 289 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,200 opposition. There's bound to be those who 290 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,160 come and try to block your blessing. 291 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,200 There were those wells that were dug in the time of his father, 292 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,920 which he was probably using for his cultivation at that point. 293 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,520 And these guys come and block it all up. 294 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,760 They throw dirt, they throw carcasses in, they throw old 295 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:42,440 things in just to block the supply of water. 296 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,440 But the interesting thing is it says that. 297 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,600 He moved away when he. Experienced the opposition when 298 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:51,360 they come in his face and say we're done, get out of here, he 299 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:53,080 doesn't stay and. Fight, he knew. 300 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,920 That his time had come to move. He moves and he. 301 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:01,200 Reopens the wells that were dug before that had been closed up. 302 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,280 You have to understand that he had a grit and a determination. 303 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,160 He could have just languished and gone. 304 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:10,680 Oh God, my lot in life is so hard. 305 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:13,720 I've had these kids with so much difficulty and this wealth. 306 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:15,000 I don't know what to do with it now. 307 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,440 I've had this opposition. He could have just sat back. 308 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,280 But there's something about Isaac that made him go get the 309 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,120 promise that God had kept for him. 310 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,280 He didn't languish. He didn't relax. 311 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,120 He kept his hand to the plow. He kept working. 312 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,640 You need to understand that a lot of time when you times when 313 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:38,640 you see people around you who God is blessing, yes they had a 314 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,320 part to play in it. But the supernatural favour of 315 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,440 God can't be explained. And if you want to experience 316 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,840 this, you need to walk in obedience to God. 317 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,760 When he says move, you move. When he says stop, you stop. 318 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,560 When he asks you to plant, you plant. 319 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:52,800 When he asks you to reap, you reap. 320 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,120 A lot of us want the shortcut. We want the harvest without the 321 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,720 sowing and God is saying I need you to do your part. 322 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,080 I work along with you, or rather you work along with me. 323 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:05,640 If I'm not working, how's He going to give me the blessing? 324 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:08,520 There are parts of this that I need to step in. 325 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,720 Dirty my hands, dirty my feet. I need to work with God. 326 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:16,720 I need to be obedient. Don't be jealous of those who 327 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,400 are blessed. They are doing something that 328 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,160 has got God's attention. They have been obedient in the 329 00:17:24,160 --> 00:17:26,880 hidden places that has elevated them publicly. 330 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,520 Don't be jealous. Don't waste your time being 331 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:29,400 jealous of them. They are. 332 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,760 They are backed by the supernatural favour of God. 333 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:33,720 Instead, look at your own life, God. 334 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,120 Why am I lacking this? I want this favour for myself 335 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,880 and I'm sure God will show you areas in your life where 336 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:42,800 obedience needs to come to the forefront. 337 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,480 And it's so important to remember that just because 338 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,640 you're in a desert experience, you're in a wilderness, you're 339 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,440 in a barren place, it doesn't mean God can't bless you. 340 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,880 God will bless you in that place. 341 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,840 That is the power of our God. He is able to make you thrive 342 00:17:58,840 --> 00:18:02,480 hundredfold in the land of Baroness too, because that is 343 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,120 God. He loves to work in those odds. 344 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,920 I also want to encourage you that maybe you're in a season 345 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,560 where nothing is working. And you've just thrown your 346 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:13,440 hands up in defeat. You're like, I can't do this 347 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:15,480 anymore. But maybe God is calling you 348 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,480 back to some spiritual disciplines that you ditched a 349 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,000 long time back. You, you prayed and fasted in 350 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,840 the past. You've given it up for 20 years. 351 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,760 God is saying now is the time I need you to start praying again. 352 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:28,520 Maybe you're someone who meditated on His word. 353 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:32,040 You drank it up like it was oxygen, but you gave up saying, 354 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,240 you know the word doesn't work. God is calling you back. 355 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,720 He's saying reopen those wells, the wells that you stopped up, 356 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,480 the wells that the enemy stopped up using your disappointment. 357 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:45,760 I want you to reopen it. What was your family doing that 358 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,360 was good? Maybe your family as a family, 359 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:50,600 you were generous. Maybe you you gave your tithes 360 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,480 and offerings. Maybe you spent time in the 361 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:54,560 world. Maybe you had family prayer. 362 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,880 And maybe now you've stopped all that because you feel enough. 363 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,720 It didn't work. I didn't see any returns from 364 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:02,200 it. I didn't get rewarded for it. 365 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,040 God is calling you back. He's saying open those wells up, 366 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,920 remove the things that have blocked it up. 367 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,800 Come back, build me that family altar. 368 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,480 Bring your children. Together and pray with them. 369 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:16,520 Maybe God is saying you have not tithed. 370 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,160 You have not given your offerings for years on end. 371 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,360 Test me in this. What is God calling you to 372 00:19:23,360 --> 00:19:26,840 reopen? Which wells has He called you to 373 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,600 reopen? Continuing from verse 19, 374 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:34,000 Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of 375 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,400 fresh water there. But the herders of Gerard 376 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,200 quarrelled with those of Isaac and said the water is ours. 377 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,680 So he named the well Essec because they disputed with him. 378 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,600 Then they dug another well, but they quarrelled over that one 379 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,000 also, so he named it Sitna. He moved on from there and dug 380 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000 another well and no one quarrelled over it. 381 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:55,560 He named it Rehabot, saying now the Lord has given us room and 382 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,680 we will flourish in the land from there. 383 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,560 He went up to Beersheba. That night the Lord appeared to 384 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:04,400 him and said, I am the God of your father, Abraham. 385 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:06,640 Do not be. Afraid, for I am with you. 386 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,560 I will bless you and will increase the number of your 387 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,000 descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham. 388 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,800 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. 389 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:20,680 There he pitched his tent and there his servants dug a well. 390 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:25,560 It's so interesting he he goes to the first part he they 391 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,800 discover a well of fresh water. They're so excited, but it 392 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:32,040 incurs problem. So he moves on, digs another 393 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:33,640 well. There's problem there too. 394 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,320 He goes to the third place and there there is peace. 395 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,800 Rehoboth a place that they have room they will flourish. 396 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:44,880 But then he didn't stay there. He didn't stay at Rehabot. 397 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,840 He moves to be a sheba. A lot of us tend to stay at the 398 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,440 place where we find ourselves. You know, it's roomy, it's 399 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,120 spacious. I have, you know, elbow room. 400 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,080 I enjoy this job. I get to boss over other people 401 00:20:55,080 --> 00:20:56,720 or maybe I get to do my own thing. 402 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:58,920 I love this. This is where I'm at. 403 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,400 But God has been calling you to be a sheba and you're stuck at 404 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,240 Rehabot because you're way too comfortable and I'm speaking to 405 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:06,800 you. If you're that person, you have 406 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:09,000 been saying, God, don't call me to do more. 407 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,400 I'm satisfied here. I'm happy here. 408 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,200 This this you know. This net that I'm getting from 409 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,160 this company, this net income is good. 410 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,560 I'm sorted, I'm able to clear all my bills. 411 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:19,880 I'm able to have a little bit of extra. 412 00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:21,640 God, don't call me to the next place. 413 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,480 Let me settle it. Maybe God has been directing 414 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,600 your attention to using some of those, you know, those passion 415 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,160 projects that you've been on your heart and he's saying move 416 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,280 in that direction. But you're saying, I don't want 417 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,400 beer, Shiba, I want rehabot. I'm good here. 418 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,840 But I love that Isaac didn't stay at the place where he was 419 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,000 content and at peace. He kept looking forward. 420 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,360 Beersheba was where his father had made a covenant with the 421 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:49,480 king of the Philistines, and so there was already a well there. 422 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,440 And yet he goes there, and his servants again. 423 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,320 Dig and find another. Well, now we're not sure whether 424 00:21:56,320 --> 00:21:58,800 they'd read up the same well that his father did. 425 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,600 It was a separate one. But again, there's that, that 426 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:06,080 consistent effort. And when I say effort, a lot of 427 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,320 times we think as Christians we don't have to put an effort. 428 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:10,440 It's all done for us. Everything is free salvation, 429 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,720 grace. But here's the thing, you know, 430 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:17,520 when we work out our our salvation, Paul talks about 431 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:19,240 working it out with fear and trembling. 432 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:24,200 It's not really about striving. It's really about being willing 433 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:28,320 to do what God asked me. There are seasons when God will 434 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,200 say stay and rest, I need you to rest up. 435 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,080 But there are seasons when God will say, get up, go meet that 436 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:41,800 person, get up, minister here, do this, write that, post that. 437 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,000 And we have to be so ready to be obedient. 438 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,720 So rather than striving, it's a call to obedience. 439 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,840 It's a call to be available to what God wants us to do. 440 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:54,680 And it's so beautiful. It says he went to Beersheba. 441 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,640 He builds an altar. It's his first altar. 442 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:58,920 He builds an altar. He calls on the name of the Lord 443 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:03,000 eternal, and he pitched his tent and his servants. 444 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:08,720 Dug a well, I love that. Isaac didn't live in the glory 445 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,280 of past Wells. Doug, it's so easy for us to 446 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:15,440 say, oh, you know what? This is my resume. 447 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,080 This is what I've accomplished. This is what I've done. 448 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:18,440 If you talk. To a lot of people, they say, 449 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,640 you know, this is what I did, you know, back in the day, 10 450 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,200 years back, 15 years back. We have our, you know, fancy 451 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,400 resumes. We've got it all formatted well. 452 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,800 But God is asking in the present, what are you doing in 453 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,040 the present? Where can you testify to my 454 00:23:33,040 --> 00:23:35,880 presence in your life? What have I been commanding you 455 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,640 to do in this season? And how have you been 456 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:41,200 responding? Isaac didn't live in the glory 457 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,440 of the past. He could have lived as the son 458 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,840 of Abraham, the mighty Chieftain, The one who. 459 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:47,200 Who was so? Prosperous. 460 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,160 He could have just lived and relaxed on his laurels or on his 461 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:55,480 father's laurels, but instead he got up and he went forward. 462 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,480 As God led him, he kept moving. And so I want to encourage you 463 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,440 this today, seasons will change, life will happen, people will 464 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:05,760 enter, people will leave. We have our highs, we have our 465 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:08,880 lows, ups and downs, joys and sorrows. 466 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:12,600 The the requirement of us is that we keep moving in the 467 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,560 direction God is leading. That we don't just fall back, 468 00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,520 sit at a place of disappointment or sorrow and say the world has 469 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:23,320 ended, but we rise up and we keep moving in the direction 470 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:25,680 that the Spirit of God is leading us in. 471 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:28,800 So let me shift this analogy. We looked at Isaac. 472 00:24:28,800 --> 00:24:30,960 We looked at all these wells that he dug along the way, the 473 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:34,720 effort he took. But as we look at our lives, I 474 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:40,440 believe that the wells are deep places where we as individuals 475 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:45,160 have sought sustenance from. The wells in my life are the 476 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:48,680 places and the people and the things that I have leaned on to 477 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,560 give me satisfaction, to bring me contentment, to bring me 478 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:54,360 happiness. Note that I see happiness. 479 00:24:54,360 --> 00:24:56,480 I don't say joy because it was not long lived. 480 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,520 There have been days when we're so disappointed with some 481 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,760 element of ministry that I've just sat and and watched a 482 00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:07,400 Netflix show. I have just sat and read a book 483 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,800 cover to cover because I just didn't want to read the Word of 484 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:11,440 God. There have been days when I've 485 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,600 gone and worked out or run outside just to get my mind of 486 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,120 the things that I need to be dealing with. 487 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,960 There have been the wells that I have dug which didn't bring me 488 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:25,160 any satisfaction at the moment. Yes, it did help me, but long 489 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,520 run nothing. And I. 490 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:32,280 Believe God is directing our attention to our own lives to 491 00:25:32,280 --> 00:25:34,360 see where we have hewn those wells. 492 00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:38,320 Where did I dig those wells? Who was I leaning on for that 493 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,400 contentment, for that sustenance? 494 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:45,200 What was I looking for that I thought would fulfil my need 495 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:49,120 when in reality it didn't? I want us to open Jeremiah 496 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:54,000 chapter 2 verse 13 for my people have done 2 evil things. 497 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,240 They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and 498 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:01,800 they have dug for themselves craps to cisterns that hold no 499 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,080 water at all. This is our problem. 500 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:07,560 This is our problem. When I told you in the 501 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,280 beginning, when I read that was with joy they will draw from the 502 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:12,720 wells of salvation. I was thinking God. 503 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,960 Joy is the last emotion I would say I'm feeling right now and 504 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:20,440 when I when I talk to friends, when I talk to others, you know, 505 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:22,680 from. Church, neighbours, all of us 506 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,200 are having this joyless, joyless existence. 507 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,920 They're a small minority who are so joyful and I love them, but 508 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,000 majority of us are literally trudging through our daily 509 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,680 lives, balancing homework, family, so many things. 510 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:39,440 And joy is not the common strain. 511 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,440 And I realized that that is because we have this problem. 512 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,880 If you have to diagnose our disease, it is this. 513 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,760 We have done 2 evil things. We have abandoned the fountain 514 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,200 of living water. We have dug cisterns for 515 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:51,560 ourselves which don't hold water. 516 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:55,200 They're cracked and broken. And so I want to come back to 517 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,760 this place today. I want us to look at our own 518 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:01,640 lives and see where we have abandoned the fountain of living 519 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,720 water. Jesus is the fountain of living 520 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:05,800 water. It's very simple. 521 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,200 When I look for intimacy outside of Jesus, it's incomplete. 522 00:27:10,360 --> 00:27:13,960 When I look for satisfaction outside of Jesus, I find that 523 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,960 it's no satisfaction. When I'm looking for happiness 524 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,880 outside of the pursuit of my God, I find that it's 525 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:24,600 incomplete. When I go solo instead of 526 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:26,680 partnering with him, I find that I lack joy. 527 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,640 When I'm I'm stressing and striving on how to accomplish 528 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:35,200 stuff on my own, I lose the joy of communion with Jesus. 529 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,760 But when I make just decisions and, you know, choices on my own 530 00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,280 without consulting him, I have abandoned the fountain of living 531 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,480 water. When I step into opportunities 532 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:52,040 that seem very good, very ripe, but I don't ask him. 533 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:53,000 I don't. Check with him. 534 00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:57,440 I don't bring him into it. I have abandoned the fountain of 535 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:02,560 living water as a writer, as a creative, when I create things 536 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,400 or attempt to create things without him breathing his life 537 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,360 into me. I've abandoned the fountain of 538 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:11,360 living water. What has given you sustenance in 539 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:13,960 the season? I want to ask you, in past 540 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,360 seasons, what has been your sole dependency? 541 00:28:16,360 --> 00:28:19,040 Did you come to the fountain of living water and saying, Jesus, 542 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:20,880 I need you tell me how to do this. 543 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,680 My job sucks. Help me Lord this relationship. 544 00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:28,920 Is so hard what do I do Parenting is hard, Lord. 545 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,360 Marriage is hard managing my family, my extended family is 546 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:36,600 difficult what do I do? When I look to him for 547 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:41,120 everything, I bring him back as the fountain of living water 548 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,120 because. He is like the message version 549 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:44,880 talks about. He and him being like an 550 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,640 artesian well. An artesian well doesn't use a 551 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:49,920 mortar. It's dug it such a pivotal way 552 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,320 in such a in such a neat direction that water's always 553 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,080 bubbling out from it. The underground streams are 554 00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:58,960 brought to the surface. And in the same way with Jesus, 555 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,520 I don't have to try so hard to draw from him. 556 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,640 I just need to go to him and say, Jesus, I need you. 557 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:07,840 Jesus, I need you more than I need Netflix. 558 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,920 Jesus, I need you more than I need sex. 559 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,480 Jesus, I need you more than I need alcohol. 560 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,160 Jesus, I need you more than I need social media. 561 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,080 I need you more than I need my gym trainer. 562 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:25,680 What is it that you have replaced as your fountain today? 563 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,920 The fountain is many things. Many, many things. 564 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,880 God is calling you back. Maybe your fountain was a toxic 565 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,960 relationship, a friendship that was just drawing you away from 566 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:41,280 the fountain of living water. Nothing and no one can satisfy 567 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:44,400 us like Jesus. It's a very simple concept. 568 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:48,400 There's nothing to it. You can test me on this and see. 569 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:51,560 Try it. I ask those who have walked out 570 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:54,920 of relationships that were so harmful for them when they asked 571 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,320 God, Lord help me, I'm in this relationship. 572 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:00,160 I know it's wrong. I know it's displeasing. 573 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:02,560 Take away the urge to be with this person. 574 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:07,040 They they pray that prayer. God answers them in amazing 575 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:09,200 ways. I have friends who have told me 576 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,760 when they prayed about certain things God came through. 577 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,600 When they invited God into the mess, God came in and changed 578 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:23,280 it. I'm asking you today, what have 579 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,880 you replaced at the centre of your life? 580 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,240 Have you been struggling with the same sex attraction? 581 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:32,760 You feel that that is where you get your satisfaction. 582 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,720 God is saying, will you bring that to me? 583 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,360 I will satisfy that need like no other human can. 584 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:41,600 Have you been struggling with an extramarital affair? 585 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:43,680 The the temptation to step into that? 586 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:46,120 God is saying, bring it to me. I will bring you so much 587 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:48,080 satisfaction, you won't need anything else. 588 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,040 Struggling with an addiction to pornography because you feel, 589 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:53,560 you know what? I don't get what I need. 590 00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,160 But he's saying I am all you. Need. 591 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,520 Will you come back to me? I want to provoke you to think a 592 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,160 little bit today. What if in the coming months and 593 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,520 years this, you know, the touch of Jesus just like a Sunday, you 594 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,760 know, bit of Jesus, bit of his people, but the rest of the week 595 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,280 running on the fountain that you have dug for yourself. 596 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,200 What if those are just temporary stimulants? 597 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,440 It won't get you anywhere. It's not going to satisfy you. 598 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:22,280 What if God is calling you for something deeper? 599 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,800 And I want to encourage you today that if you try Jesus, if 600 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,120 you bring your. All to him. 601 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:31,240 He will take you to a place of deep joy. 602 00:31:33,040 --> 00:31:35,000 If you've been someone who's saying like me, you know what? 603 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,880 I'm doing everything I can and fulfilling those targets, but I 604 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,480 still feel joyless. I still feel disconnected. 605 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:43,840 God is calling you back. I'm not your fountain. 606 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:45,480 He's saying you need to come to me. 607 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,560 Maybe you feel like you've lost so much in the past year. 608 00:31:50,160 --> 00:31:52,560 You're hungry for a miracle. You're thirsty for a miracle. 609 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:57,200 He's saying, come to me. God is calling us back to him so 610 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,000 he can fulfill and meet us at the point of our need. 611 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:06,280 So I want to ask you as we go to the next part, part of this, can 612 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,760 you identify the fountains that you have situated your life 613 00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:13,520 around? You feel your sexuality needs 614 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:15,640 this fountain. You need your artistic ability 615 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:17,520 needs this fountain. You need your you think your 616 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,200 physical health needs that fountain. 617 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:23,640 Who or what has taken a position in your life as the fountain 618 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,760 when you need to bring back the fountain of living water front 619 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,800 and centre of your life? The second thing he says is 620 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:33,680 Jeremiah talks about the second evil, which is US digging our 621 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:36,800 own wells that don't hold water. Like I mentioned, all of the 622 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:41,840 things that we sometimes lean on don't hold water when I fixate 623 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,760 on just. How I how healthy I should be. 624 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:48,520 I miss out. I miss out on experiencing God 625 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,080 even when my body is not so whole, when I'm so concentrated 626 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,280 on how I look, how filtered and and well put together my 627 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,400 appearance is. I forget that God works in the 628 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:03,160 midst of my brokenness. I forget that God loves me as I 629 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,520 am, bed hair and all. I forget that when my whole 630 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:12,120 personality is tuned towards feeding the needs of my inner, 631 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,400 you know, the the my flesh. I miss out on what God brings 632 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:20,120 for me, you know, in previous seasons. 633 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,840 All of us have worked so hard to dig those wells. 634 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,240 You pursued that relationship which you felt gave you 635 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:28,880 satisfaction. You pursued that job opportunity 636 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,040 which felt it would increase your, you know, your worth and 637 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,200 your salary and your perks and all of that. 638 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:40,320 Maybe you pursued a certain opportunity on the side of your 639 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:42,720 job thinking it'll, you know, help you. 640 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,600 But God is saying today, you don't need to strive so hard 641 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,880 because I am the well. I'm already there. 642 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:54,440 I'm already in your life. The only effort we need to take 643 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:59,240 is to drink deep from Him. Can you imagine that? 644 00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:01,960 We don't have to anymore. Go and dig and say, Lord, I 645 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,120 don't know where you are. I'm going to dig a well for you. 646 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:09,560 No, Jesus, Emmanuel is with us through his Spirit. 647 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:13,000 He lives in US. I no longer have to be striving 648 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,600 for that life partner. I no longer have to be striving 649 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:19,400 for control over my situation. I no longer have to be striving 650 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:22,400 to accumulate money and the other things I never had because 651 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,239 now I can just strive to know God more. 652 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:29,639 And that's when I come back to enjoying Jesus. 653 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:34,239 The whole point of what we're looking at today is not for me 654 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:36,040 to tell you what not to do with your life. 655 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,360 You enjoy Netflix, go ahead and watch Netflix. 656 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:41,679 You have friendships that you enjoy. 657 00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:45,159 Go for it. But I'm calling you to a place 658 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,800 where you enjoy God more than you enjoy everything else 659 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:52,360 because every other system we have dug has holes in it. 660 00:34:53,800 --> 00:34:57,680 The the hole that I'm in because of pornography is a huge, it's 661 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:00,160 not a cistern. That's a gaping pit. 662 00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,880 That, that place that I have said where you know what those 663 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:06,520 things that I I can't do in my marriage, I do it outside. 664 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:08,680 Again, that's not actually a cistern. 665 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,160 That's not a well, that's a hole in the ground. 666 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:14,600 It's going to trap you. It's going to drown you. 667 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:19,280 God is calling me. Into a place where I just rely 668 00:35:19,280 --> 00:35:25,680 on Him and where I begin to enjoy Him as I am for who He is. 669 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:28,080 And that is what God is asking us to do. 670 00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:31,840 Remember the salvation. God has access You and I have 671 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,760 access to the will of Jesus. The fountain of life is now with 672 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:38,320 me. The only thing I know, the only 673 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:43,520 effort I need to make is to draw from him and drink of him. 674 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,680 That's all I have to do. That's the only effort. 675 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,440 Can you believe it? That's the only effort. 676 00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,880 But the problem is too many of us are saying I don't have 677 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,440 enough time to, you know, sit with the word prayer. 678 00:35:53,440 --> 00:35:57,080 No, I don't have time for that. That will be your biggest 679 00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,840 mistake. All of us, and I have to say 680 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:01,640 this, it's going to sound a bit harsh. 681 00:36:01,680 --> 00:36:04,040 None of us have an excuse to not sit in the world. 682 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:06,000 None of us have an excuse to say I don't. 683 00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:09,880 Even the most busy human in the world waste at least one hour on 684 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:16,000 social media, waste at least 45 minutes on a useless, completely 685 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:19,560 dead end activity. Why not convert that to time 686 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,400 with Jesus? Why not say God? 687 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:26,240 I want to just enjoy try this and see from this week on what 688 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:28,600 if you. Spent at least 15 minutes 689 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:32,840 enjoying the presence of God just sitting with him. 690 00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:35,520 It could be just a scripture. That you want to read, you want 691 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:37,840 to think about. It could be sitting and looking 692 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:40,360 at nature, could be watching the rain on your balcony, It could 693 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,320 be anything. But what if you were to actually 694 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:47,280 enjoy God for who He is rather than He knows what we need? 695 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,040 Before I ask it, He already knows what I'm going to ask for. 696 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:53,200 It's good to pray. But what if I first enjoy God? 697 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,440 Then everything I do comes out of that place of enjoyment, so 698 00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,160 it changes the way I pray. I'm no longer sitting down to 699 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:02,400 pray. Because I need to. 700 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,080 Because I have to. It's because I want to. 701 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:08,200 Prayer does not become this monologue, it becomes this 702 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:12,280 conversation. Meditation no longer becomes 703 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,120 this drudgery, but it's really just sitting with him and saying 704 00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:16,880 God, you're the Jesus, you're the living word. 705 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:21,360 Explain this to me. The best example, the best 706 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:24,960 example of understanding how to draw and drink from Jesus is the 707 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:27,640 woman at the well, the Samaritan woman at the well. 708 00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,760 John Chapter 4 illustrates this beautiful story. 709 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:35,480 And I was just watching the short documentary by a Bible, a 710 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:37,880 biblical scholar who's an archaeologist. 711 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,800 And he takes her to the takes us to the very point where the 712 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:44,560 Samaritan woman had come the, the well in Samaria Saika's, you 713 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:48,840 know, the plotted Saika. And he shows us that well and 714 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,640 you won't believe it. The well is just this big, just 715 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:56,400 a small square. It was 150 feet deep. 716 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,280 So there is no way for someone to climb in and get the water. 717 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,280 There's just a pulley system, a very primitive one. 718 00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:05,080 You just let down your your bucket. 719 00:38:05,880 --> 00:38:07,400 You have to. It takes a long time for it to 720 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:09,640 go reach the water. Then you pull it back up, fill 721 00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:11,960 your jugs, and you take it back to your home. 722 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:15,480 This is the process. And here was Jesus sitting at 723 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:17,760 that. Well, when this woman comes out 724 00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,440 at midday, no one usually fills water at midday because it's too 725 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:22,520 hot. Most of the village women come 726 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,680 in the mornings, fill it up for the day and go back. 727 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,960 Now she was a woman of ill repute. 728 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:30,600 She had was living with someone outside of marriage. 729 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:32,960 She was in a living relationship. 730 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,880 She was there at at a different time so she didn't have to meet 731 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,600 anyone else. She comes there and she sees 732 00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:40,080 Jesus. She doesn't know who Jesus is. 733 00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:42,600 And he asks her, can you give me some water? 734 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,040 And she's she first is shocked because she knows he's a Jew. 735 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:47,760 She's a Samaritan. They don't interact. 736 00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:50,000 She says, how come you're asking me for water? 737 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:52,080 We are different. You guys look down on us. 738 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:54,880 That's what she was saying. And he said, if you knew who was 739 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,720 talking to you would ask me for a drink of water. 740 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:01,280 And she's confused. And then Jesus goes on to 741 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:05,880 explain how he gives water that leads to eternal life. 742 00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:11,200 She goes back and forth. I love how she dialogued with 743 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:14,160 him. She's he says, OK, fine. 744 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:15,640 You know what? She says I want this eternal 745 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:16,640 life. How do I get it? 746 00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,600 He says, go get your husband. This is coming from God himself. 747 00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:22,080 Who knows what she's up. She says, I don't have a 748 00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,400 husband. She says, you're right, you've 749 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:27,080 had four men who are husbands, and the one that you're with now 750 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:28,800 is not your husband. And she says, oh, I guess you're 751 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:31,200 a prophet. And then she quickly pivots to 752 00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:33,400 another question that seems to be topmost on her mind. 753 00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,080 She asked him of worship. She says, you guys say that you 754 00:39:36,080 --> 00:39:38,720 should worship in Jerusalem, but we worship up on this mountain. 755 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,480 What do you think? And he tells her, you know what, 756 00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:45,680 location doesn't matter. God is spirit. 757 00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:48,560 He wants worshippers who come to Him in spirit and in truth. 758 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,040 And it's so beautiful because she doesn't leave it there. 759 00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,960 She says, you know what, the Messiah is coming and he's going 760 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:58,040 to explain all this. But she felt I can't understand 761 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:00,320 this, but it's beautiful because he says I am he. 762 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,360 And she takes him at his word. She takes him at his word. 763 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,400 She goes back, she brings an entire village to Jesus. 764 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,800 They all are saved. But here's what I love about 765 00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,400 this moment because I've been breaking my head, been asking, 766 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:13,960 God, Lord, how do I enjoy you more? 767 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:18,560 And this is the key. The key is to come to Him 768 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:20,320 whatever time. I don't know what time you're 769 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:21,760 free at. It could be midday, it could be 770 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:23,800 the afternoon, it could be early morning, it could be the night. 771 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:27,960 He waits for you, He waits for you. 772 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:32,640 Will you go and sit with him? Will you dialogue with Him? 773 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:35,840 Too many of us have so many questions about faith, about 774 00:40:35,840 --> 00:40:37,600 God, about eternity, about suffering. 775 00:40:37,840 --> 00:40:40,120 We're asking the wrong questions to the wrong people. 776 00:40:40,120 --> 00:40:42,120 We're asking the right questions to the wrong people. 777 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,440 If we post our questions on social media for some person who 778 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,560 has no clue what they're talking to reply to it. 779 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:52,280 We take polls instead of going to the one who has the answers. 780 00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:54,400 He is the way, He is the truth. He is the life. 781 00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:59,560 He has all the answers. Why are we turning to other 782 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,920 sources when I can go to the source himself and say Jesus I'm 783 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:06,800 struggling with this. Too many of us are misusing our 784 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:10,080 WhatsApp status is to ask questions to pass our opinions 785 00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:13,240 when we need to go sit with the one who has all the answers. 786 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:18,480 I need to quieten myself down and sit with him, dialogue with 787 00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:20,480 him, head butt with him. He can. 788 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:22,200 Handle it. I've always said this. 789 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,800 He can handle my wrestling. You want to deconstruct, go to 790 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:27,320 the one that you're going to deconstruct. 791 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:32,200 Go to him. Have you been facing obstacles 792 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,200 at work? Have you been having obstacles 793 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:35,920 in your health? Go to him. 794 00:41:36,880 --> 00:41:39,320 Have you been having unprecedented success? 795 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:43,120 Stay with him. Have you been having a a 796 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:46,280 difficulty in finding stability? Go back to him. 797 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:50,920 What is it that you have been overlooking? 798 00:41:51,480 --> 00:41:54,080 Maybe you've said prayer is no longer something I want to do. 799 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:56,600 Maybe meditation on God's word. It's too boring. 800 00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,400 I I have better things to do. God is calling you back. 801 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:02,520 He's saying that's where the dialogue begins. 802 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,880 Will you come to the well? Will you go to the source? 803 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:11,720 Will you sit with him? God, I'm struggling in this 804 00:42:11,720 --> 00:42:13,200 marriage. That should be your cry. 805 00:42:13,760 --> 00:42:16,320 Not talking to others who will encourage you to walk out of 806 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,920 that marriage. Not going to others who have an 807 00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:21,920 axe to grind, but instead going to him who put you together and 808 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,600 saying, Lord, what do I do? Tell me what to do. 809 00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:29,600 Lord, teach me how to speak. Lord, my child is so wayward, I 810 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:33,000 don't know what to do. Help me come to the well. 811 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:36,840 Enjoy him. Too many of us want to serve him 812 00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:41,160 without enjoying him. Too many of us want to know more 813 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:42,800 about him, but we're not enjoying him. 814 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:47,840 He's calling us. Back to an Eden kind of setting, 815 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:49,920 right where we are at. You could be in a hospital right 816 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:53,560 now. You could be at a police station 817 00:42:53,560 --> 00:42:57,720 right now, getting someone out, making sure that your case goes 818 00:42:57,720 --> 00:42:58,800 away. I don't know where you're at, 819 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:02,400 but wherever you're at, you can have the communion that was 820 00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:05,960 meant for us in the Garden of Eden if you would choose to draw 821 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,440 with joy from the wells of salvation, Jesus himself. 822 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:12,360 And I'm not telling you this as if I figured it out. 823 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,000 I'm far from figured it out. As I've been reading this, I 824 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,040 realized that's where my joy was missing. 825 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:20,600 God, I'm running to do the things you've called me to do. 826 00:43:20,800 --> 00:43:22,920 I I'm living all these responsibilities. 827 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,560 I have work that I have to finish, but in all of that, like 828 00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:29,840 Mary will, I choose the better thing, which is to just sit at 829 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:34,320 your feet, to just enjoy you because you are worth enjoying. 830 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:36,360 Everything I do enjoy in this world is from you. 831 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:42,000 And I believe that when I come to this place of enjoying God, I 832 00:43:42,000 --> 00:43:46,920 will move from just existing, just surviving, to a place of 833 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:48,600 flourishing. That's the difference between a 834 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:51,400 well that I dig and the fountain of living water. 835 00:43:51,560 --> 00:43:54,000 The well that I dig is just for my bare existence. 836 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,720 It's just for me to get through. But when I come to Jesus, he 837 00:43:56,720 --> 00:43:59,880 makes me flourish. He makes me thrive even in the 838 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:06,240 land of my affliction. Will I choose to draw and drink 839 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:08,920 deeply? Maybe. 840 00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:11,320 You know in your heart that you need to get back to the Word of 841 00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:12,960 God. You know that you need to get 842 00:44:12,960 --> 00:44:15,640 back to prayer. You know that you need to get 843 00:44:15,640 --> 00:44:19,360 back to hearing from God, but you've been putting it off 844 00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:21,360 saying, you know what, God, I have so many other things that I 845 00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:23,120 need to do. Those are more important. 846 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:25,520 God is saying, will you reopen those old wells? 847 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:31,040 I'll meet you at the well. So even as I close, I'm just 848 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:32,240 going to pray a very simple prayer. 849 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:37,040 I'm going to pray that all of us will enjoy God because He's 850 00:44:37,040 --> 00:44:39,440 worth enjoying. He's worth experiencing. 851 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:43,520 Have you been waiting for His miracle power? 852 00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:46,000 It will come. Have you been waiting for 853 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,160 provision? It will come. 854 00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:51,960 But primarily, we were created to enjoy Him. 855 00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:58,200 He enjoys us, He loves us, He waits for us, but do we wait for 856 00:44:58,200 --> 00:45:01,000 Him? Those of us who are in very long 857 00:45:01,000 --> 00:45:04,480 waits, the wait will become better when we start to enjoy 858 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:07,760 God. So as I pray, can you make that 859 00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:11,240 your prayer? Father, I just thank you for 860 00:45:11,720 --> 00:45:15,720 creating each of us in your image, and I thank you that Lord 861 00:45:15,720 --> 00:45:18,400 eternity is lodged into our hearts, that we have this 862 00:45:18,400 --> 00:45:22,280 desperate yearning for eternity. And I just pray for each of us, 863 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:26,120 no matter where we have looked for the fountain of water, we 864 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:28,120 have looked at all temporary sources. 865 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,160 Father, if we have looked to people, if we have looked to 866 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,520 things, if we have looked to money, if we have looked to 867 00:45:33,520 --> 00:45:38,480 connections, whatever it is, God, we are sorry and we want to 868 00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:41,680 come back today to the fountain of living water, the water that 869 00:45:41,680 --> 00:45:44,720 never runs dry, that fills us up to overflowing. 870 00:45:44,840 --> 00:45:49,480 We come back to you today. Fill us up got fill us up to 871 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:52,000 overflowing, strengthen us from within. 872 00:45:54,240 --> 00:45:57,040 We want to enjoy you. We want to enjoy your presence. 873 00:45:57,040 --> 00:46:01,480 We want to see your face. We want to feel your breath in 874 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:04,280 our lungs. We want to experience the the 875 00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:06,520 joy that comes from knowing more of you. 876 00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:10,320 If I'm sitting in your embrace, I pray that each of us, no 877 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,200 matter what our location, that we will. 878 00:46:13,200 --> 00:46:16,200 Worship you out of a place of enjoying your presence, that 879 00:46:16,200 --> 00:46:19,120 Lord, we will love you and serve you from a place of enjoying 880 00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:23,360 you. God, forgive me for striving. 881 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:25,680 Forgive me for running ahead of you. 882 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:29,320 Help me to enjoy you. That's all I want. 883 00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:32,800 And I pray that for every brother and sister who's 884 00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:38,200 listening in right now that they would enjoy your presence in 885 00:46:38,240 --> 00:46:42,760 Jesus mighty and matchless name, I pray Amen, Amen. 886 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:45,480 Have an amazing week. May you enjoy the presence of 887 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:49,280 God like never before. Thanks for listening to this 888 00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:52,360 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 889 00:46:52,360 --> 00:46:56,080 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 890 00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:58,760 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 891 00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:02,520 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us 892 00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:05,680 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 893 00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:10,360 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 894 00:47:10,720 --> 00:47:14,920 and to connect with us, go to viazion.in. 895 00:47:15,480 --> 00:47:19,040 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.