1 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:06,840 You've tuned in to a mega church. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,600 We are people hungry to encounter God through worship 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:12,040 and His Word, being witnesses to the world around us. 4 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:14,720 We pray this teaching. Blesses you and trust God will 5 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,680 reveal himself to you in a new way today and. 6 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:20,040 If you need prayer for healing or breakthrough, Want to find 7 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,600 out more about Omega? Get to our website or Facebook 8 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:33,520 page through the links below. Bible's full of symbolism and 9 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,760 hidden meaning that we could live forever and still not mind 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,360 the depths of the truths that are in that book. 11 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,400 And there are things in the book, but this is a we'll go 12 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:44,920 back to where we were. That's the one. 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:47,760 I want you to watch this and tell me what you think of it. 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,400 It's actually after the All Blacks played Ireland in 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:57,040 Chicago. He was the all black captain on 16 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,520 the day. He's just won the Test match. 17 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,320 He's given his all black shirt away. 18 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:10,080 Watch what he's put on. There are 62,000 people in 19 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Chicago watching him walking around with Jesus Christ as his 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,800 official logo. Is that a witness? 21 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,520 He might not have said anything, but there's a slideshow clip at 22 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,920 the top. Tag at the top to get it full 23 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:31,480 screen. It's the one. 24 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,400 He may not have said anything, but I believe he's a huge 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,800 evangelist. He made a decision. 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:42,800 What was his identity? Was he the captain of the 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:48,280 winning all black team or was he a representative of Jesus 28 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,160 Christ? See the difference? 29 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:53,960 He knows where his identity really is. 30 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:57,120 So we can have the next. Actually, I can have the next 31 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:05,320 clip this morning. We're talking about healing the 32 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:07,360 land. And I hope that there's some 33 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:10,520 message in here that you may not have heard before. 34 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,000 I have a friend in Australia, her name is Anne Hamilton. 35 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,840 Now the interesting thing about Anne, she's an older lady. 36 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,600 I've only met her for 20 minutes in my life, but we'd 37 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:25,120 corresponded quite a bit and so she has a very deep theological 38 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,880 understanding. She's given me, has given me 39 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,760 some insights about the story, which you may know quite well, 40 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:37,200 but I believe there's some patterns that are waiting to be 41 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,840 understood. We talk about Jesus and for some 42 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:44,760 churches he's a very nice Jesus. He's a very polite Jesus. 43 00:02:44,760 --> 00:02:48,600 He's a politically correct Jesus, and he doesn't offend 44 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,080 anybody. But in other churches, they have 45 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:57,960 this Jesus who is powerful, who's a miracle worker, who can 46 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:03,920 make changes and has an A heart to bring people back to the 47 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:06,800 Father. And so he can be the lion of the 48 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,560 tribe of Judah. And he can also be as gentle as 49 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,760 a lamb. But I also want to share with 50 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,800 you, He can also be living water. 51 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:24,600 Remember that living water? The Samaritan woman who came to 52 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,960 the well, I believe was in a mess. 53 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:30,440 She wasn't a happy person. She may have been the most 54 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:34,960 unhappy person in all of that town that was living at the 55 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,160 time. And Psalm 3 verse 3 says, but 56 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:44,480 you Lord, are the shield around me, my glory and the together 57 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:49,640 please, the lifter of my head. Because when people are in 58 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,280 shame, the word is they're bowed in shame. 59 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,120 They don't stand confidently. They are, if you like, weighed 60 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:59,960 down by what was covering them. She was covered in shame when 61 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:04,040 she encountered Jesus. I think she went to the well at 62 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:06,720 lunchtime or middle middle of the day when the sun was the 63 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,560 hottest, when no sensible person would go outside at that time of 64 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:12,800 the day. Why? 65 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:18,600 To avoid anyone meeting her. She was so full of shame. 66 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,640 It was probably the best thing or the best time she could go 67 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:25,560 and be. If you like inconspicuous. 68 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:29,880 She didn't want to be seen. So what does she think when she 69 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:33,400 goes to the well? She sees under the tree there's 70 00:04:33,400 --> 00:04:36,000 a man there. Do you think she was pleased to 71 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,400 see him? Not at all. 72 00:04:39,280 --> 00:04:43,240 Added to the fact that he was a Jew and she was a Samaritan. 73 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,240 That's another no, no. And then he starts to talk to 74 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,680 her. It's not her best day, is it? 75 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,640 It's like a nightmare come true. And this is what happened. 76 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,320 So Jesus offers her living water. 77 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:02,320 And this is the thing, when people encounter Jesus, they're 78 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,400 never the same. When they encounter Jesus, he 79 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,000 ministers to them and they are shifted from where they are. 80 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:16,320 So the shame and inferiority that she carried lifted. 81 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,480 It's really interesting because what happened, the minute she 82 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:27,040 left that meeting with Jesus, she was released into her an 83 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:33,080 evangelistic gifting. She was Jesus's first evangelist 84 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,840 to the Gentiles. Remember, this is the lady who's 85 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:37,640 full of shame and doesn't want to meet anybody. 86 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,320 Well, she can't stop talking about Jesus. 87 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:47,440 She talks to everyone about what he'd said and who he was. 88 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:50,280 She's a revelation of who he was. 89 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:56,720 And so she was freed to operate in her calling once she'd had 90 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:02,160 the conversation with Jesus. So I believe Jesus operated in 91 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,320 all the fivefold ministry giftings, and I also believed he 92 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,520 had all the spiritual gifts operating. 93 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,800 And one of the reasons why he was so successful in his 94 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,880 ministry is he used those spiritual gifts. 95 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:20,000 He wasn't just a nice person, He was a powerful person. 96 00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:24,160 He reversed curses, healed the land, dethroned evil spiritual 97 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,640 powers, and he revealed himself as king. 98 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,800 And we'll come to that later. He was certainly good at 99 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,760 breaking and offending the religious traditions of the day. 100 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,320 People didn't find him comfortable to be around because 101 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,440 he challenged them. And this is the interesting 102 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,400 thing. He tended to choose people who 103 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:50,080 were the most unlikely people or most even unpopular people to be 104 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:54,320 his followers, to represent him. And he chooses us. 105 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,720 He chooses me. And so Jesus is no respecter of 106 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,080 persons. There are two names for the one 107 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:05,320 town, Shechem or Saisha. It's the same thing. 108 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:07,560 In the Old Testament, you'll see it called Shechem. 109 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,120 The second in a New Testament, it's called Saisha. 110 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:14,480 It's the same place. I find Shechem easier to 111 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,000 understand. It's above Jerusalem. 112 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:22,160 Has everyone found it there? It was the capital of the 113 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,560 Northern Kingdom, and Jerusalem was the capital of the southern 114 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:30,480 Kingdom. And there it is today. 115 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:36,040 There's two pictures of Saisha, so on the top one you'll see you 116 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:38,880 can whoops, that's not what I want to find. 117 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:45,840 Here we go. That is the area where you could 118 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:50,320 probably still identify where Jacob's well existed. 119 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,160 It's still there and you can notice in the second picture 120 00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:59,360 there are two mountains overlooking the town, 2 high 121 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,520 hills and we'll come to those shortly. 122 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,960 God can restore what is broken and change it into something 123 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,360 amazing. All you need is faith. 124 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,800 And Joel tells this us that in chapter 2. 125 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,760 Do you believe that God can change what is broken? 126 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,640 So when we're having a bad day, God is well able to come into 127 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:27,640 our lives and change it. There's a an artist's picture of 128 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,520 what it may have looked like. I think it's very sanitized, but 129 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,039 Jesus is having a one-on-one conversation for this woman. 130 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,400 And for a start, she wants to get away. 131 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:40,720 She avoids him, she doesn't really engage. 132 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,640 A lot happened in that area. There's some historical, if you 133 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,040 like, things we need to understand. 134 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,880 And so a remnant of Hebrews were left in the land when the 135 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:54,840 Assyrians came and conquered the May. 136 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,400 And what they did to make it as a punishment, they intermarried 137 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,080 with them and produced half breed children. 138 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,360 So they were no longer pure Jews or Hebrews. 139 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,760 They'd become half Assyrian or whoever else they produced 140 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,200 children with. And so because of that, there 141 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:18,320 was a sense of inferiority and they certainly were rejected by 142 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,120 the people of Israel. They were looked down upon as 143 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:24,160 second class. Have you noticed Jesus wants to 144 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,960 use people who other people call second class. 145 00:09:27,680 --> 00:09:29,520 That's a pattern that Jesus uses. 146 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,320 So that was one of the things that happened. 147 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,680 Joshua and his day had a major ceremony, set up a covenant with 148 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:41,680 the Lord, and he sent six of the tribe representatives up 1 149 00:09:41,680 --> 00:09:46,160 mountain and six up the other. One produced released curses. 150 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,000 One released blessings. I believe curses on their 151 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:50,840 enemies and blessings on their people. 152 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,200 Yeah, that would be the way to do it, wouldn't it? 153 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:58,360 Not the other way. Joshua declared it as a city of 154 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,680 refuge. It's the site of some pretty 155 00:10:00,680 --> 00:10:02,320 important events that have happened. 156 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:03,960 Do you want to say it with me, please? 157 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:10,280 The site of Abraham's tree, Jacob's well, Joshua's stone, 158 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,480 Joseph's tomb. Pretty important place that 159 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:20,240 well, eh? Solomon's son Rehoboam 160 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,400 proclaimed himself king there of the 12 tribes at the time. 161 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,840 When the nation was split into two kingdoms, North and South, 162 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,560 Samaritans built a temple at Mount Gerizium, which is one of 163 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:37,760 the the hills. Jacob's son Joseph came here and 164 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:43,160 Jacob initiated a revenge killing on the men of Shechem. 165 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,640 So Shechem's had a lot of interesting events take place in 166 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,440 the area. So let's let's go through them a 167 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:52,480 bit more. The important covenants. 168 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:56,080 There are 5 covenants that I want to talk about this morning. 169 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:03,360 Abraham came into Canaan and built an altar there and planted 170 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,000 A terebinth tree. It's a bit like an oak tree. 171 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:09,200 So it's an old tree that lasts a long time. 172 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:21,280 Abraham's grandson Jacob dug a well there for his livestock and 173 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:23,440 the idols of the the nation were buried there. 174 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:28,600 Joseph came back to his covenanted inheritance and he is 175 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,280 buried there. Joshua assembled the tribes here 176 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,280 to covenant to the nation of God and he built the memorial stone 177 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:41,160 there to to remember that. So they set up four times that 178 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,880 the nation was covenanted or joined or promised to God. 179 00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:58,520 And a King Abimelech. He set himself up as a king and 180 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:00,800 he was the man that killed 70 of his brothers. 181 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,520 That's a nasty covenant, isn't it? 182 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:06,760 So he set up himself to be a king of the area. 183 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:09,680 However, that's not a good covenant. 184 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,240 But symbolically, in response, Jesus chose a bruised and 185 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:23,560 scarred Samaritan woman who had also engaged in five covenants. 186 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:28,000 What had she done five times? She'd married five times. 187 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:33,000 That's covenants. So there's five covenants in 188 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,400 history. And he chose a woman who'd also 189 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,880 engaged in five covenants to be his vessel to heal the hurts of 190 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,320 the land, restore those people back to relationship with each 191 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:50,160 other, but also with the nation of Israel, and share and be free 192 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:53,080 to worship their God in spirit and truth. 193 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,360 One of the things Joshua said, and we'll say this together in a 194 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:06,680 moment when he put the memorial stone up, is that he gave them 195 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,920 the test. Are you committed? 196 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:13,440 Do you covenant to your God? And this was his challenge. 197 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:18,200 Shall we say it together? Please, Joshua 2415 choose for 198 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:23,600 yourselves today whom you will serve, whether the gods which 199 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,680 your father served, which were beyond the river, or the gods of 200 00:13:28,680 --> 00:13:31,680 the Amorites in whose land you are living. 201 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:38,440 But As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, and that 202 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,840 was proclaimed at Shechem. So what we've got here is a 203 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,280 choice that's been made in a memorial stone to commemorate. 204 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:51,480 That's what happened, I believe when the lady met with Jesus at 205 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,720 the well, it was a very awkward engagement. 206 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,680 For a start, she would be embarrassed. 207 00:13:56,680 --> 00:13:58,400 It would be the stilted conversation. 208 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,880 Jesus was speaking in spiritual truths and she was responding in 209 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:05,760 earthly or physical knowledge. So they were missing each other 210 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,120 a little bit. And so it was like, maybe you 211 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,720 don't have this, but when you hop into an elevator in a 212 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,640 building and you don't know the people in the elevator, you're 213 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:17,120 squished up against them with your hands at the side and no 214 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:18,880 one's speaking. And you're looking at numbers 215 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,880 hoping the door will open so you can run out. 216 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:23,760 Has anyone been uncomfortable in an elevator? 217 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,240 One or two nodding yes. And it's that sort of moment for 218 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,600 her was, I want to get rid of this man. 219 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:39,000 I don't know what he's on about. So let's go to chapter 4 of 220 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,120 John's Gospel and start at verse 4. 221 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:47,160 So it says here now he, Jesus had to go through Samaria. 222 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,240 Is that actually true? Is that the only way to get to 223 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,320 where he was going north? And the answer is no. 224 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,880 In fact, no Jew would go through Samaria. 225 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:01,640 It would be like no go zone. It would be really stupid to go 226 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:06,880 there and I'll tell you why, but I'll hear a couple of things 227 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:09,880 first. It was like no Jew would be 228 00:15:09,880 --> 00:15:13,000 welcome there. It's not an appropriate place to 229 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,280 go. Years ago I went on a train 230 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,440 which left him in the cargo and ended up in Kitaya. 231 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,320 It was the old steam trains. It's pretty quite an adventure. 232 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:26,440 Took took a week to get there and it was full of young farmers 233 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:28,680 members. And so we stopped at different 234 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:32,320 places and met these different people throughout New Zealand on 235 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,960 this train trip. We went to this place in the 236 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,240 central North Island and it was a hot day. 237 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,400 So we went in for a drink and we went up to the bar and the man 238 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,160 says, what do you want? And I said we need a drink. 239 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:50,040 He says my advice is have a small drink and leave 240 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,160 immediately. And I said why? 241 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:55,600 We said why? He said look around. 242 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,640 We looked around. We were the only white faces in 243 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:00,800 the building and we were not welcome. 244 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:03,840 If we'd stayed, we'd have been beaten up. 245 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,400 And we're talking in the the 1980s. 246 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:12,280 It was my first experience of racism in New Zealand and it was 247 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:13,440 a bit scary. We left there. 248 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:15,080 I think we might have not finished the drink. 249 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:17,920 We knew we were not welcome. This isn't the place we 250 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,400 belonged. We were invading their space. 251 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:25,080 It was really uncomfortable. Give you another story. 252 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:31,320 In Northern Ireland, during the Troubles with the IRA, who were 253 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:36,000 fighting the British Army for independence for Northern 254 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,240 Ireland, if a Catholic girl went on a date with a British soldier 255 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:48,440 or a Protestant boy, the Catholics in her community would 256 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:54,680 shave her head and tar and feather her harshness. 257 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,960 Hey, you don't belong. You keep to yourself. 258 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:03,200 You don't mix. Yeah, harsh stuff used to go on, 259 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:08,560 ugly stuff, but Jesus had to go through Samaria, not because it 260 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,520 was the best way, but he had a prophetic encounter that he 261 00:17:12,520 --> 00:17:16,240 needed to have with that woman. He had to go because he had to 262 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,599 meet her, and he knew he was going to meet her. 263 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:27,200 But the second reason also, he had to go to that place that 264 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:31,560 well where the other kings historically had been installed 265 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,680 because he was to be to be installed as the final king of 266 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:43,640 the northern Kingdom. He became revealed as the the 267 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:48,040 king for everybody, not just, if you like, the Jews. 268 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:52,880 So there was some sort of divine appointment that was taking 269 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:58,200 place at that. Well, so would you give me a 270 00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,600 drink? It was about noon. 271 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,120 And I said this before because she was probably avoiding 272 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,680 people. Did Jesus need a drink? 273 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:09,480 Maybe. But did he need to speak to her? 274 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:13,080 Yes. But the very thing that he said, 275 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:17,440 will you give me a drink? The lady saw that as an insult. 276 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,120 It wasn't being friendly. Remember I said about going into 277 00:18:21,120 --> 00:18:22,920 this place where we were told to leave. 278 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:30,360 Same for Jesus, being hospitable with a drink means some sort of 279 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,840 friendliness or acceptance and that wasn't appropriate at that 280 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,000 time. Will you give me a drink? 281 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:45,480 Smacked that Jesus was saying to her, I want you a lesser person, 282 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:51,840 to be my cup bearer. We've been talking about 283 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,800 Nehemiah. What was Nehemiah's profession? 284 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:03,440 He was a cupbearer to the king. But in the land of Samaria they 285 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:09,560 had a different memory of Nehemiah and the priest Ezra. 286 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:13,960 The lasting memory they had, he was the one that broke up 287 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:17,640 families. He sent away the foreign wives 288 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,200 and the children and expelled them from that area. 289 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:28,680 So when you ask for a drink, it's like it's an insult remind 290 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:31,440 because they didn't like that happening. 291 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,880 So this is our attention that Jesus has added to the 292 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:40,360 conversation to be a cupbearer like Nehemiah wasn't a well 293 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:47,320 received question, but Jesus answers him in verse 10 answers 294 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,120 her in the verse 10. If you knew the gift of God and 295 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:56,760 who it is that ask you for a drink, you would have asked him 296 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,440 and he would have given it to you. 297 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:07,520 Now here he switched it for on the one hand, he's asked her to 298 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:14,720 be his cup bearer, but now he's offering himself to be her cup 299 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,840 bearer. Do you see the cleverness of 300 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:18,880 that? Now that sort of throws her 301 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,440 because she doesn't get. That there's a change of 302 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,040 identity. He wants to be her servant and 303 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,200 then he's promised her living water. 304 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,920 I met a man in South Otago. He was doing a study for a year 305 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:37,120 in farming and he'd come from Papua New Guinea and they lived 306 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:40,040 in the jungle and they had a river going through the jungle, 307 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:45,040 which was their supply of water. But upstream in the jungle, a 308 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:50,320 multinational mining company was digging for for minerals, and 309 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:53,200 they tipped all their sludge into the river. 310 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,720 So when the people downstream wanted to use the river, it was 311 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,600 polluted. It was contaminated. 312 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,680 This man might have been 40. His wife was permanently sick 313 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:06,480 from the water. She was back in New Guinea. 314 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,760 And they can't fix it because she's been poisoned by the 315 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,520 sludge. And you can't fight it because 316 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,720 they're a multinational and you are this poverty person in New 317 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,240 Guinea. And so water needs to be pure, 318 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,040 it needs to be life giving and nourishing, not stagnant and 319 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,800 stale and poisonous. So Jesus is offering living 320 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:29,400 water. I want to talk to you a bit more 321 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:34,520 about living water because it's one of the keys of the whole 322 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:45,830 thing. When they anointed, when they 323 00:21:46,190 --> 00:21:49,510 proclaimed kings in Israel, there was a tradition and a 324 00:21:49,510 --> 00:21:55,200 ceremony, and obviously one of the first things they would use 325 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,400 is anointing oil. They anoint the king with oil. 326 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,000 Do you know what the other thing they called or what they used to 327 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,440 install a king? Pure living water. 328 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:14,240 So when Jesus says living water, there's instantly a connotation 329 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:19,800 of kingship. The symbolism is huge here. 330 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:26,200 We would miss it in our English living water. 331 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:33,320 And Jesus is also talking about you have water for your body to 332 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,160 nourish it, but you have to come back tomorrow and get more 333 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:41,120 water. But the water that he's offering 334 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,680 is for your soul, the cleansing of your soul. 335 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,520 And once you've received it, you don't need to come back. 336 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,840 It's done, you're healed. So that living water is more 337 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,640 powerful than the physical water. 338 00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:59,200 It lasts forever. And she doesn't get that at all. 339 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:05,400 It's kind of over her head. And she says, where can I get 340 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,800 this living water? And then she tests him because 341 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:10,960 he sees here's this living water thing. 342 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:14,400 And it's sort of makes her wonder, is this a king 343 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,600 conversation? And they really looked up to 344 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:22,320 their father Jacob. And she's, are you greater than 345 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,560 our father Jacob who gave us this will? 346 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,880 So she's testing who are you, Jesus? 347 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,400 Are you setting yourself up to be someone special? 348 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,920 Jesus says everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty 349 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,200 again. But whoever drinks the water I 350 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:44,840 give them will never thirst. Verse 15, The woman said to him, 351 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,840 Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to 352 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,840 keep coming here to draw water. Does she get it? 353 00:23:52,640 --> 00:23:55,960 Has she got what he's saying? She's still thinking of physical 354 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,520 water for her physical body. He's talking about the spiritual 355 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,960 water for the healing of the soul. 356 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,720 She doesn't get it yet. So they're still at cross 357 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,240 purposes then? There are two main keys here 358 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:12,520 that Jesus uses in the terms of words of knowledge which kind of 359 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:17,840 activate his authority. And he asked you this question, 360 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,760 go call your husband and come back because he knows the 361 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:27,720 answer. She replies, I have no husband, 362 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,440 She replied. Jesus says to her, You are right 363 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:33,720 when you say you have no husband. 364 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,640 The fact is you've had five husbands and the man you are now 365 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:41,600 with is not your husband. What you've said is quite true, 366 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:44,840 Sir. The woman said, I can see now 367 00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:48,920 see that you are a prophet. Here you are. 368 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:52,160 Jesus has used word of knowledge, spiritual gift and 369 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:54,000 bang. The conversation shifted 370 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,480 instantly, which tells me we can use our physical conversation to 371 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,880 engage people all the time. Unless we have the living water 372 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:07,320 in US, it's a waste of time because there needs to be a 373 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:09,560 power encounter spirit to spirit. 374 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,920 Scriptures tell me in John, I think it's John Chapter 7. 375 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:24,800 Out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water. 376 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,280 How can it flow if you don't have it out of your innermost 377 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,000 being? Your spirit will flow rivers of 378 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,920 living water, which will heal people's souls, their wounds, 379 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,000 and their bruises. Why? 380 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:42,080 Because it's the presence of Jesus that they're being engaged 381 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,000 with. When this lady met Jesus, the 382 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:47,440 presence of Jesus healed her. He didn't have to do a major 383 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:49,800 ministry session because he's Jesus. 384 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,640 He just brings the glory of God into a situation. 385 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:59,600 So here we have the lady's saying, I've had five, Sorry, 386 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:02,200 what you said is now true. I've had five husbands. 387 00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,920 But she's saying, I recognize that you are a prophet. 388 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:15,280 And so here we have the connection between the five 389 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:19,160 husbands and the five covenants that we've talked about earlier. 390 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:24,480 She was the most appropriate person for him to use to 391 00:26:24,640 --> 00:26:28,560 minister to the people of Samaria, in this case Shechem. 392 00:26:29,360 --> 00:26:30,920 Why? Because she was the most 393 00:26:30,920 --> 00:26:35,000 bruised, the most hurting, the most rejected. 394 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:40,040 So once people see the transformation in her from the 395 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,560 engaging of Jesus, then there is some, if you like, instant 396 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,240 credibility to who Jesus actually is. 397 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:52,680 So this is the moment when suddenly it all comes to to 398 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:55,360 appear to her that this is actually a prophet. 399 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:03,280 And she talks about worshipping on the mountain and arguing 400 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,720 about the Jews in the in the Samaritans. 401 00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:07,440 Where's the right place to worship? 402 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,320 And let's look at that. The time is coming when you will 403 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,280 worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 404 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:22,560 Salvation is from the Jews. It says in verse 22. 405 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,600 What that means is salvation is from Jesus. 406 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,000 Jesus is the Jew, so he will bring their salvation. 407 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,000 The true worshippers will worship the Father in the spirit 408 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,360 and in truth, for those are the kind of worshippers the Father 409 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,320 seeks. God is spirit and his 410 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:42,320 worshippers must worship in spirit and truth. 411 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:45,440 What he's saying is it doesn't matter about the location. 412 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:50,160 It doesn't matter about the nationality, it doesn't matter 413 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,920 about the form or the tradition or doing it right. 414 00:27:53,600 --> 00:28:00,240 What it matters is relationship, spirit to spirit with your Lord. 415 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,440 And so he's testing her, pushing her way outside your comfort 416 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,480 zone, and she's really listening now. 417 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:10,720 She was like fobbing him off before, but now he's got her 418 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,000 attention. And this is what she says in 419 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:17,000 verse 25. I know that Messiah called 420 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:22,960 Christ is coming. When he comes He will explain 421 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:28,080 everything to us. What does Jesus say then? 422 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:32,240 Jesus declared I the one speaking to you. 423 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,840 I am he. He's declared his kingship 424 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,400 instantly in the place when the previous kings had been 425 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,400 installed. He is, if you like, the final 426 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,520 king they will ever need in that area is our final king as well. 427 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,960 So what do we have here? We have Jesus being identified 428 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,880 as the Messiah, and she recognizes him and everything 429 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:02,480 changes. She's freed from her bondages 430 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:07,040 and then because of that, the land of Samaria will be freed 431 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:12,200 from their bondage as well. I haven't got the rest of it on 432 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:15,800 the screen here, but it continues down to verse 42 where 433 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,240 Jesus stays for at least two days and he talks, ministers, 434 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:26,360 heals the people of that town. And so they see the change in 435 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,720 the people. They meet Jesus and they are 436 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:32,480 totally, if you like, overwhelmed with his love. 437 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:37,120 So their town is evangelized through the excitement and the 438 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:41,640 joy and the testimony of the Samaritan woman. 439 00:29:42,960 --> 00:29:47,800 The Samaritans then learn that they too are acceptable and are 440 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:52,880 loved by their Messiah. And then it comes down to verse 441 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:56,880 42, the end of the story. And this is what the people of 442 00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:03,040 Samaria say. We know that this man really is 443 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:10,320 the saviour of the world. They recognize Jesus, He's gone 444 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:13,280 on to a place where he wasn't welcome, where they had a whole 445 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:19,040 lot of bad history and he's come in and he's healed it restored 446 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:23,640 them back into relationship. So I find that's kind of 447 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:26,200 interesting because that's the the work of Jesus. 448 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:31,360 He comes into people's lives sometimes who are in the worst 449 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:36,760 mess and he can release the healing anointing that he 450 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:39,600 carries. But also, I look at this message 451 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,320 and I'm thinking, what's happened to the woman? 452 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,640 She had been avoiding people and she's been transformed into the 453 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:52,320 full potential that she carried to be an evangelist. 454 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:56,840 So her ministry's been released. Not only was she healed, she's 455 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:01,920 released all in the one process, one encounter, so she can have 456 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,320 an encounter with Jesus. And I'm not sure how how many 457 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:09,960 minutes that conversation took. Wasn't that long, was it maybe a 458 00:31:09,960 --> 00:31:14,720 20 minute conversation? And she's been transformed by 459 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,200 encountering Jesus. Not only that, she's healed and 460 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,040 released. And so the excitement, the 461 00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,960 transformation in her personality is huge. 462 00:31:35,570 --> 00:31:39,050 That's basically all I want to say about the message this 463 00:31:39,050 --> 00:31:49,680 morning. Because there's a lot that 464 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,960 happened to that Lady in the 11 encounter. 465 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:56,440 But to summarize, there were five covenants in the nation's 466 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,480 history, and the lady had five covenants of marriage. 467 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:05,040 And so she was, if you like, perfectly matched to be the 468 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:09,840 representative of Jesus. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to 469 00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:12,200 the Persian king. He wasn't popular in the area, 470 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,720 but Jesus offered to be the cupbearer for the Samaritans 471 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,120 switch for their restoration. Kings were crowned in that area. 472 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:25,000 Jesus, by declaring he was the Messiah, proclaimed himself king 473 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,400 there. Many important men had chosen 474 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:32,880 their wives by wells beside a well, and Jesus chose this woman 475 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,640 by well, the bridegroom. If you like choosing a bride. 476 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,800 The two hills above the town signified both blessings and 477 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:44,000 curses. Jesus himself became both a 478 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,440 blessing and a curse for us. Water has been used for 479 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:52,240 purification and religious rituals, and Jesus used his 480 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:55,800 living water to purify this woman. 481 00:32:56,560 --> 00:32:59,640 OK, do you find that interesting? 482 00:33:01,640 --> 00:33:05,760 There's a lot of depth in the story and Jesus was doing more 483 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,040 than being nice to the lady she was. 484 00:33:08,240 --> 00:33:14,240 He was repairing history. He was taking away all the 485 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:20,680 injustice, all the hurt, offence and bitterness and creating, if 486 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:28,200 you like, the environment which brings peace and joy and 487 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,680 relationship to the Lord. I want you to to think about in 488 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:33,280 a moment. I'll ask John to come forward. 489 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,880 Let's have our moment with Jesus this morning and see what Jesus 490 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:41,840 is going to say to us because I believe that Jesus has a message 491 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,240 for everyone this morning. So he had a message for the lady 492 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:49,960 at the well, but I also believe he has a message for everyone 493 00:33:49,960 --> 00:34:01,720 here today as as well. So before we start, I want to 494 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,520 ask you to just to settle yourselves down and and focus on 495 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:07,400 Jesus. What is what is Jesus? 496 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,120 Is he a lion? Is he a lamb? 497 00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,960 Is he all of the above? What does he mean to you? 498 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,040 And so I want you to sit where you are and just close your eyes 499 00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:22,080 and just meditate for a few moments on the nature of Jesus 500 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:35,440 to you. I pray Jesus, you would come by 501 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,679 your Holy Spirit and you would speak to all of us. 502 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:45,440 You would release your wisdom into our minds, into our 503 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:49,280 thoughts, and we would have an understanding of revelation of 504 00:34:49,280 --> 00:34:51,080 what you want to impart this morning. 505 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:55,760 So you may want to hold your hands open in front of you so 506 00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,680 symbolically, like you're going to receive and in your own 507 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:06,360 words, quietly for yourself, ask Jesus Christ the Messiah to 508 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,680 reveal the one thing in your life right now that's holding 509 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:13,400 you back from your ministry calling now. 510 00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:16,720 It could be shame like the Samaritan woman, could be 511 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,000 generational sin from your ancestor. 512 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,800 It could be some curse over your location, could be a wrong 513 00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:24,600 belief. Whatever it is, just in a quiet 514 00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,320 moment, ask Jesus yourself to speak. 515 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:49,320 Often it's the first thought that we have that we sort of 516 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,760 overthink and reject. Go with the first thought. 517 00:36:04,870 --> 00:36:09,470 Once you have that, that thing, that that idea, I need you to 518 00:36:09,470 --> 00:36:14,230 ask Jesus to tell you what you have to do about it. 519 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:19,680 Is this something you have to repent of? 520 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:25,720 Something to release, something to if you like, bring new 521 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:29,000 understanding to ask him what you have to do 522 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,520 and now do it what He's told you. 523 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:18,040 Now I want you to ask Jesus to cleanse you with his pure, 524 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:23,200 living water so that you are freed from any burden that 525 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:24,960 you've had. Ask him now. 526 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:54,080 And like the Samaritan woman who was released in her evangelistic 527 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:59,640 calling, I want you to ask Jesus to release you into your 528 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:02,880 calling. What is your ministry gift that 529 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:07,520 you are now free to move out for Him? 530 00:38:45,930 --> 00:38:48,930 Jesus, I thank you for the work you're doing with your people 531 00:38:48,930 --> 00:38:52,650 this morning. I thank you for your kindness 532 00:38:52,650 --> 00:38:56,370 and your patience. And I thank you that you'd 533 00:38:56,370 --> 00:39:00,130 thrown in the powers of the enemy who would distract and 534 00:39:00,130 --> 00:39:05,490 distort the truth. Will we declare we'll worship 535 00:39:05,490 --> 00:39:09,360 you in spirit and truth? You are our Messiah, our 536 00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:16,640 Saviour, and we give you our allegiance. 537 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:22,480 We choose to this day that we will follow you and be obedient 538 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:25,880 to what you've told us. Amen. 539 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,000 Thanks for joining us at Omega. If you need prayer for healing 540 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,920 or breakthrough, or simply to find out more, please head to 541 00:39:36,920 --> 00:39:39,280 our website or Facebook page in the links below.