WATER FROM THE WELLS OF SALVATION
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; Romans 4:1-5, 13-17
Old Testament Lesson; Genesis 12:1-8
Sermon Text; John 4:4-30, 39-42
Jennifer had been married for 26 years and has had a very fulfilling marriage, and yet deep on the inside there was a feeling of emptiness. She had a vague feeling as if something was missing.
She and her husband had successfully raised three children. Now those children were independent, and living on their own, which had been one of their goals, as a couple.
Her husband, Roger, had been very successful in his business.
They had a lovely place to live, and she was very happy with her home.
And, yet, despite all of this, deep on the inside, she felt a longing as if something was missing. She had a very empty feeling inside, which she could not define. She did not know what it was or why it was that she felt that way.
St. Augustine once said this, "The soul is restless, until it finds its rest in God." Jennifer’s soul was restless, because it had not found its rest in God, yet. And, she didn’t know that, nor did she understand that.
Isn’t it true that our souls can be very restless and that we can feel as if something is still missing? Sometimes we find ourselves thinking, "If only there was something out there that could fill me up and could make me feel as if there is no more emptiness in my life anymore." Many times, we with our sinful nature, try to find ways to fill that emptiness in our life.
For some of us it may be through possessions. We may think to ourselves, "If only I could have this house, or this car, or this toy, then I would feel fulfilled. Then I wouldn’t feel that emptiness, or that void inside, anymore."
And, so we get the house, we get the car, or we get the toy. But after awhile we begin to realize that we still feel empty. We still feel as though something is missing. We begin to think, "Maybe I need something more." And, then we turn our hearts to some other possession, in hopes that it will fill that void inside. But, when we get that new possession, after awhile we once again begin to feel as though something is missing. The emptiness returns. Something is not there.
With some people, it may be through relationships. Some people may think, "If only I could have a relationship with him, or with her, or be a friend with that person." Then, that void, the feeling inside that something is missing would be gone and I would feel fulfilled." So, we have a relationship with that man, or that woman or that friend. But, then we begin to realize that this is not a perfect relationship and there are still things missing. And, then that emptiness begins to return and we begin to think that maybe it is not this man, or this woman, or this friend, but rather that man, or that woman, or that friend. And, we go on to someone else. But again, soon those feelings of emptiness returns. Something is still missing. Something is not there.
Maybe for some people it is a position. "If only I could have that position or that job, or be given this title and called this or be called that. Then I would feel fulfilled." We strive after that position, or that job, or perhaps a title. And, when we get it, for a while we feel fulfilled, but then that sense of longing comes back. Something is still missing. Something is not there, that should be there. If only I could capture it, whatever it is.
That is exactly the type of person that Jesus met at the well, in a town called Sychar, which was a Samaritan village.
Jesus knew that he had to go through Samaria. And, it was because of that woman at the well. He had to find the woman who had that sense of emptiness, who felt that something was missing, and something was not there. He had to talk to her. He had to show her how that emptiness could be filled and be gone!
Think about how empty this woman must have felt! She had had five husbands. She married the first man, and after awhile must have begun to feel empty, as if something were missing, so she went on to the second husband. And after awhile she started to feel as though something was still missing, because she still felt empty. So, she went on to the third husband, but again began to feel as though something was missing. She went on to the fourth husband and yet she thought that something was not there! Going on to the fifth, she still felt as if something was missing. Finally, she got to the point that she was so desperate to have her heart filled with something (and since marriage was not working for her), that she decided to do something which she knew was wrong. In desperation, she decided to live in sin with someone else, with the hope that it would perhaps fill her empty heart. Maybe that would make her feel better and not so empty.
I suppose we could say that she was willing to, not only "eat junk food" to try to fill her soul, which could never fill her soul, but she was even willing to "drink the poisoned water". Drinking that "poison" would, instead of filling her soul, only lead her soul further and further away from God and make her feel more and more empty."
That is the kind of woman that Jesus met at the well. He knew that she was empty and He knew that she was longing to be filled. He knew that she was longing to have something in her life that could give her full and complete satisfaction, peace and rest for her restless soul.
Jesus knows that about each one of us!
So, what did Jesus say to that woman at the well? He said, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him, will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life."
He offered her something that would fill her, and would take away her thirst. He offered her something that would take away her longing to be filled up and would ultimately satisfy her. He offered her something that would give rest to her restless soul.
What is it that Jesus offers us? What did he offer to that woman, whose soul was restless, longing for something, longing to be filled?
Jesus gave her and
Jesus gives to us
something that
no one else,
nothing else,
no other relationship,
no other person,
no other material possession,
no other job
in this entire world could
give to her and
give to us!
Jesus offers complete rest, and the removal of all thirst from that thirsty soul.
What is it that Jesus offers? Jesus offers something that our soul desperately needs, whether our soul realizes it or not!
There are many, many people in this world feeling that sense of emptiness, as if something is missing. And, they try desperately, in many different ways to fill that emptiness (most of them are sinful ways) and to fill that restlessness. Their soul does not realize that the reason they ultimately feel so restless and so empty is because they are separated from God.
Our soul is longing to be right with God.
Our soul is thirsty to be at peace with God.
Our soul realizes that we have
done things,
said things, and
thought things that are not at all pleasing to God.
Those sins build a wall between God and me.
It separates me from God.
It causes God to be angry with me.
My soul longs to be right with God again.
I am empty until that happens, but how can that happen? How can my soul be right with God?
That is where Jesus comes in.
That is where Jesus offers to us the Living Water that
wells up into eternal life!
When we drink of it, we will never thirst again! In Jesus, God offers to us what our soul is longing for! In Jesus, God tells our longing, thirsty, hungry soul that God is at peace with us! In Jesus, God has restored what we have broken down!
God sent His own dearest, treasure, Jesus, His Son. His Son, Jesus, lived that perfect life, as our substitute, taking our place, fulfilling the things that we are incapable of doing before God. Jesus suffered and died, making full payment for all of our sins! God’s anger and His wrath has been set aside. He is no longer angry with us! His wrath is gone and His heart is filled with peace and love for us!
In Jesus we find God the Father saying to us, "I love you. I love you so dearly that I declare you to be NOT GUILTY, for Jesus sake!
You are not guilty!
You are holy in my eyes!
We are at peace with God. We hear in the gospel of Jesus Christ the Good News of God saying, "I forgive you. I cleanse you from all of your sin. I wash them away, for the sake of Jesus. I will never, ever hold your sins against you again. You are forgiven." In the gospel of Jesus we hear the Father say to us, "I love you so dearly that neither height nor depth, nor the present or the future, nor angels or demons shall ever be able to separate me from loving you. I love you so dearly that I want you to live with me in my home forever in Heaven. I am preparing a home just for you."
There in the gospel, in the Good News of Jesus Christ is that one thing that can fill the longing of our soul. It can quench our thirst, not just for a little while, not just for a day or two, but for all eternity! It is for an eternity that our souls are filled and our restless souls find rest in Jesus the Savior of the World! And, when our restless souls find rest and peace with God, forgiveness of sins and a conscious that is right before God because of what Jesus has done for us, then our souls are at rest in this life and in the life to come!
Then a Christian can go forward, looking at his relationships saying, "I know that my relationship cannot give me the fullness I am looking for. But, I do know this! I do know that I can take Jesus into that relationship and Jesus will give that relationship fullness! I can take Jesus into that relationship and I can live for my Savior. I can love, the way my Savior loved me! I can forgive, the way my Savior forgives me! I can sacrifice, the way my Savior sacrificed for me! And, all of a sudden my relationships are filled with fullness!!! That longing is gone! We are no longer empty. We have been filled with our Savior.
A Christian can go forward and look at his possessions and say, "I know that those possessions can never fill my empty soul. They never can! But, I can take Jesus to those possessions. I can use those possessions for the One who has redeemed me, and has filled my soul. I can use my money for my Savior. I can use my money to spread the Good News of Jesus and bring more people to faith in Christ. I can use my house and my car to the honor and glory of the One who redeemed me! And, all of a sudden those things that once brought emptiness, no longer do! Christ has brought fullness to them!
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Jesus has filled us! He has quenched our thirst, with eternal water so that we will never thirst again!
This world is filled with people, FILLED with people, whose souls are still empty, whose souls are still restless, because they have not found rest in God their Savior. They are longing to be filled up. Mustn’t we have compassion on them? Aughtn’t we and shouldn’t we have compassion on them? We have the One Thing, THE ONE THING, which can fill their souls and can quench their thirst.
Isn’t it our duty,
our privilege,
our great honor and
responsibility to go to our friends,
our neighbors,
our associates,
our relatives and
bring them the Water of Life,
Jesus our Savior!
That is exactly what this woman at the well did! When she had found the fullness that she had been longing for, when her thirst had been quenched by Jesus her Savior, what did she do? She was so excited, she was so filled with joy that she even forgot the reason she had come to well! The Bible tells us that she left her water jar behind. She ran to the city and she began to tell the people in the city that she had found the Messiah. She had found the One who could fill her soul, and set her restless soul at rest.
And, what did those people do that she talked to? They came to Jesus. They listened to what He had to say. The Bible tells us that many of them believed because of His Words, and because of what He said to them. And, their restless souls were filled. How thankful they must have been!
Isn’t it our duty, our responsibility and our honor as God’s People to go out into this world, filled with thirsty people and take Jesus Christ to them?
Many of us feel that we don’t have the training to do that. That Samaritan woman was a brand new Christian. She had NO training whatsoever! And, yet she went out with the simple message that she had found the Messiah. She had been filled and her soul was at rest. You and I can go out with that same simple message, and do what she did! She invited them to come and hear Jesus! You and I can invite people to come to church. Come to church and hear Jesus. Come to church! How can they believe unless they hear? And, how can they hear, unless someone tells them about Jesus? As scripture says, "Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the Word of Christ." Invite them to church, where we dispense that Water of Life, Jesus our Savior, which the Holy Spirit works through to give rest to their restless, weary souls, and quench the thirst of their thirsty souls. Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
There was an artist once who wanted to paint a picture of what it means to be a Christian. He painted a picture where the sky was dark and stormy, with heavy clouds, lightening flashing and rain falling. He also painted an ocean, with the waves tossing - dangerous, frightening waves, tossing across the picture. In the middle of this picture was a large, firm rock that rose up out of the waving waters of the ocean. On top of that rock was a cross. There clinging to that rock was a man. He was the picture of a Christian. He was the picture of someone who is safe from the sin, trouble, toil, sorrows and storms of this life.
Another artist looked at that picture of a Christian and he thought, "Something is missing in that picture. I am going to fix it." So he painted the exact same picture. It had the exact same dark, stormy skies, the exact same falling rain, the exact same lightening flashing, the exact same tossing waves in the sea, the exact same rock, with the exact same cross, and the exact same man clinging to that rock. Only this time the artist had that man clinging to the rock with only one hand. With his free hand, he was reaching out into the water where someone was struggling for safety. He was reaching out into the water, to bring that man to safety from the storms of this life.
We have the Water of Life. Let us go forward, reach out to those struggling for safety and share the Water of Life, for Jesus sake.
Amen.
Top of Page
|| Church Sermons || Return to Home Page