God doesn’t want you to give out of a sense of pressure or guilt. God wants you to give with eager joy. If there is joy in your heart when offering time comes, you know God is pleased. Do you look forward to writing the offering check? Do you feel like bursting with joy at offering time in your church? Do you get excited when you receive unexpected money that you can give to God’s work? If so, you have entered into the true spirit of giving.
Rod Rogers

The Needs Of A Thirsty Soul

The Needs Of A Thirsty Soul

Title: The Needs of a Thirsty Soul Descript.: A Sermon on the Samaritan Woman at the Well Text: John 4:1-42 Usage: Preached January 24, 1993 AM at SDCC.

  1. INTRO

    An unquenched thirst is one of the most compelling sensations our body is capable of delivering! Illus.- Two-a-day football practices in high school in Texas. Illus. – thirst after 5 hours of violent vomiting. The tissues themselves seem to cry out for moisture.

    But thirst can describe more than just the longing of the body for liquid, it can also describe the longing of the soul for acceptance, usefulness, and communion with the living God! And the emptiness created by the lack of these things is just as compelling as the thirst of a parched body. The thirst an alcoholic is trying to quench is not satisfied with what is in the bottle. The needs that lure another person into sexual promiscuity or infidelity can also be described as a thirst. Likewise, the sense of accomplishment sought by the “workaholic”, the fun sought by the hedonist, and the leisure sought by the lazy. All of these fruitless behaviors are misguided efforts to quench a thirst that can ONLY be quenched by Christ!

Consider the encounter Jesus had with an outcast Samaritan woman in John 4. This brief conversation lays bare her heart and show how very thirsty she is and how she (AND WE) can be satisfied!

B. BODY – The Needs of a Thirsty Soul

  1. To be Accepted That this was a crying need of her heart is revealed by:
    1. The timing of her trip to the well (noon instead of the cool of the day)
    2. Her astonishment at Jesus’ conversation with her: Samaritan, woman, and outcast! He was having more to do with her than her own people did!
    3. Her response to His revelation of Himself: Left the water Jar!

Have you ever felt rejected, abandoned by all that you thought cared about you? Jesus wants to walk with you — wants to help. No matter how others treat you, He cares. Moreover, those who are truly His followers care too! Notice that the disciples were learning — though surprised, none were critical of the conversation.

2. To be Needed “How are you going to draw water — you need my bucket!” Here was a woman longing to be needed and useful to someone. She probably felt “disposable”. As Christians ARE WE NEEDED? Not in the sense that the is anything God CANNOT accomplish without us. He is OMNIPOTENT. But He has chosen to work through us to take the gospel to the world. This woman wanted to be needed, to be more than something to be used up and thrown away. And while Jesus did not need her to draw water — He did need her to tell the village. An interesting footnote is Philip’s work in the same region (same village?) in Acts — tremendous response! Maybe because of the seeds planted this day!

3. To Have Fellowship with God “Where can I go to find God? Is it true that Jerusalem is better than here?” She had been worshipping in the place she had been taught was right — but she was still empty. Many Christians share her plight — they try to find the right church and go there regularly — but still are EMPTY, THIRSTY. Jesus’ teaching here is crucial: It is not WHERE, but HOW that counts! Worship is not RITUAL, but relationship. Illus: Marriage counseling with man who never speaks with his wife — “But I live in the same house with her!?” If you still feel empty, maybe you have been seeking Him through RITUAL. Instead, do the things that cultivate RELATIONSHIP — prayer, meditation, read His letter, discuss things with Him. Awfully one-sided? No, not if you ever really try it with an openness to the Spirit!

C. CONCLUSION

Do you want a place where you are accepted and loved, even when others reject you? Some task or mission to make your life MEAN SOMETHING? Do you want to KNOW God?

Come to Him, based on what you’ve been told. Believe in Him, based on what you learn of Him yourself. Follow Him and have your thirst really quenched!

D. COMMENTS Prepared by Scott L. Purcell Minister of Stokelan Drive Christian Church 1501 Stokelan Drive Malden, MO 63863 (314) 276-2343 daytime (314) 276-4201 evening Reproduce, modify, and use freely for the glory of God and the Growth of the Kingdom! If these outlines are of some benefit to you, a note, postcard, or phone-call would be most welcome!

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