WEBINAR 359 - Jesus in Our Darkness

good morning everyone we're  so very happy to be back here   of course we're down here in southern  texas and i'm sure you've heard   what we've been going through in the last week  but by the grace of god and by the wonder of randy all of the pipes have been fixed and the snow  is out of the way and we are here to worship   the lord and to share with you this morning but  before we begin i have an announcement to make   and um i wish i could have given  you this announcement earlier but   for many reasons this is the first time i'm  able to share it with you the announcement   is very simple that on february the 27th which is  a week ago a week from here um i shall be married   um i'm being married to a lady in houston  her name is cheryl and you'll be meeting her   as the weeks go by she's coming to live here  in in bandera she is quite an amazing lady   for the last 30 some years she has worked in the  women's prisons in south texas first as a chaplain   and now she has her own independent ministry going  in and talking to the woman the grace of god um   and with special emphasis on going into death  row and some of her stories are even more   amazing than my africa stories the the beasts  she deals with live on two legs and um yet the   grace of god is great in her life and so we  are to be married next saturday the 27th and   i i ask your prayers for us and i believe  that she's going to be a great asset   to the ministry and so that's my announcement  and i'll be back in a minute to um share the word   of god but i wanted to get that said and  done before the rest of the service begins   and so now andrew it's yours well  good morning how do you follow that   right well it's good to see everybody it really  is uh this this last week that we we missed uh   uh it's so good to be back we're glad to see  everyone's faces we're glad to be back together   and uh this morning i'm going to read a portion  of psalm 25. it says make me know your ways o   lord teach me your paths lead me in your truth  and teach me for you are the god of my salvation   for you i wait all the day remember o lord your  compassion and your loving kindnesses for they   have been from of old do not remember the sins of  my youth or my transgressions according to your   lovingkindness remember me for your goodness sake  o lord good and upright is the lord therefore he   instructs sinners in the way he leads the humble  injustice he teaches the humble his way all the   paths of the lord are loving kindness and truth  to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies   glory be to the father to the son and to the holy  spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever   shall be unto the ages of ages father we thank  you we give you thanks that once again we can come   together and celebrate this company of people we  who share bread we who feed on the very bread of   life father we thank you for this day we thank  you for this celebration of this announcement   and we thank you for your blessing upon bishop  malcolm going forward in this relationship   and now father speak to us through bishop malcolm  by your holy spirit and as your spirit enlivens   the word he speaks we thank you that you  are opening the eyes of our understanding   and holy spirit you are opening our ears and  we were able to hear with your understanding   all that you have to share with us this morning we  thank you for it all in the name lord jesus christ amen and what i want to  share with you this morning   i i i believe that there will be quite a number  of us who maybe ha you've never heard this before   um it's not new i didn't make it up last night uh  but this is uh straight out of the first centuries   of the church this is what the believers that came  out from the new testament believed and tragically   a lot of this has been lost to our western world  but there's a great renewal going on and it's   beginning to re-emerge and i want to share and  so ask the holy spirit to be light in your mind   that he shall give eyes to your understanding  to see and to rejoice because i'm telling you   this this is the gospel and i want to take as a  basis from john chapter four and we know that as   the woman of the well or the woman of samaria and  i'm just going to read um from one verse or two i   think most of you know the story in verse 13 jesus  said to her everyone who drinks of this water   that is in the well will thirst again but whoever  drinks of the water that i will give him shall   never thirst but the water that i will give  him will become in him in him inside of him   a well of water springing up like an artesian well  and it says to eternal life a better translation   would be defining eternal life and so he says that  he will give water living water and it will be in   the person but not simply sleeking some thirst  inside the water itself will become like an   artesian well gushing until it fills the entire  person and that he said defines eternal life   okay that's where we're going let me quickly tell  you the story because the story is a vital context   to this as you begin the chapter or just previous  to the chapter jesus was in a place called ainon   and that means a place of springs i think that's  significant in itself he probably had that on his   mind um he he was in the place of springs and he  is going to now head north he's down in what we   know is judea and he's going way north to what  we know as the galilee in the middle is samaria   and so if you're in judea then somehow you've  got to navigate your way through samaria   to get to the galilee and he's in aenon which  is down here in judea and they are going to walk   obviously there's no other means of  transportation they're going to walk   to galilee up into the galilee which um they  stop here at the place called saika which is   in the middle of samaria which means they had been  walking approximately a day and a half it's about   40 miles from ainan to saika and a good healthy  person who lived in the day when all you did was   walk that would be about a day and a half journey  and he's weary and he sits on the well side now   samaritans i don't think there's a way of  describing the relationship between the samaritans   and the jews just let's say they hated each other  and that's really putting it mildly they they had   this ongoing hatred between the jews in the south  and the jews in the north and here in the middle   the hated samaritans and it was a mutual hating it  was based on where the samaritans came from they   they were replaced there centuries before and so  they'd intermarried with whatever jews were there   and so they're a mongrel people you know a  bit of everything that they are a mixed race   and for that the jews hated them but then it got  into the religion they accepted the first five   books of the bible which in the hebrew accord  the torah but they didn't accept the rest of the   old testament so they just had the first five  books and claimed some sort of relationship to   abraham and isaac and jacob um but then it  wasn't simply that they added to that all   the pagan religions that they brought with  them when they were all mixed up together um   and and so the the jews hated them for that that  that you don't even know our god you you have a   pseudo temple on mongerizim and and you talk about  genesis and exodus and leviticus but you don't   know our god you've got a mixed up understanding  of god they hated them for that and so   that there were well the hatred broke physical and  almost every family who lived anywhere close to   sumeria would have stories of fistfights if they  met a cement that stoned them on the street it was   ugly and so when i say from the first verse here  that jesus must needs go through samaria that's   not exactly true because if you were a jew and  you've got to get to the galilee or vice versa   you don't want to go through samaria that's  the last place on earth you want to go   and so the jews who had strong feelings about  this would cross over the river jordan and go up   the side or they'd go way down by the seashore and  go up the side very few really wanted to go right   through the middle of samaria you never knew how  you'd come out the other side well when it says he   must and i say no he didn't he could have gone the  other routes the must there the must the driving   he must go through samaria i believe you're  tapping in there to the must or the necessity   of god the father who in and through jesus the  son of god the must there is to find this woman   the must the driving must is echoed in that  luke 15 where the shepherd must go into the   wilderness to find the sheep the woman must go  into the dirt to find the coin and the father   must run to the sun and hug him that's the must  of love the necessity that this woman and all the   samaritans around her are included and to a jew  that's well we won't even go there to them when   messiah comes the samaritans will probably be the  first ones he'll kill there's and here when the   messiah is come he must he's driven by love to go  to this woman and so 40 50 miles drudging through   more like desert country they come and it's  midday hot midday it's desert-like country and   they are weary i i i could stop there i'm not  going to but the marvel of it is god became flesh   and he is so one of us it becomes weary he's tired  from a journey he's hungry and the disciples go   into the city to try and find some food jesus  in that weariness sits on the side of the well   now i've been to that well and i'm sure many of  you have too um the jacobs well it's still there   and uh only it's now a lot deeper than it  was in those days because sand is built up   but um you would sit on the edge of the well  there would be steps going down to where the   water bubbled up and then that you would cup  it out and jesus sits there sort of an alcove   in the shade on the side of the well but he's got  nothing to draw the water with and the disciples   have gone to get food he sets there and across  the desert the the city would not be far away   maybe half a mile and she's coming across the  desert under the midday sun now i want you to   get this woman i want you to meet her she's alone  and that is the very first thing that hits you   if you know anything about  these third world countries   when you go to the well which everybody had to do  at least once a day more probably two times a day   and that was always the woman who would go  carrying the water pots on their shoulder or even   on their head and and they would come in groups  going to the well was the gossip center of the   every i mean when you go to the well well i'm not  just going to get water i'm going to visit with   everybody else in town everybody's there coming  and going and getting their water i say that   because it would normally be at six o'clock in  the morning before the sun came out and the next   time you'd see anybody at the well would be around  six o'clock at night as the sun's going down you   didn't go out into that desert and start drawing  water under the burning sun this woman is alone   and she's coming under the blazing noonday sun to  get water it is very significant um just hold it   in mind she's a samaritan obviously it says so and  she identifies herself very strongly as a woman   a samaritan woman which would mean to say  i'm a samaritan i'm not a jew they really   define themselves as samaritans more in what they  weren't as to what they are i'm not a jew and as   a woman i'm not a man and i'm coming across this  desert with the world view of a samaritan that is   the politics of samaria everything that made this  terrible clash between the two peoples that's who   she is and she believes as much as any samaritan  did in the god of her fathers and her forefathers   and that temple on mongerism which was not too  far away yeah that that's who she is up to a point   but she's a victim now i want to emphasize this  she was a victim of five husbands who had divorced   her i i've looked in the commentaries you know  i always do i don't know why i do sometimes um   if you want to really see what religion is saying  about these things you'll soon pick it up in most   commentaries and this woman is defined as  immoral oh boy everything comes out now this   immoral woman who has had five husbands  and she's now living with a guy the sex   and she's depicted as this woman that is  selling herself i wish some of these people   would understand the middle east i i wish  they'd understand the culture of the bible   you see women didn't divorce men did and it it  is another world it's not like our world at all   they divorced over nothing we have records actual  records of divorces because the wife burned the   toast and that was enough to throw her out on the  street um her housekeeping was not good enough   there was dust left in the corner get rid of her  she was looked upon as chattel she's a no thing   she's a woman do you remember the pharisees now  of course the samaritans were in pharisees but   pharisees they would begin their day i i think  i've told you this before they would get out   of bed raise their right hand and say oh god i  thank you i am not a woman and i am not a dog   i am a man that's how they began their prayer life  it's that's the culture and so when this woman has   been divorced five times don't come down on her  like a ton of bricks and say what an immoral woman   no this woman is an abused woman   and it was in a day when a woman couldn't get  a job of course there were no jobs for women   women only had two things in life that was to care  for their husband's well-being cook and clean the   house and produce babies there's no other reason  for a woman being here in the culture of that day   so if a husband throws her out on the street  which literally he would do many times not even   serving her divorce just get out of here then  what is she to do she now becomes helpless   and for quite a time no other man will look at  her because if she's been thrown out who wants   to take that one in she there's something  wrong with her she's not enough as a woman   and five times she's been through that five  times demeaned five times trampled underfoot   and told to get out not a good enough cook  not a good enough housekeeper can't please   me you're not enough for me you're a reject you're  a failure as a woman you can't perform as a woman   now she's working on number six though at  this point there is a sense of hopelessness   because again you do not have in those days what  we have today a culture of simply living together   don't add that so if she's living with a guy  who is not a husband yet that that's big that   means on two sides they really is is it worth  it is it worth it for number six to throw me out   is it worth it to even try and have a commitment  that will be gone with the desert wind this lady is abused she's a broken woman she's  been thrown out as worthless she's been used and   then found rejectable get out of here and her  face you you know you can read faces i think   most of us can you you could read the face of  this woman the pain is etched into the face   etched into her eyes of suspicion and fear it  reflects all the bitter arguments that are by   that simple statement she'd had five husbands  you could only imagine the the the screaming   and the beatings that had gone behind that the  cruel words and the lies and the masks the she   as well as the man living the life of pretence  and i say again she's now run out of hope   who on earth after number five is  gonna say number six will be different   no five times and and you know what this is  and and certainly in that culture but it's   universal uh you get people coming together but  they come together believing that this other   person the man or the woman is going to meet  their needs let that sink in this this woman   five times over had believed that a man  could meet her needs the trouble was   the man was empty and believed she would meet  his needs you've got two ticks and they're both   blood sucking on a dog but the dog isn't there  and they're sucking life out of each other   and and the whole thing falls apart and  that's what's happened here um you see if if   relationship with another human being at any  level or a relationship with any human institution   could provide the satisfaction that this woman  we all are looking for but they can't no other   human being can satisfy the needs of my spirit  my spirit scream out my spirit is like the desert   she walked on no other human being can fix that  and if you get married thinking that this other   person is going to meet that need get ready for a  similar life story this this is this doesn't work   we go how many have gone to religious  institutions churches how many divorces of   churches have you gone through how many times did  you think this church is going to meet my needs   and of course they didn't in fact they looked to  you as an asset now to meet some of their needs   you end up sitting there desert dry dried  out like a prune that's what this woman was she comes across that desert with another  meaningless day and she comes note at noon time   because she's getting sick and tired  of the way the woman look at her   and the woman talk about her and you know  woman and god bless every woman but get a   gang together and she's the reject she's been  kicked out they're gonna make hay out of that one   and so there comes a point where i'm sick  and tired of it i'll rather go at noon time   under the blistering sun and nobody's going to  stare at me and talk behind their hands about me   i'm tired of being non-acceptable and  tired of being non-inclusive and tired of   being left out so she comes and as she comes  sitting on the well she sees someone who's   obviously a jew i don't know if you realize  that but when god became flesh he became   human he didn't become sort of universal neutral  human he joined the humans that are called jews   that tied him into the entire old testament  and all the promises of the old testament   he was obviously a jew she recognized him as a jew  that was not altogether unusual because this well   was right there as you're coming up from judea  to the galilee it's pretty much in the middle   and many a traveler who had decided to come that  direct route would be sitting on that will side   and she looks he's a jew he's a traveler  but immediately her guard is up remember   she doesn't trust a man as far as  she can see one now but also a jew it's and again i'd like to talk about it  i'm not going to though that jesus god   became flesh so one of us that he is weary  hungry thirsty and sitting in the shade   of a well alcove waiting for the disciples  to come back with food and he asks a favor   i don't know if this means anything to  you but god in the flesh is asking a favor   of a woman saying would you please  give me a cup of water because you   you've come with a jug and if you get  water you could let me have a sip of it   it's amazing asking a favor for one of his  creatures but her response is very rough   um it doesn't really come through in our english  translations but there's a sneer to her voice   uh what she says how is it that you being a jew  ask me for a drink since i'm a samaritan woman uh   she's bristling and there there's the idea  there in in the language that it was written in   that it's not only ask of me it's getting it  for free that is you're thirsty i'm a samaritan   you're a jew and you're asking me for a freebie  if you want some water pay for it um that that's   the added she's coming she's not nice she's coming  she's got a she's got her boxing gloves on before   she starts she doesn't want a relationship she  doesn't want a conversation she wants to get   her water and out of here nothing to do with  this guy and of course what she's saying there   how is it that you a jew but not  only a jew but a man you're a man again how can we comprehend this in  today's world but shall i say a holy man   a rabbi but then anybody who has respectability  would never speak to a woman in public he would you they wouldn't even speak  to their wives in public you're a man   and a woman is channel and you would not  speak to a woman in front of a public audience what are you doing you're a man i'm  a woman and you're talking to me   not only so i'm a samaritan you're a  dirty jew what are you doing talking to me   but then oh it gets worse because you see if you  were a jew then your rules of religion forbade you   to drink or eat from anything that belonged to  a pagan so you if it's their cup if this plate   was in a pagan house and it had food you couldn't  eat the food because that plate was from a pagan   she is a samaritan and she's got a jar gal and  there's going to be water in it and he's saying i   want a drink she says what are you talking about  i know you jews you wouldn't touch our stuff she's setting up for a fight here she's  ready she's setting distance she's separation   and the hatred i'm a different race we've got  different political views i don't agree with you   on any point of your stupid religion let me get  my water and get out of here that's an attitude   and jesus has been raised in that culture  but he is so above it he does not and i i   how can i say this he doesn't descend to being  merely a jew do you understand what i mean um   in in life if we've discovered the life of god  in christ we do not descend to being merely   americans we we we're higher than that not in the  sense of looking down on others but we've seen   a life and a love that transcends all the hatred  between human beings and he does not answer her   he refuses to come down and fight you know what  he want he rose above being nor does he respond to   her as a samaritan that that's that's the amazing  part he's not going to deal with her as she wants   to deal with him she wants a fight he won't  fight she despises him he doesn't despise back rather he acts as he truly is and that is that  he is god the son who has taken our humanity   in order to bring to pass in this woman's life the  love intention of the father since before creation how can i put it many of us have been  taught that jesus was here because adam fell   have you have you ever been taught that  you know so you know adam was plan a he   everything was invested in adam and adam  royally screwed it up hardly before he began   and so god's mad at him gonna punish him but  jesus somehow steps in and jesus is the footnote   so adam was plan a and he completely messed it up  so now jesus comes because the father is getting   really upset and so jesus comes to quieten him  down and take the place of adam and pay for   his sin and make everything okay and and that's  what some of us were raised with is the gospel   no please do adam was in the beginning  adam wasn't plan a jesus was always plan a   it says in ephesians before the foundation of the  world and and in maybe a better translation before   the fall of the world before adam did anything it  says in ephesians 1 the purpose the intention the   will the reason for creation was that we would  be included into the family of the holy trinity   no no jesus is there he's here looking  at this woman and he's on that mission   he's coming from before the foundation of  the world doing tell this woman that she's   included into the family of god it makes a  whole difference she she is the last coin   but she doesn't know it she's ignorant she  she is valued by god who will not stoop down   to the pettiness of a samaritan or a jew but  sees her valued of great worth she's ignorant   she's totally she doesn't have a clue who she  is doesn't have a clue the reason she's here   but jesus is god on a treasure hunt and  he's finding his way into her darkness   to bring her words of light and the love of god  and i like the way he said it he said if you   really knew who i was wow that's a statement  the biggest if if you knew who i really was could you ever comprehend that this jew sitting  on the well is really the creator of the cosmos   could you believe he is god come looking  for you if you knew who i really was he said   if you knew that you would be the one  asking me for the living water and then   he goes on this water that you're going to get  it's good for an hour or two and you're thirsty   again back you come back you come it's almost a  hint that we haven't got there yet but a hint you   know five times you've come and still you're  thirsty still you're thirsty it didn't work   and he said this this drink that i will  give will be an artesian well within you   and it will rise and fill your life  and it will define for you eternal life   now that that's really what this whole thing is  about what is eternal life i i've come from my own   background my own religious tribe and um i tell  you what i was raised to believe that eternal life   was that if you said this prayer then you would  go to heaven when you die and you'd live forever   that that always was a bit you know off to me  um i mean that doesn't excite me quite frankly   because uh so you say this prayer and  then what do you do until you die that's   and yet the new testament seems  to be full of what you do now   in fact the more i read the new testament  the less it says about what we call heaven   um and you say live forever what do you mean have  an apartment or something and you know cook and   clean and just keep on living and keep on living  keep on living sounds pretty boring to me no   that's the truth just live forever um i mean have  you ever thought about this why is eternal life   and of course i think um it's that word eternal  that gets all that there and that's that's not   the interpretation of the word the the people  of the bible never understood what eternity   they that was they couldn't understand it  that's very much our western way of thinking   this abstract idea of foreverness what it  is it's it's called the life of the ages   so the age upon age upon age upon age unbeginning  and the age upon age upon age unending   is the life of god and so this thing we call  eternal life is the life of god and he is saying   that this life the life of god will be inside  of you and it will have an energy all of its   own to be like an artesian well to fill every  part of your human existence so much so you'd   never thrust again there would never be that  ache inside that emptiness that's eternal life   well then what is the life of god do you understand me when we say the life  of god we just don't mean he lives and he   lives and he lives and he lives and he  lives again that would be very boring um   what is and that's the uniqueness of the  message of jesus that he introduced us   to the life of god by revealing to  us that god one god is three persons   and we come to this all through our christian  faith the father the son and the holy spirit   and that means that god is in himself relationship   that father and son relate and the spirit  relates you have in the very heart of   what we understand of god we have relationship  we have fellowship we have communion in fact it says just two chapters back in john  chapter one he introduces this because john is   forever telling us about this everlasting life  eternal life so he defines it right at the very   beginning and he said that god the son that he  calls the word that we know is jesus he said   in our bibles he says he is with god he's with  the father and again i'm sorry to keep saying   this but that's a bad translation it's with  yes it is it is with but with is not enough   i am with you all i'm with you now but that word  which is prose in the greek language it means not   just with but turned intentionally toward it means  with face to face and it means closeness it means   eyeball to eyeball some have even translated it  cheek to cheek you are in such a relationship   that the father looks into the father  the son the son looks into the father   the spirit looks in the width face to face now  think about that that's the life of god this   relationship and that's why it says god is love  for face to face means love so you see within   the god that jesus revealed there is no loneliness  that's impossible for the father is ever consumed   with the son who is consumed with the father  the spirit ever with the father and the son   you you have actually the idea of a dance  that each is contributing each is receiving   there's no loneliness in fact when  i say face to face think about it   that jesus from unbeginning is face to face  with the father what does it mean if i am   face to face with you i'm looking straight  into your eyes that's the the big picture i   well if i'm looking straight into your eyes it  means number one there's no shame if you you   notice if there's any shame in your life you  are incapable of looking someone in the eye   have you if you notice that there's a  downward look to say face to face eye to eye   is saying absolutely no shame no secrets no hiding  got nothing to hide it means i totally accept you   and you totally accept me and we live  in this complete no hiding no shaming   it means no separation there's nothing between us  we're eye to eye it means a union of two persons   who utterly trust each other there's nothing  between nothing to hide i'll say it again   there are no secrets you see every relationship  is defined its limits are defined by your secrets   if you have a secret that's  as far as a relationship goes   and of course most people have a whole garbage can  full of secrets which means that their fellowship   and relationship is a very shallow thing but i  to i means i have no secrets i have nothing to   hide i give myself in my entirety to you as  the other gives themselves in entirety to me   the eyes are the windows of the soul  eye to eye he says that's our god   that's our god a place of absolute  assurance the place of absolute acceptance no inferiority because i i've heard some give  the idea that you know god the father he's the   mean bad guy and jesus is this one who sort of  comes in later and he's he's less than less than   the father no you can't be less than if you're  eye to eye i to i means on the same level it means   face to face that's what it is no no  groveling total acceptance as the same as   that's no demeaning no put down there's a  bold assurance about face to face i look   we have maybe a negative tone  when we say i'm in your face   but you think about that in terms of love it  means i've got nothing to hide i know you love me   i know i'm totally accepted i can be in  your face i can speak freely and boldly   now that's there's no fear you don't thought  about that there is no possibility of fear   in god's life for god is love and the opposite  of love is not hate the opposite of love is fear   and wherever there is the love of god john  tells us it casts out all fear cannot exist   eye to eye face to face i'm not afraid  of you i'm not afraid because i know   you love me i know that you're giving yourself  entirely to me there is no possibility of fear   that this is friendship taken to the nth degree  now this is interesting i think that this word   face to face that describes the very life of god  in the language of the bible it's used to describe   the bride and the groom when the  bride and the groom come together   and they are face to face and union is  they use this word they use this word   that is complete giving one to another  okay it would also be used as the baby   you you hold a baby in your arms and the face  of the baby turns toward the mother the father   and that that's this word it means trust  it means that all that the father is he   gives to the son all the son is he gives  to the father and the spirit gives and there's this well that that produces unspeakable  joy what we're talking of god so there's no   limits here to anything i've just said and that  means joy i you see we we were raised with a   miserable god when people say holy they usually  mean something close to a funeral it's holy   god is the ultimate party pooper yes anything  that's good he's against it have you ever   thought maybe if you haven't traveled you won't  have noticed it but if you go around the world   every culture reflects this anyone who didn't  know this would begin to think about it i i go   i've been to almost every continent in the world  and wherever you go you find people come together   it's spontaneous they don't have a book of rules   i mean here in texas well  round of fire bunch of cowboys you you look even on college  campus groups people come together go to tribes in africa and the big  thing especially as the night draws   on the tribe comes together and there there's  laughter and there's slapping at the back and   there's telling of stories and there's the  relating of our history as a people and   and i've gone from country to country to country  and each in its own culture is doing that and you   begin to think there must be a genesis there must  be a womb somewhere that we all came out of that   is this if you ever thought that our god is the  beginning and the ultimate of ground a campfire   do you realize what the bible teaches is that  holiness is laughter that echoes across the cosmos   it's not that miserable god that says  you can't do this you can't do that   god has a smile as big as the  universe and laughter and joy he sings the bible says so have you met  god yet many people are beginning to wonder   who is this god i've been hanging out with  well you wouldn't hang out with him would you   that's another thing people  say i'm going to heaven   for eternity you really want to be with  him forever um serious i'm very serious now   the the sort of god people believe in i would not  like to spend eternity with him he's not fun um   he he's continually irritated with us  he created us to be annoyed with us well that's another thing but joy this  relationship face to face is one of joy   the baby laughs in his mother's arms the bride and  the groom danced together face to face no secrets   a family where there's no secrets is a  place of extreme joy and extreme peace yeah there's no arguments  impossible there's no secrets and this this is another hour but i'll throw  it in this is righteousness you ever heard that   you've heard of that haven't you righteousness and  people think you know you've kept all the rules   and now here we are i'm righteous most  miserable man on the block but i am righteous   that you that's not even the meaning  of the word righteousness means a right   relationship righteousness is when two  persons are face to face and they are ecstatic   over their relationship together that's the  meaning dictionary meaning of the word righteous   it's got nothing to do with behaviors to  do with relationship that produces behavior   but it's relationship and then of course   very soon after that it goes on to say not only  face to face but actually inside each other   without losing each other so father's inside  the sun but he never loses himself in the sun   he's still the father and the father is inside  the sun but the sun never loses himself and so on that says john chapter 1 is life that's life to  be face to face with god and to dance with him   in the joy and the peace that arise from that  love john one says that's life that's being alive but then it says that this one god the son who  is smack in the middle of that relationship   face to face with his father that one becomes  human and i mean human just where we are   screwed up in the dark don't even know who  we are have no clue what god planned for us   that's human or as the new testament calls it  flesh that's flesh screwed up humans and it   says that god the son in that relationship  became flesh he joined us in our darkness   but in joining us in our darkness he never stopped  in the relationship with his father face to face   so what does that mean he  brings this unbegun cosmic   relationship of love and acceptance and  joy and peace he brings it inside our   he becomes human without ever ceasing  to be in relationship with his father why because it was god the  father and son and spirit's   plan from the very beginning  we should be in that family so god comes and joins human without  ever leaving that relationship   and he talks all through the gospel  of john especially he talks about   he and the father they're living up this  relationship but i mean can you get this and   that's what i'm trying to say this this this man  sitting weary on the well and saying i'm thirsty he's right where we're at but he's brought into  that the life of god so the life of god this   relationship of unbounded love he brings  it right into authentic human existence   inside a family he grows up in a  family in a third world country   living this out with his father but  bringing it now to the dinner table   he lives this in a carpenter shop with all  the sawdust and with people upset with their   bills and he lives this he's  human but he's living god face to face so he's face to face with us but at the  same time face to face with the father he's joined us in our darkness in our  death in our screwed up empty lives   and he said i've got a gift for you   and the gift is to discover who you really are  and to discover what was always planned for you   that you join with us and i'm the one come here to  take you into this relationship that's the gospel   that's the gospel god's never mad at you he  never has been mad at you he's always wanted   you face to face and so now god the son comes  to fulfill the heart of the holy trinity and   bring us face to face with the father and that's  eternal life that that's what see it's god's life love god's love is god's life there's no  separation no hiding separation brings fear   and death and so in john 17 3 it says now this is  eternal life so we're going to get a definition   now this is eternal life that they may know and  the word know there is that intimate word of   heart knowing not knowing about it is heart it's  face to face it says this is eternal life that   they may have this heart knowledge of you the  father the only true god and of jesus christ   whom you've sent that's it and the word also know  there it's not a finality that that is you don't   say well now i know it no it's it's ongoing you're  you're knowing and your knowing and your knowing it's the adventure of discovering the knowing and  so he says eternal life is this endless adventure   of coming in my daily earthly experience to  discover this love this life this laughter   that fills the cosmos this unearthly piece of  god it's all beyond my explanation but he says   drink this water and it's not just  gonna sit there it's gonna gush   and it would define that's eternal life  like being washed cleansed your thirst   forever slaked that's it that's it it's what it  is life life is infinitely more than being alive   you might have noticed that this poor woman  was alive but she wasn't aware of life it's actually jesus is quoting here from the  old testament do you remember it's another   message really but i'll throw it in quickly new  ezekiel's river do you remember ezekiel's river   he says that this river had a life of its own  and it was a river of life and he said when he   got into the river it was up to his ankles but  it wasn't long before it was up to his knees   and he said then i couldn't stand anymore i was  swimming and he said i was swimming inside of life i was swimming in aliveness and then he says i got on the bank and  i i looked at it and he said wherever   the river went there was life he said you  know dead trees suddenly came to life and   where there was just desert  it became grassland and   salt stinking water became fresh and clean river  of life now he says that river's inside of you that's what he was offering this woman and having offered it he  brings up the five husbands now i i've i've read this probably  yeah probably a thousand times i   why did he do that they're just having this  conversation he says that there's this water   that's gonna change your life and then he says go  and call your husband and she she says i i don't   have it he said i know you had five husbands  and the one you're living with is not yours   what's he do that for because  he doesn't do anything with it   he doesn't go anywhere with it  he doesn't start talking about it   he just announces it never thought about that you  see god like the commentators good old religious   people they say jesus was condemning her and  making her convicted of her immorality and sin no   he didn't read it for goodness sake it does didn't  it didn't do it he just casually mentioned it   you ever thought about this what what's he  do it for because he was not condemning her   doesn't in any way condemn  her he just announces it   you've had five husbands and the one  you're living with is in your husband i'll tell you what i think he  was doing he was letting her know   this is not a shallow conversation  i have got inside your darkness   i know exactly where you are i know  the pain and the abuse and the horror   of what you've gone through i know the garbage  can inside where you've stuffed five ex-husbands   and he said don't talk about that i don't want  to go there i can only hope this one's gonna   he says come on come on i'm inside your garbage  can i know all the five husbands i know what   you've been through and i know what you're going  through and i want you to know that this life of   god inside of you takes that into consideration  this isn't something that you're gonna have on   top of that and pretend it's not there no drag  it out tip the garbage can on the kitchen floor   it's all there i know all about it i'm  inside your darkness and i love you   and i have come from the very heart of the  father to give you this gift of our own life   that will cleanse away all the pain and  the abuse and bring you into the love of   god do you see what i mean what we stuff in  garbage cans and pretend is not there because   it's too painful to look at my shame  my secrets my barriers where i hide you're looking for god he lives in the garbage  can that's the point i'm serious god became flesh   he didn't come to play a religious game and  say well let's keep the garbage can you know   no he says i'll come in the garbage can and that's  where i'm going to release the water of life   i'm going to come to the point of your shame  and you're going to lift your head and look me   straight in the eye and know i accept you and  i love you and you're released from all of that i'm gonna turn on all the lights  and therefore you're gonna see   now clearly instead of wandering the darkness i i i have no other answer to that he wants her to know all i'm saying here is not  religious gobbledy goop i am there lady right   where you are that you don't want anybody to  know and that's why you came at midday when no   one can talk about it well i already know about  it i came looking for you i i know all about it and i'm there i'm there i'm not embarrassed  by it i'm not ashamed of you lady   i don't share the opinion of the village i  don't share the verdict of your five husbands   i've come to tell you the life of god would be  like a cleansing artesian well that's going to   make you into a new woman with no more  shame because god's life started in the   middle of your garbage in the middle  of your secrets that's where it is it's not your you're playing this religious  game up here on the surface and hope no one   goes in the basement no god starts in the  basement he meets her on her territory   right in the middle of her rejection and  her apparent failure but not to condemn   is inside the darkness because  that's where he turns on the light   she is more to this story but it's not more  time so by the time it's finished she just   dismisses it at least that's what it looks like  she said okay okay you know when messiah comes   he's got all the answers you know  he'll tell us everything won't he   it's a nice way to finish a religious  conversation and jesus does something you never   you go through the whole life of  jesus not once does he say who he is   never right i mean you go through he never says  i'm the messiah no he calls himself the son of man   and to this woman this samaritan  woman this shame-filled secret-bound   woman he said i am that's the name of god i am  he who speaks to you he said i am the messiah i think that's pretty much the only person  he ever told straight out that he was messiah   except when he's before anderson  in the trial but it's amazing to me and in that moment how can i put it something happened   i see you you read this and read it and reread it  when he said i am i'm the ones i am the messiah something happened and it wasn't intellectual  it isn't that suddenly she is now   a theologian and she understands even one  percent of what i've said this morning um   she saw at a heart level you know what  i mean at least a lot of you do um your heart that that other gut level part  of you is streets ahead of your brain   you know your brain says hold it hold it  hold it hold it let's work this out we're   gonna get you know a few scripture texts here  your heart says i know i know and she knew and   in that moment she took sides with  jesus against the verdict of the city   she took sides with jesus against the  opinion of all the women of the city   she took sides against her own  self to believe what jesus said and that all happened in split seconds i suppose  she might have known of the existence of isaiah 61   which was the most famous um scripture concerning  messiah that he comes to heal the brokenhearted   i don't know what she did all i do know is and it says so specifically   not not sort of an accidental thing it says she  left her water pot and the word left there in   the original language means left it with intention  she deliberately left her water part and ran into   the city and shouted to everybody come and see  a man who has told me everything i've ever done she left her water party is that because  she's telling in a symbolic way i understand   what you said you said if i dr get water in  this water pot i'll have to come back again   and you gave me water i'll never need  to come back so i leave my water pot   it was it was an intense she didn't forget  it no she deliberately left it she got it   the life of god released into her  darkness and secrets and shame and when she goes back she doesn't know how to say  it she blunders into the city and all she can say   is come and see a man come and see him come and  see a man who told me everything i've ever done   of course why did she bring that up because this  man not only told her everything she'd ever done   but right in the middle of that mess   had brought the waters of life that cleansed  her and brought her into the life of god that that's the gospel that i meet not  only here but all through the new testament it's a far cry from what  we hear much of the gospel did you notice she didn't invite him  into her life did you notice that he invited himself in fact   really if you read it a few times you  realize he's inviting her into his life it's see people are forever trying to invite  jesus properly that's why you know many have come   from churches where people get saved every week  because they never have this unearthly assurance   they never see the eyes of god the father just  looking right through them and saying i love   you i love you i love you you're included  you're accepted no they don't know that   because they've been told that they have to say  the right prayer and they've got to really work   at it because god doesn't want you you've got  to convince him you're wantable no that's not   the god we worship this god says i'm inside i'm  talking to you right out of your garbage can   i'm inside i mean i'm inviting you to realize i'm  in your life i'm here and i am the waters of life   there's nothing she did she  couldn't do anything don't be daft   how can you do anything this is  god's initiative and god does it he opens our eyes to realize that he  has brought us into the life of god   he became human wand with us  introducing us to the face to face   with the father and when he became human that  meant we humans are brought over to his side   this woman well actually church history tells us  that this lady became quite a famous evangelist   she's mentioned in church history and to  the point where finally they martyred her   for her faith and they did it by throwing her down  a well um she was totally radically changed and   i share that with all of us and i know that all  of us are basically as far as i i know we're all   under the banner of christians but christianity  in the west is not really a joyous matter   it's a stressful anxiety-ridden thing  trying to convince god he ought to like us   and we're never sure that we pull it off whereas  the gospel is the good news that from before   your creation he planned to join you into his  family and jesus came in order to put his arms   around us and include us into that face to face  eye to eye relationship which is eternal life and i trust that rings a  bell somewhere inside of you because it means you see you don't have to  do something it means open your eyes wake   up and realize you're right in the middle of  this because this is where he has brought you   and the holy spirit awakens us to know where  he's brought us so wake up you're smack in   the middle of the waters of life eternal life  is yours in in relationship with jesus you are   face to face with the father and you are part  of the smile that is bigger than the cosmos   he lifts up the light of his countenance  and shines upon you now the blessing   of god who is almighty love and life  open our eyes to see our inclusion   to see him alive and light  in the middle of our darkness we receive it we give you  thanks lord jesus christ amen you

Channel: MalcolmSmithWebinars

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Length: 75min 34sec (4534 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 23 2021