Water For A Thirsty World

John 4:1-42

In the story of the woman at the well, Jesus modeled for us how to share the life-giving message of salvation to lost, hurting people by appealing to their innate spiritual thirst and pointing them to the only One who can satisfy that thirst. By following Jesus' example in this story, we can take part in reaping  the great harvest of souls God wants to save.

1.  REACHING A PARCHED HEART (vv. 1-26)
In the days of Christ, it was customary for traveling Jews to by-pass the land of Samaria. Indeed, Jesus did not have to travel through Samaria on His way to Galilee, but He did so to fulfill the divine appointment with the woman at Jacob's well. Upon reaching the well, Jesus acted on His thirst to engage the woman about the very thing that she needed the most. Through His physical need, Jesus exemplified the spiritual thirst of the woman, and explained to her that her thirst could only be satisfied by the spiritual water that He could provide.

2.  REAPING A PLENTIFUL HARVEST (vv. 27-42)
The moment the woman at the well realized that Jesus was the Messiah, she ran back to the city to proclaim the news. Her countenance had been completely transformed by Christ. The disciples of Jesus, who had been recently selected, did not yet fully grasp the magnitude of their commission and the purpose of their calling. Jesus demonstrated to His disciples that the woman at the well represented all those who had yet to be reached with the news of the Messiah, but who had already been prepared by God the Father.

What needs to change in your life so that you don't fail to see all the lost, hurting people that surround you every day and miss opportunities to tell them how Jesus Christ can change their life?

Pray that God would give you a greater awareness of lost, hurting people and that He would use you to reap the harvest of souls in your home, neighborhood, school, workplace, and around the world.