Living water (John 4 v 4-30)

'Jesus gave her water that wss not in the well.....She went away singing,and came back bringing ,others for the water that was not in the well'.This is part of a song we use to sing,many years ago,it is based on John 4  where Jesus comes upon a woman who came to draw water from a well.Jesus was tired and thirsty,so he asked her  for a drink of water ,she had drawn fron the well.And so began a wonderful  conversation,she puzzelled why He a Jew should ask water as she was a Samaritan,as the Jews did not  associate  with Samaritans,this is what Jesus said,' If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,you would have asked him and he would have given you loving water'.She did not understand what Jesus was saying or who he was,bur eventually she would. The natural water keeps us alive,but it will not stop us dying,our dear Saviour spoke of living water,Isaiah 12 v 3 reads ,'With Joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation'So what Jesus was offering  was salvation, if we but turn to Jesus to be saved,we will receive eternal life, (Romans 6 v36).Jesus further contrasted the limitation of natural water,we drink of it but we will thirst again,But the water ( salvation)that he would give her would trully fill the deepest longings of  her soul.

                                                    'Now none but Christ can satisfy,

                                                     

Witnessing ( Romans 8 v 26 a)

'But  you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,and in all Judea and Samaria , and to the ends of the earth'. (Acts 1 v8)These are the last words spoken by Jesus before He went back to heaven.They were addressed to His disciples,but they are for 21st century Christians,in othe words they for you and me .How do you feel about witnessing? does it scare you?,frighten you?.When was the last time you told anyone about Jesus?I suppose you may  say leave it to the professionals.From the moment the Lord restored me to himself I witnessed to people ,I wasn't a  professional. How do I do it? well the answer lies in those last words of  Jesus,'You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you'.Remember what Jesus said,'without me you can do nothing',( John15 v5) and that help comes through the Holy Spirit who dwells within all of us.The Holy Spirit dwells in every child of God,not just the charismatic or pentecostal.If you have not the Holy Spirit you would not be a child of God (Romans 8 v 9) That happens when you are born again ( John 3 v 7),we could not live the Christen life ,if the Spirit of God was not in us.So tell them about your experience,ask  the Spirit to help you and guide you,He will'

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We don't know ( Matthew 25 v 1-13)

 One of the things the apostle Paul had to deal with in his letter to the church in Thesslonica,was their concern for those who had died,What had happened to them? Are they alright?shall they see them again?.This was in connection to the coming of the Lord,some say Paul was expecting Christ to come  back in his life time,but there is no real evidence for that.The Lord made it clear that only God the Father knows when Christ will come again,( Acts 1 v7).There are other referances as  regards not knowing when Christ is coming CP Matthew 24 v36-51.What our Saviour taught as regards His coming that we are to live in the light of it, which could happen anytime. Many years ago an elderly believer said to me that the Lord was coming back before he died,dont be fooled by anyone forecasting when He is coming again.The JWs have done this a number of times,we must not be like them,or the believers in 1000 A,D who had as John Stott puts it 'eschological excitement' or 'Parousia hysteria' .

                                                            'Even so,come,Lord Jesus'  

                                                                   Revelation22 v 22..

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Last words (Psalm 23 v 4)

 Often in ages past when a godly man was about to die,people would crowd round to hear his last words,here are a few examples.John Knox,'Live in Christ,die in Christ,and the flesh need not fear death.Dietrich Bonhoeffer,'This may seem to be the end of me,but its just the beginning.John Wesley,'The best  of all, God is with us,farewell,farewell.I turn to my favourite the word of the greatest of the apostles,Paul, he was about to die a martyrs death and this what he wrote I will not comment on them,let them speak for themselves,

                                                          'I have fought the good fight,

                                                           I have finished the race,

                                                           I have kept the faith'

                                                              (2 Timothy 4 v 7)

                                           

Holiness ( Hebrews 12 v14)

 For God did not call us to be impure,but to live a holy life, ( 1Thessalonians 4 v7)what does that men? ,it means living as God wnts us to live,we have to take that very serious.We are not justified by the keeping of the law but we are called to have a moral qaulity to our lives.Paul continually tells us the  means where  by we can be saved,when we trust  Christ ,that should  mean ,repenting of our sins, leaving the old life,in fact dying to our old life.That is what we are declaring when we are baptized,going under the water symbolises dying to our old sinful life,and coming up out of the water symbolises our newness of life. (Romans  6 v 1-4) Peter writing of those who have escaped the corruption of the world when they trusted Christ and  goes back on that ,suffer consquences and likens them unto a  dog retuning to its vomit,and a sow that is washed returning to her wallowing in the mud'( 2 Peter 2 v 20 - 22) Psalm 23 v 3 speaks of being lead in the paths of  righteousness.For the Christian we do not do, what everyone else is doing,no we live the life  that Christ wants us to live,a life of holiness,that is different from the worlds. John writes to the believers telling them if we claim to be without sin we decieve ourselves and the truth is not in us( 1Jn1v8) Yes we will sin at times,bit we will not walk in sin  (1 Jn v18) It was Murry McCheyne who prayed ,'Lord make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made'

Side affects ( Romans 3 v11 -23)

I started smoking when I was young say about 13yrs ,most people smoked in those days,why did I start smoking? I don't know.I even smoked a pipe when I got older.I remember when I had my first alcoholic drink when I was 14-15yrs ,why ?possible made one feel grown up.With smoking and alcohol there are dangers they can become addictive and cause destructive health problems. I'm sure we all know people  whose lives have been ruined by smoking and alcohol,think how many people have been killed by drunken drivers. On the cigarette pack there are graphic warnings,but still people smoke.Likewise alcohol  is said to be ,'a slow posion;,affecting our liver and can even cause piles, strokes and hullucinations,if it gets a hold of you ,you can literally drink oneself to death.Why do people appear to ignor the warings? but they do. The greatest killer and destuctive thing in the world is sin, not just in the here and now, but in the here after,The word of God teaches us the terrible consquences of sin,our Saviour talked about being a slave of sin (John 8v 34),billions are slaves to sin ,but He also said,'So if the Son sets you free,you will be free indeed (John 8 v36) Do you want to be free from sin and its awful  consquences? ,turn to Jesus.trust Him as your Saviour.

The greatest gift ( 1 Peter 1 v18-19)

 I recently received a lovely birthday present  from one of my sons,an actual painting not a print,while a  print can be lovely,an actual painting has something special about it.I am aged 82 so I have recieved many gifts during my lifetime,cars,books the list could go on.A dear lady left me 500 pound in her will,and when my first wife died a friend sent me some money that helped a great deal,and so I could go on.  Recently I  I told a lady that the most important prayer we can praywas,'God be merciful to me a sinner'.Now let me tell you the greatest gift one can receive is 'The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Romans 6 v23).Consider who gives us this gift,God,why would He give such a gift?the answer is,because He loves us (John 3v16),no one is worthy of such a gift.In Romans5 v8 we read,'But God commendeth His love toward us,in that,while we were yet sinners,Christ died for us'.It is a free gift so many people believe their good works can get them to heaven, they can't  (Ephesians 2v 8-9).None of us deserve it, all we deserve is God's judgement,if we neglect this Gift ,we can expect no mercy,which means we will experience eternal damnation,