UNPOLISHED PEOPLE!!!
John 4: 4-30, John 8: 1-11, Rom 8:1, Rom 8:31, Matt 26:28, John 8:3
I tell you what, if God was looking for polished people, He would have walked right past me! I am as unpolished as you can get. Sure I can put my makeup on and look absolutely fabulous, but it's a mask that I wear and hide behind, but there are days I let my ugly self roll and as I have told the world, I have sinned, and sin can be masked as something beautiful but we all know it's only skin deep! And when I say sin, I mean I did that SIN, that sin that most churches can not look past. I'm not talking blaspheming the Holy Spirit, or taking another person's life, those seem far more forgivable, I mean ADULTERY.
I am NOT proud of it, but I will not be controlled by a mistake that according to Matthew 26:28: "For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins", is FORGIVABLE.
I have never hid my sin, I didn't flaunt it but I never acted like it didn't happen. I knew I screwed up and I take full responsibility for my actions, and I do not blame my past for the mistakes I made either. I did it because I wanted to. Plain in simple.
I want to caution you ladies, adultery is far easier to fall into than you think. It was surprisingly easy in fact to get myself into trouble! Like I mean, stupid easy. I use to think that a Christian Woman like myself was untouchable by sins like "that"... hahaha! WRONG! DEAD WRONG.
It happen so fast I didn't even blink and the 3 years of turmoil that followed was most assuredly not worth the deed. l lost everything. More than when I left my ex, I lost my daughter, my respect, my witness. It is not worth the price of admission.
BUT GOD...
Our text today is based on John 4:4-30 and John 8:1-11 (we'll touch on the latter shortly),first lets talk about Jesus and the Samaritian woman at the well. While Jesus was heading to Galilee, He decided to make a pit stop in Samaria. Traditionally, Jews had NOTHING to do with Samaria. They avoid the area like the no body's business and speaking with a Samaritian was unheard of especially a Jewish man talking to a Samarian woman. It was not done.
BUT GOD...
Jesus purposely set out for Jacobs well that day knowing full well that there would be a certain woman who would come. Now the time is approximately noon, the hottest part of the day. Nutshelling the story: Jesus asks this woman for water, she talks circles around Jesus, Jesus then reveals Himself as 1. Living water, 2. Prophet and 3. Messiah. These 3 things are vital to our blog today.
1. The woman had been married about 5x and probably divorce about 4 times. She had been living with a man who wasn't her husband (hence why I believe she was still married) - that would be ADULTERY.
She came to the well at a time where she knew there would be no body there. No one to pick at her, no one to mock her. It was quiet. She probably got enough dirty looks during the day that she probably just wanted some place quiet to go to. After all, she was living in sin and I am sure the last thing she wanted was to be around other people.
I can parallel my life next to her and see that we probable have more in common than I think.
I will assume being in a similar boat as her, that she probably came from a fairly bad background.
I will assume that she was probably abused.
I will assume that she probably had some serious issues like rejection, depression, emotional trauma etc.
So we see her. The sinner, sweating bullets, probably a little smelly, probably dirty, drawing her water from the well. NOW, we see Jesus. Jesus, purposely sought this lady out to tell her something incredible important, "Give me water" he said to her, such a simple statement started a life changing even! Imagine the look of shock on her face when she a gentile was being address by a Jew of all people!
(gonna reword scripture here...) "Give me water". I'm sure she was shocked! She questions Jesus, basically she is saying "You know I'm a sinner right?" and Jesus replied to the effect: "I know you are a sinner but I am here to give you life, I am here to change you, redeem you!" and she replies "Jesus, you don't know how deeply I have sin, how unworthy I am. You don't know me." and Jesus again says "Daughter, come to me and I will give you living water, I will renew you, remake you, restore you, I will clean you up, I will show you what love really is. I am living water!"
He is LIVING WATER.
Water by nature is clean, pure, refreshing, renewing and essential to life. Everything that this lady needed. This lady needed Jesus so bad that out of the whole ancient world, Jesus came to her!
2. Jesus did not condemn her to hell, He loved her in her sin.
Joyce Meyers said it best, "You got to catch the fish before you clean the fish".
As Jesus prophesied about the hidden things of this woman's life, He didn't rake her over the coals. He saw her heart and her hurt. I can just imagine how that woman felt as the LORD God in the flesh stood before her revealing the things only she knew. I would be dumbfounded. I am sure I would have a rise of attitude and probably end up a blubbering pile of tears on the ground!
Jesus didn't call her down, call her worthless, didn't hold her sins over her head. No, Jesus, in his infinite Grace was telling her that He knew exactly what she had gone through, and instead of condemnation He gave compassion.
3. Messiah. When Jesus finally revealed to this woman His whole divinity, this is where her life started over. Jesus had cast that line, she bit the hook, He set the hook and now it was time to reel her in! Her old life just ended right then and there, a new life began! GOD in the FLESH, had chosen to reveal himself to her! It was all coming together! Old life has passed away BEHOLD she was made new!! AND, You know what, get this... JESUS COMMISSIONED HER!!! That's right! He sent her to go and tell the others about Him AND the people LISTEN!!!
I have been in a few churches since and I felt so condemned. So crappy, so broken and I know there will be some ladies out there who are perfect and never sin who think I deserve worse. It's okay, that there is a sin, but that is between you and God. I am not telling you my story for your sympathy, I am speaking to the women who have walked the same walk as me and need to hear this.
Only one pastor ever told me that God forgave me. I didn't believe him. I have read numerous verses that tells that women like me are doomed to hell. I spent a few years resigned to that fate. But I never blamed God. I never turned my back on Him. I just accepted the fact that it was what it was because I knew what I was doing and make no excuse for my sin. I did it. I figured hell was certain until I had a heart to heart with my brother Jason.
Jason is a year older. Crankier old trucker like myself, but full of supernatural wisdom! We talked about the forgiveness of sins, covenant grace, he reminded me that even though I had sinned, God didn't want me to end up in hell. I saw the light!
John 8: 1-11 deals with another adulterous woman. This time the woman was "caught" in the act of adultery. I won't mention how the fella she was shagging was conspicuously absent...While she is being dragged out into public view, probably dressed immodestly if at all and is thrown at the feet of Jesus. Isn't that an apt picture of how we feel when we crawl our way to the cross? All our sins exposed in the most public way?
Now skipping the part with the Religious leaders let's focus in on HER.
Imagine this woman who was set up! She was being used! In her mind, do think that she even knew what was going to go down that day? Probably not. She probably, stupidly, trusted the man she had been with. There the two of them are in the most intimate action when the religious leaders break down those doors and haul her out!
This woman had a history too and I will speak from my experience, I don't think it was good either. Women don't usual cheat when they are loved and respected. So there she is, humiliated, crying and sobbing at the feet of Jesus. Her life is literally in the balance. The punishment for her sin was literally DEATH by STONING. No wonder, honey boy took off!
BUT GOD...
We won't know till heaven what Jesus wrote that day in the sand, but I am more aware of what Jesus said to this woman who was clearly in the wrong.
John 8: 10-11
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord, and Jesus said unto her, NEITHER DO I CONDEMN THE, GO, AND SIN NO MORE.
Ladies! Do you understand what just happen here? Jesus redeemed her! Jesus clearly sees our sins, He knows the hidden and the evident! And while the devil is there accusing you and trying to humiliate you, know that according to Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit!
REPENTANCE IS KEY!!!
I spent 3 years broken, repenting, ripping myself to shreds, avoiding church, avoiding God. How could someone as unworthy as I stand before the Living God? It took me 3 years to understand that I was redeemable.
Why am I telling you all this? So no one can ever hold it over my head again. It's already public knowledge, there are no skeletons in my closet! I am redeemed, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer that old lady that lives but Christ who Lives in me. And where Christ is, there can be no darkness! The whole reason Jesus stayed on that cross was because my sin held Him there.
As I lay before the cross, His blood covers me, it cleans me and has made me washed whiter than snow! The old law was weak and relied on the flesh, but this new Law, this New Covenant is Strong! It covers all sins! It brings us into right standing with the LORD! and there is no power in this earth that could ever uncover that sin! John 8:3.
I have a hope, you have hope and that hope is Jesus! Without Jesus, I would be more spit than polished!
Don't look at people without looking at their heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment and grace to look at people through the eyes of the Cross. RESTORE our fellow sisters!!! Only the devil condemns us over and over and over again. Jesus saves! Redeems! Restores!
Ladies we are in a battle and it's almost over! The times are going to get harder, temptation is everywhere and the devil knows the dust is about to settle so he will pull out every fleshly temptation he can to hinder your walk with the Lord! But know this, while there is breath in your body, you have a chance to fight back! Get up, dust yourself off and get ready for round two! If God can redeem me, you my dear sister, are redeemable too!
I got my life back! I got my daughter back! I am HAPPILY married now! GOD IS GOOD!!! Life is Good and getting better!
Romans 8:31 What shall we say these things? IF God is for us, WHO can be against us?!
