Understanding Gods Acts So He Can Lead

God's Message on the Web - My earliest podcasts.

Among the hardest attitudes and behaviors for a Christian to learn is the attitude and behavior of humility. Yet, humility is a critical attitude in Christian existence. Our humility is essential for accessing God’s strength.

It is hard for American Christians to understand and to accept the fact that they are not in control. It is a part of our culture to emphasize the importance of the individual. The American dream stress opportunity for every person. Our constitution declares that it is a personal right to pursue happiness.

As a culture, for the past few decades we have attacked any cause of low self esteem. We have changed the American vocabulary. We have developed a ‘politically correct’ language. We stress the importance of being sensitive to other’s struggles. While it is true that each of us regard some things as an over reaction to past insensitivity, most of us also agree that some of those changes are good.

However, one undesirable affect of stressing the individual is the encouragement of arrogance. Arrogance often focuses on the importance of the individual. As individuals grow in a sense of personal importance, they grow away from a sense of humility. Arrogance erects barriers between a person and God. Humility destroys barriers between the person and God.

Through Christ God offers us incredible help. Humility allows the person to respond to and accept that help. We desperately need that help. We do not need to arrogantly instruct God. We need to humbly be instructed by God.

Unless we learn to listen to God, we destroy ourselves. Often our personal prayers focus on telling God what we want. Rarely in our personal prayers to we listen. To often in our service to God we see ourselves taking care of Him. God is alive. God is active. God will continue to be alive and active long after we are gone from life on this earth. God will continue to be a presence in this world as long as this world exists. You and I will not!

This evening as we read, may I challenge you to listen. After you listen, I challenge you to respond to what you hear by singing. We will think together by reading and we will respond to what we hear by singing.


[Song about hope: 533–“My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”]


[Song about sharing Jesus: 623–“If the Name of the Savior Is Precious To You”]


[Song about personal faith: 539–“Higher Ground”]


[Song about personal faith: 470–“Victory In Jesus”]
[Prayer for faith (trust)]

  1. John 4 reveals to us a very unlikely situation in the Samaritan woman. I would like to call some things to your attention.
    1. She was a very unlikely (to us undesirable) person for Jesus to use to alert Sychar to God’s work and actions.
      1. She is a Samaritan, and the Jewish people contemptuously considered Samaritans as religiously undesirable outcasts.
      2. The fact the she was alone when she came to draw water may indicate even her own people in her own village considered her an undesirable person.
      3. She was a divorcee–divorced five times!
      4. By Jewish standards and Samaritan standards (both accepted and followed Genesis through Deuteronomy), she is an immoral woman–she lived with a man to whom she was not married.
      5. Only Jesus would pick such a woman to be the first to carry news about him!
    2. Jesus used a daily, physical need (water) to increase her awareness of her eternal need.
      1. “You come to draw water that can only last until you return to draw water.”
      2. “I offer you water that is a permanent solution.”
      3. “I know who you are and what your real need is.”
    3. “God this very moment is in the process of changing the concept of worship.”
      1. “It will no longer be a ritual that is regarded to depend on ‘doing the right things at the right place.'”
      2. It will arise from the adoration of God from the individual regardless of where he or she geographically is.”
    4. She asked about the Messiah (how unlikely a person to know about the Messiah), and Jesus identified himself as the Messiah.
    5. Though she was an outcast, she led her village to the Messiah.
      1. Because she saw, they saw.
      2. Because they saw, faith came from themselves.
  2. The second event also involved a very unlikely person–a man who was an official to the ruling Herod.
    1. As commonly is the case, rulers are not well liked.
      1. Consequently, being attached to the ruler had disadvantages as well as advantages.
      2. The man came to Jesus for miraculous help, and Jesus helped him–even though he knew the man’s motivation.
    2. Even though the man was an official, he confronted a situation he could do nothing about.

I challenge you to realize the fact that though we or any other person is undesirable does not mean Jesus cannot help us or use us. Jesus gives the hopeless hope. Use your life in the joy of having hope from Jesus. This week use what Jesus does for you to give hope to the hopeless.


David Chadwell

Author: Greg


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