Bring People to the Well

John 4:7-42

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." … The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" … Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water… Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."…So the woman …went…and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the town and were coming to him… Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

A Gospel revolution happened in the entire town of Samaria, and it continued for 2 more days, because the residents of the town asked Jesus to stay a while longer. However, this wondrous happening was because of one woman, whose name was never mentioned! She was known as a prostitute to many; for she had had five husbands and the man she was with then, was not her husband as well. If anyone knew her, it was because of her wickedness. However, with all these negative aspects to her name, she met Jesus, who told her the truth concerning her life, yet did not condemn her. The miraculous encounter with Jesus made her look beyond her dirty reputation and she went out to call the entire town to Jesus.

This woman never knew a lot concerning Jesus, and still had doubts about him but she used the convincing power of her tongue, and simple faith (basing on Jesus’ prophecy about her life) to be a catalyst of change in Samaria. If this Samaritan woman could draw the entire city to Jesus, then we can do much more. We have more knowledge and assurance regarding Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, and most of us have not committed more sins than this woman had.

We have what the world needs. The whole world is seeking answers to life’s challenges, including the people around us in the classrooms, hostels, halls, and the vehicles we travel in, and they can’t get the solution unless they allow Jesus to reign in their lives. Fortunately, we have that Jesus, the hope of Glory, living in us. We need to let that life in us flow to them; that’s how we demonstrate God’s love to the lost – by preaching the Gospel to them unto the salvation of their souls and betterment of their lives.

The Samaritan woman poses a challenge to every Christian. Her action and the fruit thereof shows us that regardless of how much you know regarding God, you can draw the multitudes to Jesus. May be you think you are not worthy enough, or you look down at yourself with low esteem; maybe you don’t even think you can talk to anyone about getting saved… That may be true, but remember the woman did not preach to the city; she only convinced them to go to the preacher. At least you can do something – you can bring people to the well, where Jesus is. You can use the little influence you have to bring someone to Church, or a prayer meeting or a fellowship.

Brothers and sisters, let us do whatever we can to bring the generation to Jesus. If you can’t preach to them, tell them about the man who changed you, or about the church you attend, or bring them to the fellowship. Speak to them like Philip did to the doubting Nathanael in John 1:46… just tell them, “Come and see”. Bring them to the well.

Let's Build the Kingdom

Haggai 1:3-9 

Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet,"Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Think of a rich businessman who went abroad to a far country, and is running investments in Uganda. Since we are living in a global village, through technology, this man can send money, give instructions, monitor his investments, but has one limitation; he can not accomplish any task that requires his physical presence in Uganda. Hence, he needs people on ground that he can trust to do what has to be done, as though he were present. For that reason, he puts managers over his investments. Whenever his managers bring in more profit, he expresses his delight by increasing their salaries and benefits, however, his major frustration comes from knowing that his investments are not producing profits, yet the managers are making requisitions for loans and advance payments to boost their personal welfare.

God is like that rich businessman. He is in heaven, he has all the money and anointing to accomplish His works on the earth but He needs people with flesh and blood to do the hands-on work on this planet. Whenever we do His works, He manifests his joy by filling our hands and mouths with good things.  However, His Spirit is grieved when we, the custodians He has given the task of expanding His Kingdom, concentrate on building our own lives and empires while neglecting His work. He has entrusted us to be ambassadors of Christ (2Corinthians 5:20) and He expects results in the end.

God is interested in our well being and we rejoice when our brothers and sisters testify of building houses, going for further studies, starting companies, and many other investments. However, if all these developments rob God of our time and money, then He is not happy with us either.

Each of us can do something for God because we have all been endowed with gifts and abilities. Hence, no one can say, “I don’t have anything I can do”, and we all have money that we can give towards His work regardless of our income. When it comes to our time, it is no secret that if something is important we will definitely create time for it – it is a matter of prioritization.

I believe that if we are concerned about our Father’s business and the expansion of His Kingdom, we will easily get all our desires met. The Gospel is not at the level He would desire it to be because the biggest part of the church is interested in personal welfare more than kingdom building. On the other hand, many of God’s children are living a life less than what they are meant to enjoy, because they have paid much attention to making prayer requests for personal needs than to being of service in God’s business.

It is a principle, and a secret to success in Christ – put God first and He will make you a priority; mind His business and He will mind yours.