KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:34 KJV “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

We continue with our discussion on what is your food, or what makes you satisfied? In our key scripture the Lord states that his food is to do the will of God and to finish it. The Lord identified that He has been sent to do a particular task. Fulfilling that particular task becomes your focus. Every other thing is secondary. It is only normal for every responsible person to do diligently what He’s been asked to do. Every one of us have been sent to go save our world. We should be constrained by it. Fulfilling it must become our great joy. Food therefore must be placed in the right perspective when dealing with eternal issues.

The Lord Jesus as spiritual as He is has set His priority right. He has DECIDED that doing the will of God is the most important thing to Him. Jesus is the perfection of wisdom. His choices always stand out as the best. He clarified His position by saying that, in doing the will of God, He must get it fully done. This was His philosophy of life. Hebrews 1:9 says Jesus has loved righteousness and hated iniquity; therefore, God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His fellows. The Lord received an anointing of the oil of gladness because He loved righteousness, that is to do the will of God always. This oil of gladness is the satisfaction in the soul. No physical food can give any man, that level of satisfaction. Go for that oil of gladness by doing the will of God always.

In the light of all that we have said earlier every child of God should be able to give up food for some days and seek the face of God in prayer, meditation and studying the word of God. Since food has such a strong appetite, when one put it aside, he strengthens his senses to yield more and more to the things of God. The essence of all these is to live always to please the Lord. In the context of our study the will of God is to see souls saved. The Lord was overjoyed when He could imagine the impact of the testimony of the Samaritan woman among her countrymen The multitude that would turn to God, was a great delight to Him, so much that every physical hunger completely left Him.

I pray that you would be so sensitive to spiritual matters, such that it would bring you uncontrollable joy any time the glory of God is to be revealed.

THOUGHT: NOTHING SATISFIES LIKE A FULFILLED ASSIGNMENT

FURTHER STUDIES

John 9:4 KJV” I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”

Job 23:12 KJV” Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:32 KJV “But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”

Food is an indispensable need of all humans. It is more demanded when one is weary and hungry. That was the state of our Lord Jesus, yet when His disciples brought the food for Him to satisfy His hunger, He said the following to them Joh 4:32 KJV” But he said unto them, I have meat(food)t to eat that ye know not of. His satisfaction or food was to see men saved. Food was the main channel Satan used to bring men from grace to grass. The exodus of Israel to the promise land had all the contention with Moses and God, because of certain challenges and food. Num 11:5 KJV “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:” Many of them died and could not get to the promised land because of their appetite for food, that made them to rebel against the will of God.

The scriptures describe certain people who are supposed to be servants of God yet have made their bellies to be their gods. Philippians 3:18,19 KJV (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”

It is a great misery to have your belly as your god. The Lord Jesus   was so much eaten up with pleasing God, such that, if God was pleased then hunger was gone.

What is your food.? What makes you full and satisfied.? The drive to satisfy the stomach, is one of the reasons many have chosen mammon over God. By their choice they would do anything, imaginable or unimaginable to get the money so they could satisfy their appetite THE truth about this people is that, they pierce themselves with many sorrows.1 Timothy 6:10. Life is not about your body. Life is all about pleasing the Father. When a man’s ways please the Father, He blesses Him and makes him rich, (that is satisfaction in this life) without adding any sorrows of this life. Pro 10:22 KJV” The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

 True satisfaction does not come from what we give the body, but what we get when God is pleased with us

THOUGHT: SATISFY THE LORD, AND YOU WOULD BE SATISFIED

WHAT ARE RICHES? THE STATE THAT MAKES YOU SATISFIED WITH LIFE.

FURTHER STUDIES

Matt 5:6 KJV “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Joh 6:27 KJV” Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:28 KJV” The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,”

(Please read John 4:28-30)

God’s word has a great transforming power indeed. (Heb 4:12).

 Anytime a man gets to know Jesus in reality, every other thing that once dominated the heart, loses its value.

Apostle Paul described every other thing as dung in comparing to the surpassing blessing of knowing Jesus. Phi 3:8 KJV” Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Paul says for the great and surpassing benefit of knowing Jesus, he has suffered the loss of all those things which were very dear unto him. That was not enough, he said he counted those things as dung. When the woman came to the realization that the Messiah was sitting right before her, she left her water pot with the water at the well and went to tell the men of her city that, she met a man who told her everything she did, is this not the Christ?

Dear reader, what is the sign of a transformed heart?

 It is seen in the man or woman who places the interest of Christ far above every thing

(Luke 2:49). The Lord said those who love me, will keep my words (John 14:21). He also said seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt 6:33).

 Life is only meaningful if Jesus Christ is glorified in our lives.

From our story in John 4, Jesus did not ask the lady to go and call on others to come. She instinctively, forgot about her immediate engagement, that is fetching the water and went to announce about Jesus.

 I want to say that if you claim to have encountered Jesus, and have no passion to call men to him, then there is a big question about the Christ you claim to know.

Apostle Paul said, the love of Christ constrains us, and we thus judge that if one was dead, then were all dead.2 Corinth 5:14. This kind of love called the first love has been lost by many. Titles, position, names do not mean anything, it is the man who cries, “woe is me if I preach not the gospel of Christ (1 Corinth 9:16)” that matters.

Many were on fire, sometime ago, but have lost that zeal for winning the lost. Why have many lost their fire? The following are some reasons.

1.’Familiarity’ with Christ.

2. Preoccupation with activities, projects that has nothing doing about reaching out for the lost

3. When the comfort or anxiety of life takeover the heart. Phil 4:6

4. When prayer is no more about souls getting saved but on other matters. James 4:3

5. Besetting sins Songs of Solomon 2:15

What must you do.?

1. Repent from your lukewarmness- Rev 3:16-19

2.  Tell yourself daily, that talking about Jesus is one of the signs of your love for Christ John 14:21

3. Maintain a strong fellowship with the Lord, through prayer and bible study 1 Thess 5:17

4. Give no place to, sin of any form Heb 3:13

5. Consciously call on people to come to Jesus.2 Tim 4:2

THOUGHT: SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR CHRIST, BY HOW MUCH YOU ARE READY TO WIN THE LOST

FURTHER STUDIES

Luke 2:49 KJV “And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my

 Father’s business?”

1 Corinth 9:16 KJV” For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:27 KJV And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?

It is very normal for humans to create mental pictures out of situations, and even make their own conclusions in the minds. This is how people create imaginations about various events, some right and some wrong. The bible narrated that when the disciples returned to see Jesus talking to the woman, they wondered or marvelled, seeing Him talking with a woman, yet they said nothing to Him or asked Him no question. The disciples, I believe, knowing the kind of person Jesus was, would not imagine any wrong thing or act about the master. My concern is since their thoughts began to wonder it would have been good to clear their minds from any wild imagination by asking the master about who   she war. Once again I would say these disciples chose not to make any enquiries because they were certain in their hearts about the integrity of the master.

I have taken this study on this tangent because a lot of relationships suffer because of wrong imaginations. Many people quickly jump into conclusions about the actions and inactions of others. Mr.  A decided not to call his colleague because the friend have not been responding to his calls. This comes from wrong imaginations. There are varying causes for this. His phone may be faulty and can’t call back. Another Mr. B decided to end his friendship because he visited the friend, who could not come out to see him. Sadly, he would not receive any calls from his friend. He is hurt not even knowing why the friend could not come out to see him.

It is always dangerous to wrongly imagine or judge someone wrongly. In the bible we find certain instances of wrong imaginations leading to wrong accusations. Priest Eli mistook Hannah’s passionate prayers for drinking alcohol.1Sa 1:14 KJV “And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.”

In 1 Samuel 17:28 Eliab the eldest brother of David misjudged his enquiries for pride. David was genuinely inspired to make those enquiries.

What you must do:

1. Always get to the second person for his or her explanation before concluding

2. Love believes all things, so accept the explanation they give.

3. You cannot stop your mind from making some conclusions, but you can stop yourself from acting on it, like Jesus disciples did.

THOUGHT:  MAINTAIN A POSITIVE EXPLANATION FOR PEOPLE’S ACTIONS TO PRESERVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Corinth 13:7. EasyEnglish If I really love people, I will never stop loving them. It will not matter what happens. Whatever things may happen, I will still continue to love. If I love, then, during all things, I will still continue to believe. If I love, then, during all things, I will still continue to hope for good things. If I love then, during all things, I will still continue to be patient and strong.

Luke 6:37 EasyEnglish Do not say to someone, “You are a bad person.” If you do not, God will not say to you, “You are bad person.” Do not say to people, “God should punish you because you are bad.” If you do not, they will not say that to you. Forgive other people and God will forgive you.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:26 KJV “Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.”

The Samaritan woman, after a dialogue with the master started talking about the coming of the Messiah, who will tell them all things. The Lord answered, I am He. This woman has been speaking to the Messiah that she’s been waiting for, yet never knew He was sitting right before her. What made her not to see that the Lord Jesus was the anticipated Messiah? The Lord speaks to us every day, yet most people fail to recognise that, it is Jesus talking to us. The following are some of the reasons that made her not to hear Jesus as that anticipated Messiah.

1. Traditional and cultural barriers.

Traditions are transmitted information about a people which has become acceptable as truth without any verifications. The Samaritans had nothing doing with the Jews. This created a mental barrier that would not make her see anything different about Him. The Lord is daily speaking to us through various means and vessels. He speaks to us through ministers who preach on our church pulpits. The mentality we have about such people keep us from seeing the Lord in them. A godly advice may come from a friend, yet because of familiarity we treat such counsel as one of those things. This might be a direct word from the Lord. Mental barriers about certain people can easily deafen us from hearing what Jesus may be saying to us.

2. Impatience to consider what we may be hearing. The Lord talked to her about giving her living water, yet she could not realise that, no ordinary man could give living water. She was very preoccupied with her, water and how that the Lord had nothing to draw some of the water with. Many of us are not patient to take a deep thought about certain messages we hear. When Peter answered Jesus, that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus identified this as the Father speaking through him. The Lord listened attentively to know that what he said could not have been a man speaking through him. A little attention could make a big difference in helping you to hear the voice of the master.

This woman went to the well at mid-day, and was trying to avoid everybody, probably because of her lifestyle. Her mind was not anywhere ready to consider any encounter with anything unique. Some of us get so occupied with our weakness and self-guilt so much that we are not able to open up to the voice of God.

What must we do?

1.Expect to hear God speak to you at any moment.

2. Do not allow wrong thoughts about others to becloud your ability to hear Jesus speaking through them.

3.  Accept that Jesus can use any vessel at any moment to speak to you.

4 Stop condemning yourself and accept God’s love, so you can hear him. Rom 8:1

THOUGHT:  JESUS IS ALWAYS TALKING TO YOU

FURTHER STUDIES

Rev 3:20 KJV “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Hebrews 1:2 KJV” Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:25 KJV” The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.”

At this moment the Samaritan woman, was asking about the coming Messiah. She had put away the hostilities, misunderstanding and was now ready to accept the Messiah. What made the Lord so successful? The following was the approach and steps the Lord took to share the good news with her

1.The Lord started the conversation by asking her for water.

2. Although the woman sounded hostile, the Lord did not answer her in line with her answers but made reference to giving her living water.

3.The Lord kept talking about the great benefit of the living water.

4. The Lord led by the Spirit revealed her secret life to her.

5. She was now ready to talk about worship, the Lord corrected her about how to worship in truth and in Spirit.

6. By this time, she was also ready to receive the Messiah.

The above way of communicating the gospel is a very powerful means of bringing the gospel

 to others.

We could adapt it and use our approach. We may apply the following way.

1. Develop a conversation with the one you meet or visit

2. Turn your conversation from natural physical things to matters of the good news and life

3. Do not argue with the person, yet continue talking about the great saving power of the gospel through our Lord Jesus.

4. Ask the Holy Spirit for a specific word for the person

5. Be careful about how you communicate this personal message, though you can just state it if you are used to receiving such messages.

6. At this point he is ready to accept the Lord, Lead him then to Christ.

Dear one our Lord has called us to win our World for Him. Please make a decision today to win others for the master. Join the army of Christ committed to winning others into His kingdom. There are many ways of communicating the gospel so, develop your fellowship with the Spirit and take a stand for Christ in sharing His message to many. It is great privilege to be in the center of the will of God.

THOUGHT:  WISE IS HE WHO WINS THE LOST

FURTHER STUDIES

Prov. 11:30 KJV” The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”

Dan 12:3 KJV” And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:24 KJV” God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Our key scripture reveals that God is a Spirit.

Spirits are supernatural or immaterial beings, who exist in a state far and beyond this world of time, space and matter. Spirits have the ability to convert into material yet they are not material. They can appear in the natural world and disappear from it. Spirits function within a state of infiniteness and by higher laws than that of our material world.

 The finite mind cannot fully conceptualise the Spirit beings or the Spirit world (1 Corinth 1:21-23). Faith is what helps the natural beings to relate with the Spirit beings. Spirits must only reveal themselves to the natural beings before they can know them (John 1:18). The natural must accept the Spirit by faith (Heb 11:3).it is on this wise that God can be related to by faith (Heb 11:6). We must worship Him by faith.

Our heavenly father is the father of spirits and needs our absolute surrender. Heb 12:9 KJV” Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Our heavenly Father is not just a spirit. He is the source of all spirits. We must worship Him and exalt Him above all.

An important point to notice is the influence of the Holy Spirit in worshipping the Lord. Christians have been made alive unto God, from the dead by the power of the Holy Ghost (Eph 2:1). The Holy Spirit, through our recreated Spirit enables us to worship the Father. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals the Father to us. John 14:16 KJV “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;” We learnt in our earlier studies that worship must be done in Holiness. It is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the believer for an acceptable worship.1Pe 1:2 KJV “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:” Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

 Every true worship of the child of God can only be done through the enabling of the Spirit. The man without Christ offers empty worship.  The Holy Spirit is our comforter or helper, so ask Him to lead you in your worship

THOUGHT:  WORSHIP IS DEMANDED BY GOD, BECAUSE, IT GIVES GOD HIS RIGHT PLACE IN OUR LIVES

FURTHER STUDIES

Isa 26:9 KJV “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.”

Rom 8:26 KJV” Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:23 KJV “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

Spiritual worship is a worship based on the word of God and is inspired by the Spirit of God. It is a worship in faith. Faith   acknowledges that you are right in the presence of God as you worship. Such a person does everything for God, with conviction and certainty. He is not a religious worshipper. What is the difference between a religious worshipper and a spiritual one?

 The religious worshipper uses the act of worship as a means to please God or to have God’s approval over his life., but the spiritual worshipper does so as an appreciation of the many goodness of God as, well as a means of expressing God’s greatness unto Him.

A religious worshipper goes through the motions and tradition of worship without any sense of reality. The religious worshipper worship without any deep love and surrender to God.  Worship is a love affair and proceeds naturally from the heart of the spiritual worshipper.

The misery of religious worship is that it is dry and emotionless. The religious worshipper can leave the place of worship and tell lies without blinking his eyed. A religious worshipper leaves the place of worship to continue with a fight he had stopped in order to go to church.

 God has no use for religious worshippers, for no effort of man meets God’s approval. (Isaiah 64:6) It is only those who have acknowledged the mercy and grace of God, and counts on that only, can give God an acceptable worship (Eph 2:8,). If you are a religious worshipper then please repent and accept the grace of God demonstrated through our Lord Jesus Christ, so you can offer a true spiritual worship unto God.

It is a bliss of wonder to really offer a spiritual worship. (Ps 16:11) Your whole being gets enveloped in His presence. This makes God very real and worthy of our total surrender. It is at such a moment that we encounter supernatural provisions and God will surely communicate His mind to you. (Acts 13:2) God our father longs for such worshippers and our inner man also craves for it. Let nothing deprive you of true sincere worship unto the Lord.

THOUGHT: SPIRITUAL WORSHIP PLACES YOU IN THE CENTER OF GOD WILL

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 13:2 KJV “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”

Psalms 16:11 KJV “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

KEY SCRIPTURE; John 4:21 KJV “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.”

When the Samaritan woman came to terms with who Jesus was, as well as the message Jesus was trying to communicate to her, she started talking about the Jew’s view about the appropriate place of worship. The Lord answered her by figuratively correcting her error about what worship is. Many people even now still do not understand what worshipping the Lord is. Many thinks worship is playing songs of praise in a slow mode. Others associate with the processes of observing a Christian service. This has made many to confine worship to some particular location. They say this is where we hold our worship.

What is worship? Worship is a practical or a demonstration of your praise unto God. In praises, we sing or talk about God’s greatness, power and His exaltation. In worship we act out these things. It is expressing one’s praise, by certain actions.  In bowing to Him, we are saying in a practical way that He is very great.

Worship is any form of demonstrating our praises unto God. Let’s consider Rom 12:1 from the International standard Version of the bible.” I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship. By this verse we see worship as everything we do to honour God our father. Even sweeping in the house of God or anywhere, could be an act of worship

 Worship in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word ‘Shackhah’, which means to bow down. Bowing down is a demonstration of your praise. Again, a more extensive meaning of worship, as seen in Rom 12:1 refers to everything we do to honor God. Worship unto the Lord must be done with a pureness of heart. Any act of worship without the purity of heart is no worship in the first place. Psalms 29:2 KJV” Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.”

Some acts of worship, involves dancing, clapping, bowing.2Sa 6:14 KJV “And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.” Worshipping is therefore not limited to one particular location. It can and must be done anywhere and at any time. The whole lifestyle of a Christian is an act of praise unto God. We show that in all we do, yet when we come together as a body we demonstrate it through joyful jubilation in dancing, bowing down and any more.

THOUGHT:  TRUE WORSHIP IS HEAVEN’S PROTOCOL TO ACCESS ALL THAT GOĎ HAS FOR US.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 4:23 KJV “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

Gen 24:26 KJV “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 4:19 KJV “The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.”

We have learnt in our previous studies that the walls of the church building is not the focus of the Christian activities, but rather to go out there where the sinners are.

 The walls of the church building is to bring us together, equip ourselves for the real Christian work. Your Christianity must be practised at your places of work.

Go to the homes, the market, the bars, where the sinners are. The Holy Spirit is the Lord of the harvest, and so He gives us success, as we depend on Him. (Matt 9:38) The Lord’s success came when the Holy Spirit began to probe deeply into the hidden life of the woman. She came to terms with what the Lord was saying and said, I perceive you are a prophet. She then started talking about the right ways to worshipping God.

How do we get the Holy Spirit to take over our evangelistic work? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what to say. Ask Him to give you any specific information about the person you are talking to. If you have not mastered the ability to distinctively know the voice of the Spirit, do not tell your enquirer that he or she is this or that, as a message coming from the Holy Spirit. I mean, if you receive a word concerning the person, you are talking to, but you are new to hearing the voice of the Spirit, then be very cautious about how you go about it. You  can speak to the one in a figurative way about it. Just use the scriptures in line with what you have received about the person to talk to him or her.

 If the word is true about him, it would make a lot of sense to him.

If you just say this and that is what you are, but happens not to be the case, then you would have defeated yourself.

Be very tactful about giving prophetic statements to your enquirers. Remember, always ask the Spirit about what to say.  As you grow in knowing the voice of the Spirit, you would have the ability to speak specifically to the person about what the Holy Spirit says about them. This would bring greater success in winning the lost.

In this light I encourage all children of God, to encourage their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, to get committed to winning men for Christ. Dear child of God, as much as we may want our churches to be filled up, the whole world lies before us, yet to be touched with the power of God. Once again it is a very big mistake for Christians to confine all our activities within the four walls of our churches. Jesus did not do that, and we must follow the path of our Lord. Go out there where the sinners are.

THOUGHT:  OUR WORLD WOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED RIGHT SIDE UP, IF THE CHURCH HAS CONCENTRATED OUR ACTIVITIES OUT THERE WHERE THE SINNERS ARE

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 17:6 KJV” And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;”

Acts 4:33 KJV” And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”