12/19/2021 - Jesus is Savior - John 4:1-14 - Pastor Jason Fritz

Merry Christmas Illuminate Family!!! Don’t forget to share the Christmas Eve invite with your friends and family. Let’s pray that many will hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

What gifts will you enjoy this year? Can I remind you of the gift already given to you from Jesus? I love the stories of people receiving what Jesus offers. One of my favorites is the woman at the well. Jesus said this to her...

“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.” John 4:13-14
 
For many years in the eastern world water has been a metaphor for life. We Phoenicians understand this better than anyone because we live in the desert. If you are dying of thirst you will be tempted to drink anything, including that which is poison. 
 
So how does Jesus' water satisfy? Here’s how - you have needs. 

You have a need for purpose. You are not here on accident. God has a will for your life, get to know your creator and you will discover that will.
 
You have a need to be loved. You need a father that is perfectly patient, committed to your growth, all wise and accepting you always. This is what God does for you. No one but God can give you this perfectly.
 
You have a need to be forgiven. Otherwise you are going to carry a lot of guilt. Jesus removes the guilt and replaces it with forgiveness.
 
You need to know where you’re headed. The water of Jesus’ life gives you this assurance. That’s what the resurrection is all about. Jesus having power over death and extending that power to you!
 
Notice the water Jesus gives is spring water. There were two main sources of water in the desert. A cistern and a spring. A cistern was built to catch and hold rainwater. But they would often dry up. Jesus does not describe himself as a cistern, instead he describes himself as the spring. Springs are persistent. They are continuously bubbling up. You try and cover up a spring and what happens? It pushes forth, it finds a way out. This is the Christian life. The more freely that spring water flows the more it cleans out the pollution in your life!