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The Resting Place
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The Resting Place
Jesus at the Well
The delusion of separation from God is perhaps the enemy's most effective tool against believers. When we believe Jesus is distant or disinterested in our mess, we remain trapped in shame cycles that hinder transformation. But what if the key to kingdom living isn't moving from bad to good, but from "pretty good" to the fullness Christ offers?
In this profound conversation, Ben and Logan Robin challenge us to stop settling for halfway Christianity. Using the example of the Israelite tribes who remained east of the Jordan River rather than entering the promised land fully, they illustrate how many believers camp where things are "good enough" instead of allowing Jesus to bring complete transformation.
The breakthrough insight comes through a fresh perspective on Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. While we often focus on her sinful status or theological discussion, what truly won her heart was Jesus' kindness in the face of her shame.
Kingdom living requires us to hold spiritual tensions—like reigning with Christ while practicing profound humility. It demands that we stop pretending we're somewhere we're not and instead allow Jesus access to the parts of our hearts we typically guard from everyone. His kindness becomes the very thing that exposes and transforms these hidden places.
What piece of you still carries shame? What area of your life feels disqualified from union with Christ? The invitation is clear: allow Jesus to meet you at your well, in your place of greatest vulnerability, and discover how his kindness leads you into the fullness of kingdom life.
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Hi everyone. I'm Ben and I'm Logan and we're the Robins. Welcome to the Resting Place Podcast. So we're going to pick up where we left off last week and we have been sort of following the the invitation of the Lord to come out of living as though we're from two different worlds, where we are people of the kingdom until enough adversity comes and then we revert to being people of the culture. Or we're people of the kingdom when it suits us and we're of the culture when it suits us, or you fill in the blank and what ends up happening is we become unstable in all of our ways because we're what James calls double-minded.
Speaker 1:And in you know, kind of searching my heart, one of the things the Lord has really impressed upon me is that the kingdom of God is present, that Jesus is present and that he's beckoning us or asking us to come into being people that are present. What does that mean? Because I realize that sounds a little bit abstract. So what does that mean? Does that mean being able to sit in a room and not be a thousand different miles away, thinking about 15 different things? Yes, initially. Yeah, that probably would do some of us some good not to be 5,000 miles away in our thought process while we're in the middle of living out our daily lives, right. But as I have kind of worked through this and as I have thought through this and prayed through this, jesus has made it very clear to me that it will be impossible to come fully into the kingdom until we allow Him to meet us where we presently are. Where we presently are, it will be impossible. Okay, and I'm not saying that where we presently are is bad, so you can hear that and say, well, where we presently are is bad and we need to move into good. Where we presently are may be good, but he didn't ask us to stop where things are good. Things are good here. So we'll use just the crossing of the Jordan as an example. That's an appropriate example, I think, for this afternoon.
Speaker 1:Two and a half tribes of Israel stopped where it was good, on the other side of the Jordan river, where it made sense for them to settle. They settled because they were farmers, they were herdsmen, they had many, it says, they had great, they had great amounts of cattle. They stopped where the land was pleasant for cattle and when captivity came, those two and a half tribes were the first to be brought into captivity. They settled for where it was good rather than crossing fully over into the glory of what was called the promised land. I think so often in our Christian cultures what we're guilty of is not settling for sin and not settling for um, you know darkness sometimes, some of maybe, but generally I don't think that's the case. I think generally we stop where.
Speaker 1:I'm not as crazy as I used to be, my brain isn't quite as divided as it used to be, and that's pretty good. I feel pretty good about that. I don't want to choke my husband to death every time he comes in the room anymore, and I feel pretty good about that. Or I don't think about. I'm not calling anybody out. Gina Gina's doing it to herself, oh geez. Or I don't want to throw my kids through a window every time they walk into the same room with me, right? Or we get around other Christians and it's like, okay, I can tolerate being around these people now, and I couldn't tolerate being around them in the past. Or I don't quite feel the same. This would be probably a great example. I don't quite feel the same level of shame that I used to. When I come into the presence of Jesus. I must have gotten to a place where I'm pretty good in my interior world, but that's not what we have been recreated for, and so what we'll do is we'll get to a place where we're pretty good and then we'll just kind of stay. And we get to a place where we're pretty good and then we just kind of stay.
Speaker 1:The baptism of the Spirit for Charismatics and Pentecostals is a really profound example of this, because we've got people that pray in tongues for 40 years. 40, 50, 60 years Been praying in tongues my whole life. I'm so glad and I'm so thankful for the gift of praying in the Spirit. But let me ask you a question. You've been praying in tongues that long. Let me ask you a couple things. Let me ask you a question. You've been praying in tongues that long. Let me ask you a couple things. Let me ask you a couple things. Have you progressed in your relationship with the Lord in those 40 years, or did you stop at? I got it? Let me go a little bit further, because Jesus says that you'll be endowed with power from on high when that the Holy Spirit has come upon you. When was the last time you felt the power of Jesus go through your hand as you put yourself into the middle of someone's chaotic situation and begin to bring restoration into lives. That's what we have been invited into. We've been recreated for that. Not just, it's pretty good, it's not what it used to be, and we've made the pinnacle of the Christian experience consistent church attendance and in the realms that we traffic in.
Speaker 1:Did you get it? Did you pray in tongues? Did you get it? Have you got the baptism? Well, I'm not so sure you have, because you pray in tongues and you're mean as a snake. You pray in tongues and you're the most arrogant individual I've ever been around. You pray in the Spirit and you lack any sort of the humility of Jesus in your essence. So you tell me, I don't think the question is did I get it? I think the question is have you gotten it? Because the fruit of your life would say no, there's this. I've been exploring this in my spirit for some for the last probably month and a half. I've been exploring this in my spirit for some for the last probably month and a half. I've been exploring this in my spirit where we have to hold tensions really well in the kingdom, because if we don't, it'll look like scripture contradicts itself. You have to be able to hold tension. When you really start to read scripture and you really start to want to live the life of scripture. Read scripture and you really start to want to live the life of scripture, you want to live the new covenant life you begin to see that there's some things in here that I'm going to have to be able to take and hold in my hands and walk the tension of this out, because in the middle of this tension I'll find where life is. Pop is really good about exploring tension and finding revelation, and he likes to say that revelation lives inside of the tension of a question. And he'll go further and say revelation lives inside of the tension of a question that you don't want to answer. I think life lives there. I think life, and life more abundantly, lives inside of the tension of two seemingly contradictory truths. We find life inside of this tension. And what do I mean by that? Okay, find life inside of this tension. And what do I mean by that? Okay, Trying to think of the best example I can use of this Um, the meek will inherit the earth.
Speaker 1:The meek will inherit the earth. And then John says, as he is. So are you in this world, as who is, as Jesus is, so are you in this world. But the meek will inherit the earth. So John is saying you reign in life as Jesus reigns in heaven. But Jesus is also teaching us that if you're not meek, you won't inherit that.
Speaker 1:And what we like to do is we like to take the excuse of we get to reign in life as kings and we like to use that to fuel arrogance. And really what that's inviting us into is an elevated seat of humility. Elevated humility always takes a lower road, oh, elevated humility is also the path of the kingdom. However, our idea of humility in the West is incorrect. So when we start to think about humility, we start to think about thinking poorly of ourselves. They're just really humble. No, they're actually more arrogant than they ought to be because they're thinking incorrectly. Oh, more arrogant than they ought to be because they're thinking incorrectly, oh, jesus, they're elevating their, they're elevating their opinion of who they are over who. Jesus says that they are an actual Jesus. What we would call humility is actually arrogance, because we're elevating our idea of who we are over what Yeshua says of us. And if we begin to accept the truth of what Yeshua says about us, what will actually begin to happen is a real, true humility will be birthed in our hearts that will allow us to take the tension of I reign in life as a king, but I'm also called to be the most humble king that ever lived. And we begin to walk that truth out and in that we find life. To walk that truth out and in that we find life.
Speaker 1:No, this recorded. We'll catch it on the podcast. Oh, I was up until three last night writing notes, so, and I haven't even touched them. Lance, you were right. You're right. He said the cool thing about you writing notes till 3 am is we'll hear him in three months. Lance knows me. I've known lance since 2012. Yeah, it's been 12. Since 2012. Yeah, it's been 12.
Speaker 1:One of my favorite ever experiences is taking Lance to the PBR and taking him through Starbucks for the first time. When I took him to the professional bull riders, he was like I was like Lance, you want some coffee. And he's like uh, sure. I was like all right, well, what do you like? And he's like I don't know, I've never been here before. I was like wait a second, what? No, he'd just never been there. He's just he. Just. He just never been there. He just no, no, it wasn't. It wasn't that with Lance. Lance just had never been there. That was so fun, though, and then I just talked to him about how cool the horses were that were picking up the bowls the whole time, and he was like he took me here to watch bowls and he's talking about horses. Oh, it is hilarious, but living the life of the kingdom requires you to take tension in both hands and walk the middle line.
Speaker 1:The old saints used to say we want to stay on the road and not get in the ditch on either side. So Dad Hagen was so good. Kenneth E Hagen Sr was so good. He was brilliant. By the way, if you've never read or listened to any of Kenneth Hagin's sermons, you can find a ton of them online, and you can find a treasure trove of books that he wrote, and Dad Hagin was absolutely brilliant. He's one of the first Pentecostals to be intelligent enough to really teach the great mysteries of Pentecost and be able to do it in a way he did it in like a Texas drawl that made him seem like he was one of the common men which allowed the Pentecostals of that day to receive his message, and his message is absolutely life-changing.
Speaker 1:But he used to say you know, we want to stay in the road, we don't want to get in the ditch, and I think that there's some real wisdom in that. My personality likes to live on the shoulder of the road. My wife knows that really well and sometimes she has to haul me out of the ditch Sometimes. Sometimes I get in the shoulder and it's a little bit icy on the shoulder and I fall in the ditch and I'm covered in snow and she has to get me out. Um, but we're required as people of the kingdom to take tension in both hands and find truth inside of the tension of the two, of the two seeming contradictions that we're holding in both hands, and we find life there.
Speaker 1:An inability, oh my goodness. I think one of the inabilities of the Christian culture of our day is to address that and we hesitate to grab hold of truth. That seems contradictory to what the Lord has promised us. Well, the Lord said this Okay, good, I'm glad he said that, that's awesome. But that doesn't mean you get to clap this course. That doesn't mean that you get to take what the Lord said and just kind of ignore this. You don't get to ignore the teachings of Jesus just because you have a prophetic word. You don't. I do not get to. I don't get to. Let me turn the gun on myself. I want to.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, if I'm being honest, I've already been honest with you and said sometimes in my past I have had some conversations with the lord where I accused him of not being truthful to me and all y'all hung me out here. I don't know what he's talking about. I've never done that. That is terrible. He's a sinner. I don't know. In fact, I'm leaving. Take the Blackstone back. I'm leaving. Which? That Blackstone, guys. I'm still blown away by that. I'm going to be sending y'all videos of me cooking on that thing. Guys, I'm still blown away by that. I'm going to be sending y'all videos of me cooking on that thing. That's right, I'll eat a little Debra in my little Debra sweater whilst I'm cooking on my Blackstone. It'll be awesome. That'll be our Christmas. Maybe that'll be our Christmas card this year.
Speaker 1:Oh, that made me laugh. That made me laugh. Oh, my gosh, um, but no, I don't get to. I don't get to. I don't get to just because I'm carrying prophetic words from the Lord and promises from the Lord. Just because I'm carrying prophetic words from the Lord and promises from the Lord, some of the things the Lord has said to Logan and I make your head spin, just honestly. But that doesn't mean that I get to then ignore the invitation of Jesus to come into the upside-down lifestyle of the kingdom. In fact, it requires the fulfillment of that, requires that I do come into the upside-down lifestyle of the kingdom, and the people that are alive today, that walk in the greatest manifestation of the power of God, are the people that live humility in a way that is absolutely provoking to me, absolutely provoking to me, absolutely provoking to me.
Speaker 1:I listen, I listened to people like David Hogan and Heidi Baker. I can't listen to them real frequently because I'll start to like do wild stuff. And one night I was listening uh, I was listening to David Hogan in the weight room. This is a different story. I don't share this one. Very frequently I was listening to David Hogan in the weight room. This is a different story. I don't share this one. Very frequently I was listening to David Hogan in the weight room because apparently that's where I listened to him when we lived in South Carolina and, um, I was just bothered. I was like my God, something's going on. So I knew I was like something's going on right now. So I was like in the middle of working out I left the gym and went around behind the gym. I never did that Went around behind the gym and found a bunch of people coming out of the one of the Mexican churches in town Cause in the town that we lived in we had Mexican churches and we had white churches and we had black churches, you know, you know, and one of the, uh, mexican churches.
Speaker 1:There are a bunch of women coming out of there. And I asked one of the men that was out front. I said hey, uh, cause I felt like I had a word of knowledge for somebody. And I was like hey, um, ask any of them if they're dealing with sickness in their body. And he lied to me and said no, they're all fine. I think he thought it was a cop or something. I don't think he quite understood.
Speaker 1:But I'll start to do wild stuff, like start confronting people that are probably human. There was human trafficking going on in one of those churches and that's probably what I was picking up on and didn't realize it. Um, cause you can get your wires crossed. The Lord uses imperfect vessels and sometimes you get your wires crossed a little bit. Um, and I probably was picking up on. These people are being trafficked and they all looked terrified when I talked to them and I should have probably called the cops. Um, but I'll start. That's probably what I should have done. I just didn't realize it. I didn't realize it. Um and um, I'll just approach people in the middle of the night that God knows what's going on and be like hey, is somebody sick back here? I've gotta be, I've gotta be a little bit careful. Lance is looking at me like oh my God, that's a good way to get shot, maybe, maybe, but there's a nine foot angel behind me. While I'm doing that, somebody goes to shoot me. They'll see him and be terrified. Oh, all right, I'm going to try to get pointed here. We're going to do so.
Speaker 1:We're talking about the present reality of the kingdom and the present reality of Jesus, who brings us into a greater manifestation of the kingdom life, and he finds us where we presently are. And in finding us where we presently are, he brings us into a greater manifestation of kingdom life, but it requires the believer or non-believer. It requires something of you in order to be brought into the greater manifestation of the kingdom life. What does it require? It requires that you not pretend you're somewhere you're not. It requires that we cease pretending that we have it figured out and allow Jesus to get his hands on the parts of our life and heart that we don't want to get anybody's hands on.
Speaker 1:So for so many of us that's pain, that's shame, that's secrets, that's sin, that's fill in the blank. We don't want anybody's hands or eyes on that part of our lives. But that's where Jesus comes to, and we have been discipled in the Western church that God is removed from us to the point that when Jesus wants to be present with us, we recoil. That's a really I think that's a really good litmus test with where we are, with our thought process about the Father. When Jesus comes to be present with us, do we recoil when he starts to put his hand on something we don't let anybody put their hand on? Because I don't care who you are, I don't care if you're Saint Benedict III or Pope John Paul II or fill in the blank. There are parts of your life that you don't want anybody's hands on. There are parts of your mind, parts of your thought process, parts of your heart that, either through adversity or life or whatever, you have decided that it's better that no one go there. And when Jesus comes to be present with you there do you recoil.
Speaker 1:I think that's the only litmus test with Jesus. I think that's the only litmus test for how we're doing with the delusion of separation between God and man. Because it's great when he comes to be present with me where I'm doing good. It's like, yeah, let's hang out, let's talk about how great I am, how magnificent my life has become because of the intervention of Jesus in my life. It's magnificent, isn't it, lord? This is so good. He's like, yeah, that's great, but what about that right there? What about that little piece right there? What about that little piece right there? And can you hear him say what about that right there? And not hear judgment in his words? Can you do it? Can you allow him to put his hand on it and not feel the gavel of almighty Yahweh coming down and saying guilty and be anticipating judgment? This becomes the litmus for me. This is the litmus test for me. Guys, does his hand touching that piece of my heart begin to cause me to recoil, or do I allow him to sit there with me in it?
Speaker 1:Mike Bickle used to say this his judgments are aimed at whatever hinders love. Damon then modified it and made it a little bit better and said his judgments are aimed at whatever hinders beloved identity. Hmm, and I think we have made an error in our thought process about Yeshua, because I can't find a place in Scripture where he came to be with someone, where he initially judged them. The only people he initially judged were the Pharisees. All right, I think that's a great segue. God, I'm getting better at that. I'm getting good at segues.
Speaker 1:We're going to go to John one or John four, john chapter four, and we're going to read a lot. So I hope you're ready. I've already talked a long time, but it's it's my birthday tomorrow, so I'm going to talk a long time. Today I lied to y'all and told you I was going to start to restrict how much I teach, and then I'm going to stop doing that. I'm a liar. I'm talking a long time to buckle up. I'm talking a long time. It's my birthday tomorrow. I turned 38. I'm an old man, my beard is getting gray and I'm allowed to talk a long time if I want to now. Oh, and I'm allowed to talk a long time if I want to now. John 4, verse 1.
Speaker 1:The news quickly reached the Jewish religious leaders, known as the Pharisees, that Jesus was drawing greater crowds of followers coming to be baptized than John, although Jesus himself didn't baptize, but only his disciples. Jesus heard what was being said and abruptly left Judea and returned to the province of Galilee. And if you're trying to build a ministry, this is the absolute incorrect way to do that. He finally starts to get noticed by the people who have the levers of power in their hands and have the ability to bring exposure to his ministry. He gets noticed finally, and as soon as he finds out that they're starting to notice them, he hides. And if you're trying to build followers, that's the wrong way to do it Absolutely incorrect. Jesus, you should. You're. You're a better, you're a better CEO than that.
Speaker 1:We've got idiots running around and they're idiots. We've got their D? U M dumb. Um, d U M dumb. Took you a second to realize. I'm going to give you a second to catch up. D U M that's not how you spell dumb. That's the joke. The joke is that I spelled it incorrectly. We've got idiots running around writing books about jesus the ceo.
Speaker 1:Jesus would have been a ceo of a ministry. He would not have. He'd kick you in your head for saying so. Um, that's, I'm gonna be nice. I'm it's my birthday tomorrow. I'm gonna be nice. I'm not gonna say anything else about that. But that's an idiotic idea. That isn't. And if you believe that and you, if you believe that and you hear this, you are an idiot. Um, lucy's going to correct me for saying that now and I'm going to have to feel bad about it, but I meant it. I meant it. I meant it good and strong. Um, jesus would not be a CEO. Jesus was as far away from what we would consider the CEO of a big ministry as possible, as far away as possible, and did things actively to sabotage his own ministry, tried to hide, tried to hide and couldn't Okay. Jesus heard what was being said and abruptly left Judea and returned to the province of Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria and he had to pass through Samaria and he had to pass through Samaria.
Speaker 1:Jesus arrived at the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son, joseph, wearied by his long journey. He sat down on the edge of Jacob's well, and we all know this story. We know this story really well. He sat down on the edge of Jacob's well and we all know this story. We know this story really well. He sat down on the edge of Jacob's well and sent his disciples into the village to buy food, for it was already afternoon.
Speaker 1:Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her give me a drink. She replied why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jews have no dealings with Samaritans, especially Jewish men dealing with Samaritan women. That would have been like even more unheard of. In fact, if Jesus was a good rabbi, he would have journeyed longer to avoid going through Samaria. He would have gone around and gone the long route just so that his feet wouldn't have been soiled by Samaritan soil. She replied why would a Jewish man ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. This is a really good question.
Speaker 1:Like this woman was pretty bright. What do you want with me? Jesus replied. If you only knew who I am and the gift of God and the gift that God wants to give you. You'd ask me for a drink and I would give you living water. The woman replied but, sir, you don't even have a bucket and the well is very deep. So where do you find this living water? Do you really think that you are greater than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it himself, along with his children and livestock? Jesus answered if you drink from Jacob's well, you'll be thirsty again, but if anyone drinks from the living water I give them, they will never be thirsty again. For when you drink the water I give you, it becomes a gushing fountain of the Holy Spirit, flooding you with endless life. The woman replied Let me drink that water so I'll never be thirsty again and won't have to come back here to draw water.
Speaker 1:Then the conversation takes a turn, and we all know this so well. Jesus said to her Go get your husband and bring him back here. But I'm not married. The woman answered. That's true. Jesus said, for you've been married five times.
Speaker 1:The elephant in the room of why this woman would be gathering water in the middle of the afternoon. That was not the time to gather water. Water gathering was done in a communal effort. In the morning, all the women of the village would have gone out together and gathered water together and helped one another. She went by herself because she was an outcast. But I'm not married. The woman answered. That's true, jesus said, for you've been married five times and now you're living with a man who is not your husband. You have told the truth.
Speaker 1:I love the cadence of this interaction. Just watch how she pivots. Just on a dime she pivots. Don't nobody get to touch that piece of my life. So let me pivot and ask you a theological question that any good rabbi would bite on. This woman's sharp Like, not just sort of sharp, she's incredibly sharp. She realizes that she's speaking to a traveling rabbi and that this traveling rabbi, like any other traveling rabbi, is going to be more concerned with theological issues than the inner working of a whore's heart. Any good traveling rabbi is going to be more concerned with the question of where should we worship than what's actually going on in the heart of an outcast. And Jesus lets her do it.
Speaker 1:The woman changed the subject very quickly. You must be a prophet. That response is so interesting to me. You must be a prophet. So not only are you teaching? Are you a traveling rabbi? You're a. You're a prophetic traveling rabbi. I wonder if she'd been around one before, because she didn't seem weirded out by the fact that he told her the secrets of her heart. I'm just asking the question. I don't have the answer, but it makes me wonder. If this woman had been around prophetic ministry before, that could foretell the secrets of her heart, because she was not bothered by that one little bit. Had she never been around that before, I'd think her response would be a little bit different. Maybe she was.
Speaker 1:The woman changed the subject. You must be a prophet, so tell me this. This is so sharp, so tell me this. Why do our fathers worship God on the nearby mountain, but your people teach that Jerusalem is the place where we must worship who is right? Who's right? I'm not comfortable with talking about my five husbands and the one that I'm living with now. So let's avoid the secret shame of my heart and let's talk about the pressing theological issue of who's right. And let's talk about the pressing theological issue of who's right.
Speaker 1:Jesus responded Believe me, dear woman, the time has come when you will worship the Father, neither on a mountain nor in Jerusalem, but in your heart. Your people don't really know the one they worship, but we Jews worship out of our experience, for it's from the Jews that salvation is available. From now on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place, but with a right heart. With a right heart, for God is a spirit and he longs to have sincere worshipers who adore him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth. The woman said this is all so confusing, but I do know that the anointed one is coming. The anointed one is coming, the true messiah, and when he comes he will tell us everything we need to know. Jesus said to her you don't have to wait any longer. The anointed one is here speaking with you.
Speaker 1:I am the one you're looking for, and I talked about holding in one hand humility and in the other hand the truth of what the word says about who we are. And this is the perfect picture of Jesus holding both his identity and the humility required to carry his identity in both hands and walking the tension perfectly and finding life in the middle. This is the perfect. This is the perfect example of it, because it would have been considered inconceivable for him to be talking to that woman at that. Well, the humility it required for Jesus even to share a word with her would have been something that would have been so far beyond the pharisaical mindset to even begin to accept that. Jesus is showing us the truth of the reality of the kingdom being an upside-down realm where the meek inherit the earth. Jesus takes the humility in one hand and his identity in the other, and in the middle he finds life. And not only does he find life, he finds salvation for an entire village. I am the one you're looking for. That moment.
Speaker 1:His disciples returned and were stunned to see Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman, stunned to see him even talking to her. And they didn't even know she was a whore. They thought she was an upstanding woman. Maybe she's the, maybe she's. Who knows who she is? They have no idea about her five husbands and her one that she's shacking up with. And they don't, they don't know the secrets of her heart. They, for all they, know she could be anyone in the village. She could be someone important in the village and it wouldn't have mattered even a little bit. They were stunned to see Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman. It they were stunned to see Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman, yet none of them dared ask him why or what they were discussing. All at once, the woman left her water jug and ran to her village and told everyone come and meet a man at the well, man who told me everything I've ever done. Who told me everything I've ever done. He could be the one we're waiting for. Hearing this, the people came streaming out of the village to see Jesus.
Speaker 1:Now fast forward to verse 39, and we're almost done reading. Many from the Samaritan village became believers in Jesus because of the woman's testimony. He told me everything I ever did. The Samaritan village became believers in Jesus because of the woman's testimony. He told me everything I ever did. Then they begged Jesus to stay with them. So he stayed there for two days, resulting in many more coming to faith in him because of his message. The Samaritan said to the woman now we've heard him ourselves. We no longer believe just because of what you told us, but we're convinced that he really is the true savior of the world. Got a few notes I've written. I'm going to do my best to be concise.
Speaker 1:The Orthodox church calls the woman at the well St Fotini, and Damon has done such an extensive teaching on the life of St Fotini Fotini. I'm a redneck and probably saying that wrong that I'm not going to attempt to recount what her life was to this afternoon. But if you'll go and look up the history of St Fotini from the Orthodox Church, you'll find that when persecution broke out against the church at Ephesus and the apostles and prophets were driven off, they called her to come lead the church and we call her the woman at the well, such a profound leader in the early church that the Orthodox Church gives her the title equal to the apostles. That's what they say about her. She was equal to the apostles. That's what they say about her. She was equal to the apostles and we call her the woman at the well. That makes me want to drive my head through the drywall. It's exactly right. It's like St Veronica. I think that was her name. Was that her name? I think I got it right. It's like St Veronica. I think that was her name. Was that her name? I think I got it right. Is my memory right? I'll just look back two pages. Yeah, st Veronica. St Veronica sainted by the Orthodox Church, and we call her the woman with the issue of blood.
Speaker 1:Absolute ignorance of church history is an issue. I'm going to talk to him. Why didn't you put her name down, buddy? Why didn't you put her name down? Why didn't you put her name down? And then, did you ever die? Would be my next question.
Speaker 1:Question there are some theories and our apostle has some theories. Um, st Fotini, encounters Yeshua in the only way that she would have been able to receive him him, watch how he does it, watch how he does it. This is the only way she would have been able to receive him and he was humble enough to do it that way. Outcast, whore, unworthy, undesirable you really could fill in the blank with about any negative adjective you want, about you want, and it still probably would not do justice to the degree of contempt her neighbors and contemporaries felt for her Outcast, whore, unworthy, undesirable and you can fill in the blank from there, and it still would not do justice to the negative, to the degree of contempt her neighbors and contemporaries felt for her, let alone Jesus' own disciples. What they felt for her would have been mild compared to what Jesus' disciples would have felt for her had they known the extent of her story when they found Jesus talking with her, and it certainly wouldn't begin to scratch the surface of the shame she would have been carrying inside of her own heart. And Jesus meets her in the only way she could have received him. Yeshua sits down on Jacob's well and sends his disciples to buy food.
Speaker 1:And there are so many things I could say concerning this encounter, and we have all likely heard more sermons on this particular encounter in the Gospels than nearly any other story or encounter from the Gospels. This is probably up there with the prodigal son for amount of sermons that have been preached about it. It has been preached ad nauseum. We call him the redeemed heir, so we'll figure out his name when we get to heaven too. These pieces of scripture, it seems, have been wrung dry of revelation and insight, if that were even possible. But today I want to just focus on one piece that I found very interesting about this story, and it's something I've never seen before. I didn't see it till last night.
Speaker 1:The kingdom is present, yeshua says it's at hand, the great dance is present and our Jesus is present. His own words say this I'll never leave you, nor forsake you. I won't leave you as orphans, I'll come to you. That's John 14, 18. And his closing address in the book of Matthew says Behold, I am with you always, even until the end of the age. I'm present with you. He's a very present help in your time of need.
Speaker 1:The epistles begin to expound to us Jesus is present. Jesus is present and the delusion of separation is the only tool the enemy has to keep us separated. Because of the finished work of the cross, the enemy realizes, one that he's defeated and two, that we've been made a new creation and brought into union with Jesus. Paul teaches us that we're seated together in heavenly places with Jesus. Jesus even begins to teach us in his departing passage, in his departing sermon to his apostles, from John 14 through John 16, he begins to teach us the truth that we'll be in him and he'll be in us and he'll be in the father. And he begins to speak to us the mystery of the union of the believer, the hypostatic union of Jesus and humanity, and humanity being brought into union with Jesus and Jesus being brought into union with his father that he never left, but he's coming into a greater reality of. And the enemy realizes all this is true. So if he realizes all this is true, what's the one thing that we could do to short circuit the whole thing Believe that he's separated from us, believe that the delusion of separation, believe that he's disinterested, removed and doesn't want to be present with us in our dysfunctional ways.
Speaker 1:And this encounter in Scripture, almost more than any other, does away with the lie that any sort of dysfunction could ever cause Jesus to become separated from us, jesus to become separated from us. We do this thing as believers where we believe that his blood is more effective for unbelievers than it is for us. We do this thing as believers where we begin to believe that his power is not too short to save the unbeliever, but that it falls short and that the only recompense for sin for the believer is shame and removal from the presence of God, being cast out from the presence of God. Well, actually, that's what he did with your sin. He didn't do that to you.
Speaker 1:And what we begin to do is we begin to call ourselves sinners. We begin to call ourselves sinners and we begin to associate more with our sin than we do with the finished work and the power of the blood of Yeshua. And I'm a sinner saved by grace. You might've been for a second, but you're not anymore. You're redeemed there now and you've been made one with almighty Jesus, and to identify with your sin is to spit on the finished work of the cross it is. Does that mean that we overlook when we sin? No, that does not mean that. But what it does give us the ability to do is look at it and realize that's not who I am. I'm not going to associate with that and I'm going to come up higher into the reality of who I've been made in Christ Jesus and allow his cleansing blood to remove all unrighteousness from us. Thank you First, john. If you're faithful to admit your sins, you'll be faithful to cleanse you of all wrongdoing and all of your sins. That's what realizing that we have not, that we've been made new, allows us to do, and this idea that we're all sinners. What that will do is cause us to run away from what we feel like is the impending judgment of Jesus on our lives. That's not the gospel. We've got to begin to rescue the gospel. We've got to begin to rescue the gospel.
Speaker 1:Damon is teaching this profound message rechristing Christianity and setting Jesus at the top of Christianity one more time. Capturing the real Jesus and setting him at the top of Christianity again, and not the delusional teachings of Western Christendom that teaches us that we're all just going to barely get in, we're all just going to barely make it into heaven and we're all sinners and he's going to judge us all. Okay, you believe that if you want to cowboy. You believe that if you want to. You believe that if you want to. But that's not the gospel. There's better news than that. There's better news than that the finished work is actually finished. The blood of Jesus is actually still effective and Jesus is as effective today in his ministry, at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us, interceding on our behalf, as he was cleansing lepers and opening the eyes of the blind while he walked the earth. He's not less effective today than he was cleansing lepers and opening the eyes of the blind while he walked the earth. He's not less effective today than he was then. The great dance is present in our. Jesus is present. I'm going to read this again for us several years ago, and this is Baxter Kruger's the Great Dance. I'm going to re-emphasize this story because I just love it.
Speaker 1:Several years ago, I stood on the mound pitching baseball to a dozen little boys. Most of the boys did not know much about baseball, but they were caught up in it. I could see the eagerness in their eyes, the determination. I could see the eagerness in their eyes, the determination. I could see the eagerness in their eyes, the determination. I saw their camaraderie and fellowship and I loved being in the middle of it. But inside of me there was a little wrestling match going on. One part of me was thrilled. The other part of me felt guilty. At that time I was a pastor and I felt guilty that I was having so much fun doing something so secular. I should be praying for people visiting the sick or working on my sermon, or at least talking to these kids trying to get them saved.
Speaker 1:Right in the middle of that wrestling match, the Lord spoke to me Baxter, don't you dare miss this, don't you dare miss this, don't you dare miss, miss what is happening on this field, field, with these 12 boys. Baxter, there is more of my glory here, more of my life and the fellowship that I share with my father, more of the spirit of sonship and free flowing dance of the Trinity on this field than you have ever seen in, than you have ever seen in those sterile church services. Baxter, do not be blind. The great dance is present, not absent, and Jesus is baptizing more people than John the Baptist, and he's becoming the most famous man in all of Israel. And he leaves where his fame is spreading to go find a whore. Let's just call it what it is. He left for her man and found her in the only way she would have received him.
Speaker 1:Yeshua sits down on Jacob's well and waits for a woman who was alone for a reason, woman who was alone for a reason. Remember, john 1 teaches us that Yeshua has unfolded for us the full explanation. It's John 1, 18. Yeshua has unfolded for us the full explanation of who the Father really is. It's exactly what he did. That's why he sent the others away. And have that conversation in the presence of all these other men would have would not have been possible. Would not have been possible, but because it was just him and her, he literally was the one. Yes, ma'am, that's exactly right. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. John 1.18 teaches us that Yeshua has unfolded for us the full explanation of who the Father really is.
Speaker 1:Baxter Kruger teaches and I have heard other scholars teach as well that Yeshua did not simply reconcile the whole of creation back to God at the crucifixion. Rather, the crucifixion was the culmination of the life work of Jesus, reconciling all things back to the Father. Father, the crucifixion was the crowning achievement of a life work that was reconciling all things back to God the entire time. It wasn't just at crucifixion that he accomplished this. This was putting the bow on top of the gift to humanity, or, more accurately said, the bow on top of the gift given to the whole of creation. That is to say, the whole of Jesus' life was reconciling creation back to the Father and in this act, he's reconciling creation back to God. You've got to begin to see the Gospels as the story of reconciliation, not just the crucifixion, the resurrection and the ascension, although those are the crowning achievements of the life of Jesus. Jesus' whole life was reconciliation. Jesus' whole life was reconciliation.
Speaker 1:We could spend a month examining this passage and find many good examples of how Yeshua was revealing the Father in this interaction. However, I want to focus our attention attention on one thing that really stuck out to me in reading this story. After Holy Spirit highlighted it, it was this Yeshua sat with her when no one else would. Yeshua reveals the secrets of her heart. It's true, you have no husband. You have been married five times and now you are living with a man who is not your husband. Her response is so fascinating to me. You must be a prophet, unfazed by the secrets of her heart being revealed in that way. You must be a prophet. You might know that about me, but there are a lot of people that know that about me. I'm not going to let you touch that piece of who I am. Let me pivot and get into a theological discussion with you about who's right in this case.
Speaker 1:He doesn't require her to confess no. No, I want to. I want to find a place in scripture where he requires anyone to confess their sins. They come into his presence, go and sin no more. We're going to get us in. I'm going to get in trouble. There are 15 people that are going to watch this and three of them are going to get mad at me. They go through a theological discourse that makes no impact on her.
Speaker 1:She didn't go into the city and tell everyone to come out and see a man that revealed the mystery of worship in the coming age to me. She didn't go and say Come and see a man who revealed the mystery of the worship of the coming age to me. Rather, she said the only issue with that is that that's a lie. He hadn't told her everything she had ever done. That's that's. That's if you want to look at this in a humorous way. That's the beginning of evangelistic speak. You start to talk evangelistically. Talk about evangelist lying.
Speaker 1:Evangelists are notorious for not telling the truth. This woman was the first of them. Told me everything I'd ever done, did he? I'm not sure that that's.
Speaker 1:The only issue was this Yeshua didn't tell her everything she had ever done. He told her the secrets she and everyone alongside of her believed disqualified her from relationship with God. He told her the secrets of her heart that she believed created separation between her and God, and that was a gulf she didn't ever think she'd get through. She believed she'd always be separated and everyone around her believed she'd always be separated. And Jesus told her those secrets. That's what he told her, and he didn't condemn her. He was not moved by her darkness or shame.
Speaker 1:This is what won her heart, not his dissertation on the worship of the coming age of the Messiah. This was what won her heart to Jesus. It was not that he knew she'd been married five times. It wasn't even the fact that he explained to her that he gave her the most concise and beautiful explanation of what worship was going to look like in the coming age. It won't be about a temple, it won't be about a mountain. It's going to be about worshiping God with a right heart, and that's where God really looks is at your heart. That's beautiful, it's profound, it's incredible. There's things we can learn about it today, but that's not what won her heart.
Speaker 1:What won her heart was he said to her you've been married five times and you're living with a man. You're fornicating. Let's say it like it is. You're fornicating with a man. Now, that is not your husband and I'm not moved by it. He didn't condemn her. He wasn't moved by her darkness or shame. He stayed and he spoke with her. He engaged her in conversation. Oh man, he engages her in conversation that they both knew was nothing more than an attempt to distract Jesus from her shame. He engages her in a conversation that they both knew was nothing more than an attempt to distract Jesus from her shame. You want to know what he was doing. He was being kind. Jesus was kind to her and his kindness won her.
Speaker 1:It's the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. I want to say it this way it's the kindness of God that leads us, period. The kindness of God that leads us, period. This entire village gets won to Jesus because a woman experienced a kindness that wasn't pushed away by her shame, her darkness or her secrets. His kindness came and touched something that she was afraid for him to touch, and then he just sat there with her in it. Okay, if you don't want to talk about that, I'll just sit here and I'll talk with you, and I'll stay until you're willing. Oh man, I'll stay until you're willing to open your heart. I'll stay until you're willing to open your heart. I'll stay until you're willing to do this. His kindness leads us and it still leads us. It leads us to repentance and then it leads us into the life of the kingdom.
Speaker 1:Listen, I made a statement before I started. I said I said Jesus doesn't come initially to judge. I want you to find in scripture where he comes to someone and his initial movement is to judge them. You know what he does. He gives kindness that they know they don't deserve. I think what it does is causes them to judge their sin. Jesus shares kindness and in sharing kindness, what happens is people realize, oh, my God, that's not who I am. He shares his kindness with me and in sharing his kindness with me, it begins to call me higher. And that allows me then to, like the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, that allows me then to, like the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, throw off every weight and sin that so easily besets us and run the race that's set before us. This is the Christian life.
Speaker 1:Jesus comes in kindness and his kindness is judgment against our sin. His kindness is judgment against the ways that we disagree with our identity. His kindness is judgment against the thing. It's his kindness that is judgment against the thing that raises itself up against our beloved identity. He comes to Isaiah, says this he's coming to avenge himself of our enemies. He's coming to avenge himself of our enemies. He's coming to avenge us of our enemies In the new covenant. Our enemies are depression. Our enemies are. Our enemies are depression. Our enemies are incorrect thinking. Our enemies are fill in the blank about what pollutes our interior world. And what he comes with is not a hammer and a sword.
Speaker 1:He comes with a kind word. You watch it so beautifully play out. You watch it so beautifully play out in the song of Solomon I'm dark but I'm lovely. You're the most beautiful flower in all of the garden. And you can see the bride begin to describe the ways that she has fallen short, missed the mark and completely gotten it wrong. And the bridegroom sits there and says you're more beautiful to me than you could ever be. And the end of the story is the consummation of the bride and the bridegroom.
Speaker 1:He leads us with kindness and that kindness judges all of the areas that would be incongruent with the way that he sees us, with the way that he has recreated us, with the way that he sees us, with the way that he has recreated us, with the way that he loves us. He leads us with kindness. Even his words that sound sharp are kind. Even his words that sound sharp are kind. I've had this song like on repeat For like 15 hours.
Speaker 1:So we invite the kindness of Almighty Yeshua to come and take us higher. Where's the resting place headed in the coming year? We're headed higher. We're headed into deeper understanding of our union with Jesus. We're headed into deeper understandings of what faith is and how it operates in our lives. We're headed into a greater reality of the kingdom life, and it's through the kindness of Jesus comes and meets me at my well. He meets me at my well.
Speaker 1:It's really easy to see this story inscription be like my God, that was great for her. But we take this and we then turn it on ourselves and say what piece of me still feels disqualified from being united with you in union? What pieces of me still carry shame, what pieces of me still carry these things? And I expose them to the light of the glory of the kindness of Almighty God, and that kindness is what draws us to himself. So we invite your kindness, almighty Yahweh. We invite your kindness, almighty Yahweh. We invite the kindness that is the Holy Spirit. We invite the kindness that is the Holy Spirit. We invite the kindness that is the Holy Spirit. Who is the one who stayed?