Services | Food

Bulletin

Hymn # 33 “To God Be the Glory”

SCRIPTURE READING – 1 Corinthians 10:31
Giving of Selves and Our Offerings
OFFERTORY PRAYER
OFFERTORY MUSIC – Pru Hungate

Praise and Worship
“House of the Lord”
“At the Cross”
“God You Are”

Proclamation of the Word
Message by Pastor Joe
“Food”

PRAYER TIME / Time of Reflection
“Way Maker”
Benediction “There Is Freedom”

Sermon Notes
John 4:27 & 28 Jesus’ disciples return and the woman leaves without her waterpot
John 4:29 & 30 The woman tells the men of the city to see of the One she met is the Messiah and they respond
John 4:31 Disciples try to get Jesus to eat
John 4:32 Jesus says I have food you don’t know about
John 4:33 The disciples are confused by His statement
John 4:34 Jesus say My food is to do the will of the Father and to accomplish His work
John 4:35 – 38 Look up the harvest is ready – Participate in the labor joyfully regardless of your part

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Scritpures

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Transcript of Service

You have your Bibles. Please turn to the Gospel of John Chapter 4 and we're going to start with verse 27. Now we're kind of in the middle of of this situation where Jesus had gone through traveling through Samaria. To get to Galilee, where his destination is most Jews go, avoid some area that Jesus is traveling through. At a well resting while his disciples go into the town of Sychar and purchased his food, he's been having a conversation with a a woman of Samaria. She he tells her that. When she says I don't have a husband, that she's truly spoke, that she has five husbands and the one that's she's now living with isn't hers.

Determines that he's a prophet and they have additional conversations. And so during this conversation, this period of time, that's where we come in with verse 27, he says. At this point his disciples came and they were amazed that he had been speaking with a woman. Yet no one said what do you see or why do you speak with her? So again, they understand. That it was. Taboo to speak to a Samaritan, to have anything to do with them and alone a woman because she was and not of the same position, but as the typical disciples. Because Jesus is who Jesus is. They're intimidated, afraid to speak up. And they're just wondering. What's going on? And so the woman left her water pot. And went to the city. And so we see this, this woman who's now leaving because his disciples have returned. And this is now a good time for her to leave. But she leaves in haste. She doesn't leave with the water pot, whether it's filled or not, so she goes and probably partially because she doesn't want to deal with the disciples, but she's now on a mission. As she goes to the city and said to the men.

Come and see a man who told me all things that I have done. This is not the Christ, is it? And so she's in essence, becoming a witness, saying I met someone who told me he's the Messiah and he told me all about my life. And so I've come to the conclusion. That he is the Messiah and that I have faith in that. And I want you to see and investigate the situation. Because they went out of the city and were coming to him. So the men heard what this woman had to say about Jesus and decided that some of them came to faith by what her testimony was. And they were coming to meet this Messiah, and others were probably coming to have a look to see. What was going on? And so they go out to the city, to the well to him. And waiting while the disciples were urging him saying whereby eat so they know they've seen Jesus and that he was tired in his human form with his humanity, because of all the travels and the and the pressures of teaching and all that that, that he had retired and they decided he needs to eat.

That he needs to sustain himself. And many people are like that. We think that food will sustain us. And my mother used to say, you need to eat a good breakfast and before school because you can't learn if on an empty stomach and and people look at food as that way of sustaining and. And let's face it. Many times we eat food not to sustain us, but for pleasure, or we're bored or whatever. But we have all these different reasons to eat. But one of the essential reasons is that we might get the nutrients and the energy that we need from the food to to to be sustained to, to keep going to give us that energy. And so these disciples are concerned about him. And so they want him paid. And so they're urging him, you need. We need to eat. We we went to the city to buy you food. So you need to eat. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So again, here's Jesus. Is using a spiritual teaching in a. Wife situation, we all. We need to eat to. To sustain ourselves and and to have the energy. And sometimes we good food and sometimes we eat our food. There is not so good for us, but we do those things. But he says I have food that you don't know about. So the disciples were saying to one another, no one brought him anything to eat, did he? And so again, they're missing the spiritual point that Jesus is trying to teach. They're thinking again, physical food. Maybe somebody brought food and he snuck it in and we didn't see it.

Or maybe somebody else brought it while we were in the city and we didn't see him eat. And Jesus said to them, my food is through the will of him who sent me and to accomplish. Jesus says what sustains me. What keeps me going, what gives me energy is not necessarily physical food, but it's to do the will of my father who sent me. That's what keeps me going. That's what sustains me. It doesn't matter how tired I am. Or what does? I may be discouraged. Whatever the food that I get. That what sustains me is to do his will. And to accomplish his work. There are very few times that I can tell you that I. Feel like Jesus? As Lord knows. On a scale to one in 100 being like Jesus, I'm a -, 10,000 plus. But there are two times that Jesus has has talked about things that I go I I've I've kind of felt that way. One is when Jesus says have I been with you so long? You don't know who I am, and there are times when I have friends or others who have been around me for a long period of time and then they assume something that I would do or say they'd be out of character to who I am. You should know me. You should know that's not who I am. And so there are signs that I. Feel that with this is a my second. Very little glimpse of how Jesus says. Besides being Pastor, I also have a another job or two. And on Wednesday nights, we have our permitting and Bible study and many times when Wednesday late afternoon comes in and it's going to be Bible study time. I'm dreading it. I don't want to go. It's it's it's just, you know. I'm dreading it. But after I go. And after we pray and after. We have Bible study. I feel more energy after prayer meeting than I've been before. We went all the time before I was ready, going and and not looking forward to it. And then after prayer meeting, I'm invigorated. It's doing God's will.

It's doing his purposes. It's studying about him. It's being born as presence, and those things are invigorating. So it is those things that sustain me that keeps me going and Jesus. I don't mean necessarily food for that sustenance. My sustenance is to do. The will of God. Oh, that more of us would like that and we were less concerned about our belly and more concerned about doing God's will and accomplishing his purpose. We all here in in. In books and in TV commercials and and life coaches living your purpose. Hence, see Jesus living his purpose. He is living the fathers purpose. That's what sustains him. That's what keeps him going to do. Through the will of his father, and to accomplish God's purposes. Do you not say there are yet four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you. Look, lift up your eyes and look on the fields that are white or harvest. Now the picture here. That we will see. Is that the men from Sidecar are coming, and so Jesus is telling them I want you to look up. I want you to see as these people come. From this town.

Who have been coming because of what this Samaritan woman? Had told them. They're ready to hear and respond to the gospel. He says already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering food for life eternal so that he may who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. Is ready to be reaped. It's ready to be gathering fruit. Too many people think. All eternal life is is to have eternal life. And that's it. I want to tell you. That that's not. All that there is the scriptures tell us. That there will be rewards in heaven. And there may be some loss it. All tells us in Corinthians that our works will be examined and some of our works will be gold and silver and freshest stones and other will be wood and hay and will be burned up. We'll suffer lost, yet we'll still be in heaven. I find it amazing that while we're here on Earth, people want to live in the best biggest house that they can and the best, most expensive neighborhood that they can go to and that you're going to live for a brief period of time, even if you find your, quote UN quote forever house at maximum, you're going to be there fifty 60-70 years. It's not your forever house, it's your while you're here, house. If you're not satisfied living in an apartment instead of your forever house, why would you be satisfied just barely making it by in heaven? Why wouldn't you want to live in the most precious area in heaven which I would submit to you is the closest place to the temple and the presence of God. It's always saying the people who are working and making sure that the. Evangelism is happening and people are responding. They're gathering fruit for eternal life. That he who sows and he reaps he rejoice. Sewing can be very difficult. Routing the sun, sun beating down on you and you're and you're putting in the sea and it takes months, perhaps, to for the plants to germinate and to grow fruit and then ultimately. And then you have those who are weeping. They see the results. Of the harvest, they're they're taking, whether it's grain or corn or fruit or grapes or whatever it may be. And they're seeing the results because they're picking from the fruit. They're saying those, those who are sewing and those who are weeping.

Should be rejoicing together. Matter of fact in Amos. It talks about in the future. That the harvest will be so quick that almost as soon as you're planting, you're harvesting. And that's kind of what's. Going to be happening here. This lady, this woman who have shared her experience with her experience with Jesus, is now bringing men that they may come. So Jesus had just planned it, and now he's saying. Here comes the harvest. Or in the. In this case the same is true, 1 solves and another reaps. I sent you to reap, therefore, which you have not labored, others have labored, and you have not entered into their labor. Is this the same? That it is a multi person task. There are those. Who will plant? There are those who will water and there will those who will. Get the harvest. Oh, sure, it's glorious. To have the harvest, it's glorious when people come. To have a saving knowledge of who Jesus is and they come to that conclusion and it's glorious when you get to participate. There have been times when. There would be and I would have the opportunity to share the gospel, and a person responds.

There's there's no feeling like it there. I've also had the experience where where I've witnessed. And there's no results. And there may have never been any results, or maybe somebody else based on what I had said then say other things and they water and then maybe somebody else produces the harvest. Is to witness. Sow those seeds. And if it's appropriate to water. And if necessary then to be in the harvest. But we should all be rejoicing, no matter what the activity is. Jesus is telling us we all are going to benefit in this. And so when you sew. You may not see an immediate return. That doesn't mean that there aren't fruit. Of eternal life. You may water. Thinking think I don't see the plants going up? I don't see what's happening. It's kind of like. The Sunday school teacher or even the regular school teacher who will teach Sunday after Sunday or day after day and not sure that they're getting through to their children. And after the children grow up. And become a little more mature. Occasionally, not often, but occasionally the child will come back. As an adult, he said, Mr. so and so. You impacted my life.

I remember when you talked this thing in in Sunday school or in your class and it had an impact on me and it changed my life. Those are wonderful stories. And we don't hear them very often. But we need to be about the fathers best. Regardless of whether we ever hear that story or not. Because we are to so rejoicing, water rejoicing and harvesting rejoicing because we are doing the will of the father. And we are. Accomplishing his work. That should sustain us. That should be our food. That should be what invigorates and energizes. Us not the accomplishments. Not these successes. But the doing the will of the father and accomplishing this purpose. I invite you. To do that of this day forward.

And all God's people said.