Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed Sowers:

Greetings faithful and fearless ones! I hope and pray that you are well and that the Lord Jesus is shining His light and love into your lives during this time of the pandemic. Today we begin a series on John 4:1-26.  I have titled this series, “Surprised By God.”  It is my prayer that God will surprise you each and every single day with His everlasting love and grace.  I hope you read through John 4:1-26.  Stop, pause and ponder the verses.  Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what he wants to tell you. Put yourself into the story!

NOTHING DEPENDS ON US
Have you ever stopped to ponder verse four — ^“Now he had to go through Samaria.” 

Why did Jesus have to go through Samaria? The Samaritans were hated by the Jewish people. Most Jewish people would walk the two extra days around Samaria just to avoid the people there. Why?

What I find so amazing is the stark contrast between two groups of people.  Think of Nicodemus. Go and read his story in chapter three and then read this story again in chapter four.  Can you see it, the difference between the important and sophisticated Nicodemus, this ruler of the Jews, and the simple Samaritan woman? Nicodemus was a Jew, she’s a Samaritan.  Nicodemus was a Pharisee, he was high class. She belonged to no religious party, she was low class. Nicodemus was a politician, she had no status whatsoever–unless you call a bad reputation a status. Nicodemus was a scholar, the woman at the well was fairly uneducated.  Nicodemus was highly moral,  the unnamed woman at the well was not all that moral (she had at least five husbands and was not married to the one she was with at the time.) Think of it this way, Nicodemus has a name in the Scriptures. She is nameless. Nicodemus was a man; she was a woman. Nicodemus went in the dark of night to meet with Jesus, to protect his reputation; the unnamed woman had no reputation, she meets with Jesus at high noon at the town well. Nicodemus came seeking something of Jesus; the woman at the well was sought by Jesus.

WOW!  Did you hear that?  The unnamed, immoral, uneducated, fearful, lonely and outcast woman was sought out by Jesus. Listen, I do not know where you are at today.  I do not know if you are lost and lonely, if you are surrounded by wealth and education, or if you sneak out at night so no one sees you. Wherever you are, I want you to know this:  God knows your name and Jesus has come to seek you.

The HOLY Jew and the LOWLY Samaritan: A great contrast, yet the point of the story is that each one of them needed the fullness of grace brought through the Gospel the Good News of Jesus and both were welcome to it.

If Nicodemus is an example of the truth that no one can rise so high as to be above salvation, then the woman is an example of the truth that no one can sink too low to be saved.

It is by no means an accident that the Apostle John has placed these two wonderful stories together at the beginning of his Gospel and that they end in 4:42 with the Samaritan woman saying,  “This man really is the Savior of the world.” (Notice–no class is mentioned here; not the Jews nor the Samaritans–He’s the savior of the WORLD!)

The first point to take home today is this: NOTHING DEPENDS ON ME — NOTHING AT ALL. 

This unnamed woman at the well is absolute proof of this. We must never say, “I am just a nobody from nowhere, I have gone too far to Jesus to find me, I just an ordinary Christian, the fullness of God’s grace is not for me. The fullness of God’s grace is for everybody, high and low, moral and immoral, sick and healthy, educated and uneducated, religious and non-religious or sinner or saint.  The fullness of God’s grace does not depend on ME.  Nothing depends on ME — nothing at all.

SO WHAT?  Jesu
Which one of these two characters do you most identify with: Nicodemus or the unnamed woman at the well?
Why?
Are you a little of each?
How?

Both Nicodemus and the unnamed woman were surprised by Jesus. If you haven’t viewed the series, “THE CHOSEN”, check it out. Both of these characters are in the story line. Maybe you will learn more about yourself as you SEE the story come alive?

I see myself in both of these people. I watch as my intelligence often wants me to think logically and not with my heart. After 22 years in ordained ministry and add 14 years in youth ministry, I’ve learned never to try to out-think God because, when I do, God surprises me. I remember when I took my exegetical exam. I was supposed to write about the still, small voice of God. I didn’t do that. Instead, I tried to spin a tale about the still, small voice of Dave! I had to rewrite that exam. “Stick to the Scriptures, Dave.” God didn’t need my spin on His word. Like Nic at night–Jesus shared His heart. “You must be born again.” Incredibly intelligent Nic asks, “How can that be? Can I reenter my mother’s womb and be born a second time?” Can’t you just see Jesus wince. “Nic, stop thinking. Do you know where the wind comes from or will go next? Let the Holy Spirit of God guide you in this.” Yes.  I can surely see myself in Nicodemus. And there is God–surprising Nic.

And then, I am also like the unnamed woman; ashamed and embarrassed of myself. Before I gave my life to Jesus, I made some poor decisions that hurt others and myself. Jesus simply showed up. “Suprise, nameless woman at the well, I am the living water for whom you thirst.” Have you ever had God read your mail? Have you ever been sitting in a church, listening to a message, and BAM! You swear the pastor somehow got into your journal?

HOLY or LOWLY? It doesn’t matter at all because our God is a God of surprises who will meet you in secret at midnight, alone, or who will meet you at high noon at the public well.

This week, pray with me: “God, surprise me. Amen.”

God loves you and so do I
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

“For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” Galatians 5:1 & 13

Dear Faithful and Fearless Seed Sowers,

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “FREEDOM”? Maybe you think of political freedom, economic freedom, financial freedom? Then there’s free speech, free will, free-lance, free-fall, free for all, or free agent.

Webster defines “freedom” this way: “the state or quality of being free {not under the control or power of another}; exemption or liberation from control of some other person or some arbitrary power; liberty; independence.”^[i]

Our Scripture reading for today comes from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.  Paul had visited the territory of Galatia on his first missionary journey– recorded in the book of Acts, chapters thirteen and fourteen.  Paul had planted churches in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium and Antioch.  He had proclaimed the gospel of grace. Paul taught about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  This gospel of grace was a declaration of independence for the people of Galatia.  They were being set free to love, to serve the Lord and one other with the fruit of the Spirit. Paul wrote this letter to confront the legalistic people who were trying to convince the Galatians that freedom was not free.  The Apostle Paul was teaching them that freedom could not come through the works of the law, freedom came through Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for “freedom” that our good friend, Paul, uses in Galatians 5:1 is “eleutheria” which is pronounced “el-yoo-ther-ee’-ah.” Paul is talking about a liberty that is found only in and through Christ.  In the New Testament the concept of freedom was freedom from the law, freedom from sin and freedom from death.  This freedom was achieved by Christ on the cross and we are taught to express this freedom by acts of love.

Atop the hill in Washington D.C. stands the Capitol building of the United States of America.  The cornerstone was laid in 1793, but the crowning touch is the statue on top of the rotunda known as the “Freedom Lady” — placed there in 1863.  The “Freedom Lady” stands nearly 20 feet tall and stands proudly atop the dome.  A crest of stars frames her face.  A shield of Stars and Stripes is in her left hand.

The “Freedom Lady” was sculpted in Rome and brought to America aboard a ship.  During the trip across the Atlantic, a fierce storm developed.  The captain ordered all cargo thrown overboard to lighten the load.  The sailors wanted to throw the heavy statue overboard, but the captain refused, shouting over the wind, “No! Never! We will flounder before we throw ‘Freedom’ away.”  “FREEDOM” was saved, and the statue stands above the dome today. One man stood for “FREEDOM.”

When I think of America, I think of freedom! I have had the opportunity to travel to many places in the world.  Many of those places do not have the freedoms like what we are blessed with here in America. We have so much to be thankful for.

The Declaration of Independence was written to break the stranglehold of tyranny.  Oppression, abuse, removal of rights, false justice and punishment were the charges that were brought to the King of England when the Declaration of Independence was written.

The Scriptural comparison is found here in the writing of Paul: For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.

Today I would like for us to think about the purpose of freedom and the person of freedom.

The purpose of our freedom is defined in Galatians five.  “It is for freedom that Christ set us free.”  We are set free from a set of rules.  By the time of Christ, the Jewish leaders had taken the Ten Commandments and added over 600 rules to live by.  Christ came to set us free from the Law—from a set of over 600 rituals. What would happen in your life if the church imposed a set of 600 rules for you to live by?
The purpose of Christ’s freedom is that we are set free from those laws. We are set free from sin and death. We are free to be who we are in Christ.  If we could only come to know, understand, and comprehend who we are in Christ, we would be set free from the law, sin and death and we would be free to live!

So what? If the purpose of freedom is for us to be who we are in Christ, do you know who you are in Christ?

“It is for freedom that Christ set us free.”  It is Christ who set us free–not the “Freedom Lady,” “Statue of Liberty,” “Declaration of Independence,” or the “Constitution.” Though all of these are good and give us freedom, true freedom comes from Christ alone.  In John 8:32 Jesus says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,” and later on in John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The radical Good News of God is that the one who made the world, who came to live in the world, and who triumphed over the world, death, hell and the grave is none other than Jesus Christ. In Christ we will find our true freedom, the freedom to be who God made us to be.

I served with a team in Victorville at the Federal Prison, a maximum-security prison. Every time we went in to visit the inmates we had to pass through 4-5 sets of locked doors to access the deepest part of the prison where the men were held.  It took 20 minutes to reach the area where we could visit the inmates.  When our day was completed, you can imagine how good it felt to be retracing our steps back through those 4-5 sets of doors, back to the beautiful California sunshine.   To be honest with you, I have to tell you that the freedom of being back outside never felt so good.  Freedom is emotional, wonderful, and worth fighting for. Being involved in prison ministry is really one of  the only instances in my life where I have not been free to move as I wanted or needed. The absence of freedom, even for a few short hours, was frightening and miserable to me. What drives the people who do prison ministry is that fact that they have found freedom in Christ. This freedom is personal. This freedom is not bound by walls. This freedom must be proclaimed to those locked up in prison.
Matthew 25:36 “I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

So What?
What do these ancient words have to say to us today?  What does freedom really mean?  Are we free from the law?  Are we free from sin? Are we free from death?

Do we realize that our great God has entered our lives by sending Christ to set us free?

We are free to be who we are in Christ.

It is my prayer that every person reading this SEED OF FAITH comes to know, understand, and comprehend who you are in Christ. It is my prayer that this freedom sets you free to be who you were created to be. Many people live in self-made prisons of their own; trying to achieve and accumulate in order to prove their value. At the cross, our value was proven. Christ died for you.  Christ died for me. Christ died to set us free and in Christ, we are free indeed.

When our prison team goes in to do ministry, a most marvelous thing happens. Prisoners are set free. Listen to Isaiah 61:1. This verse in Isaiah in one of those that propelled me to leave my “normal” life and to answer God’s call to ministry at the age of 40: “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…” I hope you will understand me when I tell you that before Christ entered my heart I was brokenhearted. I was a captive and I was a prisoner of the darkness.

The Apostle Paul was called and redeemed by God to preach freedom to us all not just to those in Galatia. “It is for freedom Christ has set you free. Stand firm.  Do not return again to your yoke of slavery.  You are called to freedom. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence but through love serve one another.”

In Jesus Christ, you are free. You are no longer a slave to whatever sins have held (or want to hold) you captive. Your chains are broken.  Your chains are gone.  You have been set FREE. The cross of Jesus Christ is your symbol of your freedom. In His death, you were given life. You are free from the power of sin. You are free, indeed.

God loves you and so do i,
Pastor Dave
www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

*Join us online on Sunday mornings at 10 A.M. Pacific for our weekly worship service.  You can chat, fellowship, worship and grow in grace.  Here is the link for the live online service — theseedchristianfellowship.online.church

If you miss the live online service you can always go to our YouTube channel and watch either the whole worship service or just the weekly meesage.

[i] David Guralnik, Webster’s New World Dictionary, Simon & Schuster, New York, New York,; 1972