Restoration

Restoration

Jesus Christ, the great I AM, came to give us many things through His teachings, and something that all can benefit from when we come to Christ is restoration. Not judgemental love, but love, mercy and grace; not holding anything against us, but instead having many wonderful things to give us.

The Lord graciously met this precious woman. She was no one of particular importance or great significance in the eyes of others, but someone just like us—someone who had made many mistakes and poor decisions, which had ended in shame and caused her to avoid people as much as possible.

Yet Jesus met her exactly where she was. Let us read this life-changing encounter together.

John 4:7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. ¹⁰Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹²Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” ¹³Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” ¹⁵The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” ¹⁷The woman answered and said, “I have no husband. Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ 18for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.” ¹⁹The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” ²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²²You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”²⁵The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will tell us all things.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

If You Knew the Gift of God

This woman came to the well at about the sixth hour, around midday, which would have been the hottest part of the day, when most people would normally avoid going out. Jesus gives us a picture of her personal circumstances and her history with many husbands, we can understand that she may have been living with rejection, shame or difficulty.

Whatever her circumstances, Jesus deliberately met her there to tell her without judgement. Then he goes on to say.. “You worship what you do not know;[meaning the samaritans did worship the God of Israel, but their understanding of God and Scripture was incomplete]. we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.” meaning, being saved, delivered from danger, sin and its consequences.

To be made free. The Jewish understanding of the Messiah was that He would come from God as the promised Anointed One. He would reveal the truth and “tell us all things,” bringing understanding and revelation from God. He would also settle questions concerning God and true worship, including the disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews about where God should be worshipped.

He said to her “If You Knew the Gift of God” This is very important to have the correct view of God for without it you can not be saved and “I have come to you to “I who speak to you am He.” God is saying I am relational you have to have a relationship with me, this is the fuller revelation.

Do We Know The Gift of God?

We must also make sure we know who we worship and the gift that God has given us. Through Jesus Christ, He does not hold our sin or past against us, but offers us forgiveness and salvation. Just like the woman at the well, our past has been overshadowed and overtaken by what God has done for us.

Sozo, to be saved, rescued, delivered and made whole, through His sacrifice on the cross, and then to receive those life-giving waters: The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” The gift of salvation produces restoration in us through the transformational indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

How Does Restoration Happen?

God gives us a new identity. The cross removes the old identity, and through Christ we die to the old life and are called to walk in the newness of life. It is like this: transformed people can then influence and help transform others through Christ. However, we first need to work on our own walk with God.

We do not have to be perfect before we can help others, but we need to be growing in our relationship with the Lord and learning to live in the truth of God. Again, like the woman at the well, it is based on your relationship with the Lord. This is why the Messiah came to her, and also to many others throughout the Bible, personally.

The deeper you let the Lord work through you, the more transformation you will have in your walk with Christ. It takes time and patience, like any other relationship. Over the years, the Holy Spirit starts to shape us from the inside out into the image of Christ, working on our hearts through divine love.

Just as the glory of Christ was revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration, we too are called to walk in the reality of our true identity in Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal more of Christ in us.

How Do We Facilitate Restoration

The source of restoration after we have been saved is the person of the Holy Spiritthe Spirit of truth. He leads us into truth, reveals Christ to us, and works within us to bring transformation.

So what do we remember?

1. Know the Gift of God. Know Jesus not just about Him, but know Him personally. 2. Drink the Living Water. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill, refresh and transform you from within. 3. Walk in Your New Identity. Do not keep living in the identity of your past. Walk in the newness of life Christ has given you. 4.

Worship in Spirit and Truth. Let your relationship with God be real, not just religious. 5. Allow God to Restore You. Give the Holy Spirit permission to work from the inside out, shaping you into the image of Christ. 6. Then Tell Someone. The woman who came to the well carrying her past left with a testimony.

Restored people can become witnesses to the One who restored them. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of His own word. 42Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” End in prayer of more restoration