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Sermon Title

“A Divine Appointment: True Worship That Transforms”

Text: John 4:1–32 (NKJV)

Introduction

In John chapter 4, we encounter one of the most powerful and personal moments in the ministry of Jesus—the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. This was not an accident. This was not a coincidence. This was a divine appointment.

The Bible says, “But He needed to go through Samaria.”

That statement alone tells us something important: this journey was not optional.

Jews avoided Samaria at all costs. Due to long-standing religious and cultural hostility, Jews considered Samaritans unclean and unworthy. Many Jews would walk miles out of their way just to avoid passing through Samaritan territory. Yet Jesus went straight through it—because purpose will always override prejudice.

1. Jesus Goes Where Others Refuse to Go (John 4:4–6)

Jesus arrives at Sychar, near Jacob’s well. He is tired from His journey and sits by the well at the sixth hour which is around noon.

This matters because women typically drew water early in the morning or late in the evening when it was cooler. The fact that this woman comes at noon tells us something: she was avoiding people. Shame, rejection, pain, and brokenness had pushed her into isolation.Yet Jesus is already there, this teaches us something powerful:

Jesus knows where to meet you, even when you are trying not to be seen.

Many of us are in a funk—not because God is absent, but because life hasn’t gone the way we planned. And unfortunately, that is often when Jesus shows up—but we don’t recognize Him because we’re focused on our pain instead of His Word.

2. Jesus Breaks Barriers with a Simple Request (John 4:7–9)

Jesus says, “Give Me a drink.”

This was shocking.

• He was a Jew speaking to a Samaritan

• He was a man speaking publicly to a woman

• He was asking to drink from her vessel—something that would make Him ceremonially unclean by Jewish standards

But Jesus was never concerned with religious appearances—He was concerned with redemption.

By asking for a drink, Jesus disarms her defenses and exposes her expectations. He meets her where she is, not where religion says she should be.

Sometimes Jesus asks something of us—not because He needs it, but because He is setting the stage for transformation.

3. Living Water vs. Limited Understanding (John 4:10–15)

Jesus introduces the idea of living water.

The woman responds naturally—she thinks physically.

“How can You draw water without a bucket? The well is deep.”

This is where many of us live.

God speaks spiritually, but we interpret naturally.

God promises eternally, but we think temporarily.

God speaks possibility, but we see impossibility.

Her traditions and past teaching limit her understanding. She knows Jacob. She knows history. But she doesn’t yet know who is standing in front of her.

Jesus explains:

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.”

Earthly solutions never fully satisfy spiritual problems.

4. True Worship Exposes What Needs Healing (John 4:16–18)

Jesus then says something that shifts everything:

“Go, call your husband.”

This is not condemnation—it is revelation.

Real worship exposes:

• pain

• wounds

• bondage

• false sources of identity
  She had five husbands, and the man she was with was not her husband. This points to a life marked by rejection and abandonment. In that culture, men divorced women—not the other way around. Her presence at the well at noon confirms the shame she carried.

But notice this:

Jesus exposes without embarrassing.

He reveals without rejecting.

He confronts without condemning.

True worship will bring you face-to-face with truth—but truth always comes to heal, not to harm.

5. Worship Is Not a Place—It’s a Person (John 4:19–24)

The woman shifts the conversation to worship locations:

• Samaritans worshiped on the mountain

• Jews worshiped in Jerusalem

• Jesus responds with a revelation:

“The hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

Worship is not about:

• geography

• tradition

• buildings

• rituals

God is Spirit, and He is seeking worshipers.

That raises a serious question:

Can God find you?

Can you move past tradition, pain, and religious history into a real encounter with God?

6. Worship Reveals Identity and Releases Purpose (John 4:25–30)

Jesus reveals Himself plainly:

“I who speak to you am He.”

This woman came to the well broken, ashamed, and hiding.

She leaves transformed, bold, and evangelizing.

She drops her water pot—the very reason she came—and runs back to the city to testify:

“Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did.”

One encounter with Jesus turned her pain into purpose.

7. Jesus Is Sustained by Obedience, Not Bread (John 4:31–32)

When the disciples return and urge Jesus to eat, He responds:

“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

Delivering one soul mattered more to Jesus than physical hunger.

That is the heart of true worship.

Key Takeaways

• Jesus goes where others refuse

• Divine appointments happen in unlikely places

• Worship exposes, heals, and restores

• God is seeking true worshipers

• One encounter can change everything

Study & Discussion Questions

Observation

1. Why was it significant that Jesus “needed” to go through Samaria?

2. What does the timing of the woman’s visit to the well reveal about her life?

3. Why do you think Jesus began the conversation by asking for a drink?

4. What is the difference between physical water and living water?

5. What “wells” do people today keep returning to that never fully satisfy?

6. How does true worship expose areas of pain or bondage in our lives?

7. Are there traditions or beliefs that may be limiting your understanding of God?

8. What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth in everyday life?

9. Can God “find” you as a true worshiper?

10. What water pot (old habits, shame, fear, identity) do you need to leave behind?

Continue to pray for the sick and shut-ins and their caregivers. Prayer is needed for our entire congregation as we are all dealing with spoken and unspoken needs and requests.

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