Feeding the Springs

Reading John 4:1-14.

I can well sympathize with the Samaritan woman's constant need to get water.

In my early teens, I lived in a town called Jesselton in Sabah, Malaysia.  It was a wonderful little town, with a beautiful golden sand beach about two miles away.  We lived in a two storey house which was shared with another family.  The house was built on water with long stilts supporting it above the sea.  Despite being right on the sea ( and being able to fish from out of my window and from the back doors) we had severe problems of water supply.  The local authority would send water trucks which calls around once or twice a week and fills the 44 gallon drums that we put out on the road side, accessible by a long course way of about 100 metres long.  Then comes the process of carrying those water in 4 gallon containers back to another 44 gallon drum at the back of the house. 

Sometimes though our water supply would come another way.  Half way through the  night everyone would wake up to the sound of a tropical down pour as we rushed around to catch the water coming down the roof.  There was no guttering and we would put pot and pans basins and buckets everywhere to receive the precious downpour coming down the corrugated iron roof and then pouring the contents into 44 gallon drums.  Rain water was miles better than the water we collect from the road side. It was so clean and fresh and tastes wonderful.  Being tropical rain, it comes down in buckets full literally and within a matter of half an hour, the 2 or  3  44 gallon drums would be filled and then we would go back to bed, secure and worry free for the next two to three days as far as water was concerned.  

For the Samaritan woman it was a case of walking in hot scorching sun for miles just to carry enough water for washing and cooking and it was a case of coming again for some more. No wonder when Jesus offered the living water to the woman she was so thrilled that despite the barrier of race, sex and culture, she was keen to have that living water.

What Jesus was offering was of course more wonderful than just physical water. It was water that would meet the deepest need of her soul - her need for love - for recognition - for companionship - her need for God  - her need for forgiveness - her need for security.  Hers was a life of constant quest, looking for someone who would really love her and never sure whether she was loved or whether she was used.

But Jesus promised more than just water to fill her once, he promised to give her water which will become a spring within her welling up and bubbling over until eternity, and not only enough for her own use, but plenty left over to overflow to the lives of other people.

Jesus offered her not a filled water pot, but a spring. 

What then is a spring ?   and  how does it form   ?  
During a trip to South Island many years ago, we went to Takaka, in the Abel Tasman National Park.   We came to place which had a group of springs which together are called Pupu Springs.  After getting off the car we walked along a long wooden walk ways over which a stream of beautiful and clear water flowed.  Although it was in the middle of summer the water was icy cold to the touch.  At the end of the wooden walk way we came upon a platform which overlooks a pool of water which had beautiful shades of green and blue.  Water in the middle of the pool had an appearance of a whirl pool, spinning and gurgling around, as water keeps gushing out from below.  According to the information given about Pupu Springs: this is possibly the world's largest known freshwater spring with a reputed 475 million gallons of water welling up every twenty four hours (that is 4 and half thousand gallons every second).   Looking up the figures published by the Wellington regional council this week, the average use of water of the whole of the region is 152 million litres per day.   So what came out of Pupu Springs each day would last two weeks for the whole of Wellington.     [ 2160 million litres per day  or   25, 000 litres per second

This compares well with the published figure of average water use in Wellington Region of 152 million litres per day or  2 weeks’ supply ]

The source of the spring is not known, although there is a measurable increase  in the volume of water every time it rains heavily in the Takaka vicinity; but research has revealed that the water, when it first bubbles up clear and icy cold, has not been exposed to the air for a period of three to five years !

I find that information fascinating and revealing as a parable of the inner life of the Christians.

One of the most important things it is saying to me is that if we want the springs in our lives to overflow to others then we must be prepare to feed the springs.  In the case of the Pupu springs, it was the accumulation of years of rain, dew, surface water or even snow from a very large catchment area.  Those thousands of gallons of water gushing out every second did not come from rain yesterday, or even from rain the  week before.  It was water accumulated for months and years and systematically stored away on top of non-porous rocks.  So that whether there was rain or not in the immediate past, the flow of water is constant, always fresh, always clean and refreshing.  

A few weeks ago we stayed in a motel in Arthurs pass next to a river, or what used to be a river.   Without rain for weeks and weeks, the river has dried up and it was a very sorry sight.  A river can only flow if it was fed by a stream and a stream can only flow if it was fed by rain……but unlike a spring which had stored away years of water, this river has run dried.    Like a river, our Christian lives can also run dry……..

Too often our Christian life is like that of the Samaritan woman carrying the water pot. We run from place to place, from week to week, from conference to conference getting our water pots filled.   The graph of our spiritual life goes up and down like a yo yo , from highs to lows depending on whether we recently have had our water pot filled.    

In a sense there is nothing wrong in seeking to meet God in special and dramatic encounters in camps and conferences.    Many of God’s servants, like Moses, Abraham, David, Elijah have been thoroughly challenged and refreshed in these encounters. But these encounters are not meant to be an end in itself.  They are meant to spur us on to seek the Lord in a greater degree and having experienced Jesus in an intimate way we would want to spend more time with him.     However, as we return to normal daily life from a camp or conference,  we quickly forget that,  and we are caught up with the daily rush and worries of life, and we soon dry up again for lack of water.  And we bring our water pots to another encounter experience.  God is gracious and he often gives us another chance of meeting with him. Our  hearts are fired up again…..but only for a short time before the process must be repeated.

Like the Pupu spring, we must develop our inner life by a constant opening of ourselves and our heart to Jesus, so that the dew of his presence will seep through our souls, like water that seeps through the rock to be stored up for the drier times.  But you say, it is easier said than done.  And I would be the first one to agree.  

When I first became a Christian many years ago, I was told that I must have a quiet time each day.   I was given a copy of the Daily Bread which I kept up using for many years.  Initially it was great and I began to learn many things from the notes which laid the foundation for my early Christian life.  No one taught me how to pray although I was told to pray. But as years went on, I struggled more and more with the so called Quiet Time.  It became a duty rather than a pleasure.  I changed from one kind of note to another hoping it would give me a fresh insight and a fresh start, but I always ended up discouraged.  And so I began to explore other ways of spending time before the Lord.

There is of course nothing wrong with SU notes, but my way of using it was wrong.  Instead of reading the Word and expecting God to speak to me through his Word, I read the passage and straightaway turn to the notes for my inspiration and so fail to give God the opportunity to speak to me directly, nor allowing me to use my mind to think what the passage is all about.   If you do use any notes for your quiet time, maybe you could try not to read the commentary notes for a week, but pray and ask God to speak to you through the passage chosen for each day.... God may not speak to you in an audible voice(or he may) but you can be sure that he wants to  teach you and speak to you through his word about yourselves and about things that you should do or could do and things you could pray for.......but more importantly to reveal his love to you……

I find it extremely useful to use a note book for my quiet time, to jot down things as it is brought to mind and sometimes turn it into a prayer.  I have a prayer diary which I sometimes use to record my conversation with God and often I record not only what I speak to God about, but also what I feel God is saying to me....  And in the weeks and months and years that follow it is very helpful to turn back and find out what has gone on and what God has done.  Having to write things down means my mind does not wander so easily and I can concentrate better.

As a change to using SU notes, I sometimes follow what Evelyn Christenson author of "What happens when Women Pray"  shares about reading until the Lord speaks method.  In your Bible reading instead of doing an exact no. of verses as dictated by your Bible reading notes, you simply go through a book of the Bible, reading it  slowly, carefully and expectantly, until you feel the Lord is speaking to you through the passage.  This could be 2 verses or it could be 20 or it could be 1 and a half chapter.  It doesn't matter.  Read until you feel the Lord is speaking and then stop.  Pause to think and to pray.....  and to write down, if appropriate what you think the Lord wants you to do, and do it.

Another variation which I find helpful in my quiet times is to paraphrase the scripture I am reading, i.e., turn it into my own words and turn it into a coherent flowing passage which I can understand. For some passages it is a real challenge, but I have always come through understanding a lot more and remember a lot more than if I just read the passage.   If you are trying this, it would be wise to start with short and fairly well known passages, like the Lord's prayer, or the sermon on the mount.  Then go on to more ambitious chapters like Ephesians one and two or Philippians 1,2 and 3.  Be content to do two to three verses at the most at the beginning, and try not to use any words that the original passage uses.

But don’t limit your quiet time with the Lord with just those 15 to 20 minutes per day.  Remember that the soaking process for the springs was a constant process throughout the day.   Pause a while in the midst of your busy schedules to look up to the Lord and tell him that you love him.   Pause even in the middle of a conference, pause while you are cooking, while you are dressing the baby,  while you hang up the clothes on the line, while you are driving on the road, while you are stuck in a traffic jam.   Tune in to the Lord and say Lord I love you.    

Our world today rushes on..... cars are built to go faster....computer are built to go faster...... instead of writing a letter and wait for it to arrive the next day or next week, we use the fax machine, we use the email. Instead of waiting to phone someone when he gets to the office, or gets home, we use the cell phone....once again we can't wait.....as a Christian, I can't see anything wrong with these advances in technology, but does make us into a generation of people who do know what it is to wait patiently for the Lord.   The well known promise from Isaiah 40 however is for those dare to take time and spend time soaking in the Word of the Lord, spend time to know the Lord and listen to him.  

There is a severe drought in New Zealand at present in our South Island, and it is very sad to see the farmers struggling each day to feed their flock.   But there is a greater drought in our land spiritually, and men and women are crying out for water, living water which can satisfy. 

The Samaritan woman found that water and she went away and shared that water with her folk and they came themselves and found that living water too.   God’s plan and purpose for each of our lives is that we too may have that spring of living water in us which not only supply our needs but it will overflow to the needs of others too.  

Speaking to the Israelites,  Isaiah challenged his own people to begin to care for the needs of those who are poor, those who struggle, instead of just being religious and keeping the Sabbath as a ceremony, he had this to say :
The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.   Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings..... Is 58:11,12.

May this be the promise for the congregation here in Mana Baptist church as you reach out into the community.

(Preached Mana Baptist Church 7/3/1999)