Episode 32- Chapter 21
Transcription
Hello friends, and welcome to the latest in a series of podcasts that follow along with our book, The Wizard of God. This is Steve Roy, and today we're going to be discussing Chapter 21. If you haven't already, you're invited to download a free digital copy of The Wizard of god from our website, wizardofgod.com, where if you prefer, you can buy a paper copy online through Amazon or Barnes and noble. And these podcasts were going chapter by chapter, discussing our character's journey through the land of God. So if you haven't read chapters 1 through 21 yet and/or listened to the previous podcast, please do. Okay? Well, let's get started.
In Chapter 21, Grace continues to struggle as the false God of the E.C., the imaginary wizard, has been exposed as a fraud. It's also been a very long time since she's eaten. Grace had embraced, believed, put her hope in a false religion and now she's left with nothing. Sadly, healing and redemption are more difficult for people like Grace than for ones like Leona. Use whatever analogy you want. These people have gone down the wrong road and now must backtrack simply to get back to where they started from. The lies they believed have become embedded in their minds and hearts. What's true has been entangled in the web of the faults. Purging the lies can be frightening, painful, and can leave a person feeling weak and helpless.
It's common for people in this condition to ask, "What is wrong with me? This must be all my fault." They have been deceived by a master predator, who will now try to put the blame on them for his crime. He will also attempt to deceive these weak, hungry ones into believing that the answer, their way of escape out of the trap, is far away and so impossible for weak, helpless ones to reach. If this is you or someone you know, don't listen to these voices. You've simply been deceived and the good news is that Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life, has already come and provided your way of escape.
The only thing needed now in order to be free is to abandon the lies and embrace the truth. Jesus said this in John 8:31.
"So Jesus was saying to those who had believed Him."
This includes me and you. "If you continue in my word then you are truly disciples of mind and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free."
Friends, we have to continue in the words of Jesus. It takes some time to fully become free of the web of lies, free of the trap. But Jesus is with you every step, every moment along the way. If you're like grace, you're not alone. The Apostle Paul, who would have been considered one of the most passionate religious people of his day, said after his encounter with Jesus, that whatever things were gained to me, I had to count as lost for the sake of knowing Jesus.
Paul had to consider to count all his religious knowledge, beliefs, and accomplishments are worthless. He had to abandon them in order to embrace the truth, in order to embrace Jesus. This process takes some time to complete. But once a lie is exposed, it loses its power to deceive. But don't try to shovel out darkness.
Just seek out the light. Returning to the carnival, with Leona to search for the guys, Grace is sitting alone. She's feeling hopelessly alone. I want to clean up one item from Chapter 20. In that chapter, Grace is hiding alone in the E.C. during one of the scenes. She has dreams there that are frightening. And some of her nightmares are based upon real events in her life. The worst thing about the closet, or the ferris wheel, is Grace feels utterly alone. When we're scared, we need someone to comfort us. I want to say this to all Christians, beloved children of God, who feel hopelessly alone in your dreams and nightmares. You are never alone. It's one thing to go through the storm, through the desert. It is another to go alone.
Grace feels alone, but is she alone? I have to mention this, there is a false teaching that tragically is all too common, which says that sometimes God, in order to teach us a lesson, in order to make us stronger, or whatever they come up with, abandons us, withdraws himself, hides himself from his children. The notion is this, that from time to time God deserts us, and we are left to grope alone in the dark. You may have heard that God leads us into the desert to teach us things. Keep in mind that in this desert, apart from God, and the desert they're describing, there is no provision, no comfort.
As God is hiding from you, there's no food, water, shelter, protection, no guidance, no direction. Whether in a desert or a dark closet, you're all alone. You can't see God. You can't see anything. This horrible teaching claims God does this, so we'll appreciate him more on the other side, or maybe that we'll think twice about sinning next time, or maybe even to make us pay some price for our sin. So much I could say here about this terrible and sometimes devastating false teaching.
But listen to what Jesus told those who were seeking him, seeking comfort. In John chapter 6 verse 33, For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world then they said to him They being his disciples Lord always give us this bread Jesus said to them I am the bread of life He who comes to me will not hunger and he who believes on me will never thirst Will not hunger will never thirst. This is the promise of Jesus to all who come to him. But what about Old Testament scriptures that appear to give the opposite message? Allow me to make two points on this, because most of the scriptures they give on this, this false teaching from the Old Testament. In these podcasts, our main objective is to unveil the new covenant, the gospel of Jesus. If you're a Christian, it's this covenant, this inheritance, this promise, this good news. This is who you are and where you are. This is where you stand, period. So much preaching and teaching mixes parts of the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus. The ones giving these messages don't appear to have any hesitation in mixing the two covenants together.
They act as if there is no distinction. Amazingly. We spoke on this at length in the Ministry of the Spirit podcast. A quick recap. Second Corinthians 3 calls the Old Covenant, the Ten Commandments, a ministry of condemnation and death. The purpose of this law in a nutshell? Man was stubborn and had to learn by experience that apart from God he could do nothing.
Man was created as dependent, never independent from God. Man was created to be dependent, never independent from God. Galatians said that the purpose of the law was to bring us, to lead us to Jesus. In contrast, the New Covenant, the Gospel of Jesus, is called the Ministry of Life. So, one covenant ministers death and the other life.
So how can these be mixed? The answer? They can't. We read this before. Hebrews 8 quoting Jeremiah 31 where Jeremiah announces the coming of a new covenant.
He says in verse 7, "For if that covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them," he says, "so God found fault with the old covenant." He said, "Behold the days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will affect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant and I did not care for them," says the Lord. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days," said the Lord, "I will put my minds in their hearts and I will write them on the minds and I will write them on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people and they shall not teach again everyone his fellow citizen and everyone his brother saying no the Lord for they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more." Verse 13,
"When he said a new covenant he has made the first obsolete, but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”
There are so many great and precious promises to discover in this passage. Good news of verse 9 tells us the New Covenant is not like the old. Verse 13 says the old is now obsolete and has disappeared with the coming of the new. The greatest distinction between these two covenants is the New Covenant will be an inward work, not outward. And here is the most blessed part. God is the one doing the work, not us. Many years ago I highlighted all the times and these verses in my Bible that God says I will. To remind me that Jesus did all the work, He finished it, and my part is simply to believe and receive the gift. There is no mixing of the law which has disappeared and the gospel which is eternal.
We've talked on this so much but there are so many contradictory messages coming at Christians. The enemy is called the accuser of the church and the only weapon, the only weapon the enemy has is the law.
Think about this. This is why Jesus didn't warn his people to beware of the Romans, the government, beware of sinners, but to beware of the leaven, the teaching of the Pharisees. Think about this. This is what we need to be aware of. In this new covenant we are never alone. We are never apart from God, ever. Sin has lost its power over us because as Romans 6:14 proclaims we are no longer under law but under grace. Only demonic delusion would cause people to come up with the teaching where God abandoned his children in the dark or in the desert.
What a horrendous picture this false teaching paints of God. Imagine you heard of a father who abandoned his child in a desert or locked the child in a closet with no explanation why they were in there, no light, no help. What would you think of this father? If this were a true story you would call the police to rescue the son and for the father to be arrested, but did God really abandon those who were sinking Him in the Old Covenant?
When God led the nation of Israel into the desert on the way to the Promised Land, He was with them every step of the way. He was the protective cloud by day and the warming fire by night. Food fell from the sky, water sprang from rocks. The presence of God went with them and before them. Here are a few more Old Testament scriptures to consider. Deuteronomy 31:8 says,
"It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
This promise is repeated in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:5. Never leave you. Never forsake you. Listen to what David had to say in the subject in Psalm 139 starting at verse 7. David says,
"Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you're there. If I make my bed in hell, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the other most parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall follow me, even the night shall be light about me, indeed the darkness shall not hide you. But the night shines as the day, the darkness and the light are both alike to you."
I could quote countless scriptures that reveal God never abandoned those who were seeking him in the Old Testament. But friends, as we have an infinitely greater covenant than Moses or David. How much more is this true for those of us who are in Christ? John 17:20. Jesus is praying for his disciples for you. He says I do not pray for these alone but also for those who will believe in me through their word. That's us. That they may all be one as you father are in me and I in you.
That they may also be one in us that the world may believe that you sent me, and the glory which you gave me, which means the identity. I have given to them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you and me that they may be made perfect in one that the world may know that you sent me and have loved them as you have loved me.
The Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are in us. We are loved as Jesus is loved by the Father. This does not describe a God who hides himself. We are the ones hidden. We're hidden with Christ and God. Colossians 3:3 says,
"For as the world is concerned this is in the Amplified, you have died, and your new real life is hidden with Christ and God."
Matthew 28, verse 19, "Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I've commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days, perpetually, uniformly, on every occasion, to the very close and consummation of the age. Amen. So let it be."
That's from the Amplified as well. Over and over again, Jesus said, "I am with you, in you. You are in me. The Father and the Holy Spirit are in you." Jesus said, "Abide in me, for apart from me you can do nothing." So what would Jesus expect us to achieve, apart from Him, during this so -called desert experience? He would expect us to do nothing. If you're a Christian, Jesus is eternally with you,
and you are with Him, in Him, and he is in you. So being apart from him for even a second is impossible. Now, you may not quote feel God, but knowing God is based on what we feel in our flesh.
So many who want to experience God believe this experience will be basically of their emotions, of their flesh. They want to feel God. Now, I believe that in God is vitally important and a blessed part of our inheritance. But this experience will be of the Spirit, not of the flesh.
It will be born in the Spirit, not in the flesh. I quoted these verses many times, but I believe they're so foundational. I talk to so many Christians who have little to no understanding of spiritual knowledge and only human perception.
They base what is true and what they can experience, what they feel, what they know through their five natural senses. But 1 Corinthians 2: 9 says,
"But just as is written, things which I cannot see nor ear has not heard and which is not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men know the thoughts of a man, except the Spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God, no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak. Not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. Friends, we can intimately know, intimately experience God. Yes, even deeply by the Spirit.
I felt many physical things while experiencing God, but the feelings, the sensations were a fruit, not the root. They were an effect of something spiritual that was happening. They weren't the cause. The foundation for all Christian experience is spiritual. God is spirit. The spiritual, the living water, the life of God flows into our spirit and overflows to our entire being.
Regardless of how grace or anyone may be feeling at the moment, If they are Christians, the simple gospel, my friends, is this. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are with us 100% of the time. We are never alone, never abandoned. And any teaching that contradicts or dilutes this message of the good news is false and must be completely abandoned. Again, we may feel alone, but we are never apart from Jesus. Sadly, the leaven of the Pharisees, the false gospel, hides Jesus behind the veil of the flesh.
2 Corinthians 3 talks about the gospel being veiled or hidden. Here it is in context. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 1.
"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart."
That’s the ministry of the Spirit that Paul was just referring to in 2 Corinthians 3. As we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit, as we receive mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus' Lord and ourselves is your bond -servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. This is a verse about the gospel being veiled, being hidden, to those in ministry and to those looking to see Jesus through their false teaching. The preceding chapter, 2 Corinthians 3 proves this was the context. I believe this is what Paul is saying here.
Jesus is hidden in the gospel. That's where Jesus is to be found. Jesus is revealed in the gospel. And as he said in the previous chapter, if we believe or preach another gospel, a veil lies over our eyes. Jesus is hidden from view, but He is not hiding from us. If I move to another house, and you don't know this, you might go looking for me in my old house. If you don't find me there, you might figure I'm hiding. While in reality, I'm just living in my new house. We won't find Jesus in the house of Moses or some mixed-up house of our own making.
He is in his gospel. This is where we find him. The Pharisees who were very religious and would have sworn they were seeking God with all their heart missed Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, when he was right in front of them performing miracles. Why? How? They were looking for Him through their flawed interpretation of the Old Covenant.
What about those who consider themselves very religious today? Could so many be missing Jesus in the same way? God's not hiding Himself from these people. They are simply looking for Him in the wrong place. He's not found in the Old Covenant. He's not found in anyone's pet theology, teaching, or so-called revelation. Jesus is found in his gospel. So we're the Pharisees, truly seeking God, the Messiah, or something else to summarize. Sadly, many Christians don't fully grasp the radical difference between the Old and the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8 state clearly, along with many other scriptures, that The New Covenant is not like the Old Covenant. It is nothing like the Old Covenant. It is the difference between you doing this and Jesus has done. One was a ministry of condemnation and death and the other one was a ministry of life. They couldn't be more opposite in nature.
Yet so many want to bring out Old Testament scriptures and have them be completely applicable to those abiding in the New Covenant. These two covenants are as different as Moses is from Jesus.
They do not mix. Yes, the gospel was hidden for a time, but has now been revealed. Colossians 1:25, Paul says,
"Of this church, I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the Word of God."
That is, The mystery which has been hidden from past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints, to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this ministry among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christ in you, the inward work of God. This is the mystery revealed. This is the gospel. These verses state this clearly. Sadly, not all have heard or believed this gospel. This is the message that Christians, though, struggling like grace, need to hear. Give this to them. Minister good news of Jesus. Who Jesus is and what He has done to them.
Because apart from the revelation of the gospel, the world and the flesh and the devil will continually make Christians feel all kinds of ways, alone, abandoned, condemned, fearful, anxious, and ultimately hopeless like a victim. It's so tempting to escape, to jump on the ferris wheel and forget about everything. But escaping only helps you forget for a moment.
You go round and round and end up right back where you started. This isn't the solution for dealing with life's problems, but sadly it's what many people do. Daily. Grace has experienced a lot of pain and tragedy in her short life. She wants to escape, close her eyes until it all goes away. Like grace we can feel like victims, when in fact we are victors. The natural thing is to feel sorry for what grace is going through in this chapter.
There is valid human compassion for her yes. Jesus though had compassion for those who were sick for example, but his compassion was not simply to pity them, commiserate with them, but he healed them. He had compassion on the oppressed, those who were enslaved. He did this by giving them the power to overcome their circumstances. He gave them the power to be victors rather than victims.
This is a paraphrase from Romans 8, starting at verse 31.
“What should we say to these things? (Life) If God is for us, who is against us." (I added the life part.)
"He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will he also with him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's select, God's people? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died. Yes, rather, who was raised and who is the right hand of God. It is Christ who intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? Just as is written, for your sakes we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Praise God. Regardless of circumstances, even life or death circumstances, this passage says we overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus. The difference between victims and victors is not circumstances. It's simply a matter of whether or not God is for us. The gospel message is God is for us. Do we believe this?
Because what we believe, who we believe we are, will make all the difference in our lives. Are we believing we're the sum total of who we are in the flesh, our track record, what's going on, what's happening to us, or do we see and believe ourselves to be new creations, joined forever in and to Jesus. As Christians, we are all victors, but unless we have spiritual revelation of our true eternal identity, we will almost certainly be trapped in the victim mentality at some point or another. Yes, there is a victim mentality, a literal spirit of victim.
I heard from counselors and pastors who say this is one of the most difficult things to help people overcome. It's also a dangerous way to live, because predators seek out the weak and helpless to attack and make them their victims. 1 Peter 5:8 says,
"Be of sober spirit. Be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, but resist Him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. What is our defense against our enemy? Resist Him by standing firm in your faith, firm in who God says you are and what Jesus has done. Faith that God is with you and for you, And in you supernatural faith that sees the unseen, the actual faith of Jesus which you have access to and I have access to. I believe everyone lives and sees himself as either a victim or a victor.
James 4:7 teaches us, says this,
"Submit yourselves then to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
Submitting to God means simply to believe the Word of God over the Word of anyone else, including our five sentences. The devil only devours victims, believe in, walk in, who you are in Christ, resist the spirit of victim, and resist your enemy by believing and walking in the truth, and the devil will flee from you. Scriptures declare that we as Christians are always led to victory. We always overwhelmingly conquers in Christ. So Christians are never victims.
​​We are victors always. Victors are still in the war. They still have battles. They still have many things to overcome. They just persevere until they win in the end. We're all in a battle.
There's a war and we have no choice in this. What we can choose as to is whether we live as a victim or a victor. This may seem harsh. This language may seem harsh to some, but pity does victims no good. What does good is to show them the weapons they have at their disposal. Yes, the gospel always empowers us through Christ.
Let me ask you this, was Jesus a victim or a victor? Jesus suffered all the which means death. If you look at his temporary circumstances, what could be seen at the time. It would, it would totally look like he was a victim and those who tortured him and killed him were the victors. What was, what was what Jesus did on the cross through his suffering, the ultimate victory or a defeat was one of the billions of people who share the benefits of his victory, I can say without question that Jesus was the ultimate victor. It takes spiritual eyes to see and receive the benefits of this victory. But if you are born again you have this gift. Here's to prayer Paul in Ephesians 1:18, to those facing persecution. He says,
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”
Friends, we have to take ourselves off the menu of the roaring lion. We're in charge of submitting to God and resisting the devil. How do we do this? The eyes of our hearts are enlightened as we feed on the gospel, meditate on the word of God, eat the living bread, drink the living water, and wine of the Spirit, commune with worship God through the Spirit. It all comes down to who we believe we are. Are we a victim or are we a victor in Christ Jesus?
This has nothing to do with circumstances and all to do with identity. Who you are and who you believe you are, we must walk in the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. I've known so many people that believe they were victims. I had a lot of compassion for them and what they were going through. Yet I had the word of God which said they were victors.
My choice was who to believe. I had to believe this for myself. Grace is the opportunity to experience victory, just like Leona. But what will she choose to believe?
Who will she choose to believe? Voices are talking to grace on the fairest will. So how do you know if the one you're hearing is the real Jesus? Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice and they follow me. The voice of another, they will not follow."
It's simple. Do what Leona did. Seek out and listen to the one who feeds you, the one who gives you life, the one who ministers to you. With the gospel comes healing. It can be a process. In my youth, I prayed for a zap of spiritual lightning to heal my soul. But it wasn't a zap that caused the problem, it was believing lies. It's the truth that we know we believe we receive that sets us free. We must all discover the joy and peace, our fruits of the Spirit in us, not fruits of our flesh, our mind and emotions, our fruits of circumstances. This is a major revelation. The Holy Spirit in us produces the joy,the peace and so on. Our part is to simply eat the fruit that is born of the Spirit. Worldly wisdom, counsel would not conclude this was Grace's problem.
They would say her problem was trusting in the wizard and religion. The answer often given for this, given to people like her for this, is to trust in herself only and not in anyone or anything else. They would advise her to become self -sufficient and gain self-confidence. I've heard many people boast I trust in myself. Does Grace have any basis for self-confidence? Who is she? A lack of self -confidence is a huge problem for many people. The cures seem simple, so they try to fix themselves by gaining self-confidence. There are endless self-help books and resources designed to help people gain self-confidence.
Many Christians go about this in the same way. I agree that to live without confidence is a terrible place to be. The opposite of confidence is doubt, fear, uncertainty, weakness, and cowardice. But self-confidence? In the end, how can we really trust, have confidence in ourselves? We're a few breaths away from death. We are weak, hopelessly flawed. We have doubts and fears. This doesn't describe someone to put my trust in. So does the answer really just bow down to a mind game where we trick ourselves into forgetting our profound weakness and develop a facade of self-confidence?
Listen to what Paul had to say on this subject from Philippians 3:3. This is from the amplified version.
“For we Christians are the true circumcision, meaning the true people of God. That's what this means. Who worship God in spirit and by the spirit of God, and exalt and glory and pride ourselves in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence or dependence on what we are in the flesh and on outward privileges and physical advantages and appearances.”
This is so profound. Paul said Christians have zero self-confidence, but instead put all their hope, their confidence in God. Christians put no confidence in their flesh and who they are apart from Christ. Why should they? As they are never apart from Christ. They don't even try to worship God by their natural strength, but only in and by the Spirit. We trust only in the one worthy of our trust.
Friends, this is a life of true freedom, true victory. It really boils down to who we are. We are victors, conquerors in Christ. Yes, apart from Christ we have no basis, no solid foundation for confidence, but now that I am in Christ and Christ is in me 24/7, I have a foundation for supreme confidence. The problem for Christians, the challenge, Is to stop looking at ourselves, regarding ourselves, knowing ourselves, is merely flesh and blood. I admit this is a huge challenge. 2 Corinthians 5:16 says,
"Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet we now know him no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.”
The most difficult person to not know, according to the flesh, is ourselves. We are painfully aware of our flaws and weaknesses. But we as Christians are not this person any longer. We are new, completely new creations in Christ. Old things have passed away, all things have become new. In our spirit, This is a fact for all Christians, but how many know? Regard, believe themselves to become a completely different being than they were prior to being born again.
Unbelief is the problem that leads to a lack of confidence in who we are in Christ, lack of knowledge, lack of faith in who we are in Christ. Unbelief is what makes us feel like victims. Although Christians put no confidence in their flesh. They have supreme, solid confidence in who they are in Christ and who Christ is in them. We are not merely human. We are new creations in Christ.
Grace is depressed. Man-centered happiness is always based on circumstances and one thing is certain. Circumstances will always change. Anything natural always fluctuates and will all eventually fade away. It's true. Anyone who drinks happiness based on circumstances will continually thirst. But I'm going to end with good news. Let's go back to the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, as we have many times. In John 4:11 she said to him,
"Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? You're not greater than our Father Jacob, are you, who gave us the well and drank of it himself and his sons in his cattle.”
Like her, many Christians don't believe that through Jesus they can be more, have more, experience more than their religion can take them. The Samaritan woman couldn't imagine how Jesus could be capable of providing more than her ancestor Jacob had. Her religion began and ended with historical truths in her head.
Jacob was part of this history, but her historical religion wasn't the least bit capable of quenching her spiritual thirst. The difference between Grace and Leona in this chapter is who they've been with, who they've received from, and what they've received. The wizard proved to be totally powerless to help Grace much less change her life for the better. The happiness that she experienced was baseless and temporary.
Although it's early, Leona's life appears to be transformed and new. This is how Jesus responded to the Samaritan woman. Verse 13, Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks of the water of this water will thirst again, the natural water. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
So how do we get this living water from Jesus? He'd already made the invitation to her. He said, "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."
Friends, I pray you have ears to hear this good news that God gives living water, his life, freely to all who come to Jesus. All those who are born again of the Spirit currently possess an eternal, never-ending source of living water. And Jesus said, "Having this water, we would never thirst," meaning we would never lack to drink of the life of God as often as needed.
The life of God, the joy of God, the peace of God, the love of God, and on and on. But so many haven't been told or haven't embraced this glorious, present spiritual reality. Like the person who's inherited millions of dollars, yet having never heard the good news lives as a homeless person without hope. We're going to close for now, but continue next time with a podcast talking about hope. Have hope, my friend. Our hope is not wishful thinking. Here's a short preview of what we'll be exploring.
Hebrews 6, verse 19,
"This hope we have has an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and reliable and one which enters within the veil."
Please listen soon to the podcast, “The Hope That Enters Within the Veil” Bye for now.