Is Your Well Dry?

John 4:7-24

Jesus was talking with a woman of Samaria at Jacob's well.
The woman said to Jesus: "Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with and the well is deep." (John 4:11)
it was as if she was saying the well might as well be dry for you have no bucket,
and you have no rope to bring up the cool water.

In this message, we are going to look at some of the symptoms of dryness in our lives.

Dryness is a lack of enthusiasm for anything.
There is no enthusiasm for your job, for your family, for your friends, or for your church.

This woman at the well was so bored with life which we know by what she had done
to break the monotony of her existence.
For instance, she had added husbands to her life like some men trade cars.
She had five husbands in a row.
And she was so bored that she was now living with one who was not her husband.

Many people lack inner resources.
They lack the inner wells which alone can provide freshness for the soul.
For them life has lost its zest and excitement, and its expectancy.
These people are bored, tired, and unhappy.
They drop empty buckets into empty wells, and come up with nothing but dust.

Their religion has grown cold and tasteless.
There is nothing more tasteless than a stale religion.
When religion gets stale, life loses its meaning for living.
When this happens, there isn't enough money to heal the sickness of the soul.

Some people drink simply because they cannot stand themselves.
and cannot face up to their circumstances.
Empty people will do anything to keep from having to consider the cause of their emptiness.
Many people have criticized religion by saying that it has failed.
The truth is that they have never given Christ the chance to prove Himself.

Emptiness can lead to serious troubles.
People follow silly leaders with insane ideals because they are bored, and they are empty.
They are looking for something to shock their jaded sensibilities.

To keep from being bored, they must find something to live for that is of real value.
That is what makes "flaming evangelists" flame.
That is what keeps a medical researcher in his laboratory until the wee hours of the morning.
That is what drives the political reformer.
That is why people become nurses and teachers.

Life reserves its richest rewards for those who give themselves to a great cause.
Many years ago, the Mayo Brothers established a foundation for medical research
at the University of Minnesota.
The gift was accompanied by a letter from Dr. William Mayo in which he said,
"Our father recognized certain definite social obligations."

He believed that any man who had better opportunities than others,
greater strength of mind and of body, and of character, owed something to those
who had not been so gifted.
He believed that the important thing in life is not to accomplish only for oneself,
but for each to carry his share of the collective load.

When you shirk your responsibilities as a person, you add to your boredom a load of guilt.
For a person to have meaning in his or her life, they must also face up to a sense of responsibility.
If you "let George do it," then George will get the blessing.

Paul said, "For me to live is Christ."
Life is found in Christ and in His love and service.

The well is dry when you have no love.
Paul reminded us in 1 Corinthians 13 that without love we are nothing.
With love, the most menial tasks are done with joy.

Many years ago, a man wrote about a quiet little man:
"There is a quiet little man who is a vendor of fruits and vegetables who passes
by my door everyday.
One day, I picked up a small notebook near the spot where his wagon had stood.

On the first page, I was surprised to find these words:
"For his body's sake, which is the church."

Throughout the little book were spiritual quotations and many notations such as the following:
"These people were absent from Sunday school last Sunday.
Be sure to visit them."

Another note said, "Ask about their sick baby."
Another note said, "Leave fruit for the blind lady."

Another note said, "Speak a word of cheer to the old crippled man."
Another note said, "Invite that new family to the church services next Sunday."

The next day I handed the book to the fruit peddler, saying,
"Did you drop this yesterday?"
He answered, "Yes, it is my book of reminders. Thank you so very much!"
Then he added with a smile, "You see, it keeps my soul out of the dust."

That is what we all need!
We need something that will keep our souls out of the dust.
We need something that will give purpose and meaning to our lives.

There is a close relationship between emptiness and lostness.

The empty man is a lost man.
A man is both lost and empty when he cannot define his present life or tell you
where he is going and why.
But an empty person has no heavenly blueprint for his life,
and so he bogs down in the trivial problems of life.

The empty person tries this and that, again and again, but nothing satisfies.
That person changes jobs, houses, cars, wives, but he is still bored because he is empty inside.
The well is deep, and he has nothing with which to draw.

This was the Prodigal Son's problem.
He had everything, but was happy with nothing.
He had everything, but it wasn't enough.
Without God, it never is enough.

The empty person is always looking across the fence.
The empty person is always looking for greener pastures.
The empty person is never satisfied.

Do you remember where the prodigal found fulfillment?
He did not find it in the "far country" wasting his substance in riotous living.
He did not find fulfillment in "wine, women, and song!"
Oh! No!
He found no peace, no fulfillment or joy until he came back home.

And neither will anyone else!
The fulfillment is at the "Father's House."
The flowing waters of the well of peace and joy is at the "Father's House."
Companionship is found at the "Father's House."

Spiritual dryness often leads to spiritual blindness.

When a person lives in rebellion against God, his judgment is apt to become distorted.
Such a person may easily be victimized by illusions and hallucinations.
They don't see things clearly.
The very thing that he needs most, may be right before him, but he fails to see it.

Many a young man has run away from home only to return within a few days.
Why is this so?
It is so because it took a little journey away from home to make him realize
what a great place that he had at home.

He came to see that home is better than any place away from home.
He learned that home is more than a place to eat and sleep.
He learned that home is where mother and father, sister and brother are.

Home is where you have a sense of belonging.

Spiritually speaking, there is no place like home.
You are never at home except in God.

Emptiness and dryness leaves when God comes into a person's life.
Everything changes!
Death is changed into life when the Lord Jesus comes into the heart and life.
Defeat is changed into victory when the Lord Jesus comes into the heart.
Emptiness gives way to a person who experiences the overflow of the Holy Spirit
and gives praise to God.

The soul that is now centered in God finds praise like we read about in the 48th Psalm:
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God,
and the mountain of his holiness… Let Mount Zion rejoice, left the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of thy judgments…
Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following.
For this God is our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."

It is so sad when a person's heart has no praise.
It is so sad to be silent when a person ought to be shouting his or her adoration to God.
It is so sad that such a person has nothing to shout about.

Some give themselves so completely to business that they dry out spiritually.
They completely lose their ability to appreciate spiritual things.
When God is neglected, don't expect life to be rich and zestful and overflowing with joy.

History is filled with stories of those for whom life came to a wondrerful fullness
after Christ entered.
People such as Zacchaeus, Saul of Tarsus, Simon Peter the fisherman,
Matthew the tax collector, Luke the physician.
And you can add your name to that list.

Jesus Christ enables us to wake up and live.
Jesus Christ adds life to our years.
Jesus is like a divine transfusion.
Jesus brushes the cobwebs from our souls.
Jesus gives freshness to our days.
Jesus gives inspiration to our hearts.

Our Lord is like an artesian well in the soul.
He washes away the rubble and debris.
He purifies us.
He strengthens us.
He renews us.
He inspires us.

Every day is today a promise in Jesus Christ.
Christ is the overflowing cup.
Christ transforms a person's life until the dryness is replaced
by a flowing well of grace and love.

Is that the kind of life you would like to have?
If you do not have that kind of life, you can have it now!
Christ is ready and wants to give that kind of life to you.

Fill My Cup Lord!

"Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy;
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from my well that never shall run dry".
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford;
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

So, my brother, if the things this world gave you
Leave hungers that won't pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray:
Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more--
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!"

Sermon adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L. White