Today we’ll look at John 4: 39-42:

39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

In John 4, we see Jesus and His conversation with the Samaritan woman.  They talked of religion, of freedom, and what it means to worship in spirit and truth.  She realized that He was a prophet and He was the Savior.  And then she went to tell her village all about it.  

Today, after the village has heard Jesus speak and seen His power, they now tell her, we believe not because of what you have said; we believe because of what we have heard. They didn’t just believe because of another’s testimony, they believed because they had experienced Jesus for themselves. 

We can be motivated, we can be inspired, and we can even be changed based off the testimony of another person. These things are good things; we need them. We need testimony, we need encouragement, we need what others can tell us.  But as much as we need those things, we also need to experience Jesus for ourselves. We need to know Him for ourselves. We need to talk to Him for ourselves. We need that personal relationship with Him for ourselves. 

They heard about Jesus from the woman. That was the start. 

They heard from Jesus themselves. That is what changed their lives.  

Let’s make sure we are doing that ourselves. Let’s spend time in the word to make sure we know Him.  Let’s worship to know and experience Him. Let’s stay connected to Him through prayer, through scripture, through worship.  Let’s stay connected through the means of grace. Let’s stay connected; let’s know Him. Because that’s where life is. 

Let’s know just hear about Jesus from others.  Let’s make an effort, let’s but in time, let’s be faithful to know Him for ourselves.  

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