1. Introduction: Weaving Emotions into Narratives

Today, I want to share a story with you: Jesus ministering to the Samaritan woman. This story recounts Jesus encountering this woman drawing water by a well, a seemingly ordinary event, yet the way it's narrated in the Scriptures is deeply moving. To make this story resonate, we need to infuse it with emotion and narrative.

I'll try to emulate the style of the storyteller, Shan Tianfang, in recounting this event. If the scene is vividly depicted, the impact is significantly different. In communication, the presence of emotional expression and a narrative mindset invariably leads to a different outcome. Enhancing one's storytelling ability can make a world of difference. Take this for example: Consider two individuals, one excels in research but struggles to articulate their findings, conveying perhaps only a tenth of their work's potential. The other, while performing adequately, maybe scoring a 60, effectively communicates everything. In a job interview, the employer is more likely to favor the one who communicates effectively.

In storytelling, how do we elicit emotion? Consider the story of the Samaritan woman (refer to John 5:1-42). The authors of the Gospels, like John, possessed remarkable storytelling skills. When watching a television program depicting this story today, if it's poorly conveyed, we fail to grasp its essence. Was Jesus truly thirsty? Perhaps not, but the conversation with the woman is of utmost importance. The revelations He imparts are profound. Some individuals of great ability don't always outwardly display their capabilities.

Jesus chose not to directly state his purpose, but through dialogue, He profoundly touched the woman's heart. The message I share today is pivotal: we must shed the worldly system and avoid being distracted by it. Ultimately, Jesus desired to discuss the way of the divine Kingdom with her. Jesus asked for a drink, and the woman questioned, How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? Jesus responded, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. The woman countered, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?”

Jesus replied, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The woman then requested, Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water. The conversation appeared mundane at first, but Jesus' subsequent statements were astonishing, and the woman's responses defied ordinary logic. In the blazing sun of the wilderness, these two engaged in such a dialogue.

Jesus instructed, Go, call your husband and come back. The woman admitted, I have no husband. Jesus affirmed, You are right in saying you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands. The woman was startled: This man is extraordinary. How does he know about my past without ever having met me? She inquired, Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus concluded, Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.

You see, Jesus initially intended to discuss her life with the woman. He laid the groundwork, and it was not in vain. Why did this woman have so many husbands? Because she was suffering. She had entered each marriage with great hope, yearning for beautiful love and marriage. Yet, her expectations, as romantic as cherry blossoms, led to a bottomless, well-like despair. She sought solace in five husbands but remained entangled and without hope.

This woman's plight echoes Jesus' teachings. Can water truly resolve life's problems? Water that necessitates repeated drinking can never fully satisfy. However, Jesus desired to offer her a gift: water that quenches thirst forever. The Lord Jesus aimed to help her discover the essence of life, to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. This woman remained trapped in the deep well despite her five husbands because she relied on a worldly system. This will never bring satisfaction.

The Lord Jesus favors laying the groundwork, and this groundwork aligned with the woman's experiences. A woman enters marriage with beautiful aspirations, only to find it falling short of her expectations, leading to a life of hardship and shattered dreams. Consequently, she seeks a second husband, only to be disappointed again. She tries a third, initially promising, but after a week, she realizes it is still inadequate, and she must continue drawing water herself. Despite marrying five times, she remains unfulfilled.

Therefore, the Lord Jesus addresses the topic of drinking water. The paradox remains: can water truly quench thirst if we need to drink again tomorrow? If one lives solely for these fleeting matters, Jesus offers living water that quenches thirst forever. The woman finds it hard to believe, and Jesus reveals that we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. People should not rely on worldly values but worship Him with sincerity, which entails discovering the essence and truth of matters. Jesus presents her with an alternative: forsake seeking solace in water and instead partake of His water. Jesus reveals the essence of the matter to the woman, and she wisely believes in Him.

2. Scripture

Jesus said, “Woman, believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24)

4. Human Destiny Governed by Spiritual Matters

The spiritual realm is real. Many have experienced spiritual truths, yet many remain skeptical. All the world's problems are spiritual in nature. I ministered to a sister who experienced uncontrollable emotions that doctors were unable to treat. She attempted spiritual solutions to no avail. After I prayed with her, she began to improve significantly.

Today, many are Christians in name only. Many receive blessings and experience God, but few truly love and know God. Many undergo transformation, yet disbelief persists despite experiencing God's miraculous blessings, attributing them to mere chance with no spiritual connection. The reality of the spiritual realm is denied. Today, all problems are spiritual, and every matter, whether significant or trivial, has a spiritual dimension. Indeed, even common illnesses often stem from spiritual issues.

For example, consider a sister who faced numerous problems, contemplating suicide and finding no meaning in life. She tried various methods, including consulting mental health professionals and fortune tellers, yet remained without solutions. She sought help from our church. Many need to adjust their thinking, as these approaches offer no real solutions, drawing you closer to Old Marx.

I gradually guided this sister through prayer and Bible study, trusting in God, for nothing is impossible with Him. I led her through a long period of deliverance, helping her release her inner turmoil. She easily fell into rumination, but after about a year, she experienced complete liberation and no longer felt suicidal.

I have noticed something remarkable: We often engage in deliverance, and a very amazing thing happens, namely, that after casting out demons and experiencing liberation, blessings follow in many areas. The most common is financial blessing. We must not focus on these things, nor love money or think that money is very important, but that is the fact. Some gain promotion at work and better finances after deliverance, many people are like this. On the contrary, some people ask for blessings to be promoted and get a salary increase, and deliberately want the boss to like him, but if do like that your boss will despise you!

5. The Root of Human Suffering Lies in Ignorance of the Spiritual Realm

Recently, a sister said that it is the day of the Lord Jesus's crucifixion and we should wail for three days for the Lord Jesus. How can you be sure that your tongues speaking prayer is genuine? When dealing with ignorant people, you must first talk about the scenery, and test the person first. When I meet such people, I tell them it is fake, fake, you can go and cry for three days if you want. Some people just like to ask, is it real or fake? How do you verify it? Currency can be verified, but how do you verify tongues speaking prayer? If you don't know how to verify it, then forget it. But one thing I know. Recently, while attacking the evil spirits of indulgence of the flesh, I also released a lot myself, burping constantly, and my tongues speaking prayer also changed. I know that there is eternal living water and the answer to life in Jesus Christ. Then some people say that when I release, there are no symptoms. In fact, it is also normal. When I first believed in the Lord, I didn't have many symptoms of release. Some people cry for Jesus for three days, but it is better to pray well for three days. If anyone drinks the water of Jesus, he will never be thirsty.

The Sweeping Monk's martial arts is very high because he squatted in horse stance very well when he first learned. In Christianity, Jesus and Paul are very powerful and speak in tongues a lot. Some people say that we are always speaking in tongues there, so we are fake. What kind of logic is this? It's like the Samaritan woman who married one husband after another, but none of them solved the problem. Many churches are not prosperous and fall because they do not pray. In fact, there is a lot of prayer among us. Many people are released and blessed by prayer. There are many ignorant people in this world. Ignorance is ignorance of the truth of things, the root cause, and ignorance of spiritual truths. In a book I recently read, it talked about sitting at the door to enjoy the cool, and suddenly a group of children ran to the door and were very noisy, and the old man was very upset. Then the old man said to these children, I will give money to whoever shouts the loudest among you. In the end, the children stopped shouting. Originally, the children were shouting because they were happy, and then the old man used money to make the children forget why they were shouting in the first place.

People today are also like this, forgetting how God initially commanded Adam and Eve to manage the whole earth. But later, Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and forgot the original purpose of living.

The story of today tells people that the essence of living is to be permanently preserved by using the eternal life of Jesus Christ. That which is in the world will become a thing of the past. Just like God created the heavens and the earth, there were no heavens and earth at the beginning. God created Adam and Eve to manage the whole earth. Isn't it good for people to live when there is nothing? Once they have it, they go to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Isn't it foolish for people to increase their suffering instead of having it?

When people are first born, they have nothing and know nothing. They don’t understand what a husband is, and they don’t understand what wealth is. They are happy to live. On the contrary, people are greedy even after they have some things, just like the Samaritan woman. If people don't live in reality, they are easily played by the evil spirit of Lao Ma. Lao Ma can play people very well.

For example: Sister, you won the lottery yesterday, you won 5 million. You will do things that you never dared to do before. As a result, the next day you find out that you were wrong. It was not you who won the prize. As a result, people start to suffer and become entangled.

After the Samaritan woman knew the teachings of Jesus, she knew the truth of things and made a wise choice. To worship God in spirit and truth, constantly seeking worldly things cannot solve the problem. If you are still living in many problems today, living under the control of Lao Ma, the truth of spirit and truth is in the living water of Jesus Christ, in eternal life that is永久长存.

6. The Most Important Thing Is to Live in the Lord Jesus

Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying proves true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” (John 4:35-38)

Today is a generation of harvest. Many people in the past have labored for this generation. Many people have participated in the ministry of the gospel. This generation should live more in the will of God, which is to build God's church. The preparatory work has been done to harvest this generation.

7. Conclusion

We know the operating principles of Lao Ma, and we also know that we must live by God, not by external things, but by the system given by God, and God's Spirit reigns in our midst, so that we may live in the presence of God. We promote healing release centers all over the world, which is a heavy blow to the spirit of Lao Ma. Many people with spiritual bondage and diseases are like the woman in this story looking for a husband. Many people who are struggling in the worldly system are also like this woman. Many people with diseases and financial problems, and many people who are entangled in Lao Ma's lies, can let go again.

God gave the whole world to Adam and Eve. Although it seems that he didn't give anything, managing the whole earth is the whole world. We give everything to God, and God gives his to us. This is the best ending: to come out of the suffering of the Samaritan woman and run the road for our Mingding Destiny.

I hope brothers and sisters will serve God wholeheartedly, put your enthusiasm into the work of God's kingdom, constantly release people from bondage, and let more people live in the presence of God!