July 10, 2023
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When we moved to New York City many years ago, one of the first landmarks I wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty. And when we went out there on our first weekend, the guide told us an amazing fact I never realized. He said, "From the day in the late 1800's when her light was first lit up right here on that island, to the moment we are looking at right now, the lamp of Liberty has never gone out." Wow!
Now, everybody else's lights in New York go off and on, especially in the daytime. You turn them off, right? "Lady Liberty's," he said, "was always on." During World War II when they blacked out New York City because of the threat of bombings, they put a little 60-watt light bulb in her so she could continue to have the lamp of Liberty lit.
And then during the great northeast blackout some years ago when everybody else's power was out, her light continued to shine because she was connected to electricity on the New Jersey shore. So, as wave after wave of our forefathers sailed into New York harbor as immigrants, they would strain for a first look at that statue, the symbol of the freedom they had risked everything to find. And whenever they arrived, they saw the Light of Liberty. It was always on, and by the way, you should be too.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Days Full of God-Sightings."
Now, our word for today from the Word of God comes from John 4. It's an account that includes those fascinating little details that reveal so much. I'll begin in verse 4: "Now Jesus had to go through Samaria. In Samaria he came to a town called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son, Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'"
Okay, now if you're familiar with this story, it starts a chain reaction that actually ends up in a revival in this whole Samaritan community. It happens as this woman, known for her immoral lifestyle, is changed by the Messiah at the well. Now, notice here Jesus was tired, He's resting, He's thirsty. Wouldn't you say He could be off duty for at least a little while? He's really fatigued, sort of like one of those buses with an Out of Service sign on it, "I'm not working right now."
But then along comes a woman who needs Him, and He opens up her life to His claims. See, Jesus was "on" at a well, thirsty, tired, worn out, just as much as He was with a crowd on a sunny hillside. In fact, it is Jesus' fatigue that puts Him at the right place at the right time. See, God wants to use the everyday events of your life to position you to affect someone else, if you're willing to be stuck in the "on" position and never go off duty spiritually. Maybe tired, thirsty, hungry, not feeling good...still on duty.
You never know how God will get you to be at the right place for someone who needs you. You need to be "on" for Him with your radar on when you go to lunch, when you go to Wal-Mart, when you go to the water fountain, when you're in a cab, when you're waiting in line. Don't put your service for Him into some little compartment: Okay, now I work for Him, now it's time for me, now it's time for ministry. Wait a minute! When isn't it time for ministry?
Life really becomes an adventure when you open up your day to God's sovereign matching of you with people. You pray, "Lord, use my everyday activities to put me in the path of someone who needs me and who needs You.
Just like that Lady in New York Harbor, you never know when you will hold the light that someone's looking for. Just be sure that your light's always "on."