Deer Creek Baptist Church

Deer Creek Baptist Church Deer Creek Baptist Church welcomes you to join us anytime! Sunday: 10am SUNDAY school, 11am worship

09/05/2026

Day 940

Glorious Saturday Morning!!!

Jesus’ Works Support His Words

Yesterday, we saw something important about the way people responded to Jesus.

Some rejected Him.

Others welcomed Him.

But Jesus was controlled by neither response.

He remained faithful to the will of His Father.

John told us:

“So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast.”
John 4:45 ESV

Notice why John says they welcomed Him.

They had seen what Jesus had done.

Now John continues:

“So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill.”
John 4:46 ESV

Again, John draws our attention to something Jesus had already done.

“where he had made the water wine.”

Cana had a history with Jesus.

It was there that Jesus performed the first sign recorded in John’s Gospel.

The servants filled the jars with water.

Jesus turned the water into wine.

And John told us:

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.”
John 2:11 ESV

Now Jesus has returned to Cana.

But notice the progression John is developing.

The Galileans had seen what Jesus had done in Jerusalem.

Those who knew about Cana could remember what Jesus had already done there.

And now an official from Capernaum is about to come seeking Jesus because his son is desperately ill.

Jesus’ works were creating a testimony.

People were hearing about what He had done.

People were remembering what they had seen.

And those works were giving people a reason to pay attention to His words.

But the works were never intended merely to make Jesus famous.

They were signs.

And a sign points beyond itself.

Jesus did not turn water into wine merely so people would marvel at His power.

John tells us that through the sign Jesus:

“manifested his glory.”

The work pointed toward the identity of the One who performed it.

That is important throughout John’s Gospel.

Jesus’ words and Jesus’ works continually testify together.

His words reveal Truth.

His works demonstrate His authority.

His words tell people Who He is.

His works give testimony that His claims cannot simply be dismissed.

There was no contradiction between what Jesus proclaimed and what Jesus did.

Yet John is also teaching us something deeper.

Seeing the works of Jesus is not necessarily the same as believing in Jesus.

We saw that yesterday.

People in Jesus’ hometown knew about His wisdom and mighty works, yet they still took offense at Him.

Now the Galileans welcome Jesus because they have seen what He has done.

Their response is certainly different.

But John is going to lead us deeper.

The question will eventually become:

Do we believe Jesus only because of what we can see Him doing, or do we believe Jesus because we have come to trust Who He is?

We have already seen a beautiful progression toward that kind of faith in Samaria.

The woman at the well encountered Jesus.

Then she went into town and said:

“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
John 4:29 ESV

Her testimony gave other people a reason to come.

But eventually the Samaritans told her:

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves.”
John 4:42 ESV

Someone else’s testimony brought them toward Jesus.

But eventually they had to hear Jesus for themselves.

That is an important pattern.

Someone hears.

Someone tells.

Someone comes.

Someone listens.

And faith begins to grow.

We have watched that happen repeatedly throughout John’s Gospel.

John the Baptist pointed people toward Jesus.

Andrew went and found Peter.

Philip went and found Nathanael.

The Samaritan woman went and told her town.

The Samaritans came and heard Jesus for themselves.

And now an official from Capernaum is about to come looking for Jesus.

John has not yet told us everything this man believed.

We should not assume more than the text tells us.

But something had given him enough reason to come.

He had heard enough about Jesus to believe that seeking Him was worth the journey.

Sometimes that is how faith begins.

Someone hears what Jesus has done.

Someone hears another person testify about Him.

Someone sees the difference Jesus has made in another life.

And something causes that person to begin looking toward Jesus.

But someone else’s testimony can only take us so far.

Eventually, we must hear His Truth for ourselves.

The Samaritans first came because of the woman’s testimony.

Then they heard Jesus for themselves.

The official is now coming because he believes Jesus may be able to do something about the desperate need in his home.

Soon, he too will have to listen to Jesus for himself.

That gives us an important lesson about Active Faith.

Our lives can become part of the testimony that causes someone else to look toward Jesus.

Our words matter.

And our actions matter.

What are our words saying about Jesus?

What are our actions saying about the Jesus we proclaim?

Do they support one another?

If our words speak of love but our actions demonstrate bitterness, what testimony are we giving?

If our words speak of forgiveness but our actions hold tightly to resentment, what are people seeing?

If our words speak of faith but our lives demonstrate that we trust only ourselves, what are people hearing?

Our works do not authenticate our identity as Jesus’ works uniquely revealed His.

And our actions certainly do not earn our salvation.

But our actions can bear witness to the transforming reality of the Jesus we proclaim.

That is Active Faith.

We speak about love—and then we love.

We speak about forgiveness—and then we forgive.

We speak about generosity—and then we give.

We speak about serving—and then we serve.

We speak about Jesus—and then we live in a way that points beyond ourselves toward Him.

Our goal is not to build our own reputation.

Our goal is to build a testimony that points beyond us.

Our lives should make the Jesus we proclaim easier—not harder—for others to recognize.

But there is an important difference between our testimony and Jesus Himself.

Our testimony can point someone toward Jesus.

It cannot replace Jesus.

The Samaritan woman could say:

“Come, see.”

But the people eventually had to hear Him for themselves.

John the Baptist could say:

“Behold, the Lamb of God!”

But his disciples had to follow Jesus.

Andrew could tell Peter:

“We have found the Messiah.”

But Peter had to come to Jesus.

Philip could tell Nathanael:

“Come and see.”

But Nathanael had to encounter Jesus for himself.

Active Faith points people toward Jesus and then gets out of the way.

We are not the destination.

Jesus is.

Our testimony is not ultimately about what we have accomplished.

It is about what Jesus has done.

Our purpose is not for people to look at our lives and marvel at us.

Our purpose is for something in our lives to give them a reason to look toward Him.

And now the official is coming.

His son is sick.

His need is real.

His concern is personal.

And something he has heard about Jesus has given him reason to seek Him.

But notice where John has brought us.

The people around Jesus have been responding to what they have seen.

The Galileans had seen what He did in Jerusalem.

Cana remembered what He had done there.

Now a father is coming because he believes Jesus may be able to do something for his son.

But soon the question will become deeper than what anyone has seen.

The official will come.

He will ask.

Jesus will answer.

And this father will be faced with a question that every growing faith eventually encounters:

What happens when Jesus speaks, but I cannot yet see the answer?

That is where we will continue tomorrow.

For today, remember what brought this man toward Jesus.

There was already a testimony.

Jesus had spoken.

Jesus had acted.

People had seen.

People had told.

And someone in need had heard enough to come.

That should encourage us.

We may never know how far the testimony of a faithful life travels.

A word spoken in love may be remembered.

An act of compassion may be noticed.

Forgiveness may cause someone to wonder why.

Faithfulness during difficulty may cause someone to ask where our hope comes from.

An invitation may cause someone to come and hear Jesus for themselves.

We do not save anyone.

We cannot change a heart.

And we are never the destination.

But our Active Faith can point toward the One who can.

So today:

Let our words speak of Jesus.

Let our actions support what our words proclaim.

Let our lives point beyond ourselves.

Someone may hear.

Someone may notice.

Someone may begin wondering.

Someone may decide to come and see.

And when they do, keep pointing beyond yourself.

Active Faith says, “Come and see.”

Because the purpose of our testimony is not that people would believe in us.

It is that they would come close enough to Jesus to hear Him for themselves.

God Bless You

Love in Christ

09/04/2026

Day 939

Glorious Friday Morning!!!

Jesus Was Rejected

Jesus had just experienced something remarkable in Samaria.

He entered a place where, according to the divisions of the day, a Jewish teacher might not have expected a warm reception.

Yet a Samaritan woman listened.

She believed enough to tell others.

The people came.

They listened for themselves.

And eventually they confessed:

“We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:42 ESV

Then John tells us:

“After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)”
John 4:43–44 ESV

Those words deserve our attention:

“a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.”

Jesus understood rejection.

Not merely rejection from strangers.

Rejection from people who were familiar with Him.

The other Gospels show us what Jesus’ words about rejection in one’s hometown could look like in His own ministry.

Luke records Jesus returning to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.

Jesus entered the synagogue, read from Isaiah, and declared that the Scripture was being fulfilled in their hearing.

At first, the people marveled at His words.

But then familiarity began getting in the way.

They asked:

“Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:22 ESV

They were looking at Jesus through what they thought they already knew about Him.

Jesus then told them:

“Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.”
Luke 4:24 ESV

And when Jesus challenged their assumptions by reminding them how God had extended His mercy beyond Israel in the days of Elijah and Elisha, their amazement turned into anger.

Luke tells us:

“When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.”
Luke 4:28 ESV

Their rejection became so intense that they drove Jesus out of town and attempted to throw Him from a cliff.

“But passing through their midst, he went away.”
Luke 4:30 ESV

Think about that.

Jesus was rejected by people from the place where He had been raised.

People who knew His earthly family.

People who remembered where He came from.

People who thought they knew who He was.

Matthew records another striking description of the response in Jesus’ hometown:

“And coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary?’”
Matthew 13:54–55 ESV

They were astonished.

They recognized the wisdom.

They knew about the mighty works.

Yet Matthew tells us:

“And they took offense at him.”
Matthew 13:57 ESV

That is an important warning.

Seeing evidence is not the same as receiving Truth.

They saw enough to be astonished, but familiarity became a barrier to faith.

They knew His earthly family.

But they did not understand His Heavenly Father.

They knew where He had grown up.

But they did not understand where He had come from.

They knew something about His history.

But they did not recognize His identity.

They saw the carpenter’s son.

They failed to recognize the Son of God.

Now consider the contrast with what we have just witnessed in Samaria.

The Samaritan woman began her conversation with Jesus knowing very little about Him.

To her, He was first simply a Jewish man asking for a drink.

She asked:

“How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?”
John 4:9 ESV

But she kept listening.

Her understanding began to grow.

Jewish man.

“Sir.”

Perhaps someone who could give Living Water.

A prophet.

Then she began thinking about the Messiah.

Finally, Jesus revealed:

“I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:26 ESV

The people of Nazareth had years of familiarity with Jesus and rejected Him.

The woman at the well had only a conversation with Jesus and kept moving toward faith.

Familiarity does not produce faith.

A willing heart receiving Truth does.

There is something else we should notice.

The people of Nazareth looked at Jesus and remembered where He had come from.

Jesus looked at the Samaritan woman, knew everything about where she had been, and still knew exactly how to reach her.

They allowed history to limit what they believed about Jesus.

Jesus did not allow the woman’s history to prevent Him from revealing Truth to her.

He knew her past completely.

He knew about her five husbands.

He knew the man she was presently with was not her husband.

Nothing about her life was hidden from Him.

Yet Jesus did not reduce her identity to her history.

He saw someone worth speaking to.

He saw someone whose understanding could grow.

He saw someone whose hope could awaken.

He saw someone who would believe enough to tell others.

He saw someone whose Active Faith would point others toward Him.

Perhaps the people of Sychar knew the woman who walked out to that well.

Jesus knew the witness who would walk back into town.

That should make us examine the way we look at people.

Familiarity can become a filter.

We remember the child.

We remember the family.

We remember the reputation.

We remember the failures.

We remember the mistakes.

We remember what someone used to be.

And if we are not careful, we can become so convinced that we know someone that we stop seeing what God may be doing in them.

We should never imprison someone in our memory of their past.

Their family does not completely define them.

Their childhood does not completely define them.

Their occupation does not completely define them.

Their hometown does not completely define them.

Their failures do not completely define them.

And their past does not determine the limits of what God may choose to do in and through their life.

There is also encouragement here for those who have experienced rejection.

Jesus knows what rejection feels like.

He knows what it is like for people to misunderstand.

He knows what it is like for people who think they know you to refuse to see beyond what they have already decided about you.

Yet rejection did not stop Jesus from fulfilling His purpose.

He was not controlled by rejection.

He was not controlled by acceptance.

He did not change Truth to gain approval.

And He did not stop loving because some refused to receive Him.

He continued doing the will of His Father.

That is where Active Faith must learn from Jesus.

Sometimes the people we expect to encourage us will not.

Sometimes the people we expect to understand us will misunderstand us.

Sometimes someone who has known us for years may continue seeing who we were instead of recognizing what God is doing in us today.

And sometimes someone we never expected to listen may be ready to hear.

Look at Samaria.

Jesus spoke to one woman.

The woman spoke to her town.

The town came to Jesus.

And many believed.

Now John gives us a striking contrast.

The One who testified that a prophet receives no honor in his hometown now enters Galilee and is welcomed.

“So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.”
John 4:45 ESV

Rejection in one place did not mean rejection everywhere.

Some rejected.

Others welcomed.

Some thought familiarity gave them sufficient reason to dismiss Him.

Others had seen His works and were willing to receive Him.

But notice why John says the Galileans welcomed Him.

They had seen what He had done in Jerusalem.

Their response was different from Nazareth’s rejection, but John will continue showing us that seeing works and truly believing Jesus are not always the same thing.

Then John tells us:

“So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine.”
John 4:46 ESV

Jesus returned to a place where His works had already testified to Who He was.

Tomorrow we will see that someone was waiting there with a desperate need.

Once again, Jesus was going to encounter a person whose faith needed to grow.

But today, there is something we need to remember.

Do not allow rejection to determine your faithfulness.

And do not allow familiarity to determine how you see someone else.

Jesus was rejected.

Yet He kept loving.

Jesus was misunderstood.

Yet He kept teaching.

Jesus was dishonored.

Yet He remained obedient.

Jesus encountered people who refused to believe.

Yet He continued toward people who were ready to listen.

Active Faith does the same.

We faithfully love the person God places before us without demanding that we know beforehand how they will respond.

Some may welcome us.

Some may reject us.

Some we expect to listen may refuse.

And someone we never expected may be ready to hear.

Our responsibility is not to control the response.

Our responsibility is to faithfully represent Jesus.

Nazareth reminds us that familiarity with Jesus is not the same as faith in Jesus.

Samaria reminds us that someone who begins knowing very little about Jesus can listen, learn, believe, and begin pointing others toward Him.

Active Faith keeps listening.

Active Faith keeps growing.

Active Faith keeps loving.

Active Faith keeps pointing toward Jesus.

So today, do not allow rejection to make you bitter.

Do not allow acceptance to make you proud.

Do not allow familiarity to blind you to what God may be doing in another person.

And never become so familiar with Jesus that you stop listening to Him.

Our faithfulness cannot be determined by whether people welcome us or reject us.

Jesus was not controlled by either response.

He remained faithful to the Father, continued speaking Truth, and continued loving the people placed before Him.

Active Faith keeps following the One who was rejected by some, welcomed by others, and faithful to the Father through it all.

God Bless You

Love in Christ

09/03/2026

Day 938

Glorious Thursday Morning!!!

Jesus Moves With Purpose

Jesus does not wander aimlessly.

As we read through the Gospels, it can sometimes seem as though Jesus simply traveled from town to town and responded to whatever happened around Him.

But the closer we look, the more we see purpose.

There was purpose in where Jesus went.

There was purpose in when He stayed.

There was purpose in when He departed.

There was purpose in the people He encountered along the way.

Jesus lived every moment in perfect submission to the will of His Father.

We have just watched this unfold beautifully in Samaria.

John had told us:

“And he had to pass through Samaria.”
John 4:4 ESV

Jesus traveled through Samaria and arrived at Jacob’s well.

To the woman, it may have seemed like an ordinary day.

She came to draw water.

She could not have known when she began her day that she was going to meet the Messiah.

She did not know that she would hear about Living Water.

She did not know that Jesus would reveal the truth about her life.

She did not know that she would leave her water jar, return to town, and tell others about the Man she had encountered.

She did not know that people would respond to her testimony and come looking for Jesus.

She thought she was simply going to a well.

Jesus knew what was waiting there—and He knew why He was there.

And what followed was remarkable.

A woman encountered Jesus.

A testimony was given.

People came.

Many believed.

And eventually they declared:

“we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:42 ESV

What may have appeared to be merely another journey through another region was filled with Kingdom purpose.

Then John gives us another seemingly simple detail:

“After the two days he departed for Galilee.”
John 4:43 ESV

Notice the progression.

Jesus had to pass through Samaria.

Then:

“he stayed there two days.”
John 4:40 ESV

And now:

“After the two days he departed for Galilee.”

There was a time to go.

There was a time to stay.

And then there was a time to move forward.

Jesus Moves With Purpose.

Purpose is not always found in movement.

Sometimes obedience moves us forward.

Sometimes obedience keeps us faithfully where God has placed us.

Jesus’ staying had purpose.

Jesus’ leaving had purpose.

And we should remember what Jesus had just told His disciples while they were in Samaria:

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”
John 4:34 ESV

Jesus had already explained the purpose governing His life.

Do the Father’s will.

Accomplish the Father’s work.

Therefore, His going mattered.

His staying mattered.

His leaving mattered.

His journey mattered.

Jesus Moves With Purpose.

We should be careful not to make Scripture say more than it says.

John does not specifically tell us that Jesus stayed exactly two days because He was timing His arrival in Galilee to encounter a particular person.

But Scripture does tell us something much greater about the way Jesus lived.

Jesus would later say:

“I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”
John 8:28 ESV

And:

“I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
John 8:29 ESV

Jesus was not wandering through the countryside wondering what might happen next.

Jesus knew where He was going.

The woman did not know what her day held.

Jesus did.

The disciples did not understand everything that was happening in Samaria.

Jesus did.

The Samaritans did not know that the Savior of the world was traveling through their land.

Jesus did.

And now Jesus was moving again.

That gives us something tremendously important to remember about our own lives.

We do not know everything today will hold.

We may think we are simply going to work.

Going to the store.

Going to an appointment.

Visiting someone.

Having an ordinary conversation.

Waiting through an unexpected delay.

Walking through another seemingly ordinary day.

But we do not know what opportunities God may place along the way.

We may see an interruption.

God may provide an opportunity.

We may see a delay.

God may use the delay.

We may unexpectedly encounter someone who needs encouragement, compassion, Truth, prayer, or simply to see the love of Christ demonstrated through our Active Faith.

We may see a closed door without realizing that God can use it to redirect our steps toward another.

That does not mean every circumstance is itself good.

We live in a fallen world.

People make sinful choices.

We make mistakes.

Pain is real.

Disappointment is real.

Loss is real.

Scripture never requires us to pretend otherwise.

But none of those circumstances place us beyond the providence of God.

Scripture gives us this glorious assurance:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV

Notice carefully what Scripture does not say.

It does not say that all things are good.

It says that God works through all things for good according to His purpose.

The promise is not that every circumstance will make sense.

The promise is that no circumstance is beyond God’s ability to use.

That is where Active Faith becomes so important.

Active Faith does not require us to understand everything God is doing before we trust Him.

Active Faith does not pretend to know a purpose God has not revealed.

Active Faith trusts the God whose purpose is greater than what we can presently see.

There is a tremendous difference between saying:

“I know why God allowed this.”

and saying:

“I may not know why, but I know the God I trust.”

We do not have to invent an explanation for everything that happens.

We do not have to understand the whole journey before taking the next faithful step.

Scripture tells us:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Notice the progression.

Trust Him.

Do not depend upon your own understanding.

Acknowledge Him in all your ways.

Trust Him with the path ahead.

That is Active Faith.

The world often speaks of chance, luck, coincidence, fate, and other explanations for circumstances that cannot be understood.

But Christians have something far greater than luck to cling to.

We have the providence of God.

Our confidence is not that circumstances will always favor us.

Our confidence is that no circumstance places us beyond the providence, presence, and purposes of God.

Chance offers uncertainty.

Luck offers no promise.

Active Faith rests in Truth:

God is still sovereign.

That gives us comfort in a worry-filled world.

We will encounter stressful days.

We will experience disappointment.

There will be times when the road ahead does not make sense.

There will be moments when we ask why something happened—or why something we desperately wanted did not happen.

But our peace does not depend upon our ability to explain God’s plan.

Our peace rests upon the character of the God who holds it.

Sometimes we may look back and understand God’s providence more clearly.

Other times, we may never completely understand this side of eternity.

But faith does not require knowing why before continuing to trust.

Christianity gives us something much greater than merely believing there is a plan.

We know the One who knows the plan.

The woman did not know what was waiting at the well.

Jesus did.

The disciples did not yet understand everything Jesus was accomplishing.

Jesus did.

The Samaritans did not know what would happen when Jesus entered their land.

Jesus did.

And we do not know everything that today—or tomorrow—will bring.

Jesus does.

That changes how we face today.

Active Faith does not demand to see tomorrow before faithfully living today.

Instead of continually asking:

“Why is this happening to me?”

Active Faith learns to ask:

“Lord, how can I faithfully serve You right where You have placed me today?”

Perhaps today’s interruption will become tomorrow’s testimony.

Perhaps today’s lesson is preparation for tomorrow’s service.

Perhaps today’s disappointment will someday help us encourage someone walking through the same difficulty.

Perhaps today’s ordinary encounter is an opportunity to point someone toward Jesus.

We simply do not know.

And we do not have to.

Jesus had to pass through Samaria.

Jesus stayed in Samaria.

Then, after two days, Jesus departed for Galilee.

His going had purpose.

His staying had purpose.

His leaving had purpose.

Jesus Moves With Purpose.

And because He does, Active Faith can faithfully walk with Him even when we cannot yet see where the road is leading.

We do not need to understand every step when we know the One directing our path.

So when worry begins asking what tomorrow might bring, Active Faith can answer with a much better question:

What good will come from worrying about tomorrow when Jesus has given me something faithful to do today?

God Bless You

Love in Christ

09/02/2026

Day 937

Glorious Wednesday Morning!!!

Jesus Is Truth

The woman came to the well to draw water.

She left having encountered the Messiah.

And before this remarkable account is finished, people from her town have come to believe that Jesus is:

“the Savior of the world.”

We have reached the culmination of this small part of God’s much bigger picture.

Think about everything that happened in such a short time.

A woman came to a well looking for physical water.

Jesus asked her for a drink.

He told her about Living Water.

He revealed that He knew her past.

He taught her about true worship.

She recognized that He was a prophet.

She spoke about the coming Messiah.

And Jesus revealed:

“I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:26 ESV

Her awakened faith became Active Faith.

She left her water jar.

She went into town.

She told the people what Jesus had done.

She invited them:

“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
John 4:29 ESV

The people listened.

They came.

Many believed because of her testimony.

They asked Jesus to stay.

Jesus stayed two days.

They heard His Word.

And many more believed.

Now John brings this remarkable progression to its beautiful conclusion:

“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 indeed the Savior of the world.’”
John 4:42 ESV

Notice what happened.

At first, many believed because of her testimony.

Now they had heard Jesus for themselves.

That does not diminish what the woman had done.

It fulfills its purpose.

She was never the destination.

Jesus was.

Her testimony accomplished exactly what faithful testimony should accomplish:

It brought people toward Jesus so they could hear Him for themselves and place their faith in Him.

There is something else remarkable about this woman.

John never tells us her name.

Certainly the people in her town knew her name.

Jesus knew her name.

And after Jesus remained there for two days, it is certainly possible that His disciples knew her name.

Yet Scripture does not preserve her name for us.

For generations, Christians have read about this woman without knowing what people called her.

But Scripture preserves what she did.

She listened.

She asked.

She learned.

She began to believe.

She left her water jar.

She went.

She told.

She invited others to come and see.

And most importantly, Scripture preserves the name she pointed people toward.

We do not know her name.
But because she faithfully pointed others toward Jesus, we know His.

The unnamed woman brought the Named Truth to them.

That does not mean being unnamed is somehow more spiritual than being named.

Throughout Scripture, some faithful disciples are named and others remain unnamed.

Some of the people who faithfully pointed others toward Jesus have names we still recognize.

Others believed, followed, served, testified, gave, encouraged, or helped, and Scripture never tells us their names.

But whether their names were recorded was never the measure of their faithfulness.

Their actions revealed what mattered.

Consider Andrew.

Andrew is named.

When he found Jesus, what did he do?

“He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’… He brought him to Jesus.”
John 1:41–42 ESV

Andrew did not make himself the destination.

He brought Peter to Jesus.

Then there was Philip.

Philip is named.

When Nathanael questioned what Philip had told him, Philip did not attempt to make himself the final authority.

He simply said:

“Come and see.”
John 1:46 ESV

Now listen again to the unnamed Samaritan woman:

“Come, see…”
John 4:29 ESV

Do we see the beautiful similarity?

Philip was named.
The woman was unnamed.

Different backgrounds.

Different circumstances.

Different conversations.

But their Active Faith pointed in exactly the same direction:

Come to Jesus.
See Jesus.
Hear Jesus.
Discover for yourself who Jesus is.

John the Baptist was also named.

Yet his desire was never to make his own name greater.

He declared:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John 3:30 ESV

Andrew brought someone to Jesus.

Philip invited someone to come and see Jesus.

John the Baptist pointed people toward Jesus.

The Samaritan woman invited an entire town toward Jesus.

Some named.
Some unnamed.
One purpose: point people toward Christ.

And Scripture also teaches us something sobering.

Some names are remembered for very different reasons.

There are people whose names remain in Scripture because their actions revealed pride, selfish ambition, unbelief, betrayal, opposition, or a desire to serve themselves rather than God.

Therefore, simply having our name remembered cannot be the goal.

A remembered name is not necessarily a faithful name.
An unnamed servant is not an insignificant servant.

The important question is not whether people know our name.

The question is what our words, actions, and reactions reveal about whose name we are living to make known.

Active Faith does not ask:

“How can I make people remember me?”

Active Faith asks:

“How can my life help people know Jesus?”

That requires humility.

We naturally enjoy being appreciated.

We may want recognition for what we accomplished, who we helped, what we taught, what we gave, or how much we sacrificed.

But Active Faith asks a different question:

Did they see me—or did my life help them see Jesus?

The greatest success of our testimony is not that someone continues depending upon what we said.

It is that what we said helps bring them to the place where their faith depends upon Jesus.

We can tell people what Jesus has done.

We can tell them where we found hope.

We can testify about the Truth He has revealed.

We can invite them to “come and see.”

But eventually our testimony must lead beyond dependence upon us and toward personal dependence upon Christ.

We are not the Living Water.
We cannot create the Living Water.
We cannot become the Source.
We can faithfully point people toward the One who gives it.

And that brings us all the way back to the beginning of the woman’s journey.

She had looked at Jacob’s well and wondered how Jesus could possibly give her water without a bucket.

She had been thinking about a well dug deep into the earth.

Jesus was speaking about something infinitely greater:

“a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:14 ESV

The woman who had been offered Living Water was now pointing an entire town toward its Source.

One encounter became a testimony.

One testimony brought others toward Jesus.

The people came.

Jesus stayed.

They heard.

And many believed.

The harvest Jesus had told His disciples to see was unfolding before their eyes.

But there is one final progression we should not miss.

Earlier, the woman had said:

“I know that Messiah is coming…”
John 4:25 ESV

She possessed knowledge of the promise.

But she did not yet understand that the One she was waiting for was sitting directly in front of her.

Jesus revealed Himself:

“I who speak to you am he.”
John 4:26 ESV

Her knowledge began becoming personal faith.

Then she went into town asking:

“Can this be the Christ?”
John 4:29 ESV

And now, after the Samaritans had come, listened, and heard Jesus for themselves, they declared:

“we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Look at the progression:

“I know that Messiah is coming.”

Then:

“Can this be the Christ?”

Finally:

“We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Expectation became encounter.

Encounter awakened faith.

Faith became action.

Action became testimony.

Testimony brought others to Jesus.

Hearing Jesus produced personal conviction.

What began with one woman coming to a well for water ended with people confessing the Savior of the world.

And those final words bring us back even farther.

Before Jesus came to Samaria, He had spoken with Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

A ruler of the Jews.

A respected religious teacher.

He came to Jesus at night.

And Jesus told him:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…”
John 3:16 ESV

Then Jesus traveled into Samaria.

He sat beside a well.

He spoke with a Samaritan woman.

He crossed barriers others might have avoided.

He offered Living Water.

He revealed Truth.

And eventually the people of that Samaritan town declared:

“this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Do we see the beautiful connection?

Jesus told a Jewish Pharisee that God loved the world.

Jesus showed a Samaritan woman what that love looked like.

And Samaritans confessed Who had come because of that love:

“the Savior of the world.”

Not merely Savior of the Jews.

Not merely Savior of the Samaritans.

Not Savior of one mountain.

Not Savior of one nation.

Not Savior of one tradition.

Not Savior of one social class.

Not Savior of one kind of person.

The Savior of the world.

The woman had originally questioned why a Jewish man would even speak with a Samaritan woman.

By the end of the account, her own Active Faith had become part of revealing a Truth far greater than the barriers separating Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus crossed those barriers because His salvation would cross them all.

The Savior sitting beside Jacob’s well had come for the world.

And the people of Samaria were beginning to understand.

Jesus would later declare:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
John 14:6 ESV

Jesus Is Truth.

The woman did not invent the Truth.

She encountered Him.

She did not become the Truth.

She pointed toward Him.

And later Jesus would explain the continuing work of the Holy Spirit:

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…”
John 16:13 ESV

Then Jesus says:

“He will glorify me…”
John 16:14 ESV

The Holy Spirit does not draw attention away from Jesus.

He glorifies Jesus.

Our Active Faith should do the same.

That is where our study of this woman should leave us.

Not primarily remembering her name—

but remembering His.

Not primarily admiring what she accomplished—

but seeing where her Active Faith pointed.

She came for water.

She encountered Living Water.

She listened.

She asked.

She learned.

She believed.

She went.

She told.

Others came.

Jesus stayed.

They heard.

And they believed for themselves.

The unnamed woman brought them toward the Named Truth.

And Scripture leaves her exactly where every faithful servant should ultimately be willing to stand:

pointing beyond herself toward Jesus Christ.

Someone else’s testimony may help bring us toward Jesus.

Our parents cannot believe for us.

Our pastor cannot believe for us.

Our teachers cannot believe for us.

Our friends cannot believe for us.

Others may sow.

Others may reap.

Others may encourage.

Others may testify.

But each of us must ultimately respond personally to Jesus Christ.

So perhaps the final question of this remarkable encounter is not:

Will people remember my name?

The better questions are:

Does the way I live help others see Jesus?

Are my words, actions, and reactions pointing people toward Christ—or toward myself?

Am I willing to become less visible so Jesus can become more visible?

And perhaps one question reaches even deeper:

If people remember my life, will what they remember point them toward Jesus—or toward me?

Whether history remembers our names is in the hands of God.

But how we live today is the responsibility He has placed before us.

A remembered name is not necessarily a faithful name.
An unnamed servant is not an insignificant servant.

What matters is the direction our life points.

The woman was unnamed.

Jesus was revealed.

The people heard.

The people believed.

And they knew Him as:

“the Savior of the world.”

That is the purpose of Active Faith.

Not that they remember us—
but that through our faithful words, actions, and reactions, they come to know Him.

Andrew was named.

Philip was named.

John the Baptist was named.

The Samaritan woman was unnamed.

But when their faith was active in love, their lives pointed in the same direction:

toward Jesus.

May ours do the same.

He must increase.
We must be willing to decrease.

Because whether anyone remembers our name is not nearly as important as whether our life helped someone come to know His.

Jesus Is Truth.

And Jesus is:

“the Savior of the world.”

God Bless You

Love in Christ

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69 Deer Creek Church Road
Marion, KY
42064

Telephone

(270) 965-2220

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