Living Water: What Are You Drinking From?
This past Sunday at 3C South Coast Family Church, Ps Mandy Elliott brought a powerful message from John 4, continuing the Go! – Go and Make Disciples series while Ps Larry ministered in Cape Town.
Her message flowed beautifully from Ps Larry’s earlier teaching about faith for a new season, reminding the church that this new season is not only about personal growth — it is also about reaching people with the gospel.
The central question she asked the congregation was simple but deeply challenging:
“What well are you drinking from?”
Communion: Preparing the Heart
The service began with communion, where the church was encouraged to examine their hearts before the Lord. Communion is more than a ritual. It is a sacred moment to lay down bitterness, unforgiveness, and burdens before God.
When believers come to the table with humility and sincerity, they open their hearts to receive healing, restoration, and renewed life in Christ.
Jesus at the Well
Ps Mandy then led the congregation into the story of the Samaritan woman at the well.
“Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.” John 4:6
Jesus arrived at the well weary, thirsty, and hungry. Yet despite His physical exhaustion, He did not miss the spiritual opportunity in front of Him. A Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water, and Jesus began a conversation that would transform her life.
This moment reminds us of a powerful truth: Sometimes our greatest ministry moments come when we feel the least available.
God often brings people to our “well moments”—unexpected encounters where we have the opportunity to share His love.
Evangelism Happens in Everyday Places
One striking detail in this story is where it happens.
The encounter did not take place in a synagogue or temple. It happened at a well, a normal place in daily life where people gathered to meet their basic needs.
Ps Mandy emphasised that evangelism is not confined to church buildings.
It happens in ordinary spaces:
- Workplaces
- Coffee shops
- Grocery stores
- Neighbourhood conversations
The places we live and move in every day can become sacred spaces where God moves.
The Symbolism of Jacob’s Well
Jacob’s well carried deep historical meaning.
For the Jewish people, the well represented covenant, identity, and heritage, stretching back more than 1,800 years to the patriarchs.
However, the Samaritans were not recognised within that covenant lineage. Because of this history, Jews and Samaritans traditionally avoided association with one another.
Yet Jesus crossed that barrier.
In that moment, He revealed something revolutionary: identity with God would no longer be defined by location or ancestry, but by worshipping in spirit and truth.
Jesus came to break down walls and open the door for everyone to encounter God.
The Sixth Hour: Human Effort
The Bible tells us that the woman came to the well at the sixth hour, around noon.
Ps Mandy explained that six often symbolises human effort and striving. The woman was relying on her own labour to draw water day after day. Yet Jesus pointed her to a deeper reality: human effort cannot satisfy spiritual thirst.
Only God can.
Living Water
Jesus shifted the conversation from physical water to spiritual thirst.
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.” John 4:13–14
Every person drinks from a well. In today’s world those wells might look like:
- Success
- Relationships
- Approval
- Money
- Pleasure
- Religion without relationship
Yet these wells always leave people thirsty again.
Only Jesus offers living water that satisfies the deepest longing of the soul.
Broken Wells
Ps Mandy also highlighted the prophet Jeremiah’s warning about broken cisterns.
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
When people turn away from God and attempt to fill their lives with worldly substitutes, those sources eventually run dry.
The invitation of Jesus is simple but life-changing:
Come to the true source of life.
The Outsider Who Became an Evangelist
An interesting contrast appears between Nicodemus in John 3 and the Samaritan woman in John 4.
Nicodemus was educated, respected, and religious — yet struggled to understand Jesus.
The Samaritan woman, on the other hand, was socially rejected and morally broken. Yet she encountered Jesus and immediately became a witness.
After their conversation, she left her water jar and ran back to town declaring:
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” John 4:29
Her encounter with Jesus became evangelism.
When someone truly experiences living water, they cannot keep it to themselves.
The Call to Drop Your Water Pot
Ps Mandy closed with a powerful challenge. The woman left her water jar behind when she encountered Jesus. In the same way, believers must sometimes drop the things that keep them trapped — fear, shame, distractions, or past mistakes.
When we lay those things down, we become free to share our testimony and bring others to Christ.
The message fits perfectly within the Go! – Go and Make Disciples series.
God is calling His people not only to grow in faith but also to harvest souls.
A Quick Family Announcement
A little excitement is also building among the youth.
The Y-Life Talent Show will take place on 27 March at 18h00, and the young people are raising funds to attend the 3C VoltFest Youth Festival on 13 June at Supersport Park in Centurion.
Learn more about VoltFest.
If you have a hidden talent, this might just be your moment to shine.
Come to the Well
The story of the woman at the well reminds us that Jesus still meets people in ordinary places.
He still offers living water. And He still calls His followers to share that life with others.
If you want to begin your journey with Christ today, pray this prayer!
For Cell Leaders
Discussion Questions:
- What “well” do people commonly draw from today that cannot truly satisfy?
- Why do you think Jesus chose an everyday setting for this life-changing encounter?
- What might be a “water pot” in your life that you need to leave behind?
- Who could God be placing in your path this week to share the living water with?
Encourage each group member to pray for one person they can intentionally reach this week.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for being the fountain of living water.
Forgive us for the times we have searched for fulfilment in places that cannot satisfy.
Fill our hearts with Your life and Your Spirit. Give us courage to share Your love with those around us, and help us recognise the moments where someone is waiting beside the well.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
