Series: Sanitas Lectureship Fall 2017
Sermon: It’s All About Jesus
Speaker: William G. Johnsson
Writer: Japhet De Oliveira

Refresh: Open with prayer. Ask God for understanding through the Holy Spirit.

Read: Luke 13:10–17, Luke 8:1–3, Luke 21:1–4 (NIV). As you read the New International Version, note 1–3 insights.

Reflect: The hiring of staff is one of the most important decisions a leader in an organization can make.Hiring the wrong person or people can negatively affect work culture and impede or destroy the vision. For today, we will not focus on Judas as one of the disciples and the story of how that came about. Simply ponder over the question of whether he was truly called by Jesus or whether he was merely accepted. We will focus on the other character in Luke 8:1–3—Mary Magdalene. We know that she had been led into a rough life and had personal problems. Once a year, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. It was when life was reset. This feast was a feast of prayer and thanks for the rain they all hoped would fall on the crops. Those crops were their future. At the end of this Feast of Tabernacles, which involved a ceremony at the altar, Jesus stood up (John 7:37). He spoke with a really loud voice, saying that whomever was thirsty should come to Him. When everyone is already thinking of water, Jesus says that He is the source of all water.

As you can imagine with any feast lasting eight days, there was a lot of partying and a lot of wine. Mary was caught with a client. The next morning she was brought to Jesus by a group of men who wanted to stone her to death as punishment for adultery. They did not bring the client—they just brought Mary. Jesus is the source of all water. He is the one who sustains. In that brilliant moment, retold in John 8, Jesus reminded all those who came with hard judgments to reflect on their own issues and provided Mary with a fresh start.

What was this fresh start? It was what Jesus challenged everyone to do (Matthew 16:24–26; Luke 9:23)—take up the cross and follow Him. This is why our Daily Walk is all about Jesus. It is time to reset your clock, to allow yourself the space to reconnect and recalibrate your life in Jesus. This needs to be done every single day.

Recalibrate: What do you need to take to Jesus today?

Respond: Pray for Jesus to be the source of all your strength.

Research: Water was a powerful metaphor in the Middle East. Which of the seven “I am” statements resonates most for you?