The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
WOFOYO SHORT: Do you know Jesus because you heard, or because you met Him?
Thirst can hide in plain sight. A full schedule and an empty soul can exist in the same person, and that’s why the story of the Samaritan woman still cuts to the center: Jesus meets us at the well we’ve been visiting for years and offers a source that won’t run dry. We walk through John 4 and ask a hard, hopeful question—do you know Jesus because someone told you about Him, or because you met Him yourself?
We trace the conversation from a simple request for water to a revelation of living water, exploring how the Holy Spirit becomes a fountain within rather than a momentary splash. We talk about worship that isn’t tied to a location or a style—worship in spirit and truth that can thrive in a sanctuary or a field. Along the way, we face the fragile places of faith: what happens when a leader you trusted fails, how to keep your confidence anchored in Christ instead of personalities, and why testimony should be a bridge you cross, not a house you live in. The Samaritan town moves from “we believe because you said” to “we believe because we heard,” and that shift is the blueprint for resilient faith.
We also get practical. Obedience is where revelation matures and where spiritual gifts tend to show up—on the road, in the risk, at the moment of need. Sometimes the Spirit gives detailed directions; sometimes the instruction is simply “go,” and clarity meets you on the way. If you’ve been living on secondhand water, consider this your invitation to the source.
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Everybody, welcome to another Woe Foyo Short. This is C Dub. Today I was reading in John chapter four. And you know, Bones and I have covered this passage of scripture several times because there's just so many nuggets of biblical wisdom, of Holy Spirit, inspired insight in this particular story. I'm not going to read the whole thing, but it begins with a woman of Samaria coming to draw water over in John 4 7. And Jesus says to her, Give me a drink. And the disciples are away, they've gone in the city to buy food. So the Samaritan woman said, How is it that you, though you are a Jew, are asking me for a drink, though I'm a Samaritan woman, for the Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied to her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. She said to him, Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where did you get this living water? You're not greater than our father. Jacob, are you, who gave us this well, and drank of it himself and his sons and cattle? And Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I will give him shall never be thirsty. But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. He's talking about the Holy Spirit. Couple things here. The lady thinks Jesus is asking for something. Jesus Christ never asks you for anything without trying to get you something in return. Might be in a different form. Because I've heard that used a lot of times with collections and offerings and stuff like that. And we've never asked for one here on the Woe Foyo podcast, not what we're about. That being said, the Lord tells you to give to somebody, give to them, be faithful. But a lot of times when it seems like the Lord's asking you to give up something, something that might be near something you might have labored on, when he's doing that, he's not trying to take it away from you. He's trying to get you something even better, even more fulfilling, the core of the matter. He's trying to address that. So that's point one. And Jesus goes, eh, call your husband. She said, I don't have any husband. He said, Well, you're telling the truth there. Said you've had uh five husbands, and the guy you're shacking up with now, he ain't your husband. And about that time, they have this dialogue, and she says, Are you a prophet? And she tries to get doctrinal with him about where to worship, and he says, and he replies, the father is seeking those who will worship him in spirit and in truth. So it's not about whether you worship at Jerusalem, it's not about whether you worship in Samaria, it's not about whether you worship in the sanctuary of your church, or whether you go out in the field back behind your house and get your praise on there. The key thing is to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. She says, I know the Messiah is coming, he's going to reveal all things to us. He said, I am He. So she calls the village. So the disciples come upon him, they're wondering what's going on. And you know, we were talking about you are the message earlier on in the week. And we were also talking about follow the cloud. And Jesus has this little line in there, and he says, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and accomplish his work. This is my bread, this is my food. Here's the other thing, though. If she calls and he begins to talk to the villagers, it says here in verse 39, Now from this that city, many of the Samaritans believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified. He told me all the things that I've done. So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. Many more believed because of his word. And they were saying to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one truly is the Savior of the world. Here's the other big point. Do you know Christ because he was preached to you, or do you know Christ because you have spent time with him? That's my takeaway. And thank God for preachers. Thank God for preachers with integrity. Thank God that the gospel is getting preached. Paul said some people are preaching even out of spite. Nevertheless, the gospel's preached, so I'm going to rejoice. The question, though, is about you, it's about me. A guy that had a deep impact uh through his ministry at one time in my life. Not a perfect guy, but he said this the most important question is in the Bible is when Jesus asked the disciples, Who do you say that I am? Peter gets it. The centurion got it. Who do you say that I am? And really it becomes the question of our existence, the question of our eternal life becomes Who do you say Jesus is? Who is Jesus to you? Is he a byproduct of bad preaching and some kind of caricature that you made in your own image about what you want Jesus to be, kind of like they do on the movie Talladega Nights? I like baby Jesus. I like to think of Jesus. It's not about that. Who is Jesus to you? Do you know Jesus because you sat in church and got him preached to you? Or do you know Jesus Christ because you have a relationship that can't be taken away? Doesn't mean there aren't some ups and downs, doesn't mean there aren't tests, doesn't mean there's times where you don't get frustrated. Believe me, I understand that. But the bottom line is who is Jesus? What's your relationship? And if you find it lacking, all you have to do is talk to him like a person. Because he is a person. He's more real than you are than you or I. Ask him to reveal himself to you. Ask him to show himself to you. Ask him to show who he is in the word. Ask if you can know him better, to know him more intimately. When you begin to ask those things, and then you wait and you start listening, it changes you. It changes the nature of your relationship. And again, thank God for preachers. But preachers aren't perfect. And if we don't know the Lord for ourselves, then whenever there's a scandal, whenever we find out that maybe somebody that we heard an accurate testimony concerning Jesus Christ and aspects of Christ and aspects of the Word of God, if if it's somebody that had an accurate and righteous message, but we find out they they were flawed, which we all are, but we find out that they messed up, maybe messed up bad. That doesn't negate the message. But if we have our faith in man, then it'll it'll torpedo our faith. And the way of the way around that, and not saying some of that other stuff won't hurt, not saying some of that other stuff won't disappoint. The way around that is to know Christ for yourself. Have that relationship with the Holy Spirit, and it opens things up. He opens up the word, he shows you how to walk it out, which is usually the next test, and that can be scary. You might get gifting sometime between there, but really the giftings, the way they're properly used, is when you start to walk things out, all of a sudden what you need shows up. And a lot of you ain't operating in giftings because what need is there for you if you're not really doing anything? I don't mean to be abrasive, but these are questions that you need to ask yourself. If the giftings show up when I'm obedient and where people are obedient, and they're not showing up with me, why not? Because bones will tell you the same thing. I've been telling y'all for a while now. My life here in the last three years has been the Holy Ghost matrix. I feel led, I ask. Sometimes I get very clear instructions. Sometimes it's just you just need to go, and I ain't gonna tell you so you don't mess it up. And I go somewhere and it might be 30 minutes to an hour, and then I realize why I'm there. And people go, Oh, you're so profound. It ain't because of me. It's because of the Lord, because I really don't know what the heck I'm doing a lot of the times. I know that I'm being obedient and I'm following instructions and following directions, and I'm willing to make a mistake. It's okay to make that mistake for the Lord. Because if you're willing to make a mistake for the Lord, believe me, he can bring something out of it. And you go, Well, that's why you're greater than I am, Lord. Do you believe in Jesus because of the Samaritan woman? Do you believe in Jesus because of the good preaching you heard and the good message and the fact that it was theologically sound? Is that what does it? Or, despite all our imperfections, do you know Jesus because you know Jesus? Because you have that revelation, because you have that relationship. We no longer believe because of what she said. We've come to know you ourselves. Therefore we believe. The same verse is echoed in Hebrews 8:11. They will not teach again each one his neighbor and each one his brothers, saying, Know the Lord, for they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their wrongdoing and their sin I will no longer remember. This is the promise. Are you walking in it? Do you have firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ, or do you just know because it got preached to you? And I'd like to challenge you that if the case is the latter, which is good to have that belief, but if you don't know the Lord for yourself, just ask him, Lord, show me who you are. And hold on. Because he's gonna show you. Wofoyo. Hey everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you, causes you to grow and to know the Lord. You can always check us out at woofoyo.org or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Audible, or check us out on YouTube. For bones of myself, this seed, I'm reminding you if you're gonna grow, you got a woefoo. Get in the word for yourself.