1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:19,520 Thank you for listening to this message from Life House Church. Well good morning. 2 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,400 How's everybody doing this morning? Oh that was pretty weak. I think you can do 3 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:27,400 better. Good morning. How's everybody doing this morning? There we go. That's 4 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:31,000 much better. Thank you so much. Well I just wanted to first off introduce myself 5 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:33,720 for those of you that may not know me. I think I know everybody in the house this 6 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,480 morning. For those of you that may not know me, my name is Andrew Manable and I have 7 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:41,600 the privilege of being the student ministries pastor here with my wife 8 00:00:41,600 --> 00:00:46,160 Alicia, my two girls Nora and Lucy. Lucy's up in Kiddtown. Nora's right here on 9 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:49,000 the front row with my wife. But it's a privilege to be here. It's great to be 10 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,200 here this morning with you. But this morning I got to start off with a 11 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:59,360 confession. I have been known and accused from time to time of using some off-the-wall 12 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:05,760 idioms and sayings. Pastor Eric has called me out on this numerous times. My 13 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,600 wife has called me out on this numerous times and said nobody talks like that, 14 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,480 right? Anybody else use some crazy sayings? Yes, thank you, Doc. I appreciate 15 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:19,240 that. Okay, I'm not alone. Thank you. Yes, fantastic. Some of my personal 16 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:25,640 favorites. Here we go. If something's not very good, I eat something or saw a 17 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,600 movie that wasn't very good, I might say that's nothing to write home about. 18 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:35,360 Right? Okay, okay, you're with me. Or if my daughter Lucy is getting real excited, 19 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:39,800 she's real hyped up about something, I'll say Lucy, hold your horses or cool 20 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:44,200 your jets. Hold her horse. She's six now. She's getting a little smart. So 21 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:49,560 she says, like this dad, and holds her horses. But one of my personal favorites, 22 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:54,000 if someone's telling me a story, telling me a joke, the punchline's not very good, 23 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,640 or the story drags on forever, I'm like, man, that was a long walk for a short 24 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,800 drink of water. I looked that one up online. I couldn't find who originated 25 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,720 that, so I'm not gonna take credit for it, but the author is unknown, so it might be 26 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:11,560 me. We'll have to see. But this morning I want to look at a passage of Scripture 27 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:19,320 where Jesus goes on a long walk to give someone a not so short drink of water. 28 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:24,760 This morning we're gonna be in John chapter 4 starting in verse 1, but before 29 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,640 we open our Bibles to that, I'm gonna pray over the Word of God here this 30 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:31,560 morning. Heavenly Father, God I thank you for your Word. God I thank you that it is 31 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:35,840 sharper than any two-edged sword. God that it opens soul and spirit. God, bone 32 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,240 and marrow, as your Word says. God that you would just use it to illuminate our 33 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:43,240 lives. God that you would reveal yourself to us through your Word here this morning, 34 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,720 and it is in your name we pray, amen. Well if you heard me preach before, you know 35 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,420 anytime I get into the Word, I'm gonna give you the context. I'm gonna give you 36 00:02:51,420 --> 00:02:56,120 the context of John 4 this morning. We know that the gospel of John was written 37 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:01,200 by the Apostle John, one of the first 12 called by Jesus. We also know that the 38 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:05,560 gospel of John is not one of these synoptic gospels. Synoptic just means 39 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:10,440 that the Gospels Matthew, Mark, and Luke are all very similar. They share a 40 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,440 similar point of view, a similar perspective. John is a little bit 41 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,240 different in the way that it's written, in its style, and in its context, and 42 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:23,340 things like that, but synoptic just means it has the same general point of view. We 43 00:03:23,340 --> 00:03:28,160 also see in John chapter 4 that Jesus is gaining in his ministry, he's 44 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:33,160 gaining in notoriety with the Pharisees and the religious leaders. He's also 45 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,160 gaining in recognition by other ministry people, by John the Baptist and his 46 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,040 disciples and his followers. Well if you got your Bibles this morning, like I 47 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:45,240 said we're gonna be in John 4. If not, the words will be on the screen as well, 48 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:52,240 to the passage as well, but let's pick up in John 4 starting in verse 1. It says, 49 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,040 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard he was baptizing and making more disciples 50 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,360 than John. That's John the Baptist. Though Jesus himself didn't baptize them, 51 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:06,200 his disciples did. So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through 52 00:04:06,200 --> 00:04:13,000 Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near 53 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:18,240 the village that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there and Jesus, 54 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:24,840 tired from the long walk, sat warily beside the well about noontime. Soon a 55 00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:30,080 Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus said to her, please give me a 56 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:35,840 drink. Soon and he was alone at the time because his disciples had 57 00:04:35,840 --> 00:04:40,720 gone into the village to buy some food. We see in the start of this passage of 58 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,680 scripture that Jesus has left the area of Judea, the city of Jerusalem more 59 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,960 specifically, and he's headed back to Galilee, back to his hometown, right? Back 60 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:54,440 to where he grew up. We see that in verse 4 it says that he had to go through 61 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:59,120 Samaria. So if you look at a map, if you pull up a map, and I think I got a 62 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,480 slide in this for this. So if you see Judea is the orange section in the 63 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:07,520 bottom, Samaria is in blue, and Galilee is to the north there in the yellow. Well 64 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:12,200 Samaria is on a direct route between Judea and Galilee, but here's what's 65 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:16,440 crazy about this is most Jewish people would actually travel through the green 66 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:22,120 section, Peria, around Samaria to go to Galilee. That's because the Samaritans 67 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:26,240 and the Jewish people had a long-standing history of not liking each 68 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,480 other. See the Samaritans were actually a mixed race people group. You can pull the 69 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,120 slide on, that's fine. I'm done with the map. Thank you. The Samaritans were 70 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:37,360 actually a mixed race people group. They were half Israelite and they were half 71 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:42,240 pagan and heathen groups in the area, and the Israelites looked at them as half 72 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:46,520 breeds. They look at them as not true Israelites. Well the Samaritans thought 73 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:51,520 of themselves as the true Israelites. The Samaritans are claimed descendants from 74 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:57,800 Jacob and they actually made their specific place of worship Mount Gezrim in 75 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:04,560 Samaria where the Jews worshiped in the temple in Jerusalem. So the text says 76 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,960 that Jesus had to go through Samaria. The only reason that Jesus had to go 77 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,160 through Samaria was because he knew that he was going to meet this woman at the 78 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:18,920 well. Because the road that everyone took wasn't right through Samaria to go to 79 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:26,120 Galilee, Jesus intentionally took that route to go see this woman. Jesus knew 80 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:31,000 that he would encounter this woman at the well and he had to be there. John 4 81 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,320 9 picks up, says the woman was surprised for Jews refused to have anything to do 82 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:41,040 with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman, 83 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:47,080 why are you asking me for a drink? Jesus replied, if you only knew the gift God 84 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:51,640 has for you and who you were speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you 85 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:56,440 living water. I want you to bump your neighbor this morning, give him a little elbow, give him a 86 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:00,900 little tap and say living water. That's the title of our sermon this morning, my 87 00:07:00,900 --> 00:07:05,440 sermon this morning. And we find this passage of scripture is a couple 88 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,080 interesting things here. The woman is at the well at noontime, about noontime it 89 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,360 says, or the sixth hour depending on your translation. And this is 90 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:18,640 unusual for a couple of different reasons. The first one is because noontime 91 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:21,800 is the hottest time of the day, the sun is at its highest in the sky, 92 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,560 scientifically it's the hottest time of the day. If you've been outside this week 93 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,480 at noontime you're probably wishing you weren't, right? But in this in this 94 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,000 culture, in this region, the climate of the Middle East, for those of us that 95 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,200 have never been there, I looked it up, it's a desert. It's like sticking your 96 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,720 head inside an oven at noontime, right? Which doesn't make sense why you would 97 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:45,360 do the manual labor of collecting water, because they collected water in heavy 98 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,780 ceramic jugs strung across ropes or sticks that they would carry to carry 99 00:07:49,780 --> 00:07:54,300 gallons of water. It was hard manual labor. The second reason that this is 100 00:07:54,300 --> 00:07:59,880 unusual is because the woman was alone. This was normally a social event. This 101 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:04,060 was normally an event where multiple women from the village, neighbors and 102 00:08:04,060 --> 00:08:08,000 family members would gather together. They would walk together to the well to 103 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,520 gather water, to bring it back, and they would have conversation and I'm sure 104 00:08:11,520 --> 00:08:17,040 laughs and tell stories along the way. So why then does Jesus find this woman 105 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:22,680 alone at the well? Our passage goes on and it continues and it explains a bit 106 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:30,200 why this woman was all by herself. Jump back in John 4 verse 11, but sir you 107 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,440 don't have a rope or a bucket, she said, and this well is very deep. Where would 108 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,960 you get this living water? And besides, do you think you're a greater than our 109 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:45,080 ancestor Jacob who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and 110 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:50,200 his sons and his animals enjoyed? Jesus replied, anyone who drinks this water 111 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,960 will soon become thirsty again, but those who drink the water that I give will 112 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,520 never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving 113 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:07,520 them eternal life. Verse 15, please sir, the woman said, give me this water that 114 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:13,080 I'll never be thirsty again and I won't have to come here to get water. Go and 115 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:17,640 get your husband, Jesus told her. I don't have a husband, the woman replied. Jesus 116 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:21,760 said, you're right, you don't have a husband, for you have had five husbands 117 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,200 and you aren't even married to the man that you're living with now. You 118 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:31,240 certainly spoke the truth. Due to life circumstances, this woman has found 119 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,360 herself being previously married five times and currently not living with 120 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,600 her husband. She's not married to this man that she's 121 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,160 living with. She would have been a social outcast even in Samaria and that's why 122 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:48,920 she's alone at the well. That's why she's alone when she gets to meet Jesus, but I 123 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:54,440 love what Jesus does here. Jesus doesn't condemn her, Jesus doesn't 124 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,960 belittle her, no none of that. Actually the opposite really. Jesus does what He 125 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:04,480 does best. He starts talking about spiritual things using physical concepts 126 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,560 and physical terms and he uses the analogy of water. He's at the well and he 127 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:13,040 asked for a drink, right? Simple enough request, but then he shifts this 128 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:18,160 conversation to spiritual things, to the things of the 129 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:23,040 kingdom. He says to the woman in verse 10, if you only knew the gift that God has 130 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:26,160 for you, he's talking about spiritual things now, and who you were speaking to, 131 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:32,800 you would ask me and I would give you living water. Living water. Water is 132 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:39,040 important to human life. Without it, we would simply not exist as we know it, 133 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,480 right? According to the NIH, human beings can only go about three days without 134 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:52,440 water, not very long. A human being is approximately 60% water, 60% of a 135 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:58,040 person's body weight is water. That means if I weighed 200 pounds, 60% of that 136 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:05,160 would be 120 pounds. That's approximately 55 and a half liters of water. The earth's 137 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:15,200 surface is about 71% covered in water. Water is important stuff, right? But what 138 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:20,520 is this living water that Jesus talks about? What is Jesus talking about here? 139 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:26,240 I think before we can understand this passage, we must understand what living 140 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:33,600 water is. From context, we can pull clues in and we can begin to understand what 141 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,560 Jesus is saying here. Here's what we know. The first thing we know is that Jesus 142 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:41,760 offers it to the woman. He said if you only knew the gift that God had for you 143 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,180 and who you were speaking to, you would ask me and I would give you living water. 144 00:11:46,180 --> 00:11:52,880 We also know that it gives us eternal life and quenches our spiritual thirst. 145 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:57,600 John 4, 14, but those who drink this water I give will never be thirsty again. 146 00:11:57,600 --> 00:12:02,240 It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. Talk about 147 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:08,720 water, I'm thirsty this morning. We see Jesus reference living water here. Again, 148 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,480 later in the Gospel of John, and this is where we find our answer. Later in John, 149 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:19,040 in the book of John, chapter 7, we see Jesus and his disciples are at the 150 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,840 festival of Booth, the festival of Tabernacles, which was one of the Jewish 151 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,280 festivals that they celebrated. Jesus and his disciples are there and 152 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,920 that's where we find our answer to what is living water. If you flip over to 153 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:37,080 John 7, 37, there's a couple pages there in John. I love hearing those pages turn. 154 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:41,960 That's awesome. John 7, 37 says, on the last day, the climax of the festival, 155 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:47,200 Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, anyone who is thirsty may come to me. 156 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:53,160 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink, for the scripture declares rivers 157 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:59,720 of living water will flow from his heart. When he said living water, he was 158 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:05,640 speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone who believed in him. 159 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:11,400 But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into 160 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:16,800 his glory. From that passage of scripture, we can understand and we can know that 161 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:25,200 the living water that Jesus offers is the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus as 162 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:30,480 our personal Lord and Savior, when we recognize what he did for us, we receive 163 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:35,960 the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. As believers, we have God 164 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:42,400 in the form of the Holy Spirit residing inside of us. I love the 165 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:47,800 analogy that Jesus uses here of water. He connects water and our physical 166 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:53,880 need for thirst to our spiritual need for salvation, the thirst for our souls. 167 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:59,200 Jesus makes it crystal clear. That's a pretty good water pun. I thought I'd get 168 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,480 a laugh out of that, never mind. He makes it crystal clear that the Holy Spirit is 169 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:10,440 available for all who believe. Jesus is inviting this woman into salvation. He's 170 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:17,560 inviting this woman into salvation. Freedom from shame and guilt that she's 171 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:20,880 been living under. Freedom from sin that she's been living under. He's offering 172 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:27,600 her a better way. He says, if you only knew what I had to offer. In church, that 173 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:33,720 offer is still there for us today. Jesus still invites us to come and receive the 174 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,720 living water of the Holy Spirit. No matter what we've done, no matter what 175 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,240 we've said or who we've done it to, Jesus is still calling us and inviting us to 176 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:47,320 come and drink, come and receive the Holy Spirit. I think as believers, this 177 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,840 is sometimes where we misunderstand and misinterpret this passage a little bit. 178 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,600 I've been guilty of it myself. We look at this story and say, oh this is a great 179 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:59,160 story of Jesus leading this woman to salvation. We say, that's great but that 180 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,520 doesn't really apply to me. I've known Jesus for years and then we just kind of 181 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:09,840 pass through this story. But see, the thing about taking a drink of water is 182 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:17,640 it makes you want more. We as believers need the Holy Spirit active in our life. 183 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:22,720 Jesus said it becomes a fresh and bubbling spring within them, giving us 184 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:27,320 eternal life. Fresh and bubbling spring, man I don't know about you but that 185 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:31,040 sounds refreshing. It's about like 90 some degrees outside right now and it's 186 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:38,080 a fresh bubbling spring sounds fantastic. But I want to do a quick side-by-side 187 00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:43,240 comparison. I got two pictures of water. Both are actually water, believe it or 188 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,920 not, on the screen here. We have on the left side a fresh bubbling spring and on 189 00:15:47,920 --> 00:15:53,960 the right side we have some nasty swampy, it's hot. You can just tell it's hot 190 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,520 by looking at that picture. I don't know about you but that does not look 191 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:02,320 appetizing. So which one looks better to drink, right? The clear bubbling spring, 192 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:06,320 right? Which one looks safer to drink, right? Which one looks like you'd rather 193 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:09,600 take a shower in it? I don't know about you but that green nasty stuff does not 194 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:16,440 look appealing. Nope, not at all. It's a pretty easy test, right? It's not hard to 195 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:21,040 look at and say which one's better. But church, this is where we go 196 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:28,840 astray. We choose the nasty water instead of the living water of the Holy Spirit 197 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:35,840 sometimes. We follow the guidance of the world and fall into sin, fall into all 198 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:40,000 different kinds of sin instead of following the living water that we have 199 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:49,280 inside of us. We indulge in and we drink that nasty water and we wonder why it 200 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:55,640 makes us sick. Jesus is calling us. He's saying, hey, hello, I have a better way 201 00:16:55,640 --> 00:17:02,240 for you. You don't have to drink the nasty water of sin of this world. You have 202 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:09,760 living water inside of you. Jesus is saying, come and follow the Holy Spirit. 203 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:16,720 Come and follow the living water and it will quench your thirsty soul. Church, not 204 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:23,560 just the unsaved, not just the social outcasts, everyone. We all need the living 205 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:32,800 water of the Holy Spirit. But Jesus doesn't leave this woman in her sin. He 206 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,280 doesn't just say, you know what, that's fine for you. No, Jesus doesn't do that. 207 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:42,440 Jesus confronts this woman in her sin without belittling her, without berating 208 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:49,000 her. Our passage continues, John 4 18. It says, for you've had five husbands and you 209 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,200 aren't even married to the men you're living with now. You certainly spoke the 210 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:58,720 truth. Verse 19, sir, the woman said you must be a prophet, so tell me why is it 211 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,620 that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship? While we 212 00:18:02,620 --> 00:18:08,920 Samaritans claim is here on Mount Gezrim where our ancestors worshiped. Jesus 213 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,920 replied, believe me dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter, 214 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:17,600 will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or 215 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:22,120 in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one that you worship, 216 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:28,760 while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. You 217 00:18:28,760 --> 00:18:33,480 can almost feel the mood shift in this conversation. You can almost feel the 218 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,440 change in this conversation whenever Jesus brings up this woman's spiritual 219 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:42,880 condition, whenever he brings up her sin. She goes on the offensive, she goes 220 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:47,960 on the attack to him and starts to bring up these accusatory statements to Jesus 221 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:54,440 and Jesus doesn't take the bait. Jesus brings it back to a personal spiritual 222 00:18:54,440 --> 00:19:01,920 conversation. So down to verse 23, but the time is coming, indeed it is here now, 223 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:06,200 this is Jesus talking, indeed it is here now when true worshipers will worship 224 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:12,360 the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will 225 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,400 worship him in that way, for God is spirit, so those who worship him must 226 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:23,680 worship in spirit and in truth. The woman said I know the Messiah is coming, the 227 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,920 one who is called the Christ and when he comes he will explain everything to us. 228 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:39,120 Then Jesus told her I am the Messiah. Jesus confronts the cultural and 229 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:43,600 preferential differences and ways of worship between the Jewish people and 230 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:49,080 the Samaritan people by stating it's not gonna matter where you worship for much 231 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:55,160 longer, it's gonna matter how you worship. Jesus is speaking and foretelling of 232 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:01,400 his own death and of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the coming of the 233 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,960 Holy Spirit's arrival, the living water, the Holy Spirit in us allows us to have 234 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,760 a direct connection with God. If you read in your Bible whenever Jesus died on the 235 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,680 cross for us, it says the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to 236 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,600 bottom. That was significant in a way that it showed that there is no longer 237 00:20:20,600 --> 00:20:25,480 a barrier between man and God because of what Jesus did and because of what Jesus 238 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:31,000 did the Holy Spirit could come. So the Holy Spirit inside of us gives us the 239 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:37,920 ability to worship in spirit and in truth. We can worship and praise God and 240 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,960 give thanks anywhere. You can do it in your car, you can do it in church 241 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,520 together, you can do it at school, you can do it at your job, you can worship 242 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:55,000 anywhere because we have the Holy Spirit, we have the living water inside of us. 243 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,880 That's what allows us to worship in spirit and in truth. We see in verse 25 244 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,520 this woman is finally recognizing her need for the Messiah. She says I know the 245 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:10,520 Messiah is coming and she is eager for his arrival and up until this point 246 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:16,320 Jesus has not told anyone his true identity. He has not told anyone that he 247 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:21,380 is the Messiah, the sent one from God. He hasn't revealed to the world his divinity 248 00:21:21,380 --> 00:21:27,800 yet but he tells the woman I am the Messiah, I am the Christ, the sent one 249 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:34,920 from God and the way he tells her would have been scandalous to a Jewish or 250 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:40,440 Samaritan reader of this right because in the Old Testament God revealed him 251 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:46,640 to Moses in the burning bush by saying I am who I am. When Moses said who should 252 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:51,560 I say sent me, God says tell them I am sent me. So whenever Jesus tells the 253 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:57,240 woman I am the Messiah he is clearly referencing God's revelation to Moses 254 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:04,840 in the burning bush. So he's saying I am the Messiah but I am God and I love that 255 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:08,960 the first person that Jesus reveals his divinity to that he reveals that he is 256 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:15,920 God is to a sinful woman in need of a Savior and he is offering her salvation. 257 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:22,560 Our story wraps up in John 4 27 says just then his disciples came back and 258 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:26,760 they were shocked to find him standing to standing talking to a woman but none 259 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,440 of them had the nerve to ask what do you what do you want with her or why are you 260 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:36,800 talking with her. The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back 261 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,840 to the village telling everyone come and see a man who has told me everything I 262 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,720 ever did. Could he possibly be the Messiah? So the people came streaming 263 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:52,000 from the village to see him. We see this woman has changed from the beginning of 264 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,960 this passage she now believes that Jesus is the Messiah and she runs back to the 265 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:03,720 village telling everyone who will listen that Jesus is the Messiah. She said come 266 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:11,360 and see this man because this living water is flowing out of her. Why is she 267 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,400 running back and telling everyone because whenever we have living water in 268 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:20,220 us it's gonna flow out of us. Water doesn't stay put very well that's why we 269 00:23:20,220 --> 00:23:24,680 put it in containers like bottles and and Yeti cups and Stanley cups right we 270 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:28,360 have to put it inside of something because if you just tried to hold it it 271 00:23:28,360 --> 00:23:32,320 doesn't stay put very well it's gonna flow out right and the living water of 272 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:39,280 the Holy Spirit flows out of us. We see excuse me we see three major changes in 273 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:46,880 this woman's life after she accepts Jesus. The first change we see is the 274 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:52,520 living water of the Holy Spirit inside of this woman changes her forever. She is 275 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:57,000 no longer the same no more shame and guilt no more hiding from people in fact 276 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:02,920 she's running two people. The living water changes us it cleans out the 277 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:09,440 swampy water of sin that resides in us before we know Jesus. See whenever we 278 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,640 accept Jesus as our personal Savior we are too changed forever we act 279 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:19,520 differently we think differently because of the Holy Spirit the living water 280 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:26,080 inside of us. Romans 12 2 says do not copy the behavior and customs of this 281 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:31,640 world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think 282 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,800 then you will know then you will learn to know God's will for you which is good 283 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:43,120 and pleasing and perfect. Second change we see in this woman is she begins to 284 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:49,280 worship not just how culture tells her not just how she's worshiped in the past 285 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:54,520 but the way that Jesus told her to worship because living water inside of 286 00:24:54,520 --> 00:25:04,400 us will cause us to worship. Jesus said but there's a time coming when and 287 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:08,360 indeed it is here now when true worshipers will worship the Father 288 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:14,440 in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him 289 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:19,920 in that way for God is spirit so those who worship Him must also worship in 290 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:25,320 spirit and in truth. Worshipping in spirit and in truth looked a whole lot 291 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:29,520 different than the way that the Jewish and the Samaritan people were used to 292 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:36,760 worshiping because they were used to worshiping going one place doing a 293 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,760 specific sacrifice doing a specific ritual and now Jesus is saying it's not 294 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:49,600 about where and what it's about how you worship because of the Holy Spirit the 295 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,200 living water inside of us we have that direct line to God that I talked about 296 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:58,720 we aren't confined to one place of worship but more than where we worship 297 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:03,400 it's about how we worship we can go boldly before God because of the living 298 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:08,680 water because of the Holy Spirit inside of us and thirdly we see this woman 299 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:14,800 telling everyone she can about Jesus because living water inside of us the 300 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:22,720 Holy Spirit inside of us causes us to tell others about Jesus this woman came 301 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:27,280 to the well with a water jar it says to get water to draw water from the well 302 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:32,640 and take it back she leaves it at the well and runs off to go tell people 303 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,720 about Jesus that's that reckless abandon that Pastor Kipp was talking about last 304 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:40,640 week if you missed last week's sermon go listen to it online shameless plug 305 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:47,400 YouTube podcast go check it out thanks faster but she drops her water jar and 306 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:55,520 runs back to town the only reason she came there was to get water but she got 307 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,360 more water than she bargained for she got the living water of the Holy Spirit 308 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:05,040 in that moment and she is going out to tell everyone who will listen and it 309 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:09,760 says that people came streaming to see him when the Holy Spirit changes our 310 00:27:09,760 --> 00:27:15,560 lives we have a story to tell I don't care if you've been safe for 57 years 311 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:21,960 and you haven't sinned a day since right you still got a story to tell we must 312 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:27,360 tell others about what Jesus has done for us because it builds our faith and 313 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:32,620 it'll build their faith because they'll say man what God did for them he can do 314 00:27:32,620 --> 00:27:38,360 for me we have to tell people about the love of God that he loves them that he 315 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:43,920 cares for them so much so that he sent Jesus to die for them we'd to tell them 316 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:50,160 about God's forgiveness and his grace I'm getting ready to close here praise 317 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:59,680 him if you'd come on up church if you'd stand with me and close this morning 318 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:10,760 actually church if you'd make your way forward this morning we're gonna pray 319 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,800 together here in just a moment come on down these altars are open pastor kip's 320 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:22,120 coming up at East Shore gonna call everybody forward there as well and if 321 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:25,200 you're new with us here this morning and you're asking why is the pastor calling 322 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,000 everybody to the front of the church that's so weird well I want to answer 323 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,840 that this morning because I asked that same question when I was here a million 324 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:36,600 years ago for the first time it's because it builds unity it when we pray 325 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:43,720 together when we get close together it gives us that ability for unity that's 326 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,640 why we call you forward not trying to make anybody feel uncomfortable just so 327 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:52,040 that we can pray together I promise I won't spit on you Justin I might I'm 328 00:28:52,040 --> 00:29:00,960 sorry I'll try not to we'll say that but living water living water of the Holy 329 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:08,240 Spirit maybe you're here this morning you don't know Jesus you don't know that 330 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,520 living water that I'm talking about you don't know what it's like to have the 331 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:16,160 Holy Spirit inside of you Jesus's invitation to come and receive living 332 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:21,040 water to receive the Holy Spirit is still available to you if you've heard 333 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:25,840 me preach before you know it's as simple as ABC first thing you got to do is you 334 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:30,000 got to admit that you're a sinner and sin is just anything you have done that 335 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:36,600 is contrary to what God stands for means to miss the mark it was an archery term 336 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:44,020 sin the second thing you have to do is you have to believe that Jesus came to 337 00:29:44,020 --> 00:29:50,360 this earth he lived a perfect life and he died on a cross for our sins for your 338 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:57,000 sins for my sins not that he stayed dead he rose again on the third day Jesus 339 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,760 didn't stay dead he did not stay in that tomb praise God he rose from the grave 340 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:07,560 defeating death hell in the grave giving us that direct access to God via 341 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,320 the Holy Spirit and the last thing you have to do you have to see you have to 342 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:17,640 confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior of your life there's a lot of people that 343 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:22,520 say Jesus is my Savior he saved me from my sins making him your Lord that's 344 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:29,360 something different Lord is a position of rank and title it means first it 345 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:33,080 means above everything else and that's where we struggle as Christians is 346 00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,720 putting Jesus truly above everything because that means we put Jesus above 347 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:43,200 our families that means we put Jesus above our career that means we put Jesus 348 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:47,200 above our kids and that's a tough pill to swallow sometimes but that's what 349 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:51,400 Jesus asks of us the word of God says whenever we follow him with that 350 00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:54,400 reckless abandon whenever we follow Jesus everything else will fall into 351 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:59,240 line if you put Jesus first your job and your family and your kids are going to 352 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:04,680 sort themselves out because of your faith in Jesus if you bow your heads 353 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:08,160 with me in prayer this morning Heavenly Father God I pray specifically right now 354 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:12,320 for any in the house who may not know you Lord if they don't know you in the 355 00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:16,320 house this morning I pray that they would pray this prayer along with me Lord 356 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:21,160 I have sinned against you Jesus I have sinned against you forgive me now of my 357 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:25,320 sins God I recognize that you came to this earth that you lived a perfect life 358 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:31,360 and that you died for me and that you rose again on the third day defeating 359 00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:39,320 death and paying the penalty for my sins Jesus I make you as my Lord and Savior 360 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:47,800 today God I confess that and Jesus it is in your name we pray amen and amen every 361 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,280 head still bowed and every eyes still closed if you prayed that prayer for the 362 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,640 first time this morning would you just lift your hand up put it right back down 363 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:56,400 for me tell me that you prayed that prayer that I could pray with you that I 364 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:03,080 could talk to you thank you so then I'm gonna assume that the 365 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,960 rest of us in this room are believers I'm assumed that the rest of us have the 366 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:11,880 Holy Spirit inside of us you have that living water maybe you're standing here 367 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,440 this morning and you're saying that living waters kind of just down to a 368 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:21,720 trickle or it's looking a little swampy these days Jesus's invitation is still 369 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:27,480 for us because the Holy Spirit can refresh and renew and give you a fresh 370 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:33,240 outpouring of himself inside of you and all you got to do to do that is you got 371 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,640 to get right with God you got to confess whatever sin you have in your life ask 372 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:42,040 God to reveal sins you may not even have known about and you can ask and you can 373 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,160 receive that from the Holy Spirit this morning 374 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:49,960 Heavenly Father God I thank you for your living water for your Holy Spirit inside 375 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:55,680 of us now God that you would make us right in your eyes Father forgive us of 376 00:32:55,680 --> 00:33:00,280 our sins God I pray you would pour out your Holy Spirit on your people pour 377 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:06,400 out your living water on your people this morning God God I thank you for 378 00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:10,640 your word God I thank you for your example of leading this woman at the 379 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,280 well and offering her living water God that we can follow and that Lord I thank 380 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:20,520 you that we too can receive what I pray blessings over your children in the 381 00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:24,360 house this morning over your people in the house this morning God that they 382 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:29,920 would go throughout this week flowing with living water flowing with living 383 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:35,920 water Lord we pray and thank you for you are so good to us God what do we give 384 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:40,040 you glory and honor and praise and it is your precious name we pray amen and 385 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:44,200 amen pastor Kip if you come 386 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:52,800 I'm sure at this point most of you have seen the news and as I watched the 387 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:57,640 news this morning or rechecked the news from last evening a verse of scripture 388 00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:02,000 came to mind Psalms 23 the Lord is my shepherd right I shall not want he makes 389 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,600 me to lie down in greeting pastors he leads me beside the still waters he 390 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:12,720 restores my soul right he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 391 00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:16,600 sake yay though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death right I 392 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:23,280 will fear no evil today there are families grieving the shooting that took 393 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:29,680 place in Butler PA yesterday with this presidential rally there are that I've 394 00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:34,160 heard of and I don't know if the reports are accurate but there are at least two 395 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:38,880 they say that are deceased a third ones in critical condition and of course 396 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:44,480 former President Trump was grazed but we need be in prayer for families because 397 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:47,040 right now there's some families walking through the shadow of death right now 398 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:52,800 they're grieving and even one of our Lifehouse folks were at that rally so I 399 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,680 talked with them this morning and they're safe and sound but they kind of 400 00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:02,920 unfolded the events that took place so we need to pray for those families as 401 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,600 they step through we need to pray for this country and you know these 402 00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:11,640 senseless acts of violence that just continue and we know it's a you know 403 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:17,400 it's the heart it's the moral decay that comes from people who are not following 404 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:22,640 God and have no regard for human life so we need to pray for these families we 405 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:27,760 need to pray for this nation that God will you know penetrate the hearts of 406 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:33,840 people in this nation but these families that are walking truly through the 407 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,440 shadow of death they're again they're gonna bury relatives this week and it's 408 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,640 gonna affect their lives going forward from here on in and we don't even know 409 00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,240 all the effects of that but we need to pray for them and if they don't know the 410 00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:48,880 Lord you know the only thing they can comfort them at this point is the Holy 411 00:35:48,880 --> 00:35:53,000 Spirit you just preached about it is the Holy Spirit himself so they may not know 412 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:56,360 God I pray at this time they look towards God because the Spirit can 413 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:00,560 minister to them in their time of grief and if they do know the Lord he's the 414 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,840 one that will come he's the comforter that's what the Word of God says right 415 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,800 so let's just bow our heads father we come before you grateful and thankful 416 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:10,400 God that we have the opportunity to come into your house but Lord we come with 417 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:15,680 heavy hearts God for families who are suffering today God who are in grief and 418 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:21,720 sorrow and Lord as a nation watches one more time in shock of what's taking place 419 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:27,320 in these acts of violence Lord we pray God that you would surround these 420 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:31,360 families Lord that you would minister to them God that you would take these 421 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:36,040 broken hearts and put them back together and Lord we know that it's only you it's 422 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:39,800 only the Holy Spirit that can come and bring any type of comfort during this 423 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:45,200 time of grief God is a nation I pray Lord that we fix our eyes on you and God we 424 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:49,400 look to you and God that we begin to hear your voice and God we begin to walk 425 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:55,080 in your ways and God Lord for your ways are far above any of man's ways and Lord 426 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:59,640 we just thank you that we can call on you and Lord we are believing and 427 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:04,120 trusting Lord for families we've not yet even heard the names of Lord and we just 428 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:09,520 pray this in Jesus name everybody said together amen amen let's this week be in 429 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:15,440 prayer for them okay thank you that this time you're dismissed take take a chance 430 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:19,760 rare take some time don't take a chance I was gonna tell you turn shake 431 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:25,480 somebody's hand take a big chance right now turn and shake somebody's hand 432 00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:30,920 honestly you know just greet somebody and thank you God bless you we'll see 433 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:34,000 here next week 434 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:59,000 Thank you for tuning in to this message from LifeHouse Church. We pray that you were impacted powerfully by this message. If you have been personally affected by our ministry and you would like to partner with us as we love God love people every day, visit our website at www.LifeHouseChurch.com 435 00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:07,000 www.LifeHouseChurch.com