WEBVTT 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:11.900 John 4, 1 through 42. When Jesus learned that 00:00:11.900 --> 00:00:15.140 the Pharisees had heard he was making and baptizing 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:17.780 more disciples than John, though Jesus himself 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:21.179 was not baptizing, but his disciples were, he 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:24.440 left Judea and went again to Galilee. He had 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:27.179 to travel through Samaria, so he came to a town 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.120 of Samaria called Sychar, near the property that 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:33.350 Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well 00:00:33.350 --> 00:00:36.229 was there, and Jesus, worn out from his journey, 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:40.409 sat down at the well. It was about noon. A woman 00:00:40.409 --> 00:00:43.909 of Samaria came to draw water. Give me a drink, 00:00:44.090 --> 00:00:46.530 Jesus said to her, because his disciples had 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:49.929 gone into town to buy food. How is it that you, 00:00:50.049 --> 00:00:53.270 a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, 00:00:53.490 --> 00:00:56.429 she asked him, for Jews do not associate with 00:00:56.429 --> 00:01:00.000 Samaritans. Jesus answered, if you knew the gift 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.600 of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink, 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.180 you would ask him and he would give you living 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:08.239 water. Sir, said the woman, you don't even have 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:10.879 a bucket and the well is deep. So where do you 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.439 get this living water? You aren't greater than 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:16.260 our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:19.200 and drank from it himself, as did his sons and 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:22.689 livestock. Jesus said, everyone who drinks from 00:01:22.689 --> 00:01:25.189 this water will get thirsty again, but whoever 00:01:25.189 --> 00:01:27.629 drinks from the water that I will give him will 00:01:27.629 --> 00:01:30.769 never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I 00:01:30.769 --> 00:01:33.609 will give him will become a well of water springing 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:36.810 up in him for eternal life. Sir, the woman said 00:01:36.810 --> 00:01:39.349 to him, give me this water so that I won't get 00:01:39.349 --> 00:01:42.469 thirsty and come here to draw water. Go call 00:01:42.469 --> 00:01:44.790 your husband, he told her, and come back here. 00:01:45.090 --> 00:01:48.040 I don't have a husband, she answered. You have 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.299 correctly said, I don't have a husband, Jesus 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:53.239 said, for you've had five husbands, and the man 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:56.060 you now have is not your husband. What you have 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:59.859 said is true. Sir, the woman replied, I see that 00:01:59.859 --> 00:02:02.680 you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.120 this mountain, but you Jews say that the place 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:08.740 to worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus told her, Believe 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:11.379 me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:13.979 the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:17.219 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:19.900 We worship what we do know because salvation 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:23.479 is from the Jews. But an hour is coming and is 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:26.020 now here when the true worshipers will worship 00:02:26.020 --> 00:02:29.419 the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, the Father 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:32.819 wants such people to worship him. God is spirit, 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:35.379 and those who worship him must worship in spirit 00:02:35.379 --> 00:02:38.800 and in truth. The woman said to him, I know that 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:40.979 the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. 00:02:41.300 --> 00:02:43.800 When he comes, he will explain everything to 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:47.400 us. Jesus told her, I, the one speaking to you, 00:02:47.419 --> 00:02:50.879 am he. Just then his disciples arrived and they 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.900 were amazed that he was talking with a woman. 00:02:53.080 --> 00:02:55.860 Yet no one said, what do you want or why are 00:02:55.860 --> 00:02:59.039 you talking with her? Then the woman left her 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:01.520 water jar, went into town and told the people, 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.360 come see a man who told me everything I ever 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.419 did. Could this be the Messiah? They left the 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:10.280 town and made their way to him. In the meantime, 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.240 the disciples kept urging him, Rabbi, eat something. 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:16.319 But he said, I have food to eat that you don't 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:18.719 know about. The disciples said to one another, 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:20.939 could someone have brought him something to eat? 00:03:21.620 --> 00:03:24.560 My food is to do the will of him who sent me 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.680 and to finish his work, Jesus told him. Don't 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.000 you say there are still four more months and 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:33.000 then comes the harvest? Listen to what I'm telling 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.960 you. Open your eyes and look at the fields because 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:39.000 they are ready for harvest. The reaper is already 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.419 receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal 00:03:41.419 --> 00:03:43.979 life so that the sower and reaper can rejoice 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:47.020 together. For in this case, the saying is true. 00:03:47.180 --> 00:03:50.599 One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.280 what you didn't labor for. Others have labored 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.139 and you have benefited from their labor. Now 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.479 many Samaritans from that town believed in him 00:03:58.479 --> 00:04:00.719 because of what the woman said when she testified. 00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:04.349 He told me everything I ever did. So when the 00:04:04.349 --> 00:04:06.729 Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay 00:04:06.729 --> 00:04:08.949 with them, and he stayed there for two days. 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:12.250 Many more believed because of what he said, and 00:04:12.250 --> 00:04:14.569 they told the woman, We no longer believe because 00:04:14.569 --> 00:04:17.149 of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves 00:04:17.149 --> 00:04:19.790 and know that this really is the Savior of the 00:04:19.790 --> 00:04:28.389 world. You may be seated. Amen. Wow. Thank you, 00:04:28.389 --> 00:04:33.730 Sarah. That was a lot, right? I mean... 42 verses 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:36.730 there. It's a lot, and we've got a lot to unpack 00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:39.790 this morning. But good morning, Radiant. My name's 00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:42.529 Bob Davis. If you don't know me, I'm one of the 00:04:42.529 --> 00:04:46.410 elders here, and it is a blessing to open God's 00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:48.970 Word with you this morning. Just a moment before 00:04:48.970 --> 00:04:52.250 we do that, happy Mother's Day to all of our 00:04:52.250 --> 00:04:55.269 moms, right? How about we give a round of applause 00:04:55.269 --> 00:04:58.370 for our moms? Thank you. You know, Mother's Day 00:04:58.370 --> 00:05:01.990 can hit different for some of y 'all, right? 00:05:02.900 --> 00:05:05.980 Some of you, Mother's Day is a beautiful, joyful 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:08.899 thing. And for some of you, it's bittersweet, 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:14.259 right? And I just want you to know that we care 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:16.360 about you. We love you. Moms, we're thankful 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:19.759 for you. And what you do is perhaps one of the 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:23.100 most important jobs in the world. And we honor 00:05:23.100 --> 00:05:26.879 you and we're thankful for you. And so happy 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:30.370 Mom's Day. Again, we've got a lot of ground to 00:05:30.370 --> 00:05:32.629 cover, so we're going to jump right into this, 00:05:32.629 --> 00:05:36.230 okay? So open your Bible or your book of John 00:05:36.230 --> 00:05:38.689 that you've got here. I believe it's on page 00:05:38.689 --> 00:05:44.290 18. Open it up and here we go. When Jesus learned 00:05:44.290 --> 00:05:46.910 that the Pharisees had heard, he was making and 00:05:46.910 --> 00:05:52.279 baptizing more disciples. Even though he wasn't 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:54.279 himself baptizing, but his disciples were. He 00:05:54.279 --> 00:05:56.259 left Judea and went again to Galilee. So the 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:59.459 Pharisees, they hear of this extraordinary success 00:05:59.459 --> 00:06:04.459 that Jesus is having. And Jesus, not wanting 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:08.560 conflict, perhaps, that could end his ministry 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.040 early, decides that he needs to just move on. 00:06:11.449 --> 00:06:14.629 So if you remember the language that John is 00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:16.850 using and starting to use, and you're going to 00:06:16.850 --> 00:06:19.689 see it more and more as we go through, he uses 00:06:19.689 --> 00:06:23.529 the language of Jesus' hour, right? Jesus is 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.329 on the clock. He's on the Father's clock. Remember 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:29.769 his response when we were back a little bit in 00:06:29.769 --> 00:06:33.250 the miracle at the wedding as he turns water 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:37.189 into wine? His mom comes to him and says, hey. 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:40.069 And he's like, woman, why are you bringing this 00:06:40.069 --> 00:06:42.529 to me? It's not yet my hour. It's not yet my 00:06:42.529 --> 00:06:46.709 time, right? So this is similar to that. So Jesus, 00:06:46.829 --> 00:06:49.610 not wanting to engage in conflict here, and he 00:06:49.610 --> 00:06:55.230 decides it's time to move out. And so he moves 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:57.250 out from Jerusalem at this time, and we get to 00:06:57.250 --> 00:07:01.110 verse 4. He had to travel through Samaria. Man. 00:07:01.660 --> 00:07:05.519 There is so much right here in these opening 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:10.040 verses. So I've got a picture up here. I don't 00:07:10.040 --> 00:07:12.060 know if you can, hopefully you can see that pretty 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:14.220 good. In the bold there, you can see Judea, Perea, 00:07:14.339 --> 00:07:17.399 Samaria, Decapolis, Galilee, right? So this is 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:23.120 Israel in Jesus's time. And the text said that 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:27.790 he had to travel through Samaria. It may be better 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:30.290 to say that if he wanted to go the expedited 00:07:30.290 --> 00:07:33.250 route, right, the direct route, he had to travel 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.689 through Samaria because he certainly didn't have 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:40.290 to travel through Samaria. He just did. But in 00:07:40.290 --> 00:07:42.750 order to grasp the weightiness of this text, 00:07:42.850 --> 00:07:46.230 you've got to understand the relationship that 00:07:46.230 --> 00:07:49.430 the Jewish people had with the Samaritans. So 00:07:49.430 --> 00:07:51.910 Samaria, as you can see just north, right, it 00:07:51.910 --> 00:07:54.689 lies between Jerusalem and Galilee, right? So 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:57.810 Judea and Galilee. So obviously, if he's going 00:07:57.810 --> 00:07:59.430 to go straight there, he's got to go through 00:07:59.430 --> 00:08:02.529 it. But again, he doesn't, he doesn't have to. 00:08:02.910 --> 00:08:06.889 Samaria had no separate political existence in 00:08:06.889 --> 00:08:10.209 Jesus's day. They just didn't. So they were kind 00:08:10.209 --> 00:08:12.050 of like the valley, right? I mean, that's not 00:08:12.050 --> 00:08:14.670 a great illustration, but we feel like it's all 00:08:14.670 --> 00:08:16.870 one, if you will. It was united with Judea under 00:08:16.870 --> 00:08:19.990 the Roman procurator, but there absolutely was 00:08:19.990 --> 00:08:23.230 a divide. When the Assyrians, and we're just 00:08:23.230 --> 00:08:26.290 a quick bit of history, when they came and captured 00:08:26.290 --> 00:08:29.730 Israel in 740 BC, and then a little later on, 00:08:29.769 --> 00:08:35.350 they take over Samaria, they later deport. You've 00:08:35.350 --> 00:08:37.990 got to hear this. They deport all of the Israelites 00:08:37.990 --> 00:08:41.230 of substance, right? If you were anybody, if 00:08:41.230 --> 00:08:46.250 you were professional, whether you were a smithy, 00:08:46.250 --> 00:08:48.730 a carpenter, not a smithy at that, but anyway, 00:08:48.809 --> 00:08:51.990 you get my point. Whatever it was of substance, 00:08:52.230 --> 00:08:55.929 you were gone. They deported you. They took you 00:08:55.929 --> 00:08:57.830 and said, yep, you no longer live here. You now 00:08:57.830 --> 00:09:01.580 live in Babylon, and so you're in exile. You 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:06.759 see, that's how you erase a people and a culture. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.940 You destroy their temple. You literally remove 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:13.779 them. You pluck them up, and you put them on 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:15.840 trains, and you send them off, right? I mean, 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.539 it sounds like something out of Nazi Germany, 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:20.120 right? Send them into this foreign country, and 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:22.720 they're going to be slaves, and you put foreigners. 00:09:22.779 --> 00:09:25.360 So now we don't just make a void. We fill it. 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:27.600 We refill it with foreigners. We just bring in 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.690 outsiders, and we plop them there now. Right? 00:09:30.830 --> 00:09:33.909 So, I mean, just think of this. Like they never 00:09:33.909 --> 00:09:38.970 existed. And so the remaining Samaritans, there 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:40.769 were a few left there. Apparently they weren't 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:44.009 of substance, right? And the remaining ones, 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:48.289 they try to adhere to some form of their religion, 00:09:48.629 --> 00:09:51.629 their culture. But now with all these four, like 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:53.090 there's a little bit of our religion, a little 00:09:53.090 --> 00:09:54.929 bit of theirs, a little bit of their culture, 00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:58.490 a little bit of ours. And so at the end of the 00:09:58.490 --> 00:10:02.929 exile, Roughly 70 years later, can you imagine 00:10:02.929 --> 00:10:06.250 getting rooted up and sent off? I mean, a generation 00:10:06.250 --> 00:10:10.350 of people die while they're gone and coming back, 00:10:10.429 --> 00:10:14.149 maybe more than that. And so roughly 70 years 00:10:14.149 --> 00:10:16.110 later, which you can find in the books of Ezra 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:19.850 and Nehemiah, the returning Israelites viewed 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:23.470 the remnant who had stayed in Samaria not only 00:10:23.470 --> 00:10:26.850 as the children of political rebels, but racial 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:30.080 half -breeds. You intermarried. You worshiped 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.399 other gods. So they looked down on them, whose 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:37.940 religion was tainted by pagan influences. And 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:42.200 so when Israel goes to rebuild the temple, the 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.340 Samaritans, they offer to help in the book of 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:48.460 Ezra. You can go into Ezra chapter 4, and as 00:10:48.460 --> 00:10:50.299 you dig into that a little bit, I encourage you 00:10:50.299 --> 00:10:53.299 to do that. Their offer was rejected. Like, nope, 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:58.799 you have no part in what we're doing. They actually 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:01.419 opposed the Jews, and they began to undermine 00:11:01.419 --> 00:11:04.820 their efforts. And when the rebuilding of the 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:07.360 walls was taking place, as you read in the book 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:09.419 of Nehemiah, as a matter of fact, they'd become 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:11.480 kind of hostile at this point. They're literally 00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:15.059 fighting against them. They're literally in combat 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:17.899 with these guys, so much so that those workers 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:20.220 are standing shifts, like one's building, one's 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:22.720 watching out, so that they can get this work 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:29.460 done. The Samaritans saw themselves as equals, 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.240 and yet the Jews disagreed. That's the very short 00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:38.460 version, right? So that's just trying to undergird 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:41.399 this idea that you've got to have as we begin 00:11:41.399 --> 00:11:44.379 thinking about the relationship between the Samaritans 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:46.899 and the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, there 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:49.000 are some differences between Samaritan Jews. 00:11:49.610 --> 00:11:53.230 at several levels. Their Bible, the Samaritans, 00:11:53.230 --> 00:11:55.210 is just a Pentateuch, right? The first five books 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:57.549 of the Bible, that's it. Whereas the Jewish Bible 00:11:57.549 --> 00:12:01.009 included the Jewish prophets and writings, the 00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:02.909 Samaritans viewed themselves as the remnants 00:12:02.909 --> 00:12:05.389 of the northern kingdom of Israel who stayed, 00:12:05.710 --> 00:12:09.169 right? We're the ones who stayed while the Jews 00:12:09.169 --> 00:12:12.210 descend from the kingdom of Judah. Perhaps the 00:12:12.210 --> 00:12:14.250 greatest difference is to be seen where the place 00:12:14.250 --> 00:12:17.309 of worship was commanded to be. The Samaritans, 00:12:17.370 --> 00:12:20.929 they saw that, well, let me back up here. The 00:12:20.929 --> 00:12:24.210 Jews built a tabernacle in the city of Jerusalem, 00:12:24.490 --> 00:12:27.690 right? And so it's there. Well, the Samaritans 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:30.950 are on Mount Gerizim, right? And so two different 00:12:30.950 --> 00:12:33.169 mountains, right? So when they said, yeah, well, 00:12:33.210 --> 00:12:35.070 you ain't helping us rebuild our temple. We're 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:36.750 rebuilding our own. They're just like, heck with 00:12:36.750 --> 00:12:38.230 you. We don't need it. We're building our own. 00:12:38.289 --> 00:12:40.690 This is where God said to worship anyway, right? 00:12:40.750 --> 00:12:46.600 So there is this huge divide. Somewhere around 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:53.820 100 B .C., the Jews go up to Mount Gerizim and 00:12:53.820 --> 00:12:55.600 they destroy the temple. They're like, yeah, 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:57.759 you're going to build your own? That's an abomination. 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:02.059 They destroy it. And so I could go on for a bit 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:05.220 here, but you can see how strongly, I hope you 00:13:05.220 --> 00:13:07.879 can, that these two groups of people felt about 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.059 each other. So when John says in verse 4, Jesus 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:13.879 had to travel through Samaria, we should pay 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.960 attention. Like, I want you to underline or circle 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.000 that word had to, because physically speaking, 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:24.580 Jesus did not have to. As a matter of fact, the 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:26.879 Pharisees, can we go back for one second to that 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:29.320 other slide? The Pharisees, and if I had a pointer, 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:31.179 I'd show you, but they're going to go up and 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:32.899 they're going to swing over at Bethany and go 00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:35.279 on the Transjordan, the other side, and they're 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.620 going to go all the way up. So they're getting 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:39.450 off the highway. And they're taking the side 00:13:39.450 --> 00:13:41.870 roads, right? And yeah, we're going to go all 00:13:41.870 --> 00:13:44.309 the way around the city this time, right? And 00:13:44.309 --> 00:13:47.629 so much so that the direct route was about three 00:13:47.629 --> 00:13:52.210 days, right? Something like 70 to 75 miles of 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:54.250 walking, three days, right? You're putting in 00:13:54.250 --> 00:13:56.590 a pretty good day to walk 20, 25 miles a day. 00:13:57.389 --> 00:13:59.750 But to get on the bypass and get off the exit 00:13:59.750 --> 00:14:03.610 and go around would double the trip. Like three 00:14:03.610 --> 00:14:06.169 or four more days to go around. This is what 00:14:06.169 --> 00:14:08.210 the Pharisees preferred to do. Now there are 00:14:08.210 --> 00:14:11.429 plenty of Galileans and those who are just common 00:14:11.429 --> 00:14:13.429 folk. They're like, yeah, we really don't care. 00:14:13.529 --> 00:14:14.809 We're just going to keep our head down and we're 00:14:14.809 --> 00:14:17.549 going to go straight through, right? But you've 00:14:17.549 --> 00:14:20.970 really got to dislike somebody to walk for three 00:14:20.970 --> 00:14:23.149 or four days longer than you have to, right? 00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:27.250 I mean, you just do. And so I think that we can 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:31.169 infer here. And a lot of commentators, a lot 00:14:31.169 --> 00:14:33.070 of scholars agree with this statement that we 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:36.809 can infer that there's some type of divine appointment 00:14:36.809 --> 00:14:41.509 here in this had to. Jesus had to. He is on a 00:14:41.509 --> 00:14:48.149 mission to do his Father's will. You know, perhaps 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:52.389 some of you have heard from the Lord over the 00:14:52.389 --> 00:14:54.970 last months, the last year, I don't know, somewhere 00:14:54.970 --> 00:14:58.500 along this journey of following Jesus. Some things 00:14:58.500 --> 00:15:04.399 that have to change. The Lord wants to change 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:07.259 some things, right? But you keep ducking out, 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:10.000 getting off on the exit, and taking the long 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.899 way around. Yeah, well, I'm not sure I'm ready 00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:17.299 to go quite there yet, Lord. What if you, what 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:20.080 if you just went ahead and did what the Lord 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:23.840 was calling you to? What might that look like? 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:28.669 Because friends, you have to. Jesus had to. This 00:15:28.669 --> 00:15:30.850 divine appointment, right? We're going to get 00:15:30.850 --> 00:15:33.649 into that a little bit as we move on. Now, I 00:15:33.649 --> 00:15:35.649 don't want you to forget where we've just come 00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:39.269 from. In chapter 3, we heard of another divine 00:15:39.269 --> 00:15:42.659 appointment, right? This fellow that epitomizes 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:47.340 what a great Jew looks like. Nicodemus, right? 00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:51.080 Nicodemus comes to him in the night, right? So 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.179 there's some, John's playing with some things 00:15:53.179 --> 00:15:54.700 here you're going to see, right? Compared to 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:57.279 what we're getting ready to go into. So he comes 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.259 in the night. He's educated. He's respected. 00:16:01.059 --> 00:16:05.179 He's valued in his community. He's probably somewhat 00:16:05.179 --> 00:16:08.919 wealthy in contrast to the woman that we're about 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:12.240 to meet. And here's a glimpse of the great news 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:17.340 of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus is for all 00:16:17.340 --> 00:16:21.500 people to know him and to be redeemed in and 00:16:21.500 --> 00:16:24.419 through him and to walk with him. Amen? Like, 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:26.620 we should get kind of excited about that. Like, 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:30.080 Jesus is for all people. He doesn't just save 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:32.730 the respected and the educated. He doesn't just 00:16:32.730 --> 00:16:36.029 save the well thought of. He's for all people. 00:16:36.129 --> 00:16:38.169 As a matter of fact, there is no category of 00:16:38.169 --> 00:16:42.370 half breed, not good enough, intermingled. There 00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:46.590 is no category. He's come that all might be saved. 00:16:46.889 --> 00:16:51.110 And so it doesn't matter how good or how wicked 00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:54.710 you think you are. We all fall short of the glory 00:16:54.710 --> 00:16:59.970 of God and Jesus is the only hope. Amen. So let's 00:16:59.970 --> 00:17:02.610 get back to it. In verse 4, he had to travel 00:17:02.610 --> 00:17:05.190 through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria 00:17:05.190 --> 00:17:07.170 called Sychar, near the property that Jacob had 00:17:07.170 --> 00:17:10.049 given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, 00:17:10.089 --> 00:17:12.950 and Jesus, worn out from his ministry, excuse 00:17:12.950 --> 00:17:16.390 me, his journey, sat down at the well. It was 00:17:16.390 --> 00:17:20.250 about noon. So Nick came at night, right? This 00:17:20.250 --> 00:17:23.250 woman comes in the middle of the day. A woman 00:17:23.250 --> 00:17:25.390 of Samaria came to draw water. Give me a drink, 00:17:25.470 --> 00:17:27.980 Jesus says. Because the disciples had gone into 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.759 town to buy the food. So this is kind of a cool 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:32.940 piece here, right? So notice the disciples are 00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:35.619 gone and Jesus is one -on -one with this woman. 00:17:35.740 --> 00:17:38.119 Later on, the thing's going to shift, right? 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:39.740 The disciples come back and this woman's going 00:17:39.740 --> 00:17:41.559 to go away and it's their turn, right? And so 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:44.200 the woman, he says, give me a drink because they'd 00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:48.180 gone to buy food. How is it that you, a Jew, 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:51.619 ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, she 00:17:51.619 --> 00:17:54.579 asked him, for Jews do not associate with Samaritans. 00:17:55.109 --> 00:17:57.589 So he comes to this town near the property of 00:17:57.589 --> 00:18:00.549 Jacob, Jacob's Wells there, right? But we don't 00:18:00.549 --> 00:18:02.789 have time to go into this deep. Like, we could 00:18:02.789 --> 00:18:05.470 literally camp here for a while to just get the 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:09.029 back story behind all of this. But you've got 00:18:09.029 --> 00:18:13.430 to understand that Jacob is regarded as the father 00:18:13.430 --> 00:18:17.670 of the Jewish people. He has an encounter with 00:18:17.670 --> 00:18:20.549 the Lord. And scripture talks about him wrestling 00:18:20.549 --> 00:18:24.609 all night long in this divine MMA match. And 00:18:24.609 --> 00:18:27.910 he won't give up. He won't tap out. He won't. 00:18:27.910 --> 00:18:31.549 He's like, nope, not happening. And finally, 00:18:31.910 --> 00:18:36.049 the Lord... Bap! Hips him in the hip and dislocates 00:18:36.049 --> 00:18:38.970 his hip, and forever he walks with a limp, right? 00:18:39.049 --> 00:18:45.009 So this Jacob is renamed Israel, right? And I 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:47.769 believe, and so do many commentators, that Scripture 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:49.890 is saying this is the pre -incarnate Christ that 00:18:49.890 --> 00:18:53.549 he's wrestling with, right? And so Jacob was 00:18:53.549 --> 00:18:58.569 renamed Israel. And Israel means he who struggles 00:18:58.569 --> 00:19:03.430 with God. His sons, his 12 sons formed the basis 00:19:03.430 --> 00:19:06.789 for the 12 tribes of Israel. How cool is that, 00:19:06.910 --> 00:19:09.990 right? His life story is this transformation 00:19:09.990 --> 00:19:13.029 from this dude named Jacob, right? You go back 00:19:13.029 --> 00:19:15.730 into Jacob and Esau and what Jacob, Jacob means 00:19:15.730 --> 00:19:19.690 trickster, deceiver, right? He's posing as something 00:19:19.690 --> 00:19:24.759 else and yet. He is transformed into this one 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:27.220 that all of the Jewish people would be known 00:19:27.220 --> 00:19:31.720 as one who struggles with God. He becomes a man 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:34.480 of faith who trusts in God's grace. It's just 00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:37.420 a great story. Like, really, you need to go back 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:39.880 in Genesis. If you don't read your Bible, like, 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:42.279 you need to get in there. Genesis is awesome, 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:46.720 the story of Jacob. So anyway, Jesus sits on 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.400 this wellhead, Jacob's well, right? He just plops 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:54.599 down. He's hot. He's tired. Can you imagine noon? 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:56.660 I don't know if any of you have ever been. I 00:19:56.660 --> 00:19:59.220 mean, some of you have been over there. Golly, 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:01.579 I got to tell you, Iraq, Afghanistan, it's one 00:20:01.579 --> 00:20:03.740 of them places I never want to go back to again. 00:20:04.380 --> 00:20:08.579 Summertime there, 139 degree wet bulb temperature. 00:20:08.819 --> 00:20:11.880 That's the one I saw that with my own eyes. That 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.740 means literal accurate in the heat of the sun, 00:20:14.819 --> 00:20:17.900 no shade anywhere. Like, who would live here? 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:20.710 Like, why would you live here, right? So I think 00:20:20.710 --> 00:20:23.250 when Abraham was called from Ur, like, I've literally 00:20:23.250 --> 00:20:25.529 been in Ur, right? Like, I know why he left. 00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:28.269 Yeah, let's go, right? Nobody wants to be there. 00:20:28.329 --> 00:20:30.670 It's horrible, right? That's just my Western 00:20:30.670 --> 00:20:34.710 view. But anyway, he sits on this wellhead, and 00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:38.170 he's only halfway there, right? John is painting 00:20:38.170 --> 00:20:42.980 this picture of Jesus's humanity. He's painting 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:46.680 this dualism, if you will, that he is fully God 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:51.319 and yet fully man. And so here he is. He's tired. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.920 And this is the part of the story that the original 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.519 audience would have leaned in a little bit as 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:03.400 this begins to unfold, right? It doesn't seem 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:06.019 like it, but this is about to get scandalous. 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.279 A woman approaches the well. And people would 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:12.220 have been, oh, right? Because this don't happen. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:15.339 Like, it's a dude and a gal. Like, this is not 00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:17.980 supposed to happen, right? Under rabbinic law, 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:20.839 Jewish men did not speak to women in public, 00:21:20.980 --> 00:21:22.859 right? They didn't speak to other women just 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:25.259 about period, right? Not even their wife. As 00:21:25.259 --> 00:21:27.180 a matter of fact, it was a divorceable offense 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:30.599 for a married woman to speak to a single man. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.539 Under rabbinic light. I mean, this is serious, 00:21:33.660 --> 00:21:37.880 right? So here Jesus is. They didn't talk to 00:21:37.880 --> 00:21:39.779 their wives in public. You know who they didn't 00:21:39.779 --> 00:21:43.160 really talk to? Samaritan women, right? And this 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:46.160 is the woman that Jesus is about to have a conversation 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.460 with. But he doesn't worry about such things, 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:52.799 does he? I mean, he touches lepers. He cleans 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.140 them, right? He touches the blind. He doesn't 00:21:56.140 --> 00:22:01.000 become unclean. He is the... agent of righteousness 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.579 and redemption and restoration, right? And so 00:22:04.579 --> 00:22:08.339 we have this interesting fact that it's in the 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:10.299 middle of the day, the hottest part of the day 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:12.880 about noon. So why is that interesting? Because 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:16.119 most people don't go to the well when it's 139 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:18.059 degree wet bulb temperature, right? You're going 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:20.359 to die out there, right? You go first thing in 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.480 the morning, you go maybe in the cool of the 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:24.440 evening, but you don't go in the middle of the 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:30.480 day unless you got a real reason. Right? There's 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:32.160 a lot of possibilities, but given what we're 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:33.759 about to learn about her, it's probably because 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:36.119 she's trying to avoid the other women in town. 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:41.420 Right? She apparently is living in somewhat of 00:22:41.420 --> 00:22:45.940 an immoral lifestyle. And so she's probably subject 00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:50.279 or the subject of some of their conversations. 00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:53.980 Right? Gossip. Right? They're like, hey, look, 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:56.960 here she comes again. I mean, can you imagine 00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:59.380 every day going to the well and having all these 00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:01.359 women just sitting there looking at you, judging 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:03.799 you as you walk by and walking? I mean, after 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:05.700 a while, she probably, yeah, I'm not doing that 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:09.680 anymore. Like, that's terrible. So she just decides 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:11.680 to go at noon and she doesn't have to endure 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:15.099 shame and scrutiny. And again, this is the woman 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:18.900 that Jesus decides to talk to. And so he goes 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:21.740 further. Give me a drink. And we could see this 00:23:21.740 --> 00:23:24.000 was a surprise to her, right? I mean, she's probably 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.160 blown away. She's like, wait a second, how is 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:29.700 it that you ask me for a drink? Like, that's 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:33.259 not supposed to happen. The idea of Jews associating 00:23:33.259 --> 00:23:35.019 with Samaritan goes a little further than that. 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:37.220 It means like, hey, we don't share utensils. 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:39.039 We don't sit down at meals together. Like, we 00:23:39.039 --> 00:23:41.359 don't fellowship like that. Like, you do you, 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:43.779 we do it. Like, we don't, the two don't cross, 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:48.380 right? Like, we don't do that. Jacob's well is 00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:51.670 100 feet deep. Jesus has nothing. How are you 00:23:51.670 --> 00:23:55.509 going to get the water, right? So it's implied 00:23:55.509 --> 00:23:59.009 here. He's going to drink from her stuff. And 00:23:59.009 --> 00:24:01.849 so he's absolutely crossing barriers by asking 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:03.950 her this question. So Jesus is about to break 00:24:03.950 --> 00:24:07.490 through an ethnic divide, right? As a Jew talking 00:24:07.490 --> 00:24:10.009 to a Samaritan. The religious divide, because 00:24:10.009 --> 00:24:12.150 they've got some different understandings, right? 00:24:12.269 --> 00:24:15.210 And finally, the moral divide with this woman. 00:24:16.590 --> 00:24:19.450 Jesus answered in verse 10, if you knew the gift 00:24:19.450 --> 00:24:21.569 of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink, 00:24:21.650 --> 00:24:23.450 you would ask him and he would give you living 00:24:23.450 --> 00:24:25.970 water. So in the Samaritan mind, the gift of 00:24:25.970 --> 00:24:28.309 God was the Pentateuch, the five books of the 00:24:28.309 --> 00:24:29.910 Bible, right? That they followed and that was 00:24:29.910 --> 00:24:32.609 it, right? That was the gift of God. And so they 00:24:32.609 --> 00:24:35.829 have this idea of Messiah, but he's called Taheb. 00:24:36.299 --> 00:24:39.660 To heb is a prophet like Moses who will one day 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:42.019 come back and explain all this stuff to us, right? 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:44.920 That's their idea of the Messiah, that he'll 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:47.619 come back and he'll fill us in, and then we'll 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:49.599 know what we're supposed to do kind of thing, 00:24:49.720 --> 00:24:54.599 right? So on the other hand, when Jesus says, 00:24:54.619 --> 00:24:56.940 if you knew, it could be that if you knew your 00:24:56.940 --> 00:24:59.319 Bible, lady, like the stuff y 'all are choosing 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.259 to ignore, you'd know who I am, right? You might 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:05.269 have a better clue. But Jesus is pointing to 00:25:05.269 --> 00:25:07.630 something even greater than that. The gift of 00:25:07.630 --> 00:25:10.650 God being the Holy Spirit of God. And so the 00:25:10.650 --> 00:25:14.609 living water that he is talking about is in contrast 00:25:14.609 --> 00:25:19.170 to most wells. What's a well? It's just a collection 00:25:19.170 --> 00:25:21.849 place, right, for water. And it just sits there 00:25:21.849 --> 00:25:25.849 and it gets stagnant. Living water, however, 00:25:26.130 --> 00:25:30.579 is superior. Ceremonially, just for... Better 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:33.079 quality all around for drinking, right? Living 00:25:33.079 --> 00:25:35.700 water means moving water. It cleanses better. 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:38.099 Well, Jacob's well was actually an underground 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:40.359 spring that filled up, right? And it had been 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:43.940 there for a very long time. And so at this point, 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:47.059 the woman is probably not taking Jesus very seriously. 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:51.380 Okay, weird dude talking to me, right? Saying 00:25:51.380 --> 00:25:54.599 weird stuff to me about living water. And so 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:57.519 she throws up a social barrier with these next 00:25:57.519 --> 00:26:02.259 words. Sir. right? So this polite barrier, sir, 00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:05.440 you don't even have a bucket, and the well is 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:08.519 deep. How are you going to get water? How are 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:10.799 you going to get this living water that you say 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:13.440 you're going to give to me, right? I want you 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:16.400 to hear a little bit of sarcasm here, because 00:26:16.400 --> 00:26:19.440 I think that's what she's using. Really? How 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:21.420 are you going to do that? Live in water? And 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.660 Jesus begins now to make the first of the three 00:26:24.660 --> 00:26:27.259 greater than statements that he's going to make 00:26:27.259 --> 00:26:32.000 in excuse me, about him, right? She says, are 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:37.640 you greater than our father Jacob? And the second 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:39.200 and third are going to be, are you greater than 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.859 Moses? Are you greater than Abraham, right? So 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.640 John's building this case here along the way. 00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:47.700 Are you greater than Jacob? What do you think 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:51.730 what she expects the answer to be? Not even close. 00:26:51.970 --> 00:26:54.670 Like, you're not even in the same categories 00:26:54.670 --> 00:26:58.589 here, right? I mean, absolutely not. No, you're 00:26:58.589 --> 00:27:00.609 not. Of course you're not greater than Jacob. 00:27:00.750 --> 00:27:03.589 You don't even have a bucket, right? How would 00:27:03.589 --> 00:27:05.410 you be greater than him? And so here's the irony 00:27:05.410 --> 00:27:08.609 that John brings to the story. Because in fact, 00:27:08.609 --> 00:27:12.210 we as readers know that indeed, Jesus is greater. 00:27:12.970 --> 00:27:17.170 Jesus is greater than Jacob. His living water, 00:27:17.289 --> 00:27:19.970 right here with spiritual ears, is better than 00:27:19.970 --> 00:27:24.269 the water in this well. Jesus answers in verse 00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:26.549 13, everyone who drinks from this water, you're 00:27:26.549 --> 00:27:28.450 going to get thirsty again, right? Meaning from 00:27:28.450 --> 00:27:31.049 Jacob's well. But whoever drinks from the water 00:27:31.049 --> 00:27:34.049 that I will give him will never get thirsty again. 00:27:34.170 --> 00:27:37.210 In fact, the water I will give him will become 00:27:37.210 --> 00:27:39.829 a well of water springing up for eternal life. 00:27:40.329 --> 00:27:43.430 So Jesus is pointing to this idea that the needs 00:27:43.430 --> 00:27:47.710 that you depend on for physical life every day, 00:27:47.809 --> 00:27:50.509 you've got to keep coming back, right? You've 00:27:50.509 --> 00:27:52.890 just got to keep coming back, coming back, coming 00:27:52.890 --> 00:27:56.789 back. Folks, again, we don't have time, but there 00:27:56.789 --> 00:28:00.210 is so much depth here. So the atoning sacrifice 00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:03.230 of Christ is done once and for all. What man 00:28:03.230 --> 00:28:05.950 could not do for himself and had to use the goat 00:28:05.950 --> 00:28:08.269 or the sheep or the dove or whatever, time and 00:28:08.269 --> 00:28:11.130 time, Jesus does once and for all. So this idea 00:28:11.130 --> 00:28:13.410 that you've got to keep doing these things and 00:28:13.410 --> 00:28:15.769 they're never going to end. And Jesus is saying, 00:28:15.910 --> 00:28:21.710 in me, it's done. It's finished. It's categorically 00:28:21.710 --> 00:28:29.390 different. And so there is some truth. To having 00:28:29.390 --> 00:28:30.970 to have water when you live in the middle of 00:28:30.970 --> 00:28:33.910 the desert, right? I mean, that's just fact. 00:28:35.690 --> 00:28:38.410 But there's something richer for us here than 00:28:38.410 --> 00:28:43.109 the obvious message. We live in this world of 00:28:43.109 --> 00:28:48.019 daily routine. So much so that we give so much 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:50.440 of our time and our energy to it every day. We 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:52.099 go, we come, we go, we got to go get the milk, 00:28:52.180 --> 00:28:53.460 we got to get the bread, we got to get to this. 00:28:53.559 --> 00:28:55.839 And along the way, we're trying to find sources 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:58.319 of contentment and enjoyment and fulfillment 00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:01.980 and you name it. So we find that with material 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:05.680 things, with substances, with experiences. But 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:08.400 Jesus is saying that as we consume those things, 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:12.109 they're gone. right? And there you are left again, 00:29:12.190 --> 00:29:15.890 hungry, thirsty, tired, whatever it is, yearning 00:29:15.890 --> 00:29:18.970 still for something. And we have to come back 00:29:18.970 --> 00:29:23.730 and do it again and again and again, never satiated, 00:29:23.789 --> 00:29:28.490 never fulfilled, never content. But he says that 00:29:28.490 --> 00:29:31.309 when we drink of his water, when his spirit is 00:29:31.309 --> 00:29:34.109 poured into us, we are changed for eternity. 00:29:34.529 --> 00:29:39.869 Has that happened in your life? Do you find yourself 00:29:39.869 --> 00:29:43.750 going back to the well again and again and again, 00:29:43.930 --> 00:29:46.910 only to, I'm still thirsty, I'm still hungry, 00:29:47.049 --> 00:29:50.710 what gives? Well, I've got good news for you. 00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:55.970 It doesn't matter who you are. As you come to 00:29:55.970 --> 00:30:01.430 the well today, Jesus is here to meet you. He's 00:30:01.430 --> 00:30:04.250 here to meet you. And he wants to give you something 00:30:04.250 --> 00:30:08.900 that truly satisfies. He wants to give you, himself 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:14.099 and in return all he asked for is you he wants 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:18.019 you but you know what so many folks do they walk 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:20.339 away from that offer and they choose to go back 00:30:20.339 --> 00:30:23.299 to the stagnant well They choose to go back to 00:30:23.299 --> 00:30:27.059 the same old thing. The backdrop for these statements 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:29.259 that Jesus is making would have been well known 00:30:29.259 --> 00:30:32.059 to the Jewish people. The prophet Jeremiah says, 00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:34.539 my people have committed two sins. They have 00:30:34.539 --> 00:30:38.140 forsaken me, the spring of living water, and 00:30:38.140 --> 00:30:41.279 dug their own cisterns, their broken cisterns 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:44.779 that cannot hold water. Later in chapter 17, 00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:47.539 Jeremiah again says, oh Lord, the hope of Israel, 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:50.829 all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those 00:30:50.829 --> 00:30:52.650 who turned away from you will be written in the 00:30:52.650 --> 00:30:54.869 dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the 00:30:54.869 --> 00:31:00.269 spring of living water. Perhaps some of you here 00:31:00.269 --> 00:31:04.029 today are like that. For whatever reason, you 00:31:04.029 --> 00:31:08.190 just continue to go and seek out the things that 00:31:08.190 --> 00:31:11.670 pose as living water only to discover that they 00:31:11.670 --> 00:31:16.150 never satisfy. They just, they don't. What is 00:31:16.150 --> 00:31:21.529 that for you? Is it more stuff? Is it a new relationship? 00:31:21.670 --> 00:31:26.589 Yeah, that's going to do it, right? Is it a substance? 00:31:27.009 --> 00:31:29.990 Is it sex? Is it porn? I don't know what it is. 00:31:30.049 --> 00:31:33.630 What empty, hollow thing that you think, it's 00:31:33.630 --> 00:31:38.329 going to give me life, right? Do you find yourself 00:31:38.329 --> 00:31:41.750 returning to even when you know it doesn't give 00:31:41.750 --> 00:31:45.569 you life? Jesus is going to deal with that here 00:31:45.569 --> 00:31:49.180 in a moment in our text. Once again, she says, 00:31:49.299 --> 00:31:52.880 sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:54.779 and come here to draw water. And Jesus says, 00:31:54.839 --> 00:31:57.059 go call your husband and come back here. And 00:31:57.059 --> 00:31:59.299 she answers, I don't have a husband. And Jesus 00:31:59.299 --> 00:32:01.579 says, you've answered correctly. I don't have 00:32:01.579 --> 00:32:04.200 a husband. For you've had five husbands and the 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:06.480 man that you are with now is not your husband. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:10.220 What you have said is true. What do you think 00:32:10.220 --> 00:32:15.079 her reaction was to this? Right? Like. He just 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:17.480 like laid out her dirty laundry, right? Just 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:20.500 met him, boom, right? And so she's got to be 00:32:20.500 --> 00:32:23.960 taken back. Maybe she's like, I think I underestimated 00:32:23.960 --> 00:32:28.740 this dude. Hold up, right? He clearly gets her 00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:32.119 attention. And her follow -on response is kind 00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:34.180 of telling. You know, there's a couple of ways 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:38.180 to interpret this. But I see someone that says, 00:32:38.279 --> 00:32:41.400 yeah, I'm not really interested in talking about 00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:44.160 all of that, so let's change the subject. Do 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:47.740 you ever get close to it with somebody, right? 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:49.660 Like where you're right there, you're talking 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:52.400 about the crux of the matter. You're getting 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:55.539 a little deeper, a little more meaningful, you 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:57.619 know, stepping on their toes. And just when you're 00:32:57.619 --> 00:32:59.640 there, they switch it out, they change the subject 00:32:59.640 --> 00:33:07.759 and deflect, right? We can all do it when we 00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:11.579 come to a place like this. Hey, how you doing? 00:33:11.619 --> 00:33:13.859 Good to see you today. good. How are you? Yeah, 00:33:13.880 --> 00:33:18.019 I'm great, right? I've talked with many people. 00:33:18.079 --> 00:33:21.940 If I get too close to the stuff, the hard stuff, 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:24.660 they kind of switch it up. And she says, our 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:27.140 ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you 00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:29.000 say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem. 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:31.819 Now, again, there is some historical precedence 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:33.920 for this comment as alluded to earlier, but it 00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:36.839 feels like she's pivoting, right? She's shifting. 00:33:36.940 --> 00:33:41.430 She's deflecting. Let's throw a red herring in 00:33:41.430 --> 00:33:43.309 there, right? You know what that is, something 00:33:43.309 --> 00:33:45.930 to divert attention away from the real issue, 00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:49.009 but Jesus is unfazed. He says in verse 21, Believe 00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.089 me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship 00:33:51.089 --> 00:33:53.650 the Father neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 00:33:53.869 --> 00:33:55.910 Now, you all know what that means, right? This 00:33:55.910 --> 00:33:58.349 mountain, Mount Gerizim, or in Jerusalem, the 00:33:58.349 --> 00:34:01.250 other temple, right? You Samaritans worship what 00:34:01.250 --> 00:34:03.589 you do not know. We worship what we do because 00:34:03.589 --> 00:34:06.369 salvation is from the Jews, but an hour is coming. 00:34:06.859 --> 00:34:09.960 And is now here. When the true worshipers will 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:12.380 worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yes, 00:34:12.480 --> 00:34:15.900 the Father wants such people. I want you to underline 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:19.440 that. The Father wants such people to worship 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:23.059 him. God is spirit. And those who worship him 00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:26.519 must worship in spirit and truth. Boom. That's 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:29.199 a lot. But what he's pointing at is this disparity 00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:31.400 again between the Jews and the Samaritans that 00:34:31.400 --> 00:34:34.579 it's actually going to be of no consequence where 00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:37.440 you're worshiping because that whole system, 00:34:37.539 --> 00:34:40.539 that whole thing, what Jesus is doing and about 00:34:40.539 --> 00:34:43.519 to do, it doesn't matter if you worship at the 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:45.820 temple or if you worship on your mountain because 00:34:45.820 --> 00:34:49.039 both of those are about to be overshadowed by 00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:52.480 my work. The Jewish focus of worship was the 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:57.400 tabernacle. It was about to be obsolete. Jesus 00:34:57.400 --> 00:35:00.460 is talking about this new level of worship. It's 00:35:00.460 --> 00:35:03.420 not just about showing up to a mountain. It's 00:35:03.420 --> 00:35:06.280 not just about showing up to a tabernacle or 00:35:06.280 --> 00:35:09.360 even a school building and going through some 00:35:09.360 --> 00:35:14.699 rituals. It's a heart matter. It's a spirit matter. 00:35:15.019 --> 00:35:19.199 He wants believers to worship in spirit and in 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:24.019 truth, meaning he wants your heart. He wants 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:28.199 the real you. Right? Jesus is pressing into this 00:35:28.199 --> 00:35:31.619 Samaritan woman. I'm here for the real you. Not 00:35:31.619 --> 00:35:35.039 here for the fake you, the mask, the, I'm good, 00:35:35.139 --> 00:35:37.719 how are you? Hey, what would you, right? No, 00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:42.000 he wants the real you. Not the you that says, 00:35:42.119 --> 00:35:44.780 yes, I believe in Jesus, but I continue to go 00:35:44.780 --> 00:35:46.920 to the well that cannot provide what I actually 00:35:46.920 --> 00:35:50.760 need. Not the you that says, I'm a Christian. 00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.460 I believe in Jesus, yet I continue to live in 00:35:53.460 --> 00:35:57.000 sin. Are you here in this church? That's the 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:59.420 kind of believers and worshipers that Jesus is 00:35:59.420 --> 00:36:02.480 seeking and talking about. The Father wants such 00:36:02.480 --> 00:36:06.159 people to worship him. I want to be that kind 00:36:06.159 --> 00:36:10.719 of man. How about you? That worships in spirit 00:36:10.719 --> 00:36:13.460 and in truth. Father, here I am. I'm a wretch. 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:15.900 I'm a broken man. And I need you more today than 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:18.840 I've ever needed you in my life. Being honest 00:36:18.840 --> 00:36:23.170 and real with him. In verse 25, the woman seems 00:36:23.170 --> 00:36:25.690 to make this last attempt, right? She's going 00:36:25.690 --> 00:36:27.570 to give him the Heisman. She's trying to duck 00:36:27.570 --> 00:36:31.369 him one last time. And she says, I know the Messiah 00:36:31.369 --> 00:36:33.889 is coming who is called the Christ. So when he 00:36:33.889 --> 00:36:36.110 comes, he will explain everything to us, right? 00:36:36.190 --> 00:36:38.610 Remember this idea of Taheb that I told you about, 00:36:38.690 --> 00:36:42.510 their idea of Messiah? So again, she's explaining 00:36:42.510 --> 00:36:46.250 that. But Jesus says, I'm not here just to explain 00:36:46.250 --> 00:36:52.559 things to you. But he tells her. I am who am 00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:56.719 speaking to you now. I who am speaking to you 00:36:56.719 --> 00:37:01.099 now am he, right? Folks, this is the mic drop. 00:37:01.480 --> 00:37:04.780 I mean, in the original audience, they would 00:37:04.780 --> 00:37:07.800 have been like, did he just say what I think 00:37:07.800 --> 00:37:11.940 he said, right? So this ancient Greek form of 00:37:11.940 --> 00:37:16.400 ego, a me, right? I am who I am, right? The I 00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:21.469 am, which... This is the first of the sayings 00:37:21.469 --> 00:37:24.170 in John of the I am sayings. But the original 00:37:24.170 --> 00:37:29.369 phrase that God uses when Moses says, Lord, who 00:37:29.369 --> 00:37:32.989 will I tell them that you sent me? He says, I 00:37:32.989 --> 00:37:37.750 am who I am. So this idea. And Jesus is literally 00:37:37.750 --> 00:37:42.780 equating himself to Yahweh. This is a phenomenal 00:37:42.780 --> 00:37:46.019 revelation. And look who he's telling it to. 00:37:46.119 --> 00:37:48.239 He could have told this to Nicodemus just a little 00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:50.820 bit ago, right? He's this scholarly elite kind 00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:53.920 of dude. He could have told him. But he's like, 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:56.320 dude, really? You're a leader and a teacher and 00:37:56.320 --> 00:38:03.900 you don't even understand? He tells this woman 00:38:03.900 --> 00:38:09.420 who is a nobody. He's telling her it's not someday. 00:38:10.300 --> 00:38:13.860 It's not someday, it's today. I'm here. There's 00:38:13.860 --> 00:38:19.719 no more putting it off. How does that strike 00:38:19.719 --> 00:38:28.519 you? Are you all in with Jesus? Folks, this is 00:38:28.519 --> 00:38:32.480 what he's after. Are you all in with him? Is 00:38:32.480 --> 00:38:37.099 he your sustenance? The word Yahweh. when spoken 00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:40.480 properly in the Hebrew, is literally an inhale 00:38:40.480 --> 00:38:48.920 and an exhale. Listen to me. Yahweh. Yahweh. 00:38:49.519 --> 00:38:54.340 That's literally the way that it's spoken. It's 00:38:54.340 --> 00:38:57.380 symbolic that he is the breath in us, that he 00:38:57.380 --> 00:38:59.900 created us and sustains us, and without that 00:38:59.900 --> 00:39:03.199 breath, we literally die. Like, quite literally, 00:39:03.219 --> 00:39:08.820 as a matter of fact. So right here at this heavy 00:39:08.820 --> 00:39:12.380 moment, the disciples return. Right? They come 00:39:12.380 --> 00:39:15.340 walking back. They probably got a couple quarter 00:39:15.340 --> 00:39:17.139 pounders and some friends and happy meals with 00:39:17.139 --> 00:39:18.559 them. Right here they come walking up the hill. 00:39:18.739 --> 00:39:22.300 And so this beautiful moment has happened in 00:39:22.300 --> 00:39:24.000 the absence of the disciples. And now it's the 00:39:24.000 --> 00:39:25.980 disciples' turn because the woman is about to 00:39:25.980 --> 00:39:28.900 leave. And it's just Jesus with them. So verse 00:39:28.900 --> 00:39:32.179 27, just then his disciples arrived. And they 00:39:32.179 --> 00:39:34.300 were amazed that he was talking with a woman. 00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:36.699 Yet no one said, what do you want? Or why are 00:39:36.699 --> 00:39:38.920 you talking with her? It must have just been 00:39:38.920 --> 00:39:41.099 a look on their face, on the faces, right? I 00:39:41.099 --> 00:39:42.719 mean, they were like, whoa, what's happening 00:39:42.719 --> 00:39:46.440 here? So the woman left her water jar. It's kind 00:39:46.440 --> 00:39:48.960 of important, right? This source of life for 00:39:48.960 --> 00:39:52.760 her. She left it. She left it. Went in the town 00:39:52.760 --> 00:39:54.619 and told the people, come see a man who told 00:39:54.619 --> 00:39:57.860 me everything I ever did. Could this be the Taheb 00:39:57.860 --> 00:40:01.010 or the Messiah? They left the town and made their 00:40:01.010 --> 00:40:05.210 way to him. So she left her jar. Some of y 'all 00:40:05.210 --> 00:40:08.289 are carrying some jars that you need to put down, 00:40:08.449 --> 00:40:11.590 right? Clinging to it. Yep, this is my source 00:40:11.590 --> 00:40:14.349 of life and it's my, I can get back and forth 00:40:14.349 --> 00:40:17.550 from this thing that sustains me. You need to 00:40:17.550 --> 00:40:30.340 bring that to Jesus. And, you know, the Holy 00:40:30.340 --> 00:40:32.880 Spirit just has a way of convicting us on these 00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:37.380 things, of poking us in the face when we do that. 00:40:38.239 --> 00:40:42.300 I want you to know the temptation is going to 00:40:42.300 --> 00:40:44.699 be there, right, to switch the subject. Or you 00:40:44.699 --> 00:40:47.559 might say someday, right, we'll get to the bottom 00:40:47.559 --> 00:40:49.139 of that. You know, I know, I know, I know. But 00:40:49.139 --> 00:40:53.980 Jesus says, no, today's the day because I'm here. 00:40:54.820 --> 00:40:58.480 So as we move towards closing and wrapping this 00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:02.889 up, I want us to respond to Jesus on this matter, 00:41:02.969 --> 00:41:07.650 right? I want you. I want you to respond to Jesus. 00:41:07.849 --> 00:41:10.550 What do you need to set down and leave so that 00:41:10.550 --> 00:41:12.750 you can go back and get that thing that you need 00:41:12.750 --> 00:41:16.030 to give to him? He wants the real you to worship 00:41:16.030 --> 00:41:18.969 in spirit and in truth. Maybe you need to talk 00:41:18.969 --> 00:41:21.389 with someone today, right? Maybe, so I'm prepping 00:41:21.389 --> 00:41:23.230 you ahead of time, right? At the end, we're going 00:41:23.230 --> 00:41:24.710 to stand up and you're going to think, okay, 00:41:24.929 --> 00:41:27.010 yeah, I feel you, Lord, but whoop, and I'm going 00:41:27.010 --> 00:41:30.550 to get off the exit and I'm not today. And you're 00:41:30.550 --> 00:41:32.550 going to go around and you're going to go right 00:41:32.550 --> 00:41:41.489 back. Caleb's here. Josh here. I'm here. Talk 00:41:41.489 --> 00:41:43.989 to a brother or sister right now. Talk to the 00:41:43.989 --> 00:41:48.510 Lord yourself. Boom. Don't walk out of here today 00:41:48.510 --> 00:41:52.550 without knowing this. Verse 31, in the meantime, 00:41:52.750 --> 00:41:54.869 the disciples keep urging him, saying, Rabbi, 00:41:55.130 --> 00:41:58.449 eat something. And he says, I have food to eat 00:41:58.449 --> 00:42:00.710 that you don't know about. So you see, he just 00:42:00.710 --> 00:42:03.079 got done teaching the woman some things. And 00:42:03.079 --> 00:42:04.739 now he's going to teach us followers some different 00:42:04.739 --> 00:42:07.260 things. So Jesus answers in verse 32. I have 00:42:07.260 --> 00:42:08.719 food to eat you don't know about. Once again, 00:42:08.780 --> 00:42:10.300 the disciples, right? They're scratching their 00:42:10.300 --> 00:42:11.679 heads. They're looking at each other. Can you 00:42:11.679 --> 00:42:13.159 imagine what they're saying? Like, did somebody 00:42:13.159 --> 00:42:15.380 bring him some food we don't know about? Like, 00:42:15.380 --> 00:42:18.019 whoa, what? Oh, my goodness, right? These guys 00:42:18.019 --> 00:42:20.079 are kind of showing. It's kind of like the bread 00:42:20.079 --> 00:42:21.639 thing. And, you know, how are we going to do 00:42:21.639 --> 00:42:23.460 it? And, you know, again and again and again. 00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:26.099 And Jesus keeps showing up. And so this ought 00:42:26.099 --> 00:42:28.260 to remind us of the conversation that Jesus had 00:42:28.260 --> 00:42:31.550 with Nicodemus. Wait a second. How's a person 00:42:31.550 --> 00:42:34.590 going to be reborn? Are they going back in? Like, 00:42:34.690 --> 00:42:37.150 stop, Nick. No, that's not what's happening. 00:42:37.230 --> 00:42:40.010 No disciples. Nobody else brought Jesus some 00:42:40.010 --> 00:42:42.909 food in your absence, right? So he's talking 00:42:42.909 --> 00:42:44.710 about something different. He's talking about 00:42:44.710 --> 00:42:47.349 mission. He's talking about doing the Father's 00:42:47.349 --> 00:42:50.429 will. My food, we continue, is to do the will 00:42:50.429 --> 00:42:52.699 of him who sent me to finish his work. Don't 00:42:52.699 --> 00:42:54.420 you say there are still four more months than 00:42:54.420 --> 00:42:56.599 comes harvest, right? He goes into this harvest 00:42:56.599 --> 00:42:59.199 language, right? I'm telling you, open your eyes. 00:42:59.219 --> 00:43:01.460 Look, the fields are ready for harvest. Do you 00:43:01.460 --> 00:43:04.300 think the fields are ripe for harvest here in 00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:06.960 the valley? There are people walking around that 00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:09.539 do not know Jesus. There's a whole lot of people 00:43:09.539 --> 00:43:11.139 that say, oh yeah, I know Jesus, and they keep 00:43:11.139 --> 00:43:13.199 going right back with their pot, right back to 00:43:13.199 --> 00:43:15.780 the same well that never sustains, never satisfies, 00:43:16.099 --> 00:43:20.349 never fulfills. The reaper is already receiving 00:43:20.349 --> 00:43:22.829 and gathering fruit, eternal life, so that the 00:43:22.829 --> 00:43:25.070 sower and reaper can rejoice together. For this 00:43:25.070 --> 00:43:27.730 case, the saying is true. One sows, another reaps. 00:43:27.750 --> 00:43:29.949 I sent you to reap what you did not labor for. 00:43:30.070 --> 00:43:32.670 Others have labored, and you have benefited from 00:43:32.670 --> 00:43:36.130 their labor. He moves from a person that needs 00:43:36.130 --> 00:43:39.269 to know. So there's two messages in here, two 00:43:39.269 --> 00:43:41.530 different audiences. He's speaking to this woman 00:43:41.530 --> 00:43:44.250 that absolutely does not know Jesus, not in the 00:43:44.250 --> 00:43:47.440 way that he wants her to. She has some ideas 00:43:47.440 --> 00:43:50.780 and some thoughts and the highs. So she needs 00:43:50.780 --> 00:43:53.480 to hear the gospel truth about Jesus. But then 00:43:53.480 --> 00:43:55.420 there's some followers of Jesus that need to 00:43:55.420 --> 00:43:59.980 hear something else. Disciples inherently make 00:43:59.980 --> 00:44:03.760 disciples. He's conveying the urgency of the 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:07.739 mission. Those who are born again. Share with 00:44:07.739 --> 00:44:09.880 those who are lost, and Jesus is setting the 00:44:09.880 --> 00:44:12.199 example right before their eyes with this host 00:44:12.199 --> 00:44:15.099 of people that is making their way back up to 00:44:15.099 --> 00:44:20.260 the well. It's the power of the gospel to change 00:44:20.260 --> 00:44:23.380 lives. Here's my encouragement to you this morning. 00:44:23.480 --> 00:44:25.880 It's not your slick tongue, your presentation. 00:44:26.139 --> 00:44:29.320 It's not your ability to debate theological or 00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:31.920 philosophical things, deep things. You know what 00:44:31.920 --> 00:44:34.380 it is? It's you telling people what Jesus has 00:44:34.380 --> 00:44:37.059 done in your life and pointing them to him. Like 00:44:37.059 --> 00:44:39.059 all I can tell you is I used to be this broke 00:44:39.059 --> 00:44:41.480 dude and now I'm different. All I can tell you 00:44:41.480 --> 00:44:43.739 is that I used to be blind to the things of God 00:44:43.739 --> 00:44:46.280 and now I see. You know, I used to be hungry 00:44:46.280 --> 00:44:49.019 and filled my heart with all this garbage that 00:44:49.019 --> 00:44:51.239 couldn't do anything. And now I feast on the 00:44:51.239 --> 00:44:53.840 word of God and fellowship and worship and his 00:44:53.840 --> 00:44:56.659 spirit. Like, that's all we need to do. Tell 00:44:56.659 --> 00:45:00.440 your story, right? Point them to Jesus so that 00:45:00.440 --> 00:45:03.199 others may see his work in us and that he might 00:45:03.199 --> 00:45:06.860 be glorified as they come to know him. Now, many 00:45:06.860 --> 00:45:09.780 Samaritans from that town believed in him because 00:45:09.780 --> 00:45:12.340 of what the woman did, right? What she said when 00:45:12.340 --> 00:45:15.059 she testified. He told me everything I did. So 00:45:15.059 --> 00:45:16.940 when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him 00:45:16.940 --> 00:45:18.920 to stay with him, and he stayed there two days. 00:45:19.099 --> 00:45:21.059 Many more believed because of what he said. They 00:45:21.059 --> 00:45:24.539 told the woman, we no longer believe of what 00:45:24.539 --> 00:45:27.000 you said since we have heard for ourselves and 00:45:27.000 --> 00:45:29.059 know that this really is the Savior of the world. 00:45:30.099 --> 00:45:33.860 Again, that's a lot. But do you hear what she's 00:45:33.860 --> 00:45:36.340 doing or what's happening here, what Jesus is 00:45:36.340 --> 00:45:41.119 doing? Do you share your faith in Christ with 00:45:41.119 --> 00:45:44.519 others? If not, you probably need to ask yourself 00:45:44.519 --> 00:45:48.000 why. Is it because you're like the woman at the 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:51.460 well? And that's okay. It's okay. It really is, 00:45:51.639 --> 00:45:54.820 right? Is it because you're just not sure and 00:45:54.820 --> 00:45:57.139 maybe someday you'll have it figured out? Maybe 00:45:57.139 --> 00:46:00.099 someday you'll have it, okay, now I got it, but 00:46:00.099 --> 00:46:03.250 that day is not yet, right? Someone will explain 00:46:03.250 --> 00:46:06.190 it all to you. Today is the day that you don't 00:46:06.190 --> 00:46:08.690 have to have those kinds of questions anymore. 00:46:09.429 --> 00:46:11.650 We confess with our mouth and believe in our 00:46:11.650 --> 00:46:13.570 heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and he saves 00:46:13.570 --> 00:46:17.550 us. Do you know that to be true for yourself? 00:46:18.110 --> 00:46:21.250 Do you know that? Is there fruit in your life? 00:46:21.309 --> 00:46:24.710 Fruit, I never used to be there. Is the spirit 00:46:24.710 --> 00:46:27.449 of God working in you and redeeming and restoring? 00:46:28.030 --> 00:46:34.079 Do you know that to be true? If not, don't leave 00:46:34.079 --> 00:46:36.860 today without working that out. Don't take the 00:46:36.860 --> 00:46:39.119 exit ramp. Don't go around. Don't throw the red 00:46:39.119 --> 00:46:41.820 herring out there and change the subject because 00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:46.880 you have to. You have to. The Father wants such 00:46:46.880 --> 00:46:52.719 people to worship him. Amen? If you don't share 00:46:52.719 --> 00:46:54.400 your faith with others, is it because you're 00:46:54.400 --> 00:46:56.099 just not sure how to do it or maybe you're not 00:46:56.099 --> 00:46:58.179 sure you should do it? I want to tell you this 00:46:58.179 --> 00:47:00.829 is the will of God. This is clear in the scriptures. 00:47:01.010 --> 00:47:04.010 Go, make disciples. It's assumed. It's not just 00:47:04.010 --> 00:47:07.170 a good idea. Who else can I share this with, 00:47:07.269 --> 00:47:09.110 right? That's what a Christian missionary mindset 00:47:09.110 --> 00:47:11.969 is. Like, I gotta tell somebody. That's what 00:47:11.969 --> 00:47:14.030 the woman did. She's like, y 'all gotta come 00:47:14.030 --> 00:47:17.409 back and see this, right? I mean, does that happen 00:47:17.409 --> 00:47:22.650 in your life? All you gotta do is point them 00:47:22.650 --> 00:47:25.409 in the right direction. You share your story, 00:47:25.429 --> 00:47:29.239 and by God's grace and power, The power of his 00:47:29.239 --> 00:47:31.519 gospel. You know what we hope they end up saying? 00:47:33.019 --> 00:47:35.360 It's not because of what Bob told me. Like, that 00:47:35.360 --> 00:47:38.659 drew me in, right? It's now because I've experienced 00:47:38.659 --> 00:47:42.940 him for myself that I believe. He changed me. 00:47:43.739 --> 00:47:47.980 Folks, Jesus is our hope. He is greater. The 00:47:47.980 --> 00:47:50.659 father Jacob, he's greater than that thing that 00:47:50.659 --> 00:47:53.139 you keep returning to, hoping that this time 00:47:53.139 --> 00:47:55.780 that it will satisfy you. Or what's even sadder 00:47:55.780 --> 00:47:57.440 is you know it ain't going to satisfy you, but 00:47:57.440 --> 00:48:01.719 you go back there anyway, right? Yet you return 00:48:01.719 --> 00:48:03.739 to it again and again, and it doesn't matter 00:48:03.739 --> 00:48:07.500 who you are, how educated or uneducated. How 00:48:07.500 --> 00:48:10.219 good or bad you see yourself as being, we're 00:48:10.219 --> 00:48:12.260 all sinners and we fall short of the glory of 00:48:12.260 --> 00:48:14.679 God. That is the good news of the gospel. He 00:48:14.679 --> 00:48:17.820 meets us right where we are. He meets us at the 00:48:17.820 --> 00:48:20.980 well of life and he's never satisfied to leave 00:48:20.980 --> 00:48:25.000 us there. Here at Radiant, we live as a family 00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:28.860 of servant missionaries, right? We do. Learning 00:48:28.860 --> 00:48:32.579 to be and make disciples by being radiant reflections 00:48:32.579 --> 00:48:38.599 of Jesus. That's what we're about. So I'm literally, 00:48:38.739 --> 00:48:41.340 if the band would come up, our worship team, 00:48:41.519 --> 00:48:43.219 that's a better way to say it. This ain't a show 00:48:43.219 --> 00:48:45.440 here. This is a worship team leading us in worship 00:48:45.440 --> 00:48:51.599 and in response. What is the Lord prompting in 00:48:51.599 --> 00:48:56.760 your heart today? I hope something, right? There 00:48:56.760 --> 00:48:58.940 is a message here for all of us, whether you're 00:48:58.940 --> 00:49:01.539 the woman or you're the disciple, right? There 00:49:01.539 --> 00:49:03.800 is a message here for us that Jesus is saying, 00:49:03.960 --> 00:49:07.800 like, how is this with you? I hope that his Holy 00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:10.320 Spirit is poking around in your heart and saying, 00:49:10.380 --> 00:49:13.000 yeah, I'm talking to you. I'm talking, are you 00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:15.980 giving him the highs? That's not Bob, guys, right? 00:49:16.139 --> 00:49:18.239 The last thing in the world, Lord, anything that 00:49:18.239 --> 00:49:20.539 I've said here today that would detract from 00:49:20.539 --> 00:49:23.940 you, let them forget it before we even sing a 00:49:23.940 --> 00:49:26.179 song, Lord, but anything that's real that you 00:49:26.179 --> 00:49:29.800 would stick, stick in their craw today that like, 00:49:29.840 --> 00:49:34.300 I have to. Bob doesn't change anything. The Holy 00:49:34.300 --> 00:49:39.969 Spirit? I'm going to close with this. When Jesus 00:49:39.969 --> 00:49:42.070 engages with this woman at the well, she first 00:49:42.070 --> 00:49:45.909 catches sight of a thirsty man, then a Jew, then 00:49:45.909 --> 00:49:48.769 a rabbi. After a bit, she sees a prophet, and 00:49:48.769 --> 00:49:53.110 last of all, the Messiah. She tried to get the 00:49:53.110 --> 00:49:56.269 better of the thirsty man. She showed dislike 00:49:56.269 --> 00:49:59.889 of the Jew. She even heckled the rabbi, but she 00:49:59.889 --> 00:50:03.030 was swept off her feet by the prophet, and ultimately, 00:50:03.050 --> 00:50:08.010 she adored Jesus. That's all of our stories. 00:50:09.210 --> 00:50:11.570 Along the way from beginning to end, that's all 00:50:11.570 --> 00:50:17.110 of us. Where are you? Do you adore him? Because 00:50:17.110 --> 00:50:21.289 he adores you. And he wants, the Father wants 00:50:21.289 --> 00:50:25.170 such people to worship him. So as we move to 00:50:25.170 --> 00:50:27.909 response through communion and song, I pray that 00:50:27.909 --> 00:50:30.110 the Lord would do real work in your heart and 00:50:30.110 --> 00:50:32.789 that you would respond to the one who knows everything 00:50:32.789 --> 00:50:37.320 you ever did. And yet he still loves you. I encourage 00:50:37.320 --> 00:50:40.500 you today as we stand, as we leave, please stand 00:50:40.500 --> 00:50:43.280 with me. Like right now, don't hesitate. We're 00:50:43.280 --> 00:50:44.800 going to move off to the side and then the back. 00:50:44.840 --> 00:50:46.840 If that's you and you're just like, I want to 00:50:46.840 --> 00:50:48.739 pray about this thing. I want to move action 00:50:48.739 --> 00:50:51.840 on this thing today. Don't leave this place without 00:50:51.840 --> 00:50:59.460 it happening. Lord bless you. As we move to...