OK. Let's turn to John Chapter 4. John Chapter 4. I'm going to begin in just a
few minutes, and let's look at verses 15 to 18. Before we begin,
let's ask the Lord's blessing. Our Father, we are thankful for
another day, another day that we can call upon You in truth,
in Christ, realizing that we are here this day by Your grace. Lord, would You bless the Word.
Help us, we pray. Help us to hear. For Christ's
sake we ask these things. Amen. Our Lord, Almighty God Himself, the Savior, He who came into
this world made of a woman, made under the law, obligated Himself
to fulfill all righteousness in mercy and longsuffering, gentleness,
kindness, came to the very spot where one of His sheep was going
to be drawn in mercy. And her ignorance, it was evident
based on what we've read and seen and considered, But what
object of God's mercy is not ignorant? When Almighty God finds one of
His own, what object is not? The Lord made a distinction to
this woman concerning spiritual water, and only a believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ in time by the teaching of the Holy Spirit
knows anything about that spiritual water. The Lord had told her,
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well
of water springing up into everlasting life. Remember in that last day, the
great day of the feast, the Lord said, Whosoever thirsts, let
him come unto Me. Is there anyone this morning
that hungers and thirsts after righteousness, true righteousness? If there is, stop for a moment
and realize it's by the grace of God that there's any desire
whatsoever after Christ. We are so prone to forget, aren't
we? We're so prone to just think
so lightly that I would get up this morning and have a desire
to want to hear, to want to be here. What a miracle! The water that He gives. That spiritual refreshment that
a believer cannot express. He can't tell you. Somebody would
say, tell me what that is. Tell me what it is to be spiritually
refreshed. I can't explain it. I can't tell
you. But a believer experiences it.
They know. They know. They're satisfied. Their heart is refreshed. Their
heart is made to be joyful. Well, having set forth that glorious
truth, that woman still exhibited an unregenerate heart. When He
told her, He said, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I
give, never thirst again. And she says in verse 15, "...the
woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water that I thirst not,
neither come hither to draw." Now, you know, a person can hear
the Word of Life. They can hear the Gospel preached,
the truth of God's grace, but unless The Spirit of God gives
them a heart to believe, an ear to hear, an eye to see. They don't see. They hear it,
but they don't hear it. They that are after the flesh
do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. This woman heard the Lord Jesus
Christ say, The water that I'll give you, you'll never thirst
again." And she said, I want that water. I want that. And here's the reason
why she wanted it. That I thirst not, and neither
come hither to draw. It was all about her. It's all
about me. And that's the way it always
is until Almighty God gives a man, a woman, a new heart. It's all
about me. This matter of salvation, really, ultimately, fully, completely,
who is this all about? Who is it all about? I want you
to turn with me to Ephesians 1. And I'm going to read a passage
of Scripture that we've all read, quoted from so many times. And I want you to listen to the
words of this Scripture. Ephesians 1, verses 3-6, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him in love. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to
the good pleasure of His will," now listen to this last verse,
"...to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved." Now my question is this. In the salvation of a sinner, who gets all the glory? Who is the salvation of a sinner
all about? His honor, His glory, His praise. We are the recipients of His
mercy. But listen to me, ultimately,
first, number one, it is to the glory of His grace. To the glory,
to the praise of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. This woman says, give me this
water that I don't have to come here anymore. That I don't have
to draw anymore. Salvation. True salvation is
for Him. His grace. His mercy. But even in her spiritual ignorance,
there is something that we still need to consider even in her
ignorance and the ignorant question that that woman asked. Lord,
I want that. I'll have that water so I won't
have to come here. Still consider that provenient
grace. Grace before grace. She was there. She was asking. She was asking ignorantly. She
didn't see. She didn't understand. Was she
ignorant of who Christ was? Yes. Are you greater than our
father Jacob? Jacob looked this way. Was she
ignorant in her unbelief? Yes. But who kept her there? Why was this woman there? She
was ignorant in her speech. She was ignorant in her questions.
She didn't know who. Who brought Moses to the burning
bush? Who brought Saul of Tarsus to the road to Damascus? Who brought you here? Why are
you here? Well, you know, it's Sunday. Who knows? God may have mercy
on somebody today. I pray so. Almighty God might be pleased
to call out somebody. I just came. Who caused me to
remain under the sound of the Gospel? A rebel like myself. Who ordered all the steps? Who moved? Who controlled? Who put me where I did? Why was
I there? He predestinated me. He determined
my destination beforehand. Why was that woman born the year
that she was born? Why wasn't she born at another
time? Why was she born there? The same one that kept this woman
and brought her to where she was kept every one of his elect
and put them just exactly. That vague interest that she
exhibited, you know, you know, just listen to her questions.
He's talking about living water and she doesn't understand what
he's talking about. But that vague interest, that ignorant interest was still
an interest. And probably she couldn't even
explain it. Why am I talking to him? It's only after God Almighty
opens the heart, the mind, the eyes of His people Do they look
back and they start to see with some kind of clarity? They still see through a glass
darkly, but they look back and they say, you know, I think I
do see how the Lord ordered me. Isn't that amazing that He would
deal with me and put me there and move me She had asked for that living
water absolutely in ignorance. But even in her ignorance, Almighty
God had purposed to give her what He alone could give her. And we watch and we behold right
now the miracle of God's grace. And we've seen this story. We've heard this story before.
And still it's amazing that God would deal with His own. Very
soon this woman is going to drink. And that first drink is going
to evidence itself with some real understanding of what she
is before Almighty God in conviction and the realization of her need
of a Savior. Who can tell when that first
working of His power occurs? Who can tell? She asks in verse
16, Jesus saith unto her, Go call thy husband, and come hither. Boy, I wonder what went through
her mind when He said that. Who can tell? Who can tell? It's amazing to me how, you know,
listen, I can so well remember. And, of course, I'd go back to,
you know, whenever I walked down the aisle, you know, I could
go back to a certain date and I knew about the time the service
ended. So, therefore, I could probably,
you know, I could probably name it, you know, it was about you
know, 1145, 1045 on a certain, certain day. And that's where a man normally
goes back. He kind of goes back in time.
You know, this is when I was saved. A believer doesn't talk
like that. A believer will tell you, I can
remember there was a time when God began to deal with me. And
I can remember, I began to think, I began to somehow, I've often
asked people, I say, do you remember when you were conceived in the
womb? Well, no, that's foolishness. Really? Can you tell me when
God began to deal with you in effectual power? When He began
to reveal to you? A believer will tell you no. But I'll tell you what I do know.
Once I was blind, but now I see. Salvation is today. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is all of grace. What
think ye of Christ right now? I'd hate to know. I'd hate to
go back and try to pinpoint a moment when God absolutely... This is
it right here. And if I could, what difference
would it make? It was all of grace. It was all
of His power that He absolutely dealt with me. Go call your husband. The Lord knew she didn't have
a husband. But He's going to take her and
put her in a place and hem her up where she has no excuse. Christ Jesus came into this world
to save sinners. And he's getting ready to reveal
to her that she's won. Oh, I think back on Brother Scott,
what he said. Sinners are a precious thing.
There's so few of them. But when God is going to show
mercy, He's going to bring them to a place where He's going to
show them what they are. This woman, she's going to drink. I know she's going to drink.
But in that drinking, She's going to be honest before God. Oh, Ralph Barnard, I heard that
Ralph Barnard said, God doesn't send honest people to hell. He
makes them honest. He makes them honest before Him. Honest with themselves. This
woman, verse 17, answered and said, I have no husband. And
Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said I have no husband. I was going over my notes a few
minutes ago and I looked at that word in my notes. Thou hast well
said. Beautifully. You have beautifully
said. Isn't that precious? that is more precious than when
God brings a man or a woman to themselves to see their need
of Christ, you have beautifully said, well said. I know that in this woman's heart,
she knew. She knew. I'm an adulteress. I know that there's some dishonor. Man knows. He's got a conscience
to know right from wrong. The Lord commended her for her
honesty. You know, it's hard to be honest
sometimes, isn't it? It's hard to just, you know,
but the evidence of a heart made tender is that a person will
tell, I don't have a husband. And then the Lord continued,
told her in verse 18, Thou hast had five husbands, and he whom
Thou now hast is not Thy husband. saidst thou truly." No reasons
given for the ending of the five other marriages. Based on where she was right
now, she was living with somebody that wasn't her husband. Obviously, she's living in adultery.
He whom thou now hast is not thy husband. And here the Lord
sets forth His omniscience. We're not hiding from God. In our ignorance, we think we
are. I'm doing pretty good. No, you're
not doing pretty good. He who has made us, formed us,
He knows. He sees. Oh, that God Almighty would make
me honest before Him and to behold my need. Yeah, but Marvin, you're
a preacher. No, I'm a sinner saved by the grace of God that
God has called me to be a preacher. I'm a sinner that needs a Savior. Man, I've known preachers that
have stood in pulpits before, and before they died, they forsook
it. That God would make me honest
and keep me honest. But all those last words in this
verse 18, and we'll stop with this one. Those last words. He
said to this woman, Thou hast had five husbands. He whom thou
now hast is not thy husband, in that settest thou not concealing."
Truly. You haven't tried to conceal. I have no husband. You've well
said that. You've beautifully said that,
and you've said it not concealing. How many times did we notice
the Lord rebuking the Jews? Those that found or thought themselves
to be righteous before God based upon their own works. Woe unto
you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! Put that mask on. You ever see
those masks they have in the plays? You know, the big smiley
and the sad. Put that in there. Hypocrites.
You hide. You hiders. For you're likened
to white and sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. You're a hypocrite. This woman
said, I don't have a husband. He said, you beautifully said
that. You've said that without concealment. Honest. This woman truly a sinner,
but an honest sinner. One made to be needy before Him. And the Lord deals with her in
absolute tenderness. He's going to give this woman
a heart, draw her to Himself. She's going to see her need of
Him. And when the Spirit of God creates life, in the center. They hear the voice of the Master,
honest before Him. How much pride do you think this
woman had? You think, man, I'd like to just
crawl in a hole somewhere, just cover myself up. Where was she
going to go? What was she going to do? Matthew
11, 28, "...coming to me, all ye that labor heavy laden, I
will give you rest." I've got one place that I can go. I've
got one that can give me hope. I've got one that is my hope.
I know in that next verse, Will, I don't want to go into the next
message, but I have to just look at this in closing. Sir, I perceive
that thou art a prophet. Listen to this. At this point,
she's still sitting there in darkness. And I've got to end
in verse 29. I've got to read this just to
show you. Lord willing, I'll deal with
it again. But verse 29 says, and this is what happened. Come
see a man which told me all things that I ever did is not this the
Christ. Time won't permit me to continue this
conversation, but it's so beautiful seeing how the Lord is dealing
with her and bringing her tenderness and mercy and grace and making
her honest. Oh, that God truly make us honest
today. May we behold Him who is our
hope and our peace May God Almighty give us a heart that doesn't
want to hide anymore. Don't hide. There is no place
to hide. Come unto Me. I will give you
rest. Oh, but you say, but I'd have
to admit that I was wrong before. Thanks be unto God for that. I'd like to just have the Lord
Allow me the privilege to just fellowship just a few minutes
with somebody that had a heart to admit I was wrong. I can truly
say unto them, it's good to talk with you, brother. It's good
to talk with you, sister. May God have mercy on our hearts
for Christ's sake. Amen.