Let's take our Bible and turn
to John chapter 4. John chapter 4. I'd like to read verses 7 to
10, and I've entitled this message, If You Only Knew. John chapter 4, verse 7, Then
cometh a woman of Samaria, to draw water. Jesus saith unto
her, Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone away
unto the city to buy meat. Then saith the woman of Samaria
unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of
me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings
with the Samaritans, Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest
the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to
drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given
thee living water." Let's pray together. Our Father, thank You this morning
Oh, for the privilege to assemble ourselves together in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask your blessing upon the
preaching and hearing of this glorious gospel, the gospel of
God. Cause us to perceive. Cause us
to understand. Cause us to know, to hear. for
the honor of Him who is altogether worthy and lovely, and the good
of your people. Amen. Having left Judea, the Scripture
sets forth that the Lord was on His way to Galilee, but He
must needs go through Samaria. Now you know that the Lord Jesus
Christ is our glorious representative federal head. He came into this world and as
our elder brother, representative surety, He walked before God
Almighty perfectly By faith. He did all that He did by faith. By faith. What He did, He did
for us. We live by the faith of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We live By his faith, by his
faithfulness, by faith upon him, all that he did, he did as our
representative. And God Almighty imputes his
faithfulness, his righteousness, his glory, his honor as our elder
brother made flesh, he did for us. He must go through Samaria. It was demanded of him that he
go through Samaria. There was some sheep there. There
was going to be some that was going to hear. He was going to
bring those sheep to himself. They must hear the gospel. The gospel is the declaration
of what God Almighty has eternally purposed accomplished in Christ
the gospel. It's a declaration of salvation
to a people that has everlastingly been loved by God Almighty. It's
the declaration of the surety of their salvation. I've said
before, the gospel is not an offer. The declaration is the setting
forth of the glory of God in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. God is going to save his people. He must need to go through Samaria.
So he comes to Sychar. That's what we looked at last
week. Being wearied with his journey, he sits down on a certain
well at a certain time, at the perfect time. It was the time
of love because there was a particular woman that was going to be there.
And he knew that. He had everlastingly known that. He knew that that woman was going
to be there. You know how he knew that she
was going to be there? He drew her. He drew her. Provenient grace. Amazing. Grace before grace. You think about this. And every
one of us can enter in here. All that know Him now realize,
He brought me. He brought me to sit and hear
the gospel. The gospel that Paul said, I'm
not ashamed of. It's the power of God. This is
what God's going to use. This is what God's going to use
to call out His sheep. He's going to get them under
the gospel. How did He get there? He drew them. He works all things after the
counsel of His own will. Now, I came because I wanted
to. I know you did. He made you want to. Before He
called me out of darkness, all power is given unto the Son. that he might give eternal life
to as many as the Father has given him. What do you think? Was he able to call before he
called you out of darkness? He spoke you into existence.
Sure he did. Well, verse 7 says, Well, then
cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water, and Jesus saith unto
her, Give me to drink. The account a few verses back
said that it was about the sixth hour. I don't doubt that probably. We're not told exactly her thought
process. But we can think this thing through.
And probably in her mind, she's thinking. I mean, she thought
about going to get some water. I probably thought that no one
else would be there in the middle of the day. But this was no accident. She wasn't just lucky. Luck. Providence. Providence. Providence drew her there. The
Spirit of God drew this woman just like He directs all men. all things, for God's honor and
the good of His sheep." Now she, desiring to be there, she wasn't
there because she didn't want to be. As far as this woman knew,
I'm going to get a jug of water. And she comes and she walks up
to this well. And here's the Lord Jesus Christ. And He says to her, give me to
drink. Now you remember, she did not
seek Him. She didn't go to that well thinking,
I think I'll find the Lord. I think I will go and who knows,
maybe God will be there today. Does anybody ever come and sit
under the sound of the gospel of God's grace, unregenerated? Does anybody ever come with that
thought? No. No. No man in himself seeks
after God. Saul of Tarsus wasn't looking
for Christ. This woman wasn't looking for
Christ. Neither were you. Neither was
I. I wasn't looking for Him. Providence. Isaiah 65, verse 1, I am sought,
now listen to this scripture, I'm sought of them that ask not
for me. I'm sought of them that ask not
for me. I wasn't thinking after God.
No, you just didn't know it yet. You had no heart whatsoever.
But the scripture says, I'm sought of them that asked not for me. I'm found of them that sought
me not." Found of Him and you weren't
even looking for Him? Oh, now you start talking about
grace now. Now here's the mercy of God.
Wasn't even looking for Him. Wasn't even asking after Him.
Wasn't even thinking about Him. Didn't even care. I said, Behold me, behold me
unto a nation that was not called by my name. Do you see where man has nothing
to glory in save the grace of God Almighty? I am what I am,
Paul said, by the grace of God. This woman approached that well
upon which the Lord sat. He initiated the conversation.
She didn't say anything to him. Give me to drink. Oh, the mercy of God that would
begin the outward correspondence. You remember this. For those
that Almighty God has given to the Son, for those that Christ
has taken upon Himself, In that electing grace, the Scripture says concerning
Jehovah, I've loved you with an eternal love. There's always
been a love toward God's people. But they're born in this world
and they don't have any idea. They're born in this world just
like everybody else. They don't know that. This woman
didn't know anything about that. You leave it to her and this
woman would say nothing. She'd just walk up there, try
to avoid eye contact with him. I'm going to get me a drink of
water. I'm out of here. And but for the grace of God,
that's the way it would have been. I don't doubt for a second that
the Lord himself, the scripture says, being wearied with his
journey, I don't doubt for one second that he was He was thirsty,
I know he was. He thirsted, he hungered, he
got tired just like, but this conversation was going to be
directed by him to meet her need. Give me to drink. He knew just
exactly what to say to her. He knew just exactly how to steer
that conversation. You think he knew what he was
doing? Peter said unto the Lord, when the Lord asked him, said,
Peter, lovest thou me more than these? Ask him that three times. Peter said, Lord, you know all
things. The Lord knew who this wonder was. And now she was going to know
him. The scripture says after he had
asked her to give him a drink, verse 8, for his disciples were
gone away into the city to buy meat. Now you see, their steps
were directed. They needed to get something
to eat, the Lord was going to get something to eat, but their
steps were providentially directed for them to go get something
to eat so that the Lord Jesus Christ could be alone with this
woman, this sinner. He hemmed her up by Himself. And I'll tell you this, that's
how salvation is always wrought. God hems a sinner up, gets everybody
else out of the way. Her greatest need was to have
no distractions between her and Him. And He arranged it. He ordered it. And then saith
the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a
Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the
Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." Our Lord's request to this woman,
this adulterous woman, you know we're going to read that in in
a moment, but his request to this woman was one to be marveled
at. It made no common sense to her. How is it? You're a Jew. She looked at him. She knew the
way he was dressed. She knew. She knew. All he said
was, give me to drink. How is it that you being a Jew
ask a drink of water of me? I'm a Samaritan, and the Jews
have no dealings. He's a Jew, she's a Samaritan,
but isn't the message of the marvelous gospel of God's grace
a mysterious message? to the natural man, how is it
that God Almighty would have any dealings with
me? Do you realize who I am? Do you have any idea of what
I've done? Do you even have any idea of what I just thought? When I consider the heavens,
David said, What is man that thou art mindful of him? He doesn't trust his angels.
He charges them with folly. The angels with folly. The stars
are not pure in his sight. They never rebelled against him.
And they're not pure. How is it that you, being a Jew,
has anything to do with Samaritan? How is it? How is it that God
could show mercy? How is it that Almighty God could
have fellowship with one such as I am? Vile and rebellious
continually. His request took her back. And it's not until the Spirit
of God opens the heart of a rebel and causes That rebel, that sinner,
to see the tenderness and mercy of Almighty God, that they began
to even behold anything of grace, grace, sovereign grace, tenderness,
love. Hearing His love. Not that we
loved Him, but that He loved us. Now that's love. considering
what we are in ourselves, that's love. Here's the Lord of Glory, and she looks at Him and all
she sees is a Jew. Isaiah said in Isaiah 53, who
hath believed our report, our doctrine? Who's believed the
truth that we preach? And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground. He hath no
form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no
beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. You think about it. Until the
Lord opens up a man's heart, a woman's heart, and gives them
eyes to see, number one, who they are, and then to behold who He is.
Until Almighty God gives a sinner a new heart. You know what they think of Christ? Just a man sitting there on a
well. No big deal. No big deal. No beauty. Why should I seek after Him?
Why should I hear of Him? Why should I come to Him? What's
He ever done for me? That's man. That's man by nature.
No beauty. Do you know why man by and large
will not come and sit and hear of the glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we see no beauty in Him. I don't really care. I don't
care. The Scripture sets forth, the
last verse Jesus answered, He said unto her, If thou knewest
the gift of God and who it is, that saith to thee, Give me to
drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given
thee living water, if you knew, if you only knew." Obviously,
she didn't. Now, here's the root problem
with man. Here's the problem. Man is spiritually
ignorant of God. He's ignorant of God, not of
the God of his imagination, not ignorant of that God. That's
a God that man creates, and he creates a God in his mind that
he assumes is the way God is. This is a God that man assumes
is God, that God has made all this world, and he wants He wants
to try to save everybody if he can, and he's doing the best
he can. In fact, when man was in the
garden made innocent, and when man fell, well, that didn't work. Man thinks. Man by nature thinks. That didn't work. I'll tell you
what I'll do. I'll try this. Maybe I'll try
to send my son. Maybe I'll try to I'll send my
son, and I'll try that method. And I'll send my son into this
world, and I'll put him on a cross, and I'll let him die. I'll let
him die, and the death that he died will be payment for sin
if Mankind accepts it, and if he
accepts it as being the payment for sin, which it actually won't
be unless man accepts it, if he accepts it and exercises his
free will, then I will show mercy and I'll save him. I'm going
to do all I can. I've done everything I can. I've
sent my son. I killed him. And I'm going to
leave it up to man. I'm not going to infringe on
your will. I'm not going to infringe on
man. I made man, you know, and I've given him a free will. And
I'm going to let man be the final word in salvation. I'll leave it up to man. And
if man leaves me any room of glory, if man pulls my chestnuts
out of the fire, praise will be unto me, and I'll be shown
glory and honor, and I'll be so thankful that I can bring
mankind into the heaven that I've prepared for everybody,
but only some will be there because I'll leave it up to man." No! No. That's not the God of the
Bible. The God of the Bible, everlastingly
purposed. because he loved the order of
man. And I'm not going to allow man because I'm a merciful God. I'm a just God and I'm a merciful
God. I will not allow man to do what
man by nature will do, will rebel against me. I will not allow
it. And he chose, the Scripture says, Out of every nation and
kindred and tribe and tongue, family, God Almighty has a people,
and He chose them. Ephesians 1, read it. He chose
them, and He chose them that they should be holy and without
blame before Him in love, in Christ. And He chose all that
He was going to show mercy to, and He gave them to the Son.
And you're the surety, and the Son everlastingly stood as the
surety. as the substitute. And all power
was given unto the Son, that He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father had given Him. In John 6, verse 37, the
Lord says, All that the Father has given Me shall come to Me,
and Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. This woman came to him, and she
said, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan, to
give you to drink? The Samaritans and Jews don't
have anything to do with it. If you only knew, if you only
knew, who asked of thee, you would have asked, and I would
have given you to drink. And he's going to give her a
heart to ask. And that's when you see the mercy
of God. Those are the things that accompany
salvation. God's people are willing in the
day of His power. And they come and they say, Lord,
if you wouldn't have shown mercy to me, I would have had no hope. If you'd have left me to myself.
This is the record that God had given to us If you knew the gift
of God, the gift of God, the gift of God, if you knew the
gift of God and who it is that says to you, man, let me tell
you something. You take man's little old fickle,
fallen, frail, impotent will out of the equation. You ain't
got one. Our will is dead and it is bound
in death and hell's deserving sin. If you knew, God gives life and God Almighty
keeps those that He saves. He preserves them in Christ Jesus. Salvation is not a what, it's
a who. Salvation is of the Lord. If you knew, who said to you? In closing, listen to the promise. If you knew, you'd ask. And I'm telling you, when God
Almighty gives a man or woman a heart to ask. When God gives a man or a woman
a heart to ask, that's when they ask. Lord, would you have mercy
on me? Lord, would you save me? Lord,
would you save this sinner? That is the cry of one made to
know. who they are and who He is. If
you knew, who asked you? This morning, by the grace of
God, there are some folks that have asked for mercy. And I'll
tell you, according to His Word, He said, all that come to Me. And you remember what I said
about coming to Christ. This is what it means. To forsake
all other false hopes. Well, I walked down the aisle
when I was nine. I walk down the aisle, I think,
three times. Three times. Three times. I just got to thinking
about it. I thought I better do it again
just in case. Maybe the first one didn't take. I think back
on that. I was baptized, I don't know,
two or three times. Really only once. But all of
the false hope that a man has coming to Christ means to forsake
everything else. Everything else is lost. Everything
else is dumb. That's what Paul said. I count
it all dumb for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus,
our Lord. May God have mercy on us today
for Christ's sake. Amen.