I express a warm welcome to all
those assembled in the chapel for worship this morning and
those who are listening online. And may the Lord bless us together,
bless us indeed as we assemble together in his name for the
worship of his great name. Let us commit our meeting to
the Lord in prayer. O thou great, almighty, eternal
Lord God, we do give thanks for the privilege given to us once
again on this, the first day of the week, to assemble together
for the worship of thy great name. Indeed, dear Lord, we are
given week by week on this, the first day of the week, that reminder
of the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is in his name, he who
ever lives to make intercession for us, that we come, seeking
mercies of thee, the God of heaven. And we pray for help, that we
might worship thee aright, in spirit and in truth, for we read
that the Father seeketh such to worship him. And we would
As the psalmist was inspired to write, lift up our eyes unto
the hills, from whence cometh our help. He says, my help cometh
from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. And so be with us,
we humbly pray. Bless us in our singing of thy
worthy praise. Bless us together as we seek
thee in prayer. and as we look into thy holy
words speak to our hearts and souls to thy praise and to our
profit. And while we seek these mercies
for ourselves we pray for wherever the glorious good news of the
gospel is faithfully held forth according to the scriptures this
day. These mercies and favours we
ask for the forgiveness of our sins In the precious name of
our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and for his sake. Amen. Hymn: 366 Tune: St. Fulbert 221 Let us turn to God's holy inspired
word and read together from the Gospel according to John, and
chapter four. The Gospel according to John,
chapter four. When therefore the Lord knew
how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more
disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, his disciples,
he left Judea and departed again into Galilee, and he must needs
go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria,
which is called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob
gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there, Jesus,
therefore, being weary with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. There 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 ask of him, and he would
have given thee living water, The woman saith unto him, Sir,
thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence
then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and
his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But 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. The woman saith unto him, Sir,
give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call
thy husband, and come hither.' The woman answered and said,
I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast
well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom thou knowest is not
thy husband. In that saidst thou truly. The
woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our
father is worshiped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her,
Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this
mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the father. ye worship,
ye know not what. We know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is a spirit, and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know
that Messiah's cometh, which is called the Christ. When he
is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her,
I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples,
and marveled that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said, What
seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot,
and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see
a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this
the Christ? Then they went out of the city
and came unto him. In the meanwhile, his disciples
prayed him, saying, Master, eat. For they said unto him, but he
said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore
said the disciples one to another, hath any man brought him not
to eat? Jesus saith unto them, my meat
is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye there are yet four
months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift
up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white, all
ready to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth
wages, and gathereth fruit unto eternal life. that both he that
soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein
is that saying true. One soweth and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon
you bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and ye are
entered into their labors. And many of the Samaritans of
that city believed on him, For the saying of the woman who testified,
he told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come
unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them, and
he abode there two days. And many more believed because
of his own word, and said unto the woman, Now we believe, not
because of thy saying, For we have heard him ourselves, and
know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. Now after two days he departed
thence, and went into Galilee. For Jesus himself testified that
a prophet has no honour in his own country. Then when he was
coming to Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all
the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went
unto the feast. So Jesus came again into Cana
of Galilee, where he made the water wine, and there was a certain
nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that
Jesus was come out of Judea into Galilee, he went unto him and
besought him that he would come down and heal his son, for he
was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, except
ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman
said unto him, sir, come down, ere my child die. Jesus said unto him, go thy way,
thy son liveth. And the man believed the word
that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down,
his servants met him and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.
Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday
at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew
that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said unto him,
thy son liveth, and he himself believed, and his whole house. This is again the second miracle
that Jesus did when he came out of Judea into Galilee. Amen. So reads God's holy word. May he make it a blessing to
us and help us now as we come to him in prayer at the throne
of grace. O thou almighty, eternal Lord
God, the creator of heaven and earth, thou art he who spoke
when this world was without form and void, and said, let there
be light. And there was light. Thou art he at whose command
this world was formed. Time has begun, and time is continuing,
but thou art eternal. And we have no full understanding
of thy greatness and thy glory for thou art other than we are
and yet we are not only invited but we are exalted and encouraged
to come in prayer to our holy eternal Lord God and we can come and speak to
our God in heaven because of the finished work of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He who has given to us that new
and living way whereby we can come, pleading his perfect righteousness,
his finished work, his ongoing work of intercession. And therefore, O Lord, we do
pray. Teach us to pray. We give thanks, O Lord, for the
many blessings of the past week. We've been watched over, cared
for, and provided for in so many ways. And as we come to this,
the first day of the week, we would ever remember that glorious
resurrection of our dear Saviour. He who gave his life a ransom
for many. He who rose again on that glorious
Easter morning and having risen again, we have that gospel truth that
the divine justice toward our Father in heaven is
completely paid by the finished work of our Lord Jesus. he who
gave his life a ransom for many, he who rose again for our justification. And therefore, O Lord, we do
pray that as the gospel is held forth this day, up and down this
land and around the world, that the precious and glorious good
news of our Lord Jesus Christ might flow forth and lost souls
be awakened and brought into a realization of their need of
salvation. And those already in the way
might be helped, strengthened, encouraged, and built up in those
things most surely believed. Oh Lord, we pray that in all
these things, thy great name be honored and lifted up and
glorified. for that worthy of endless praise. Behold the truths
of the scriptures. In heaven the angels veil their
faces and continually do cry, holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. And therefore, O Lord, give to
us a spirit of reverence and godly fear as we come in worship
this day. We do pray, O Lord, for each
of the assemblies of thy dear people up and down this land
and around the world. We pray for our dear brother
Roland, the pastor here, as he ministers the word in Bedfordshire. Watch over and bless him and
those who gather there. Pour out a blessing so that the
word might come, not in word only, but also in power. in the
Holy Spirit and in much assurance. And this we seek, O Lord, for
wherever these precious truths are faithfully held forth. Help
each of thy sent servants and be pleased, O Lord, to pour into
their very heart and soul those precious truths that meet the
need of those who have gathered for worship. O Lord, thou knowest
each heart. There is nothing hidden from
thy divine mind and heart. And even as we have read only
a few moments ago of the confession of that Samaritan
woman, He said, he told me, all that ever I did, all was known
to thy divine almighty mind. And therefore, O Lord, thou who
knowest and searchest the heart, be pleased, O Lord, to speak
through that divinely appointed way of the preaching and teaching
of the words of Scripture, whereby souls might profit, and thy great
name be honoured, lifted up and glorified. We do pray, O Lord, for help
and guidance to be given in our individual pathways in life. Go before us, we pray. We know
not how the future will unfold, but, O Lord, thou knowest. to work all things according
to the counsel of thine own will. And so we pray, work mightily,
pour out a blessing, and be with each of thy dear people. And
be pleased, O Lord, to work even as in those early New Testament
days where we read that the Lord added unto the Church daily such
as should be saved. Who can tell what blessings might
come even this day? We pray, O Lord, for our dear
friends here. Wash over and bless them, each
one, as they continue to work and witness in this area of Cranbrook. We pray for those, O Lord, who
are worshipping with us online. Be with them in their individual
pathways and as they live out their lives, O Lord, help us
each to have that in our minds that we should ever be ready
to give a reason for the hope that is in us. We know not when
we might be called to witness by thy wonderful truth. We know
not what questions might be in the hearts and minds of those
with whom we have to do in our daily lives. But we are told in the Scriptures,
ye are my witnesses. So help us, O Lord, we pray.
And do be with and help and bless as the glorious good news of
the gospel goes forth around the world and in the land in
which we live, where there is so much darkness and despair.
And we pray, O Lord, for the continuation
of the translation and distribution of the Holy Scriptures, that
the word of life might be read in more and more languages. And as people are blessed with
holding a copy of thy holy inspired word in their hands and to read
it. Be pleased, O Lord, to work even
as it was in the case of Lydia. We read of whose heart the Lord
opened. She attended unto the things
that were spoken. O Lord, open many hearts, we
pray. Make them receptive to the word of life. We pray, O Lord, for our land
and nation. Be with us, O Lord, we pray.
We need, if ever we did, to pray for those
that have the rule over us. O Lord, be with each one and
all in authority over us in our various lands and nations
where we live. and we do pray for thy blessing
and help. I know that those in authority
knew their need of wisdom, and knew thyself, thou who art wisdom
itself, thou who hast given that wonderful promise, that if any
man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. O
Lord, what a blessing it would be if thou art pleased to work
in the hearts, minds, and souls of those in authority over us.
Work mightily, we humbly pray, and do be with, and bless, and guide us each
as we continue in the path of life. We pray, dear Lord, for
our dear brother Mark, as we trust he is able to hold forth
the word of life here this evening, watch over and bless him, help
him in preparation and in proclamation, and be pleased to bless him with
that liberty in the gospel whereby the word might come, not in word
only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit. And this,
O Lord, we seek for ourselves now as we continue in our worship. Bless us together, bless us indeed,
and pour into our hearts and minds those precious truths from
thy holy word that are to our prophet, but above all else,
to thy great praise. Hear us in heaven, thy dwelling
place, when thou hearest, forgive our sin. And we ask it in the
precious name of Jesus and for his sake alone. Amen. The announcement of God willing,
Mr. Mark Seymour is expected to preach
here this evening at 6.30. Your pastor hopes to preach here
on Thursday evening at seven o'clock and next Lord's Day at
11 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. Thanksgiving services
are being held at Tunbridge Wells tomorrow. Details on Cranbrook
Chapel Notice Board. May the Lord be pleased to bless
these appointments. Hymn: 1147 Tune: Niagara 877 As the Lord may be pleased to
help us this morning, I would like to invite your prayerful
attention to the chapter we read together, the gospel according
to John, in chapter four. And we'll take as our text verses
13 and 14. Jesus answered and said unto
her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But 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. John chapter four, verses 13
and 14. It's a wonderful fundamental
truth that whenever a soul is saved, it is God who instigates
it, it is God who works in the heart and soul of a person to
bring them to a saving knowledge of himself. We have so early on in the scriptures,
in that account of sin coming into the world, and death by
sin, that when Adam and Eve had sinned, having eaten of that
forbidden fruit, it wasn't them who came to God seeking for pardon
straight away, was it? It was God. God came into that Garden of
Eden. It was God. who said to Adam,
where art thou? Where art thou? God knew where
he was. Yes, he was in that garden that
God had so carefully prepared for them. But where was he? Well, he was in sin. He was in
sin. That's where he was. And if we
think about it, dear friends, I think we can safely say the
first time that the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ was preached,
It was in that situation. It was God who held forth the
word of life. And before Adam and Eve were
cast out of that garden of paradise, and before ever thistles and
thorns were known, the promise of the coming of the Lord Jesus
was given. The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head,
and he shall bruise his heel. Yes, sin will be put away, but
only by the coming to this earth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in the Word of God here before
us, in John chapter 4, we have a clear account of Jesus who
came to seek and to save that which was lost. This was, and
is, still is, the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord
Jesus was about to be born, it's a wonderful blessing that Joseph,
Mary, the mother of Jesus' husband, was so exercised about this. He acted as a very godly and
God-fearing way. But God sent a message to him
in a dream at night. Joseph, don't be afraid to take Mary
for your wife. It's that which is conceived
in her as of the Holy Spirit. And he also gave him a message
and something to do. I find it in the very first chapter
in the New Testament. While he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, that is, Joseph,
in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary for thy wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a son,
And thou, the responsibility given to he who would have the
father figure of bringing Jesus up as a young lad and then caring for him, thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Thou shalt call his name Jesus.
Jesus, the Saviour, Christ, the Anointed One. And therefore,
that responsibility was put upon Joseph. He was faithful to, wasn't
he? And the Lord Jesus is he who
continues. Every time a soul is saved, it
is only through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now at this time we have
a clear indication given to us of the work of the Lord Jesus.
We read in verse four, and he must needs go through Samaria.
He must needs go through Samaria. And he had an appointment there. An appointment. that his disciples
might have been confused about because the practicing Jews did
not go through Samaria. The history of Samaria is interesting
but in many ways very sad. When the Northern Kingdom was
overtaken, God's judgment was poured out, they were worshipping
idols and they were taken away into captivity What happened? Well, the area of Samaria was
somewhat neglected, and the Assyrians put other people, non-Jews, into
that land to populate it and to maintain their authority. And there were some Jews who
got left behind, and these other nations, they married into the
non-Jews from wherever they came from in that empire, and they
became a mixed race. And also, they had a mixed idea
of worship. They had a certain amount of
historical knowledge. It's worth noticing that In this context, in John chapter
four, this Sumerian woman refers to Jacob, art thou greater than
our father Jacob which gave us this well? Well, she might not
have been of the family of Jacob. We don't know. But many were
not, and yet, the Lord Jesus must these go through Sumeria.
The Jews thought, in their limited way, that the gospel of our Lord
Jesus was only for Jewish people. But what was the word given to
those shepherds at the birth of the Lord Jesus? Fear not, for behold, I bring
you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto
you. You will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in
a manger. And what happened? Those shepherds
went, they saw the baby Jesus, and then we read that they made
known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this
child. And these things shall be to
all people, every nation, every language. These blessings shall
go forth and be made known, so that the scripture will be fulfilled
that out of every kindred, tribe, and tongue, God has a people
to be called his own. That's why we should continue
to pray for the work of mission and the work of the distribution
of the holy scriptures. My word, we read, shall not return
to me void. It shall accomplish that which
I please and prosper in the thing whereto I send it. Now, he must need to go through
Samaria. He had a most important mission,
most important appointment there. And the Jews, quite often, if
they were going from the south to the north, like the Lord Jesus,
they would go right round Samaria and walk the long way round instead
of going through it. Because they thought these things
might, they didn't want to mix with those who didn't think the
same as themselves. But the Lord Jesus came to seek
and to save that which was lost. And Jesus answered and said unto
this woman, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again,
but, and it's always worth looking at the buts in the Bible, but
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. That miracle of grace that God
puts into the hearts and souls of his people, it shall, and
shall is a much more powerful word than the word will, shall
comes with a promise that these things are real and there's a
purpose in them. And the purpose is that God will
plant into the hearts and souls of his people, the spirit of
himself. Like we read of in Psalm 1, he
shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings
forth fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Prosper because that
tree is planted where it is watered and nourished. God who is the
fountain of every blessing puts into the hearts and souls of
his people his own spirit, his own life. But whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, never
thirst, only thirst for fresh supplies of grace. And therefore he who must needs
go through Samaria met with this Samaritan woman. Now I've got
a list here and it's noticeable in this account that a lot of
the key points begin with two letters, that is S and W. S and
W. If you want to jot down S and
W, the first one is regarding the Lord Jesus. He is the Savior
who came to this world, the Savior of the world. Without the Lord Jesus, people
would not be saved. But Jesus came to seek and to
save that which was lost. And this poor lady that Jesus
met when he was thirsty, and she came, and it says what time
of the day she came. In verse six, now Jacob's well
was there and Jesus therefore being wearied
with his journey sat thus on the well and it was about the
sixth hour. Now that is just about midday. And what was this lady doing
coming midday to get water? The hottest part of the day to
get water. Well, it could well be that she
didn't want to mix with other people. People usually came for
water either early in the morning or in the evening when it was
cooler. But she came at midday, not expecting to see a Jewish
man sitting on the well, resting. Now the Lord Jesus, who is God,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, we read. Now how humble it is. that the
Lord Jesus, who is God, in the person of the Saviour, should
beg for water. He sat on the well, he was thirsty,
he was tired, he was hot, and this lady came to draw water
and he says, give me to drink. And this opened up a dialogue
between our Lord Jesus and this lady regarding water. The disciples had gone away to
buy something to eat, and the Lord Jesus was here in conversation
with this lady. And this well, we can also put
an SW to that. Where was this well? Well, a
place called Sychar. S-Y-C-H-A-R. And that was the well that Jacob
and his flocks and his children all drunk water from. Sychar
Well. That's the SW number two. And who did Jesus meet there? Well,
a Samaritan woman. It's another SW. A Samaritan
woman. And as we go through this account,
we see how this Samaritan woman who was keeping herself to herself,
it would seem, in conversation with the Lord Jesus, her case
was dealt with. It was Jacob's well, yes, where
she came to get water. But Jacob's well, this was only temporary water.
Every day she had to come and get water. And this she had to
understand day by day as she did her work. She most likely
got up that morning thinking it was a morning like any other
morning. And I'll do a bit of housework,
I'll prepare something to eat, and then About midday, yes, I'll
go up to the well and get some water, and that'll keep me going
for the rest of the day, not knowing, and we never know, when
God is going to speak. This man that she met sitting
on the well, she knew he wasn't a Samaritan. She could tell most
likely by the way he spoke that he was a Jew, the Lord Jesus. Born in Bethlehem, he grew up
in Nazareth. But he wasn't made that welcome
in his own country, was he, in Nazareth? No, we read in this
same chapter, for Jesus himself testified that a prophet has
no honor in his own country. Most of the work of the Lord
Jesus was in the Galilee area. But here, he is at Samaria. So the savior of this world,
who came to this world, he was at the Sycar Well, he met a Samaritan
woman. And we see here how God's wonderful,
irresistible grace is held forth. But God works mightily. But 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. And notice all those shalls
in these words. They shall be in him, a well
of water springing up into everlasting life. It reminds us of that wonderful
word shall in that oft A well-known verse in John 3 and verse 16. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
shall not perish. Shall not perish. No, God has
a purpose in it. That they shall not perish, but
have everlasting life. Have everlasting life now. The
life that has begun here on earth, that life, depending on the finished
work of the Lord Jesus, begins on this earth. It continues for
all eternity, time without end. There'll be no clocks or watches
in glory, will there? But it shall be in Him. The principle
grace of God given is planted in a living soul. There it remains. That water which is a constant
supply of God's grace and we read these precious words in
John 7 and as we have the account of the words of the Lord Jesus
here John 7 and verse 37, In the last
day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. He spake of the spirit which
they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was
not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. But what a blessing it is that
these things in Christ Jesus are given. And I shall give him,
that is God's irresistible grace. There were many people convicted
of their sin who at one time lived a way out life. You think of our dear friend
John Newton. We love to sing his hymns. We
love to read of him. He wrote that autobiography,
Out of the Depths. But what a blessing it is that
God reached out and saved him. That stormy night when he was
on duty on that ship, a great storm raged. He was on the mast. I think they called that bit
the crow's nest. And the ship swayed right over and up again. And he was suddenly aware, made
aware by God's power, spoken to by the Holy Spirit, that if
he was thrown off into the sea and drowned, his soul would be
lost eternally. And his life at that time was
far from right. He got so low at one time he
was even slave to a slave. But what a blessing it is that
God, by his wonderful grace, brought him out. on the Lord's
side and he spent his life making known the glorious good news
of the Gospel. I once was lost but now am found,
was blind but now I see. And that same John Newton is he who
was greatly used in the Gospel in bringing many out of darkness
into the glorious light of the knowledge and the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ. What the Lord Jesus was speaking
to this lady about was saving water, another SW. The water that I will give you
is saving water. Water that not only satisfies
our natural thirst, But to those who thirst for the Lord Jesus,
within them, there is that satisfying water, that water which, if we partake
of it, it is a living water. What a blessing it was over yesterday
when we saw the rain coming down and when the rain stopped I walked
down the garden and a few, a week or so ago I put some carrot seeds
in and I could see a green line across the garden. Those carrots
had already started coming through the ground and you could see
their brave little green shoots coming up out of what was some
dusty and very dry ground. But that water that came down
by the rain that God had sent, it waters the earth, it nourishes
it, it activates the nutrition in the soil. What a miracle it
is. And as in nature, so in grace.
What a miracle it is when our souls hunger and thirst after
righteousness, and God sends his living water to activate
our hearts, that we're nourished and built up and encouraged in
those things most surely believed. That's where this word shall
is of God. and God determines that His will
will come to pass. Now this lady had to be brought
to see that she was a sinful woman, a sinful woman. Until we are taught a real need,
a true condition, we are completely lost. But God is merciful. He deals with his people individually.
He knew this woman's situation. And when the Lord Jesus said
to her, in the middle of all his teaching, she said to him,
give me this water, sir. She was very polite to him. The
woman says unto him, sir, give me this water that I thirst not,
neither come hither to draw. She still hadn't quite caught
on to the fact that this living water is not the natural water
that she comes for every day. No, this water of life will be
God dwelling in her. So to teach her her need of knowing
the Savior, Jesus said to her, go, call thy husband, and come
hither. Jesus knew all about her. He knew what a reckless
life she was leading. She said, I have no husband.
Yes, Jesus says, thou hast well said, thou hast no husband, because
thou hast had five husbands. We don't know whether they died.
We don't know that, or whether they drifted out of her life,
or she drifted out of their life. But what Jesus did know and what
he reminded her of was, he who thou know hast is not thy husband.
You're not living a very honest life, are you? The woman said unto him, sir,
I perceive that thou art a prophet. She straight away had enough
knowledge of God to know that a prophet is one who has correspondence
with heaven and with God. A prophet's work was to bring
God into the hearts of his people. The work of a priest is to bring
people to God. The Lord Jesus is prophet, priest
and king. Not only did the Lord Jesus bring
God to this earth, But God, the Lord Jesus also, could bring
people's hearts to God. And therefore, this lady thought,
this man must be a prophet. And then she says, our fathers
worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus said unto her,
woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this
mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. Ye worship,
ye know not what. We know what we worship, for
salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit
and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him. God is a spirit, and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman said unto him, I know
that Messiah's cometh, which is called Christ. When he is
come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am he. I that speak unto thee am he. And it's worth noticing that
the translators of the Bible, in their wisdom to make this
grammatically correct, have put the word he on the end of verse
26. It's in italics, not in the original. If we read it as in the original,
Jesus said unto her, I that speak unto thee am. Now this goes right
back to the time when The word of God came to Moses when
he was looking after his father-in-law's sheep in the Sinai Desert. And he was called to lead the
children of Israel out of captivity and also to go to Pharaoh and
demand that God's people should be set free. Moses was so shy,
he didn't feel able to do this. Moses was very privileged. He'd
had a top-grade education. He would have known how the court
of the pharaoh worked. He would have known all these
things. He would have known the Egyptian traditions. We read
in the scriptures that he was skilled in all the arts and crafts
of the Egyptians. Yes, but God drew near to him
in a more powerful way out in the desert than he did in the court of Pharaoh.
Yes, and God said to Moses, you go to the children of Israel
and tell them that God has heard their groans, their sighs because
of their bondage and the hard labor And the labor is more than
it was a little while ago, because you're not being supplied with
straw to reinforce the clay to stop the bricks cracking. No,
you've got to go out and gather it yourself from the stubble
of the cornfields, like the cornfields that have been combined around
here. The stubble is still there. They had to go and pull that
up to put with their brick clay. But they were still supposed
to produce the same amount of bricks and their labour was so
hard that God had heard it. The time of their bondage was
about to be complete. But Moses' argument was, who
shall I say has sent me? God said, you shall go to them
and you will say, I am that I am has sent thee. I am that I am. Now here we have And I am the
Lord Jesus. Jesus said unto her, I that speak
unto thee am. We live in a time of movement,
don't we? Was, is, and is to come. God lives in one eternal now.
I am. God is not confined to our time,
no. When the world began, God created
time. Time will finish when the world
finishes. But God lives in one eternal now. And this distinguishes God's
glory from all other power. And so the Lord Jesus, who this
lady began to realize, not only a prophet, no, but he is the
Savior. And she is made aware of this, I that speak unto thee
am. Upon this came his disciples.
But this lady who was shown this saving water
was a sinful woman. Saving water, SW. Sinful woman,
SW. But what she left there, no. The disciples came, and they
were amazed that Jesus was talking to this lady. But they didn't
say, what seekest thou? Why talkest thou with her? What
happened? The woman then left her waterpot
and went her way into the city. The very reason why she came
She hadn't got water out of the well. It would seem that she
gave the Lord Jesus to drink. She lowered her pot into the
water and Jesus would have quenched his thirst, yes, but that was
the water of the well. Jesus had instructed her of the
living water, which is Christ himself. She went into the city. Having
left her water pot behind, yes, her mind was so taken up with
the teaching of the Lord Jesus that she'd even forgotten why
she came. Her urgent message was now to go and say that she's
met with the Messiah, the promised one. She left her water pot and
went away into the city and says to the men, come, see a man which
told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city
and came unto him. They came to Jesus. In the meanwhile,
his disciples came to him and Jesus taught them about, he said,
I have meat to eat that you know not of. And my meat is to do
the will of him that sent me and to finish his work, yes.
And Jesus, It says to the disciples about lifting up your eyes and
look to the fields, they're white ready to harvest. And he that
reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that
both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
And herein is that saying true. One soweth and another reapeth. Now the Lord Jesus was teaching
the disciples that the prophets who had gone before had sown
the seed. They spoke of the promised Messiah. And if we take, for example,
the prophecy of Isaiah, it's so rich in the gospel of the
Lord Jesus. And we get most sacred parts
of it, as with Isaiah 53, wherein we read as though It's in the
past tense. It's as though God drew the curtain
of time back and gave a glimpse of eternity. And we read, he
was wounded for our transgression. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And by his stripes,
we are healed. The suffering. of our Lord Jesus
Christ. And therefore, these precious
truths, the disciples were to continue with to tell people
that the Saviour has come. He says, I sent you to reap that
whereon ye bestowed no labour. Other men laboured, and ye are
entered into their labors. And then we read, the paragraph
begins, and many of the Samaritans in that city believed on him
for the saying of the woman which testified he told me all that
ever I did. Now this lady became the savior's
witness. That's another SW, isn't it?
She became the savior's witness. They believed on him for the
saying of the woman which testified, he told me all that ever I did.
So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that
he would tarry with them and he abode there two days. You
think two days listening to Jesus speaking of the gospel of himself. And verse 41 says, and many more
believed because of his own word and said unto the woman, now
we believe not because of Thy saying, for we have heard him
ourselves, and know that he is indeed the Christ, the Savior
of the world. Many more, we don't know how
many, but many more can be as many as God alone has called. But what a wonderful witness.
And we should never think of ourselves that we should not
witness for God. Look at the humble people That
poor little servant girl in the days of the Naaman, who was a leper, and what was her witness? If
God were with the prophet that is in Samaria, He would heal
thee of his leprosy. Yes, that's all we read that
she said. But her humble witness was so
greatly used, wasn't it? And so it is with this lady. She'd only just come to realize
that the Lord Jesus is he on whom her hope of heaven depended. But she made it known, and she
was the Savior's witness, and then they believed Not because
of what she said, yes that, put them on the right road, yes.
And we never know who we might put on the right road in answers
to questions or any opportunity we have to make known these precious
truths. But now we believe, not because
of thy saying, not because of what the lady says, for we have
heard him ourselves. personal knowledge and know that
he is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. And so
what a blessing it is that we have these things before us.
We read many more. That's the reason why he must
needs go through Samaria. And we read in the The prophecy
of Isaiah and the Apostle Paul picks it up in the 10th chapters
of the Romans. That word, I'm found of them
that sought me not. Even those who don't seek, the
Lord Jesus will cause them to seek by coming into their lives. Because of this, he had need
to go through some area. Jesus answered and said unto
her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but
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. May the Lord bless these
few remarks this morning to his praise and to our prophet. Amen. Hymn: 732 Tune: Indulgence 547 In much mercy, O Lord, forgive
all that thy pure eyes have seen amiss. Own and bless thine own
word. And we do pray, O Lord, that
thy word might be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Watch over us now, the remainder
of this day, and be with and help us as we gather for worship
later in the day. Be with our friend and brother
Mark, as he holds forth the word of life this evening, be his
helper and bless those to whom he ministers. And this we seek for wherever
the glorious good news of the gospel is faithfully proclaimed.
Do be with our dear brother Roland, the pastor here, as he ministers
at Luton and watch over and bless him there and bring him home
in peace and safety. And we give thanks, O Lord, for
the fellowship that we have one with another in the things of
our Lord Jesus. And now may the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us each now and evermore. Amen.