John 4, 1-7, When therefore the
Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized
more disciples than John, though Jesus Himself baptized not but
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 to the parcel of
ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's whale
was there, or we could read it, now Jacob's whale was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied
with his journey, sat thus on the whale, and it was about the
sixth hour. There cometh a woman. The Pharisees,
verse 1, 2, and 3 says the Pharisees heard that the Lord made more
disciples than John. That's what Pharisees are all
about. That's what religion is all about, numbers. That's what
they're all about. Christ is not in that. He's not
in this numbers quest. Christ leaves the ninety and
nine in search of one center. He left this crowd and went after
one of his lost sheep. Verse 4 says he must needs go
through. Samaria. Not because it was the
shortest way, not geographically he must needs go. He could have
gone any way he chose, couldn't he? But he must needs go through
Samaria because one of his lost sheep is there. He must go there
and save her. He must. He must save. He must because His covenant
is at stake. His power is at stake. If He
doesn't save her, she won't be saved. His covenant, if she's
in it and she's lost, He's not the covenant head, is He? She's
a lost sheep. If she's one of His sheep and
He doesn't save her, He's not a Savior, is He? He can't save. He must go save her. His glory
is at stake. His love is at stake. If He loves
her, He must find her. He must. He must go after her. She cannot come to Him. No man
can except the Father which has sent Him draw them. No man will
come. She's not going to come unless
the Lord brings her. He goes after her. Verse 5 and
6, Then He cometh to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar,
near to the parcel of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
Now, Jacob's well was there. Jacob's well was there. Jacob's God was there. And Jacob's well, yes, Jacob's
well. All the sons of Jacob come to
this well. Not this, that well. I've never been to that well.
Have you? And you haven't either, and we
may never go to that well. But we have come to the well
of water, which is Christ the Lord. As the psalmist said, all
my springs are in thee. He is the fountain. He is the
source of all blessings of life. Jacob's well. Now our Lord was
wearied with His journey. Oh my, what a message that is. What love, what mercy, what grace
that the Lord God of glory came to this earth. What a journey
it was. What a condescension it was.
And oh how He wearied Himself. At Lazarus's tomb, it says, the
Lord groaned and was troubled. And the margin of our Bible says,
He troubled Himself. He troubled Himself. He put Himself
through a great deal of trouble. Why? For who? For one forlorn
woman? Yes. Not because she's worth
it. because who he is, the merciful
Lord. He was wearied with his well. The Lord was tempted in all points
like as we are, touched with a feeling of our infirmities
because he himself was compassed with infirmity. We become weary,
so did he. We're sorrowful, so was he. And
he sat on the well. What's he doing? He's waiting. He's waiting on someone. Oh,
He's not hoping someone will come. He knows she will come. This is a meeting that He had
purposed before the world began. This is a meeting that will take
place. He purposed it. He's waiting
on her. He's waiting to be gracious.
This is the Lord. This is our hope for our lost
loved ones in us. Our lost spouses, our lost parents,
our lost children. Our hope that the Lord is waiting
to be gracious. They haven't come yet. They haven't
come to the Lord. There are some sitting in this
room right now who have come to church but have not yet come
to Christ. Oh, we hope and pray that He's
waiting to be gracious. Not waiting on them to come,
but waiting on his time and the fullness of time for them to
come to him, for him to reveal himself to them. Well, he sat
on that well, the sixth hour. Now, the sixth hour was noon,
high noon, at this time of the year. We believe it was a hot,
hot time of the year. And women did not come to the
well at the sixth hour. They would come to the well,
this was a community well as it's the same in so many poor
countries. There's one well that all the
people come to draw from. That's a good picture, isn't
it? There's only one well from which all sinners may draw, and
that's the well of salvation, which is Christ. She came the
sixth hour, though at noon, women used to come and still come early
in the morning to get their water for the day's work, to get their
water to wash with, their water to drink with and to cook with,
the cool of the day, not the hot part of the day. But now
this woman, this woman is a forlorn woman. This woman is a sinful
woman. Everyone in town knows it. In
fact, when the disciples came back, they were gone. When they
came back, they marveled that he was speaking to this woman. They'll learn, won't they, that
they're no better than she. But she's a forlorn woman. And
that's who the Lord came for. But she comes at the hottest
part of the day. She's not wanting to see anyone,
but someone wanted to see her. She's not wanting to face anyone
because of her guilt and her shame. She's not wanting to face
anyone, but oh, the face that she saw. We sing that song, face to face
with Christ my Savior. Face to face, what will it be?
Fanny Crosby, I believe, wrote that. When with rapture I behold
Him, Jesus Christ has died for me. Now the disciples had gone,
verse 8, the disciples had gone away into the city to buy meat.
That was by design. In the Lord's purpose, He had
them leave. He is going to deal with this
woman alone as He deals with all of His people. Alone. The Lord must speak to you alone. And oh, how I pray and I hope
that the Lord will get someone alone and speak to them. Verse 7, the Lord says, "...that
cometh a woman of Samaria." That cometh a woman. Oh, my. A woman who did this well. Who
is this woman? This is his bride. He's been waiting on her. This
is his bride. As I said, she's a forlorn woman. He doesn't need her. What does
he need with her? Nothing. But she needs him. That's why he came. That's why
he's waiting. This is his bride that he's been
waiting on. She will come. All that the Father
giveth me, Christ said, shall come unto me. And she is his
bride like Rebecca came to Isaac at the well. Like Rachel came
to Jacob. At the well, all of God's, all
of Christ's bride come to Him. They meet Him at the well, the
well of water, His Word, the Gospels, to come with the woman
to this well. And He said to her, verse 7,
give me to drink, give me to drink. Did you read that with
me? He said unto her, give me to
drink. He did not ask her, did He? He
did not say. It does not read. There's no
question mark at the end of it. Would you give me a drink? He
didn't. In verse 9, the woman said unto
him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which
I am a woman of Samaria? He didn't ask her. She thought he did. No, no, no,
no. This is how ignorant she was and how ignorant we are until
the Lord reveals Himself to her, to us. He didn't come to ask her anything. He came to tell her something.
He didn't come to ask her to help Him if she would help Him
because He's thirsty and weary. No, He came to create a thirst
in her so that she might ask Him for help and He would relieve
that thirst in her. The Lord of glory doesn't ask
things of men. He tells us. Salvation is not
a request. Salvation is not an invitation. Salvation is a command. Isn't
it? Isn't it? John, you never get
tired of me quoting this verse, and I never get tired of quoting
it. Thou hast given commandment to
save me. People, if He doesn't, we won't
come. He can ask us. He can invite us. But no man
can come, the Scripture says. No man will come. I've asked
many a people this morning, leaving the house and looking around
and seeing the cars of my neighbors whom I've asked time and time
again to come and hear the gospel. They won't come. Why? The Lord hasn't told them. But
if He tells them, they'll come. So that's who I pray to. That's
who I ask. I ask Him. And she said in verse 9, how
is it that you ask me? Now she's an Armenian right now.
She doesn't know him. He didn't ask her. But she says,
how is it? She marvels that she readily
saw that he was a Jew. They sounded differently and
perhaps dressed somewhat differently than Samaritans. Samaritans were
half-breeds, half-Jew, half-Gentile. And she said, how is it, sir,
how is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink of me, which I'm
a woman of Samaria. The Jews have no dealings with
the Samaritans. She marveled that he was talking to her. Neither
race had anything to do with each other. But later on, she's
going to wonder and she's going to marvel. The thing that's going
to make her marvel more than anything is, how is it? Why is
it that the Lord of Glory had any dealings with me, a sinner? What is man? This is what she's
going to ask later on, that thou art mindful of him, and especially
me, that you would visit him. How is it? Our Lord answered
her, verse 10, and 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, and if you and I know, if some in here only
knew their real need, they would ask. I see some that don't have
a thirst. Some that don't have a real need
of Christ. Some that don't rejoice in the
Lord because they don't yet know and they have not asked. The
Lord said, Whosoever asketh, receiveth. The Lord said, Whosoever
calleth shall be saved. The Lord said, Whosoever seeketh,
findeth. Whoever knocks and keeps knocking
until the door is open, it shall be opened unto them. Oh Lord,
cause us to ask. Cause someone to ask this morning.
Call upon the Lord. If you knew your real need, you
would ask. If you knew Him, you would ask
Him. If you knew that eternal life
is in a person, not in a thing. He said, if you knew the gift
of God. What is the gift of God? It's
not a what? It's a person. The gift of God
is eternal life, and this life is in His Son, and God must give
Him. Paul said, when it pleased God
to reveal not the doctrines of grace to me, that's revealed to you when Christ
is revealed to you. When it pleased God to reveal
His Son in me. This woman is about to have the
Son revealed in her. The Son of righteousness is about
to arise in her heart. the light of the knowledge of
God, the glory of God in the person of Christ. If you knew
that eternal life is in a person, not a thing, you'd quit looking
here, you'd quit looking there, you'd quit looking in different
places. And you'd ask Him, Lord, give me the gift. Give me Yourself. And look at this blessed promise
to all who ask. If you knew you'd ask, He would
give. If you knew, you'd ask, and He
would give. And if we really knew the will
of God, if we really knew that which we really need, if we really
knew the one thing needful, that's all we would ask for. When the
Lord told us to pray, He said, pray this, give us this day our
daily bread. That's it. As far as material
things, that's all we need. The Lord said, having food and
raiment, be content. But now, every day, you need
to ask for this. Forgive us our debts. Thy kingdom come. Lead us not into temptation.
Deliver us from evil. We need Him. We have food, we
have raiment. The Lord has always promised
that. But we don't live by those things. We live by Him. If you knew, you would ask and
He would give. Living water, look at this, verse
11. Living water, oh my, the Lord
is the one that said this to me. Living water. She had been
partaking of stagnant water, poisonous water, the waters of
this world, like so many people attempt to live upon. Living
water. Dead works, not dead religion. This woman was forlorn. This
woman was a sinner. This woman was ignorant and blind,
but she's still religious. We're going to see that in a
minute. She's religious, but it's not doing her a bit of good.
In fact, she's worse. Living water. Not dead works,
not religion. Living water. The living and
true God. The living Word. The living Christ. Life. You need life. Water. Living water. Ever-flowing water. Daily water. Continuous flow
of grace and mercy and peace. It's only found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's only found in His Word. Not reading the Bible,
but in hearing from Him. His living voice. The voice of
the Lord. Living water is what you need.
Not dead doctor. Living water. But a woman said unto him, look
at how ignorant she is. Sir, thou hast nothing to draw
with. She sees a man. She just sees
a man and said, How can you help me? You're just
a man. I'm the one with the bucket. You poor ignorant woman. He dug this well. He has nothing. He has her. This is the Lord
of glory. This is the Lord. The earth is
the Lord's in the fullness. It has nothing. The earth is
the Lord's in the fullness thereof. The world and they that dwell
therein. This is the God in whose hands her breath was and all
her ways. Thou hast nothing. Oh, when we ever find out that
He hath all things, hath all things. Thou hast nothing to
draw with, the well is deep." Oh, she doesn't know the depth
of her sin, does she? She doesn't know the depth of
her depravity. She doesn't know. The only one who's going to bring
her out of the depths is this one whose arm is not short. He
doesn't need a bucket. He's got his hand. And that's how he draws us off.
From whence then hast thou this living water, she said? Are you
greater than our father Jacob? Oh my! Greater? This is the great God, isn't
it? This is Jacob's God. This is God our Father. Call
His name, wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. Are thou greater than our father
Jacob? How ignorant is she? How blind is she? How ignorant
and blind are men and women? Totally, totally, until the Lord
gives eyes to see himself. Now Jacob, she said, gave us
this well, and he drank thereof, and his children, his cattle. Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. Whosoever drinketh of this water
shall thirst again." This water. Our Lord is pointing,
I believe, to that whale. He's pointing. Maybe she had
drawn a bucket. While drawing a bucket, while
she's talking to him, brings it up. This bucket. By the way,
he never took a drink of it. He wasn't there to get a drink. He was there to get her. And she didn't take a drink either. Not of that bucket. Oh, but she
drank from the well of salvation this morning. May someone else. She's drawing that water, and
she drew it up there, and the Lord said, perhaps pointed out,
whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again. I took a
drink of this water just a moment ago, and I'm thirsty again. And I'll be thirsty again, and
again, and again. What water? Any water. Name something. The eye is never satisfied with
seeing. The ear is never satisfied with hearing. The mouth with
tasting, with eating, is never. The flesh cannot be satisfied
by flesh. Neither can the soul be satisfied
with the things of this world. The world, the things of this
world, the people of this world are not living things, our Lord
said, but they're dead. Dead and dying things. No matter
what it is, it won't last. No matter who it is. The water of this well will leave
you thirsty. I thought this morning about Abraham. You know, he had
no children. He was an old man. He had no
children. And he took all his joy and his pleasure in Lot,
his nephew, didn't he? Well, the Lord took him away
from him. He found some measure of satisfaction and pleasure
in Lot. They journeyed together. He loved
Lot. And he found some satisfaction in Lot. But Lot broke his heart.
And the Lord took him away. And that's when Abraham said,
Lord, what do you give me? I go childless. And the Lord
said, Me. You don't need a child. You need Me. And then when he finally had
a son, he took matters into his own hands. I need a son. I need
a boy. God said, I have one. I'll have
one. And he had one. He broke his heart too. And the
Lord took him away. And the Lord will take everyone
away from us eventually, unless he takes us first to tell us
that these waters don't satisfy. They're not living waters. They're
dead and dying. All these things, you take them
away. But you'll never take this living
water. He said it would be a wellspring.
Spring it up in you. He went on to say in verse 13,
verse 14, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst. The water that I shall give him
shall be in him. In him. A well of water springing
up into everlasting life. What is that? It's Him. It's
Him. Oh my. This woman we're going
to see came to this well for worldly water, physical, material
water to drink from. Bless God she went away. She
didn't need a drink of that. She went away. Maybe she came
thirsty. Maybe she came dirty. Maybe she
needed water for the day. She went away with all of those
needs met. Her thirst was assuaged. Her
sins were gone. She was washed and didn't know
it. Not with the water of this world. And this water won't wash
us either. Only Christ's. She came, this
woman had tried many things, like the woman at the well, I
mean the woman with the issue of blood. She tried many things
and she was not better. None of them made her better,
but made her worse, didn't it? And many of these poor physicians
that told that woman with the issue, you need to do this, you
need to do that, you don't need to do anything. You need to trust
Christ. Look to the Lord. That's why.
But she tried many things, many people, many marriages. She thought
she'd get her feel of life through men. Men can't satisfy you. Men are just men. And every man
in his best state is altogether vanity. And it won't satisfy.
Women won't satisfy. Things, pleasure won't satisfy
you. There's only one that satisfies. The one man she needed, she tried
many men. The one man she needed, she didn't
know she needed. And he knew she needed him, so
she came to create a need. This is how you know when the
Lord is first dealing with someone. Sometimes it's evident. Most
of the time, well, much of the time to the preacher he sees
it in the face of someone who knows no response before, and
finally they looked like, hmm. She's listening intently. She's
listening carefully now. Maybe she wasn't before. Who
are you? You don't have anything to draw
with, and this well is deep. You need my help. And he's the
woman. He's got her attention. Oh, the
Lord get our attention. She's tried to find some happiness,
some satisfaction, something to meet her need in men. They
won't meet her need, only this man. She tried many husbands,
not knowing. Here he is. He's come for her. Her husband has come for her.
She's been a forlorn woman. She's been a used up woman. She's
been a forsaken woman by many. This is the one that come to
marry her. And He will never, no never,
no never forsake her now. She wasn't waiting on Him. But
bless God. See, that's not our salvation.
Our salvation is He's waiting on us to be gracious. And He
will. He will be gracious to His own.
Verse 15. The woman said, sir, give me
this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
Give me. Give me. He said, if you would
ask, he'd give. She did. Did she get it? Oh yeah. People ask. Ladies ask. Men, young people ask. But look
at this now. Before there is comfort, there
has to be guilt. Before there is pardon, there
has to be shame. Before comfort, there has to
be... Before healing, there has to be a wound. Or else it means
nothing. The gospel means nothing. Except
the wounded, poor, broken, contrite hearts. The Lord said in verse 16, Go
call your 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 right now you are living
with a man, and he is not your husband. And that saidst thou
truly. You know, the Lord, I don't attempt
to say things like He said it, though when I read or whatever,
I try to say it somewhat, but no man spake like this man. And it's not by might, not by
power, not the man's way of saying things, but only when the Lord
through the Holy Spirit speaks through that man in a way that
only he can speak and must speak in power. Breaking the heart,
to the heart, not the head, to the heart. But our Lord, no man
spake like this man. He spake with conviction. Oh,
he pierced, these words pierced her heart, didn't they? And yet
at the same time, he who speaks with conviction speaks with comfort.
No man could speak like that. He spake with rebuke. The Word
of God reproves and rebukes and corrects. Oh, bless God, the
Word of God comforts too. But only he can do that. The
Word of God, what he said to her revealed her, exposed her. The Word of God convicted her.
The Word of Christ convicted her. And at the same time, It's
a word of compassion. She needs to feel her guilt.
She needs to be ashamed of herself. She's shameful. She needs to
feel exposed. So she'll need to be covered. It's a good thing. Before covering comes exposure. And our Lord with a two-edged
sword in His mouth wounds and heals. Rebukes and comfort. Picture her now. I couldn't say that like he said
it, but it pierced her heart. It filled her with shame and
guilt, didn't it? Picture her now, really now. Now, when he's telling her, you've
had five husbands. And you're living with a man
in sin and adultery and fornication. You've well said, you have no
husband. Can you see her now? Yeah. Well, that's you. She's closed
her eyes now. She's got her head bowed. And
maybe, I bet you tears are running down her eyes now, around her
face. Tears are running down her face now. But unlike the people of that
town, he didn't come to shame her. He came to deliver her from
her shame. Because he that believeth will
never be ashamed. She's ashamed now. She needs
to feel that shame. But he came like the woman caught
in the act that was put at his feet. She's guilty when it's all over.
She's not guilty. Sir, I perceive that you're a
prophet. I perceive that you're a prophet. You know, she did not know this
was the Lord. She thought it was just a man.
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus didn't know it was
the Lord. They thought it was just a man. And you know, the
Lord speaks to you, He'll speak to you through a man. But if
He speaks to you, it's not a man, it's the Lord. And you'll perceive
He's a prophet. Like Ezekiel said, the Lord said
to Ezekiel, they come to you like they come to a man. They
say you have a good voice, and they'll hear you sing, and you
have a good voice. They like the way you sound and
all that, but they won't do what you say. But he said, they'll
know one day there's been a prophet. The Lord sent a prophet. But
if you hear from God, it'll be through a man. And what you'll
hear is Him expose you. That's what I'm told to do. Son of man, he said, caused Israel
to know their iniquity. Didn't it, John? Through Jeremiah. Caused them to know their abomination.
Why, Lord? To put them to shame? No, to
deliver them from it. Because only then will they call
on me for mercy. She said, I perceive. And you
know, when the Lord first speaks to us, begins to speak to us,
like this woman, He exposes us. And I've told you this story.
There was a man and his wife named Clark that were members
of, well, she was a member of the church in Ashland. And the
Lord saved her, revealed himself to her, but not him yet. And
she would ask him to come with her to hear the gospel, and he
did, Mr. Clark. And he came with her until
one day, like this woman, one day, the preacher preached. A man preached, and God was speaking
to him. And he went home, and on the
way home he said to his wife, he said, you've been talking
to that preacher about me. Exposed him. No, she said, honey,
no, I've never had a conversation one time with that preacher.
Like Samuel who came to Eli, are you talking to me? No. The Lord saved old Brother Clark,
didn't he? I perceive you're a prophet.
You seem to know all about me. The Word of God is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Read on, I must quote. She said in verse 20, she pleads
her religion. Everyone does. Our fathers worshipped
in this mountain. You say in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship. I'm a Methodist, you're a Baptist,
or I'm a Catholic, and you're an Episcopalian. You know, this
is the way. Salvation is not in a place. Salvation is not in a thing. Salvation is a person. That's
what all of you found out, didn't you? When you came out of religion,
you left a place and came to a person. You came to a place,
and this is how you know the place where He is. You'll hear
the person. You'll be pointed to the person.
You'll meet the person, and you'll begin to worship God. You'll
begin to rejoice in Christ. He said, woman, believe Me. of
everything he said is a message. Woman, believe
me. Believe me. He's the truth. He's
telling the truth. He is the truth. The hour cometh.
Not might, but it cometh. When you shall neither in this
mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. You worship
you know not what. Most people are that way. All
men are that way until They know Him, whom? We worship ye know
not what. He said, we know what we worship,
salvations of the Jew. Oh my. What's in that line? Salvations of the Jews. That's
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, one way. Salvation according
to the pattern. Salvation by a priest, by a tabernacle,
and by a sacrifice. These three things. You must
have a high priest, you must have a tabernacle, and you must
have a sacrifice. And brethren, these three are
one. A person. A person. Salvation
is of the Jew. The hour cometh, verse 23, our
Lord said, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth, from the heart and in truth in
me. The truth as it is in the Lord
Jesus Christ. For the Father seeketh such to
worship him, brethren, and he finds them. All that he seeks
he finds. God is a spirit. They that worship
him must worship him in spirit and truth. Didn't the scriptures
say God is not worshipped with men's hands? God dwelleth not
in buildings made with hands. God is not known by the flesh,
but by the Spirit, revealed by His Spirit. They that worship
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. A woman said unto
him, I know that Messiah is coming, which is called Christ. When
He is come, He will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee, am. That was it. Now her blind eyes
are open. Her dead, she has a new heart. If she was hanging her head before,
she's raised her head now. Lift up your head, lift up your
heads. He'll lift up the head. They'll drink from the brook,
David said, and then lift up the head. Now she knows who this
is. Now she knows the one thing that
equals Him. Now she knows. Whom to know has
salvation. This is eternal life. He that
hath the Son hath life. This dead sinner now has life.
I am. Well, the disciples came marveling
that he spoke to her. I do too. I marvel that he spoke
to me. Aren't you? Don't you? Verse
28, the woman left her water pot. What a message that is,
huh? She didn't have much, I don't
think. This water pot was dear to her. This water pot where
she drew all the water she thought she needed. Boy, she didn't need
that now. She left that water pot, dropped
it without taking a drink and went her way into the city and
said to the men, come see a man, told me all things ever I did.
Is not this the Christ? When Christ reveals himself to
you, you know what the first thing you'll do is? You'll go
tell others what great things the Lord has done for you. You'll
confess it. Our Lord said, he that believeth
on me and confesseth me. They say, she did. You can't
help it. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, with the
mouth confession is made. She had to. Women talk about their husbands,
don't they? Always. No matter if they're gone, they
still talk about them. That's love. That's union, isn't
it? She might have talked about other
things. She might have talked about the weather before. She might
have met somebody she knew. She might have talked about politics.
She might have talked about the weather. What's she talking about
now? Come see a man. She was a Methodist
before. Now she's a Christian. Come see
a man. If you ever meet the Lord Jesus
Christ, that's who you'll be talking about. If you ever meet
the Lord Jesus Christ, He then, from then on, for the rest of
your life, is your life. And some of them came. Bless
God, some of them came. And some of you have come because
someone came to you and said, come see a man. Ain't more than
a man. Oh, may the Lord use that.