Welcome to Reign of Grace. This
program is brought to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries,
an outreach ministry of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany,
Georgia. It is our pleasure and privilege
to present to you the gospel message of the sovereign grace
and glory of God in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that today's program
will be a blessing to you. Thank you for listening. And
now for today's program. Welcome to our program. I'm glad
you could join us. If you'd like to follow along
in your Bibles, I'm going to be preaching from the Gospel
of John, chapter four. And I have a few messages that
I'm going to preach through this chapter concerning this subject,
Christ, the water of life. Today will be part one, Christ,
the water of life. And this is from John chapter
four, where the Lord Jesus Christ As he continued his sojourn here
on earth, on his way to the cross, and on his way to the resurrection,
and ultimately on his way unto the Father, he confronted and
dealt with so many people from different walks of life, different
views, different ways of living. And I've always said that John
chapter three and John chapter four are two of the most exciting
chapters in the Bible because it sets forth a contrast, but
in a way brings us to the same conclusion. And the contrast
is between a religious man, a Pharisee named Nicodemus, whom Christ
dealt with in John chapter three, And then in John chapter four
here, he's going to deal with a Samaritan woman, but not only
a Samaritan, which the Samaritans were despised by the Jews, but
also a woman who was an adulterous woman, who had had several marriages
and then was living with a man at the time Christ confronted
her, the woman at the well, we call her. And so here you have
the contrast of a super religious man named Nicodemus, one who
claimed to be a keeper of the law and the ten commandments
and the whole law and the contrast between a Samaritan and Nicodemus
was a Jew full-blooded Jew and then the contrast between a Samaritan
which was you could say was a mixed breed and one hated by the Jews
and an adulterous living in adultery and the conclusion is the same
and this is the conclusion that if salvation, if salvation and
a right relationship with God were to come to either one of
these two individuals, Nicodemus, the moralist, and the woman at
the well, the adulteress, it would be upon the same ground
because both of them were lost in their sins, equally lost. You couldn't say that the woman
at the well was more lost than Nicodemus. both were equally
in need of a righteousness that neither one could produce. And
I want you to see this now, if you understand the Bible, if
you understand the grace of God and the gospel and what the Bible
says about man by nature in sin, you'll understand that Nicodemus
in his religion in his morality was no closer to God, no closer
to salvation, no closer to righteousness and forgiveness than this woman
at the well who was an open adulteress. Salvation is for sinners and
salvation is based upon the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ and
no contribution from either one. And I know that's difficult to
understand for some people, but this is what the Spirit does.
The Bible says there's none righteous, no, not one. Now, the world could
look at that woman at the well that's in here in John chapter
four and say, well, we know she's not righteous. But many people
would look at Nicodemus and say, well, now he must be righteous
or closer to. No, he was as far away from righteousness
as the woman at the well. In fact, If you wanna get technical,
and sometimes I do, when the Lord was dealing with the Pharisees
and He spoke of them, of their evangelistic efforts, going out
trying to get converts in the Gentile world, He said, you do
indeed encompass sea and land to get one convert. And he said
this, he said, when you find him, you make him twofold more
the child of hell than you are. If you think about that, here's
these religious Jews, these Pharisees going out trying to get Gentile
converts, trying to get these immoral Gentiles to be religious
like them. And Christ said, when you get
them, they're worse off than they were before. And the reason
he said that is this, self-righteousness is a supreme stumbling block
to any sinner who hears the gospel. In other words, you out there
listening to me, you have some hope of salvation probably, something
that you would point to by which you judge yourself to be saved.
Now, if in preaching the gospel to you from the word of God,
you were to find out that that ground of salvation, that hope
of salvation that you have is no good, what would you do? Well, if left to yourself, you'd
just get angry. You'd just say, well, I'm not
gonna listen to him anymore. But if the spirit of God comes and
convicts you of sin, you'll say, oh my soul, I need to repent.
I need to look to Christ alone for salvation and for righteousness.
Well, let's look at John chapter four here. It says, verse one,
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. And that tells us
that Jesus himself did not baptize anybody, but his disciples did.
The Bible doesn't explain why that's so, but I suspect if somebody
were baptized by Christ himself, that would give a tendency, according
to the flesh, to brag about that, as if that meant something more
than if Peter and James and John baptized you. You know, a lot
of people are proud of who baptized them. But that's not the issue,
see. And verse says, it said, verse
three, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee. And verse
four is really important now. It says, and he must needs go
through Samaria. He must needs go through Samaria. Now, first of all, if you were going from where
he was, he left Judea, departed into Galilee, no self-respecting
Jew would take the route through Samaria to get there. They just
wouldn't do it. And that's how much they hated
the Samaritans. They didn't want to be identified
or didn't want to be around the Samaritans. And so you ask the
question, why is it necessary that he go through Samaria? And
it was necessary. Well, if you look over in John
chapter 10, I'll show you why. Christ here in John chapter 10,
he's talking about how he is the good shepherd who laid down
his life for the sheep. Now, when you ask the question,
for whom did Christ die? If your answer is he died for
everybody, everybody in the world, you're not being biblical, you're
wrong. Because you see, if Christ died
for everybody, that means he redeemed them and their sins
had been imputed to him and he satisfied justice and they must
be saved. And we know that's not so. The
Bible tells us that there will be people who perish in their
sins. If Christ died for you, your
sins are put away. And in time, in God's time, when
it pleases the Lord, you will be brought under the gospel and
you will be brought to faith in Christ. And that's his sheep. And he says in John 10, 11, he
says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. That's who Christ died for. Now,
these sheep are called many different things in the scripture. They're
his church, they're his brethren, they're his subjects, they're
the elect. The Bible calls them the elect.
Romans 8.33, who shall anything to the charge of God's elect?
It's God that justifies, who can condemn us? It's Christ that
died. Yea, rather is risen again, seated at the right hand of the
Father, ever living to make intercession for us. So he says in verse 14,
now this is John 10, he says, I am the good shepherd and know
my sheep and am known of mine. I know my sheep and my sheep
are going to know me. Later on, he says they cannot
perish. You see, if you perish in your sins, you're not of his
sheep. But his sheep will believe in him and they'll persevere.
And he says in verse 15, let's read verse 14 again. Now listen
to this, this is why he must needs go through Samaria. I'm
not getting off the subject, okay? He must needs go through
Samaria. And it says in verse 14, he says,
John 10, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known
of mine. As the father knoweth me, even so know I the father.
And I laid down my life for the sheep. then look at verse 16,
and other sheep I have which are not of this fold," Now what
does it mean not of this fold? Not of this Jewish fold. Now
He had some sheep among the Jews, the disciples for example and
others, but He had other sheep which were not of that Jewish
fold. One of them was a Samaritan,
a woman. And here's what he says. And
other sheep, verse 16, and other sheep I have which are not of
this fold, them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. And he goes on
to say, therefore doth my father love me because I lay down my
life that I may take it again. The reason he must need, go back
to John four now. Verse four, he must needs go
through some, you know why he must needs go through some? Because
one of his sheep was there. She didn't know it yet, but he
knew her. She didn't know him, but he knew
her. And he's gonna bring her to know him. Now, this is not
to say that the sheep must hear from the Lord directly as in
his physical presence, but that's the point. If you're one of Christ's
sheep, you're gonna hear his voice in the preaching of the
gospel. It may be from a preacher like me or some other preacher
who preaches the gospel, but you're gonna hear from the shepherd.
He's going to bring you to a saving knowledge of Christ, crucified
and risen from the dead, as the Lord your righteousness. The
only way of salvation, the only way that God can be just to justify
the ungodly. The gospel is the power of God
to salvation to everyone, unto salvation to everyone that believeth. The Jew first, the Jewish folk,
and the Greek or the Gentile folk. He's got, God's elect is
made up of a people out of every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation.
Christ died for them. He redeemed them. He wrought
out righteousness for them, and he's going to give them life
by the power of the Spirit in the new birth through the preaching
of the gospel. So he must needs go through Samaria. Well, look at John four and verse
five. 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 well was there, Jesus,
therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the
well, and it was about the sixth hour. And verse seven says, there
cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Do you think that
was just coincidence? No. He knew that woman was there,
and he knew that woman would be there, because he determined
it. And it says, Jesus saith unto her, give me to drink. And
it says in parenthesis in verse eight, his disciples were gone
away into the city to buy meat. Verse nine, 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. Now this is the kind of people
that Christ saves. Sinners, despised and rejected. And it says in verse 10, 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. Now that's what Christ is to
his people. He's living water, the water
of life. Often in scripture we see so
many symbols, types, pictures, analogies. So many of them describe
the nature and character of the person and work of Christ. And
one of them is Christ, the water of life. We see Christ, the bread
of life. Christ said in the Sermon on
the Mount in Matthew chapter five and verse six, he said,
blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for
they shall be filled. What is it to hunger and thirst
after righteousness? It's to hunger and thirst after
salvation. It's to hunger and thirst after
forgiveness. Oh, I'm a sinner and I need forgiveness.
It's to hunger and thirst after life itself. I want to live forever. But if you truly hunger and thirst
after righteousness, true righteousness now, not just religion, not just
morality, not just feel good, Not just physical healing, but
true righteousness. You'll be filled because true
righteousness can only be filled by the glorious person and finished
work of Christ. You'll find righteousness in
Christ alone. You won't find it anywhere else.
If you're convicted by the Spirit, then you've been made hungry
and thirsty after righteousness, and that hunger and thirst will
not be filled until you find Christ, the bread of life, Christ,
the living water, and you drink from the fountain of life, and
that's believing in Christ. And that's the only way. If you
claim to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and that thirst
and hunger can be filled in any other way, If it can be filled
in your works or your experiences, your dreams, your visions, your
emotions, your ceremonies, you're not really hungry and thirsting
after righteousness. Righteousness can only be found
in Christ. He is the revelation of the righteousness
of God. And that's the merit of His obedience
unto death as the surety, the substitute, the redeemer of His
people. And there's no other way that I can be filled. If
the Holy Spirit has made me hungry and thirsty for that righteousness,
then I will not find peace. I will not find salvation. I
will not find hope. I will not find assurance except
in Christ, person and word. His righteousness. And notice
here what he said to this woman in verse 10. He said, if thou
knewest the gift of God, Now, one of the things that the Lord
shows us in his word is that by nature, man really doesn't
understand the gift of God. Because the gift of God is Christ
himself and all the blessings and benefits of salvation and
righteousness and forgiveness and eternal life that can be
found only in Him, that can come to us only by Him. None of that
can come based upon what we do or what we decide. You see, faith
is not the ground or the cause of our salvation. Faith is part
of that gift. Ephesians 2, eight and nine,
for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
If you think that faith is just the product of your decision
or your free will, you don't know the gift of God. And that's
what he was saying to the one as well. If you only knew the
gift of God. Back over in 1 Corinthians chapter
two, It talks about this. Paul talks about this as he was
inspired to write these things in 1 Corinthians 2 in verse 11. Listen to this. He says in verse
11, for what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit
of man which is in him? Man's knowledge of man is natural
to him. The spirit of man that is in
him. Even so, he says, the things of God knoweth no man but the
Spirit of God. If we're gonna know anything
about God in his saving power, his saving character, how to
be saved, how to be justified, how to have a right relationship
with God, that's not natural to you or me. That has to come
by revelation of the Spirit of God. That's a gift. And so he
says in verse 12, now listen to this, Now we have received
not the spirit of the world, that's believers now. Our faith
in Christ, repentance of dead works, our perseverance in the
faith, our knowledge of God, that didn't come by the spirit
of the world. He says, but the spirit which
is of God, and how do we know? That we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God. You see, we don't know the
gift of God until the Spirit reveals it to us. That knowledge
is a gift. It's all a gift. It's all of
grace. We don't earn or deserve any
of it. We don't gain any of it by anything we do or decide.
It's a free gift of God. That's the nature of this thing.
So back here in John chapter four, verse 10, he tells this
woman, if you knew the gift of God, well, what is the gift of
God? Ephesians 1.3 says it this way,
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. All, everything that I have that
brings salvation, everything that I am and everything that
I have of the blessings and benefits of salvation, all wisdom, knowledge,
all righteousness, all holiness, sanctification, redemption, life,
it's all a gift of God that He gave to me freely and fully unconditionally
and none of it which I deserve and none of it which I earned. He that spared not his own son,
how shall he not with him freely give us all things? I believe
that's Romans 8 and verse 32. He that spared not his own son,
all right, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? And so that's what this woman
didn't know. If you knew the gift of God, verse 10, and who
it is that saith to thee, you see the gift of God is in Christ,
his glorious person, his finished work. You'd say, give me to drink,
thou wouldest, 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. Well, look at verse 11 now, John
4. 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. You see, this woman is in the
same condition that Nicodemus was in, basically, when it comes
to spiritual issues. You remember he told Nicodemus,
you must be born again? And Nicodemus, not thinking spiritually,
because the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, He said, well, how can a man be born again? Can he enter
into his mother's womb and come out again? Well, you're thinking
of physical things here, Nicodemus, not spiritual. Well, the woman
at the well was the same way. You don't have anything to draw
with out of this well. How are you gonna give me living water? Well, Christ
answered in verse 12. And she said, she went on to
say, art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the
well and drank thereof himself and his children, his cattle?
In verse 13, Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again. And remember he told Nicodemus,
no, we're not talking about physical birth. He said, no, you drink
of this water, you'll get thirsty again. You ever been real thirsty? You get your cold glass of water
and you'll be thirsty again. That thirst can never be totally
eternally quenched. But he says in verse 14, but
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, that's
the gift, shall never thirst. but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. Christ, the water of life. You
see, this is the well of salvation. He's talking about spiritual
water, spiritual thirst, the soul thirsty, the soul who knows
it's sinfulness. I'm a sinner, I'm in a dry place. and I have no water. You see,
water is necessary for life. Food is necessary for life. And
in my natural state as a sinner, fallen in Adam, totally depraved,
spiritually dead, I have no sustenance, no water to quench my thirst,
no bread to fill my hunger, no life, no air to breathe. That's destitute, you see. And
that's death is what that is. But when Christ comes in the
grace of God and comes into the life of his people and gives
them new life, a new spirit, a new heart, and brings his truth,
the word of God. You see, man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the father. That's
the bread of life, Christ. and they're filled and it's continual
fulfilling because it's not like they get thirsty again. Now we
continually thirst for the Word of God, but we have that well
of that spring, springing up within us. And it's quenched
through the Word of God as we read and study and glean and
feed upon and drink from the wells of salvation. and it never
ends. It's eternal, it's everlasting
life. Look at verse 15. The woman saith unto him, sir,
give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Well, again, she's thinking physically. Because she's thinking, well,
if I drink from this, I won't have to come here and get water
out of this well. But you will, you'll thirst physically
again. But drinking from the well of
life, the water of life, Christ the water of life. you'll never
thirst again, because anytime you're hungry or thirsty for
the word of God, it's there, it's written on your heart, it'll
always drive you to Christ. The spirit will always drive
sinners to Christ, the bread of life, Christ, the water of
life. And he'll quench that thirst
by fulfilling it, all things in him. Hope you'll join us next
week for another message from God's word. We are glad you could join us
for another edition of Reign of Grace. This program is brought
to you by Reign of Grace Media Ministries, an outreach ministry
of Eager Avenue Grace Church in Albany, Georgia. To receive
a copy of today's program or to learn more about Reign of
Grace Media Ministries or Eager Avenue Grace Church, write us
at 1-1-0-2-3. Eager Drive, Albany, Georgia
31707. Contact us by phone at 229-432-6969
or email us through our website at www.theletterofgrace.com. Thank you again for listening
today and may the Lord be with you.