John chapter 4, we're going to
be in Zechariah 14. But we're going to look at some
supportive passages of John chapter 4. And you remember the situation. John 4 verse 4, Then Christ must
needs go through Samaria. There's one of His elect sheep
there. He went a parcel of ground that
Jacob gave to his son Joseph, and Joseph well was there. It's
about the sixth hour of the day. Then cometh a woman of Samaria
to draw water, and Jesus said unto her, Give me to drink. The woman of Samaria, verse nine,
How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am
a woman of Samaria? For the Jews, they don't really
talk to us. In verse 10, Jesus said, if you
knew the gift of God and who it is that said to you, give
me to drink, you would have asked of him and he would have given
you living water. Glorious things of thee are spoken. He would have given thee living
water. The woman said unto him, Sir,
I have 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 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." She said, give me this water
that I thirst not. But we got an issue. He says,
go get your husband. And she says, I don't have any
husband. Sin is going to be seen as exceedingly sinful. I like
what she said in verse 25 forward. The woman said
unto Christ, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ.
When He has come, He will tell us all things. And Jesus said
unto her, I that speak unto thee am. I am. I'm He. And upon this The disciples came
and they marveled that Christ was speaking with this woman,
yet they didn't ask her to say anything. Verse 29, she said,
Come see a man, she's telling other people, which told me all
things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Now,
I've preached on this before. Christ didn't tell her everything
that she'd ever done. But He told her enough. And when
we preach the gospel, We simply preach Christ and that's always
enough. That's always enough. But I want
to draw your attention to verse 10. Thou wouldest ask of him and
he would have given thee living water. Revelations chapter 22. Revelation chapter 22 and verse 1. And He showed me,
John, a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Pure river of water
of life. Isaiah 44. I'm just kidding. These analogies,
these natural examples show forth the grace of God. I love them. Like I told you, that little
book I've got by Spurgeon, The Teachings of Grace in the Kingdom
of Nature. It just goes through the scriptures.
Fig tree, river, the brook Kidron, All these different things that
the Lord uses to illustrate his free and sovereign grace. I guess
maybe I'm partial to them. Isaiah 44, verses one, two, and
three. Yet, now hear, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus saith the Lord that made
thee and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee. Fear
not, O Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen,
for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon
the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy
seed and my blessing upon thine offspring. Pour water upon him
that is thirsty. Now let's look at this amazing
promise of our Lord to his redeemed people in Zechariah chapter 14.
We're going to look at one verse. Verse 8. And it shall be in that day. Now you notice that phrase, in
that day, is used numerous times in this chapter. Verse 1, Behold,
the day of the Lord cometh. I will gather all nations. Verse 6, It shall come to pass
in that day. Verse 7, In one day. It shall
come to pass that at evening time shall be light, verse 8,
and it shall be in that day, the day of visitation, the day
of growth and grace, the day of refreshing, the day of the
river flowing, the day the Lord has chosen, that living waters
shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former
sea and half of them towards the hinder sea. In summer and
in winter shall it be." In 1 Kings chapter 17, you don't
have to turn there, but Elijah was at a brook, Cherith. It eventually dried up. The crows
fed him. He drank from that brook, but
there was a drought in the land. And eventually, it says in 1
Kings 17, that that brook dried up. Job in the 6th chapter and
the 15th verse, he had friends that he said dealt with him as
deceitful brooks. This little brook that we got
running through Jackson, it was flowing in the spring, but now
there's just little pools of slime, kind of like we looked
at the brook, Kidron. But the children of God have
a promise in this passage before us that living waters, pure waters, flow in Christ. to his people in summer
and in winter it shall be. I believe I was telling Melinda
about two messages that Milton Howard preached down at Donny
Bell's church and this was one of the texts he used. wonderful message. Now unto Him
that is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto
Him be glory in the church of Jesus Christ throughout all ages,
world without end. Now unto Him that is able to
do exceedingly, abundant, abundantly, exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask. That's the grace of God. It's
the grace of God that Bruce spoke about this morning. To the child
of God who is found alive in Christ
Jesus shall never find him or his gospel or his word wanting. And Paul tells us, exceeding
abundantly above. Brethren, rest your weary soul
upon the rock of ages, whose healing streams more than match
our every need and every care. I know there's some of us in
here that are struggling, we've been struggling for a while.
I go back to what Scott Richardson says, there's three phases in
every believer's life. You're heading in trouble, Or
you're in trouble, or you just left trouble. Because the world
doesn't understand. They don't understand the struggles
that we have. But I'm telling you, based on
the authority of God's Word, that in that day, that living
water shall go forth from Jerusalem. In summer, and in winter, shall
it be. Let's look at this, let's just
break it down. in that day, the day of his salvation. It could
be the day like it was on the road to Emmaus where those two
disciples were walking, they were believers, but they couldn't
see everything and we struggled. So whether it's a day of salvation
for some who have yet to call upon the name of the Lord and
see that he's most gracious, or those who have tasted that
he is gracious, His day is promised, it shall
come. We just haven't seen it. Great
is thy faith. His mercies are new every morning. So in that day, it's according
to God's sovereign way and working and ability. It's never up to
us. Never has been, never will be.
Salvation, growth and grace, anything that we say that Anything
may depend upon us, it doesn't. It's all of God's grace. It's
all of His mercy and love towards us. So it's in His day. It's in His time. It's His choosing.
It's His method. It's His manner in which He so
chooses to save them who believe through the preaching of the
gospel. These are not things that I've come up with. I'm just
retelling what this book says. So first and foremost, every
blessing, all blessings, depend upon in that day, depend upon
the Lord of glory. Oh, but for you who are here
this morning, who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness,
you who are seeking mercy, you who are desiring to taste the Lord's graces, you
who desire to see there's balm in Gilead, It didn't hit every
one of us. I mean, really. You know, I know
when we're young, we think we can do a few things, just start
getting a little older, start losing some faculties, hair,
hearing, teeth, whatever it may be. We see what we really are. We start, we came from the dust,
we're going back to the dust. In that day, living waters shall go out from
Jerusalem." Living waters. The Lord, as He says, is this
living water. Taking dead and ruined sinners
and creating life where there was none before. Grace where
there was once dead, lifeless works, religious or otherwise. Men's inventions in religion.
He who is life gives life freely. Living waters. They may say we serve a dead
Savior, but we serve a risen Savior. He's alive. And from Him flows forth living
waters. Now, to us in this country, who
has water spigots and drinking fountains on every corner, it
may not seem like much, but back in this time, in the historical
setting, The oriental, the mid-eastern, dry, parched land. This meant something. This meant
something. Just like Mephibosheth knew what
it was like to be lame on both feet and then to experience the
bliss of feeding at the king's table continually. You didn't have to say, oh, you
know, no, he understood by experience, by revelation in the heart. He
had no water, now he has living waters. Living waters. But this also, not only does
it refer to the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all life flows, but
it could also refer to his gospel. It referred to his water. as in Ephesians chapter 1 and
verse 13, in whom you also trusted after
you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also that you believed were sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise. After you heard the word of truth. How many times had I read When
I got confirmed, I was a good boy, in the Methodist Church,
I was given a Bible for memorizing the Ten Commandments of all things.
How many times did I read this? Dead. There was no light, there
was nothing, it was nothing to me. Like that Ethiopian eunuch,
how can I unless some man told me? I read, and I read, and I
read books about what was said in here. But then in that day, it became life. It became life. It was alive. It wasn't dead letter formalism.
It was alive. It wasn't head knowledge only,
but the life-giving power of the grace of God through the
Holy Spirit, living waters. It's going out. It's going forth
from Jerusalem. From Jerusalem is church. the ground and pillar
of truth. When we gather, we do so in reverence
and adoration, asking for our God to please meet with us and
bless us and be held in the highest esteem. I like this passage here
in Psalm 133. First time I saw this, it knocked
me out of my chair. Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. You know what the context
of the Psalms, only three verses, already is. It is pleasant. We gather together a couple times
a week. We center around the Gospel.
We center around the Lord Jesus Christ. Continue steadfastly, having
in common. And I, you know, Bruce made a
comment. I was talking to him the other day and he said, my
family is down here. His family's in Mexico, his family's
here, his family's here. No, my family is right here.
And that's the way I feel about it. There's no place like, what
was it? Wizard of Oz, there's no place
like home. You bet. You bet. Sorry for these references.
They just kind of pop up sometimes. They just kind of... Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head and ran
down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the
skirts of his garment, as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew
that descended upon the mountains of Zion. For there, there the
Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore." Life,
this life-giving, living water, even there. Now you can't, I'm
not saying you You can't be blessed by reading the word prayer in
your prayer closet and these other things. But I don't know
how to say it, but there's just something, there's something
about that name. There's something about this
place. It doesn't matter if it's a building,
if it's under a tree. For there the Lord commanded
the blessing, even life forevermore. And like Bruce said, there's
churches on every corner, but the gospel's not being preached. I can't do anything about previous,
I can't do anything about the next generation, but I can be
faithful in my generation. But oh, I pray when I see these
little kids, I pray for your sake, that the Lord would continue
the work here. And there's hope when the gospel's
heard. There's hope when the gospel's heard. And I thought
about, Bruce talked about this morning, grace, even exceedingly
above, exceedingly abundantly above, this church shouldn't
even be here. The designs of one man to destroy
this place, to destroy its members, casting them out headlong like
the Pharisees. But God had other plans. God
had other plans. A work. A work. Not my work. It's God's work. And He's got living waters flowing
from this place. Flowing from this place. Here
and there the gospel goes forth. It goes from Jerusalem, half
of them towards the former sea and half of them towards the
hinder sea. The gospel's going forth. Bid them come in. The
feast is ready. The fellowship is good. And the
talk and the gossip, if I can use that word, is all regarding
Him, who by His sovereign free grace in the Lord Jesus Christ
did actually redeem some of Adam's fallen race unto Himself. That's
good news indeed. I don't want to hear about my
abilities. I don't want to hear about my worth. I don't want
to hear about my successes or failures. I want to hear about
Him who fails not. The gospel will flow until the
last elect is brought in, the sheepfold is full, the church
complete. But it's living waters going out, half of them here,
half of them there. But the last phrase in here is
what blessed me. It's in summer and in winter
shall it be. This truth in Christ is no fly-by-night
salvation. It is not a once-only quickening,
but a continual and refreshing heart work. It's a promise. Lay hold of this promise. In
summer and in winter shall it be. It's not like I said, it's
not like these seasonal brooks that dry up. But whether it's
hot or cold, whether trial or hardship, whether up or down,
His grace is truly sufficient for every condition, every circumstance,
or every issue in summer or winter. No intermission. These waters
will never dry up or lose their healing virtue." Won't do. In summer and in winter, shall
it be. In that day, living waters shall
go out from Jerusalem. Some here, some there. We put
articles in the paper. We put the signs up when we have
preachers. You know, visiting preachers,
we don't have any idea who's hearing what. It's not for us
to know. We just tell. Tell our neighbors,
our family, our friends. In that day shall be living waters
shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them towards the former
sea and half of them towards the hinder sea. In summer, and
in winter shall it be. Now unto him that is able to
do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according
to the power that works in us unto him be glory in the church
by Jesus Christ throughout all ages world without end. Lord, give me this water. Give me to
drink. Thou wouldst ask of Him and He
would have given thee living water. Are we thirsty? This water, this
Christ is able to make the barren fruitful, able to refresh even
the weariest traveler on his way to the celestial city. It's
sufficient. His grace is truly sufficient. He'll listen, hearken, everyone
that thirsts, come to the waters. Don't have to have any money,
come and buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without
money, without price. But come. The believer never
stops coming. It's not once saved, then forget
about it. We keep on thirsting and thirsting
and coming and coming. So I have no issues with saying,
if you haven't thirsted before, come. You even need right now,
come. Don't bring anything. Leave it
behind. Because living waters have been
provided by the God of the sovereign of the universe in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's going out. And you'll never, you'll never
out drink. this pond. You'll never out-drink
this. It's like a friend of mine had
a place in Michigan, had an artesian well. It's the neatest thing. It's been like that from the
owner, from the owner before him, and the owner before him.
He went back and just did a little notation on the property. Artesian
well, artesian well, artesian well. This is living water. To know Christ is to have life.
There's no life in us. There's death. But oh, come to
Him. Whether you just need a refreshing,
gather together. Whether I'm up here, Nathan,
Bruce, it doesn't matter. Scripture's being read. We're
just trying to honor and glorify Him. We're just trying to do
like Enoch. Walk with God. And by the grace
of God, He refreshes us along the way. I don't know about y'all,
but I was plumb excited. I just got thoroughly excited
when I looked at this. Oh, here's another one of these passages.
Try to go somewhere else. Can't do it. Gotta tell somebody. Come to the waters. Come to Christ.
Bruce, would you close this please?