You can open your Bibles again
to John chapter 4. There was a woman of Samaria who had a confused life, a messed
up life. She had gone through five marriages,
all failures. She was living with a man who
was not her husband. She was the talk of the town,
I'm sure, among the women especially. And one day she waited till noon
to go to the well. The women usually went to the
well in the morning to draw water for the day. They had to have
water to cook with and to wash with and to do other things.
She postponed her trip to the well because she just didn't
want to see these other women. She wanted to go when no one
was there. So she waited until the sun was right directly overhead
and all of its hot oriental beaming power, when she knew no one would
be there, or she thought no one would be there. So she got her
water pots and she walked to the Jacob's Well. This was an
old well. It was a refreshing well. It
was one that, on a parcel of land that Jacob had given to
his son Joseph, and Jacob himself probably and Joseph had watered
their cattle and their children, taking care of their homes from
this very well. It was an abundant, active well. Sweet, refreshing
water. I was driving through Kinston,
North Carolina, and I saw a sign you wouldn't believe last week.
As we came into Kenston, North Carolina, he had a big sign out
there, the town with perfect water. I thought that'd be fun,
you know, to drink some perfect water. We've never had any here.
But anyway, this was good water, good water for what water's good
for. And so she came to the well with her water pots, but when
she got to the well, there was a man sitting there on the well. And she walked up and paid no
attention to him. She had her, what they wore then,
their covering, head covering, and her veil and her long gown. She sat her water pots down,
and I suppose were going to then draw water, and when she stood
up, the man looked at her and he said, give me a drink. Well, she immediately perceived
that he was not a Samaritan, he was a stranger, and more than
that, he was a Jew. And she said to him, she said,
Why are you, a Jew, speaking to me, a Samaritan? You know
that the Samaritans don't have anything to do with the Jews.
They were all religious, but they had nothing to do with one
another. They had nothing to do with God, the reason they
had nothing to do with one another. But she said, The Jews don't
talk to the Samaritans. He said, Woman, if you knew the
gift of God, with all of your religion, with all of your so-called
ceremonies and rituals and worship, you worship Miss Mountain and
so forth, as she related later, he said, if you knew the gift
of God, what is the gift of God? The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life. If you knew the gift of God,
the gift of God's mercy, the gift of God's forgiveness, the
gift of God is life everlasting. Christ is the unspeakable gift
of God. If you knew something besides
ritualism and ceremonialism and materialism, if you knew something
about the gift of God, well, you'd ask of me, and I'd give
you living water. I'd give you thirst-quenching,
soul-satisfying living water. Why, she said, the well's deep,
you don't have anything to draw with. Where do you get your living
water? And that's what he said. as he
pointed to this well, no matter how much it satisfies
temporally, no matter how necessary it is, but that's when he pointed
to this well, this cherished, treasured spot, this perfect
water, this necessary ingredient, element. He said, whosoever drinketh of
this water, It satisfies his thirst, but
he's going to thirst again. He's going to thirst again. How
true we find this to be. And our Lord is speaking exactly
of what I'm going to speak now. Nothing in this world, no matter
how refreshing it is, no matter how temporarily satisfying it
is, no matter how thrilling it is, nothing in this world, nothing,
nothing, this Whosoever drinketh of this water, I promise you
he'll thirst again, sooner or later." Nothing in this world,
wealth, fame, popularity, love, home, children, wife, nothing
in this world is satisfying, nothing. Nothing is completely
satisfying, nothing is sustained in and by itself in peace. That's
just a blanket statement. He said, whosoever drinketh of
this water. Now that was a treasure. Do you
know how important water was in that country? It was life. You can live a while
without food, but not without water. In fact, the old village
water carrier who walked around selling water, you know what
he cried back in these days? The gift of God The gift of God. The gift of God. That's right.
Talking about that water and that pigskin. The gift of God. And our Lord looks at the gift
of God. But that's material. It's of
the world. It's natural. And he said, drink
of it, drink of it, drink of it, you'll thirst again. I thought
of some of the things all week long. You've had to deal, you
men and women, have had to deal with what shall we eat, what
shall we drink, what shall we wear. I know you have. This week's needs have been met.
The week's over, we begin a new week. This week you're going
to deal with what we're going to eat, what we're going to drink,
what we're going to wear. And next week is a question never
answered. Not finally, not sufficiently.
The thirst is never finally quenched, the hunger is never satisfied.
I think of your job and your business. It's in good shape
today. Things are well. Tomorrow's another day. And you
know it. You know what could happen tomorrow.
You know what might happen tomorrow. Your health. Somebody asked me
how I was getting along physically. I feel better than I felt in
years. Just excellent. No pain, no trouble. But I'll tell you this. Tomorrow's
another day. It's another day. Most not thyself of tomorrow.
You know not what a day will bring forth. Some of our little
ones have been in the hospital this week. I'm sorry that I had
to be gone when there was so much trouble and distress. But
I prayed for you. My heart was burdened for you.
I was concerned for you. I maintained contact here with
you. Well, most of them are doing fine. But the next week is another
week. Whosoever drinketh of this water
will thirst again. What about friendships? They
must be maintained. They're never taken for granted,
they can't be. Somebody said, out of sight, out of mind. Troubles
divide, friends are divided, separated, go their separate
ways. Sad, but it's true. And then
you may be somebody today, you may be nobody tomorrow. I'm simply
saying that fame is fleeting, families are changing. Parents
turn their back on children, children on their parents, husbands
and wives on each other. Sad, but it's so. Whoso drinketh
of this water. I don't care how precious it
is, I don't care how thrilling it is, how temporarily satisfying
it is, you'll thirst again. I want you to turn to a scripture
in Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes chapter 1. Here's
a man, Solomon. I want you to listen to what
he has to say about this water, this well, this world. This wisdom,
this wealth, all of these things that we see, smell, touch, feel,
sense, and so forth. He says in Ecclesiastes 1, if
you've got it, and I want you to turn there. I don't want a
person with a Bible in his hand not to be looking at Ecclesiastes
1. I want you to look at it. You need to hear this right here,
what our Lord is saying. There are two points I want to
make. This is the first one. He that drinketh of this water
will thirst again. We'll thirst again. Ecclesiastes
1, verse 12. I, the preacher, was king over
Israel and Jerusalem. I gave my heart to seek and to
search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done unto
heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man
to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that
are done unto the Son, and behold, all is vanity and vexation of
spirit. Verse 17. I gave my heart to
know wisdom, to know madness and folly. I perceive that this
also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief,
and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." Verse 1,
chapter 2. I said in mine heart, go to now,
I'll prove thee with mirth, silliness, folly, pleasure, entertainment. Therefore enjoy pleasure, and
behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter it's mad,
of mirth what doeth it? Well, I said in my heart, I sought
in my heart to give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart
with wisdom, and to lay hold on folly till I might see what
was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under
heaven all the days of their life. I made me great works.
I built houses. I planted vineyards. I made gardens
and orchards. I planted trees, all kinds of
fruits. I made pools of water. the water
therewith, the wood that brings forth trees. I got servants and
maidens and had servants born in my house. I had great possessions
of great and small cattle. Above all that were in Jerusalem
before me, I gathered silver and gold, all these treasures
of kings and of provinces. I got men singers and women singers,
the delights of the sons of men, musical instruments and that
of all sorts. I was great and I increased more
than all that were before me in Jerusalem, also my wisdom
remained with me. Whatever my eyes desired, I kept
not from them. I withheld not my heart from
any joy. My heart rejoiced in my labor. This was my portion. Then, verse
11, I looked on all the works of my hand that my hands had
wrought. on the labor that I'd labored to do, and behold, all
of it was vanity and vexation of spirit. And there was no profit
under the sun. And verse 15, Then said I in
my heart, as it happened to the fool, it's happened even to me. Why was I then more wise? Then
I said in my heart, this also is vanity. Now turn over to verse
17, chapter 2. Therefore I hated life. Therefore I hated life, because
the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous to me, for
it is all vanity and vexation of spirit. I hated my labor,
which I had taken under the sun, because I should leave it unto
man that should be after me. I despised it and hated it all."
This is the conclusion. This is what our Lord said. Solomon
tried education, wisdom. He tried wine. He tried women. He tried wealth, he tried works,
he tried anything he wanted. He said, I didn't keep back anything.
I tried it all. And he said when I'd run the
course, oh, I'm sure that he had some pleasure along the way.
I'm sure he had pleasure in erecting those big buildings and building
those vineyards and gardens and all of these things that he did.
But he said, when I came to the end of it, I said, it's every
bit vanity and vexation of spirit. And my conclusion was that I
played the fool, and I hate life, and I hate what I've built. And
the same thing is true of, you say, what about religion? Same
thing's true of external religion. Same thing's true. Man's religion,
when it exists in this water, in the form, in the ceremony,
in the ritual, in the days and observance of weeks and months
and years and holy days, It finally turns sour. This is clearly evidenced
by so many who have wearied of the form and ceremony and folly
of religion and turned back. Just like Solomon tried everything
materially, everything physically, everything that appealed to the
senses, and he found out it's vanity and vexation of spirit,
it's folly. And then men turned to religion.
Turn to 2 Peter. Take your Bibles. I want you
to look at this one too. 2 Peter chapter 2. This is what
happens. They turn to religion. A lot
of the entertainers today have turned to religion. A lot of
the show people have turned to religion. A lot of the athletes
have turned to religion. They've tried everything. They've
tried everything. They've tried wealth. It didn't
satisfy. They tried building, they tried
education, they tried all these things, it didn't satisfy. And
then it turned to religion, religion in a cult, religion in a sect,
religion in the mechanics of it, religion in the whoopee of
it. And they go along for a little while, just like when they're
building their gardens, they spent years on those gardens
with all the hanging things and the walkways and the chipstone
and the pools of water. But you remember when we were
kids we used to build a clubhouse. Oh, we'd get out there in the
morning and we'd start on our clubhouse. We'd elect officers,
we'd put the walls up, we'd run in and grab a peanut butter sandwich
and get back out there working on the clubhouse and get it all
fixed and got it all finished and went in and sat down and
looked at each other. And we'd decide who was going
to let in and who was going to keep out of that club. And then
the day wore out and we went home and never went back again.
Tired of it. That's what people are doing,
they're tired of it. They get a job and go gung-ho and they
get tired of it. They build a house and they and
their wives skimp and save and do all these things and get it
all built and go in and sit down and look at each other. And after
a while they're heading off somewhere else, you know, get away from
it. Take a vacation from all that that they've given their
lives to build. What's wrong? He that drinketh of this water
will thirst again. So they try religion. They go
down to the church and they shake hands with the preacher and join
up. Everybody greets them, puts their name on the roll, buddy-buddy,
pat them on the back, you know. They get the good singing and
the good preaching and the good Sunday school. And they just
try and try and try and that gets sired to them, you know.
I don't think I'll go today, honey. You go ahead without me.
What's wrong? I'm just tired of it. I'm just tired of it. And he said in verse 20 of 2
Peter 2, "...if after they have escaped the pollutions of the
world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,"
whatever knowledge it is, "...they are again entangled therein and
overcome, the latter ends worse within than the beginning." Hey,
and our world turned now. It turned from wealth, it turned
from works, it turned from wisdom, it turned to religion. It's failed.
Now where have you turned? They sampled what they thought
was God. They sampled what they thought was hope. They sampled
what they thought was peace. But it consisted in the external.
And now they're tired of that. It'd been better for them, verse
21, never to have known the way of righteousness than after they'd
known it or been exposed to it. They didn't really know Christ.
They were exposed to some carnal knowledge, some temporal knowledge,
whatever an actual man can know, to turn from the holy commandment.
For it's happened to them according to the true the dog has gone
to his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to wallowing
in the mud. Whosoever shall drink of this
water, don't care what well you draw it from, the well of wisdom,
wine, works, women, or religion, the excitement and the thrill
of the moment, okay, you'll get thirsty again. You'll get thirsty
again. or religion. Go on, try it all
up. Go down to the Church of Christ
and the Church of God, go down and prance around with the Catholics
and burn some candles and say some Hail Mary's and count the
beads, and go down with the whoopee singers, the all-night quartets
and sing with them a while, and go down and hear all these different
high-toned evangelists. Try it out. Go on, try it. I guarantee you, you'll thirst
again. They don't have anything. They
don't have anything. They're thirsty themselves. They're
turning to investments. All these boys have got their
investments on the side. These evangelists and preachers,
they've got their investments and their hobbies. They have
to get away from it and go hunting. They can't stand it either. That's
right. They have to get away. They have
to take a sabbatical for three months from their pulpits. They
can't stand it. Oral Roberts is tired of sick people. And
the high-flying evangelists are tired of lost people. And they're
all tired of the sham and hypocrisy of it, so they take a vacation
from it. You only take a vacation from what you don't like. You
only retire from what you don't like. That's the reason preachers
retire. They're sick of it. They're sick
of their congregation, their congregation's sick of them.
That's the reason preachers change churches every three years. They
can't stand each other. That's exactly right. It's gone
sour. Whosoever drinketh of this well,
he'll thirst again. He'll thirst again. Well, you
say, Pritchard, you're painting us right into a dark, black corner. That's good, because there's
nothing here. There's nothing in this world.
Well, you say, is there nothing better? Must a man spend his
days in despair? Must a man finally come to the
conclusion with Solomon, I hate life, I hate my works, I hate
my labor, I hate my ministry, I hate my church, I hate my religion,
I hate it all, all is vanity and vexation? Yes, sir. That's
exactly right. If we own a drink of this world.
For our Lord said, and he'll say it again, Whosoever drinketh
of this water will thirst again. Well, he said right here in verse
14, but, but, but, whosoever shall drink of the water that
I shall give him shall never thirst. Oh, here's good news. Here's good news. Here's a precious,
glorious promise. You're included, why not? Why
not? You're thirsty? Then you're included.
You're weary? Then you're included. Are you
heavy laden? Then you're included. Are you weary of it all? Have
you tried many positions and they've all failed? You've spent
all that you have, you've got nowhere to turn, you're at the
end of the rope hanging on by a bare thread, you're at your
wit's end, you're without God, without hope? Why not? Whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. What's
he talking about? He's talking about life. But
the life that I shall give him, the water, the life that I shall
give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting
life. I preach on this because I know
something about this. I know something about that water,
and I know something about the water in verse 14. He speaks of life, a spiritual
life as opposed to a natural life. He speaks of a divine life
as opposed to human life. He speaks of an inward life as
opposed to an external life. He speaks of an eternal life
as opposed to a temporal life. I invite you this morning to
forget everything that has to do with this world, your family,
your jobs, your what you eat, drink and wear, your health,
your security, your savings, future, your all these things,
and your religion, whether correct or incorrect. Just put it aside. I want you to consider what our
Lord is talking about here, and I want to consider it too. He
says, Whosoever drinketh of this water, and you're going to drink
of it this way. You've been drinking of it, I have all our lives.
We're in this world, we're not of it, but we're in it, saved
or unsaved. But Christ said, you're first again. It has no
gratification, it has no permanent peace, it has no satisfaction. Take David, the king. If any
man had everything, it was David, and yet he said, I'll be satisfied
when I awake with his likeness. I'm not now. But our Lord said,
but whosoever. Let's look at this spiritual
life quickly. First of all, it's a gift. He said, whosoever shall
drink of this water that I shall give him. Now this is my theology,
salvation is of the Lord. If you want me to sum my theology
up in five words, salvation is of the Lord. That's my theology.
Eternal life is the gift of God. I know, I can't understand these
preachers, they're still saying it, that there is in man by nature
a spark of good, a little of God, some divine life. That's not so. Man by birth and
nature is dead. He's without God, without hope,
and without Christ. There's no spark of good or nobility
or divine life in the creature. God says, in the flesh dwelleth
no good thing. In the flesh no man can please
God. Men by nature are born blind
to God, deaf to God, dead to God, without any understanding
of God. And I don't know why preachers
keep saying we're trying to appeal to that spark of life that's
in you, we're trying to kindle that little flame that's flickering
and almost dying. It's been dead since Adam fell. Man has natural life, natural
understanding, natural wisdom, natural will. He loves darkness,
hates light, he knows nothing about it. That's the reason Christ
said there, if you knew the gift of God, which you don't, If you
knew the gift of God, you'd ask me. She didn't know the gift
of God. We, by nature, don't know the gift of God. She'd stand
here looking at the Messiah and say, well, when will the Messiah
come? She said, I'm eager. It's not earned by good works,
merit, or self-righteousness. You will not come to me, Christ
said, that you may have life. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. This life, this inward life,
this divine life, this satisfying life, is a gift of God. It's the free gift of God. He
said twice in this one verse, read it again, whosoever drinketh
of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the
water that I shall give him, I shall give him. We're born of the water and of
the Spirit. That's right. I don't know a
whole lot about the new birth. I do know this, it's of God,
it's by the power of the Spirit, it's through the Word of God,
it's a divine life that wasn't there before. It's a divine gift. He said, I'll give it. Turn to
Ephesians 2. This is what I'm talking about. I want everybody
with a Bible to turn to Ephesians 2. If you won't hear me, hear
God. Let's see what he says. Ephesians
2, verse 1. Everybody knows what quickened
means, made alive. Who were dead? Dead in trespasses and sin. Where
in times past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the pie of the air, the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also
we all had our conversation, our behavior, our citizenship.
In times past, in what thing? In the lust of the flesh. Now,
the word lust is not always a dirty word. The word lust has to do
with ambition, craving, passion, desire. A man can lust for fame. We mention the word lust, we
immediately think of sex. Not so. A man can lust for power. He can lust for fame. He can
lust for material things. He can lust for political office.
He can lust for recognition. That's craving. And all of us
had our conversation in the lust of our flesh. And in the desires,
the passions of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature
the children of wrath, God's judgment and God's wrath was
upon us because God's law was broken by us. But God, it isn't
but we changed our mind, but we had a change of heart, but
we saw our folly, but we saw our vanity. No, but God, who
is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us. We
didn't love him, he loved us. Even, even at this very time,
even when we were dead, even when we were in rebellion, even
when we were in enmity. And he quickened us together
with Christ. Two thousand years before I was born, he raised
me with Christ. Quickened me with Christ, by
grace are you saved. And he raised us up together
and made us sit together. Who's together? Me and Christ.
You and Christ. In heavenly places. in Christ. I'm seated at the right hand
of God. Near, so near to God, nearer I cannot be. In the person
of his Son, I'm as near as he." It's a gift. This divine life
is a gift. Christ said, Whosoever drinks
of this water, he'll thirst again. Believe me, you young married
couples, you're on cloud nine. I'm not saying anything against
marriage. It's a happy state, a blessed state. Everybody ought
to be married. Paul recommended it. Our Lord
sanctioned it by his presence. But I'm simply saying this, you'll
thirst again. And you fellows with jobs, you're
on your way up, you're promoted, promoted, promoted, you'll thirst
again. You built all these things and
you enjoyed them. I'm saying someday, if you don't
have this life, all you have is this water, you're going to
curse the day you're born. You're going to curse the day
God gave you an education and curse the day God Almighty permitted
you to make your first dollar. You're going to curse that day
because you're first again. But if any man drink of this
water, I give him. He's the source of it, he's the
fountain of it. He says, I give it. He sovereignly
gives it, he mercifully gives it, he freely gives it. Next point. This spiritual life,
watch it, it's a person. Christ is our life. He, I give
it. He gives himself. He gave himself
to the Father as our surety, guarantor, to the Father's covenant
of mercy. He gave himself to the smiters
and the spitters as our sin offering and substitute. He gave himself
to death to honor the law, to satisfy justice. He gave himself
to the open tomb. He gave himself to be our mediator. And one day, by his grace, he
gave himself to me in the revelation of God's Spirit, in faith and
repentance. And this life is inward. Now,
watch what he says. There's a little word here, "...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." In him,
not about him. in him. Paul said, when God who
separated me from my mother's womb was pleased to reveal his
Son, Charlie, in me. Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is what 99% of religionists
are missing. They believe some facts about
a mythical person or a historical person, whichever. And it's just
facts. They've given themselves to some
religious holidays, Easter, Christmas, all the rest of it, Lent, Sunday,
Saturday, Seventh Day, whatever. They've given themselves to some
rituals, they've given themselves to water or the table, wine and
wafers. They've given themselves to church
rules and bylaws and constitutions and regulations. They've given
themselves to certain tithes and offerings and fasting. All
of these things are external, exterior. They've given themselves
to soul winning, to building churches, hospitals, homes for
the aged, retirement villages, nurseries for children, daycare
centers, Christian schools. All these things, they're all
external. This life is internal. It is Christ in you. in you,
Christ revealed in me. That's the reason Paul said to
that church at Galatia, I travail, I travail, I watch you and listen
to you, and then I travail, like a woman having a baby, I travail
in birth pains until Christ be formed in you. Not his doctrine,
him. Not facts about him, him. And
this life is not there until it's in you, in you. It's got to dwell in you. Now
what's this next word? In Him. Oh, personal. This is divine life. It's a gift.
It's divine life. It's a person, Christ, and it's
in you. Eat my flesh and drink my blood.
It's in you. I love my wife and my children,
my friends, this congregation, but there's not really a thing
I can do about their possession of this life. I love you, Jay.
You're very precious to me. But it's got to be in you. You
can't come to Christ together. You just can't do it. It's in
his personal. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth, Jim, with thy mouth, Bob, with thy mouth, Paul, and believe
in thine heart God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. This is a matter you and Cheryl
can't settle together. Now you can talk about it. You
can read together and pray for one another and love one another
and hope the other one comes to the knowledge of Christ. But
brother, let me tell you this. It's a personal matter. He dwells
in me, not in us. Christ liveth in me, Paul said. I know whom I have believed.
I can't speak for anybody else. Paul Edward, as dear and precious
as he is to me, I believe he knows Christ and I want him to
know Christ. But when it comes to this life, this living water,
this spiritual life, he may know Christ and I may not. And he
can't do a thing about it. And no use him saying, well,
if God doesn't save my dad, I don't want to be saved. Watch it now.
God will save whom he will. I get tired of people trying
to make a way to heaven for their relatives and rule Jesus Christ
out. My brother died at 48 of a heart
attack. We had some discussions on the
gospel, very few. He heard me preach a time or
two. I don't know whether he's saved or not. I really don't know. I hope so. But I'm not going to get mad
at God if he's not. Robbie, you know how much he meant to me.
Our firstborn son who was killed at 21. I believe he knew Christ. I don't know. I don't know. But I'll tell you this, if he
didn't, I'm not going to blame God. God Almighty will save whom He
will now. Now you start raising up these issues with God and
you'll get in trouble. You'll get in trouble. I hope
my mother knew the Lord. Many times I doubted it. I doubted
it. I hope my father knew Christ.
He's gone now. It's too late now. But I'm not
going to mope about it and mourn about it. That's God's business.
That was their business. And this is your business. Him,
in Him, in Him. It distresses me to see people
try to formulate and direct their confidence and faith in God by
what God does with somebody else. Our Lord said to Peter, He said,
they're going to crucify you upside down. He said, what about
John? He said, that's none of your business. That's exactly
what He said, didn't He? What I do with John ain't none
of your business. If I take John to glory, that's
not any of your business. If I send him to hell, that's
none of your business. If I let him live until I come
again, that's none of your business. You do what I told you to do.
Now, the Lord was playing, wasn't he? And that's what I'm saying
to you. We love, we pray for our loved ones and families.
But I tell you, it's not going to bankrupt heaven if they don't
make it. That's just all there is to it. And if they don't,
it's their fault. And I'll glorify God in their
condemnation. That's right. If he condemns
me, I'll glorify him. I'll reluctantly do it, but I'll
do it. I'll scream and kick, but I'll do it. Because every
knee is going to bow and confess he's Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. In him, I wish we could learn
this, this I give him, this life that I give shall be in him. It's an abundant life, next of
all. He says it will be a well. The
water that I shall give him, this spiritual life, this divine
life, this life of God, will be in him, and it will be a well. A well. A well of living water. What is a well? It's deep and
abundant. This Jacob's well, I don't know
how many years passed between Jacob and the Samaritan woman,
but there was a heap of them. And that well, Bob, never ran
dry. It met every need of every person. I want you to turn to
a scripture here in Philippians 4. Would you go over there to
Philippians 4? This is one of my favorite scriptures.
Whether we're talking about salvation, whether we're talking about forgiveness,
Whether we're talking about healing, whether we're talking about pardon,
whether we're talking about something to eat, something to wear. Whether
we're talking about the missionary work of this church, whether
we're talking about buildings or whatever, or the TV program
or paying for it. Listen to Philippians 4.19, but
my God, but my God shall supply all your needs. You lonely? It's a mug yard. Well, he's friends stick it closer
than a brother. He said, I'll never leave you.
Are you sick? He's the great physician. Have they cast you out? David
said, when my mother and father cast me out, my Lord will take
me up. Are you poor? He'll supply all
your need according to his riches and glory through Christ Jesus.
This well never runs dry. He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Joy, pleasure, peace, happiness,
contentment, satisfaction, it's all in Christ. It's an abundant
well. Keep coming to the well. It never
runs dry. But where is the well? In us. Now here's where the next point
I want to make before I quit. He said this well shall be in
him a well of water springing up, springing up. It's an active
well. Now let me make this point. A
lot of people's religion consists in days because that's the day
on which they have it. That's right. A lot of people's religion consists
in a doctrine because only when they're memorizing or studying
doctrine do they have it. A lot of people's religion consists
in buildings because only when they're there are they interested
in it. But this life shall be in him a well of water always
flowing, springing up day and night, in the church or in the home. in the worship services or on
the job. This well is in him, and it's
a well of water that springs up. It's not dormant. You see,
Christ is not a well we go to, he's a well we carry in us all
the time. My decisions in this building
ought not be any different from the decisions I make over there
on Stephens Street. The way I conduct myself here on Sunday ought not
be any different than the way I conduct myself Monday in that
office in dealing, you and I, dealing with one another. This is a well of living water
in us, springing up, active, abundant. It's not dormant, it's
not indifferent, it's not callous, it's active. Anybody whose well
they can store away till another time ain't got to live in water.
That's just so. They've been on a cistern dive. A cistern you can file away,
that well will bust out. It'll bust out because it flows,
doesn't it cease? It's active. I know what I'm
talking about. I know when we were back down in those fundamental
days, we'd try to motivate people to do things by what somebody
else did. For example, I'll give you an example. I don't use these
things, but I'm going to give you an example this morning.
Say you wanted money for a missionary office. I'd tell a true stoner,
true stoner. I'd tell about a man sitting
right here in this congregation this morning, he and his wife,
several years ago, had saved up money for a vacation. He was
a laboring man, a working man on an hourly wage, and they'd
saved money for a vacation and set it aside. We had a missionary
in need and he came to me and he said, Preacher, here's our
vacation money, we're going to stay home this year and send
it to the missionary. The average preacher will take that and he'll
whip that congregation to death with it and try to motivate people
to do likewise. And a lot of people will do likewise.
But they're following the example of a man and they're not being
motivated in their own hearts by the presence of Christ and
love for Christ. Ananias and Sapphira did it.
Let me show you. Turn to the book of Acts. This
is the very same thing. And Peter saw it in Acts chapter
4. Now our motivation, what I'm
saying is when this well of water springs up in you, you see this
man who had this thought about his vacation money, that thought
was between him and God. He wasn't motivated by what he
saw somebody do, he wasn't pushed into it by the pastor, he wasn't
driven out of responsibility or necessity or need, that well
of water in there motivated him. See what I'm saying? Well, Ananias
and Sapphira, in Acts 4, verse 37, they saw all these people
who had land, sold it, bought the money, and laid it at the
apostles' feet. See that? Well, Ananias, he said, let's
get in on that, honey. Let's get in on it. So they sold
their land, and she said to him, as they got off in the corner,
she said, there ain't no sense in giving it all. Well, he said,
I guess we could cut back a little bit. And so they brought it and
put it at the Apostle's feet, and Peter says, is that what
you sold your land for? He said, that's all of it. He
said, what's your line for? He said, it's yours, you didn't
have to sell it at all. I don't see any rules and laws around
here that says everybody's supposed to give their vacation money
to the missionaries. Anybody see that on the wall anywhere?
It's yours, you didn't have to sell your house and give it to
the church. And they carried that old boy out feet first.
His wife came in and lied about it, and he carried her out feet
first. God's judgment fell on him. Here was a man who had given
several thousand pounds of money to the church, and God killed
him for it. Wrong motive. He saw some other
people playing church or doing this thing genuinely, and he
wanted to play with it. And I just never do it, preachers.
You don't ever use that. If someone comes to you and tells
you something God led them to do and you get up before the
church and give it as an example and tell others to do it, you'll
hurt them. Let people be motivated by that well in you. Has to be. Has to be. And I can stand up
here all night telling you how you ought to treat people that
live with you, how you ought to treat people that work with
you, how you ought to treat people you socialize with, and may motivate
you to do it, but it'll be a useless task unless you're motivated
by a love for Christ and a love for that person and a desire
to glorify his holy name. This is an active life. It's
not something you learn at the church alone, it's something
you carry around with you. That's sotah, you carry it right
around in here. It's a well of living water springing up, springing
up, springing up, springing up, and it'll spring up at the hottest
times. Not just when you're around environment. Environment ain't
got nothing to do with it, it's an inside well. It's got nothing
to do. I know people just setting me
off. God sets you off too. God's supposed to set you off. If you drink of this water, you'll
thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water I shall give him,
it'll be in him a well, abundant well, a never-ceasing well of
water springing up, springing up, watch it, unto everlasting
life. It'll never end. It'll never
end. He'll never thirst. Never thirst.