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[0:00] Just a very quick update on Jack, that is he's returned home from hospital on Wednesday. He's extremely grateful for everybody's prayers and asks to be remembered to everyone here this evening.

[0:15] So thanks for remembering him in your prayers and we commit him to God and to God's care. Wednesday at 7 o'clock, prayer meeting and Bible study led by Jonathan.

[0:30] And then the intimation, over the last few years we've bought Christmas presents such as clothing and chocolate for the men and women who come to the Wednesday drop-in. At the moment the only service provided is a weekly provision of takeaway sandwiches from the door of Bethany Christian Church on the White Sands.

[0:50] The supervisor Pamela Crosby feels it would be more suitable this year for us to provide a purchased take-home meal. So it will be helpful if financial contributions can be made as an alternative to your usual gifts over the next three weeks.

[1:10] Please leave any gifts in the offering box in an envelope marked drop-in. God willing, next Lord's Day services will be at 11 and 6 and your interim moderator, Kenny McLeod, will be taking morning and evening worship.

[1:29] During the morning service, the sacrament of baptism will be administered to little Elna there. So we wish God's blessing on you, sir, and your family as that day approaches.

[1:48] General Assembly has called for a National Day of Prayer on Wednesday the 25th of November. And we are asked to set aside time on that day for both prayer for the Church and for our nation of Scotland.

[2:06] And that will be the focus of the evening meeting that night. Let us worship God.

[2:17] We sing to His praise and to His glory. From Psalm number 138. I think we're singing the first six verses of Psalm 138.

[2:30] These will I praise with all my heart. And following that, Norman is going to lead us in prayer. To God's praise. And praise to God with all my heart.

[2:51] Give all the love of Savior praise. Come up to God, your holy place.

[3:08] And bless your holy name always. I praise you for your faithfulness.

[3:27] And for your kind love, O Lord. Lord, O Lord.

[3:38] O Lord, O Lord. O Lord, O Lord. I praise you for your holy name. Your holy name. My faithful word.

[3:55] The very day I call to you. You gave an answer to my plea.

[4:14] You made me whole within myself. With you resolve, you strengthen me.

[4:31] Although my hope has come on to God, your tender care reserves my life.

[4:51] You stretch your love against my rules. Your brother has saved me from all this stride.

[5:11] The Lord will serve the people there, for he the fire will speak on us.

[5:30] Pure love and truth forever, Lord, be sure the words of your Lord has.

[5:49] The Lord will serve the people there, for he the fire will speak on us.

[6:00] Heavenly Father, to you we turn and worship this evening. We thank you for that opening note of praise and appeal to our Heavenly Father.

[6:13] Heavenly Father, O Lord, surely we have just heard, encouraging us to draw near unto you, the living God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:29] O Lord, you are the one who hears the cry of the humble. You hear the cry of the one who is in despair. You hear the cry of everyone who turns to you, having come to an end to themselves, and knowing their absolute deed of you, the living God, to save them.

[6:52] We bless you, O Lord, for the salvation which is in Christ for us. We thank you, O Lord, for his perfect obedience and the laying down of his life for us, laying down his life for our sin, taking himself to himself our sin.

[7:11] He who knew no sin, but he made sin for us, and we might become in him the righteousness of God. O Lord, draw our hearts out each one to you tonight.

[7:25] Lord, we have come into this building in different circumstances, in different perhaps moods of mind. O Lord, we have sung of those who are walking a troubled path, and some of us, Lord, will be there.

[7:43] O Lord, we are mindful again of our brother Jack, and holding him before you, your gracious mercy upon him and his wife Avril, in several and united needs, O Lord.

[8:00] We commit you to Stanley in his need, who has been out to worship with us since this virus started. Bless him and encourage his soul, we pray.

[8:13] Gene Wharton, who was kept in by the bad weather this morning, we hold her before you. O Lord, we come later to the reading of your word.

[8:25] O Lord, may the Holy Spirit apply the word to our souls, each one. May your blessing be upon the public reading of your scriptures.

[8:36] O Lord, as we listen to your word and have it expanded to us, Lord, help us to reflect upon ourselves, to consider our ways, to examine ourselves.

[8:48] O Lord, surely this is the way you desire for each one of us, to hear and to listen and then to obey.

[9:03] O Lord, for we will not be with those who would hear your word and go away and forget about it. O Lord, be instructed in the ways of righteousness.

[9:15] So, Lord, bless us, each one, each one of us according to our need. Bless those who belong to our families, who are outside of Christ. O Lord, in their need, have mercy upon them, we pray.

[9:29] O Lord, we pray you will continue to be with us. Encourage our hearts. May we enable to make melody in our hearts to Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

[9:42] And may the praise be all his, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, brother. Let's again sing to God's praise from Psalm 119.

[9:55] I'm glad to know we're not going to sing all of it. We're just going to sing from verse 57 through to 60. Verse 57 through to 60, Psalm 119 to God's praise.

[10:11] You, O Lord, are everything I've longed for. I have promised to obey your heart.

[10:25] With my whole heart I have sought your favor. As you promised grant me grace, O Lord.

[10:38] I have thought about my life and fondant, and have turned my steps to watch away.

[10:50] I will deeply stand and without delay, pure commands and statutes I obey.

[11:03] Though the courts of wicked men scare me, I will not forget instructions, boys.

[11:16] I will rise to give you thanks at midnight, for your righteous laws can be rejoiced.

[11:29] Those who feel you are my friends forever. All who follow in your precepts pray.

[11:42] And disill with your great loving kindness. Teach me your deep peace, O Lord, I pray.

[11:56] If you can, turn with me in the Bible to John's Gospel.

[12:08] We're going to be reading from the fourth chapter. I think when many of us think of encounters with Jesus, this is probably a favorite of many of us.

[12:22] This amazing story of Jesus and the woman of Samaria that he met at the well.

[12:34] One of the things I used to say to my people is that one of the tests that you should always be engaging in as a congregation is obviously you should have your Bibles open.

[12:49] You should be checking what is preached from the prophet. Sometimes preachers can convince you of something and convince you of an understanding of the text.

[13:03] And then a good test of that is to go on and read the next two or three chapters and see if the things that you were told or the things that you were learned or insights that you perhaps were given about John and how he operates and what he's doing.

[13:25] Whether those insights ring true in the subsequent chapters or the subsequent accounts of Jesus meeting with people. What kind of things do they display?

[13:37] Because we know that scripture is consistent from beginning to end. It doesn't deceive us. It doesn't change its mind. There's a logic to it. There's a progression to it.

[13:49] There's a reason to it. So hopefully if I have done my work correctly and what we learned and what I said to you about how we should understand Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus.

[14:07] And I'll remind you of some of those things. Alarm bells and connections should ring in our heads as we read through this next encounter that Jesus has with someone in John's Gospel.

[14:25] So let's read God's Word together from John's Gospel chapter 4 and reading from the first verse.

[14:38] Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize but only his disciples.

[14:54] He left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.

[15:06] So he came to a town of Samaria called Sycah near the field that Jacob had given to his sons Joseph. Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well.

[15:24] It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink.

[15:36] For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, how is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?

[15:50] For Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him.

[16:06] And he would have given you living water. The woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.

[16:20] Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself as does his sons and his livestock.

[16:35] And Jesus said to her, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.

[16:49] The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The woman said to him, sir, give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.

[17:09] Jesus said to her, go, call your husband and come here. The woman answered, I have no husband.

[17:21] Jesus said to her, you are right in saying I have no husband. For you have had five husbands. And the one you now have is not your husband.

[17:32] What you have said is true. The woman said to him, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

[17:44] Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship. Jesus said to her, woman, believe me.

[17:56] The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the father. You worship what you do not know.

[18:07] We worship what we know. For salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here. When the true worshipper will worship the father in spirit and truth.

[18:22] For the father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit. And when those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

[18:36] The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming. He who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things.

[18:48] Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. Just then his disciples came back.

[19:01] They marveled that he was talking with a woman. But no one said, what do you seek? Or why are you talking with her? He was talking with her. So the woman left her water jar and went away into town.

[19:17] And said to the people. Come. See a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?

[19:31] And so on. And thanks be to God for this reading of his holy word. And to his name be praise and glory given.

[19:42] Before we turn to consider that. Let's again just be led into prayer by the catechism. Where we read what is your only comfort in life and in death.

[19:58] And the answer is that I with body and soul. Both in life and in death. I'm not my own. But belong to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.

[20:10] Who with his precious blood. Has fully satisfied from all sins. And delivered me from all the power of the devil. And so preserves me.

[20:22] That without the will of my father in heaven. Not a hair can fall from my head. Yes. That all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore by his holy spirit.

[20:34] He also assures me of eternal life. And makes me heartily willing. And ready henceforth. To live unto him.

[20:46] Let's ask God's help as we turn to his word. Father God as we heard this morning.

[20:59] You are a God of salvation. A God who reaches out. In grace and in mercy.

[21:11] Christ. And this night. As we gather here. In the comfort of this sanctuary. We would again remember our brothers and sisters in Christ.

[21:26] Who are less fortunate than we are. They are living under oppression. They are living under oppression. They are living in a country where.

[21:39] Christianity is perhaps discouraged. Where it is illegal. Where it is an offense.

[21:50] To lift the name of Jesus. To lift the name of Jesus. And to proclaim him. As the savior that he is. And so father.

[22:02] We. Are bound. To these people. As brothers and sisters. And our heart yearns. For them to know your rich blessing.

[22:17] Your great protection. And the blessing of them. Truly realizing. What it means to be salt and light.

[22:28] In a midst of oppression. And. Terrible. Terrible conflict. In their nations. In their nations. Father.

[22:43] We pray for. Missionaries. For. Who have gone. From this land of Scotland. To the world. To proclaim Jesus Christ. As savior and Lord. And we pray heavenly father.

[22:58] That you might. Once again. Raise up men. From this nation. To go into that world. That world. We pray for our church. And our denomination.

[23:09] That. You will raise up men. To. Stand in our pulpits. And faithfully. Proclaim the gospel. And on the day.

[23:20] Of very small things. Heavenly father. We. Do pray for. Revival. That you might. Have mercy upon us. As a nation. As a.

[23:31] Denomination. As a church. Father. That we might. Know. Once again. The delights. Of seeing. Men and women.

[23:42] And boys and girls. Come. In saving faith. Responding. To the grace. Of the gospel. Throughout our land. Father. In a world.

[23:54] In a world. That looks for. Vaccines. And. Treatments. And. Cures. We would want. To boldly. Proclaim.

[24:05] That you are the only answer. To life. We pray. That you will raise up. A generation. Who will once again. Acknowledge you.

[24:16] As the only way. The only truth. And the only life. Father. We once again. Pray for the United States. And all their. Conflict.

[24:27] Around. This recent. Election result. And. We pray. For a peaceful. Transfer. Of power. But we do pray. Heavenly Father. For.

[24:38] You to restrain. The hand. Of liberalism. In that land. And policies. That will have. Terrible impact. On. Hundreds of thousands.

[24:49] Of unborn children. Father. That is. That is. That is. That is. That is. That is. That is. That is.

[25:00] Is. Is. The scandal. Of. Our centuries. That so many. Children. Never. Make it.

[25:11] To birth. And we just. Pray. Heavenly Father. That you might. Exercise. A restraining. Hand. On. A new.

[25:22] Government. And a new. President. That might. Seek. To advance. Abortions. Father.

[25:33] We look. To our own land. And how desperate. It is. In so many ways. People. Hungry. For power.

[25:44] For the sake. Of power. Seldom. Do we have people. In these positions. Who are there. To serve. But. who are there to serve but enjoy being served.

[25:59] Forgive us, Father. And Father, we think of ourselves because we are far, far, far from perfect and far from the people that you would want us to be.

[26:18] And we pray that you might turn your eyes upon us this night. That you might see fit to bless us and to bring us very close to you this night in this evening hour.

[26:35] May your word speak to us, O Lord. Show us ourself, show us yourself, show us the Saviour. And may your word speak to us, O Lord.

[26:49] Amen. So, last time we looked at Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus.

[27:03] And we umbrella that, if you like, by suggesting that John was about to think, he was engaging in a polemic that Jesus was God.

[27:21] And in the special incidents and encounters that John had chosen to include under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, had chosen to include in his writing of this gospel, he had done so quite deliberately to show us different aspects of the fact that when we encounter Jesus Christ, we are encountering one that was fully man, but we are also encountering the second person of the Trinity.

[27:55] one who was very God himself. And John helpfully signals these up by saying that these are signs, and these signs take us right to the heart of what John was about in that polemic of arguing or presenting a case that Jesus was the Christ.

[28:29] But we also saw that he also chose these incidents because Jesus was about evangelism. He was seeking to bring people to a saving encounter with himself.

[28:46] And we saw, as we looked at Nicodemus, how people had come to Jesus. They had displayed what many in today's church would see as good news.

[28:58] They believed in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, did not believe in them. Because he knew all people.

[29:13] And so, we saw that in John's presenting of these encounters, he wasn't just seeking to bring people to a place where they met Jesus, per se, but to bring them to a place where they met the Saviour.

[29:32] And so, these encounters took us to the whole business that Jesus was involved in, and that is in the business of regeneration, of new birth, and of transformation.

[29:49] Now, the first thing that we notice as we read through this is Jesus' almost complete disregard for background or for the religious nurturing that the people that he encountered had received.

[30:16] When we read of the woman of Samaria, there could not be a greater contrast between the woman that Jesus encountered here in chapter 4 of John's Gospel and Nicodemus that we encountered two weeks ago.

[30:40] Nicodemus was a man. This is a woman. Nicodemus was Jewish.

[30:52] This was a Samaritan. If you were in the West of Scotland, this would be the divide between not just Catholic and Protestant, but your most staunch orangeman and your most staunch Catholic.

[31:11] This person had position, had authority, had learning, was religious. The woman at the well was the exact opposite.

[31:28] We know very little of her background, of her economic situation, but she certainly was regarded as outcast, probably because of the moral judgment that had been made on her lifestyle.

[31:45] And remember, not all moral judgments are honorable or God judgments. And that's not to excuse what she was doing, but it's to serve there as a reminder.

[32:00] And also, we realize that not just was there these great contrasts, but Jesus again shows that his business in these encounters was transformation.

[32:17] And so, what John does by putting these two people side by side, interestingly, on opposite sides of John 3.16, for God so loved the world, you all know it, is that he's displaying for us the truth of what he declares in chapter 3, verse 17.

[32:44] For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

[32:57] In other words, what John is doing is he's reminding us that whatever the person, whatever the background, whatever the circumstances, whether they're religious or non-religious, whether they're Jew or Gentile, whether they're wealthy or poor, the gospel is what they need.

[33:23] And the presentation of the gospel fits their life and their circumstances. I quite often, when I'm in Glasgow on my own, take time to walk to Glasgow Cathedral and to Cathedral Square, I think it's called, and there is the great statue of David Livingstone with his cap and his Bible in hand pointing, presumably pointing over the nation of Africa and to Africa.

[34:04] Now again, contrast, David Livingstone, Blantyre, Scottish Presbyterian education coming from a background of privilege, not just initial education but tertiary education, going to the dark continent.

[34:26] But what takes him there is the conviction that Jesus shall reign where'er the sun. That whether he's preaching in his church in Blantyre, or whether he's preaching underneath the stars in Africa, the gospel fits, the gospel works, the gospel fits, the life of the African tribal warrior as it is to the lady who walks up and down the street outside his door in Blantyre.

[35:07] The gospel works, the gospel fits. It doesn't need to be manipulated, it doesn't necessarily even need to be put into a cultural context, because the essence of the gospel fits, where'er the sun shines.

[35:27] And we know that not because David Livingstone did it, but because John proclaims it in his word, that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the whole world might be saved and have eternal life.

[35:48] Friends, if we are truly going to be a biblical witness church, we must always maintain a world mission perspective.

[36:00] We must never become parochial. We must constantly have our eye on what God is doing in this world, because he is at work in the world.

[36:16] And often our church vision has become all too small. And when it becomes small, it becomes not just a vision that is contrary to God's word, but it becomes a vision that is contrary to the Lord Jesus Christ and his ministry.

[36:41] God is so we have something then of the background underlined and shown again to us that we saw when we looked at Nicodemus, a God who, if you like, has the whole world in his hands life.

[37:02] And as a gospel that fits beyond class, culture or country. the second thing I want us to notice, I've entitled in my notes, a work of divine providence.

[37:23] Now friends, I'm not going to bore you with the pages and pages and pages that I have read in the commentary books about the very simple and straightforward fourth verse of this fourth chapter.

[37:41] Jesus had to pass through Samaria. Is that simply grammar? Or does it represent some divine impulse and imperative that was put into Jesus that he had to be there at that point, at that time?

[38:08] Well, very similar to what we saw last time when we looked at Nicodemus coming by night. The truth is we don't know. But what we do know is that in God's sovereign providence, the left hand of God has brought this woman to the well, and the right hand of God has brought his only son to the same well.

[38:38] And we know that this encounter is never an encounter of accident, but always an encounter of divine imperative, of divine moving, that God literally moves heaven and earth around us in order to bring us to the place of salvation.

[39:06] And God had brought about this situation. Not only was Jesus here and this woman was here, and this is perhaps the most extraordinary thing, that this man and this woman were left alone here.

[39:24] And there is, and please, please do not understand the use of this word, there is an intimacy here in this moment. And a poignancy that God has brought this situation about, and we know why, for his saving purpose.

[39:52] And we have got to believe, friends, because the same sovereign God is operating in our lives. that we have been brought here this night, in this place, to hear this very gospel message.

[40:15] That we are meant to be here this night. And those of us who have stood in pulpits, I'm sure we've all experienced what I would regularly experience at the door of the church when I went to the door to shake hands with people on the way out.

[40:34] And people will say to us, what you said today, in ways that you can never know, Douglas, was just for me.

[40:45] when I was in the ministry, I used to say, that's very kind of you, and did all that kind of stuff.

[40:58] But latterly, what I used to say to people is, well, you need to do something about it. because if you ever are sitting, listening to the preaching of God's word, and you are brought under a conviction that this is for me, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not dismiss that thought easily.

[41:26] it is no accident that Jesus was there.

[41:38] It was no accident that that woman had habitually gone to the well at a time when all the other women were not there.

[41:49] Probably because they didn't want to associate her with her. but in those circumstances, God has brought these people together as a work of divine providence.

[42:07] The second thing I want us to notice is that there is a work of divine illumination, just like the people that we read about at the end of chapter 2 that had seen Jesus doing many signs and wonders, but Jesus didn't believe in them because he knew men, because he saw into their hearts.

[42:28] And we saw two weeks ago that when Jesus was engaging in this, let's call it a conversation, but it wasn't that as we saw last time, that there is this verbal exchange going on and Nicodemus is saying things to Jesus and it's as if Jesus is just completely ignoring what is asked.

[42:49] And he knows the heart of Nicodemus and he knows exactly where to go to get to what is the issue with Nicodemus.

[43:00] You must be born again. And as we read our way through this fourth chapter of John's gospel, we can see that happening again.

[43:12] This woman is doing a lot of things. She's talking about you're a Jew. You ask me for water. Are you a greater Jew than the father Jacob?

[43:26] She acknowledges him as sir, because sir, I perceive that you're a prophet. Because what is taking place there, you see, is that the eyes of Jesus have penetrated into the very heart and soul of this woman.

[43:48] And isn't it interesting that she finds herself internally exposed to the gaze of Jesus. And she acknowledges that there is something going on here with this man.

[44:03] Who is this man? That's what our struggle is that's displayed before us in these chapters. Who is this man?

[44:17] Who is this man that could see through me? Who is this man that he knows that the man I'm living with is not my husband? Who is this man that knows I've had five husbands?

[44:30] How can anybody know me like that? And she finds herself exposed before the divine insight of God.

[44:42] John again this is the second person of the Trinity that this woman is encountering. This is the man who knew men through and through to the core.

[44:58] she does a thing that is often done by people who come under that level of conviction.

[45:18] Rather than deal with Jesus' insight into her life and the exposure of the sin of her lifestyle, she decides to strike up a conversation about religion.

[45:34] and she starts talking about the fact that he's a Jew and she's a Samaritan and that you know this is all about where we worship and we're all waiting for the Messiah and all these kind of things.

[45:51] Jesus. And again Jesus almost ignores every word that she says. Not quite this time but almost ignores.

[46:02] He point blank refuses to get into any religious discussion because you know most of the time Jesus is not the least bit interested in religious discussion.

[46:15] Why? Because he's here. And the answer to all religious discussions ends with who he is.

[46:27] The one you seek, the Messiah, the one called the Christ. Verse 26. I who speak to you am he.

[46:40] Wow. Wow. How does that sound in our multicultural world?

[46:51] world? How would that sound if we were on television this night? There would be an outcry.

[47:04] But Jesus is not interested in that. He's interested in identifying who he is.

[47:14] because that of course is one of the great questions of orthodoxy. Who is Jesus?

[47:26] Who is Jesus? I who speak to you am here. And Jesus leads her with insight but also with grace and gentleness.

[47:43] and with remarkable candor to an understanding and a declaration of the fact that the Christ the Messiah is standing right before her.

[47:58] you see that's the essence of the gospel. That the gift of the gospel the gift of God is Jesus.

[48:17] It's not some belief pattern. It's not some religious pattern. it's relationship with him.

[48:33] And there is colossal confusion in our world. And it's very difficult to cut through that confusion. I had an example of that only yesterday.

[48:46] I was getting treatment from a physiotherapist and he's been trying to tell me about Buddhism and he's a follower of Buddhism but he's also a Christian he told me.

[49:03] He follows the path of Buddha but he's also a Christian and he told me yesterday that Jesus in those years that we don't have in the Bible actually went away and became a Buddhist and when he came back he mirrors a lot of the teaching of Buddha and the teaching of the Gospel.

[49:29] Well I as kindly and as gently as I could tried to say a few words to this man and my words were clear and simple.

[49:42] I said but Jesus is God he is the Savior he's the one who died on the cross and our assurance of eternity rests not in what we have done or what path we have followed or even what our ideological stance is but in whether we have a relationship with the one who says I who speak to you am he and that you see is underlined for us and emphasized for us in all this discussion about worship and where they worship and where Jesus worships as a Jew because you see that is why Jesus saves that is why God saves us because he wants us not to be religious but to be worshippers

[50:51] Jesus saves us in order to worship him through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ it's not about Jew or Samaritan or Catholic and Protestant it's about the fact that when we were created by God we were created in essence as worshippers and when you have discussions with people about the faith or about any faith or about any religious discussion it will become perfectly evident to you that we were created as incurably worshippers and the question that we should be asking people is not what do you worship or who do you worship it is rather not are you a worshipper but rather what do you worship who do you worship because they're all worshippers we all worship something or other there is always something at the top of the agenda that will direct our choices going back to what

[52:04] I was saying this morning that the test of true commitment comes at the point of choice people who have allowed the living God to penetrate their being to open their heart to expose their sins he brings them to fall at his feet to declare that he is saviour and to worship him as saviour and as lord it's a work of divine providence a work of divine illumination a work of saving conviction and finally it is a work of transforming grace this woman who felt so exposed at the beginning of this conversation there has been an incredible transformation wanting to hide from the reality of what

[53:11] Jesus was saying perhaps embarrassed by it or feeling very vulnerable in what Jesus was able to see in her heart and in her life is now completely the opposite she returns to her village leaving the water that at one point was so important to her leaving the water jar went away into town verse 28 and said to the people come see a man who told me everything that I've ever done she had gone there for water to fill a water pot that was a pot that had to be filled daily water that would never ultimately satisfy and she knew that she kind of in that way that

[54:18] John did misunderstood Jesus give me that water so that I don't have to come here again she was looking for life satisfaction in life satisfaction in relationship and she had never found life she had never found satisfaction and now she had found water such that she would never thirst again in many years of ministry one of the questions I'm regularly asked is how do I know that I am saved wow it's always wonderful to be asked that question and of course it would be wrong to say there's any one answer but here after many years of ministry and many years of thinking about that question here are certainly two vital elements in the test of true conversion the first is exactly what I said this morning we will be changed we will not be what we used to be and we will not be like those around us who do not have

[55:50] Christ and in all my years of ministry I have never met someone who came to a living relationship with Jesus Christ that wasn't changed they might not be what they will ultimately be they might not be even what they would like to be but this is true they are not what they used to be and that will be evident and the second thing that I think is also another great test of true conversion and true saving faith is once you have experienced that change in your own life life it will be so astonishing and so life transforming that you will want others that you love to experience the same thing and it will be your heart's longing that they should come and meet this saviour there is no greater heartache in the life of a parent or a grandparent or a child or a brother or sister to know that their child or their father or their mother is living or dying without saving faith and these two things were certainly evident in the life of this unknown lady this unnamed lady who has such a significant part in

[57:43] God's precious word the woman who met Jesus and was a bit strange with him and confused by him exposed to his divine grace and gaze is now going into the village where she was in many ways despised and rejected and saying to them come and meet a man who told me everything I've ever done do you know our world runs from somebody who would tell them everything that they've ever done and that shows us that this encounter with this woman has always been an encounter of grace and love an amazing encounter it reminds me in closing of a story that

[58:53] I read many many many years ago when I was a young Christian the cross and the switchblade if you've it's an old book now and I'm sure you'll get it in bookshops many of you might even have it in your libraries cross and the switchblade where a minister called David Wilkinson engaged in a ministry in New York amongst the gangs and he met this gang leader Nicky Cruz who threatened him with a knife and was going to cut him up and David Wilkinson's word to that Nicky Cruz that transformed his life was that if you cut me up every piece of me will still say to you that God loves you and that he died for your sins let's pray father what a joy to encounter

[60:06] Jesus and our prayer this night is that not a single soul will go away from this building this night without having had a real and living and saving encounter with Jesus Christ we pray that as we go out into the darkness tonight we will go out as children of the light as children of the living God giving him all glory and praise we commit this Lord's Day to you father we hold you to your promise that it will not return to your void at the end of the day and we pray heavenly father that you might start that work in our lives transforming us and renewing us through your Holy Spirit to the glory of God and to his praise in Jesus name

[61:06] Amen we close by listening to a hymn it's not a very well known hymn it's a hymn called day by day and with each passing moment strength I'll find to meet my trials here trusting in my father's wise provision I've no cause for worry or for fear it was written by a Scandinavian lady who wrote the hymn following the very tragic death of her father in a fishing accident that she had witnessed and it talks about having an absolute trust and confidence in God's care and his provision that we live by promise and not by circumstances it's called day by day and with each passing moment day by day with each passing moment strength

[62:07] I'll fight to meet my trials same trusting in my father's wise instrument I propose no hurry of fear he whose life is heavy of the nature he comes to his table teachings please love him is part of pain and pleasure living joy with peace and grace every day the Lord himself is weary with a special mercy for each time all my destiny fame will bear and cheer me he whose name is counselor and heart that protection of his son is worthy is the charge that joy himself is great as your days of strength shall be patient as your care to be brave tuber

[63:37] Additionally o' shall burn leave Tamara appear The Lord with children through the nursing Mary the children's humble fellowship Let my heart get the morning's Meanwhile Till my grace shall come in Son Let's pray Every day the Lord himself is near me With a special mercy for each hour All my cares he fain would bear and cheer me He whose name is counsellor and power

[64:40] The protection of his child and treasure Is a charge that on himself he laid As thy days thy strength shall be in measure This the pledge to me he made So help me Lord when toil and trouble meeting Ere to take us from a father's hand One by one the days the moments fleeting Till I reach that blessed promised land The day is long spent The evening hour has come Our prayer is Lord that you will abide with us Fast falls the eventide And may the blessing of God Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit Rest and abide with each and every one of us

[65:41]  This night and forevermore Amen Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Hello Thank the