[0:00] We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise this evening in Psalm 96 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 96 in the Scottish Psalter, singing from verse 1 to verse 6.
[0:13] The tune is St. Magnus. We'll sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God. To God sing, bless his name, show still his saving health abroad.
[0:25] We'll sing verse 1 to 6 to God's praise. O sing a new song to the Lord, sing all the earth to God.
[0:46] To God sing, bless his name, show still his saving health abroad.
[1:00] Among the heathen nations, his glory do declare.
[1:12] And unto all the people show his works that wondrous are.
[1:26] For great the Lord, and greatly he is to be magnified.
[1:40] Yea, worthy to be feared is he above all God's beside.
[1:53] For all the gods are idols come, which blinded nations fear.
[2:08] But our God is the Lord by whom the heavens created well.
[2:22] Great honour is before his face, and majesty divine.
[2:35] Strength is within his holy place, and there doth beauty shine.
[2:49] Amen. Let us come to God in prayer. Let us pray. Our gracious Father in heaven, we do give thanks to you that we can come and sing.
[3:07] Sing a song to you, a song of praise, a song of worship, a song of thanksgiving. A song that reminds us that you are the only one worthy of praise.
[3:18] We live in a world that makes up its own idols in so many different ways. There is worship going on around us. Even though it's unknown to some, they feel that they are just living life, and yet they worship the gods of this world.
[3:34] And we can be so guilty of it ourselves and being caught up in the worship that does not give all our glory and focus to you. But we get distracted, Lord.
[3:45] We worship the things of this world more than we should. But we thank you that your word reminds us that you are the only one who is worthy of our praise. That you are the only one who we are to worship with all of our hearts.
[4:00] And so we thank you for the reminder of your word and of your day. We thank you for the reminder of your people. All these reminders that you have given to us.
[4:12] That we are people who are to be set aside. Set aside for a great purpose to live in this world, not for our glory, but fully for yours.
[4:23] And we thank you that for that purpose, for that reason, in the midst of all the distractions that we face, and the ways that we were living, and maybe still are living to some, that you gave your own son.
[4:39] That your word reminds us that in the lostness of this world, and in the hopelessness that we can experience and feel, that you sent your son to offer us the way to hope, and the way to salvation.
[4:54] The way to find that path to the living waters that will fully quench our souls, and quench our appetite. That will fulfill us and satisfy in all things.
[5:05] We thank you for your word, and how it does that. How it refreshes our souls. How even the singing of your praises uplifts our spirits. And how we are able to come and unite our hearts and our voices in praise of you.
[5:23] We ask, O Lord, that you will come and be in our midst this evening. That you will help us to offer up praise worthy unto you. Spirit filled and with rejoicing and gladness in our hearts.
[5:38] That you are the one who has opened our eyes, or who is able to open our eyes, and to see the wonder and the beauty of salvation in Christ Jesus.
[5:49] So we pray, Lord, that you will be with us. That your name will be magnified and blessed. Not just here, but around the world today. In the worship of your name and the praising of it.
[6:02] That your people will be uplifted. That sinners may be saved. And that your name would go far and wide. That people would hear it, maybe even for the first time. Hear the name of Jesus.
[6:15] And wonder what it means. But come to behold the wonder of the name above every name. That name that we are to worship. So, Lord, may you guide us in our worship this evening.
[6:28] May you open your word to us. And may your spirit be upon us. May you open your heart and in our hearts. And in our souls and in our minds. As we can feel the distractions of this world.
[6:39] And even perhaps the distractions of the week that lies ahead. With all the plans that we may have. And all the different things that we will be looking forward to. And anticipating.
[6:51] That we would not be so distracted. That we would not go into the week forgetting about you. So, Lord, we ask for your blessing on us as a people. And as a congregation of your people here.
[7:03] That we will know, Lord, your presence. That we will know your hand upon us. Leading us and guiding us. Every step of the way. We thank you, Lord, for your day.
[7:14] That day in the week when we have the quietness of it. We are able to put all other things to one side for a time. And we know there are those who have works of necessity and mercy.
[7:26] We remember them, Lord. We remember the many who have to work today. And who may be even feeling the tiredness of this day. And a busyness. The busyness of a week.
[7:37] We remember those who work in hospitals and homes. And all the different services that provide safekeeping for us, Lord. The police, the fire service, the coast guard.
[7:48] There are so many who have to work, Lord, for our needs. Even on this day. And we do thank you for them. And we pray that they will have rest for their own bodies and souls.
[7:59] During the week. In their own time as well. And we thank you for the means that we have to engage in worship. That we can come together here. That we can tune in online.
[8:11] That we are able so often to catch up with services during the week as well. And we pray that in the week ahead that we will take heed of your word. That we would come to unite our hearts in the prayer meeting.
[8:25] During the week. On the different evenings, Lord. That we would enjoy being together with one another. And hearing your word. And praising your name in that way. And we ask that you will hear our prayers.
[8:37] We know that there is much to pray about. Even as we look at our own notice sheet. We realize, Lord, the different things going on around us. Both locally and nationally.
[8:48] And even internationally too. We thank you for the work of among our young people. And we pray for the youth fellowship to take place this evening. May you be with them there.
[8:58] May you be with Mojo as he speaks and shares a word of testimony. May you be with the leaders and the young ones who gather as well. That they would enjoy that time together. Of getting to know one another.
[9:10] But above all to hear of the wonder of your work. How you are a God who longs to save his people. And longs to show that real care and compassion towards us.
[9:22] We thank you, Lord, that even when we are blind. That there are times when we can look back and see. The wonder of your grace and your mercy towards us. So we pray for all our young ones to know the wonder of your grace.
[9:35] And that saving grace. That saving faith. We pray too for the youth and discipleship worker, Gordon MacLeod. We thank you for all the work he is doing.
[9:47] And for our presbytery. Throughout our islands. The way he encourages. The way he helps. The way he supports. And guides. Not just the young. But ministers.
[9:59] Elders. Deacons. And even all congregations as a whole. How he is able to encourage. And share of his experience in different ways. And we pray that he will be encouraged.
[10:10] In his own heart. That you will help him, Lord. To lean upon you. And to look to you. And in all the plans for the future going forward. In that work. We pray that you will lead and guide in it.
[10:22] And may your hand of blessing be upon him. And upon all that he does. We pray too for our congregation as a whole. And all the different activities going on.
[10:33] And all the people associated with us. We thank you for those who have gone out from our midst. To different parts of the world. And we think of Muriel. We thank you for her work.
[10:44] And pray for her as she prepares to return home. That that would go well in her preparations. And planning for it. And her travels too. And all the arrangements to be made.
[10:55] That all would go well with her. And that her time at home would be a refreshing time for her. And a time where we can enjoy fellowship with her. We thank you for the great privilege of being able to share.
[11:07] In the prayerful work of your ministry far and wide. That when we feel that there is maybe little else we can do. That we would remember the great power that there is in prayer.
[11:18] And that we can pray for the work of your ministry here and far and wide. To know the blessing of your hand upon it. Remember our nation at this time as well.
[11:29] As we look ahead in the week before us. Lord and we think of the funeral to take place tomorrow. We pray for those who will minister in it.
[11:39] We pray for your word. As it will be read and sung and heard. That it will be heard. We thank you that your word reminds us that your word is powerful. That it is sharper than a two-edged sword.
[11:52] That it can pierce deep within us. And we pray that that will be the case even tomorrow. That as your word is proclaimed. As it is read. As it is heard.
[12:03] That your spirit will be with it. That you will pour out your blessing on us as a land. And that you would, Lord, come in a day of your power. To revive us.
[12:14] To renew us. To give us a real sense of our need of you. We pray, Lord, for our nation in the days ahead. For all who will rule over us.
[12:25] A new king. A new prime minister. And the governments. Throughout our land. In terms of Westminster. Hollywood. And also our council chambers as well.
[12:35] That, Lord, you will grant great wisdom to all who rule. And to rule well and according to your word. So, Lord, we pray. Looking to you now.
[12:46] That you will continue with us. That you will open up your word to us. As we come to share from it. As we continue to sing your praise. Be with the one who leads us in the singing this evening. Help us all, Lord, to lift up our voices in praise to you.
[13:01] And to have ears to hear what you are saying to us. And, Lord, we pray that your word will minister to our hearts. And to our souls. That it will refresh us.
[13:11] And challenge us. And convict us. Above all, it will convince us. Of the wonder of your glory. Of the wonder we have. In the saviour Christ Jesus.
[13:22] The one who we can come. And call our Lord. Our Father. And our God in heaven. So, we pray you'll hear our prayers. That you'll continue with us. And refresh your people far and wide.
[13:35] And bless your word. To all ends of the earth. For all we ask. We ask for the forgiveness of our sins. And to your name be the praise and the glory. Amen.
[13:48] Let's again sing to God's praise. And sing Psalms. Version of Psalm 62. Page 80 of the psalm books. Psalm 62.
[14:02] We're singing from verse 5. The tune is Heron Gate. Find rest my soul in God alone. In him my hope is ever sure.
[14:13] My safety fortress sheltering rock. In him alone I am secure. We'll sing from verse 5. Down to the end of the psalm. To God's praise. Find rest my soul in God alone.
[14:38] My hope is ever sure My safety for the sheltering rock In him alone I am secure My honor and salvation rest On broad my walk and mighty fort O people, trust in him always To him alone for a good heart The low for man is but a breath
[15:45] The high for man is but a life Within a bullet, side by side They come to nothing but a sign Do not seek after wealth by force Or die afraid, will God in gain And even though your wisdom please Set not your heart on what is vain
[16:46] My God has spoken, I have heard That you are strong and loving Lord Each one according to his deeds You will assure and be reward Can we turn together now to read in God's Word In the Gospel of John We're going to read in chapter 4 The Gospel of John chapter 4 And we read from the beginning down to the verse marked 42 And here we have one of these wonderful encounters
[17:52] Where Jesus meets with someone who in many people's eyes Would seem to be a hopeless case And yet he opens her eyes to see The wonder of having her thirst quenched In a way that's so amazing And just a reminder to ourselves too That when we feel a little lost in this world And maybe don't know where to turn That we have the one we can call on to The one who is the Christ So we come to read here in John chapter 4 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 He left Judea and departed again for Galilee And he had to pass through Samaria So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar Near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph
[18:53] Jacob's well was there So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey Was sitting beside the well It was about the sixth hour There came a woman of Samaria to draw water And Jesus said to her Give me a drink 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?
[19:26] For Jews have 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 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 Where do you get that living water?
[19:53] Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself As did his sons and his livestock 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 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 Jesus said to her Go, call your husband and come here The woman answered him I have no husband 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 What you have said is true The woman said to him
[20:55] Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet Our fathers worshipped on this mountain But you say that in Jerusalem is the place Where people ought to worship Jesus said to her Woman, believe me The hour is coming When neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem Will you worship the Father You worship what you do not know We worship what we know For salvation is from the Jews But the hour is coming And is now here When the true worshippers Will worship the Father in spirit and truth For the Father is seeking such people to worship him God is spirit And those who worship him Must worship in spirit and truth The woman said to him 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 Jesus said to her
[21:57] I who speak to you Am he Just then his disciples came back They marveled that he was talking with a woman But no one said What do you seek?
[22:09] Or Why are you talking with her? So the woman left her water jar And went away into town And said to the people Come See a man Who told me all that I ever did Can this be the Christ?
[22:26] They went out of the town And were coming to him Meanwhile the disciples were urging him Saying Rabbi Eat But he said to them I have food to eat That you do not know about So the disciples said to one another Has anyone brought Brought him something to eat?
[22:44] Jesus said to them My food is to do the will of him who sent me And to accomplish his work Do you not say There are four months Then comes the harvest Look I tell you Lift up your eyes And see that the fields Are white for harvest Already The one who reaps Is receiving wages And gathering fruit For eternal life So that sower and reaper May rejoice together For here the saying holds true One sows and another reaps I sent you to reap For that which you did not labour Others have laboured And you have entered into their labour Many Samaritans from the town believed in him Because of the woman's testimony He told me All that I ever did So when the Samaritans came to him They asked him To stay with them And he stayed there two days And many more believed
[23:45] Because of his word They said to the woman It is no longer because of what you said That we believe For we have heard for ourselves And we know That this is indeed The saviour Of the world And so on And may God bless That reading from his word We again sing To God's praise Before we turn To look at that passage In Psalm 107 In the Scottish Psalter At the beginning of the psalm Psalm 107 Page 382 I'm going to sing From verse 1 To verse 9 Praise God For he is good For still his mercy's lasting be Let God's redeemed say so Whom he from the enemy's hand Did free We sing from verse 1 To verse 9 To God's praise Praise God Praise God For he is good for still Praise God
[24:46] For he is good for still Praise God For he is good for still His mercy's lasting be Let God's redeemed say so His mercy's lasting be From the enemy's hand He is great for still His mercy's lasting be From the enemy's hand He is a great for still His mercy's lasting be And gather there out of the lands From north, south, east, and west They stayed in desert pathlessly No city found to rest For thorns and hunger in them face
[25:48] Their soul well streets them blessed They cry unto the Lord And he then frees from their distress Them also in a way to walk That brightest he did die That he might do a city go Where in the mind abide O thy name to the Lord who fear
[26:53] Praise for his goodness there And for his words of wonder done Unto the sons of men For he the soul that longing is Thou fully satisfied With goodness he the hungry soul That fell under thee Well, let's turn back to our reading in the Gospel of John
[27:55] In this reading in chapter 4 We're going to look at the whole of the passage that we read But we can read again at verse 25 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 Jesus said to her I who speak to you Am he Just then his disciples came back They marveled that he was talking with a woman But no one said What do you seek?
[28:31] Or why are you talking with her? So the woman left her water jar And went away into the town And said to the people Come See a man who told me all that I ever did Can this be the Christ?
[28:45] Have you ever had a meeting With someone that just stays with you For maybe days, weeks, maybe even years afterwards Maybe it's a meeting you've had Some point in the past Maybe you can even look back In your more recent experience Maybe even this last week You've met someone out and about Or maybe someone's popped in to visit And you've had a conversation with them And you've come away from it thinking That did me good That was a good experience for me Because there are times in the hustle and bustle of life When just a wee conversation with someone And especially a conversation from a believer A Christian Who has a word Just to refresh our souls Just makes us ever so thankful For all that the Lord has done Have you ever had an experience though Like this woman of Samaria has
[29:47] In this passage that we've read together Perhaps you have Perhaps you know what it is To have met with the one Who is able to give you waters From a well that will never run dry To satisfy a thirst that you've had for a long time And to know that you will thirst no more Because you are believing and trusting in him Or perhaps you haven't had this meeting yet Perhaps you are longing for this meeting To encounter with this one Who is able to satisfy your thirst Perhaps you are looking in life to find something That will just give you that satisfaction That joy And yet all the time you are just feeling tired And jaded with it all While our text this evening Reading this evening shows us This woman of Samaria Whose life is very much In that category of being just tired And jaded And weary
[30:49] A life that has perhaps been going Round and round in circles For a very long time And she's just worn out By it all And she's tried Drinking from every well that there is around her And every place she's gone Every time she's come away Feeling even more thirsty than she was When she first came But then something happened A meeting happened A meeting happened That completely changed her life The Lord Jesus came to her town And outside that town In the middle of the day In the heat of the day In the weariness of life She finds one who is able And who does indeed transform her life He opens her eyes To see what she needs And not just that He opens her eyes to see Where that need can be found
[31:51] And this woman Who was tired and weary Coming to the well Returns to her town To a people that perhaps Had shunned her and turned away from her As we'll see as we go through this passage They turn to hear What she has to say And in listening to her They begin to realise That something as incredible Has happened in her life That she has met with someone Who has made all the difference And as she says to them Could this be the Christ The Messiah The promised one Well, Jesus we see here Takes this jaded This hardened woman And he leads her to a place of trust And a place to Coming to quench her thirst And drink From the living water Of the well of faith And the well of salvation
[32:53] And she realises There is much more in this well Than just the water that quenches her natural thirst Here her very soul Her very being The very thirst in life Is quenched And satisfied And these This meeting, these verses They remind us Of two things First of all They remind us that If you are saved If you have encountered with this Jesus Who offers you living water We are reminded how good He has been How gracious He has been to us In redeeming our soul What He has done for us Goes beyond Any way we can give thanks to Him And yet we come Praising His name Thankful That He is the one Who continues to refresh our soul And to refresh us through His words That even as we feel weary and jaded in this world Through all that is going on around us
[33:56] As we come to the living water of His word We find ourselves refreshed And encouraged But it also reminds us too Secondly, if you are lost If you are like this woman was As she made her way to the well Just jaded and weary Trying to find a way to find joy and happiness And hope in this world It reminds us that the answer is found Not in the wells of this world And the things that this world will say Will satisfy us Our satisfaction Our thirst can only be quenched Into coming to the living water That the Lord Jesus Christ offers us And to drink from this well To drink from His word To find with Him Through His word Through His word The Spirit Convicting us and convincing us And giving us that hope That hope of eternal life
[34:58] Through Him I want us to see Three things as we look at this passage Three things of the ones Who we see in this passage And the first thing we are going to look at is The woman in the sense of The lonely woman We read here that Jesus had left Judea At the beginning of the chapter To go to Galilee And that journey Took Him through Samaria And on this journey He enters into a region That the Jews would be very hesitant Of going into normally Normally the Jews would avoid Going through Samaria We read here That the Jews And the Samaritans They didn't get on They didn't see eye to eye In fact there was a real Hatred and a real bitterness Between them But on this journey He and his disciples Making their way through Samaria They stop in this town Called Sychar
[36:01] A small town And here they stop for a time It tells us there in verse 4 That he had to pass through Samaria And he came to the town Of Samaria called Sychar Near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph And Jacob's well was there So Jesus Weed as he was from his journey Was sitting beside the well And it was about The sixth hour His disciples Had gone ahead of him Into the town To get some food for them To share together And it was while Jesus was left alone At this well That this amazing encounter Happens Where this woman Of Samaria Comes along Just by chance She happens to come along When Jesus is sitting there That's the way many people Would look at it Isn't it?
[36:54] Just this chance encounter Perhaps you've had some Chance encounters As you see it in your own eyes When maybe you meet with someone Who has a word to give you But they're not chance encounters They're appointments From God himself They are there in God's providence And here we see in God's providence Jesus meets with this woman Of Samaria And I've called her The lonely woman First of all Because that's what you see of her At the start of this This encounter She's a lonely woman In the sense of The kind of life That she is now living And there are little things That give us a hint To that in this passage The information we are told about Or would indicate this To us First of all You see there When Jesus was sitting at the well What time was it?
[37:51] It says at the end of verse 6 It was about the sixth hour That's midday That's middle of the day In the middle of the day Noon And here he is Out at the well At midday And this woman Comes to the well And this is unusual Because normally In those days The woman would come out To the well Either early in the morning Or late into the evening In the cool of the day Not in the middle of the day When the scorching sun Is beating down on them And they have to carry These heavy water jars They wouldn't make the journey then Because it would just Tire them out And burn them out Even quicker So a work that was Already difficult enough Would be even more difficult Here coming At the sixth hour And the other thing you notice About when she came is She was by herself There was nobody else With her And again
[38:52] This is a telling insight Into her life Because normally They would come As a crowd They would come together To do this work So they would be speaking With one another Talking with one another Helping one another If the need arose So this woman Was different to the others In the middle of the day And by herself This was unusual And it's telling It's telling that she was doing this And then it goes on To explain perhaps The reason why It was That she was alone And coming in the middle Of the day She had a lifestyle That would seem to indicate That grief and sorrow Was never far from her She had had five husbands We are told And now she's with a man Who's not her husband And again This insight just shows us The kind of life That she had It was one That was lonely Weerisome
[39:55] No friends Around her Perhaps being shunned By many who had once Been her friends There seems to be little In her life To fill her with joy And happiness What we are seeing instead Is a lonely woman And yet It is a woman That Jesus Meets with A woman that comes In the middle of the day And finds herself Talking to one Who is the Christ And it's a great reminder To us all That Christ is there For anyone That Christ is there For everyone But it's a reminder too Of what loneliness And isolation Can do to us It can often leave us Feeling a sense of hopelessness But it also leaves us In a very dangerous situation As well When we're lonely When we're isolated
[40:57] When we're feeling weary In this world It can often lead us To turning to look for happiness Anywhere and everywhere We will try and find something That will give us joy But we're often looking In the wrong place And it would seem That this woman Had craved The company of men It would seem That her whole lifestyle Had just left her Ended up Seeking what would normally be A happy and a healthy way of life But to her It had just led to disappointment After disappointment And for ourselves It may not be That's the way we try And find our happiness But there are other things Where we try and find Our happiness today So where do you look for joy?
[41:44] Where do you look to have your thirst quenched today? In loneliness In isolation In our own weariness of life We can turn to the wrong place Perhaps it leads us To turning to drink Perhaps it leads us to thinking Oh, I'll do the lottery Or I'll place a bet Or I'll place a bet And all of a sudden We find ourselves Just getting sucked into A way of life That is wrong We try and find and think That joy and happiness Will be found in all the wrong places People so often Turn to things like a horoscope And they think to themselves Well this might have something good To say to me It'll give me something To encourage me It'll give me something To encourage me We're turning to all the wrong places We all have a great need And a hunger for joy in life But so often we miss the mark
[42:46] We look in the wrong place And now the amazing thing We see in this woman's situation Is the one who comes to her Is the one who can meet her every need And that's the great news Of the gospel for ourselves today We have tried maybe Drinking and filling her Trying to quench her thirst In all kinds of different ways And there's no satisfaction There's no quenching of that thirst We're still feeling That emptiness inside us It is Pascal who once said There's a great God-shaped void In the heart of every man Which cannot be satisfied By any created thing But only by God The creator made known Through Jesus Christ You have that void And you're trying to fill it It's like the child
[43:49] That's trying to put the blocks Into the bucket Where you're trying to put the circle Through the square It's just not going to go You're trying to hammer it in But it's just not going to happen You have to put it into the right shape And for ourselves We're constantly just trying to put The wrong shape into our life It just will not fit Because the only thing That's going to fit The only thing that's going to change And fill that void Is Christ So here This lonely woman She meets with this Christ That's what was missing In this woman's life Is it missing in yours?
[44:33] Is that void in your heart tonight? If you want to find answers We're not to turn to the wisdom Of this world And the false temptations The false longings of this world That will say to us This will satisfy you when it won't And our only way to find satisfaction Is in Christ And this is a day that would change this woman's life forever And as a Christian tonight There's a great reminder to you if you're a Christian here Of the importance of making time for people The importance of being there when people perhaps have their questions to ask The importance of getting alongside those who maybe in your eyes Seem so far away from God that there's no hope This is a reminder to us
[45:35] That there's a void in every heart And no matter how far away someone seems We are to always have time To always have time to come along and to answer There's a man called Charles Adam An American in the 19th century He was a very important political figure And he had a busy life And again he didn't like things to interrupt his life And he saw many things that were a waste of time And he kept a diary And one day he entered this into his diary Went fishing with my son today A day wasted That was an assessment of that time spent with his son that day What was interesting was his son kept a diary He was called Brook Adams And he kept a diary that day And his entry was this
[46:36] Went fishing with my father The most wonderful day of my life And you see when you look at the experiences That when the encounters we have in life Sometimes we feel that was just a waste of time But you never know what's going on in someone's heart In that person's heart It might be the most wonderful experience in their life If the disciples as you see them coming back They looked on this woman Speaking with Jesus And they wondered why on earth is he spending time with her Why is he wasting his time?
[47:14] That's the way we would have seen it But not Jesus He had time for her And she Her life was totally transformed By this encounter Because who did she meet with?
[47:30] Well we see This lonely This lonely woman met with a loving saviour We're showing here just the love of Christ Jesus had to meet with this woman It was the only thing that was going to make a difference in her life And the wonderful thing today is that God sent his son Into this world for that very reason To meet with sinners Not just the woman of Samaria Not just the ones we read of through the scriptures Those who had gone away from God The likes of maybe Paul You see how Jesus met with him And you think well there's a sinner He was persecuting He was killing Christians And you look at the obvious candidates And you think well there's someone who Jesus Should meet with and needs to meet with But the amazing thing is
[48:34] That God sent his son to meet with you Every one of us That we would encounter this loving saviour And the question is then How do you respond?
[48:50] What do you do with this loving saviour? This woman as she comes She begins to question She begins to ask him And you see this The loving way that Jesus speaks to her He opens up her eyes to see How much he knows about her He says in verse 16 Go call your husband and come here The one answered him I have no husband 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 What you have said is true So as he questions She begins to realise this man He knows all about me He knows everything that there is about me But does he judge her?
[49:41] No He begins to talk to her In a way that she begins To have her eyes opened As to who he is And he does it in this way Where he talks about This living water That he would get a drink from her He opens her eyes to see What is worship?
[50:02] In verse 24 He says God is spirit And those who worship him Must worship him in spirit And in truth So there is this discussion There is this discussion Going on between them And all the time Jesus is working away in her heart And in verse 25 The woman says to him I know that Messiah is coming He who is called the Christ When he comes He will tell us all things Jesus said to her I who speak to you You am he That realisation That donning That donning of the one Whom she is speaking to I who speak to you Am he And that's the wonder of coming To the word of God That's the wonder of coming And drawing near to God You meet with the Messiah The Christ This loving Saviour And you see the one Who has done all for us
[51:04] She knows The Messiah is coming Perhaps you believe That God is coming Perhaps you know Through all you have heard And read in the scriptures Yes there is a day That God will come again Maybe you believe it But the question is Do you believe in the Christ The Messiah The Saviour Are you ready For that day He is the one Who has come so lovingly Alongside his people He comes lovingly Again and again To show us the way To speak to us Through his word He comes As a great shepherd Calling his sheep I remember speaking To a minister once And who was telling Of how he was dealing With someone who had come From a foreign land And they had He had come into this land He had been a shepherd Where he had come from And he had come To Scotland He was based in Edinburgh And he was living in this city And he just hated it He was lonely
[52:06] He was afraid He was isolated He longed to be a shepherd Back home again But he knew it couldn't be But the minister was able To explain to him And tell him Of the good shepherd Of the Lord Jesus And one who knows his sheep And calls them by name He had to come From his homeland He had to come away From everywhere Where he was comfortable He had to come into A foreign city A foreign country To meet a stranger Who could explain to him The things of Christ And there are many things In our lives That we cannot understand Many paths We maybe have to go down And things that experiences We have in life And we cannot understand them But as we look back We see that God Has used them For our good To bring us to a point Where we hear Of this wonderful Saviour Jesus knew
[53:08] Everything about her And the scary thing For you tonight Is he knows everything about you He knows everything about me But our past Our background Is no barrier To the offer Of the gospel And that's the offer That we have here To come And take of this water To come And drink from this well The offer that Jesus gives To her here Is that she would take a drink And not thirst Anymore In verse 14 Whoever drinks of the water That I will give him Will never be thirsty again The water that I will give him Will become in him A spring of water Welling up to eternal life That is the offer That Christ has For us all tonight To come And take Of this water The woman Listened To Jesus
[54:09] And suddenly In the midst Of her loneliness And in the most Unexpected of places There was this dawning Of hope In her life When he comes He will tell us All things She said But Jesus said I who speak to you Am he Jesus offers This living water He is a loving Saviour And if you haven't Come To this well The invitation Is there And you say But my heart Is so wicked I've done so much In my life That's wrong Well so had this woman So have we all And yet we can still come The offer of the gospel Is free And for all So we are to come And find
[55:11] This loving Saviour And to know him But what do we do To do with that? Well then we see The transformation That comes In this woman She goes From a lonely woman To one who is longing Longing to tell others Of this loving Saviour When the disciples Came back She was maybe Afraid of them But what she did then Was she went back Into the town She went away Into the town She left her water jar Went away into the town And says in verse 29 Come See a man Who told me All that I ever did Can this be The Christ?
[56:01] What a wonderful Transformation Here she is The one who was lonely And had this encounter Now she is To be the one The means to others Coming to know Of this Saviour And it's a great reminder To us all This woman Who had her life Changed What does she want To do now?
[56:23] She wants to tell people She has had this encounter She has met the Christ And she wants to say To others Come Come and see This man Could this be The Christ?
[56:36] And they come And you notice That they don't mention anything About her past Her background Or everything that was leaving Her lonely and isolated They listen And so we are to be bold To tell others We've had a Today In the Sunday school This morning Joanne and I Last Friday The over 55s We were open to questions And you never know What kind of questions Are going to come your way But the questions Were really good In terms of They make you think They make you ask Questions of yourself Well why do we do What we do?
[57:14] Why do we believe What we believe? One of the questions That came up Among the young ones Today was How do you go about Telling others? Telling others about Jesus? And the great thing is That question is there But it's not just Among the young folk Every one of us Will maybe have that question How can I go and tell others?
[57:38] Well here's a great example to us First and foremost First and foremost Is to be excited about the one we've believed To know the difference that he can make Come she says Come see a man Who knows everything I ever did Could this be the Christ?
[57:58] She's enthused She's longing to tell others And there's a great example to us there Just come and share with others Come In other words Invite Invite people to come and hear of this Christ Come and see of this man This man who knows everything about me A sinner Just like you know me A sinner in my past And my present And my future And yet I know a loving saviour I know this loving saviour Who can make all the difference This woman's life This woman's life Is totally transformed Where she's able to tell others And the interesting thing is this You never know What other people are thinking And maybe they're just wishing I wish they'd say something To me There's a man called Thomas Huxley
[59:01] And he was An agnostic Quite a famous agnostic And that's someone Different to an atheist Now an atheist They would say Doesn't believe in God at all An agnostic Will not say they don't believe But they'll say that Well God just cannot be proved But at the same time There's maybe a more openness To reason there To discussion there Thomas Huxley was very anti-Christian But there was a time in his life It's said when one day One Sunday morning He had been with a crowd of men In the evening before And on the Sunday There was a host of the men Who were getting ready to go to church And Thomas Huxley turned to one of them And said He knew he was a Christian man He said to him Will you stay at home And tell me this Why are you a Christian?
[60:00] The man knew Thomas Huxley very well He knew he was very good in debate And discussion about the Christian faith And why not to believe it And he was a little bit hesitant But Thomas Huxley said to him I don't want to argue with you I just want you to simply tell me What Christ means to you And so the man stayed at home that day And spoke with him And he explained to him The reasons why he loved his Saviour And how the Saviour had loved him so much And Thomas Huxley's eyes filled with tears And he said And he said I would give my right hand If only I could believe that And he rejected it He pushed it away But there was something that was making him ask the question Because there's a void in us all And there are in voids in many people around us
[61:02] And we are to have the courage And the boldness to say Come Come See a man Who knows everything about me Could this be The Christ?
[61:18] Are you saved today? If you are Rejoice Rejoice like the Samaritan woman did that day But you have discovered the greatest thing in this world A well that will quench your thirst A place where there is love And joy And hope But if you are not saved What for you?
[61:48] Will you come? Come to this well Come to Christ Come See a man who knows all about you Who knows what's missing But above all Has what you need Will you come?
[62:05] To this well Of living water There is hope with Christ What's the greatest encounter you could have today?
[62:17] It's to meet with him To meet with Christ And to bow before him And worship him with all your heart And to know his love And his care And his compassion The one who says come Will you not come And have your thirst quenched?
[62:43] Let us pray Our Father in heaven We do thank you We do thank you for the gospel hope We thank you for the Christ The Messiah who has come To come to give us that invitation To the well of living water And we pray that Lord you will help us to come And to invite others to come To come and meet with the Christ Who can fill the void in all our hearts We pray that we will know Your blessing over us And to go with us In all the days ahead In Jesus name Amen We're going to conclude by singing to God's praise And sing psalms version of Psalm 139 Psalm 139a And we sing at verse 16 to verse 18 And the tune is brother James' ear
[63:45] Psalm 139a and at verse 16 And all the days that I should live Which you ordained for me Were written in your book O Lord Before they came to be We'll sing from verse 16 to 18 To God's praise Psalm 139a and at verse 17 Amen And all the days that I should live Which you ordained for me Were written in your book O Lord Before they came to be were written in your book, O Lord, before they came to thee.
[64:42] O God, how precious are your thoughts, I scan them from afar.
[64:53] And as I seek to grasp them all, how numberless they are.
[65:18] When I took out them, they would be more than the grains of sand.
[65:30] When I awake, I am with you, still safe within your hand.
[65:42] When I awake, I am with you, still safe within your hand.
[65:56] Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore. Amen.
[66:07] Amen. Amen.
[66:19] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.