[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church, Alfred, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John, entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:14] Amen. John chapter number four. How many of you tonight would say you're glad that Jesus is a friend of sinners? Amen to that. And the Pharisees, you know, when they would accuse Jesus when they were to despise him, when they were to ridicule him, they would say, this man, he's gluttonous.
[0:31] And they would say all these things as they would rail at him. And then they would say, he sits with sinners. He is a friend of sinners. And the Pharisee says in his heart, Jesus is a friend of sinners.
[0:42] It's a bad thing. But those of us that knew we were sinners and that Jesus saved us, we're able to say that, that Jesus is a friend of sinners and that we love to tell the story. And tonight we see that.
[0:53] We will see Jesus as a friend of sinners. The story is called, uh, the woman at the well, or the savior at the well, which is the most important part of that story. It's not the woman or the well, uh, but it's the savior and the water that, uh, he brings, uh, to them.
[1:07] So in John chapter number four, um, we will look at that, uh, tonight. And, uh, we'll take our time as we go through the verses. And, um, I have thoroughly enjoyed studying John four.
[1:18] Um, it's not just knowledge that puffs up, but I really feel like I know my savior, uh, better. And I love him more seeing what he did and how wonderful and how wise and how loving, um, he is.
[1:29] I think it's as wonderful. As I said last time, at the end of John chapter number two, uh, Jesus says he knows the heart of man. And then in John three, he proves that by sitting down with Nicodemus and he goes right at the heart of it.
[1:40] He says there's a necessity of the new birth. He says, Nicodemus, I know what you're saying, but what you're really concerned about is will you spend eternity in heaven? You want to know about where your eternity is at.
[1:51] And so he goes up the real heart of the matter and he spends that time with John, um, there with Nicodemus at night. We know that he would be tired because he was, um, in, he was man. He was in flesh, a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man.
[2:02] But he spends that time with him and he, uh, John is showing in the book of John that Jesus is God. He is God in the message that he brings that only God could know the message of eternal life.
[2:12] And tonight we're going to see that he is God because he is the Messiah. And it's just awesome to see who he decides to reveal this information to. He doesn't do it with the Lord.
[2:23] He doesn't walk to the middle of town. He doesn't walk into the synagogue. He doesn't do it with the Pharisees, but he finds an outcast, poor Samaritan woman. And he reveals this truth to him.
[2:34] And from there it spreads, uh, throughout the land. And I think that's just a wonderful reminder of how God allows us, um, as common people, uh, to serve him. John chapter number four, um, let me read here, uh, for you the first, uh, four, uh, verses.
[2:49] And then we will pray together. John four. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again unto Galilee.
[3:05] And he, and he must needs go through Samaria. So we find him leaving where he's at in Galilee. We find him, um, going to Samaria that he must needs go through it.
[3:15] We find the conversation there, uh, with the woman, uh, there at the well. And there's some wonderful truths for us to learn tonight. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I ask that you'll be with us tonight as we study, uh, your word.
[3:27] Lord, we thank you for the inspired word. Lord, we thank you for an opportunity to have it, have it preserved for us today so that we can learn and we can read and we can see tonight that you are a friend of sinners, that you love this Samaritan woman, knowing all about her, Lord, knowing everything about her.
[3:44] You still loved her. And we know that you know all about us tonight as we sit here. You know the inner man and our thoughts and you know everything about us, but you still love us and you still died, um, in our place.
[3:57] And for that, Lord, because you first loved us, we love you and we want to tell people this story. I pray that you'll help us tonight, glean the truths that we need from this passage, help conform us into your image.
[4:08] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. So as we look here tonight, uh, we first of all, we're going to see, uh, the contact that's made here, uh, with this Samaritan woman. And because the Pharisees had caused some trouble, remember when we ended on Sunday night, it said that John the Baptist was baptizing and also Jesus was baptizing.
[4:26] And Jesus intensely came to a point where that confrontation would happen. People were leaving John the Baptist over a six month period of time and they were going to Jesus. And then the disciples of John the Baptist were going to John and say, how are you letting you, how are you losing your ministry to Jesus?
[4:42] And we said, how wonderful that would be to lose our ministry, uh, to Jesus. And so as that was happening, we now get to a point, uh, where Jesus decides that he needs to leave. He's not run off.
[4:53] He's never run off, but he, on the negative side of it, he decides to leave because now is not the time for the confrontation, uh, with the Pharisees. Um, it hadn't come to the point. And so he leaves there.
[5:03] That's the negative aspect. But the positive side is that he has a divine appointment with this woman at a well. Isn't that amazing? Sometimes we just read through this and we've heard it our whole lives at a flannel graph.
[5:15] But if he would have come at any other time, she would not have been there. Jacob had built the well. So he'd already built the scene for this. He'd already built the well that he would sit on. He left at the right time.
[5:25] He got there. He didn't have a utensil to get the water because he had it all planned out because he is a wise and sovereign God. And he sits down there with, uh, the lady or the woman that, uh, day.
[5:36] And so the Pharisees at the end of John, um, incite competition between Jesus and John the Baptist and Jesus leaves Judea. And now as we get here, it says that Jesus had sent his, uh, disciples into Samaria, uh, to find meat.
[5:51] And so Jesus was there alone and they went into Samaria. And here in a second we're going to look at what the Samaritans were in Samaria and how odd it would have been for this Jewish, this band of Jewish men to go in to Samaria.
[6:02] Uh, which already gives us a little understanding of the way that Jesus traveled and what he had already taught to his disciples. Because Jewish people, as many of you in here probably know, they would go out of their way not to go through Samaria.
[6:15] But even though Samaria would have been the straightest path to where they were going, there was three options. And the one of this would be the one that they would not choose because Jewish men did not travel through Samaria because of these people.
[6:28] Uh, they were, we'll look at it in a second. But these people, uh, they had been a marrying idolatrous people and they were hated by the Jewish people. And there was strife between the people.
[6:39] But we can already tell that the disciples in being willing to go into the city that God had already worked in their heart with some of the prejudices. That they were willing to cross a cultural barrier and to go into that city and find meat.
[6:52] And I think that's wonderful. Because there's not Jewish men going to that town and to deal with these people that the disciples were. And that should be seen of us. That the disciples of Jesus, that we will cross barriers that other people won't cross.
[7:06] You know, in India there's a caste system. And even among the churches there there's a caste system that people have to work against. There's a lower caste and there's a higher caste. And that inside of the church there should be no caste system.
[7:20] And so that's what these men were saying by going into Samaria. They were saying that they lived by another set of orders than what their culture would tell them to do. So, um, there he goes. And as you and I, we ought to see this story.
[7:33] As we see the story of the Pharisee, all of us ought to recognize with him. Because there's been times in our heart that we've been prideful and religious. And we think God owes us something. But more times than that, we should see ourselves as a Samaritan woman.
[7:46] We're not the Jewish people. We don't come. We see the contrast between Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman. This rich religious man and this poor non-religious woman.
[7:57] And he comes to them. And in this story, all of us want to think of ourselves as Jesus, as the hero of the story. As my son every day is a new superhero that he makes up. Because every day in every story, he is a superhero.
[8:10] And in my life, so many times when I read about it, I think I'm the superhero. But in this story, I would be the Samaritan woman who does not deserve to have the creator of the universe sit down and explain a salvation to me.
[8:22] And so we said here, Jesus' friend of sinners. And so Jesus is going to sit down and he is going to radically change this woman's life and her eternity and that of her friends and those in the city.
[8:34] So that's kind of some background information that gets us. The verse number four where it says, and he must needs go through Samaria. Now let's pick up through verses four through seven here.
[8:44] And he must needs go through Samaria. Then come and see to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there.
[8:56] Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. And it was about the sixth hour. There cometh the woman of Samaria to draw water. And Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
[9:07] So let's first look at what it means that he sat down there with a Samaritan woman. Many people, most commentators say that this is six in the evening when it would happen, six hours from 12 in the middle of the day at the end of the day.
[9:19] Or it could have been 12 noon. That's what others would say. But it didn't matter to this woman here what time of day it was when she realized who she was sitting beside. This Samaritan woman, she was a mixed race, part Jew and part Gentile.
[9:34] When the Syrians took the tribes into captivity in 727 B.C., there were some of the people left behind. And when they came in and took over captivity, these people, they married.
[9:46] In John chapter number 8 and verse number 48, if we can look at that, you're going to see that the being called a Samaritan was a byword or a bad word that a Jewish person would say to somebody.
[9:56] And when they accused Jesus here of being a Samaritan, then answered the Jews and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast the devil. But they were accusing Jesus of here of being a Samaritan because the Samaritans were a people that they hated more than the Gentile people.
[10:14] Because they were not faithful to the Lord that they had married outside. They did not have a genealogy as other Jewish people would. You're probably familiar with the story of Nehemiah.
[10:25] Nehemiah, they come back after captivity and they're rebuilding. Well, there's two men, Sambala and Tobiah. You know these men, they're coming and they're telling Judah and the different Jewish men, they're saying, what you're doing is all going to be rubbish.
[10:36] And they're fighting with them. Well, those are two Samaritan men. And the Jewish people would not let these Samaritan men build with them because they said, you lost your chance. We are done with you.
[10:47] It was even prayed that the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees would pray that no Samaritan would rise again in the resurrection. They hated these people.
[10:57] The Jewish people had incredible racism and hatred towards them. But the Samaritans were just as blind as the Jewish people. In John 1.26, it tells us here, as we've already studied, but in John 1.26, it said, John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there standeth one among you whom you know not.
[11:18] So the Jewish people did not know this Jesus, the Messiah, coming. And the Samaritan people, they did not. So one, that was one thing against her when he sat down, she was surprised that he asked her for a drink, that he even spoke to her.
[11:30] Because a Jewish man is not going to speak to a Samaritan. And then secondly, he's definitely not going to speak to a woman. It said that the rabbi said, it is better that the words of the law be burned than to be delivered by a woman.
[11:44] And we're going to find that he conveys a message to this woman that she shares with others. I don't know if this is true, but it's funny either way, and it would make for a great sitcom. But there's a group of people called the Bleeding and the Bruised Pharisees.
[11:57] And it was said that when they were walking, if they saw a woman, they would close their eyes and they would run into things. Because they hated women so badly, and they would not talk to them, that when they would see a woman, they would automatically just close their eyes and run into something.
[12:11] And they were called the Bruised and Bleeding Pharisees. I don't know if that's true, I didn't want to study and find out it wasn't. Because, Brother Frick, that's pretty funny if it's true or not. But it just exemplifies that the women were not people that Jesus should have been setting down.
[12:25] Not a Samaritan woman. And then not only was she a Samaritan woman, the least that should have been getting any time with our Creator God, but she was an outcast Samaritan woman.
[12:36] This well that they're at is half a mile outside of the city. It seems like she came to be alone. There was nobody else there at the time, either because of the time of day she came, or the place she just told.
[12:47] And she would not have been accepted. It was not religiously, and it would not be socially accepted to be this woman. Everybody knew of the testimony of the reputation of this woman.
[12:58] As all of you know before we even read it, it said that she had five husbands, that she was an outcast. The least likely person that you would think that God would sit down with and share this message.
[13:09] And as we think about that, we contrast that between who Nicodemus was. The last chapter, leader of the Pharisees, a man, a religious man, a wealthy man, and he shares with that man eternal life.
[13:21] And now on the other side of the spectrum, a Samaritan, poor, non-religious, social outcast, he is going to share the message with. And he's going to share an incredible message with this woman.
[13:32] As we go through the verses, I want you to look for a few things. It kind of gives the outline of what he teaches. You're going to see this woman go from in verse number 9, seeing Jesus as a Jew. And there's things that we can learn that when she saw Jesus, she knew that he was a Jew because he came, and he was a man, and you could tell that he was Jewish.
[13:49] And then he goes from not only knowing that he is a Jew, verse number 12, she says that you're greater than Jacob. So she advances from seeing him as a Jew, but a Jew that is greater than Jacob, because she says, are you going to do something that Jacob couldn't do?
[14:03] You're going to give me water that's better than the well that could come that Jacob was given? And then she goes from knowing that he's a Jew that's greater than Jacob, but he's also a prophet. Because when he tells her her sin, she acknowledges her sin by saying, you must be a prophet, which is saying everything you said and so much more is true.
[14:21] And then lastly, she recognizes that he is the Messiah, the one that the Jews and the Samaritans have been waiting for. And Brother Chuck, I just love this, that Jesus says, the one that you're speaking of, I am he.
[14:36] He didn't tell that to Nicodemus. He didn't tell it in the temple that day. He didn't tell it to the Pharisees. Announcing that his ministry was started, that the Messiah was here on earth, who does he choose to tell this message to?
[14:48] The poor, non-religious Samaritan woman who's an outcast. That's where he decides to say, I am the Messiah. How wonderful is that? How reverse thinking is that than everything that we think of in this world, that he chooses people like that?
[15:03] Not only from the Joneses, but to the Cornwells, and to all the other common people in this room tonight, that he uses people like us. And you should know what that's like tonight. When Jesus Christ saved you, he entrusted you with the gospel, and you were just like that woman, and he gave you a message to spread, and she goes about doing that.
[15:22] It never says that she was saved. It never says she repented. But the Bible tells us by their fruits, you should know them. And it seems very evident that she had a changed life. So I told you, look for those things.
[15:32] We're going to look at the progress of what she learns here. And not only that, Jesus will inform her that she is ignorant of three things. First of all, who he is. She has no idea who this man is.
[15:43] You don't expect to see Jesus at a well. You don't expect to find the Messiah. She's thinking, man, if this guy would have been the Messiah, he would have come in and prayed, or I'd already heard about him. There's no way he could have been the Messiah.
[15:54] What he had to offer, she had no idea what he was offering. In Isaiah chapter number 55 and verse number 1, when he offers her water, she doesn't even know that he is able to provide better water than the well she is about to.
[16:07] But he's going to fulfill the prophecy that's in Isaiah 55 and verse number 1, where he offers living water to them. And so the water that we're speaking about there is the water that he is about to give to this woman who's sitting there at the well drawing water that when she drinks it, she will thirst again.
[16:37] So first of all, she is ignorant on who he is, on what he has to offer, and then lastly, we're going to see how she will receive that. You know, your lost family friends, co-workers, the ones we talk about often in this room because we are the saints who get together to be equipped for the ministry to go out and reach those people, they're ignorant of who Jesus is.
[16:58] They're ignorant of what he can do, and they're ignorant of how he wants to do it. Some of them understand, start to understand one of it, but they don't understand. And we're going to see that with this woman here in a second. She begins to realize that what's going on, she sees her sin, and then she's going to run off and do what she knows.
[17:14] She's going to run back to religion, and Jesus will tell her that isn't what she needs to do. So the woman begins to realize two fundamental truths. First of all, a sense of sin, and then secondly, who Christ is.
[17:27] And you'll never recognize who Jesus Christ is until you believe and know that you are a sinner. Remember the problem with Nicodemus? He said, if I touch you earthly things, you wouldn't believe it. If I teach you spiritual things, you wouldn't believe it either because you don't know who I am.
[17:42] Nicodemus could not see Jesus for who he was because Nicodemus did not know he was a sinner. When you know you're a sinner, then Jesus comes in very clearly as a Savior. But until then, unbelief makes it impossible.
[17:55] You will be ignorant of the gospel if you do not believe. Verses 16 through 20 as we move forward, as we're looking here at what Jesus will do.
[18:06] So first of all, you look for these things. In verse number 12, he says that there's one greater. Let's look at these verses. I'll read a few of these together. Verse 12. She's already asking, are you greater than Jacob?
[18:24] Jesus answered and said to her, whosoever drinketh the water shall thirst again. He begins to let her know that he's offering something greater than she's ever been offered before. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall thirst.
[18:37] But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up in the everlasting life. And the woman saith unto him, sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
[18:50] Let me just stop there a second before we move forward. Look at this one verse, verse 15. The woman saith unto him, sir, give me this water that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
[19:00] Because I'm not God and you're not God. I don't know what's in this woman's heart, but he does. So when she's speaking, we don't know if she grasps yet that he is talking about not just literal water, but if he's talking about the gospel.
[19:13] Or does she still believe he is talking about water? Because it becomes the trade here. She first knows he's not talking, she first thinks he's talking about water, then she ends up understanding that he's talking about something else.
[19:24] But in this verse, she is saying, if you could give me water, literal water, then I would never have to come to this place again. I'd never have to go outside of the city, walk half a mile. I'd never have to come to this place.
[19:36] And she's also saying here, even if she doesn't know it, that if you would give me drink of you, the living water, I would never have to come to this place of guilt and shame that I continually have to come back to time and time again.
[19:51] I would not have to go to a sixth and to a seventh husband. I would not have to go back to my other five husbands. I would not have to go back into that city. I would not have to keep going back to the same places that I always go to be satisfied, always having a thirsty soul and never truly being satisfied.
[20:09] If you would give me of a living water. And man, he did not address the fact that how she was living, but he knew that if she would drink of this water, all those other things would disappear.
[20:20] He did not make any claims upon her life and say, you have to do all these things, but he had a high expectation of what the gospel would do in somebody's life. Many of you, your mind and hearts will go to that person that you pray for and you think about and you pray that they're saved, but they're not able to forgive because they're not forgiven.
[20:39] They're not able to love because they don't feel loved. They're never satisfied. They're always looking and chasing after something else because they never drank of living water. I hope we have a room full of people in here tonight to say, I am satisfied.
[20:52] I need nothing else. As I heard the old time preacher always say growing up, I had all the alcohol that I wanted last night and I had none because I am satisfied. I have taken a drink of living water and because of that, I want nothing else.
[21:09] And that's what's so horrific about sin. It's saying, God, I need you plus this thing you tell me that I don't need. And this woman is about to be cured of her thirsty soul by drinking from this water.
[21:21] Moving on, it says, come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, verse 16, go call thy husband and come hither. And now he brings her to a point of conviction.
[21:32] It's interesting here that the chapter doesn't end right there. She says, I want this living water. Can I have it? And he said, well, there's more that you must know than just the fact that you want the living water. You can't receive this living water.
[21:44] You can't receive me as the Messiah if you don't recognize the condition that you're in. Verse 17, the woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, thou hast well said, I have no husband.
[21:55] For thou hast five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. In that sayest thou truly. Verse 19, the woman saith unto him, sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
[22:08] In verses 16 through 18 here, Jesus exposes here that she is a sinner. It's important that it doesn't end here.
[22:18] Salvation brings deliverance from her thirsty life. She'll be unable to clearly see him until she recognizes where she's at. And as we already said in verse number 19, she acknowledged that Christ knows everything about her.
[22:31] She knows there is no hiding. This woman, we'll see what she does next, but what she does when she realizes Jesus knows everything, she goes out into the city. And these words are so beautiful when you think about her life.
[22:44] She says, I met a man, and he told me everything that I did. Which what she was saying was, I met the Messiah, and he knew everything about me, and he still loved me.
[22:55] And so if she was to be a singer, she would have left that situation saying, Jesus, friend of sinners, I love to tell the story. Where the Pharisee said, Jesus loves sinners, and because of that we hate him.
[23:06] She said, Jesus loves sinners, and because of that I love him, because I am a sinner. How wonderful is that? Can we think about that for a second? I know you, and I like you, and God tells me to love you, and I love you.
[23:20] And you like me, and you know me, and we say that we love each other, but if you knew everything about me, you would not like me, and you would have a hard time loving me. And I dare say that would be true about all of you.
[23:33] Jesus knew everything completely about this woman, and he still loved her, and he was still willing to continue on and go to the cross. And on the cross, the Father would say, I'm satisfied in the death of my perfect son for this Samaritan woman.
[23:49] And so now we go on that she confesses her sin, and she acknowledges her sin. And then from this, we see that she seeks for change. Verse number 20, our fathers worshiped in the mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
[24:05] So what she's saying here, there's a schism, there's a division between the Samaritans and the Jews. Remember, the Jews have made the Samaritans an outcast, even to the point that they had to find another place of worship.
[24:15] And they were saying, you Jewish people say we're supposed to go to Jerusalem and worship here. But us Samaritans have created another place to go to, since we can't go there. And which one should I go and worship at?
[24:27] She said, this has been a long debate. It's always going on. So why don't you tell me, since you seem to be a prophet, that's where she's at right now, believing that he is a prophet. Why don't you tell me the answer of what I should do?
[24:40] And he says in verse 21, Jesus said to them there, woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. She asked the question about a place of worship.
[24:52] But she learns incidentally here, on a side note, if you will, that Jesus said that the Jews are correct, that you should have been worshiping in Jerusalem. But he said there's a time that's coming, and then he says, and it is now here.
[25:06] Right now is the time that is coming where you will not worship on the mountain. Verse 22, you worship not, you know not what, you know what we worship for salvation as a Jew.
[25:17] Verse 22, but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
[25:28] And so the water, the gospel, leads to worship. So she meets Jesus, and Jesus exposes sin to her, and he says there, I know what you've done.
[25:38] I know about your five husbands. She says, man, she says, if Jesus knows about my five husbands, he knows everything about me. And so now she is convicted of her sin, and so what does she want to do?
[25:50] She wants to fall back into the religious system that she knows. And he says, so will you help me? Do I need to go back to Jerusalem and worship, or do I go to the where the Samaritans and worship? Because the gospel leads people to worship.
[26:02] That's what Jesus was getting the day in that conversation. He was going to get a worshiper for the Heavenly Father. Because people all around the world are worshiping, and he went to sit down with a woman who had been worshiping herself and all the things of the world.
[26:15] And he was going to redeem her and share the gospel. And when she leaves, she is going to be worshiping through witnessing the people about what the gospel can do to somebody's life. But what he tells her there, he says, the hour come and is now, right now, where you don't worship in this temple, but you worship in spirit and in truth.
[26:34] And the spirit is in the inner man, because when Jesus goes and he'll die on the cross, and the curtain there will be torn, and now we are the temple of God. You know, I use expressions like the house of the Lord, let's go to God's house, let's go to the church house.
[26:48] But this is where we all get together, the temples where we worship on the inner man, and that we don't go to a place. And what I want to challenge you here, as we listen to Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman, it's a place when you're witnessing the people, and you're sharing the gospel.
[27:03] And I pray that all of you in here are doing that, is that when you share the gospel with somebody, and they're convicted of their sin, their tendency is to go back to what they know to do, and to do it stronger and harder and more of it.
[27:17] If I sit down with a Hindu man in India, and I was to show him sin, and that he is a sinner, his natural inclination would be to go back and to worship more at the gods that he had been worshiping, and to go back to do that.
[27:31] But Jesus didn't say that, he said, you need to see something. It isn't a place that you're looking for, it's not a religion that you're looking for, what you're looking for is right here, it is a person.
[27:42] And as you witness and share the gospel with people, if you only show them their sin, but you don't see them show them the Savior, then you're just going to drive them deeper and deeper into their false religion.
[27:53] That's why the law alone is not going to help these people, but the law should drive them to the Savior. And I'm convinced that the majority of people in this world already have in mind what their next step would be if they were to get right with God.
[28:08] Most times this step is a faulty next step. Some of you probably have had this experience before growing up. I would go out door knocking, and I would meet people, and I'd knock on the door, and I would say, hello, my name is Trent Cornwell, and I would talk to them.
[28:21] And they would say, I go to South Marshall Baptist Church. And I've shared this story before. And I said, well, wonderful. I'm preaching at your church tomorrow. I'm a young preacher boy at this church, and I'm preaching at your church tomorrow, and I'll look forward to seeing you.
[28:35] And they said, well, I don't really go to church, but if I was to go to church, that would be the church that I go to. You guys know that, right? Haven't you caught on to that? If you ever drive on Sunday, ask people Monday through Saturday if they go to church, and they all name a church.
[28:51] But if you go sit in the parking lot of that church, I'm pretty sure there's thousands of people that go to Vision Baptist Church. They just don't make it here on Sunday. Maybe we could count them on Saturday with their intentions to come here.
[29:03] And so they have a place of what they're going to do when they get their life right. And people have it. Maybe some of you in here, you had that testimony as well. You knew you were away from the Lord, that all was right between you and God.
[29:14] And you said, someday I'm going to do this, or I'm going to do that. And I believe that everybody who is not in the will of God, is not right with God, goes around carrying that. And you must find what that is, and you ought to deconstruct that.
[29:26] If it is not, I am going to go to the Savior and be dependent on Him. And that's what He does there with this woman. So we find the conviction in the woman's life. And then lastly, most importantly, we find the Christ here in the story.
[29:40] Verse number 23. Verse 24. Verse 26.
[29:53] And in truth. The woman saith unto him. I know that the Messiah cometh. Which called Christ. Which he has come. He will tell us all things. Verse number 26. Jesus saith unto her.
[30:04] I that speak unto thee. Am he. He went from a Jew. To greater than Jacob. To a prophet. And now she sees him. As the Messiah. And she was only able to do that.
[30:16] As she saw herself as. A stranger sitting by a man she didn't know. A stranger who knows she's a sinner sitting by. A prophet. To knowing she was somebody in need.
[30:26] Of a savior. And she sees him there. The spirit as already says. The inner man. And the truth that is revealed. He came to tell her all things. He withheld nothing from her. The one who understands completely.
[30:38] But loves completely. The one who knows all. But loves all. And he reveals himself as the Messiah. To her. John's gospel clearly reveals. That there is a new sacrifice.
[30:49] In John chapter number four. Chapter number one. All the sacrifice of the animals. Is over. He is the ultimate sacrifice. Remember the Christmas play. We had with the kids. And Jesus came.
[30:59] And they all chanted. No more animal sacrifices. When John chapter number one. We learned that truth. That the ultimate sacrifice has come. He is a new sacrifice. In John chapter number two. We learned that there is a new temple.
[31:11] It isn't a place that Samaritans. Or Jewish people go to. But the new temple is in the inner man. That we will worship him. John three. We learned of the necessity. Of the new birth. And then John chapter number four.
[31:22] He tells this woman about a new water. That can satisfy her. And that the Messiah is here. And I just think it's wonderful. And so exciting. And seeing here. That he announces that.
[31:33] For the first time. Publicly. Not in the synagogue. In the middle of town. But to this poor. Non-religious. Samaritan. Outcast woman. So let me tell you a few things here.
[31:44] Why I believe this story is so exciting. And challenging for us today. First of all. That God is still saving. And choosing for service. The outcast of this day. He has not changed in his character.
[31:55] He is still looking. For outcast Samaritan women. That he can share the gospel with. Or he's looking like people. Or like you and I. Or he's looking at the co-worker. Who never comes in the work.
[32:06] Because he gets drunk. Every weekend. Or he's looking for the person. That blasphemes God. He's looking for the person. Who you believe. Has no interest in the things of God. He's still looking to save them.
[32:17] And use them. In the ministry. Secondly. The gospel is completely satisfying. We do not need to go to the wells. Of this world. To satisfy our needs. As we see there. It said that she left.
[32:28] Her bucket. And you probably heard that. She left her container. For drawing water. Because all of that. Did not matter. Anymore. She had found something. So much greater. And you see people out there.
[32:38] That are thirsty. And you did. They're looking for something. That the gospel is satisfying. To their needs here on earth. And for all of eternity. Number three. In hell today. There were people crying.
[32:49] I thirst. There's people that live this life. Thirsty. And they will spend eternity. Thirsty. Without water. And that's our responsibility. To share the living water.
[33:00] Jesus knows all about you. And he still loves you. And that's a wonderful truth. Everything he knew about that Samaritan woman. He knows about Miguel. Knows about Cameron. Ed. Trent. He knows everything about us.
[33:11] And he still loves us. And the message we carry is good news. And the world craves it. Grown for it. And needs it. This woman did not know she needed an encounter with God that day. She thought she was just going to offer him some water.
[33:24] But he turned the table and says. Woman you have nothing to offer. If you knew who I was. You would ask to drink of living water. And she had all of her needs met. And I think it's wonderful that the gospel not only satisfies the wrath of God for all of eternity.
[33:37] But it satisfies us in this life. And if you're in here tonight. And you know what it's like. I've been like that before. My wife kind of jokes about it. I'm going to get a little open here. A little maybe too transparent.
[33:48] And she's scared isn't she. She knows I have two switches in life when it comes to buying. I buy nothing at all. Or I seem to want to buy everything in a store. I'm either in buying or not buying.
[33:58] I spend most of my time not in buying mode. But I'm paying for what I did when I bought in those a few moments. But there's times when you go to the store and you buy stuff. But there's also times when you go to the store and you buy something.
[34:11] Because it seems like you're trying to feel something greater than that product. Or there's something where you're going out and having fun. And it's more than just hanging out with your friends. There's a time that when you're out there. And you're looking to be satisfied in something.
[34:24] Single people in here. There's a time that you're looking for a future spouse. And then there's another time you're looking for somebody to complete you. Because you feel insignificant the way you are. And we're constantly, as humans, we're always trying to do something that only the gospel can do for us.
[34:40] And can I tell you tonight that the gospel is good news? Not just to the person you carry it to. But it's good news for you right now. I want you to compare these two attitudes before we pray. In Luke chapter number 7 and verse number 34.
[34:53] It's a Pharisee speaking here. And it says, The attitude of the Pharisee is that Jesus is a friend of sinners.
[35:08] And they hate that. The attitude of the Samaritan woman in John 4, 25. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. And when he has come, he will tell us all things.
[35:20] And then she goes on and she tells people, He has told me everything about him. Can I ask you tonight, How do you feel about the fact that Jesus is a friend of sinners? How do you feel about the gospel?
[35:32] How do you, do you think it is capable to meet the needs of those that are around you? Either in your life or in the life of people around you, You know they have great needs. That they're thirsty. That they're hungry.
[35:42] That they need something. And you want to help them. And has it even crossed your mind that the only thing you're going to be able to help these people with is the gospel. The only thing that would ever help this woman and cure this woman is the gospel.
[35:56] That what they're looking for, you have. What you are looking for, you already have. That the gospel is living water and that it satisfies. And can I ask you in here, secondly, what's your attitude towards sinners?
[36:09] Are you excited that Jesus is a friend of sinners? And do you love to tell the story? Or would you just assume to keep your distance from all of them? Because you believe that you have obtained something that they never will.
[36:21] It's a challenge for us tonight. You know I'm going to pray and then what I do, I've asked that the girls will come back up here and sing, Jesus' friend of sinners. And could you just pray there in your seat and ask God tonight, What has your view been of Jesus?
[36:36] Three things she said. First of all, she doesn't know who he is. She doesn't know what he can do for him. And he didn't know how he was going to do it. Those were three things. Can I ask you, what is your view of Jesus tonight?
[36:48] What is your view of the gospel? Is it in alignment with the Samaritan woman? Or would it be that of the Pharisees? And so for our invitation tonight, after I pray, they will come up and sing and you sit there in your seats.
[37:02] And we'll spend some time reflecting upon what God's done in our lives. Heavenly Father, thank you for John chapter number four and showing us tonight our attitude towards sin and towards you and towards the living water.
[37:15] Heavenly Father, I ask tonight if there's somebody that's never drank of the living water, they've never come to the gospel that is satisfying for all their needs here on earth, Lord, and for their basic need of salvation from the wrath of God in eternity, that tonight will be the night that they decide to put their faith and trust in you and that they will look to you for living water.
[37:37] With every head bowed and every eye closed, I would like to give an opportunity, if you're in here tonight and you've never put your faith and trust in Jesus and you would like to do so tonight, you would like somebody to show you about this living water, that you would like to be satisfied and that you would like to have your sin paid for.
[37:54] If you're like that in here tonight, would you slip your hand up and we'll send somebody with you and you'll go to a room, pray together, and they will show you something for God's word. Heavenly Father, as we continue in here tonight, Lord, I pray that my heart will be captivated by the gospel, Lord.
[38:12] I pray that I can truly say in my heart that you are a friend of sinners and that I will have a confident, unwavering belief that the gospel can really change lives and the lives of people, Lord, that I do not believe that you can change their lives.
[38:27] Lord, I ask that you'll forgive me of my lack of faith in you and that tonight, Lord, I will see the living water for what it truly is. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Lord, I ask that you'll forgive me of my lack of faith in you and that tonight, Lord, I will see the living water for what it truly is.
[38:45] In Jesus' name I pray, amen. You have been listening to Trent Cornwell, pastor at Vision Baptist Church. For more contact information, location, service times, or more audio and video recordings, log on to www.visionbaptist.com.