WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.820 Good morning, Church. My name is Sonny Judge. I'm one of the ministers in New Life, Masigar, which is just a mile away. 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:18.359 We meet every evening and we reach out to a predominantly South Asian crowd, but you're always welcome to come over there. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:24.759 And usually not at this moment because of COVID, we have a curry after church. 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:29.760 So if you fancy, I will let you know. You're always welcome. That is going to God's word. 00:00:30.859 --> 00:00:37.719 So the story is told of an Indian Punjabi farmer who visited his friend in America. 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:45.619 The American friend was supposedly a Texan. And Texans, as we know them, are known to think big. 00:00:46.640 --> 00:00:53.640 So the Texan asked the Punjabi farmer, tell me, Mr. Singh, how big is your farm in the Punjab? 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:02.659 So looking 50 yards ahead, he says, you see that signboard? My farm is that long and about that wide. 00:01:02.659 --> 00:01:10.479 Do you know how big my ranch is here? The Texan asked. Tell me, the Punjabi farmer replied. 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:19.599 Well, the Texan boasted, if you got into my car at sunrise every day and kept driving and driving and driving and driving, 00:01:20.379 --> 00:01:26.840 somewhere around mid-morning or about midday, only then you will reach the end of my property line. 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:34.939 At that point, the Indian Punjabi farmer smiled and said, my friend, I understand exactly what you mean. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:37.260 I used to have a car just like that. 00:01:37.260 --> 00:01:47.420 So reading the Gospels, especially the Gospel of John, you see many misunderstandings like this, you know, 00:01:47.460 --> 00:01:50.920 between Jesus, what Jesus said and what the others heard. 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:52.980 And it happened with everyone. 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.680 The disciples, they kept misunderstanding him. 00:01:56.140 --> 00:02:03.760 The religious leaders, even the people that came to him for help, Pontus Pilate, the political leaders, normal people, 00:02:04.180 --> 00:02:05.780 everybody seems to misunderstand Jesus. 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:11.240 It's as if they were speaking two different things, you know, they were always speaking over each other. 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:19.760 So Jesus is revealing spiritual truths and pointing it to them using the physical world as a departure point. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:24.659 And his hearers are just listening to him at a literal and natural level. 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:34.820 Now, D.A. Carson, a respected Reformed biblical scholar, suggests that there are about 30 misunderstandings within the Gospel of John itself. 00:02:36.140 --> 00:02:40.200 Now, that's a lot of misunderstandings in a book that has 21 short chapters. 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:45.379 And if you look at our passage today, we have two misunderstandings, but I want to concentrate on one. 00:02:46.459 --> 00:02:56.839 And the vast majority of the misunderstandings that people had about Jesus centered on his claims about himself. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:01.539 Who you really think he is, his identity. 00:03:02.979 --> 00:03:06.479 You know, that seemed to be the most important misunderstanding in the Gospel. 00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:09.500 Who do people say I am? 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:14.699 So this morning, my sermon could be outlined within these three points. 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:17.479 Firstly, misunderstanding what Jesus offers. 00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:20.039 Secondly, understanding who Jesus is. 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:22.159 And thirdly, I will respond to Jesus. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.819 So firstly, misunderstanding what Jesus offers. 00:03:27.699 --> 00:03:32.979 So in our text this morning, Jesus is in a Samaritan town called Sychar. 00:03:32.979 --> 00:03:34.519 It's in Samaria. 00:03:34.519 --> 00:03:39.019 And Sychar probably was famous because of Jacob's well that was there. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.139 And Jesus, being tired, was sitting near the well. 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:46.560 It was noontime, the hottest time of the day. 00:03:46.780 --> 00:03:50.939 And a Samaritan woman comes out to draw water from the well. 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:52.319 Now, this was unusual. 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:57.180 Women drew water either early in the morning or late in the evening. 00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:03.180 Now, it's as if this person was trying to avoid contact with everybody else. 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:12.060 Now, what is remarkable, very remarkable in this passage, right at the beginning, is we see the humanity of Jesus. 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:15.000 He was tired and he was thirsty. 00:04:15.540 --> 00:04:18.019 And he was willing to ask for water. 00:04:18.900 --> 00:04:25.500 Now, John portrays a Jesus that is all too human and open about his vulnerabilities and his needs. 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:30.879 Now, the book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus shared in our humanity. 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:32.699 He was all flesh and blood. 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:43.240 Because it says he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God. 00:04:44.040 --> 00:04:47.100 To make propitiation for the sins of the people. 00:04:47.939 --> 00:04:53.759 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:05:00.620 Jesus, in his humanity, is reaching out to bless another human being. 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:05.300 So, the Samaritan woman was surprised when Jesus addressed her. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:11.459 How is it that you, a Jew, ask me for a drink, a Samaritan? 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:13.420 A woman from Samaria. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:19.019 Now, John tells us in the passage that Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.459 Culturally, they could have not been so different. 00:05:24.360 --> 00:05:27.680 Jesus is a male, he's a rabbi, and he's Jewish. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:29.639 She's a woman. 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:31.480 A Samaritan woman. 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:35.740 You know, the Jews had no dealings with them because of theological reasons. 00:05:36.500 --> 00:05:39.060 And she has probably questionable character. 00:05:39.060 --> 00:05:45.060 Any self-respecting Jew would have walked away at a presence at the well. 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:49.519 In fact, he would have tried to ignore that town. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:53.860 Jesus, on the other hand, engages her in a conversation. 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:55.699 He requested water from her. 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:59.279 Now, overlooking her question, Jesus answers her. 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:05.920 He says, if you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, give me this drink, 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:09.740 you would have asked him, and he had given you the living water. 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:13.240 Now, this is the second surprise for the woman for the day. 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.939 So, she says to him, sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. 00:06:18.740 --> 00:06:20.400 Where do you get that living water? 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:23.900 Now, this began their conversation. 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.100 Their whole conversation is built on this misunderstanding. 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:29.879 And it has to do with the offer of living water. 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:36.920 Now, living water signifies running or flowing water, fresh spring water, from a well that is bubbling up. 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:41.180 So, indicating that its source is from an underground river or spring. 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:45.000 At least, that's the picture that the Samaritan woman had in her mind. 00:06:46.060 --> 00:06:46.960 The well is deep. 00:06:47.900 --> 00:06:49.640 How is this water going to be bubbling up? 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:56.000 In a pre-technological world, how is Jesus going to draw up the water? 00:06:56.899 --> 00:06:58.399 Since he has no other gadgets. 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.620 And moreover, he's the one dependent on her for a drink. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:05.079 So, then comes her next question. 00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:07.060 Now, perhaps just to tease him. 00:07:08.659 --> 00:07:13.919 Could he be greater than Jacob, who gave his sons and the Samaritans the well, 00:07:14.719 --> 00:07:19.439 and everyone drank from the well since then, including Jacob? 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:22.579 Jacob was dependent on that well. 00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:29.899 And Jesus' reply, at this point, probably must make her think that probably Jesus is out of his mind. 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:31.899 You know, for him even to be in that town. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:36.919 Jesus says, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:42.899 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty. 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:43.539 Okay. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:50.539 The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. 00:07:51.620 --> 00:07:56.959 Where Jesus meant spiritual satisfaction, the woman understood it literally. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:06.639 So, she says, sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and keep coming to draw water. 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:09.519 At this point, the table's turned. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.060 The woman is now making a request. 00:08:12.060 --> 00:08:16.819 Jesus tells her, go bring your husband over. 00:08:17.720 --> 00:08:18.420 And so, she replies. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:19.500 She says, I have no husband. 00:08:20.420 --> 00:08:23.160 And Jesus says, you are right in saying I have no husband. 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:24.879 For you have had five husbands. 00:08:25.840 --> 00:08:27.899 And the one you have now is not your husband. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:32.379 So, Jesus basically prophesies her life before her eyes. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:40.279 Now, I sometimes wonder what is the connection between the offer of the living water and the woman's marital life. 00:08:41.319 --> 00:08:44.919 Now, perhaps, you know, the book of Proverbs might give us a clue, you know. 00:08:45.019 --> 00:08:49.399 Proverbs 3 calls for sexual purity within the bounds of marriage. 00:08:49.399 --> 00:08:52.439 It says, drink water from your own cistern. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:54.659 Flowing water from your own well. 00:08:54.659 --> 00:08:59.319 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:02.819 Let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:06.639 Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:13.439 The breakdown in her marital life, moving from one husband to another, being exploited, 00:09:14.319 --> 00:09:16.360 now living with a man who is not her husband, 00:09:18.439 --> 00:09:24.120 points to a deeper thirst for relationship and intimacy. 00:09:24.659 --> 00:09:28.759 Now, the Samaritan woman is no different than any one of us. 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:36.679 We will look to almost anything and everything to satisfy a deeper hunger, 00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:39.360 a deeper thirst within ourselves. 00:09:40.620 --> 00:09:46.360 God spoke about our problem through the prophet Jeremiah thousands of years ago. 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.800 Jeremiah chapter 2, God says this, 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:54.379 Has a nation changed its gods, even though there are no gods? 00:09:55.340 --> 00:10:00.899 But my people have changed their glory for which does not profit. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:02.899 Be appalled, O heavens! 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:05.460 At this, be shocked! 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:08.539 Be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 00:10:08.539 --> 00:10:10.980 for my people have committed two evils. 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:15.419 They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, 00:10:16.219 --> 00:10:18.959 and hewed out cisterns for themselves, 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:22.860 broken cisterns that can hold no water. 00:10:24.319 --> 00:10:25.039 The sin, 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:26.779 beneath the sin, 00:10:26.860 --> 00:10:29.279 that the Samaritan woman had actually committed is this. 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.500 It's the twin evil of forsaking God, 00:10:32.220 --> 00:10:33.639 the fountain of living waters, 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:36.339 and hewing a cistern for ourselves, 00:10:36.459 --> 00:10:39.220 a broken cistern that could hold no water. 00:10:40.120 --> 00:10:42.100 And we are no different. 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:45.879 You know, as a famous hymn says about our sinful hearts, 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:47.819 prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:50.199 prone to live the God I love. 00:10:50.959 --> 00:10:52.339 We forsake God, 00:10:53.019 --> 00:10:54.459 the fountain of living waters, 00:10:54.460 --> 00:10:58.620 and we hew out broken cisterns for ourselves. 00:10:59.540 --> 00:11:03.860 Now, outwardly, we might appear respectable and holy, 00:11:03.940 --> 00:11:06.040 however you define or interpret the word. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:08.040 We might appear successful. 00:11:08.800 --> 00:11:11.500 We might give the impression that we have it all together. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:16.040 But we have forsaken the fountain of living waters. 00:11:16.900 --> 00:11:18.040 Now, the Samaritan woman, 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.840 we are told about her broken cistern. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.519 She got into numerous relationships. 00:11:26.019 --> 00:11:27.120 Our broken cistern 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.580 might take a different form. 00:11:31.660 --> 00:11:35.440 Our broken cistern is where we go to find life, 00:11:35.680 --> 00:11:37.759 where we derive our identity, 00:11:38.660 --> 00:11:39.560 our comfort, 00:11:40.580 --> 00:11:41.540 our security. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:43.780 The thing that we hold on to, 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:44.800 that we clutch to, 00:11:44.899 --> 00:11:46.259 that we refuse to give up, 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:49.639 it's a thing that we try to quench our thirst with. 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:51.399 It could be money, 00:11:51.840 --> 00:11:52.819 it could be a relationship, 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:54.799 it could be our career, 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:56.860 our family, 00:11:58.179 --> 00:11:59.240 our inheritance. 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:03.500 It could be the thing that we depend completely 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:04.740 to get through this life. 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:06.279 Our education, 00:12:06.899 --> 00:12:07.679 our good looks, 00:12:07.799 --> 00:12:08.559 our strength, 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:08.879 whatever. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:11.740 All these things that we have, 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:12.759 they are good in itself. 00:12:13.740 --> 00:12:14.759 It becomes an idol 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:17.559 when we depend on it for spiritual satisfaction. 00:12:17.559 --> 00:12:18.679 After all, 00:12:18.719 --> 00:12:20.500 most evil is perverted good. 00:12:21.739 --> 00:12:23.359 The very thing that God has blessed us, 00:12:23.439 --> 00:12:24.439 we turn into an idol. 00:12:24.939 --> 00:12:26.019 We focus on it, 00:12:26.459 --> 00:12:27.919 and we forget the source. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:29.379 The gift, 00:12:29.479 --> 00:12:30.919 the gift becomes the be, 00:12:31.099 --> 00:12:31.739 and then no. 00:12:31.899 --> 00:12:33.859 We forsake the giver. 00:12:35.359 --> 00:12:36.599 And like the Samaritan woman, 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:38.579 we go through life the same way. 00:12:38.580 --> 00:12:41.700 We are like the thirsty men, 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:43.920 drifting about in an ocean, 00:12:44.920 --> 00:12:47.139 and instead of depending on fresh rain, 00:12:47.780 --> 00:12:50.600 he tries to quench his thirst with salty water. 00:12:51.940 --> 00:12:54.400 And that just makes him more and more thirsty, 00:12:55.200 --> 00:12:56.920 and he never reaches fulfillment, 00:12:57.060 --> 00:12:57.960 or ever be satisfied. 00:12:58.540 --> 00:12:59.040 Instead, 00:12:59.160 --> 00:13:00.200 he will destroy us. 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:02.759 On that hot day, 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:05.620 Jesus finds that woman. 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.040 And Grace meets her, 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:10.800 where she was. 00:13:11.900 --> 00:13:13.920 Jesus interrupts her life, 00:13:14.480 --> 00:13:16.640 and he invites her to something higher, 00:13:17.400 --> 00:13:18.600 something deeper, 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:20.600 something truly fulfilling. 00:13:21.740 --> 00:13:24.340 And that's something only Jesus can offer. 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:29.700 Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 00:13:30.060 --> 00:13:33.340 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him, 00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:35.500 will never be thirsty again. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.000 The water that I will give him, 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:40.420 in him, 00:13:40.660 --> 00:13:41.620 a spring of water, 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:43.060 welling up to eternal life. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.360 Only Jesus can make such an offer to us. 00:13:48.660 --> 00:13:50.120 Thousands of years ago, 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.120 the God of the Bible spoke through the prophet Isaiah, 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:55.840 come, 00:13:56.899 --> 00:13:58.160 everyone who thirsts, 00:13:58.680 --> 00:13:59.780 come to the waters, 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:02.580 and he who has no money, 00:14:02.820 --> 00:14:03.960 come buy and eat, 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:05.940 come buy wine and milk, 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:07.180 without money, 00:14:07.280 --> 00:14:08.100 without price. 00:14:08.780 --> 00:14:12.080 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, 00:14:12.780 --> 00:14:14.040 and your labor, 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:17.280 for which that does not satisfy? 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:19.120 Listen diligently to me, 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:20.240 and eat what is good, 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:23.400 and delight yourself in rich food. 00:14:24.340 --> 00:14:26.560 Do we truly understand, 00:14:26.780 --> 00:14:28.680 what our deepest needs are? 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:31.300 We probably know what our wants are, 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.160 and we assume that if we could satisfy our wants, 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:36.480 we will be truly happy. 00:14:37.280 --> 00:14:38.920 But it's a rollercoaster ride. 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:45.039 only Jesus is able to offer us the living water, 00:14:45.979 --> 00:14:49.319 that could satisfy our deepest hunger and thirst. 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:52.500 And only Jesus can make such a claim, 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.459 because of who he is. 00:14:56.620 --> 00:14:57.879 Now throughout this chapter, 00:14:58.459 --> 00:14:59.199 there are a number of verses, 00:14:59.360 --> 00:14:59.719 in 40, 00:14:59.819 --> 00:15:00.500 42 verses, 00:15:00.620 --> 00:15:01.279 as we read, 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:03.740 the identity of Jesus, 00:15:04.339 --> 00:15:05.759 gets clearer. 00:15:06.379 --> 00:15:07.939 He's revealing himself, 00:15:08.839 --> 00:15:11.319 as he's satisfying the needs of the people around him. 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:12.279 You know, 00:15:12.319 --> 00:15:13.179 in verse 9, 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.939 the Samaritan woman called him a Jew. 00:15:16.539 --> 00:15:17.179 He was just a Jew. 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:19.279 In verse 12, 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:19.939 she asked him, 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:21.559 are you greater than Jacob? 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:24.379 By verse 19, 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:26.339 she recognizes him as a prophet. 00:15:27.739 --> 00:15:29.399 And by verse 26, 00:15:29.699 --> 00:15:30.639 Jesus tells her, 00:15:30.759 --> 00:15:32.159 that he's the promised Messiah. 00:15:33.419 --> 00:15:34.479 And the Samaritan woman, 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:36.039 runs back to her people, 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:36.559 and she says, 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:37.639 come see a man, 00:15:37.959 --> 00:15:40.419 who told me all that I ever did. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.539 Can this be the Christ? 00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:45.259 And by the end of the story, 00:15:46.099 --> 00:15:48.659 this is what the Samaritans confessed to the woman. 00:15:49.819 --> 00:15:52.360 It is no longer because of what you said, 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.439 that we believe. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:56.059 For we have heard for ourselves, 00:15:56.179 --> 00:15:57.740 and we know that this indeed, 00:15:58.980 --> 00:16:00.659 is the Savior of the world. 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:03.500 This perhaps is the only place, 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:04.019 in the gospel, 00:16:04.199 --> 00:16:05.240 where Jesus is called, 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.059 Savior of the world. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:10.559 The world might call Jesus, 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:11.559 many a names. 00:16:12.539 --> 00:16:12.939 To them, 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:14.279 he might just be a good man, 00:16:15.279 --> 00:16:16.620 a wise teacher, 00:16:16.939 --> 00:16:17.980 a failed Messiah, 00:16:18.939 --> 00:16:19.919 just another guru, 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:21.819 or just a prophet. 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:25.599 But John reminds us, 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.719 early on in his gospel, 00:16:28.839 --> 00:16:29.939 the true light, 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:32.919 which gives light to everyone, 00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:34.319 was coming into the world. 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:36.459 He was in the world, 00:16:36.539 --> 00:16:38.659 and the world was made through him, 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:39.360 yet, 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:41.839 the world did not know him. 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:43.939 He came to his own, 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:45.759 and his own people, 00:16:45.959 --> 00:16:46.839 did not receive him. 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:49.620 But to all who did receive him, 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.179 who believed in his name, 00:16:52.219 --> 00:16:53.279 he gave the right, 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:55.159 to become children of God, 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:56.339 who were born, 00:16:56.599 --> 00:16:57.159 not of blood, 00:16:57.839 --> 00:16:59.319 nor of the will of the flesh, 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.319 nor of the will of man, 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:02.699 but of God. 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:05.640 So what are we to do, 00:17:06.120 --> 00:17:07.279 to experience, 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:08.660 and enjoy, 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:09.960 to drink, 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:10.960 this living water, 00:17:11.080 --> 00:17:11.860 that Jesus offers? 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:13.360 Well, 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:14.299 God has told us, 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:16.759 we have committed, 00:17:17.259 --> 00:17:17.740 two evils, 00:17:17.840 --> 00:17:18.840 we have forsaken him, 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:20.120 the fountain of living waters, 00:17:20.120 --> 00:17:21.380 and heaved out cisterns, 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:22.080 for ourselves. 00:17:22.860 --> 00:17:23.860 Broken cisterns, 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:25.880 that can hold no water. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.400 We have to give up, 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:29.600 our broken cisterns. 00:17:29.760 --> 00:17:30.380 That's what God, 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:31.300 is calling us to do. 00:17:32.060 --> 00:17:32.940 And that's almost, 00:17:33.140 --> 00:17:34.220 in every page, 00:17:34.260 --> 00:17:34.920 of the Bible. 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:37.200 It's an invitation, 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:38.920 to come back to God, 00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:40.180 a call to repentance. 00:17:41.800 --> 00:17:41.980 You know, 00:17:42.020 --> 00:17:42.740 that's why the Bible, 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:43.600 is very clear, 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:44.280 about the sins, 00:17:44.340 --> 00:17:45.080 of its characters. 00:17:45.280 --> 00:17:45.380 You know, 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:46.040 the Bible is not, 00:17:46.100 --> 00:17:46.980 a sanitized book. 00:17:47.340 --> 00:17:48.320 It's not a sanitized book. 00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:48.860 It talks about, 00:17:49.020 --> 00:17:49.540 real people, 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:50.160 in real world, 00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:51.340 calling them back, 00:17:51.440 --> 00:17:51.900 to God. 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:53.280 Now, 00:17:53.340 --> 00:17:54.340 James tells us, 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:55.980 the brother of Jesus, 00:17:56.820 --> 00:17:57.980 you adulterous people, 00:17:58.100 --> 00:17:59.080 do you not know, 00:17:59.280 --> 00:17:59.759 that friendship, 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:00.300 with the world, 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:01.540 is enmity with God? 00:18:02.580 --> 00:18:02.960 Therefore, 00:18:03.080 --> 00:18:03.960 whoever wishes, 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:04.780 to be a friend, 00:18:04.840 --> 00:18:05.400 of the world, 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:06.140 makes himself, 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:07.040 an enemy of God. 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:09.000 Or do you suppose, 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:10.480 it is no purpose, 00:18:11.320 --> 00:18:12.460 that the scripture says, 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:14.420 he yearns jealously, 00:18:14.540 --> 00:18:15.300 over the spirit, 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:16.000 that he has made, 00:18:16.080 --> 00:18:17.300 to dwell in us. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:19.040 But he gives us, 00:18:19.040 --> 00:18:20.120 more grace. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:21.399 Therefore, 00:18:21.539 --> 00:18:21.939 it says, 00:18:22.099 --> 00:18:23.659 God opposes the proud, 00:18:24.399 --> 00:18:25.139 but gives grace, 00:18:25.199 --> 00:18:25.659 to the humble. 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:26.759 Now, 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:27.619 this verse, 00:18:27.719 --> 00:18:28.319 this few verses, 00:18:28.439 --> 00:18:29.299 could be a summary, 00:18:29.959 --> 00:18:30.699 of the way, 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:31.359 God works, 00:18:31.419 --> 00:18:32.139 throughout the Bible. 00:18:32.819 --> 00:18:32.979 You know, 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:34.139 he puts God's judgment, 00:18:35.459 --> 00:18:36.559 and God's grace, 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:38.039 side by side. 00:18:39.219 --> 00:18:39.899 As we all have, 00:18:39.979 --> 00:18:40.859 adulterous hearts, 00:18:42.179 --> 00:18:42.679 we want to say, 00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.519 that we love God, 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:44.659 yet we want to love the world, 00:18:45.219 --> 00:18:46.859 but God is inviting us back. 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:47.479 He's calling, 00:18:47.699 --> 00:18:48.739 his spouse back. 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:51.180 And he's ever willing, 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:52.019 to show us, 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:53.559 grace after grace. 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:55.900 This Samaritan woman, 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:57.440 had had five husbands. 00:18:58.519 --> 00:18:58.920 Now, 00:18:58.980 --> 00:18:59.779 the sixth man, 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:01.099 that she lives with, 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:02.180 is not her husband. 00:19:02.980 --> 00:19:04.000 She is now, 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:05.220 meeting a seventh man, 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:06.880 who is telling her, 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:09.079 that what he offers, 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:11.680 will quench her spiritual thirst. 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:13.740 This seventh man, 00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:14.380 is Jesus, 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:16.019 calling her back to God. 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:18.359 despite her sin, 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:19.220 and her shame, 00:19:20.139 --> 00:19:20.259 you know, 00:19:20.299 --> 00:19:20.799 she's also, 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:21.460 of course, 00:19:21.579 --> 00:19:22.700 a victim of injustice, 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:24.720 Jesus has come, 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.160 to restore, 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:27.319 and redeem her. 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:30.160 And how does she respond? 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:33.079 It's in verse 28, 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:33.619 we see, 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:35.599 she left her, 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:36.740 her water jar, 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:38.879 and went away, 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:40.039 into town, 00:19:40.139 --> 00:19:41.019 and said to the people, 00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:41.960 come, 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:43.519 see a man, 00:19:43.579 --> 00:19:44.299 who told me, 00:19:45.259 --> 00:19:46.440 all that I ever did, 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:48.079 can this be the Christ? 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:49.379 She, 00:19:49.579 --> 00:19:50.099 left, 00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:50.779 her jar. 00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:52.980 She, 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:54.379 left her broken cistern, 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:55.920 at the feet of Jesus. 00:19:57.099 --> 00:19:58.059 A broken cistern, 00:19:58.099 --> 00:19:58.920 that could hold, 00:19:59.019 --> 00:19:59.559 no water. 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:01.039 Jesus, 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:02.220 is inviting us, 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:03.680 to leave, 00:20:03.720 --> 00:20:04.660 our broken jars, 00:20:04.740 --> 00:20:05.460 at his feet. 00:20:07.059 --> 00:20:07.619 Cisterns, 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:08.019 that we have, 00:20:08.139 --> 00:20:09.180 hewed for ourselves, 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:10.120 and come back, 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:10.640 to him, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.799 who is the source, 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:12.820 of living water. 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:15.640 And this Samaritan woman, 00:20:16.840 --> 00:20:17.460 did just that. 00:20:19.180 --> 00:20:20.160 And we see, 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:20.960 the promise, 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:22.940 that Jesus made to her, 00:20:23.080 --> 00:20:23.960 began to take, 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:24.560 fulfillment, 00:20:24.740 --> 00:20:26.259 at that very moment. 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:28.000 What, 00:20:28.140 --> 00:20:29.440 did Jesus promise her? 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:31.700 Whoever drinks, 00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:32.279 of the water, 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:33.380 that I will give him, 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:34.440 or her, 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:35.759 will never be thirsty again. 00:20:35.840 --> 00:20:36.259 The water, 00:20:37.060 --> 00:20:38.160 that I give him, 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:38.540 or her, 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:39.200 will become, 00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:40.360 a spring of water, 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:41.680 welling up, 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:42.620 to eternal life. 00:20:43.620 --> 00:20:43.960 She, 00:20:44.080 --> 00:20:44.660 could not, 00:20:45.060 --> 00:20:46.279 contain the joy, 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:47.740 that she, 00:20:47.820 --> 00:20:48.420 ran to town. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:50.100 She, 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:51.400 who was evangelized, 00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:52.060 by Jesus, 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:53.920 became the evangelist, 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:54.560 to her own people. 00:20:55.320 --> 00:20:55.600 She, 00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:56.240 pointed them, 00:20:56.300 --> 00:20:56.759 to Jesus. 00:20:57.600 --> 00:20:58.019 She, 00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:58.560 became, 00:20:58.800 --> 00:20:59.320 the spring, 00:20:59.380 --> 00:21:00.019 of living water. 00:21:01.600 --> 00:21:02.600 The Samaritan woman, 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:03.279 that went, 00:21:03.540 --> 00:21:04.480 to Jacob's well, 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:05.779 to quench her thirst, 00:21:06.080 --> 00:21:06.960 met Jesus, 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:08.440 and she, 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:08.920 became, 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:11.039 stream of living water, 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:11.600 to her people. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:13.079 The woman, 00:21:13.180 --> 00:21:13.700 at the well, 00:21:14.380 --> 00:21:15.340 now has become, 00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:15.700 the well. 00:21:16.579 --> 00:21:17.480 And the well, 00:21:17.700 --> 00:21:18.200 flowed, 00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:19.440 into, 00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:20.420 the Samaritan town. 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:22.400 And what was her message? 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:23.940 It was very simple. 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:25.100 Come, 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:27.360 see a man, 00:21:27.880 --> 00:21:28.740 who told me, 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:30.799 all that I ever did. 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:33.399 the Samaritan woman, 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:33.919 who had been, 00:21:33.919 --> 00:21:35.059 avoiding contact, 00:21:35.180 --> 00:21:36.240 with almost everyone, 00:21:37.159 --> 00:21:37.299 you know, 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:38.399 she goes to draw water, 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:40.000 from the well, 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:40.579 at midday, 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:42.059 is now in the middle, 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:42.680 of the town, 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:44.019 proclaiming Jesus. 00:21:45.220 --> 00:21:46.619 And proclaiming him, 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:47.879 through her brokenness. 00:21:48.940 --> 00:21:49.839 Meeting Jesus, 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:50.659 has truly, 00:21:50.659 --> 00:21:51.419 redeemed her. 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:51.799 She, 00:21:52.339 --> 00:21:52.819 her shame, 00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:53.799 has been taken away. 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:55.259 She's been redeemed, 00:21:55.379 --> 00:21:55.779 from it. 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:57.119 And Jesus, 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:57.980 is offering us, 00:21:58.119 --> 00:21:58.819 this life. 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:00.799 If we would just, 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:02.559 forsake our broken system, 00:22:03.379 --> 00:22:04.359 and drink from him. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:05.500 And that invitation, 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:07.019 is still open to us. 00:22:08.180 --> 00:22:08.539 It was, 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:09.339 just as it was, 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.579 over 2000 years ago. 00:22:12.039 --> 00:22:12.980 If anyone, 00:22:13.180 --> 00:22:13.579 thirst, 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.359 let him, 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:16.240 come to me, 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:16.839 and drink. 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:18.480 Whoever, 00:22:18.639 --> 00:22:19.399 believes in me, 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:20.039 as the scripture, 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:20.660 has said, 00:22:21.619 --> 00:22:22.940 out of his water, 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:23.940 out of his heart, 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:24.359 will flow, 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:24.879 rivers, 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:25.759 rivers of living. 00:22:25.779 --> 00:22:28.119 May the Lord bless, 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:29.740 the preaching of his word. 00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:31.019 Amen.