Jesus offers living water that fully satisfies our spiritual thirst if we give up our sinful lives and worship God rightly; this spiritual water is internal, eternal and fully satisfying unlike temporary physical water representing fleeting sinful pleasures; we must see that the eternal blessings Jesus offers are far greater than any temporary sinful pleasures we must give up to receive them.

Transcript

Thirsting.

It's a universal experience, isn't it? It doesn't matter when you lived in time. Doesn't matter where you live in the world. Doesn't matter how old you are, doesn't matter what level of society you're a part of, we've all been thirsty. Imagine for just a moment, a cold drink on a hot day at the end of the summer after a long day's work.

That's a beautiful picture. Of satisfaction, isn't it? What is the best drink of water that you've ever had in your life? Can you, can you narrow it down to maybe one or even just a few? I, I think for me, the best drinks of water I've ever had were during high school football, two a days in August. After, you know, I, I played football at the time before they realized that giving kids water is actually good for their health during football practice.

And so we had, we had water before practice, but you wouldn't drink too much or it'd make you sick. And then you had prac, you had water at the end of practice. And I remember the managers would bring out these bottles, like these clear Gatorade. They had Gatorade on the side of them, but they were these clear bottles filled with water, and they'd bring it out at the very beginning of practice, which was dumb because nobody was gonna drink it until the end of practice.

So they'd just bacon this heat for hours. Well, maybe it was two hours. And then at the end of practice, we went over there and said, Ooh, gross. We're not gonna drink this. No. We popped the tops off those things and we just had had at it. In fact over by the weight room, there was a hose that the maintenance people would use sometimes.

And so if the line was too long to get in line for those, those bottles of water, we would run over to that hose. And where I grew up in West Texas, you're not supposed to drink the water. It's too hard and it's got things in it that are bad for you and it turns your teeth gray and all these sorts of things.

We didn't care about any of that. Of some of the best water we've ever had in our entire lives, right? Because we were thirsting. We were thirsting for something and this was going to satisfy our thirst. But none of us have ever had water so good, so satisfying that we were never thirsty again. Thirsting is something that we all do, and we do it often again and again, and again and again.

It's not a matter of, well, I take a drink and I'm satisfied. I never have to drink anything again. But what can truly satisfy our deepest, most important desires? Well, that's the image that Jesus is trying to get us to see, to get across to us from John chapter four, and this idea of never. Thirsting again, turn to John chapter four if you would.

John, chapter four. And I know it's only been a few weeks since we studied this passage together, but let me make you a promise though. We spent 41, maybe 42 minutes on it in Bible class. What we're gonna study tonight really has no repeat from what it is that we studied in our Bible class.

And, and in that the way it is with scripture, there are so many different levels, so many different things that we could see and understand from a text. And this one. Is no different. In fact, in my judgment, this is one of the most powerful texts that we have in the gospels as we think about satisfying our desires to never be thirsty again.

John chapter four. Let's begin reading in verse one. Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus had made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But he needed to go through Samaria.

So he came to a city of Samaria, which is called ccar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore being weed from his journey sat thus by the, well. It was about the sixth. Hour. Now, we're not sure if John accounts by Jewish time or Roman time here in this story.

If it's the sixth hour, according to Jewish time, that's noon. If it's the sixth hour, according to Roman time, that's what we would call six in the afternoon. And a woman of Samaria came to draw water and Jesus said to her, give me a drink for his disciples had gone into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to him, how is it?

That you being a Jew, ask a drink from me. A Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. John informs us. Now, here's a woman that we're gonna see as we continue to read, is worn out and thirsty. In fact, this is the woman. In one of the representations that we see her, and I think this actress really captures the look on her face pretty well.

She is tired, she is hot, she is bothered and she's bothered by Jesus even asking her this question, and maybe she's worn out. Even from her life, she didn't have anyone to come and draw the water for her. You'd think. Since she's had five husbands and another who is not her husband, that there would be somebody who could come and draw water for her children, perhaps, but she doesn't.

Here's a woman at the bottom of society who's working to survive. Nobody to take care of her. No servant of Abraham coming with gifts and a husband for her. She is coming not in the cool of the morning or the cool of the evening, but either at noon or 6:00 PM . In order to draw water, and what we see with her response to Jesus's questions is that she is suspicious and sarcastic and sharp tongue.

You Jews are high and mighty. She's basically saying until you need something from us, so keep reading. Verse 10. Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is, who says to you, give me a drink, you would've asked him. He would've given you living water. The woman said to him, sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.

Where then do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to her, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life.

The woman said to him, sir, give me this water. That I may not thirst nor come here to draw now. Now these are weighty words from Jesus. If you know Jesus is the son of God, if you don't know that he's the Son of God or even a prophet or a man of God or a rabbi, if you don't know, that just sounds a little crazy to be honest.

I'm gonna give you water. That you're gonna drink and you're never gonna thirst again. I mean, maybe we hear that and we think, was he gonna poison me? Is that how that's gonna work? No. This water is supposed to become something that springs up in her into everlasting life. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

And in verse 15, we see that she says, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. And this is kind of like reading. A social media post. I mean, there's no tone of voice here. In fact, I had a conversation with somebody after class this morning. I wish so often that we could hear tone of voice in the biblical text, but most of the commentaries that I've read about this passage seem to indicate I.

That as soon as he starts talking about living water and she hears this idea of living water, everything changes, and all of a sudden she is more open to him and what it is that he's offering. And she says, in all sincerity, give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw. And, and all of those commentators who suggest that I think are absolutely wrong.

This is a woman who has been living a very hard life. Who no doubt has been hardened by that life, and I think in all likelihood that her response, again, we don't hear tone, but I doubt this hardened woman was softened so easily by some confusing words about living water. I bet it's more sarcastic. Yeah, right.

Living water. Wouldn't that be nice? Why? Why don't you give me some of that living water? In fact, you did. I wouldn't even have to come here to draw. I'll never thirst again. , but it does appear that she does have a conscience because in verse 16, Jesus said to her, go call your husband and come here. And she's ashamed of the reality of her situation.

Have you notice that she She is not. Yes, she is bold and sharp, toed and sarcastic and all those sorts of things, but she doesn't flaunt her sin and say, ha, I don't have a husband. I've had five husbands. . No, she, she just merely says, I have no husband in verse 17, and it is Jesus who says to her, you have said, well, I have no husband.

Verse 18, for you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband. In that you spoke truly, she

caress enough about what is right. Not to exactly lie about it, but to cover up how bad her life really is. And then all of a sudden, all of a sudden things change very quickly and Jesus knows things about her that he shouldn't know Later. She describes him as a man who told me all the things that I ever did and is going to reveal himself to be the Messiah that both the Jews and the Samaritans we're waiting for.

Now, let's stop there for now. In our text, we'll come back to the text. But, but here's what I want to suggest this evening that Jesus is offering to her. The same thing he offers to everybody that Jesus is offering living water. And what we see in this text is what is required of us. The attitude that is required of us, not the specific steps you understand, but the attitude that is required of us, the viewpoint from which we have to look at life.

If we're going to accept Jesus's offer of living water, and the first viewpoint that we have to have, the first perspective that we have to get right if we're gonna be willing to accept Jesus's offer of living water is that we have to see that what is offered is worth far more than what is given up.

What is offered and what Jesus offers is worth far more than what he requires us to give up. A drink of physical water compared to an everlasting spring. Of spiritual blessings. What is the water here? This physical water that he's talking about. Think about that for just a second. You know, the Bible is filled with vivid descriptions of sin and how bad sin is and our perspective in regard to sin.

Let me read you just some examples of how the Bible describes sin going astray. Like a lost animal that is gonna be captured by wolves and killed. That's sin death. Or being murdered. That's sin, trespassing, falling lawlessness or anarchy, ungodliness, where you are anti-God at war with God. That's described as sin.

Sin is sometimes described in our Bible as an unpayable debt that we owe this giant debt that we cannot repay. Sometimes it's described as slavery, but, but not just any kind of slavery. Slavery to the cruelest master imaginable. It's described as that that physical skin disease of leprosy that ultimately ends in death after you destroy yourself.

It is described as a red stain on white garments that you cannot make clean. It is described as filthy bloody rags as as stitched to our nostrils, as dumb as adultery or betrayal, as as prostitution, as abject poverty. Sometimes it's described as starvation. Estrangement from loved ones, idolatry, being deceived or lied to blindness, public open nakedness, pollution, eating vomit, rolling around in the muck and mire.

All of those are descriptions of sin. And why does the Bible describes sin that way? Well, because sin so often looks appealing. And what the Bible is trying to do is pull back the curtain and say, look, this is what sin is really like. It's really ugly. And sin is supposed to be revolting and unappealing to those who love Jesus.

And it is described in our Bibles using every sense, all five of our senses. It is described to enlist, elicit emotion from us. This, this feeling of detesting it. And you think about all of those descriptions that I read, there's probably one that is more gross to you than the others, but I think in some ways the most vivid to me is the one that is found in Second Peter chapter two that I read just a second ago.

Second Peter chapter two. Turn over there with me. Mark your spot in John chapter four. We'll come back to that

second Peter chapter two. Begin reading with me in verse 18.

Second, Peter, second chapter, verse 18, for when they, these false teachers that Peter's been talking about speak great swelling, words of emptiness, they allure through the lust of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped. From those who live in error. And so the image here is there are these people who've become Christians, but now false teachers are coming in and they're trying to people.

They're trying to draw people in with the lust of the flesh and lewdness with these things that are sinful. But they have some appeal while they themselves promised them liberty. They themselves are slaves of corruption. Verse 19. For by whom a person is overcome by him. Also, he is brought into bondage for if after they these Christians who are being deceived by these false teachers, if they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

So here is somebody who is in the world. They escape the world. They escape those who live in error and they have this knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But then they are again, entangled in them and overcome. The latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would've been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment that was delivered to them.

So here it is. They know the way of righteousness. They follow it for a while. But then they turn from that way of righteousness and the holy commandment that it was given to them, verse 22. But it has happened to them. According to the true proverb, a dog returns to his own vomit. I don't need to explain that, do I?

I mean, most of us have seen that with dogs or a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire. I know in times past we've had those here who've shown swine at the local show, and you get 'em all dolled up and prettied up for the show. And what is the next thing they want to do? As soon as they have opportunity, they wanna return to the muck and the mire, and he says that's what sin is.

That's what sin looks like. A dog returning to its vomit. A sow having washed to its wallowing in the mire, its pollution.

The Meyer with all of its mud and dung and flies and stench. There is no allure to that. I mean, we don't walk by the show barn and say, Ooh, I wish I could roll around in that for a little while. But what is the image for sin in John chapter four? Turn back to John chapter four. What is the image for sin in John chapter four?

In this passage, may I suggest this evening that is not all these horrible, detestable revolting things. Instead, the image for sin is water from a well drinking water. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It's a good thing. Obviously water isn't bad. And yet I would suggest that water is the picture of this woman in her sins.

Hebrews chapter 11 in verse 26, calls what Moses gave up when he was a prince in Egypt in order to be numbered with the Hebrews. The Hebrew writer calls that the passing pleasures of sin. And yes, there is some alarm at different times to sin. , and the point is that we need to see how bad sin really is.

Not just objectively that we pull back the curtain and say, Ooh, look at how nasty and disgusting it is, but also comparatively to what God offers. and if I'm offering you something horrible compared to something good, we're obviously all gonna pick something good, but, but Jesus' point here in John chapter four, it's not always just that.

We also have to see how great what it is Jesus offers when compared to something else. That's also great. Here's something that's awesome. Let me offer you something that is far, far, far more awesome water. Compared to living water, you see that and I think there is a, a powerful point to be made. It is not just a matter of, well, sin is bad and we shouldn't sin, but from a positive standpoint.

Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the writers of the New Testament are trying to get us to see that what Jesus offers us is far, far, far, far better than the very best that sin can offer us. We must desire God and what he offers. Even in the best of what temptation can offer and what is it that Jesus offers her well living water.

But what is that? If you look there in John, what does he say in verse 10? If you knew the gift? Of God and who it is, who says to you, give me a drink. You would've asked him and he would've given you living water. The gift of God is what is being offered here. Eternal life, forgiveness to the world, and Christ was and is that gift.

Our Messiah, who brings salvation and he offers living water through the gospel, which is proclaimed by the Spirit In Acts chapter two. As he's gonna discuss in a little more detail in John chapter seven and the things that he says there, this living water of true salvation in Jesus Christ is what's being offered to this woman, though she does not know it, and water is one of these themes that we see throughout the writing of John and the entire Bible for that matter, culminating in the river of the water of life that proceeds from the throne of God and the Lamb in heaven, as John sees it in his vision in the Book of Revelation.

This living water is the spiritual blessings that Christ could give her and the world, which lead to eternal life. I, I appreciate Jerry so much for leading us in those songs about counting our blessings and we have all sorts of wonderful physical blessings, but they are all so small, they pale in comparison to the spiritual blessings that we can have in Jesus Christ.

What is offered is worth far more than what we have to give up. However great it might seem in the moment, but know that there is something that must be given up. Let's go back to our text in John chapter four. . And the first thing that we see that we have to give up is our former manner of life. Jesus responds to her when she says she has no husband.

He says, you've said rightly, you have five husbands, and the man that you're with is not your husband in that you have spoken truly. And her response verse 19, is to say, sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Why does she respond in that way? Why does she hide this fact to begin with? Well, because it's wrong.

The, the text doesn't explicitly say, well, you know, I guess perhaps she could be like that woman. This, the, the hypothetical woman that the Sadducees has put forth. You know, every husband died and so forth. But that's likely not the case here. And certainly for her to be with a man who is not her husband and that kind of relationship would've been wrong.

And in order to receive what it is Jesus is offering that kind of life. , that kind of life has to be given up no matter how hard that might be on her and, and I think sometimes we underestimate, we underestimate what people would be willing to give up when it comes to sin, to receive what Jesus offers.

And maybe the issue is not with them. Maybe the issue is with us that we don't appreciate what we have in Jesus enough. If we start thinking to ourselves, you know, I don't know if I could give up what they would have to give up. Well, you better. You better be willing because that's what Jesus requires of all of us.

We have to give up that former manner of life that cannot be who we are anymore. And one Corinthians chapter six, I think, is one of many places where we could express that idea. In one Corinthians chapter six, beginning in verse nine,

one Corinthians chapter six and verse nine. The Apostle Paul says this, do you not know that the un unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, and that applies to our day as well as it did to his. There are some who are gonna try and deceive you, saying You can do these things, you can live this way, and it doesn't matter.

God is still gonna be okay with you and you can inherit the kingdom of God. Paul says, do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers. Those first three, you know, those first three. Do you know to whom that those three things all apply? This woman in John chapter four, somebody who is guilty of fornication, idolatry, and adultery, and he goes on to say, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor Extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God.

You cannot live this way and inherit the kingdom of God. That's, that's not a popular message in our day and world, but, but that is the reality of what God says. But notice, verse 11 and such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified. The name of the Lord Jesus, and by the spirit of our God.

You know, maybe we shouldn't look at this from the negative standpoint. Oh, look at what we might have to give up for Jesus from the positive standpoint. It doesn't matter what kind of sin we were in, it doesn't matter how far we were from God. We all by the power of Jesus', blood can be washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus and by the Spirit.

Of our God. Yes, we have to give up our former manner of life, but it's worth it for what Jesus offers. And if we turn back to John chapter four, there's something else I believe that we have to give up if we keep reading there in verse 19. Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. She says to him, our fathers worshiped on this mountain motioning to Mount Gerizim, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.

Jesus said to her Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father you worship. What you do not know we worship. We know what we worship for. Salvation is of the Jews, but verse 23, that's what this is what applies to her and applies to us.

The hour is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth. For the father is seeking such to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must, must worship in spirit and in truth, we must worship him in spirit. , and in truth, it takes both. There's no, there's no option there.

It requires we must worship him in these two ways. We can't just have the proper attitude and enthusiasm a, a spiritual outlook on things without truth, without worshiping God in the proper way. Even as he says here, you know, Jerusalem is the place you ought to worship under this law, under this covenant,

but at the same time, we can do everything right. And we can worship in just the prescribed manner and we can follow the pattern for what we see in our New Testaments. But if we do it without the heart, if there is no spiritual focus to the things that we're doing, then that is just as wrong. We, we must have both.

And if we do it, it solves, it solves a lot of problems. Jesus is teaching that this, the place where you worship the place is not important. Yes, we're grateful to have this beautiful building, but we could go out there under a tree and worship in spirit and in truth, it is the attitude and the obedience in our worship is what God really desires, and you're gonna have to give that up your former matter of worship if it was not according to spirit and truth.

If you wanna receive these blessings from God. Now we know what happens next. Jesus. Jesus reveals himself to be the Messiah to her. Something that he had not done to anybody else up to this point. She goes back into the town and tells everybody else they come out to Jesus. And, and he stays there a couple of days as they speak with him.

And, and many of those Samaritans believe. And there's also a lesson for the disciples there that he tells them that the fields are white for harvest. Look up and see all of these people who desire this living water of salvation that I'm offering. I want us to come back for just a moment to this offer that is made by Jesus.

Let's go back to verses 13 and 14 and read those two verses again, if you would with me. Please start there in verse 13. Jesus answered and said to her, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting or eternal life.

Two things that we see here, and these are our last two points, and the lesson will be yours. What is offered is internal. What is given up is external. Something that we are putting into ourselves from the outside. That's, that's the image of sin. What is offered to us becomes in us a spring, a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

And then also what is offered is eternal with living water. What is given up with our sins and this water from the well is temporary. And so if we think about it in this way, our sins are like water from a well in this way. We have to go back to these sins again and again and again seeking some satisfaction, seeking some happiness, and, and there is this kind of law of diminishing returns that, that we keep going back and yet the satisfaction we receive grows less and less and less.

But what Jesus offers us is peace and joy and hope and contentment that is in us, that is not dependent on our circumstances and what happens to us. Furthermore, our sins are like water from a well in this way. They never fill us up. They are only temporary fixes to a permanent, eternal issue. And what Jesus offers us with living water is a permanent, eternal solution that is only found in him.

And I wish so badly that people could see that I have a friend somebody who was a friend in real life. Many years ago is now just a friend on social media. We've not seen each other in many years, and she went through some terribly difficult and unfair things that caused her to turn her back on God and his church five to seven years ago.

Something like that. And she has been very open on social media regarding her journey that she's on and doing everything, the world, the way the world tells her to do things. So she has turned away from the way of God. Now she's doing it the way the world tells her to the, to the fullest extent. Full commitment to worldliness.

Full commitment to worldly wisdom and intentionally doing things differently than she was doing them as a, as a struggling Christian. And so she's been on this journey and she's been very open and public about it as, as somebody on social media maybe not necessarily an influencer, but somebody with a following in, in this journey of deconstruction that she's on.

And five to seven years later, however long it's been, Nothing. Nothing is better.

In fact, almost everything is worse than when she started.

It's a spiral. This journey. This journey has been a spiral of depression and discouragement and anger and resentment and bitterness. And hate,

and it absolutely breaks my heart.

I can't help but think none of your problems have been solved. None of your relationships are improved, and you're miserable living the life that you're living.

Is this really better than submission to God? This drinking and never being satisfied with what you receive in return, is that really better than just doing things God's way? . Imagine. Imagine if this person had put in the same zeal and effort into a full and committed relationship with God over the last five to seven years.

Imagine if this person had received the promises and blessings that come from from being a child of God. What could the outcome have been? Imagine.

and then imagine in your own life if I would commit fully and totally

to doing things God's way and giving up everything else, where could I be? Our relationship with God is supposed to be like living water. It should satisfy us to the point that we don't need all of these other things that the world offers. And some of those things are obviously not in inherently wrong, just like, just like physical water isn't inherently wrong.

And some of those things add a measure of, of happiness temporarily a measure of enjoyment to our life. And we see that the Bible says enjoy those things if they're not sinful.

But if we have tasted the real thing of living water in Jesus Christ, then that is a taste of real and true satisfaction. You know, this woman, even in her burned out life, even if, as I suspect, her response was sarcastic to Jesus, oh yeah, give me this living water. When she heard that, don't you imagine.

Now, I, I bet she wished in her heart, wouldn't that be nice if there really was living water? And there are many people who do not have an objective hope, a biblical hope, and, and we say, we talked about this this morning. I, I have the hope of heaven. I hope to go to heaven. You know what that means? That means that, yes, I desire that, but I expect that.

But most everyone has some sort of subjective hope in their life. I wish, I wish things were different. We might say, I wish there was more to life. I wish I had joy. I wish. I wish, but I don't have much hope. Brothers and sisters, the fields are white for harvest because what we can offer people. Through Jesus Christ is that living water that provides true and lasting hope.

They need it physically. This woman didn't have much hope left, but you know what she does do at the end of this exchange? How, how dare you ask me for water? Well, if, if you knew who you're asking, I'd give you living water. Oh, give me that living water. That sounds really great. Call your husband. I don't have a husband.

You say rightly you've had five husbands. Well, let me ask you a religious question then. Where are we supposed to worship? Our father said worship on this mountain. You say in Jerusalem. Well, Jerusalem's the place you ought to worship. The day is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth.

Well, you know, I don't know about all of that, but I know, I know the Messiah is coming. She says, who was it that brought up the Messiah? It was her. Why? Because whether she knew it or not, she was looking for and hoping for something more. Psalm 34 in verse eight says, oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Verse Peter two verses one through three. Ask the question, have you have, have you tasted that? The Lord is gracious. There is true satisfaction to be found both now and eternally. One last passage, revelation chapter seven. Turn over there. Revelation chapter seven, beginning in verse 13.

Then one of the elders answered saying to me, who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come from? And I said to him, sir, you know, So he said to me, these are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple.

And he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any heat for the lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to. Living fountains of waters and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Do you need to have your robes washed in the blood of the lamb that's available to you even this evening? And we encourage you to come now together we stand and while we sing

Jesus.