Drink Deeply

Well, good morning everyone. Grab your Bibles, John chapter 4. Also there's St Paul's app.

John 4 · chapter mention

You'll see an outline for today's message and the title, Drink Deeply.

Okay, 1977. Some of us weren't born in those days, but a lot of us were.

NASA launched two space probes, Voyager 1 and the other one called Voyager 2.

And it was the purpose of the space probes was to study the outer planets and the interstellar space beyond the sun.

Both space probes are still circulating up there in the Netherlands somewhere.

Apparently Voyager 1 at the moment is approximately 24 billion kilometres from the Earth right now.

24 billion kilometres, give or take a few million, I think, in there somewhere.

But NASA knows where they are.

Now, interesting, both space probes carried a gold-plated audiovisual disk

in the event that either space probe was found by intelligent life forms out there.

And so the disk carried photos of Earth, photos of life forms of Earth, a range of scientific information,

spoken greetings from a whole heap of languages, a personal greeting from the United States President,

Jimmy Carter, also the United Nations General Secretary,

a bunch of sounds from the Earth that included sounds of whales, a baby crying,

waves breaking on a shore, things like that, things that would want to keep you away from the place, really, probably.

Music.

A collection of music from various cultures was also included and played,

and still apparently being boomed out there into the universe somewhere.

And the music was interesting, what they included.

30 years after the launch of the space probes,

one of the members of the project team reflected on the choice of music and said this,

I thought of Beethoven's Cavatina from the string quartet,

this great, beautiful, sad piece of music of which Beethoven had written in the margin

the word sensucht, which is German for longing.

Part of what we wanted to capture in this Voyager project

was the great longing that humans experience.

Longing.

It's a word that captures the restlessness of the human heart.

Even in our society, as formal religion recedes,

thirst for spirituality grows.

In fact, there is more spiritual longing in society now

than there has been in the previous three decades.

This spiritual longing that is there,

restless in the human heart,

is a thirst for purpose,

of satisfaction, of contentment, fulfillment.

So if you've just joined us for the first time right now,

or just tuning in after a little bit of a break,

we are working our way through the early chapters of John's Gospel

and discovering the abundant life that Jesus Christ offers.

Last week, we're in John chapter 3,

John 3 · chapter mention

as Jesus engages with a bloke called Nicodemus.

Now, Nicodemus was one of the up-and-coming in society.

Today, in John 4, a Samaritan woman,

one of the down and the out in society.

And as the beginning of the chapter sees,

Jesus is tired, he's hot, he's dusty from his journey,

and he confronts this woman at a well and says,

give me a drink, and he never gets it.

Instead, he offers her life-giving water.

He offers deep satisfaction in life,

living water for the thirsty, for the longing soul,

for Nicodemus, and for the Samaritan woman,

for you and for me, for all people.

And to get the living water,

there are four things we need to understand,

and that's the outline in your Sir Paul's app this morning.

Four things.

Firstly, we need to understand the living water

that he offers is a surprise.

Verse 9, the woman is surprised that Jesus is talking to her.

And in verse 27, the disciples are surprised

that he's talking with her.

The surprise here is that Jesus reaches

across social, cultural, religious barriers

to engage with this woman.

That's the surprise.

The Samaritans and Jews were complete enemies.

And at this time, the Jews regarded Samaritans

as racial, inferior, and religious heretics.

They had no association at all.

So at the beginning of the text,

we see that Jesus says he has to go via this way.

He didn't have to go that way.

He chose to go this way.

He chose to be in Samaria.

Jews in his day completely went around that area.

Also, there's a gender issue here.

Women had very low status across all the cultures

of the first century.

And so, and again, verse 28, the disciples were surprised

he's talking with a woman in public.

But the big issue is not that she's just a Samaritan

and that she's a woman,

but that she's a particular Samaritan woman.

Every commentator mentions that what is weird here

is that she is drawing water alone,

which was a social activity

for women in the first century.

This woman is a social outcast.

In verse 6, we are told Jesus,

we are told Jesus arrives at the well at noon.

The women gathered water at the beginning of the day

and the end of the day.

She is deliberately going to the well

in the middle of the day

to avoid all contact,

even with her own people.

She's an outcast.

Not an introvert.

She's an outcast.

And Jesus reaches across every barrier

that would be put up against them.

The moral, the religious, the gender,

the racial barriers,

they mean nothing to him.

This is typical of Jesus.

Why does he keep doing it?

Because the living water that he offers

is not based on merit.

It's based on grace.

Doesn't matter who you are,

what you've done,

what your cultural roots are,

what your worldview is,

anyone at any time can meet him.

That's the first thing.

The second thing we need to understand

is that this living water that he offers

is an offer of ultimate satisfaction.

Living water comes to us by grace

and what we receive

is ultimate satisfaction.

Now, Central Australia,

for those who have ever wandered out there,

would discover that it's a very arid environment,

which is why most of the population in this country,

the vast majority,

live on the coastal fringe,

because at least we get access to water.

Very few people in Australia

have ever experienced desperate thirst.

Desperate thirst.

Life-threatening thirst.

We walk around with these things everywhere.

We, you know,

I go to the tap and I can fill it up.

It flows.

The image of living water

is much more vivid for this woman at the well

and others in our world

than it is for most of us.

But it's an important image.

The human body is about 66% water.

Muscles are 97% water.

Blood is 83% water.

Our lungs are 90% water,

which, you know, drowning.

What's, I don't know what,

I don't understand that.

It's just adding a little bit more.

I mean,

and brains are 95% water,

which is quite self-explanatory, really.

Survival guides speak about the rule of three.

We can survive three minutes without oxygen,

three days without water,

three weeks without food,

and tragically,

probably only three hours without technology.

We have a more immediate need for water

than we do for food.

We die of dehydration before starvation.

Because we are mostly water,

to die from dehydration

means that every part of our body

cries out in searing pain.

torment

every part of the body

until death mercifully comes to us.

And Jesus says to this woman at the well,

I have something that your soul needs

more than your body needs water.

Going to any other source

to quench what your soul needs

will only cause

the thirst to go deeper,

to endure longer.

So verse 13 is his promise.

Everyone who drinks this water

will be thirsty again,

but whoever drinks the water that I give them

will never thirst.

Indeed,

the water that I give them

will become in them

a spring of water

welling up to eternal life.

Jesus here is promising

a purpose,

a love,

a peace,

a hope,

a beauty

that permanently wells up

from within.

You see,

in Jesus we get

a spiritual love

and a peace

and acceptance,

a beauty

that won't get lost,

plugged up,

dry out

when things in life

don't go the way

that we want them to.

Friends,

what Jesus is offering here,

and I think this is crucial

if you're someone

who calls yourself a Christian,

what Jesus is offering here

is so much more

than the forgiveness of sins.

It's not less than

the forgiveness of sins,

but it's so much more

than the forgiveness of sins.

So the third thing

to understand

is for most people

it takes several steps

before we experience

and receive living water.

You might have noticed

as Nick was reading out

this is a long interaction

between Jesus

and this woman.

Bit by bit

Jesus moves her

from spiritual indifference

into spiritual life

and vitality.

She turns up at the well

not looking,

not looking for it,

though eventually

telling everyone about it.

I think most Christians

will testify to a similar

work of God

in their lives.

This woman is alone

at the well

because of the mistakes

and the failures

of her life.

And it is moments

like these

that most people

become open

to the bigger questions

of life.

They start to feel

alone themselves

for a variety of reasons,

feel alone

and open to the questions,

open to a bit of soul searching

and questioning.

And Jesus then starts

to push her intellectually.

Christianity is far more

than simple intellectual questions

about the meaning of life,

but it's not less than that.

You don't have a real encounter

with Jesus

unless you engage your brain,

all 95% water of it.

But in verse 15,

it's as far as she can get.

The woman said to him,

sir, give me this water

so I won't get thirsty

and have to keep coming here

to draw water.

Jesus is talking about

living water

and she wants running water.

She doesn't want to keep

coming to the well.

Jesus is talking about

spiritual thirst,

but she is still,

on the real issue here,

is her physical thirst.

She wants to be

the first person in Samaria

with taps in the bungalow.

She's with Jesus

up to this point,

but still she can't see

her deep, deep spiritual thirst.

And that's when Jesus,

who appears to change the subject,

but doesn't,

go get your husband.

He's helping her to see

you are deeply,

deeply,

spiritually dehydrated.

Verse 17,

Jesus said,

you are right

when you say

you have no husband.

The fact is

you have had five husbands

and the man you now have

is not your husband.

She is deeply thirsty

for acceptance,

for significance,

for security,

for love.

She is deeply,

spiritually thirsty,

but she is drinking

from the well

of relationships

and approval,

security and sex,

and it will never satisfy.

It's like dying

from thirst

and deciding

to drink diesel

to satisfy it.

It never will.

this woman,

like every single human being,

is a person of faith.

The question is,

what is the direction

of your faith?

What are you trusting in

for your security,

for your acceptance,

for your love,

for your hope,

for your beauty,

for your satisfaction,

for your purpose?

You see,

becoming a Christian

is simply transferring

from one thing,

even a good thing

that God has given us,

to the ultimate one.

That's what it is.

It's a transfer of faith.

In the Samaritan woman's case,

it is a transfer from men,

but it could be

a multitude of things for us.

Sex,

career,

appearance,

acceptance by friends,

social networks,

political causes,

romance,

money,

wealth,

control,

comfort,

happy children.

We will never drink deep

from the living water

Jesus offers

until we see

that where we are drinking

from now

has an inability

to truly satisfy.

Jesus is convicting

this woman here.

He's not condemning her.

He's pointing out

the false masters

and the pretend saviors

that will never satisfy.

So I've got to ask you,

friends,

just briefly,

has Jesus been trying

to get you alone

over maybe the last year,

two years,

however long,

even the last number of weeks,

to get you alone

to have a similar conversation

with you?

That the deep dissatisfaction

you have in life,

the miserable experience

you have waking up

day by day

is because you're trusting

in pseudo-saviors.

You're looking to the happiness

of your children

or your career

or bank balance,

whatever it might be,

to find that deep satisfaction

in life,

to get you happy in life.

Maybe Jesus is saying to you,

go and get your children,

go and get your marriage,

go and get your career,

your family,

go and get your bank balance,

your culture,

your morality,

your religion,

your privacy,

go and get them

and bring them back here

and put them beside me.

In its simplest form,

Jesus is saying to this woman

to transfer her faith

from relationships

with multiple men

to relationship with him alone.

He's the only one

that can truly satisfy.

How does he do that?

Well, last point

on your outline there.

Jesus was scorched

that we might receive

living water.

In one final attempt

to get Jesus off her case,

she says to him

in verse 19,

which is an apparent

distraction on her behalf

to stop talking about

her personal life,

she says,

Sir,

I can see that you're a prophet.

Our ancestors worshipped

on the mountain,

but you Jews claim

that the place

where we must worship

is in Jerusalem.

She wants to divert Jesus

to talk about

a great present

theological issue.

Let's talk about

those who have never

heard Jesus

or something like that.

Let's just distract it

from me

and talk about an issue,

an abstract issue.

Where should we worship?

Who has the truth?

Where do we go

to get God?

Do the Jews

have it right?

Do the Samaritans

have it right?

And this is Jesus' reply.

Woman,

believe me,

a time is coming

when you will worship

the Father

neither on this mountain

nor in Jerusalem.

A time is coming

and has now come

when the true worshippers

will worship the Father

in the Spirit

and in truth.

Jesus says to her

in response,

it's not that temple

and it's not that temple.

But notice

he doesn't say

you don't need a temple.

He says a time,

literally the word means

the hour

is coming

and has now come

when the true worshippers

will worship the Father

in the Spirit

and in truth.

Now John told us

last week

that every time

the word hour

is used

in John's Gospel

it is referring

to Jesus' death

on the cross.

Jesus is saying

to this woman

that you still need

a temple

and you will still

need a sacrifice

for sin

so that the living water

can come to everyone

but that he himself

will be that temple.

His hour will come

and I will be that temple

and I will be

that sacrifice.

I will be

both the gathering point

and the means

of reconciliation

with God.

At the beginning

of this passage

Jesus walks up

to this woman

at the well

and says I'm thirsty

give me a drink.

He doesn't get it.

I mean how rude

he doesn't get it.

In Mark's Gospel

Jesus describes

his mission

for all of humanity

as drinking

from the cup

drinking from the cup

of God's judgment

for our rejection

of God.

He's talking about

his death

by crucifixion.

He must die

that we might live.

He must drink

of that cup

so that we might

be satisfied.

And on the way

to the place

of crucifixion

some well-meaning people

offered Jesus

a drink

a mixture

of wine

and myrrh

and he didn't

drink from it.

Why?

A mixture

of wine

and myrrh

is a sedative.

It's to dull

the pain

and he says

I must experience

it

in all

its fullness.

this pain

will not be

diverted

from me.

And there's

one other place

in John's Gospel

where Jesus

says

I am thirsty.

It's in

John 19

John 19:28

verse 28

when his hour

finally arrived

he's on the cross

and he cries out

I am

thirsty.

the guards

give him

a bitter

drink

of wine

vinegar.

Why?

It was

designed

in Roman

crucifixion

to prolong

your life

so that you

might suffer

more.

Jesus

was meaning

something

much deeper

when he cries

out I thirst.

thirst.

This is the

big thirst

the real thirst

the deep thirst.

Interesting

on the cross

they put it

to his lips

and when he

tasted it

he died.

Declaring

to all

the Roman

world

to everyone

this is

my death

to die.

You're not

in control

of this

process.

The hot

sun

that dehydrates

us

is nothing

compared to

the white

hot wrath

of God

that came

onto Jesus

as he died

as a substitute

for humanity

seeking satisfaction

and meaning

and purpose

in life

in everything

and everywhere

but the God

who made them.

On the cross

Jesus quotes

from Psalm 22

my God

my God

why have you

forsaken me?

Psalm 22

was on his

mind

as he

suffered

for our

sake

on the cross

and later

in Psalm

a little bit

later in Psalm

22

we read this

I am poured

out like water

my heart

has turned

to wax

it has

melted

within me

my mouth

is dried

up like a

pot shirt

and my tongue

sticks to the

roof of my

mouth

you lay me

in the dust

of death.

both physically

and spiritually

Jesus suffered

deep

deep

spiritual thirst

he died

of thirst

so that we

can have

living water

deep

satisfaction

of living

he died

in torment

so that we

can have

the cool

water

of favour

of God

and so

Jesus

is the

gathering

point

for all

people

to find

God

and experience

ultimate

satisfaction

in life

doesn't

matter

your culture

your merits

your sin

your record

your race

and gender

Jesus

offers you

life

and life

forever

and that

is the

hope of

every

Christian

because I

mean

I don't know

if you read

it recently

but the same

John who

wrote this

gospel

wrote

Revelation

and at

the very

end of the

Bible

he gives

us a picture

of what

heaven is

going to

be like

and he

says this

in Revelation

21

to the

thirsty

I will

give water

without

cost

from the

spring

of the

water

of life

chapter 22

describes

heaven

as the

place

where

a river

of the

water

of life

as

clear as

crystal

flowing

from the

throne

of God

and the

Lamb

down the

middle

of the

great

street

of the

city

on each

side

of the

tree

of life

bearing

twelve

crops

of fruit

yielding

its

fruit

every

month

and the

leaves

of the

trees

of the

healing

of the

nations

the

water

of life

that

brings

satisfaction

every

moment

place

of abundance

that's

the hope

that's

the hope

of the

Christian

and so

friends

what does

it look

like

to receive

this

living

water

this

Samaritan

woman

shows us

what it

looks

like

she's

not

commanded

to do

anything

by Jesus

at this

point

she just

responds

to the

free gift

of God

she calls

people to

see Jesus

for themselves

she delights

in repentance

come and see

the person

who has shown

me every

bad thing

I've ever

done

she hides

nothing

she goes

to the

people who

have been

avoiding

her

and that

she's been

avoiding

and she

cries

for them

to come

and see

their

Messiah

it's like

she's got

a totally

new self

image

here

she even

loves the

people who

have rejected

her

and she

leaves her

water pot

behind

symbolic of

saying

Jesus is

more important

than this

water

now maybe

you've been

listening now

and you

still don't

think you

need living

water

just like

this woman

at the

beginning

maybe

that's

the stage

of the

step

you're

up to

what harm

is there

in asking

Jesus for

the living

water

even if

you don't

know what

it is

or are

convinced

that you

don't

need it

what harm

is there

I did

that

about

33

years ago

now

God

if you

are real

and you

are the

answer

make it

clear to

me

make it

clear

I

prayed

that

prayer

in

1991

or

frustratingly

called it

out in

1991

became a

Christian

in 1993

two years

later he

answered it

for the

Christian

here

how many

of us

have tasted

the living

water

but it's

yet to be

a spring

welling up

in our

lives

you don't

sense that

deep

satisfaction

in life

you know

Jesus

should mean

everything

to you

but you're

still trying

to get

love

purpose

identity

satisfaction

in other

things

and it's

one of the

main reasons

if not the

main reasons

why you are

up and down

spiritually

and in your

experiences of

life

you're pursuing

other things

you're drinking

from other

wells

and Jesus

says stop

it

what is your

next step

to treasure

Jesus

and

you're

who

are

who

are

who