Sermon
Jesus is ___, Part. 5: “The Savior of the World”
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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In life, there's a natural response that follows.
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You want to return to experience it again, and you can probably
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guess who's more excited about that.
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There's nothing wrong with that. God gives us good gifts to
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enjoy. He invites us to receive them
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with gratitude and joy. And in many ways, those moments
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are a reflection of His kindness toward us.
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And yet, even in the midst of something good, there's a quiet
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reality we all recognize. As meaningful as those
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experience are, they are not meant to be the place where we
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find our deepest and dissatisfaction.
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Because there's a deeper need in every human heart, one that no
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experience, no matter how good, can fully meet.
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That's why even after something, something we enjoy, we can still
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sense that that there's still something more we are looking
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for. And that gently reminds us of
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this truth. Whatever we have, no matter how
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good it is, will not be enough if we do not have the one we
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truly need. But the good news is that God
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has not left us to keep searching on our own.
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And this is exactly what we want to see in John chapter 4.
John 4 chapter mention
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In this passage we are brought into a very ordinary moment, a
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woman coming to draw water. But as Jesus meets her there, he
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begins to generally feels what her heart has been longing for
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all along. And through this encounter, we
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begin to see who He is. So with that in mind, let's open
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your Bible to John chapter 4, verse 1 to 42.
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And I will read all the passage from verse one to verse 42.
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John chapter 4, verse 1 to 42. Jesus and the woman of Samaria.
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Now when? Now when Jesus learned that the
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Pharisee had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more
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disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize,
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but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again for
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Galilee. And he had to pass through
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Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria
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called Cyker, near the field that Jacob had given to his son
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Joseph. Jacob, Jacob's well was there.
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So Jesus, weird as he was from his journey, was sitting beside
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the well. It was it was about the 6th
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hour. A woman from Samaria came to
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draw water. Just say to her, give me a
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drink, for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy
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food. The Samaritan woman said to him,
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How is it that you, a Jew, asked for a drink from me, a woman of
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Samaria? For Jews have no dealings with
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Samaritans. And Jesus answered her, If you
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knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, give
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me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you
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living water. The woman said to him, Sir, you
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have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep.
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Where do you get that living water?
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Are you greater than our father Jacob?
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He gave us all. He gave us the well and drank
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from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.
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He said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be
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thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will
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give him will never be thirsty again.
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The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of
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water welling up to eternal life.
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The woman say to him, Sir, give me this water so that I will not
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be thirsty or have to come here to draw water, and just say to
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her, Go call your husband and come here.
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The woman answered him, I have no husband.
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And you say to her, You are right in saying, I have no
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husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one you now
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have is not your husband. What you have said is true.
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The woman say to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
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Our fathers worship on this mountain, but you say that in
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Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.
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This is said to her. Woman, believe me, the hour is
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coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will
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you worship the Father. You worship what you do not
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know. We worship what we know, for
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salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is
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now here, when the true worshippers will worship the
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Father in spirit and truth. For the Father is seeking such
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people to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who
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worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
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The woman say it to him. I know that Messiah is coming.
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He who he who is called Christ, when he comes, he will tell us
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all things Jesus says to her, I who speak to you am He.
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Just then his disciples came back.
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They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one
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said, what do you see or what are you talking with her?
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So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said
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to and say to the people, Come see a man who told me all that I
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ever did, can this be the Christ?
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They ran out the town and were coming to him.
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Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, Rabbi eat,
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but he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know
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about. South.
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The disciples say to one another, has anyone brought him
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something to eat? You say to come to them, My food
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is to do the will of him who sent me and accomplished his
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work. Do you not say there are yet
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four months? Then comes the harvest.
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Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are
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white for harvest already. The one who lives is receiving
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wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sour and
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Reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying it holds
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true. One soul and another reaps.
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I send you to reap that, to reap that for which you did not
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labor. Others have labored, and you
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have entered into their labor. Many Samaritans from that town
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believed in him because of the woman's testimony.
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He told me, oh, that I ever did. So when the Samaritans came to
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him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two
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days, and many more believed because of his word.
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They said to the woman. It is no longer because of what
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you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we
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know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.
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This is God's word. Could you bow with me and let's
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pray one more time. Our Father in heaven, as we come
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to your word, we ask that you would open our eyes to seek
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Christ. Clearly help us not just to
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understand this passage, but to be changed by it.
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Show us our need and lead us to the One who truly satisfies and
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guard us from destruction. Soften our hearts and give us a
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readiness to receive what You are saying to us today.
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We ask in Jesus name, Amen. So Church, in this passage we
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will see how He shows Himself as Savior in three parts. 1st, the
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Saviour who gives living water, verses 1 to 15.
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Second, the Saviour who refills the heart, verses 16 to 26.
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And 3rd, the Saviour who brings the harvest, verses 27 to 42.
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So first the Saviour who gives living water.
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Let's begin by looking at verses one and two.
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At this point in the story, Jesus ministry is clearly
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growing. More people are coming, more
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people are listening, and more people are becoming his
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disciples. As this happens, the Pharisees
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begin to hear about it. They are the religious leaders
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who pay close attention to the movements like this.
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They observe, evaluate, and respond to anything that gains
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influence among the people. And now their attention is
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turning toward Jesus. Now look at first 3.
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When Jesus becomes aware that the Pharisees are paying a close
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attention to him, he decided to leave Judea.
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And we should not misunderstand this moment.
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This is not Jesus being afraid or avoiding pressure.
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Throughout the Gospel of John, this always moves according to
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the Father's timing. He's never rushed and he's never
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delayed. His hour had not yet come.
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So he continues his ministry according to the Father's plan.
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But here is where the story becomes very interesting.
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In verse 4 it says now he had to go through Samaria.
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At 1st. At first glance it might sound
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like a simple cheerful note, but in this context it carries more
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meaning than that. Geographically, Jesus did not
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have to go through through Samaria.
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Many Jews, when travelling from Judea to Galilee, would actually
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go out of their way to avoid it. They would choose cross the
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Jordan River, trifle up on the eastern side, and then cross
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back again, adding distance and inconvenience, just so they
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would not have to pass through Samaritan territory.
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And why would they do that? Because the relationship between
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Jews and Samaritans was deeply broken.
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There was a long history of conflict, mistrust and
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hostility. So when John says he had to go
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through Samaria, he's talking about purpose.
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And that means there's someone in Samaria he he intends to
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meet. And also in verse 5 we are told
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that Jesus arrives at the town called Saikar near the field
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that Jacob had given to his son Joseph, that Jacob's well was
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there. Jacob was one of the great
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patriarchs and this well had served generation for his
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people. For the Samaritans it represent
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their heritage and God's past proficient for his people.
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And then in verse 6 we see that Jesus we read from his journey
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set down by the well, and John tells us it was about the 6th
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hour. Now pause there for a moment.
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First, we see something very real about Jesus.
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He's tired, physically tired. And here John is reminding us
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that Jesus did not just appear human, he truly become became
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human. He entered into our weaknesses,
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our limitation, even our willingness.
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And the timing also matters. It is noon, the hottest part of
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the day when people do not usually draw water.
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Women normally come in the morning or evening together, but
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she comes alone at noon, likely avoiding others.
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Yet in first seven we read a woman from Samaria came to draw
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water, and this is said to her, give me a drink.
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So first, this is speaks to a Samaritan.
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That alone would have been unusual for a Jewish rabbi.
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Rabbi. Second, he speaks to a woman in
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public setting, which many teachers at the time would avoid
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it. And 3rd, as we will soon
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discover, this woman carries a complicated and painful story.
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In other words, everything about this situation would normally
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say do not engage and yet Jesus intentionally initiates the
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conversations. In first nine she replies how is
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it that you, a Jew, asked for a drink from me, a woman of
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Samaria? You can see and you can hear the
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surprise of her voice in her mind.
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This is not how the interaction is supposed to go and but listen
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carefully to how Jesus respond. In 1st 10 Jesus answered her.
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If you knew the gift of God and who is who it is that is saying
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to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he
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would have given you living water.
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So Jesus here brings her attention to two things at once.
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First the gift of God and the one who gives it.
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Those two always belong together because the gift only becomes
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meaningful when you recognize the giver.
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If you miss who Jesus is and you will misunderstand what he
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offers. So what is this gift of God?
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Jesus calls it living water, and as we read the rest of John's
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Gospel, we are given clarity. In John Chapter 7, this living
John 7 chapter mention
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water is explained as the Holy Spirit given to those who
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believed in Christ Jesus Christ. So Jesus is not talking about
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something external or temporary here.
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He's speaking about the fairy life of God coming to dwell
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within a person. But the woman does not hear it
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that way. In verse 11 she says, Sir, you
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have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.
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Where do you get that living water?
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Then she continues verse 12, since essentially saying this
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well has a story. Jacob himself gave us, gave it
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to us, It has a stain line for generation.
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Are you really claiming something better than this?
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So for her Jacob represent the greatness of the past and the
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well is the evidence of that greatness.
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What she does not realize is that she is standing before the
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God of Jacob. So the answer to her question is
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yes, he is greater. But notice how Jesus responds.
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He does not enter into a debate about Jacob because the main
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issue is not whether he is greater than Jacob.
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The real issue is whether see she is sees sees her need or
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not. So Jesus generally redirect the
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conversation toward exposing the deeper thirst in her life.
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And listen to what Jesus says in verse 13.
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Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but
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whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be
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thirsty again. Physical water, that's what it
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is meant to do. It meets a real need, but only
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for a time. You drink and later you need you
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need more, and Jesus uses that everyday reality to point to
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something beyond physical. Verse 14 explain why.
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Because the water that I will give him become in Him a spring
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of water welling up to eternal life.
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So the difference is not just in how long the satisfaction last,
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but in the nature of what is given.
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This is no longer something external that we return to
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repeatedly. It is something internal,
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something God places within a person.
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And when Jesus speaks about eternal life, he's not only
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referring to duration. He's describing A restored
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relationship with God since forgiven the heart renew and a
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person brought back into fellowship with the One who is
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the source of life. But at this point she still does
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not see it clearly. So in verse 15, she says, Sir,
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give me this water so that I will not be thirsty or have to
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come here to draw water. We can see here she is still
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thinking in practical terms. In her mind, this sounds like a
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solution to a daily burden. No more walking under the heat,
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no more drawing water again and again.
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But Jesus is not removing a daily task here.
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He's preparing to address the condition of the heart.
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Because the real issue is not the well, it is the thirst
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within her. So brothers and sisters, this is
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where the pastor speaks clearly directly to us.
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Because it's not only her story, it reflects something true about
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every human life. We all look for ways to make
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life feel whole, and we search in different ways.
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Some people pursue experiences, always looking for the next
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thing that will make them feel alive.
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Others pursue success, building a sense of word on achievement
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and recognition. Some place their hope in
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relationship, believing the right person will make life
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whole. Others look for stability,
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comfort, and control. These things are not necessarily
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wrong. In many ways they are part of
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God's good provision. But they are not designed to
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define life or sustain the heart.
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And overtime that becomes clear. You reach what you once longed
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for, and for a moment it satisfies, but not deeply, not
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fully. Something remains unsettled.
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So what is missing? The Bible answer is direct.
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We were created for life with God, to know Him, to live in
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fellowship with Him, and to depend on Him as the source of
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life. But sin has broken that
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relationship. So the issue is not that we
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desire too much, but that we are looking in the wrong place for
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for what we were designed to receive from God.
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That is why every well in this world has limits.
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But here is where we need to be very clear, especially for us as
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Christians. Even those who have been born
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again still struggle in this area.
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Why? Because while we have been truly
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renewed, we have not yet been made perfect.
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The power of sins has has been broken, but its presence remains
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as scripture says. In Galatians 5, we are told that
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the flesh and the spirit are opposed to one another.
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Roman Chapter 7 Paul describes the tension of wanting to do
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what is right, yet still feeling the pulling of sin.
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So what happens? Even as believers, our hearts
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can drift. We begin to rely again on other
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things, comfort, control, approval, security.
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Not because Christ is lacking, but because our hearts are still
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being sanctified. And it is, and that is the
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difference. This passage help us to see not
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that some struggle and others do not, but that apart from God we
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are cut off from life, while in Christ we have been brought into
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life and are learning to depend on Him, to live for him out of
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that new life. And this is where the gospel
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gives us hope. Our hope is not that we will
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never struggle again. Our hope is that Christ remains
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sufficient and He continues his work in US.
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Philippians 1 verses 6 reminds us that he who began a good work
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in US will bring it to completion.
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So when we recognize that we have been relying on the wrong
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things, the answer is not to withdraw or despair.
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The answer is to return, to come again to Christ, to seek clearly
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and to receive what He gives. And this is what Jesus is doing
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with the Samaritan's woman, not to shame her, but to lead her
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step by step to the truth. So the question comes to us,
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where are you looking for life? What are you depending on to
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give you a sense of completeness?
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What you? What are you?
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What are you holding on to thinking it will finally satisfy
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you? It is found in being united to
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Christ by faith, restored to God through His work, renewed by His
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Spirit, and sustained daily as we continue to depend on Him.
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That means we no longer build our life on ourselves.
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We rest in Christ in what Christ has done, not what we can prove.
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And in this passage this is describes that life as living
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water, the Holy Spirit dwelling in US, welling up to eternal
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life. This is a life to knowing Him,
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of knowing Him. Not just knowing about Him, but
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walking with Him. A life of fellowship with God,
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where we come to Him, hear from him, and enjoy his presence even
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in ordinary moments. And as the Spirit works in us,
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he keeps pointing us back to Christ, reminding us that
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through Him we are made right with God, not by our effort, but
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by his righteousness given to us.
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So this life begins now, knowing Him, walking with Him.
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And it does not end here. It carries us all the way to
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eternal life, where we will be with God fully forever.
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So the woman came to the well expecting an ordinary day.
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She came looking for water, but she did not realize that she was
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standing face to face with the One who gives life itself.
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And patiently this is leading her to see who he is.
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And in order to bring her to that point, he takes the
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conversation one step further in the next part of the passage.
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So second, the Saviour who refills the heart, Look at 1st
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16. The conversation suddenly
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shifts. Jesus says to her, go call your
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husband and come here. At first that feels unrelated,
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right? He was just speaking about
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living water, about the gift of God.
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Why bring up her personal life here now?
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Because Jesus is not just offering something, He's
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exposing something. He moves from the topic of water
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to the condition of her heart. The woman answered honestly, I
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have no husband. And Jesus replies in verse 17 to
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18. You are right in saying I have
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no husband, for you have had five husbands and the one you
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now have is not your husband. In that moment everything
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changes. The issue is not only her past,
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but the issue is that Jesus knows it fully, accurately,
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without being told. He brings into the open what she
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has kept hidden and it shows what Scriptures clearly teaches
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us. A person cannot receive the life
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Jesus gives unless they first acknowledge their own sin and
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their need for Him. And when Jesus speaks, he does
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not stay at the surface. He goes to the heart.
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And suddenly this woman realized that she's standing before
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someone who sees her completely. Her history, her patterns, her
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relationships, her disappointments.
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Nothing is hidden. And it's not only true for her,
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that is true also for us. Jesus does not only see what is
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feasible, He sees the whole person, the life we present
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publicly and the life we keep private, the things we admit and
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the things we avoid. Hebrew 4.
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Hebrew 413 says No creature in is high is hidden from his side,
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but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must
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give account. And that raises a direct
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question for us. What are we trying to keep at
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the surface that Christ is already seeing clearly?
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Because we can be very active outwardly, even in spiritual
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things, while avoiding what is actually going on within.
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But Jesus does not allow that separation.
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If he had stayed with general teaching about living water, she
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might have remained. She might she might have
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remained interested but unchanged.
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She could have left with insight but without transformation.
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So Jesus here makes it personal. He shows her why she needs what
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he is offering and her response is very familiar.
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In verse 19 she says, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
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So you can see here she immediately shifts the
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conversation in verse 20. She says our fathers worship on
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this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where
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people ought to worship. Do you see what she is doing
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here? She moves from personal exposure
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to theological discussion, and we understand why, because it is
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much easier to talk about religious question than to deal
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with the condition of our own heart.
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It is easier to discuss where to worship than to us whether we
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are truly right before God and we do the same thing.
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It is easier to talk about church, theology or preferences
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than to us what is actually going on in my heart before God.
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We can stay busy with religious things and never deal with the
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deeper issue of our heart. But Jesus does not follow her
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into that diversion. He answers her question, but He
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goes deeper than she expects. He says the issue is not where
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to worship, but how you worship. In verses 21 to 24, He says the
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hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem
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will you worship the Father. That statement would have been
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shocking because for generation, worship had been tied to
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specific places. For Jews, it was Jerusalem.
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For the Samaritans, it was Mount Jerusalem.
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These places were not just location, they were central to
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identity and religious life. But Jesus says something has
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changed. Through him, access to God is no
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longer tied to location. Why?
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Because through Him people are brought directly to the Father,
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and then and then when he defines what matters.
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In verses 23, Jesus says the hour is coming and is now here
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when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and
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truth. This is the turning point of his
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answer. The question is no longer about
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the right place, but about the right kind of worshipper.
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And that leads directly to us, because the issue is not whether
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we worship, but whether we worship rightly.
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This gives to defining Marx spirit and truth.
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So what does that mean? First, to worship in spirit
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means worship comes from a heart that has been made alive by the
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Holy Spirit. It is not simply external
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activity. It's not routine, habit, or
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participation. A person can sing, pray, attend,
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serve, and still not worship God from the heart because through
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worship begins with a changed heart.
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This is why Jesus spoke earlier about being born again with that
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new life from the Spirit. We cannot respond to God as we
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should. Then this also says worship must
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be in truth. That means we do not approach
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God based on our ideas, our own ideas, or appear or preference.
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We come according to how He has refilled Himself, and in this
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gospel that revelation is centered in Jesus Christ.
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So worship in truth means we come to God through Christ
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according to who He truly is, not who we imagine Him to be.
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This is why Jesus says in verse 22 you worship what you do not
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know. The Samaritans had some
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knowledge of God but is what but it was incomplete and reshaped.
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They accept part of God's revelation but not all of it.
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They set up their own place of worship and followed tradition
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they had formed over time. And here's where this become
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very direct to us. Sincerity is not enough,
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activity is not enough. Familiarity with church is not
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enough. So the real question is not do I
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worship, but the real question is has my heart has been changed
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and I'm and am I responding to God as he truly is.
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Then Jesus explain why this is necessary.
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Verse 24 Jesus says God is spirit and those who worship him
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must worship in spirit and in truth.
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So because God is spirit, he is not limited to a place and is
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not approach to action alone. Worship is about how a person
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comes before him and the only way to come rightly is with a
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heart made alive by the Spirit and shaped by the truth He has
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refilled and that leads us to creation.
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We can, we cannot avoid what kind of worshipper are we?
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Because it is possible to participate in everything
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outwardly and still remain unchanged within.
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That is where this woman stands. She is familiar with religious
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discussion, tradition, and debates.
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But Jesus shows her that true worship begins when a person
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faces the truth about themselves and the truth about God.
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And this is exactly what Jesus does.
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He refills her heart and that truth leads to Jesus, to him.
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So in verses 25, the woman says I know that Messiah is coming.
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So the woman senses that the answers she needs about her
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life, her pain, her sin, and how to worship God must ultimately
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come from the Messiah. And I just explain fairly clear
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with clarity In verse 26, Jesus says, I who speak to you am He.
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This is one of the clearest self revelation in the gospel.
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The one sitting before her is not merely a prophet.
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He is not just a teacher. He is the Messiah, the Saviour
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who reveals the truth about our sin, the Saviour who restores
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true worship, and the Saviour who brings sinners back to the
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Father. So this moment invites everyone
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of us to respond, because when Jesus reveals himself, he can.
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We cannot stay neutral. When Christ is made known,
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people either come to him in faith or turn away in unbelief.
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His light exposes the heart and that acts for sure calls for
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repentance and trust. So the question is not whether
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we have heard about Jesus. The question is how we respond.
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Will we continue to avoid the deeper truth about our hearts?
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Will we keep everything at the level of ideas, discussion about
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religion, conversation about theology, while never allowing
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the truth to confront us personally?
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Or we will come honestly before the Savior who already knows us
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completely. The Samaritan woman came to the
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well thinking she was simply drawing water, but in reality,
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Christ was drawing her into the light.
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And the same thing happens whenever the Word of God comes
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to us. God's truth does not only inform
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us, but it reveals us. It change us.
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It transforms us. Scripture tells us that the Word
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of God is leaving an active, sharper than any 2 edged sword,
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discerning the thoughts and intention of the heart.
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So when Christ speaks, He addresses what is beneath our
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motives, our desires, our hidden patterns, the things we would
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rather leave untouched. That exposure can feel
-
uncomfortable. It confronts the reality that
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the parts of our lives we try to manage or hide are fully known
-
to him. But this is where the gospel
-
becomes good news. The one who exposes our sin is
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the very one who came to save sinners.
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This does not refill our sin to condemn us, but to lead us to
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Himself for mercy and to give us what we cannot produce on our
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own, a new heart. So when we begin to see our sin
-
clearly, we also begin to see our need rightly.
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We realize that we cannot repair what is broken within us.
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Our Air Force, discipline, even our religious activity, cannot
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cleanse the heart. Only Christ can do that.
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And that is exactly what Jesus does in this encounter.
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He meets one woman, He knows her completely, and he begins to
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change her from within. And it's important for us to
-
understand because if you are in Christ, your heart has already
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been changed, not by your religious effort, but by Jesus
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himself. The change in you is not
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something you have produced, it is something He has
-
accomplished. That means you're standing
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before. God is not built on how well you
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are trying to change, but on what Christ has already done for
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you. You are accepted because of His
-
work, not your performance, and the truth reshapes how we come
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to Him. Worship finds its proper place
-
not in outward location, ritual or routine, but in a heart that
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has been made through faith in Christ, a heart that respond to
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God in trust, in obedience, in love, because it has been
-
changed by Him. Now we come to God because we
-
know Him, not just because it is expected.
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We listen to His Word because we trust Him.
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We obey Him because we love Him. And what we see next is that
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this change does not stay private.
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What Jesus does in her life begins to move outward and
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affect others around her. And that leads us to the final
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part of this passage. So third, the Savior who brings
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the heart first. Now look at verse 27.
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The disciples returned from the town where they had gone to buy
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food, and they find Jesus still at the well, still in the
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conversation. John tells us they are surprised
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the Jewish rabbi speaking openly with a Samaritan woman in
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publicly and this is not what they are used to.
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And yet no one says anything. They do not yet understand what
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Jesus is doing, and while they are still trying to process the
-
situation there, the focus of the story shifts again to the
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woman. The 1st 28th says so.
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The woman left her water jar and went away into town.
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Death detail is easy to miss, but remember why she came to the
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well in the first place. She came to draw water.
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That was her purpose, her routine, her plan for the day.
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But now she leaves the jar behind.
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Why? Because something greater has
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taken hold on her attention. The task that once seemed
-
necessary is now secondary. She has encountered Christ and
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it changes what matters. She goes back into the town and
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begins speaking to others. Verses 29 tells us what she
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says. Come see a man who told me all
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that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?
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Notice how simple her testimony is.
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She simply she simply tells people what she has experienced
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and invites them to see for themselves.
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Come and see and notice the honesty of in her words.
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She does not. She does not hide her past.
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She doesn't minimize what Jesus revealed to her.
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In fact, she highlights it. The woman say He told me
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everything I ever did. The very thing she might have
-
been ashamed of becomes part of her testimony.
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And she asked a question. Can this be the Christ?
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Her understanding is still growing.
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She does not yet have everything clear, but what she has seen is
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enough to move her to speak. And God uses that.
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Verses 30 says they went out of the town and were coming to him.
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The entire town begins moving forward.
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Jesus. And while the townspeople are
-
coming to see Jesus, the disciples are focused on
-
something else entirely. They are worried.
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About lunch verse 31 they say it says.
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Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying Rabbi eat.
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From their perspective this makes sense.
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Jesus has been travelling, he's tired, he must be hungry.
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But listen carefully to Jesus response.
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I have food to eat that you do not know about, Jesus explained
-
in verse 34. My food is to do the will of him
-
who sent me and to accomplish His word.
-
In other words, what satisfies Jesus, what sustains Him, is
-
doing the Father's will and completing the work He has been
-
sent to do. This moment with this woman is
-
not accidental. It is part of of the Father's
-
plan to bring salvation to sinners.
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And now Jesus invites his disciples to see beyond what is
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in front of them. He says in verse 35, do do you
-
not say they are yet for months? And then comes the harvest.
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Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are
-
white for harvest. In that moment, as the people,
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as the people from the town are coming toward him, Jesus is
-
saying the harvest is already here.
-
And he continues in verse 36, he says the one who reaps receive
-
wages and gathers fruit for eternal life so that sour and
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Reaper may rejoice together. So the disciples are stepping
-
into a work that has already begun.
-
Others have sown through the Scriptures, through the through
-
God's past, dealing with his people, and now they are being
-
called to participate in the harvest.
-
And this shows us something important.
-
The mission of God does not depend on one person doing
-
everything. God is always at work across
-
time, using different people, using different time in
-
different ways. Some sow some rib, but all of it
-
belongs to Him. And when we see and then we
-
begin to see the result. Look at verse 39.
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Many Samaritans from the town believed in him because of the
-
woman's testimony, her simple words.
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He told me all that I effort did become the means God uses to
-
draw others. And it is important for us to
-
see God often uses fairly ordinary and imperfect words to
-
accomplish his work. The woman simply speaks about
-
what Jesus has done in her life and God uses that.
-
Isn't that encouraging? It reminds us that the
-
effectiveness of our witness does not depend on our ability
-
or until we feel ready, but on God's power.
-
He's able to use even simple, incomplete and imperfect words
-
to draw people to himself. And it's exactly what we see
-
happens here. After meeting Jesus personally
-
and hearing His teaching, the people says in verse 42, it is
-
no longer because of what you had, because of what you said
-
that we believe. For we have heard for ourselves
-
and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.
-
Notice what they call him, Saviour of the world.
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Do you see what has happened? A woman who dwell in isolation
-
becomes the means through which an entire town encounters
-
Christ. People who had been excluded,
-
dismissed, and despised now recognize something profound.
-
They were now convinced that Jesus is the Savior of all
-
people, Samaritans as well as Jews.
-
That is the scope of the gospel. Jesus is not merely the savior
-
of a tribe, a culture, or a religious group.
-
He is the Savior of the world. So, brothers and sisters, as we
-
look back over this passage, we begin to see the whole picture
-
come together. A woman came with a thirst she
-
did not fully understand, and Jesus offered her something no
-
ordinary water could provide, the fairy life of God within
-
her. Then we saw the Saviour who
-
refills the heart and restores through worship.
-
This has brought her life into the light, not to shame her, but
-
to show her truth about her sin, about her need, and about the
-
kind of worship the Father seeks.
-
And now we see the Saviour who accomplishes the Father's work
-
and bring the harfest. One life is changed and through
-
that one life many others come to believe.
-
All of it points to 1 unchanging reality.
-
Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the one who gives
-
life to Sinner, restores them to the Father and get us a people
-
for for himself from every place.
-
And the truth calls us for a response.
-
Some of you may be still standing at the well.
-
You are searching, trying different things, hoping that
-
something will finally satisfy what you feel inside.
-
And maybe you have found moments of relief, but the thirst keep
-
returning. Jesus speaks into that reality
-
and says that what is different, the life He gives does not run
-
out. It becomes a source within you.
-
So do not stay at a distance. Come to him.
-
Some of you familiar with the things of Christianity, you know
-
how to talk about God, you understand Christian teaching.
-
But if you are honest, you have never really dealt with your sin
-
before God. There are things you avoid,
-
things you keep hidden. Jesus already knows, and he does
-
not expose sin to push you away, but to bring you him to Himself,
-
where there is forgiveness and mercy.
-
South, do not stay in hiding. Come to him.
-
And for those who already know Christ, this presence, lift our
-
eyes beyond our lives. The Saviour is still at work.
-
He's still drawing people to himself.
-
He's still meeting people in ordinary places.
-
He's still taking lives that seem unlikely and using them in
-
ways that reach others. The fields us are still ready.
-
So lift your eyes up, look around you and the people God
-
has placed in your life, your family, your friends, your
-
coworkers, your neighbors, People who like this woman, are
-
searching, carrying burdens, and needing to encounter Christ.
-
Because the same Savior who met one woman at the well at a well
-
in Samaria is still gathering his people today.
-
And remember how the story moves forward.
-
It was not a trained speaker or a religious leader who first
-
brought the town. It was one person who simply say
-
come and see. And that is still the calling of
-
us as a church. And the joy of the church is to
-
point people to Christ, to say come and see.
-
Come and see the One who gives living water.
-
Come and see the One who forgives Sinner.
-
Come and see the One who brings us back to the Father.
-
Come and see Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
-
Amen. Let's pray.
-
Father, thank you for showing us Christ, the One who gives lives,
-
refills the heart and draws ourselves to you.
-
Help us to come to you, to trust you, and to point others to you.
-
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. So church, as we remain seated,
-
let's take a moment to personally reflect on God's word
-
that was just preached to us. Reflect as you ask yourself, how
-
would my life be different if I truly believe this truth in
-
God's word? If you need a little help there
-
here are a few questions to guide you as we reflect on what
-
this passage shows us that our hearts often look for life in
-
the wrong places. When have I been turning to
-
something other than Christ to satisfy me?
-
If Jesus is the one who truly gives sleeping water and knows
-
you completely, what is keeping us?
-
What is keeping me from coming to Him more honestly and fully?
-
If Christ is still at work drawing people to Himself, who
-
is God's place in my life that I can begin to point Him, even in
-
simple ways? So take a few moments to bring
-
your honest thoughts before the Lord, and after a few minutes we
-
will continue in our response together.