John 4:1-15 - ”Sparkling Water” - Abundant Life (Gospel of John)

Good morning.

Our first reading today from the Old

Testament is Isaiah 12:es 1-6.

You will say in that day, I will give

thanks to you, O Lord, for though you

were angry with me, your anger turned

away that you might comfort me. Behold,

God is my salvation. I will trust and

will not be afraid. For the Lord God is

my strength and my song, and he has

become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the

wells of salvation, and you will say in

that day, give thanks to the Lord. Call

upon his name, make known his deeds

among the peoples, proclaim that his

name is exalted. Sing praises to the

Lord for he has done gloriously. Let

this be made known in all the earth.

Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of

Zion, for great in your midst is the

Holy One of Israel.

And our New Testament reading is John

4:es 1-15.

Now when Jesus learned that the

Pharisees had heard that Jesus was

making and baptizing more disciples than

John, although Jesus himself did not

baptize but only his disciples, he left

Judea Judea and departed again for

Galilee. And he had to pass through

Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria

called Sidecar near the field that Jacob

had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's

well was there. So Jesus, wearied as he

was from his journey, was sitting beside

the well. It was about the sixth hour. A

woman from Samaria came to draw water.

Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

For his disciples had gone away into the

city to buy food. The Samaritan woman

said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew,

ask for a drink from me, a woman of

Samaria? For Jews have no dealinks with

Samaritans.

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the

gift of God and who it is that is saying

to you, give me a drink, you would have

asked him, and he would have given you

living water." The woman said to him,

"Sir, you have nothing to draw water

with, and the well is deep. Where do you

get that living water? Are you greater

than our father Jacob? He gave us the

well and drank from it himself as did

his sons and his livestock.

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks

of this water will be thirsty again. But

whoever drinks of the water that I will

give him will never be thirsty again.

The water that I will give him will

become in him a spring of water welling

up to eternal life."

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me

this water so that I will not be thirsty

or have to come here to draw water."

This is the word of the Lord.

>> Thanks be to God.

How is everyone so far?

We're getting through John pretty quick

here, eh? We're already up to the fourth

chapter. Only 21 to go.

There's a lot going on in John, but it's

a really I'm enjoying it. It's got so

much to it. Don't you love how you can

read it on a surface level and you can

get so much out of it and then you when

you hear how deep it is, you just are

blown away and it just makes it more

enhanced. I mean there's such a

giftedness to the writing itself. If

this was a ancient writing, it would be

one of the most it is an ancient

writing, but if it wasn't a go even a

god inspired writing, it even then it

would be one of the most articulate,

interesting ancient documents.

So, we have to look closely. We're in

John. John is something that's trying to

say more to us than we see on the

surface. He's using things that we may

not know just off the top of our heads.

So, remind yourself as you're doing

this. Now, today we're going to run into

the Samaritan woman. Okay? And I was

told that this is the best sermon for a

feminist preacher. Okay? That's what I

was told. So, I was interested in that.

And they said because Jesus was a

feminist.

This was seminary and you get some

different ideas.

So, I listened to this and I gave it a

lot of thought. This is the one text

that they can read. they say that makes

sense to them. Well, I

I'm going to have some questions by the

end of this because I actually think

that Jesus is far greater than feminism.

Let me explain after. But even if he

isn't, there's a problem

with Jesus being a feminist. Do you know

what that is? Do you know what's

happening to the feminist MU movement

right now?

All the women are leaving feminism. Did

you guys know that

>> it is one of the greatest

exoduses and it's it's society shocking.

So in the 1968

when they were interviewed on who is a

feminist 52% of women said they were

feminists. In the 1970s

64

the 1980s well they were all drunk

during that generation. So

no I'm joking but it went down. It went

down to about 50 again. But guess what

it is today? Anybody want to throw out a

number? How many percentage of women

call themselves a feminist in North

America?

No.

>> How many?

>> No, it's a little higher. It's 30%. But

that is a huge drop from 60. I'll show

you the numbers. Total under 30, 26%.

Republican, well, we don't like women, I

guess, so they're at 10. Democrat, well,

we don't like or we really like women,

so we're at 50. Independent, well, we

really like them cuz we're at 30.

Anyways, you get the point. But under

every

major demographical point,

feminism's underwater

and in the immigration, it's the least

popular in the immigrant groups coming

in.

Feminism is not popular. And even on

college campuses with more than one

degree, that's the place where you're

going to get your feminist

indoctrination. It is still only 41%.

So why is that? Well, you say, "Hold on,

Emry, where North America, you know, we

got all the right-wing hillbillies,

right?"

Huh? Well, let's look at Europe.

Sweden highest 40%.

Next high is France 33, Norway 29, Great

Britain 27,

Denmark 22, Finland 17, Germany 8% of

people who are female call themselves

feminists.

Something has happened to this movement.

And I'm going to tell you that there is

good news in this because the feminist

movement is not Christian.

And I'm also going to say, as this text

will show you today,

Jesus Christ has much better news for

females than the feminist movement could

ever have. And this text highlights it.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, you are great and good.

You have sent your son down amongst us.

You have filled us with your Holy

Spirit.

Now we ask you to open our eyes and our

ears.

Give us ears to listen and give us

teachable hearts.

And may you speak through these words

and change our hearts.

Amen.

Now, before I get into the text proper,

there's a couple things you have to

know. This is going to be about living

water. Okay? This section is going to be

about living water. And I want you to

understand that water, living water

especially, is not a new idea. It's it

is all over the prophets. The prophets

of the Old Testament spoke about this so

that if you were a learned person in

Israel, you would know what's being said

when Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman.

For example,

there's judgment if the if you take the

living w don't take the living water

rather try and get water for yourself.

That means you're not taking the water

from God. You're trying to create your

own water which you worship idols. And

you can see this in Jeremiah. For my

people have committed two evils. They

have forsaken me forsaken me. Now notice

who he says. He's the fountain of the

living waters. Not remember that God is

the fountain of the living waters.

And what they've done is they've heed

outists from themselves. In other words,

they've looked at other ways to gain

water. Brokenists that cannot hold

water. Thus, they're idols.

So the important point for you and I is

that living water is from God and

judgment is when that water stops.

Secondly, it's clearly that living water

represents our salvation. That's having

the living water represents ours being

saved.

Isaiah 12, which uh Karen did a

fantastic job reading. You will say, "In

that day, I will give thanks to you, oh

Lord. For though you were angry with me,

your anger turned away that you might

comfort me." Behold, God is my

salvation, I will trust and will not be

afraid. For the Lord God is my strength

and my song, and he has become my

salvation.

With joy you will draw

from the wells of salvation.

Who's their salvation? the Lord and

they're going to draw the water from

salvation. They're going to draw the

water from the Lord and you will say on

that day, give thanks to the Lord, call

upon his name, made his no make known

his deeds among the peoples, proclaim

that his name is exalted. So we

understand the Old Testament water

represents life, salvation, and only

comes from God. Do you agree with that?

Good. Now we can get into our story

almost.

Now I got to tell you about the cultural

realities of what's going to happen

here.

Jesus

knew Samaritans. Everyone knew

Samaritans in the Jewish world. And

Jesus was in a world where there was so

much hatred of Samaritans from Jews that

they would literally go in just to beat

them up. That's the Jews.

So what happened was many many years ago

when the Israel was taken into exile and

the Assyrians had them some Jews stayed

behind and those Jews married and

intermingled with the Assyrians and they

had children and they became known as

the Samaritans.

So when the Jews came back they looked

down on their brother who obviously were

impure in blood. Okay? And all of a

sudden the Samaritans had done something

else by intermingling with the

Assyrians. They definitely had Jewish

religious beliefs, some of the Torah.

They had they believed in the first five

books of the Bible, but they also had

Assyrian pagan ideas in their religion.

So it was a real mix. Okay. The Jews

come back, they're the pureb blood guys.

Now, here's how they looked at each

other.

A woman, a Samaritan woman by a Jewish

male was perpetually menstrating.

That's what they said. Why is that

important?

Because they are always dirty.

Everything they touched, they did was

dirty. And you were not to engage or

touch them or you would be ceremonially

unclean. what they thought about the

males. I can't tell you because this is

mixed company, but suffice to say they

saw thought even worse things about the

males. So these two groups did not talk.

They hate it. It got so bad that at one

time the Samaritans on Mount Gerism,

that was their mountain, built a temple

400 AD BC.

And what happened in 150 BC? the Jews

came and destroyed it. You can imagine

the hatred.

So there had you had Judea and Galilee

and right in the middle was the land of

of of where the Samaritans lived. So

when you were going from one to the

other, many people took the risk and

walk through the Samaritan land, but it

was a risk because they might get

tackled, beat up, or robbed.

Usually you would go around the coast

and go around it. Okay? Now remember

that as Jesus discusses what he does

here.

Oh, and the other thing,

good Jewish men didn't talk to good

Jewish women in public

because women, they say, have a

tendency, yes, I know it happens to me

all the time, to try and flirt with us

and lead us astray.

What? It doesn't happen to you guys.

Obviously, I think it it's a little much

that they believe that, but they did.

And so, they actually said that a woman,

especially a Samaritan woman, would

become a Jezebel, and if you got into a

conversation with her, she would wily

take you under her net of web of deceit.

That's how they talked. So, no Jewish

man talked to Jewish women in public

of of significance.

And certainly

certainly no Jewish man would ever speak

to a Jezebel like a Samaritan woman.

That's the worldview Jesus lives in.

So here we go.

Now when Jesus learned that the

Pharisees had heard that Jesus was

making and baptizing more disciples than

John, although he Jesus himself did not

baptize but only his disciples.

He left Judea. Now why would he do that?

Because as we know the Pharisees aren't

good guys. They're trying to figure out

and they're going after the people that

are in power or who are growing and they

have been going after John. they will

arrest him and ultimately have his head

taken off. And Jesus realizes that we're

now gaining the popularity. So he

leaves.

That shows that Jesus is not about fame.

He's about his message. And he couldn't

have that end. Then

he left Judea and departed again for

Galilee. And he had to. It says

he had to. This word's interesting. Had

to because he doesn't actually have to.

He could have gone the long way around,

like I said, to get to Galilee. He could

have missed Samaria, but he has to go

and pass through Samaria. What does that

mean?

That God has given him an uncction that

he must, if he's going to be faithful,

go through this area.

It was dangerous, but he had to go

because that was being faithful.

So he came to a town of Samaria called

Sakar near the field that Jacob had

given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was

there. So Jesus, worried, wearied as he

was from the journey, was sitting beside

the well.

It was about in the sixth hour. Now why

would you say the sixth hour?

Well, for one, it's high noon. in the

way their clock work, this is the

brightest time of the day. It's also the

hottest time of the day. Is that what

he's trying to say? Or like most Jews,

is he using the number six to make a

point? Now, I do think he wants you to

see it as light because when Nicodemus

comes, he comes in the middle of the

night in the dark and he leaves without

knowing God at all. Remember, he didn't

believe at all. She is going to be in

the brightest light. And light in John's

gospel is revelation. But he chooses the

number six for a particular reason. And

that is because the number six

means sin, broken humanity, corruption.

And what he's about to run into is sin,

broken humanity, and corruption. This

woman is not holy walking on water.

She's no better than Nicodemus, who

couldn't see.

So it was about the sixth hour. A woman

from Samaria came to get w to draw

water. Jesus said to her, and this would

have been utterly shocking, a Jewish

rabbonic figure leaning over and talking

to a Samaritan woman. It would have

never happened in all of her life.

And he says, "Give me a drink."

I can only imagine the shock. It's hard

for us to get the shock. And I try my

best to try and think of uh what it

might be like today. And what it might

be like today is a Palestinian and a

Jewish person running into each other. I

don't know how much they're allowed to

talk even. But just take the worst

situation of racial um angst.

And then we have this shocking story

where he says, "Give me a drink."

That's an amazing moment. So, whatever

Jesus is doing, he's not ashamed to

break down the barriers with women.

Amen.

>> He is a radical.

He's doing stuff, and I'm going to tell

you why after that makes women all of a

sudden stand up and take notice. He is

not going to live like the rules of

their world. if the rules of their world

are causing chaos and division.

So Jesus said to him

that and for the disciples had gone to

buy into the city to buy food and then

the Samaritan woman said to him and it's

a great question.

How is it that you a Jew ask for a drink

from me a woman of Samaria?

I mean, that's shocking, you guys. She's

thinking, you think I'm perpetually

menrating, so I'm perpetually unclean.

You think I am unclean because I'm

around the Gentiles. They lived around

the Gentiles. You think I'm You think

I'm so unclean that I can't share a

spoon with you cuz then your insides

will become unclean.

How shocking this was for her.

how radical this was for Jesus.

And then John has to write this because

who he's writing this already they may

not have known this political reality

for he says for Jews have no dealings

with the Samaritans. That's the

understatement of the year.

Jesus answered to her, "If you knew the

gift of God and who it is that is saying

to you, give me a drink, you would have

asked him, and he would have given you

living water." Now, she might have heard

this the wrong way. Got to remind you,

she only believed in the first five

books of the Bible. All of the

prophecies that g God was the living

water or that he was the salvation came

out of the prophets. They're not in the

first five books. So, she may be

wondering what he's talking about. Well,

living water also had another meaning.

It meant a a a sharp cold stream that's

moving. Not a well, not stagnant water,

but living water. So, she's thinking,

oh, maybe he has a place where there's a

a stream that's flowing fast. This this

living water as it were. Because what

like just like Nicodem Nicodemus, she

cannot get her head outside of looking

at it through an earthly lens. She can't

understand the metaphor and thus she

can't understand who's in front of her.

All she can think of is getting her

thirst on this world met.

Give me a drink. [snorts]

How is it that you say, "Give me a

drink." You should have asked him and he

would have given you living water. Going

back to the Old Testament, who gives

living water?

Who is Jesus?

>> Right?

Next time somebody tells you that uh

Jesus was a nice teacher but he wasn't

divine go

I give you permission that great

theological argument actually

anyways

and he would have given you living

water.

The woman said to him sir and she can't

get her head out of this idea of the

water of the world here does she of the

earth. The woman said to her, "Sir, you

have nothing to draw water with and the

well is deep. Where do you go get that

living water?"

She's thinking rationally. She's

thinking of this world. And I'm going to

tell you something. Some people will not

believe just because they can only see

how this world normally works. I had

someone say to me, "I would believe in

the resurrection if I got to see one."

And normally people stay dead.

I said that's why this story is so

great. One didn't.

If everyone got out of came out of back

from the dead, this wouldn't be that

interesting a story.

But the point is she can't get her head

out of her mind that this water he wants

to give her is water in this world.

Just like Nicodemus

two chapters before, you must be born

from above, which also means born again.

What does he say? He can't get his mind

off the earth. And he says, "How can a

man go back into his mother's stomach

and be born again?" Remember that

there's no difference between the might

and greeting Nick great at Nicodemus at

this point than the lowly Samaritan

woman.

They both don't get it.

And then she wants to ask him another

question. Are you greater than our

father Jacob? What did Nicodemus ask?

Are you the Messiah? In other words, who

are you?

He gave us the well and drank it from it

himself, as did his sons and his

livestock before.

So now, just like Nicodemus, she starts

questioning Jesus. She now puts herself

in the judge's seat. How ironic.

Every time we put ourselves in the

judgment seat, we show ourselves to be

blind.

Well, Jesus replies, "Everyone who

drinks of this water," and he pointed at

the well, "will be thirsty again.

But whoever drinks of the water that I

will give him will never be thirsty

again."

Whatever Jesus is offering here is not a

water like something we drink from our

taps.

It is a water that satisfies a thirst we

have that we don't even know we have.

Do you ever been there where you knew

something was wrong? You knew you needed

something?

Ever been there and you couldn't put

your finger on it? That's what that

water goes to.

It is that emptiness, that [snorts]

hunger, that loneliness. That's what

he's talking about.

And if you get this filled with his

water, which I'll explain what that is

later, you will never be thirsty again.

You will never have to go back.

The water that I will give to him will

become in him a spring of water. Now

you, the person that got the water in

him, becomes the living stream

welling up into eternal life. This water

is salvation. The giver is God. And it

comes in not just to meet your needs. Do

you see this? But to meet the needs of

other because it's going to pour out

from you

this well to eternal life.

Well, the woman does one thing better

than Nicodemus. He walked away sad. She

is smart enough though she still doesn't

get it to say, "Yeah, I'll take whatever

that living water is."

And that's a win. She doesn't understand

him. But he says the woman said to him,

"Sir, give me this water so that I will

not be thirsty and have to come here to

drink water." All she's thinking is in

her physical thirst, isn't she? But what

Jesus is offering her is something so

much greater. And he's willing to

shatter the patriarchal system of that

time to the point of I need you to

understand how dangerous this was. that

if you were caught talking to a

Samaritan woman, people had been stoned

for it and killed. You possibly could be

killed.

Jesus was no coward. He was no fluffy

guy. He was a true masculine gentleman

who was willing to stand for truth.

So what does that tell us about

feminism? Hm.

Well, we have to understand that Jesus

is not a feminist. In fact, Jesus' way

and feminism is a battle of two

worldviews

and neither side can meet ever in the

middle. They're two different ways of

being. You see, feminism started well,

the original uh the suff uh suffer

suffragettes

>> suffragettes.

I had that all I was sitting there last

night because I knew I was going to

stumble and I still stumbled. The

suffragettes

were Christian-based actually. They were

in the 19th century and they tried to

create things like women should be

allowed to work if they want. They

should be allowed to get equal pay.

That's not feminism.

Feminism took off in the 1920s. And do

you know who was the guy that influenced

feminism the most? I'll give you a hint.

I just said it. He was a guy. A guy

influenced feminism the most.

>> Rockefeller.

>> Who?

>> Rockefeller.

>> Rockefeller. I'll let him in on this,

too. But no, the guy who they embraced

was a guy named Karl Marx. You ever

heard of him?

See, Karl Marx had a philosophy that

said that it was an economic philosophy.

His was that there was the proletariat,

the working class, and the burgeoisi,

those who owned everything. and that the

only way that we could have harmony is

that the burgeoisi is overtaken by the

proletariat and we have a new system

that comes but it was constantly in

conflict between these two groups and

that was his economic system and the

only way you could get better is and

even with violence that's why Marxists

love violence you you have to have this

overcoming

now later on once communism didn't quite

take off like they thought They wondered

how they could overcome this very

attractive western world and they came

up with something called the Frankfurt

school. You have to research all this if

you want. And guess who paid for the

Frankfurt School? You said it. When

you're thinking why did Rockefeller, the

most capitalist billionaire do it? I'm

going to explain in a second. So he

created the Frankfurt School and in 1926

they came up with the International Day

of Women. Have you heard of this?

I'm going to show you the first painting

picture propaganda

of that.

Now, that's your first propaganda image

for the International Women's Day. Do

you notice something about it?

What's that in the background?

The hammer and sickle. You see it?

And they hold fists in the air because

it came out of Marxism. Except they had

changed it. Rather than it being about

the rich versus the poor, they had

cultural Marxism. And they believed the

women's struggle was they were the weak

women and they had to fight the

patriarchy men.

Okay? And the way they could fight the

patriarchy men is to take back what was

theirs, which is the men's position in

the world, which gave them power.

And so what happened is women during

this time during this movement called

feminism were told that their identity

was found in being part of this working

class achieving goals and basically in

battle with men and that patriarchal

system and that and you've heard this.

If you haven't heard this, you haven't

been around the world at all constantly.

If a feminist talks to you, they're

going to talk to you about patriarchy

because that's their end. That's what's

keeping them down.

And how do you beat patriarchy?

You get into the workplace and you get

busy and you start making as much money

and then once you have as much money and

as much political clout then you have

power. Do you see? And then there was a

battle between the genders. Correct?

All right. So with that being why did

Rockefeller get it in? Rockefeller was

not a Marxist. He was one of the richest

men in the world. Why would he sign this

up? cuz he was an industrialist.

And guess what? If they get their way,

double the amount of people can come

work for my industry

cuz women are going to start coming to

work. So he said to them, "Great idea,

great ideology. Get those women to

work."

And that's why he did it. It was the

most corrupt, awful. I mean, talk about

cynical.

And what happened is over time and by

the 1960s you had the war in Vietnam, a

lot of things going on. It took off.

Feminism took off and this whole idea of

there being a battle between men and

women and that we were the victims and

the men were the oppressors became the

standard narrative. [snorts]

And the one thing they hated, are you

ready for this?

And I've read it. And you're saying,

"How do I know so much?" I had to take

four classes in this harshest classes I

ever had to sit through. But their

number one thing they hate is

Christianity.

Do you know why?

Because Christianity, if you read it,

highlights the family unit

does not say your identity is found in

the workplace or through power fighting

men. It just doesn't. Its identity is

very different.

And so they hate Christianity

and every one of their sites when you

remember when BLM came, that particular

movement, Black Lives Matter, I think it

was called, it was also run by Marxist

and on their page, which was really

weird because it was about black equity,

they had our number one goal is to

destroy the nuclear family.

Read the Communist Manifesto. The number

one thing you have to get rid of is the

nuclear family.

The truth be known, they want that

because then they can raise your

children. Well, if I can get both of

them out in the workplace, who's taking

care of your kids? Train people who you

don't know from the state with the same

ideology.

And that's how they created this world.

Well, here's what's happened. People

woke up. I don't know when or how. I

wasn't around when they did. But all of

a sudden, women said, "I don't want my

identity at work. Actually, I don't even

like being at work.

Women were told they must have children

by the time they're 30 or or not have

children until they have their career

set up. And then when they're in their

30s, they might have one or two. Here

was the problem. Women realize by the

time they're in their 30s

that their opportunity and window had

almost closed

and they realized this career thing

didn't fulfill them. This is the

reaction that I'm hearing from

psychologists. I've been studying it

this week.

Women are realizing that actually maybe

I do want a family.

Maybe I don't want my identities caught

up in my titles at work. I mean, that

really drives men, but actually it

doesn't drive women like we think.

>> Yes.

>> And what's happening is it's not easy to

mix. when you're told that you shouldn't

do anything and have a baby till you're

done your schooling. Well, what are my

some schooling's like now, folks? I did

eight years postgraduate,

right? And so this whole world has got

there and now with this is the new one

of the women's societ struggles, they've

had to go international because so few

people are supporting it domestically.

Okay?

Because again, people don't want their

identity in their work.

Well, here's where Jesus Christ changes

everything and the scriptures change

everything. It never once says your

identity is in your work.

Because what happens when your work runs

out? By the way,

your identity in this text shows us all.

And God said, "Let us make mankind in

our image and in their likeness, so they

made so they may rule over our fish of

the sea and the birds of the sky, etc."

He said, "Let us make mankind in our

image, male and female."

Do you know what your best identity I

say to women? I'm never going to do

International Women's Day, but I will

celebrate women because you are fellow

image bearer of God with me. And there's

no better identity you can get. There is

no better identity than we can give each

other as people made in God's image.

How awesome is that?

You are valued not because of what you

can do, Marxism,

but because of who you were made to be.

Now, this is wonderful cuz if your

identity is in who God has made you,

then if you choose to work, God bless

you. You may not choose to work. You may

want to have a family. You are still the

same with everyone else made in God's

image.

Marxism can't stand that. But Jesus

Christ made it clear from the beginning

when he he is the creator, right? We

know that. Colossians 1 1 15 to 20. So

he created it so that we male and female

are made in God's image. That is the

greatest gift we can have. And then he

calls us children of God.

What an incredible truth. No. No. I'm

sorry, Marxism. You have nothing to

offer compared to this. And thus, you

can never feed our thirst

with your ideology cuz the only way by

you can have your thirst met if you're

made in God's image is if God pours

himself upon you.

The amazing gospel.

I'm going to tell you something very

interesting that you guys should take

home with you.

The first two chapters

have man and woman made in God's image.

Genesis 1 and2. It actually has them

tending the garden. Tending the garden

back then meant they were priests

because gods lived in gardens.

They were tending the gardens. Men and

women were priests in the garden.

And then they try and be like God. And

what is the fruit of the curse?

Men control women and men try and

destroy women try to destroy men.

You know this division in gender

according to the Bible is all a product

of the fall.

So when people sit there and talk

patriarchy and or or worse,

when I'm around Christians who put down

women as second gender,

>> I tell them, you are celebrating the

fall and our God delivered us from that.

>> So don't think it's one way. I know. And

by the way, in my friends who are very

conservative, who women, you better

spend your sit in your seat and put on

your little dress and make sure there's

sourdough bread when I get home or

whatever. I don't know what they do.

I don't have a wife like this, so I

don't know what they do. Um,

I tell them to their face and they don't

like it. I said, "You need to start

reading the Bible

because I'll tell you what, God liked

women.

He loves women and he has called them

made in his image. And if you think you

can mistreat someone made in God's

image, you got a bigger guy to deal with

than me."

But this is what makes the amazing

gospel so powerful.

Here we have the God of heaven and

earth. We are in a world where Nicodemus

certainly wouldn't have talked to this

Samaritan woman. We have patriarchy.

She's low. Nicodemus is high. Who does

he go to fight speak to? He goes to both

of them because he wants to heal both of

them. Right? He wants to make them image

bearsers again. And neither of them get

it. In fact, right through John's

gospel, no one gets it. You almost start

feeling bad for Jesus because he's just

running into dope after dope.

And it gets to that point where he has

to face the curse,

right? Because the reason women and men

hate each other and there is this is

because of the curse.

And John's gospel tells us this amazing

gospel right in our section here of how

he does it.

It starts off

by him pointing to Isaiah 53.

He says about Jesus, about this

suffering servant, this lamb of God, but

he was pierced for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon

him was a chastisement that brought us

peace and his wounds with his wounds we

are healed.

All of we are like sheep having gone

astray. We have turned everyone to his

own way. And the Lord has laid us upon

him the iniquity of us all. All of our

garbage, all of our sin, all of our

idolatry. Chapter 3 of Genesis.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted.

Yet he opened not his mouth. Like a

lamb, remember that, that is led to

slaughter. Like a sheet that before his

shears is silent, so he opened not his

mouth.

This was the story in Isaiah telling us

what had to happen.

That somebody would have to come, this

lamb of God who would have to take the

sin upon himself, the stuff that broke

the gender love.

Well, what does John tell us in chapter

1?

The next day again John was standing

with the two of his disciples and he

looked at Jesus as he walked by and he

said behold

the lamb of God.

And by doing that he said this is the

man who's going to do this.

And that's what the cross is about. The

cross is about what chapter 53 says

paying for our debt as idolattors.

Paying for the garbage in our lives.

Okay.

But he doesn't end there. We go back to

Isaiah. That was Isaiah 53. Then we have

Isaiah 54

where we have the promise of God once

this suffering happens. What does it

mean for us as humanity?

And Isaiah says, "For your maker is your

husband. The Lord of hosts is his name.

And the Holy One of Israel is your

redeemer, the God of the whole earth. He

is called.

For the Lord has called you like a wife

deserted and grieved in spirit, like a

wife of youth. When she is cast off,

says your God. For a brief mo brief

moment I deserted you, but with great

compassion I will gather you. You have

in this section. Oh, one little more

section. In overflowing anger, for a

moment I hid my face from you, but with

everlasting love I will have compassion

on you, says the Lord. Chapter 53, the

suffering servant. Chapter 54, a wedding

promise of a covenant of God and

humanity coming back together where he

would come and restore us. Do you see

that? Well, what did what did John say

in chapter one of of John's gospel? The

lamb of God, this is the one that's

going to suffer.

Well, guess what's going to happen in

chapter 3? We're going to have a

wedding, right? Chapter 2, we have the

wedding of Kaa. In chapter three, we

have the wedding. And how do we know

that this is what Jesus is doing is

fulfilling this new covenant, setting us

right to God. Well, John says this.

John the Baptist says, "The one who has

the bride is the bridegroom, the best

friend of the bride." That's John the

Baptist. The friend of the bridegroom

who stands and hears him rejoices

greatly at the bridegroom's voice.

Therefore, this joy of mine, I must now

complete.

He must increase, but I must decrease.

The suffering servant, John said, the

lamb of God will come and he'll take the

sins. And then he says, "And the

marriage between humanity and God will

be back on. There will be a covenant and

I will celebrate it just as Isaiah 54

said, God will reset the covenant

through a marriage." Right? Do we agree

with that so far? We'll wait for this.

What do you think it says right after

the suffering servant, the promise of

renewed covenant by the wedding image,

John's gospel? What's the last thing?

What does Isaiah 55 say?

Tell me this is not exactly what he's

doing here. Isaiah 55. Come everyone who

thirsts,

come to the waters.

And he who has no money, come buy and

eat. Come by wine and milk without money

and without price.

Suffering servant is going to set the

covenant to write. John has shown us

that in his gospel. And then the first

person he runs into, he says, "Hey, are

you thirsty?"

Because now once the covenant is set to

right, comes the invitation.

Once the suffering servant had done his

action, once the atonement had made and

God had reestablished the covenant

between humanity and God through this

marital covenant imagery, now he gets to

go the give the invite. This is Isaiah

all over again.

And he walks up to this woman at the

well and he says, "Are you thirsty?

come

because Jesus is going to fulfill all of

our needs.

He is going to pay for our sins and I

know you have many and I do too.

And there's nothing we can do. He will

put all of our iniquities upon himself.

And then after that, once he rises from

the dead, he sets he becomes again the

groom to the bride. And the bride are

those who believe in him. The covenant

is back together. Our relationships are

back,

but you have to receive it. And that's

where the invite is.

And that's why the disciples are set

out. This is why John's gospel is

written.

Jesus says, "But whoever drinks of this

water that I will give him will never be

thirsty again. The water that I give him

will become in him a spring of water

welling up into eternal life. Jesus has

paid for our sins. Agreed?

He has set us to write through the

cross.

But it's up to us now whether we drink.

You see, this story wasn't just put that

in there so that we can learn about a

Samaritan woman in the 4th century, the

first century.

It's actually written for everyone who

reads it.

We have heard now that Jesus Christ has

died for our sins.

We now have heard

that the covenant has been that the the

curtain has been torn. God has

reestablished the covenant. He is the

husband to the bride and the church is

his bride.

And now here's the question. We've heard

that. Will you come drink?

We're in the point now in this story of

invitation in our own lives. We all have

passed, we're past his crucifixion and

his resurrection. And for the last 2,000

years, the question is, will you drink?

Will you drink?

It's the most critical invitation

that we have.

Will you drink?

Lesie Nubigan.

The reader of the gospel understands

that this woman is standing all

unexpecting on the brink of a much

deeper gulf than that which divided Jew

and Samaritan.

It is the gulf between him who is the

author of life and the world which is

thirsty for that life

right here and right now. The question

is there for all of us. All of us. You

say, "Well, I thought this was just for

people who don't believe." It's for all

of us.

Now, the person who doesn't believe has

never tasted this water, this new life,

this regenerate life, and they just be

maybe more thirsty. But do any of you

guys sometimes feel dry?

I'm going to tell you, I've thought and

prayed a lot about it because I've been

there.

It's often that's the last time I go to

him and say, "I need a drink."

I try and figure things out myself,

right? Anybody else?

And it just gets drier and drier and

drier. And then all of a sudden, just

being around people irritates you. You

know what I mean?

His

question is still there.

Do you want to drink? Cuz this will fill

you up and overflow you to eternal life.

But how can we do that?

Filled with the Holy Spirit.

I want you to understand that the

metaphor of the water has always been

the Holy Spirit.

How can I show you? Well, later on in

chapter 7, on that last day of the

feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and

cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him

come to me and drink. Whoever believes

in me, as scripture has said, out of his

heart will flow rivers of living water."

Now, this he said about the spirit

whom he those who believed in him were

to receive, but they had not have yet

received it because Jesus has not been

glorified. Good news for us, he has been

glorified. Good news for us, the cup is

there.

So, how do we drink the cup? You ready?

Come, Holy Spirit.

Fill me up.

The language of being filled up with the

Holy Spirit, by the way, is not a one

time off. It's a continuous thing.

My brothers and sisters, I know what it

means to be dry. I know what it means to

live in doubt. And you wonder why the

heck my world sucks.

I know that. But I also know that once

in a while I figure it out again and I

say, "Come, Holy Spirit." And the

presence of the Lord is there and he

renews you from the inside. He

regenerates you.

So this this invitation to drink is not

just for this unbelieving Samaritan

woman.

is for the believe and broken children

that are sitting here right now.

Will we take it? We are made in his

God's in God's image.

We are children of God, but we have to

live in it

or we dry up.

I had a guy that came in my office one

time

and he had been going to church for 20

years.

And what was funny about this guy is he

had been at university and he had this

radical conversion and he said I was

amazing. I felt like I was floating on

cloud9.

And then he said slowly I became a

church guy

and we did church business

and we did church stuff and then I got

married and I had kids so I did family

stuff and family dinner family.

And he goes, "I stopped hanging out with

God.

I stopped being with God. I stopped

being in his presence. I believed,

but it became more and more wrote."

And he wanted to step down as an elder.

He was an elder by this time.

And I looked at him and I saw just

emptiness.

And this this verse actually hit me.

I said, 'You're thirsty, man.'

I said, 'First of all, you're going to

take three months off being an elder.

I said, 'You're going to sit in the

back. You're not going to do anything

but worship.

You're not going to do anything but pray

with our group for the Holy Spirit.

That you get that life again. And I'll

tell you what, in three months, he was

lit up like a bulb. His wife came up to

me and said, "What did you do to him?"

And I said, "What do you And he goes,

"He's really nice to me."

Cuz that is how it works. She said, "The

other day my son did something that I

thought he would kill him and he said, I

forgive you." I was blown away. Holy

Spirit,

he came back in the eldership and he was

coming out of his love of God, out of

the thirst.

I'm inviting you, my friends, to take a

moment

Take a moment every day and say, "Come,

Holy Spirit."

Sometimes you want to have the music on.

I get that. But actually spend some time

every day. Cuz if you don't drink, you

get thirsty.

And this drink is something you have to

keep drinking.

See, the funny thing is

for all the things the feminists don't

have going for them, it's this. They

don't have a God who can give life that

transcends this world.

They have an ideology of power and

anger.

We have an ideology of Holy Spirit power

and love.

And I believe that when we walk with the

God of heaven and earth, when we are one

in Jesus, when the more time we spend,

the less we're going to fight with the

gender next to us or the race next to

us, and the more we will embrace each

other as fellow children of God.

Paul in Galatians says this.

So in Christ Jesus, you are all children

of God through faith. For all of you

were baptized into Christ, having

clothed yourself with Christ.

You're children of God. You're the

bride.

Thus he says, "There is neither Jew nor

Gentile,

neither slave nor free, nor is there

male or female.

For you are all one in Christ Jesus,

because you're all made in his image. He

died for all of you. You all are

forgiven by grace alone. And you're all

given the water. We are one, my friends.

We are one family and we better live

like it if we're going to be a light to

the nations.

So, are you thirsty?

[music]

Fill us up this week

to uh

be there

filling us up with your spirit.

Whatever is blocking us, Father, we ask

you to break it. If we have certain

things in our lives that are keeping us

from drinking, our ego, our idol to re,

we ask you to help us let it down.

We ask you this week to fill us up so

that we can be filled

to overflowing

with that water that leads us to eternal

life. Amen.