Chardon church of Christ

Continuing Education

Mark 10:35-45

 

INTRO: Good morning church. We have reached the end of John chapter 4 in our lessons and before we start chapter 5, I thought we would take a break. As we study the Lord’s word and continue to grow, we will find we are in good company. Even the apostles had much to learn. Today we will read a bit of their continuing education.

Open your Bibles to the 10^th chapter of the gospel of Mark. From our text this morning I’m going to read a few verses at a time for context and then make some observations and comments. In this lesson I will occasionally refer to some scriptures without reading them.

We will start with Mark 10:35-37 – “And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”” [ESV]

Then skipping down to Mark 10:41 – “And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.” [NKJV]

Human ambition is a fact. Perhaps not all of us possess ambition to the same degree, but it does seem that in all of us, to some extent, is a desire for advancement, the desire for recognition. Add to that the fact that the desire for “more” is something that is characteristic from the lowliest to the greatest. When ambition exists in any sort of “closed system”, it can become a divisive thing. This can be seen in job situations. It can be seen in sports teams as Mark can probably tell you. It can be seen in club settings, and, yes, it can even be found within the Lord’s church.

Our text for this morning presents us with a situation fraught with peril for the apostles. Ambition has reared its head and has been discovered by those who are being, “left out”, of the request that is made. Before I am misunderstood, I want to stress that being ambitious in and of itself is not wrong or sinful. I’m not saying that, but ambition must always be tempered by other qualities.

 

When I was working as a manager if I had an employee whose ambition was to do the best possible job in all cases, I considered that person valuable. On the other hand someone whose ambition was to find a job that allowed them to warm a chair all day listening to their favorite music, not so much. Unfortunately for the person with little ambition they probably would not even get in the door.

 

I have heard it said that ambition in life usually progresses through the following stages: to be like Dad... to be famous... to be a millionaire... to make enough to pay the bills... to hang on long enough to retire.

 

Our situation here today involves a request that is made by two brothers, James and John.

 

I.     THE REQUEST OF JAMES AND JOHN - Mark 10:37 clearly sets out their request - “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”[ESV]

A.   Let’s start with what these two men must have believed. They have referred here to - “your glory”. Matthew, in his account of this request says the request was made by the mother of James and John. In Matthew 20:21 we read “your Kingdom”. Mark is more direct and shorter then Matthew in descriptions, so for me if the request came directly from the Apostles or via their mother it is not an issue. It is still a request to secure for these two Apostles a ranking place in the Kingdom that is to come.

1.    What is it that these brothers are asking? Although we do not think in terms of kingdoms and such things these days, what these brothers are requesting is that they be given the greatest places within the kingdom of God.

2.    This tells us one shining thing about them—bewildered as they might be, they still believed in Jesus. It is amazing that they could still connect glory with a Galilean carpenter who had incurred enmity and the bitter opposition of the orthodox religious leaders. There is amazing confidence and loyalty there. Misguided James and John might be, but their hearts were in the right place. They never doubted Jesus' ultimate triumph.

3.    It is equally evident that they are still concluding that Jesus is soon going to ascend an earthly throne. They think in terms of an earthly kingdom like those with which they were familiar.

4.    In Luke 18:34, not in a parallel passage, but in a passage closely akin to what we’re reading here. Jesus is teaching them about what will happen in Jerusalem and at verse 34 the writer observes, “But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them… ” It was not hidden in that Jesus did not want them to understand. It was hidden because they lacked the understanding to accept it.

B.   They are asking a favor as the result of a relationship.

1.    They do not grasp currently all the things that are going on and they really do not understand the ramifications of what they are requesting, but they make the request nevertheless because of a close relationship they have with Jesus.

2.    We know that James and John were part of a kind of inner circle among the apostles. In Matthew 17:1 we see that along with Peter, James and John went with Jesus into the mount of transfiguration. In Matthew 26:37 we find the same three went with Jesus further into the garden in the hour of prayer.

3.    Beyond that, there is every indication in scripture that James and John are the cousins of Jesus. Matthew 27:56 indicates that their mother is one of the women who is at the cross. She is there with Mary.

4.    They see themselves as having a very favored relationship, and out of this relationship comes this request.

5.    It’s almost as if they are a little bit shy as they ask this, because in verse 35 they’re saying; “We just want You to agree to do something and then we will tell you what it is.” Of course, Jesus doesn’t do that, does He? He wants to know; “What is it that you request of me?”

C.   I mentioned this earlier and it is interesting. Was it their mother, or was it they who made the request?

1.    In Matthew’s gospel it seems that it is the mother who makes the request. Mathew 20:20.

2.    I suspect it was likely that their mother is the one who makes the actual request. The request is made at the behest of her sons, James and John, who, in typical human fashion, may believe that Jesus will give greater weight to their request if it comes from their mother. This same logic is used today by some religious people to suggest that prayer to others can intercede for us. That is not what is taught in the Bible. Jesus is our intercessor. Hebrews 7:25 – “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” Romans 8:34 – “Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

3.    I want to be sure that I commend again the confidence and the loyalty of James and John.

D.   Let’s think about that for a moment.

1.    Their loyalty was well placed. They may have misunderstood about the kingdom, but I commend them for their loyalty to the Lord.

2.    That brings us to what I call a draught line: their need for more knowledge.

II.    THE IGNORANCE OF JAMES AND JOHN

A.   We go on and read in Mark10:38 – “Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?””

1.    They asked for this favor in ignorance of the nature of His kingdom. That is very evident.

2.    Furthermore, they were ignorant of the events that were going to transpire which would be cataclysmic, overwhelming events.

3.    Jesus refers to the cup and the baptism. These are descriptive words for experiences one is going to have which are serious, heavy and overwhelming.

4.    I’d like you to turn in your bibles to Matthew 26:37-39. In verse 37 we see that Peter, James and John went with Jesus further into the garden of Gethsemane “And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.”

5.    Listen as we read of the weight, the seriousness, the heaviness of this cup that Jesus is about to drink, this baptism with which He is about to be baptized. “Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.””

6.    Descriptive words. Of course, we know that in the texts of the New Testament baptism usually means an immersion in water, but baptism has a more general meaning than that, it something that overwhelms. Thayer’s first definition is: Baptism is used topically of calamities and afflictions with which one is quite overwhelmed: Mark 10:38; Matthew 20:22f; Luke 12:50. Indeed, in water when one is immersed the water overwhelms. Here Jesus refers to something that is going to overwhelm.

7.    It’s true that they do not understand in their ignorance what they ask. Jesus says, “Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” “And they said to Him, "We can.''”

8.    They don’t really realize, YET, what has happened and what is going to happen.

B.   Jesus acknowledged that they would experience the “cup” and “baptism”. “And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,”

1.    We see what happens to James in Acts 12:1-2 – “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword,” James was killed by Herod. I’m not sure how much time passed after Jesus told them that they would drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism with which He was baptized, but this event takes place, and James was killed for his faith.

2.    In Revelation 1:9 we discover that John, who apparently died a natural death was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, as he says, for the Word of God. He is in exile. He is drinking the cup. He is being baptized with the baptism, which is an overwhelming experience because of his faith, for the testimony which he held.

3.    At the time of their request these two men, coming to Jesus as they did, had no concept, no idea of the cup of which they would later be drinking. We’re confident that we can drink the cup. We can experience the overwhelming experience that you’re going to experience.

4.    They didn’t understand what they were saying. That was out there in the future.

C.   We come in Mark’s gospel to Mark 10:40 and read this: “but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

1.    There is similar language to this in Matthew 20:23 – “He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.””. In other words, what Jesus said is that privilege in the kingdom of God is not based on favor and friendship.

2.    James and John see things from a worldly point of view. They see things like political appointments to be made, favors that are handed out by those in power to those who are their friends and relatives. Don’t we see a lot of that in our world today?

3.    Jesus said that’s not the way it is in the kingdom of God. Our future blessing in the kingdom of God rests upon His grace and our obedience to the Lord.

III.  NIPPING THE PROBLEM IN THE BUD

A.   Here’s the problem—human ambition—and Jesus must nip this problem in the bud. Let’s come back to verse 41 in Mark 10: when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. The ambition of James & John threatened apostolic unity.

1.    The feelings of the ten apostles isn’t all that unnatural! A request has been made of Jesus. I have a strong suspicion that the request was made in private, but somehow it becomes known to the other ten.

2.    Perhaps there’s a lesson in that. The lesson is this: It doesn’t matter how secret you believe the confidence you have shared may be, they have a way of being known, a way of getting out and becoming hurtful to people. In this situation that’s what happened. The ten apostles who are not part of this request are hurt.

3.    They’re upset, and I think we can understand why. Among the apostles neither explicitly nor implicitly was there a difference in rank. Never was it mentioned anywhere, as far as ranking was concerned. Did they have different responsibilities and roles? Yes, that happened, but as far as rank none of them was more important than the other.

4.    James and John, though they may have been the physical kin of Jesus, were not more important than Peter and Andrew and Phillip and the others. The situation is a threat to apostolic unity and Jesus must do something about it.

B.   Jesus took immediate, and appropriate action to defuse the situation.

1.    I’d like you to notice Mark 10:42 – “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.” He begins to solve the problem by describing the situation in the world. You know what goes on in the world He says. People who are considered great have power and authority, and they exercise that power and authority over others.

2.    Then He says in Mark 10:43-44 – “But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” The world has a standard, but Jesus lays down the standard for greatness in the kingdom.

i.      He says here it is: Those who are great are those who become servants of all—willing servants.

ii.    Those who are going to be considered chiefest (interesting word) are those who serve others. There is no place in His kingdom for power, position and pride!

C.   Jesus makes one final argument nipping this problem in the bud. Mark 10:45 –

1.    “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Not only is the world view not to be the view in the kingdom, there’s not to be in the kingdom a desire for position and power growing out of pride. Not only that, He says, even I the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Savior, I did not come to be served. I came to minister to others.

2.    Even the Son of God. In John 13:13-15 are verses that so clearly illustrate this lesson. At the washing of the apostles’ feet, Jesus says: “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”

3.    It’s difficult for our modern, western minds to comprehend the significance of this. In that time when a person came into a house, servants would come and wash that person’s feet. He was walking in some serious dust and his feet were dirty. It was one of the marks of hospitality for him to have his feet washed by one of the servants in the house.

4.    On this occasion the Bible says that Jesus took off His outer robes, girded Himself with a towel, and begins to wash the feet of the apostles. In other words: I, your Lord and Master did not come to be served. I came to serve. I came to minister. I may be Lord and Master, yet I will kneel to the most menial task, the washing of the feet of my disciples.

5.    He adds in this final argument that He came to give His life a ransom for many. There is in that statement without doubt His reference to His own death. His substitutionary death.

6.    In your Bibles you might want to turn to a very familiar passage in First Peter. 1^st Peter 2:24 – Peter writes this of Jesus; “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Then in 1^st Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”. He came to give His life a ransom for many.

 

CONCLUSION:

Human nature can at times become a problem even within the Lord’s church. Human ambition has no place among the saints of God. Zeal for the kingdom however does have a place. Repeatedly, Jesus teaches what’s real, great and good—to please and serve others. That’s the nature of life within the kingdom.

 

God wants us, his people, to grow in knowledge of the scriptures, both for our own understanding and so that we might accurately encourage others. Discipleship includes lifelong learning to better know God, i.e. rightly dividing the word of truth, applying His word, growing in character and serving others effectively. Let us not forget that not only are we to be learners, but we are also to be instructors and that is part of serving others. This admonition is repeated throughout the scriptures.

 

• 2 Peter 3:18: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ".
• 2 Peter 1:5: "Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge".
• Proverbs 10:14: "Wise people store up knowledge".
• 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". 

 

 

We’re going to sing the song which was announced a while ago and as we sing if there are those present needing to take this opportunity to publically make known needs in their lives, you may step into the aisle and make your way to the front and let us know that need.

 

If you need the prayers of brothers and sisters, we would be glad to pray with you.

If you’ve never been baptized into Christ, your life in the kingdom has not yet begun and you need to do that.

Come believing, penitent, confessing the name of Christ, submitting yourself in loving obedience to the commandment of Jesus Christ and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. You can do that today.

Whatever the need, we invite you to come.

 

 

# ???

Reference sermon, Cecil A. Hutson, 06 April 2008

 

ENCOUNTER with The WEE LITTLE MAN

Luke 19:1-10

 

A man went for physical checkup and the nurse asked him how much he weighed. He held his stomach in and replied, "160 lbs." She got him on the scales, weighed him and said: "No, your weight is 176 lbs.

The nurse then asked him how tall he was. Standing very straight he answered, "5 feet 10 inches." The nurse measured him and said, no - he was only 5’8".

 

Then the nurse asked him what his normal blood pressure was. After looking at her for a moment he said, "How can you expect my blood pressure to be normal???

I came in here a tall, slender man and you have already made me short and fat."

 

Our text is found in (Luke 19:1–10)

He entered Jericho and was passing through. 

² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.

He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 

³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was,

but on account of the crowd he could not,

because he was small in stature. 

⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree

to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 

⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up

and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down,

for I must stay at your house today.” 

⁶ So Zacchaeus hurried and came down

and received him joyfully. ⁷ And when they saw it,

they all grumbled, “HE has gone in

to be the guest of a man who is A SINNER.” 

⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord,

“Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

And if I have defrauded anyone of anything,

I restore it fourfold.” ⁹ And Jesus said to him, 

 

“Today salvation has come to this house,

since he also is a son of Abraham. 

¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

 

Introduction:

Jericho was bustling that day—crowds pressing in, voices rising, dust swirling. And in the middle of it all was a man who had everything money could buy and nothing his soul truly needed.

Zacchaeus wasn’t just short in stature; he was short on friends, short on integrity, short on hope. Yet something in him longed to see Jesus.

This is a story about a man who climbed a tree to see Jesus—and discovered that Jesus had already been looking for him.

 

Zacchaeus was A Man Defined by His Past

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector.

Not just a tax collector—but he was the chief tax collector.

He was wealthy, but his wealth came from exploiting his own people.

 

And, Because of that

• He was socially rejected
• He was Spiritually isolated
• He was Morally compromised
• And Zacchaeus was Personally empty

 

The People of that time saw the negative label placed on Zacchaeus.

Jesus saw his longing to belong and fit in.

Every congregation has people like Zacchaeus—

some hiding in plain sight,

some hiding behind success,

some hiding behind shame.

And many of them are quietly climbing trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of grace.

 

When Zacchaeus Climbs the Sycamore Tree

He is displaying A Picture of Spiritual Hunger

Despite his reputation, Zacchaeus ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a tree.

Running was undignified. Climbing was childish.

But desperation often looks foolish to the world.

But in the actions displayed by Zacchaeus I believe he teaches us something essential:

Spiritual hunger is the first step toward spiritual healing.

 

He didn’t know what he was looking for.

But he knew what he had wasn’t enough.

 

Then we see Jesus Stop, Look Up, and Call His Name

This is the turning point.

Jesus stops under the tree.

He looks up. He calls Zacchaeus by name.

He invites Himself to Zacchaeus’s house.

This is grace in motion.

 

Jesus doesn’t say: “Clean up your life, then I’ll come.”

He says: “I’m coming in—and that will clean your life.”

Grace always precedes transformation.

And notice: Zacchaeus climbed the tree to see Jesus.

But Jesus came to seek Zacchaeus.

 

I was very surprised by the reaction of the crowd that was present.

The Crowd Grumbles: It seems that Grace for some reason…

Offends the Self‑Righteous

 

When Jesus chooses Zacchaeus, the crowd mutters: “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

They weren’t wrong.

They were just blind to their own need.

The gospel appears to look scandalous to those who think they don’t need it.

 

But Zacchaeus Responds with Radical Repentance

Zacchaeus stands and declares:

• “Half my possessions I give to the poor.”
• “If I have cheated anyone, I will repay fourfold.”

This is not guilt. This is not religious pressure.

This is joy‑filled repentance.

 

Grace doesn’t just forgive sin—it breaks its power.

Zacchaeus didn’t change to earn Jesus’ love.

He changed because he had already received it.

 

And then comes the declaration that

“Today salvation has come to this house.”

Not someday. Not after a probation period.

Not once Zacchaeus proved himself.

Today, right now…. Salvation has come.

salvation is not a reward for good behavior.

It is the presence of Jesus entering a life.

 

The Mission of Jesus is summed up in One Sentence

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

This is the heartbeat of the gospel.

This is the mission of the church.

This is the hope of every Zacchaeus in every generation.

Jesus seeks.

Jesus saves.

Jesus restores.

 

Where Are We in the Story?

Every person is somewhere in this narrative:

• Some are found In the crowd, curious but distant
• Some have climbed the tree, longing but unsure
• Some are sitting with Jesus In the house,

receiving grace

• Some are In the middle of the transformation,

living out repentance

• And then there are those who make up the crowd Grumbling, blaming others for their problems forgetting their own need for mercy

 

As I prepared this sermon a song from years back came to mind:

It was sung by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel

" I've built walls

A fortress deep and mighty

That none may penetrate

I have no need of friendship, friendship causes pain

It's laughter and it's loving I disdain

I am a rock, I am an island

 

I have my books

And my poetry to protect me

I am shielded in my armor

Hiding in my room, safe within my womb,

I touch no one and no one touches me.

I am a rock, I am… an island

("I Am A Rock")

 

That’s how I picture Zacchaeus –

a lonely, isolated man who has everything...

except what he really wants.

And then Jesus comes to town.

 

Now, the real question is…

What does the story of Zacchaeus tell us?

 

It tells us there are people in this world that are hurting.

And they are often men and women that behave in ways that aren’t particularly endearing.

They’re often not cute puppy dog types with big soft eyes that say -"won’t you take me home?"

 

They are rough people. Hard edged and rude.

 

And they’ll try to swindle you in a business deal or rip you off when you’re not looking.

Inside, they are little people who’ve built walls around themselves.

Walls laced with barbed wire.

They’re often NOT nice people.

 

AND even though they know that being like this isn’t right…

They believe that’s what life has to offer…

And If they let down the walls, if they are nice to someone for even a moment –

they’ll get hurt and lose the protection that has for so long comforted them.

Their walls are up and they know of nothing better for their lives…

That is, until Jesus comes.

 

That’s what Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit

the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:

Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters

nor adulterers nor male prostitutes

nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy

nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers

will inherit the kingdom of God.

And that is what some of you were.

But you were washed, you were sanctified,

you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God."

 

And, One last thing I want us to notice –

Jesus came looking for Zacchaeus.

He knew where he lived.

He knew the turmoil in Zacchaeus’ heart.

 

He came to make a difference in the life a man who was small, petty and bitter.

If Jesus would go to all that trouble for a man like Zacchaeus, wouldn’t he do the same for your life?

 

I will close today’s lesson with a story about a man named Big Jim. Big Jim was the head of an orphanage, & he had a great ability to make people feel good about themselves.

If there was a little kid with unruly hair, he had the ability to make that child believe that everybody wanted unruly hair.

If a kid had big feet, why he made him think that everybody envied him, that it was the "in" thing to have big feet.
He just had the ability to make everybody feel good about themselves, regardless of their physical appearance.

Well, one day when Big Jim was out buying groceries, the social worker brought a new boy to be cared for in the orphanage, a little boy about 9 years old who had an ugly birthmark on the side of his face.

 

The kid had been abused, nobody seemed to love or accept him, & he was filled with hostility.
Well, when she left him, the boy began cursing her & everybody around him.

Then he went over to the corner, sat down & sulked.

He wouldn’t talk to anybody, not even the other kids.

The kids wondered what Big Jim would do when he came back. Finally, they heard his old station wagon pull up, & they all rushed to the door, greeting him & hugging him as they always did.

Big Jim walked into the room & there was this little boy crouched in the corner, with the ugly birthmark on his face.

Big Jim said, "Well, what do we have here?"

Someone replied, "The social worker just dropped him off.”

"Well, well," said Big Jim.

He walked over to that little boy & knelt down beside him.

Then he swooped him up in his arms & kissed him right on that birthmark.
All the kids started clapping, because they knew that if Big Jim kissed the birthmark it was all right. It made it beautiful, just because Big Jim said it was.

People, that is what God has done.

His love has covered us completely so that He doesn’t see the ugly parts of us any more.

We are beautiful in God’s sight.

He has made us beautiful.
If you’re here & are experiencing the loneliness of rejection, then I want you to know

that God looks beyond all those things that people might consider ugly & unattractive.

 

He looks at your heart.

He looks for love. He looks for repentance.

And He looks for commitment.

If you have those things, you’re beautiful in God’s sight.

If you don’t have them, God wants to take you in His arms, the same way that Big Jim took the little boy in his, & make you all new again.

 

The good news is this:

Jesus is still stopping under trees.

He is Still calling names.

He is Still entering homes.

He is Still saving the lost.

And He still delights in turning sinners into sons, outcasts into disciples, and broken stories into testimonies of grace.

We extend the Lord’s invitation.

We invite you to come as we stand & sing.

 

The Problem of Unbelief

John 4:43-54

 

INTRO:

The problem of belief and unbelief has really been a theme that John has been carrying in his gospel.

 

Part of the problem is that we often define unbelief as the total rejection of God.

That's why if you take a general poll about if people believe in God, you get an extraordinarily high rating. Also if you ask people if they believe in Jesus, you get yet another extraordinarily high rating.

 

John, in a sense, is dealing with that and trying to show us what true belief really looks like, and in the process, exposes unbelief.

 

What is true belief? Who will believe in Jesus? Nicodemus came to Jesus with belief: “We know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus shows him that he has insufficient belief. Nicodemus must experience the new birth, total regeneration of the heart, to have saving faith. That same problem was illustrated in John 2:23-25. Many believed in His name when they saw the signs, but Jesus did not entrust Himself to them because He knew their hearts. Jesus is dealing with what true belief looks like and John is showing it to us. Many seem to have faith and belief in Jesus, but it is insufficient, shallow faith. John returns to this problem of unbelief in the final paragraph of chapter 4.

 

I. Unbelief Described – Verse 43, “After the two days he departed for Galilee.” Jesus has been in Samaria and He stayed there two days. Many in Samaria believed because of the words He was teaching. They no longer believed because of the woman’s testimony, but their faith had deepened to belief in Jesus because they heard Him for themselves. They confess Jesus to be the Savior of the world.

A. Then Jesus leaves and continues to Galilee. Remember in John 4:3 that Jesus left Judea and was going to Galilee. The reason why is because the Pharisees' attention has turned away from John the Baptist and is now turning toward Jesus, recognizing that He needs to be the point of their opposition.

1. Jesus continues His journey to Galilee and a curious statement is made in verse 44. “(For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.)” John tells us Jesus is going to Galilee (which was his own country) and then inserts this parenthetical comment that He had testified a prophet has no honor in his own country. Then John writes in verse 45 “So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.”

2. That does not seem to make any sense. He is going to Galilee, where He is not going to receive any honor, yet the Galileans welcome Him. What are you telling us John? I think the things John wants us to observe are still about what belief and what unbelief really looks like.

B. The first is simply this, there is a contrast being drawn to the reaction of the Samaritans and the reaction of the Galileans.

1. In Samaria Jesus has enjoyed unqualified, unopposed, and open-hearted success. When the woman returned to the town, she told them of her experience and says, you need to come and see. Is this perhaps the Messiah? All the town comes to see Jesus, and we’re told there that they then believe on Him.

2. Next Jesus returns to His own people, the Jews, and the response is not going to be the same. Notice it is very carefully worded there in verse 45. The reason why the Galileans welcome Him is because of all the signs that He's done in Jerusalem. They are not welcoming Jesus based upon a true belief in Him.

3. Jesus finds acceptance with the Samaritans but rejection with His own people. The Samaritans believed because of what Jesus said (John 4:42). This belief has led to their salvation because they recognize Jesus to be the Savior of the world. They are experiencing the life changing faith that Jesus calls for. However, this is not true with his own people.

4. They are looking for the wow factor, to see something special occur. They saw all that He had done in Jerusalem at the feast, and they welcomed Him because of the signs. However, Jesus does not want “wow” belief but new birth. Jesus is not trying to generate in people’s hearts; a “wow, that was neat” belief. Jesus is trying to generate life-change, new birth, and fully transforming faith.

C. We see this several times in John's Gospel. We will see it again in John 7:2f, “2. Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5. For not even his brothers believed in him.” We're told Jesus' brothers do not believe, but what do they want Him to do? Go to Jerusalem and show who you are. Put on a big display. Show them a sign you are who you say you are. They don't truly believe, but they're saying He can do signs.

1. It is the same here. They welcome Jesus, but it is a very shallow welcoming. They only want to see some miracles. They want to see Him do something neat.

2. The despised Samaritans turn to Christ in faith and declare “You are the savior of the world”, while the historical covenant community of God either oppose Jesus or cannot progress beyond a fascination for miracles. This goes back to the point John made at the beginning of this gospel: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).

3. It has been a couple months but remember we read in John 2:23, “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.” Jesus is not being honored for who He is but what He did.

D. Do you think that this same false belief exists today? Are there those who believe in Jesus based on some shallow, physical benefit that can be derived from Him? Is there still the problem of people who are interested in Jesus and an association with Him, not to honor Him for who He is but for what they can get out of it?

1. I strongly suspect it is still very much an issue. That shallow belief, will leave them condemned. The pursuit of Jesus is often about, what does it mean for me? What am I going to get out of this? It’s not about, I'm going to follow you because I know who you are and I know how great you are and you are worthy of honor and praise.

2. It's about—I like this place because they've got good youth groups. They've got camps. They've got good music. They've got things that I really enjoy, good get-togethers, the church is nice, there's some kind of financial gain, the people take care of me. It is entertaining.

3. When we turn worship into what we get out of it or what we like, then we do not have the life transforming faith that Jesus expects. Bob Spence used to tell me that you only get out of it what you put in it. John tells us the people believe in Jesus because of what they can get from Him, and that happens today as well. People often think rather than Jesus being the treasure, the treasure is what we can get out of Jesus.

4. People are not coming to Jesus for mercy and salvation. They are coming to Him to divide inheritances, to tell others what to do, to justify their own lifestyle and decisions, and to gain something now.

E. Jesus is not a hobby. Jesus is not an idol to be put on the shelf with all the other things we put up and take down at will. Jesus demands life change. Jesus calls for new birth. “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

1. John is writing this gospel so that we will truly believe in Jesus. What John tells us should be causing us to ask the question: Why do we follow Jesus? Nearly everyone welcomes Jesus, but why do we welcome Jesus? Why do you follow Him? Why do you obey Him? What are you seeking with Jesus? Is it recognition of who Jesus is? Is He the treasure?

2. Or is it simply self-serving? What I get out of it, and the moment I don't receive the things that I think I ought to receive, I will no longer obey. I will no longer follow. I will no longer listen.

3. Often, that's what people want to do with God, isn’t it? We want Him just to be there in times of difficulty, in times of inconvenience, in times of suffering. I'll pull my Jesus idol down and He'll take care of me. God will not accept that. Jesus is looking for a life change. He's calling for new birth.

II. Shallow Faith, Greater Grace – Watch how that moves into the story of the official’s son. John 4:46-47, “So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.” An official has an ill son in Capernaum. When he hears that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he goes to Cana (about 15 miles away) and asks Jesus to come with him to heal his son.

A. Listen to the words of Jesus in verse 48, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” [ESV] We need to know that the word “you” is a plural “you.” Jesus is addressing the people, not simply this official. That is why several translations insert the word “people” into the text to help identify that the Greek indicates Jesus is not speaking to the official only.

1. Jesus did say it to this official, and Jesus is lumping him in with the rest of the Jews who are welcoming Him only because of the signs He performs.

2. The official persists in verse 49, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” The nobleman did not pretend to a faith he did not have but only poured out the agony of a broken heart before the only one who he knew could help. Such an outpouring of human sorrow was not lost upon "the Man of Sorrows."

3. Jesus then responds in a way that I find fascinating, compassionate and loving. “Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” Little faith had suddenly grown strong. In Jesus' presence, under the impact of His imperative word, and in the light of all he remembered from Jerusalem, the man believed the word of Jesus. Having believed, he obeyed at once, returning to Capernaum.

4. Rather than responding with the same words of how these people lack faith, reject him or ignore him, Jesus works on this official’s heart. Now the official goes down the journey of faith like we see the Samaritans doing earlier in this chapter. His faith is not complete, as we will see in a moment, but it is forming. The man does not disbelieve. He leaves Jesus and is going back home.

B. John 4:51, “As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering.” The reward of the nobleman's faith did not wait for his complete return but was brought by his servants who set out with the good news.

1. His servants meet him on the road and tell him that his son was getting better. Continuing, “So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live…”” Now listen to the end of verse 53, “… And he himself believed, and all his household.”

2. Had he not already believed back in verse 50? What John is showing us is the movement of belief. It all began with signs and wonders, then he believes in Jesus when He says, “Go; your son will live.”

3. His faith is forming. Then when he hears from his servant that the fever left his son at the same hour when Jesus said those words, it says he believed. Coming to full belief, resulting in the transformation that John has been proclaiming in these four chapters. The official’s faith has been growing and leads to the full transformation that Jesus is looking for.

4. Do we see that this is the same pattern as the Samaritans? The Samaritans first believe because they heard the testimony of the woman. Then they fully believe because they met Jesus and heard His teachings.

C. John is showing us something through the actions and teaching of Jesus. Faith starts shallow. I submit to you that perhaps for most of us, if not all of us, we typically start with that very baseline belief. We didn't like the idea of eternal punishment. That was our primary motivator. That's not our motivation anymore. We may have started out of fear, and while that's a very real scare, it's moving to a love of Christ. We want to obey, not out of I don't want to go there, but out of I want to be with Him.

1. The problem is not that we start at the beginning point of belief. The problem is that so many remain there and never go any deeper to true, saving, life changing faith. We enter the first stage of belief and think it is enough. We declare that we believe in Jesus.

2. We believe He came to this world and died for our sins, but for some belief never expands beyond that. Think about how James identified this same problem, James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”. The demons believe, but it is not a saving faith. They have the starting point of faith just like many others.

3. True belief is one that brings about radical life transformation in obedience to Jesus. This is exactly what James teaches in the rest of that paragraph. James 2:20-21, “Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?”

4. Abraham’s faith was so deep that he was willing to offer his only son Isaac to God because God commanded it! That is true belief — radically transformed faith. True belief obeys God regardless of the cost. It is important to see what John is showing us so that we understand where the people we meet might be on their journey. We need to be able to relate so that we, in love, can encourage them.

D. True belief does not leave God because of inconvenience and difficulty. True belief does not come to Jesus at night. True belief loves Jesus and seeks Him, not because of what He does for us, but because of who He is, how great He is, and how I owe Him everything. We encourage those we meet to not remain with basic, shallow belief that does not lead to life change. Take the road of faith. Let your faith grow. Grow deeper with your Savior.

III. The Sign – In verse 54 John writes, “This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.” John calls this a sign so we need to pay attention to the meaning of the sign. John has a purpose in picking out the seven signs. There is a deeper meaning behind these than simply, He does miracles. John is driving at something.

A. Jesus has come to Cana in Galilee, the location of His first miracle where He turned the water into wine.

1. Recall in John 2 that with this turning of the water to wine, Jesus was showing that what He brought were blessings of God which were greater, superior, and more abundant than the blessings which were found through the Law of Moses.

2. Jesus is shown as being superior to the things of the Old Testament, making Himself equal to God. He is God because He does what was done in the past. He does the very works of God. We saw that with the very first verse in the first chapter of John. “In the beginning was the Word.” Here is this equation made right out of the gate. Using the creation story, Jesus is God because He does what God does.

B. Jesus returns to Cana and John tells us that this is the second sign he recorded there. I wondered why John included this sign? I suspect John did so to show that the physical presence of the Lord was not required in the performance of His signs, but that His Holy Will was effective from any distance whatsoever.

1. In 1^st Kings 17 we see the widow’s son had become ill and there was not breath left in him. Elijah took the boy, and prayed to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.”

2. Then in 1^st Kings 17:23 we read, “And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.””

3. Elijah was there and prayed to the Lord but in John 4:50 “Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.”” With Jesus the spoken word was enough. Jesus is greater than Elijah. Jesus does what only God can do.

 

CONCLUSION:

Jesus has the power to give life, and He can give it through His very words. This is what leads to our deeper level of belief. Jesus gives life. Notice the greatness of Jesus in the story. It is by His very words that this son lived. Jesus said simple words, “Your son will live” and the son lived. What power! When He tells you that you will live, then you will live! Listen to Jesus’ words: “… I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” [ESV] (John 11:25–26)

 

When you have experienced life transformation… when you go past the surface of superficial belief, come to know who Jesus is, and you love Him… here's what's going to happen. You will live. You have life. He has the power to declare it. He has promised that He will give it to all who believe in Him. This is what John is trying to get us to understand. The hanging question is, “Do you believe this?”

Whoever believes in Jesus, though we die, will have life! Jesus has showed us that He has power over physical life. He therefore has power over spiritual life. Whoever believes in Jesus shall never die (i.e. be separated from God).

 

John said, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Life is not anywhere else. Follow Him because He is the Lord. He is worthy of our honor, worthy of our praise and worthy of us giving Him everything because He came and died for us.

 

Faith begins when we recognize Jesus as the son of God and recognize our need for forgiveness of sins. It is a belief that recognizes I need to escape eternal punishment because that is what I deserve because of my actions. Then it progresses, it presses on. It doesn't stay there.

 

If you have not accepted Jesus and believed in Him and submitted your life to Him, that is your starting point—believe that Jesus is the son of God who came to this world and died for your sins. Be immersed in water to have your sins washed away to enter a relationship with Him so that you can know that you have eternal life.

 

If you've already begun there, don't stop. Do not think you can now put your life in neutral and you're good to go. Deepen the relationship. See him as the treasure.

Recognize Him and honor Him for who He is. We invite you to come while we stand and while we sing.

 

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercheville

What Value Do You Place In A Year?

Philippians 3:12-14

 

There is an old story about a happy little boy who went out into the field wearing a baseball cap. In one hand he carried a baseball, & in the other a baseball bat. His face bore a look of tremendous confidence.

Cocking his bat, he tossed the ball into the air, saying, "I’m the greatest batter in the world!" Then he swung & missed. "Strike one," he said.

He picked up the ball, examined it, & then threw it into the air again. As he swung, he repeated, "I’m the greatest batter in the world." Once again he missed. "Strike two," he said.

This time, he stopped to examine his bat to make sure there wasn’t a hole in it. Then he picked up the ball, adjusted his cap, & tossed the ball into the air for the 3rd time.

He repeated again, "I’m the greatest batter in the world," & swung with all his might & missed for the 3rd straight time. "Wow" he cried, "What a pitcher. I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!"

As we start to prepare for a new year, & as we look back over the last 12 months, I’m not sure whether most of us would be considered pitchers or batters. One thing for sure, at times we have all struck out.

What do you anticipate for this upcoming year? Are you full of enthusiasm, looking forward eagerly to what each day will bring? Or are you filled with a sense of dread, worried that this year will be worse than last year was for you?

Like the little boy with the bat, may I suggest that your attitude, your frame of mind, your reaction to its events will largely determine whether this year is a year of victory or a year of defeat.

The turning of a year brings a mix of relief, hope, and uncertainty.

Whether you enter this time of year with joy, weariness, or cautious expectation, today is an invitation to pause, remember God’s faithfulness, and step forward with renewed purpose.

Remember the ways God has led you; God makes all things new and calls us to walk forward in faith.

Memory shapes our faith. Remembering God’s past faithfulness grounds our hope for the future.

Faith without action remains idle. God’s grace calls for a response—small, steady steps of obedience that shape a life.

A single seed planted consistently yields a harvest; so one faithful choice repeated becomes character.

The Apostle Paul was never one to let circumstances conquer him. Rather, with the help of God, he was determined to win the victor’s crown. Listen as his attitude, dedication, determination shine through in these words found in Philippians 3:12-14.

"I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind & straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

With Paul’s words fresh in our minds, here are some suggestions to help us be all that we can be this year.

First of all, recognize the value of time.

How do we value ONE YEAR?

To a parent, it’s watching a child grow in ways they never imagined.

To a married couple of 50 years, it’s another chapter in a long story of faithfulness.

To someone who is ill, it’s hope — the chance for recovery, treatment, or simply more time with loved ones.

To someone who wasted a year, it’s a reminder that time is a gift not to be taken lightly.

 

How do we value ONE MONTH? Ask a Mother whose baby arrived prematurely.

To a new parent, one month is the difference between a newborn who can barely focus and a baby who recognizes their voice.

To someone waiting for medical results, a month is a long stretch of prayer and uncertainty.

To someone rebuilding their life, it’s proof that change is possible in small, faithful increments.

 

How do we value ONE WEEK?

To someone struggling, a week is proof that they made it through seven more days.

To someone beginning a new habit, a week is the first sign that change is possible.

 

 

How do we value ONE HOUR? Ask someone who lies terminally ill waiting for a loved one who is late.

To someone waiting for news, an hour is an eternity.

To someone in prison, an hour is a chance to think, pray, or regret.

To someone grieving, an hour can bring a wave of sorrow or a moment of peace.

To someone you encourage in your letters, an hour might be the difference between despair and hope.

And then I found this quote: A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life!

Any ideas on where I found this quote?

How do we value ONE MINUTE? Ask someone who missed a plane, a train, a very important engagement that would never be rescheduled.

To someone receiving CPR, one minute is the difference between life and death.

To someone waiting for a loved one to call, a minute is a small ache of hope.

To someone in prison, a minute can be a moment of temptation or a moment of clarity.

To someone grieving, a minute can bring a memory that breaks them or comforts them.

To a married couple, a minute can be a kiss, a kind word, or a small act of grace.

To someone you write to, a minute might be the moment they decide to keep going.

How do we value ONE SECOND? Ask an Olympic Medalist, or someone who just missed having an accident, or someone saying “goodbye” to a loved one they will never see again.

To a driver at an intersection, one second is the difference between safety and tragedy.

To someone saying goodbye, a second is one more heartbeat together.

To someone grieving, a second can bring a memory that softens or shatters.

To someone you encourage, a second might be the instant they decide not to give up.

The Bible says, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, & a thousand years are like a day." (2 Peter 3:8) God deals with eternity, & therefore time is not an important factor with Him.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…” — God can transform everything.

But time is important to us because we live in a limited time frame. We begin with initial stages, then go on to adolescence, adulthood, middle age, old age, & to everything that follows. We measure life in segments of time.

Now, what makes something valuable? Oftentimes it is scarcity. If there is a scarcity, then that product quickly escalates in value.

So, if something is rare, it is usually valuable. But if we have a lot of it, it loses its value. Now, the same is true with time.

So those of us over 60 tend to look at those under 20 & say, "Don’t squander time, because it’s valuable." They reply, "No, it’s not. We have lots of time. So we can waste it any way we want."

The Bible often speaks of the brevity of life.

No wonder the Psalmist asks God, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" (Psalm 8:4)

Statisticians tell us that the average life span is now around 76 years. If you’re under 30 then you think that is a long time. But if you’re nearing that age, you’re beginning to realize that’s not really very long at all.

I ran across some interesting statistics a few years ago. Someone went to the trouble to research what people do with their time, & came up with these results:

If we live to be 75, most of us will have spent 3 solid years, 24 hours a day, acquiring an education grade school, high school & college.

We’ll have spent 7 years eating, 24 hours a day, some less, & some more, obviously. We’ll have spent 14 years, day & night, working. We’ll have spent 5 years riding in automobiles or airplanes.

We’ll have spent 5 years talking with each other…again some more & some less. We’ll have spent 1 year sick or recovering from sickness. And get this, we’ll have spent 24 years of our life sleeping!

We’ll have spent 3 years reading books, magazines & newspapers. And 12 years amusing ourselves watching TV, going to the movies, fishing, etc.

That totals up to 75 years & that is what the researchers say, on average, most of us will have done with our lives.

As I looked at these statistics I began thinking. Let’s suppose that you spent every Sunday of your life, for 75 years through infancy, childhood, adulthood, old age in God’s house worshiping during the Church Service.

Now if you did that, how much time would you have spent worshiping God? For those of you who did the math… yes the answer is less than 5 1/2 months.

But let’s double that, because you’ve always attended Bible Study. You’ve never missed Bible Study in all your life. That makes it 11 months.

Think about those 5 years in an automobile & just 11 months in Church & Bible Study! Twelve years amusing ourselves in front of a TV, & just 11 months in Church & Bible Study And that is just if you always attended Bible Study & Church, & never missed!

That tells us a little bit about the brevity of time, & it also tells us something about our priorities in life.

The Bible also teaches us that life is uncertain. Time is like a valuable commodity in a very precious & delicate vessel. It might break at any moment & we might lose it all. So we have this moment. We don’t know anything about the future, but we have this moment & that is all that we really have.

Because of the uncertainty of life, the Bible says, "Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Hebrews 3:15 says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." Because life is uncertain, we must take advantage of the time that we have.

Secondly, don’t be in bondage to the past.

We are special beings in that God has given us the ability to remember. Your memory may be your friend or your enemy. When you remember, hopefully you’ll remember some very pleasant things about this past year, but chances are that you’ll also remember some negative things.

Those negative things can cripple us & hold us in bondage to the past. That is why Paul said, "Forgetting what is behind..." Paul had a lot to forget. Paul had a very shaky past.

He persecuted the church. He used his authority to kill Christians. By his own admission he said, "I am the chief of sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15)

He could have walked around all his life with this tremendous burden of guilt crippling him & he would never have become the great apostle we know & love today.

But Paul said, "Forgetting what is behind..." In other words, "God, I commit it to you. I seek your forgiveness for all the sins of the past, & I look forward to what lies ahead. And right now I’m going to live today the best I can."

I believe that is good advice for us as well.

Finally, I think that we need to establish a priority in our lives.

Paul says it this way, "This one thing I do." Now Paul obviously did more than one thing. He made tents. He preached sermons & established churches. He healed the sick. He wrote books. He did a lot of different things.

But he said, "The top priority in my life is to ‘press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ “

A while back an expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students.

After speaking to them for a while, he said, “Okay, it’s time for a quiz.” He set a one-gallon, wide mouthed Mason jar on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks & carefully placed them, one at a time, inside the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top & no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”

“Really?” he said. Then he reached under the table & pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel into the jar & shook it, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

Then he smiled & asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them said.

“Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table & brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in & it filled all the spaces between the rocks & the gravel.

Once more he asked, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water & began to pour in the water until the jar was filled to the brim.

Then he looked back at the class & asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand & said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit something more into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

What are the big rocks of your life? - They should include these: Each day drawing nearer to God, spending time with Him in prayer, & seeking His guidance for your life through reading His Word. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all.

It was Jesus who said, "Seek first His kingdom & His righteousness, & all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

An old beggar woman ran out of money. She couldn’t pay her rent. She couldn’t pay any of her bills. The landlord had threatened to throw her out if she didn’t soon pay her rent.

She had only a candle to keep her warm, & on Christmas Day she warmed her hands over the candle. There was a knocking at her door & she was afraid to answer for fear that it was the landlord coming to kick her out.

She blew out her candle & sat quietly in the dark & waited for the intruder to leave. Two weeks later she found out that the knocking on her door was the knock of a friend who had come to bring her enough money to pay her rent & pay her debts.

I wonder how many have from time to time heard the gentle knock of the Savior who wants so much to come in & free them from the burdens of their sin? But they have ignored His knocking.

DEAR LORD of yesterday and tomorrow,

we bring our memories and our hopes.

Forgive what we have done that separates us from you.

Renew our hearts where they are weary.

Give us courage to live faithfully in both

the large and small choices of each day.

Make us instruments of your peace,

and guide our feet into paths of justice and mercy.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.

 

This morning God’s invitation is offered to any & all who would accept Him and be baptized for the remission of their sins. He came as a baby in the manger. But He also came as the Redeemer, & this morning He patiently waits for you. Whatever your need may be; whether to be baptized or to ask for the prayers of the congregation, will you come as we stand & as we sing?

 

 

 

What is the Best Gift We Could Receive?
Isaiah 8:11 – 9:7

 

It was the day after Christmas.

An Elder of the church was looking over the manager display when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing.

Immediately he turned and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and in the wagon was the figure of the little infant, Jesus.

So the Elder walked up to the boy and asked, “Hey there! Where did you happen to find this baby figure?”

The little boy replied, “I got him from the church.”

“And why did you take him?”

To which the boy quickly answered, “Well, about a week before Christmas I prayed to the little Lord Jesus and I told him if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas I would give him a ride around the block in it.

 

This time of year brings the question:

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR?
We ask children, grandchildren, spouses, and friends to give us a list of items they might like for Christmas.
I would like to start my lesson this morning by asking you ….
if you could ask for just one thing this year …
no matter the cost…
what would it be?

 

I’m sure that as you look around this week you will see signs of Christmas rapidly approaching.
And what I want us to consider this morning is–
“Signs sent by God.”

The Bible contains numerous passages that are signs from God. These signs can take various forms and are often seen as a means through which God communicates with humanity.

Here are some examples:

The Bible describes instances where God uses natural events to convey messages.

For example, the parting of the Red Sea during the exodus of the Israelites is seen as a miraculous sign. (Exodus 14:21-22).

Miracles, such as the healing of the sick, raising the dead, and turning water into wine, are often considered signs of God's intervention.

 

The fulfillment of prophecies is often seen as a sign of God's guidance and involvement.
The Old Testament contains numerous prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ.

God was in the business of providing signs from the very beginning.
After the flood, when the rainbow appeared, God told Noah it was a sign that He would not flood the entire earth like that again.

So, whenever we see a rainbow, that sign reminds us of His promise.

Through Moses & Aaron God gave very dramatic signs to Pharaoh to force him to set the Israelites free.
And in the wilderness during the next 40 years God provided multiple signs of His power and His guidance & of His love for His people.

 

Isaiah 7:14 says,  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

A prophecy is a foretelling of a future event.
The Prophet was given insight regarding something previously unknown.
The fulfillment of prophecy would be proof & a sign that God could be believed & trusted.
Sometimes a prophecy was fulfilled soon after it was made.

Sometimes the fulfillment was hundreds of years later, like this one.

 

This prophecy was written 700 years before it was fulfilled.

Matt. 1:21-23 tells us the angel told Joseph, 

²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, 

for he will save his people from their sins.” 

²² All this took place to fulfill what

the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 

 

So, both Mary & Joseph received signs that confirmed what they were told.

Jesus’ birth was not his beginning.
It was his beginning in human form, but Jesus existed long prior - from the very beginning.

In the year 1809 the world was in an upheaval.

Napoleon was sweeping through Austria and soldiers from many countries were dying on the battlefield.

The fate of entire kingdoms and nations hung in the balance and the world seemed on the very edge of collapse.

 

It was 1809...

And in that same year several significant people were born.
In Britain, there was William Gladstone born to become one of England’s finest statesmen.

And Alfred Lord Tennyson, born to be a great author of his day.

In the US - Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge.

In Boston, Edgar Allen Poe began his eventful, albeit tragic, life.
It was also in that same year that Charles Darwin was born.
And in a rugged cabin in Kentucky, Abraham Lincoln was born.

 

If there had been a news broadcast back in 1809

I am sure that these words would have been heard:

“The destiny of the world is being shaped

on an Austrian battlefield today.”

But, history was actually being shaped in the cradles of England and America.

Every age has its dangers.
Eventually every nation faces difficulties.

Even today in the US we’re concerned with financial troubles, international terrorism, and political uncertainty.

Every nation, sooner or later, will face threats and perils that will make them believe that the destiny of the world is being shaped by that day’s events. And they will see their future as bleak, dark, and hopeless.

And yet, in every age, the birth of a child can make a significant impact on their destiny.
Back in the days of Isaiah, the world looked dark, and bleak, and hopeless.

The nation of Israel had turned their back on God and God, in His turn, had turned His back on them.

It was going to be a time of darkness.

A time of hopelessness.
But… just a few verses later, God said there will be a time of hope and light – hope and light brought by the birth of a child.

 

Look at Isaiah 9:2
The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.
Yes, Israel, you have walked in darkness.
Yes, Israel you have been living in the land of the shadow of death.
But there will be hope.

 

And then in verse 6 He tells them why.
For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

A counselor is someone you listen to.
Someone who gives you guidance or advice on things you think are important.

Newspaper columnist and counselor George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband.

"I not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him,

I want to hurt him as much as he has me."

 

Dr. Crane thought about that for a couple of moments and then suggested an ingenious plan.
"Go home and act as if you really love your husband,” He told her. “Tell him how much he means to you.

Praise him for every decent trait.

Go out of your way to be as kind and considerate and generous as possible.

Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him.

After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him… then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce.

That will really hurt him."

With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!"
And she did it with enthusiasm.

For two months she acted "as if," she loved him.

She was kind to him; she listened to him.

She was constantly giving, reinforcing, sharing.
Two months went by…

and she didn’t return to her counselor, so Crane called her.

 

"Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?"

"Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never!

I discovered I really do love him."

A counselor is someone you listen to.
Someone you accept advice from.

The problem for Israel is that they had gotten into the habit

of listening to the wrong counselors.

Look with me at Isaiah 9:19
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
    the land is scorched,
and the people are like fuel for the fire;
    no one spares another.

There were men in Israel who were giving the people bad advice.

These men were advising Israelites to listen to someone other than God –

mediums and spiritists and folks that said they talked to the dead.

Apparently, these men were trusted enough by the people to be taken seriously.
And because Israel listened to these counselors, their nation was going to suffer terribly.

And so, God was telling His people: You’re walking in darkness, in the shadow of death, because you’ve listened to the wrong counselors.

BUT REJOICE because unto you a child is born, unto you a son is given and He’s going to be a wonderful counselor. He’s going to be someone you can listen to and know His advice is right.

You’ll be able to stake your life on what He tells you.
No mortal man or woman is going to be able to be capable of giving you advice that will be anywhere as good as His.

Now, I don’t want you to get the impression that I’m saying we are not to take advice.
Proverbs 15:21-22 tells us,

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
    but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
Without counsel plans fail,
    but with many advisers they succeed.
A wise person heeds the advice of people he can trust.
A wise Christian seeks the advice of his elders.
A wise child looks to his parents for advice.
A wise husband talks things over with his wife
And a wise women listens to the counsel of her husband.

There are many skilled and trained counselors that can help you with your finances, marriage, guilt, etc..

No matter what issue you need help with, there are people out there who are trained to help you. Counselors who sincerely want to help you.

You see there are many “Good” counselors in this world.
But none can compare with the “Wonderful counselor.
That’s because - when Jesus came – He came fully understanding the basic problem we face.

Matthew 1:21-22 says Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
    but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
Without counsel plans fail,
    but with many advisers they succeed.
One of the repeated pieces of advice

Jesus gave people during his ministry was this:
“Go and sin no more” (John 5:14; 8:11)
Don’t make excuses for it.
Don’t try to ignore it or explain it away.
Sin isn’t going to go away on its own.
We must deal with it.
We must confront it.
And the only way we can deal effectively with sin

is to realize that only the Wonderful Counselor

can help us remove sin’s power and guilt.

Paul said it this way:  ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.—1^st Corinthians 1:22-25

Jesus is the wonderful counselor because He IS the power and the wisdom of God.
Jesus is the one who can give us the power to help us overcome sin… and the wisdom to know how to deal with our sins when we fall prey to them.

The counselors of this world CAN help you with your problems.
But they can only help you so much.
By contrast, Jesus (the Wonderful Counselor) has the ability to help us deal with the root cause of our problems.

 

As Hebrews tells us:
¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near

to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

You see: Jesus understands our problems.

He’s sympathetic to our failure.

 

But He’s too good a counselor to just let us do what we want and ignore the consequences.
He knows our problems and He has counsel to help us deal with our sins.
The key of course is this: listen to… and follow His advice.

So, have you done that?
Have you let Jesus be your counselor?
Have you asked for His guidance

and His advice in your problems?

 

God is in the business of providing unmistakable signs. Unfortunately, some people pass God's signs off as just some weird coincidence.

The religious leaders asked for signs out of skepticism & unbelief. Asking for a sign when we need clarification is one thing, but demanding a sign in order for God to prove Himself is not good.

Pharisees and Sadducees often challenged Jesus with questions that tested his authority and knowledge of God’s will.

 

They did not believe in Jesus as the Messiah or the Son of God,
but rather as a clever teacher or a false prophet.

We can trust in Jesus’ words and deeds as sufficient signs of his identity and authority.

We can also examine our own hearts and motives when we ask for signs or doubt God’s promises.
Do we seek God out of love or fear?
Do we believe in Jesus as the Son of God?
Do we follow him with faithfulness or disobedience?

 

The shepherds believed the angel, followed the sign & saw the evidence.
Because they did this, they experienced a joyous event that undoubtedly changed their lives forever.
Those who ignore the signs miss out on the joy that would change their lives forever too.

 

INVITATION: Which do you value more, the toys & trinkets of this life that will eventually crumble into dust, or a relationship with Jesus Christ that will last forever?
Do you want to find what you're looking for?
Follow the signs to Jesus.

 

The Savior of the World

John 4:27-42

 

INTRODUCTION: Good morning church. When we looked at John chapter 4 last, we left off halfway through a scene in which Jesus encounters a woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well.

 

We saw Jesus engaging in conversation with this woman, and He's trying to move her from a physical, shallow mindset toward opening her spiritual mind and spiritual eyes. This has been a common sub-theme we've seen in John’s gospel: Jesus' need to awaken people from their spiritual blindness.

 

That was the setup for us in chapter 1 and has been shown to us in chapters 2 and 3. Interestingly, this is going to occur again.

 

To set our scene, Jesus and the woman are having this discussion about living water. Jesus desires to impart living water to her. She does not understand that what He is offering is something greater than a flowing river or stream. Her assumption at this point is that He is saying, you wouldn't have to draw a bucket out of a well in the heat of the day. Jesus next tries to awaken her spiritual senses by asking her a question about her husband to get her to recognize that He is a man of God.

 

Seeing Jesus knows her situation, she finally understands that Jesus is having more than just a casual conversation with her. She asks Jesus, “Then where are we supposed to worship God? Here on this mountain or in Jerusalem?”

 

At this point we see Jesus describing to her that neither of those locations is important. Location is not it, but God is looking for people who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

 

Her answer to that was: when the Messiah comes, he'll answer all these things. “Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.””

 

I. True Satisfaction (John 4:27-34) – Read with me now, starting in verse 27, “27. Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28. So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29. “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30. They went out of the town and were coming to him.”[ESV]

A. The disciples had gone into the city of Sychar to get food. I wondered if perhaps they went to get food with some foreknowledge by Jesus, to move them aside as He's going to engage this woman in a spiritual discussion. We are not told.

1. The disciples return and see Jesus speaking with this woman, and they are surprised at this. In their minds, they don't say it out loud; they marveled that He was talking with her. They don’t say anything, but it's on their minds, “What is He doing?”

2. We often see in the Gospels that Jesus knows the hearts and minds of people. Here, He uses this as an opportunity to teach the disciples. In verse 28, we read that the Samaritan woman, in her excitement, leaves her water jar, goes into the town, and tells the people to come and see a man who could be the Christ. She has been moved from her spiritual darkness and blindness. She now sees what Jesus is offering, and she is sharing the good news with the people in the town about her encounter.

3. She goes into that town, and she begins to tell the people, I have met somebody who knows my life history. When he asked me about my husband, I said I don't have a husband. He then went on and told me about all my past husbands. Is this the Christ? Has the Messiah truly arrived? Come and see.

4. That's all transpiring in the town. Notice that they are now leaving and heading toward the well where Jesus is. That scene is important to what Jesus is doing as He has this discussion with His disciples.

B. The focus of the story then shifts away from the woman to how Jesus teaches these disciples. We're going to look at what Jesus is teaching and think about how we can apply it to ourselves. These are great lessons for us about what it means to be a true follower and disciple of Jesus.

1. Verse 31. “31. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32. But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33. So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34. Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.”

2. Notice that Jesus is speaking to His disciples as the people from the town are beginning to make their approach. The disciples went into the town to get food. They have been on a long journey, and we saw at the beginning of the chapter that Jesus is weary. He is at the well, the disciples come back, and they are now concerned about their master and saying, “You need to eat”.

3. Jesus says something astounding to them. He says I have food to eat that you do not know about. Rightly, the disciples are mystified by this. Who got him something to eat? Has anybody seen him eat? How did he get food?

C. This is the fourth time now that we've seen this kind of thing in John's gospel. They are considering only the physical and showing a lack of spiritual understanding. Jesus is attempting to move them to think beyond physical food.

1. That's why he says in verse 34, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. My food, my sustenance, my wellbeing, everything that sustains me is in doing the will of God and accomplishing His work. That is what it is all about.

2. What we see Jesus doing is exemplifying the very answer that He gave Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness. Man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Here that is on display. He wasn't just saying that as a scripture reference, but here it is in truth. Jesus’ concern is not about having a meal right now.

3. Jesus is teaching His disciples that there is no greater satisfaction in life. To the twelve He is saying; “you can't bring me anything better or more satisfying than what I am experiencing right now with teaching this woman”— as the multitudes are beginning to make their way to that well.

D. We see an excitement, and a joy with Jesus, in trying to move His disciples to think in spiritual terms. It's not about the physical. It's not about looking for what will sustain us in this world. True life, true food, true satisfaction is only going to be found in doing the will of God. That should have a very profound impact on how we perceive and live our lives.

1. The true disciple finds their sustenance in doing the will of God. That is the most important thing, and that will be what sustains us. It is not our work, wealth, marriage, or food. There are many things we often perceive to be so important. These things do not satisfy and do not sustain us.

2. The most important thing, our highest priority, is to do the will of God. That's where our joy comes from, and that's what true life is all about. That's what Jesus is showing His disciples. Now the people from the town are coming, and this isn’t the time to sit down to eat. There are bigger things to do right now because an opportunity is approaching. This is the highest, the most important thing for the disciples of Jesus.

3. Jesus is leading them to consider the true priorities in life. What should be the most important thing to me is God's will and His work being done. It is not my own physical desires, nor fulfilling my needs. It is doing the will of God. That is what is going on in this story. Their concern when they came back was not asking about the conversation with the woman or wondering why the people were coming, but… we need to eat.

4. This is the same thing Jesus was showing the woman at the well, there's nothing else that satisfies. Jesus described to the woman; “When you drink from this well, you will be thirsty again. Of the water that I'm going to give you, you will never thirst again.” This is the only place for that kind of satisfaction. Jesus has been teaching the disciples the very thing He was teaching the woman.

5. He used water to teach the woman, and now uses food to teach the disciples. I have food, and I am satisfied. I do not need anything else because this is the most important thing.

E. We, as disciples, are to understand that should be the thing to drive our lives. That is what sustains us, doing God's will, seeking God's will, accomplishing His work, and it should be our highest priority.

II. True Urgency (John 4:35-38) – As Jesus leads His disciples, the next thing He shows them is a sense of urgency. Verse 35. “35. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”” In verse 35, we have a picture of urgency.

A. Keep in mind what has just happened - The woman has told the people; Come and see, Is this the Messiah, is this the one? Then they went out of the town and were heading to Him while the discussion between Jesus and the disciples was going on. This is not simply a theoretical statement, the fields are ripe to harvest, get to work. Jesus tells them to lift their eyes and look. What do they see? The people are coming. Do you see that the field is ripe for harvest?

1. For me, that makes sense of the story. Jesus starts by saying you are used to waiting some months between planting the seed and the harvest. Then He says, Open your eyes, right now is the opportunity, it is now we're going to be doing something.

2. This is the food of Jesus: to do God’s will, which specifically is to teach these Samaritans so they can have eternal life. Verses 36-38 describe what is transpiring. The disciples have done none of the sowing, but they will be doing the reaping as the crowd comes to Jesus. Jesus and the woman have done the sowing. Their work has led to the reaping.

3. Look, do you see all these people? Do you see the souls? Now is the time, for the harvest is ready. The seed's been planted. Now is the time to reap. You have a saying at planting, we will wait four months, and then there's a harvest. But look, we have it now!

4. There's an urgency, an excitement, and that's the way Jesus' disciples are supposed to be. There is an urgency, an intensity in longing to save souls. When we understand that true satisfaction is in God, then we will have an urgency to share that good news and help save souls, because that is the very work of God.

B. Thinking of John 3:16-17, where we are told God sent His Son to save people, to save the condemned… we realize that this is God’s will. If I understand that true satisfaction, true food is doing the will of God, and God's will is to save sinners, then I must have an urgency to accomplish the will and the work of God. That is what Jesus is leading His disciples to see.

1. They were not thinking along those lines but thinking of lunch. Jesus is teaching them, I'm here to do the will of God, to accomplish His work, and that is why I was talking with this woman, because I'm here to save the world.

2. That is what it is all about. Saving people happens by talking to them, not passing by them. The disciples would have just ignored this woman. They would have said Jesus, we’ve got the food and you need to eat. Jesus says, That's not food. My food is to do the will of God.

C. It is absolutely our urgency and priority to open our mouths and speak the good news to people. It is important to understand that the good news of salvation cannot be transmitted or communicated any other way except by opening our mouths.

1. It's easy for us to be led into a misnomer; if I keep my nose clean, do good moral acts, everybody will see and follow Christ that way, right? Maybe, but more likely not. What if they don't know that you're glorifying God by your good works? They need to know the reason why you're doing the good that you're doing. Doing good is good, but we must let people know why we're doing the good that we're doing.

2. We must communicate to people the reason for our hope, the reason for our actions, and explain to them that it's because we are disciples of Christ. If we are quiet and do good, people may not know that we are His disciples, and that is the reason for our lifestyle.

III. True Work (John 4:39-42) – The disciples did not understand why Jesus was talking to the woman, and the woman tells the whole town that she thinks she has found the Christ. She goes into the town proclaiming that there is a man at the well who knows her life story. Now we are at verse 39. “39. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40. So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41. And many more believed because of his word. 42. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.””

A. The woman had gone into the town and told them to come and see. I would like us to consider what she knew. Did she have a master's degree in Old Testament law? How much did she have to know to be able to be effective in reaching this town? Not an awful lot. All she had to do was say, I think I found something. Why don't you come check it out with me? That's all she does.

1. She grasps that she must share this good news, and that's what she's declaring in verse 29. “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” All that I've ever done. Next we read that people believe because of her testimony.

2. I want us to consider that this is a tremendous way that disciples can reach out to the world. Simply tell people, come and see. There are many ways we can present ‘come and see’ to people, and I’ll mention a few.

3. We can speak to them and say, Come and see where I worship God. By inviting them to join us as we worship God on the Lord's day. We can invite them and say, “I want you to come and see why my life is different. It's because of how Jesus has changed me. Come and see.”

4. Listen to the word of God online. Here are some interesting links. Come and see. Look what I found in scripture. We'll sit down and read the Bible together. I want you to check out what I've checked out. I want you to experience something that I've experienced myself.

B. They believed based on her testimony. They came to see, and then later they say, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves.” We believe too.

1. All of us can tell people about how Jesus has changed our lives and ask them to come and experience the same. We can tell people about the new birth that is available. We must never underestimate what we are able to do because it is the power of God and His word that saves. We are simply inviting people to come and see.

2. Consider how Jesus did it in this story. It required a conversation that penetrated through the material, physical, darkened mind, to try to open the shades, to show the light so that they could see what God is doing for them. We must do the same thing.

C. I think most of us grasp that we have a world that is steeped in darkness. A world so concentrating on the here and now, and the physical, that it does not think about eternity. It does not think about the final result. People do not like to think about questions like; What's going to happen when we die? Do you think that there's a God?

1. What makes you think that there's no God? Isn't it odd all the order that's in this system? Isn't it interesting that there's a natural rhythm to music? It's even mathematical. It's amazing to me the complexities of all kinds of things in life. Why is it that these things are like this? Is there a purpose to life? Why are we here?

2. There are lots of things that we can say to people to help chisel away that physical, darkened mind set and hopefully transform it into spiritual thinking. We need to look at what Jesus did with this woman and consider that kind of conversation.

D. Really the pinnacle of the story is found there in verse 42. Notice that these are Samaritans. They are a people hated by the Jews. The Messiah was supposed to be a Messiah for the Jews. These Samaritans come to a great understanding... They understand He's not the Savior of the Jews. He's the Savior of the world. They come to an amazing reality. This is the One. This is who we've been looking for, and He is for all people.

1. Consider what we've seen in John's Gospel. Jesus has come to His own already in the first few chapters and His own have not received Him. Now He's in Samaria and this whole town is saying, We believe. We know that You're the Savior of the world.

2. Here are people that you might expect to be the least receptive to the Gospel. These people that you would suppose to be the least likely, the people that we, like the disciples, might check off the list and say, they wouldn't want to hear anything about this. Let's just get lunch.

3. We can't do that. We cannot filter people ourselves. The opportunity of the Gospel must be given to everybody. That's the theme of what this book has been about. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. He is the Savior of the world.

E. Many more Samaritans come to believe as Jesus stays there in Samaria for two days. John records for us an important truth as this section ends. The Samaritans recognize that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Jesus is not the Savior for the Jews alone. He is not a Jewish Messiah. He is the Savior of the world. He has come to save every person, regardless of heritage and background, not just the Jewish people. The theme of universal redemption continues to be a key theme for John in this gospel.

 

 

CONCLUSION: Let’s do a bit of a review of what happens in this encounter.

The "Living Water" Misunderstanding: Jesus offers the woman at the well "living water" (eternal life/the Holy Spirit). The woman, thinking literally about the physical well, asks for this water so she won't have to keep making the strenuous trip to draw water every day. The contrast between the profound spiritual offer and her practical, earthly response creates a moment of reflection for us.

 

The Disciples' Confusion Over "Food": After Jesus speaks with the woman, His disciples return with food and urge Him to eat. Jesus tells them, "I have meat to eat that ye know not of". The disciples, taking him literally, whisper among themselves, "Hath any man brought him ought to eat?". Jesus used their misunderstanding as a setup for a deeper spiritual lesson: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me".

 

The "Five Husbands" Exchange: When Jesus brings up her private life ("Go, call your husband"), the woman replies, "I have no husband". Jesus' response, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband," has a certain sharp wit to it. It's a statement that is both entirely true and a profound revelation of His divine knowledge.

 

Breaking Social Norms: The entire scenario, where a Jewish man (Jesus) engages in a public conversation with a Samaritan woman (a social and ethnic taboo), is a source of tension and a "breaking of the rules" that challenges the expectations of the time. The disciples are surprised to find Him talking to her at all.

 

These elements highlight how Jesus used everyday situations and common misunderstandings to engage people and deliver profound spiritual truths, often with a subtle, effective communication style that involved some form of irony or wordplay.

 

The secret to satisfaction is to do the Will of the Father. Jesus told the woman that the water He offers will cause us to never thirst again. Jesus taught His disciples that He has food that they do not know about, because He is sustained by doing the Father’s Will.

 

The living water is to continue to flow, through us, from Jesus, to the rest of the world. Experiencing grace and recognizing God’s Will to save the world, compels us to tell others to come and see the changed life that can be found in Jesus.

You are the light of the world, shining in the darkness, trying to open the eyes of the blind. Do not turn off your light. Do not hide your light.

 

The message is yours. We are about to sing our invitation song. If anyone here has the need to be baptized into Christ, or needs the prayers of faithful people, the invitation is there for you to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville

HOW DOES OUR REACTION AFFECT OUR OUTCOME?

Proverbs 15:1

 

A few minutes before the church services started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews and talking.

Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church.

Everyone started screaming and running towards the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from this form of evil.

Soon everyone had exited the church except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew without moving, seeming oblivious to the fact that God’s ultimate enemy was in his presence.

 

So, Satan walked up to the old man and said, “Don’t you know who I am?”

The man replied, “Yep, sure do.”

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Satan asked.

“Nope, sure ain’t.” said the man.

“Don’t you realize I can kill you with a word?” asked Satan.

“Don’t doubt it for a minute,” returned the old man, in an even tone.

“Did you know that I could cause you profound, horrifying, physical AGONY for all eternity?” persisted Satan.

“Yep,” was the calm reply.

“And you’re still not afraid?” asked Satan.

“Nope.”

More than a little perturbed, Satan asked, “Well, why aren’t you afraid of me?”

The man calmly replied, “Been married to your sister for over 48 years.”

 

This morning, we will look at how individuals handle items.

As a math teacher, I have come across hundreds of equations over the years, and one stands out over all the rest…

Experience plus Reaction equals Outcome.

The way we react to a situation often shapes not just the immediate outcome, but also the long-term ripple effects.

 

If I had to put a title on this morning’s sermon, it would be our reaction decides our outcome.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

 

Our reaction is often the only part of a situation we truly control. By choosing patience, humility, and wisdom, we can transform challenges into opportunities for growth — both for ourselves and those around us.

Our reactions don’t just affect outcomes externally — they shape our own hearts and way of life.

 

For my sermon this morning I will be using verses and stories found throughout the Old and New Testament that are very familiar to most of us. This sermon is a follow-up to my sermon from LAST SUNDAY.

 

We know there’s a serpent that comes to Eve.

In verse two, the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has said you shall not eat of it. Neither shall ye touch it lest ye shall die.

We think about all that we have in our world today—so much we are blessed with. Yet, God has said there are certain things that we are not to do.

Man says: Eat, drink, and be merry. Live unto the day for myself. That’s what Satan says, but it’s not what God says.

 

In verse four, the serpent says: You shall NOT surely die.

There is no respect for God in this equation.

Eve had an experience where she is tempted with someone saying, “God didn’t mean it.”

God put you in this garden. You and Adam are here.

He didn’t mean that you should die.

 

If you eat the fruit, you’ll be as wise as God. You’ll become smarter.

BUT Actually, they become more foolish, don’t they?

We have a lot of individuals in our world today who say the more they study, the more they understand.

We must be mistaken. The world is much older than what God could have created, and that’s what science says must have happened and many buy into this way of reasoning.

We take an experience and the question is what is our reaction to the experience.

We could be like Adam and Eve.

We could easily give in to the temptation, or we could say, “We know what God said and we will go by what God said.”

 

In Genesis chapter four, we have two individuals—Cain and Abel. We know that there are offerings that take place.

In verse four, Abel brought the first of his flock, the best, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering.

Going on in verse five, unto Cain’s offering He had not respect. Cain was very wroth and his countenance fell.

The Lord said unto Cain, “Why are you wroth and why has your countenance fallen?”

 

We have different ways of worshiping God.

There are individuals that say they don’t need to attend services. They can just read and believe what they want.

They can be their own religion.

They don’t need to gather together on the first day of the week like the examples we have of early Christians.

 

We have here two offerings. One is acceptable to God and one that’s not. How do we react to what God has said?

We know God expects an offering, as the example shows.

He expects us to give back our best. He expects the best of us. We have an example. How do we react to that?

Based on our reaction we have an outcome.

 

We see that one individual that was pleasing to God, and all is well. We have the other individual whose offering was not pleasing to God. He ends up killing his brother.

The outcome is not very good at all.

 

Let’s go on to Genesis chapter six. We have Noah.

We have a time period in which it is said repent, repent.

Turn unto the Lord. In verse eight Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation and he walked with God.

Can that be said of us?

 

You hear people talk about the dash in our lives.

On our tombstones there will be a dash.

You live from this date to that date.

What is important is what you do with that dash.

We know that Noah was a just man.

It’s nice to note that he walked with God.

His experience is that God meant what He said.

That is how he reacted to God.

God is the One that we need to follow.

His outcome is good.

In verse 13 God says to Noah:

“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

 

Remember back in verse five that God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of his heart was evil continually.
We look at our society. We listen to the news.

We see a lot of that in our society today.

We have a chance, learned from our experiences, to turn to God—to help others turn to God before it’s too late.

We need to look at the outcome.

 

 

Next we think of Gideon. Gideon had a lot of people to help him.

I know that Jesus said go to all nations, teaching.

Over the years, when I was younger, there were ministers that came for Gospel Meetings and wanted us to go door to door and knock.

Aren’t we supposed to talk to individuals about Jesus?

Yet, I remember sometimes knocking on a door and honestly not knowing if I wanted someone to answer the door or not.

We might have been thinking that I did my job.

I knocked on the door. Nobody answered so I left.

Did we really knock?

Were we excited if someone answered?

We have Gideon who had numbers.
We might be thinking, it would be nice if we had a bunch of people with us.

Four or five of you go up to the house and knock on the door.

You feel a little better. There’s more strength in numbers.

BUT What did God do with Gideon?

We are not going to show our numbers.

We’re not going to give you strength in numbers as you approach your enemy.

We are going to reduce the numbers.
Can you imagine what Gideon’s first thought must have been?

I know what mine would be. We’re going to do what?

 

I think that Gideon understood when God says to him, “We have to reduce the numbers to show that I am with you.”
The strength and courage that Gideon must have had.

Here we have an experience.

When we look at our own lives, we’re faced with a lot of this.

 

 

 

These aren’t just stories in the Bible.

We have temptations just like Adam and others.

We are asked to offer of our best like Cain and Abel.
We are faced with an evil generation like Noah was.
We have the example of Gideon.

We look around and think there are only a few of us.

What did Jesus say? The fields are ripe unto harvest,

but the laborers are few. We have a few of us.

It is exhausting, but we need to move on to do that.

 

Then in I Samuel 17 we have David and Goliath.

We’ve mentioned in other sermons about the man who trusted only in himself because of his size and strength.

Goliath taunted the Israelites.

We know a lot of individuals that feel they have everything.

There are those who are wealthy.

 

In the New Testament there is a rich man who says, “I’ll rip down my barns and build new ones. I’ve got a lot. I’ve got it all.”
Then he hears a voice saying, “Thou fool, tonight thy soul shall be required of thee.”

 

What would we give in exchange for our soul?
We often talk about Solomon in all his greatness and wisdom. What was his final conclusion?

To serve God.

 

When we think about our experiences, what is our reaction?

We have examples in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
A lot of times we think those are just stories. Are they?
If you can really relate to our own everyday experiences many are very similar to the Biblical experiences.

With that in mind……….What is our reaction?

In our examples some of the reactions were good and some were bad. Some were positive.

We know that Noah was spoken of as walking with God.

Adam and Eve—not so much.

Cain and Abel, one favored in God’s sight and one not.

David and Goliath—Goliath trusted himself.

Many individuals trust in themselves.

Look at David who trusted in the Lord.

 

Remember the ten spies?

What would our report have been?

We know that only two came back with a positive report.

When we look at things, do we look at the positive, the potential that God gives us?

Or do we look at fear? Do look at what only man would see.

Without God we can be defeated.

Picture Gideon having that attitude.

What would happen if Gideon had looked at the 300 and said, “I don’t think so.”

 

What if Noah had said, “I’m going to build for how many years?

How big is this ark? What about rain? I’ve never even seen rain.”

How many times do we say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
When we look at what we’re blessed with, do we take the time to thank God?

 

We know that David was a humble man.

David would bow down and thank God for what he had.
Goliath, like many men in the world today, trusted in himself—his strength, his stature. How could he be defeated?

 

As we look at our experiences today, what is our reaction to them?

Do we trust in man, or do we trust in God?
In the example of the ten lepers who were healed ...

Do we take the time to go back and thank JESUS?

 

Often in our society today we hear OK as a substitute for “thank you”.

We try to teach our grandchildren that this is not acceptable.

You do something nice for someone and they might just say, “Oh, OK,” instead of saying thank you and being appreciative.
I think of that when we read about these ten.
Can you imagine having a disease where your skin just falls off?

I couldn’t even picture what that would be like.

I can’t imagine the decay and uncleanness of it.

The thankfulness you would feel for being healed of that.

It’s not just putting a Band-Aid on a wound.

Ten are healed of a terrible disease, but only one takes the time to go say thank you.

 

Jesus speaks about the few that will find that way.

We think about the number of people who are appreciative for what they have.

 

In Daniel chapter six we have a description of what Daniel went through.

My daughter had the opportunity to travel with her work.

When she was in Italy she sent a photo of the ruins of a coliseum.
I asked her if she saw any lions?

Her response was “No, but I saw the doors they came through.”

 

I started to wonder what that would have been like.

Daniel was in a pit, but it’s the same idea.
Could you imagine an arena made for the purpose of watching people being eaten by lions?

That was the entertainment they had, the experiences.

Daniel had a choice, didn’t he?

Daniel could have chosen NOT to pray to God and worship the statute like everyone else.

 

Yet, Daniel knew the strength he had in God, the faith he had in God. He did not know what God would do.

God never said, “Don’t worry. I’ll seal the mouths of the lions.”
Daniel was willing take the consequence.

All he knew was that he may lose his life.

It was possible that he would be devoured by those lions.

This did not change his reaction to the experiences he had.

His outcome was positive.

 

In Daniel chapter three, another popular scripture, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were told not to worship God. They ignore what everyone else was doing and continued to worship and pray.

Because of this they are thrown into a fiery furnace.

 

Have you ever been around heat?

I love to sit around a campfire as long as I have a little distance back from the fire.

It starts to get pretty hot when you get up close.

 

Can you imagine what God has described our punishment to be?

I can’t.
What will it be like to be in fire like that?
We know Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were safe.

Their experience was to believe in God, again, not knowing what their outcome would be.

 

Their reaction was faith in God and His message.

We know that their outcome was one of salvation.

Let’s look at our own lives.

We think about what has been promised.

 

He has promised us in Matthew chapter 25 a parting right and left, a judgment that will take place based on how we live our lives. Some will get a reward—a home with God in heaven.

Others will have that fiery furnace—a lake of fire.
We need to think about what the lake of fire will be like.

What will the heat be like?

There’s no cold water.

There is no quenching of the thirst.

There is no brightness.

There is no light.
I picture darkness.

 

The light will not be there.

There will be constant pain and agony.

I remind myself of that.
We all want to think about pleasurable things.

We must remember what God’s promise is, the outcome that we have.

We have experiences. God, through His word, encourages us to have reaction.

What is our reaction?

In the book of Hebrews chapter 11, we have many experiences listed and the reaction that God expects.

Look at what we have in our lives today. Look at the promise. Look at our experiences.

We know that we cannot go through life avoiding all temptation. What will our reaction be?

What is our path toward God?

That is our R factor.

We would want to have the positive.

What will help us keep on that path?

God’s word. As we read God’s word, we know what God wants us to do.

It is a positive to keeping us on that path.

Reading God’s word, praying to God, worshiping God, thanking Him for all we have,

following Jesus’ example, are all items that will keep us on that path.

What leads us to stray from that path?

Man’s thoughts, temptation, Satan tempting us, feeling we can do it ourselves, feeling we don’t need God’s help, all can keep us from doing what we should.

This morning we know Jesus asked what can we give in exchange for our souls?

We know it’s a very important question to answer.

What will we gain if we gain the whole world but lose our soul? Think about that this morning.

 

The Lying Tongue
Genesis 3: 1-8

Two little boys were at sitting together in a church during a wedding ceremony.

As the couple said “I do”, one of the little boys leaned over to the other and asked, “I wonder how many wives can a man have?”

The second little boy looked at his friend like he was an idiot and said, “He can have 16 wives.”

“How do you know that?” The first little boy asked.

“Weren’t you listening? The minister just said it. Four better, four worse, four richer, and four poorer.”

I also heard of a boy in high school taking biology, and he struggled throughout the class.  He consistently received a D grade.   When the report card was mailed home, he quickly intercepted the mail and using his computer skills changed the D into a B.  He did that each grade period.   He forgot though that the end of the year report card showed the accumulated grades as well as the final.   This final report was sent out by email to his mother.   When questioned he said, "there must and been a mistake mom".  Look at the reports we got.  His mother believed him.  Ironically the teacher had retired at the end of the school year and left the school system.  Also, somehow in her leaving the file got lost.  The only record then was what the mother had, the reports that her son had handed her.  His mother took them to the school and asked why the final report differed from the reports of each grade period.   Since the school thought that was only record now available so they changed his grade from a D to a B.  

 

The Bible tells us that God gave Adam and Eve every tree to eat from except one, and Genesis tell us there were plenty of other GOOD trees to eat from.
“And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground— trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food." Genesis 2:9a
So if that was true, (that they’d had all these other trees to eat from), then why did they do it?
It would be easy to say “The Devil made them do it”... but it’s more than that.
They picked the wrong item on the menu because they CHOSE to do so.
Eve CHOSE to disobey God.
Now Satan may have “talked her into it...” but SHE KNEW what God had said.
She knew God didn’t want her to eat of the tree.
She knew God had said that those who ate of the tree faced death.
But she CHOSE to eat of the tree anyway.
She made bad choices.
And her first choice occurred before Satan even spoke a word.
Satan said to the woman, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’" Genesis 3:1b-3
What did God say she couldn’t do? (EAT of the fruit)
What does Eve say God said she couldn’t do? (EAT & TOUCH the fruit)
God didn’t say she couldn’t touch the tree, He just said they couldn’t eat.
But she CHOSE to add that little restriction.
She CHOSE to add to God’s commandments.
She CHOSE to improve on God’s will.
And that was all the wiggle room Satan needed to begin playing with her mind.
Why would that give Satan “wiggle room”?
Because once you get used to the idea that you can improve on God’s Word... when you believe you can change it when you want to... when you accept that you can tinker with God’s will for your life... then it gets easier to improve on other things God commanded.

There was a preacher named Wayne Smith who was something of a cut-up on stage. He mentioned once that in English Class they taught him that using 2 negatives in a sentence made a positive statement. And he said that, since that was true “The way I figure it, if I know I’m lying, and God knows I’m lying – I gotta be telling the truth!”

Famous American Fibs
- I'm almost there.

- My phone died.

- You look great.

- That was delicious.

- No, you haven't changed a bit.

- I'll call you right back.

- It wasn't that expensive.

- It was on sale.

- I was stuck in traffic.

- I never got that message.

- Your luggage isn't lost; it is only misplaced.

- This hurts me more than it will hurt you.

- I just need five minutes of your time.

- Let's have lunch sometime.

 

Lying seems to be a way of life for many people. We lie at the drop of a hat. The book The Day American Told the Truth says that 91 percent of those surveyed lie routinely about matters they consider trivial, and 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents, 75 percent to friends, 73 percent to siblings, and 69 percent to spouses.
A store manager heard his clerk tell a customer, “No, ma’am, we haven’t had any for a while, and it doesn’t look as if we’ll be getting any soon.” Horrified, the manager came running over to the customer and said, “Of course we’ll have some soon. We placed an order last week.” Then the manager drew the clerk aside. “Never,” he snarled, “Never, never, never say we’re out of anything- say we’ve got it on order and it’s coming. Now, what was it she wanted anyway?” The clerk said, “Rain!”

Spouses lie to one another in the name of keeping the peace, parents lie to their own children and vice versa, employers and employees just the same. Advertisers lie to sell products. Politicians lie in order to spin things their way.
But the Lord included the subject of lying in one of the 10 commandments of the Old Testament, and I believe He takes this sin very seriously.
Revelation 21:8 ”But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Revelation 22:15 ”For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”
Mark Twain said a lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up her boots. It’s natural to lie, and there’s something about our nature that enjoys it. We like reading tabloids, or hearing gossip.

Lying is easy, but the truth is oftentimes hard.
Are you known to be a truly honest person, or do people have to question you and wonder about your genuineness? Do you have a reputation as a liar, or do people know what you say is true? Is your word as good as your signature? Do you do what you say you will do? Do you tell the truth even when it will cost you something?
The Bible has a lot to say about lying:
Proverbs 6 lists lying as one of the 7 things the Lord hates. “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”
The poet said, “You can fool the public and be a secret fraud, you can try to hide your lying, but you can’t fool God!”

1.   The Origin of lying.

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
So we’re a lot like Satan when we lie. Almost every time we see the devil in Scripture he’s lying...
The first time we see Satan in the Bible he lies about God to man.

Lying about God to man:
• Satan lies About the truthfulness of God—“Hath God said?” Questioning God’s Word is skating on thin ice. Yet many question God’s Word all the time today. We are not to stand in judgment w/ whether it makes sense or is PC or not. The Word is to stand in judgment of us, not the other way around.
• Satan lies About the righteousness of God—“Ye shall not surely die”. In other words, God won’t judge you if you sin.
• Satan lies About the goodness of God—“God is trying to keep back from you good things!”

The next time Satan appears in the Bible is in the book of Job. This time he’s in the courts of heaven and he’s lying about man to God.
Satan Lying about man to God:
“The only reason Job obeys you is because you’re so good to him.” What a liar. To Adam and Eve he says that God isn’t good enough, and now he’s saying that God is too good!
We see Satan again at the crucifixion. This time he lies to man, knowing that man will then lie about Jesus.
He put it in the hearts of many to bear false witness against Jesus in the kangaroo court they put together.
In Genesis he uses a lie to corrupt a godly man.
In Job he uses a lie to criticize a good man.
In the New Testament he uses a lie to crucify the God Man.
In Revelation he embodies the antichrist, who tells a lie so big and believable that it brings about the end of the world.
So, from beginning to end, Satan is a liar! And when we lie we align ourselves with everything that brings death, destruction, doom and damnation to this world. Sin is what leads to death, but that sin was brought about by a lie!
Don’t take lying lightly. There’s no such thing as a little white lie. God is truth, and anything less than truth is wrong...IT IS SIN!

2.   The Operation of lying.

Lying has many faces. Lying has many children in its family.
Here’s 7 ways people often lie without even thinking about it:

• Slander
Psalm 101:5 “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off:”
This is lying with the intention of doing harm to another’s reputation.
Some sins are worse than others in terms of damage done. If I steal from you I can return the item. But if I spread lies about you I may not be able to ever undo the far-reaching effects.

There was a man who spread lies about his neighbor. Then one day he repented, and asked the minister how he could make it right. The minister told him to get some feather pillows and rip them open, and place one feather on every porch in their community. It seemed strange, but the man did what he was told. He went back to the preacher and said he was done. The preacher said, no, you’re not. Now go back and pick up all the feathers. “But I can’t” said the man. The wind has taken them who knows where!”
To which the minister said, “So it is with the words you have spoken about your neighbor.”
When we slander someone’s reputation we do irreparable damage. And we’ll answer to God for it!

• Talebearing—this person loves to tell things. They share ‘news’. But they don’t care if their facts are correct or not. This is gossip. Rumors. Don’t spread it. Try to stop others from doing it. Don’t repeat gossip
1^st Timothy 5:13 “And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.”
Leviticus 19:16 “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people:”
Next time you’re enjoying listening to someone gossip, remember this fact: Anyone who will gossip TO you, will gossip ABOUT you!

 

• Flattery—insincere praise...saying something to someone’s face that you would never say behind their back. Salesmen are often bad about this. Kids are too. Most of our children have learned how to compliment us first when they want something.
Psalms 55:21 “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.”
When someone starts buttering you up, remember that they are probably about to have you for lunch!

• Half truths—not telling the whole story. A parent asks their teen where they are going. “To Andy’s house.” That’s true, but they leave out where they’re going from there. You break the spirit of the law when you do this. This is why in court you swear to not just tell the truth, but ‘the whole truth.’ Half the truth equals a whole lie.

• Excuses—they are just dressed up lies.
The origin is Satan, the operation of lying...it comes in many forms...
Now, how do we overcome Lying?
Every negative command could be reworded positively. For instance. Thou shalt not commit adultery could be rephrased, Thou shalt be sexually pure. We could say today, Thou shalt tell the truth. And truth is the very character and nature of our God. Jesus said I am the truth. He called the Holy Spirit the spirit of truth. The truth sets us free!

3.   How to overcome lying:

• Love the truth. This is a heart change. David spoke of ‘truth in the inward parts.’ You see, a person is not a liar because they tell lies...they tell lies because they are a liar. We need an inward change.
2^nd Thessalonians 2:10 “...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

• Learn the truth.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Saturate your mind w/ good things, like the Word of God. The truth sets you free. It’s how Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, with the truth of Scripture!

 

• Live the truth.
Ephesians 4:25 “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:”
Be accountable to others. Be open to others stopping you when you gossip or slander. Immediately confess, immediately correct, and immediately commit yourself to the truth.
Right now Satan wants to sell you a lie...don’t fall for it like Adam and Eve.

He’ll tell you: there is no God,
There is no heaven,
There is no hell,
OR that there is no hurry.

But today we can read from Hebrews 3:12-15 ”12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.””

And, Acts 2:36-38 tells us: 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “

So, we must NOT lie to God...

WE need to admit our sins and be baptized!

Singing and Giving Thanks
Text: Psalms 137: 1-4 & Ephesians 5: 18-19

A woman invited a group of her friends to Thanksgiving dinner.

At the table, grandma turned to her six-year-old granddaughter and asked her, "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," the little girl replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," grandma said.

The little girl bowed her head and said: "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

I would like to start by taking us on a trip down memory lane for a minute and go back to the Old Disney Movie - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

There is a famous song that says “Whistle While You Work” the Lyrics are - Just whistle while you work
And cheerfully together

we can tidy up the place
So hum a merry tune
It won't take long

when there's a song

to help you set the pace

And as you sweep the room
Imagine that the broom

is someone that you love
And soon you'll find

you're dancing to the tune
When hearts are high

the time will fly

so whistle while you work

So whistle while you work.

 

This song written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey is a perfect illustration of how we can emphasize the fun rather than the monotony of work.

You might be asking yourself why am I talking about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, is he reliving his childhood - NO - but I want to talk on the subject of “Singing.”

Music has had a profound influence on the culture of the United States and the world. People all over the world love to sing.

I for one love to sing. Most people love to sing whether or not they can carry a tune. You must understand that there’s something positive... something healthy in the act of raising our voices in song.

In fact, there’s solid scientific evidence to prove that singing is, in fact, good for your body and your mind. Singing can lift our spirits and can create a heart of THANKSGIVING!
In the Bible singing isn’t just good for us it is a command to us. So we need to Keep On Singing!

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 137:1-4 says By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song, and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?

James 5:13 says “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
Singing provides a direct experience and feeling of happiness. It’s a mood lifter & anti-depressant with no side effects.
Singing can be done to express any of the 12 different emotions interest, surprise, joy, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, hostility, fear, shame, shyness, and guilt.

But when we find singing in the Bible it is usually pointing to times of joy and rejoicing and it is so vitally connected with our worship toward God.
I remember some advice my grandmother Fidler would say when I had to do something I really didn’t want to do – I can hear her say “Sing a song while you are doing it and before you know it you will be done”. She was often heard singing church songs while working around the house.

I didn’t understand it then ... but what she was instilling in me was wisdom because she knew that when you have a song in your heart and you sing that song... it will
change your mood,
affect your attitude,
alter your altitude
and carry you through whatever it is you are going through.

In our text the Children of Israel had been captured and are now in captivity in a strange land in Babylon. While under the oppression of the Babylonians they thought of their homeland and longed to free.
They thought of the former glory they once had and began to mourn and cry utterly for what they had been taken away from. They took their harps and hung them on the tree by the river and refused to sing because of the oppression they were under. They lost their song.

Singing isn’t an option in Scripture. It’s a command:

Colossians 3:16 says “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”.

 

Ephesians 5:18-19 says “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord”

Paul lays out this exhortation to let God’s Word dwell in us richly, and then, he tells us how to live out that command. The first, of course, is teaching and admonishing but then he says singing! Singing is one of the two chief ways in which God’s Word dwells in us richly.
We can study the Bible to learn about God. When we sing songs based on scripture... we also learn about God... for example: we all remember the Sunday School song “Jesus Loves Me this I know for the Bible tells me so little ones to Him belong they are weak, but He is strong”. From this song we learn that Jesus both loves and cares about us AND that He is STRONG ENOUGH to overcome anything we face in our daily lives.

When we sing as a congregation, we build up each other. We are hearing the testimonies of faith all around us! Singing helps to build people up emotionally and spiritually.

Psalm 105:2 says, “Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works”.
When we sing, we declare war against our adversary.

In 2 Chronicles 20 we find King Jehoshaphat, who was an extraordinarily strong and wise man, and one who served the Lord with all his heart. He took away the idols that the people had been worshiping and turned the hearts of the people to the Lord.
One day a message came to him that an enemy army was coming against his people.

He at once did the right thing and turned to the Lord asking for help. He told all the people to pray and said that God would fight the battle for them.

“The battle is not yours, but God’s. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD.”
Early the next morning the people started out to the battle. Then he appointed certain ones as singers to go out in front of the soldiers.

 

This is the song they should sing,
2 Chronicles 20: 21-22 ...And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
Soon it was learned that the enemy had had a battle among themselves and had killed one another.

The Lord had caused the enemy army to be destroyed before God’s people reached them.
The king and his army went down to the battlefield and found so much spoil that it took three days to gather it all up and carry it home. They rejoiced and thanked the Lord for giving them the victory over their enemies that worshiped idols.

When things seem to be going wrong all around you and the enemy threatens you sing praises to God and watch Him fight your battle?

A singing heart... is a heart at war with the evil one and the power of sin.
When you sing, you are spiritually strengthened for trials.
In Acts 16 Paul and Silas are unjustly imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel, and while they are in prison they began to sing and pray and in the midnight hour God opened the prison doors. Now they didn’t leave but the prison guard and his whole family were saved.

I said it is scientifically proven that singing is good for you.
Well, you know I like the numbers and their meaning in scripture. The number 10 means Divine Order,
there are the 10 commandments, the 10 plagues,
10 generations lived on earth before the flood,
in Genesis Chapter 1 the phrase “God said” is found 10 times,
the 10th day of the 7th month in the Jewish calendar is The Day of Atonement,
etc.

Now let me give you 10 scientifically proven benefits of singing.

1. It Relieves stress:- Singing appears to be a stress-reliever. A 2017 study measured the amount of cortisol, the stress hormone, in participant’s saliva before and after they sang. Researchers in that study found that the amount of cortisol was lower after singing, an indication that people felt more relaxed after they had sung.

2. It Stimulates the immune response:- Singing can be a form of exercise that works the lungs and other parts of the body required to project one's voice. Singing may lead to a stronger diaphragm and stimulation of circulation due to the greater amount of oxygen needed to carry a tune.

There’s some evidence that singing may boost your immune system and help you fight off illnesses by producing higher levels of immunoglobulin A, an antibody your body secretes to help you fend off infections.

3. It Increases the pain threshold:- When you sing in a group, whether it’s large or small, the act of collective singing causes your body to release endorphins. This hormone can help promote positive feelings, and even change your perception of pain.

4. It May improve snoring:- Regular singing may change the way you breathe, even when you’re not singing. Researchers in a 2008 study interviewed the spouses of singers, along with the spouses of people who don’t sing. The researchers found that significantly fewer active singers snored.

This led them to recommend regular singing as a potential treatment for snoring.

5. It Improves lung function:- Because singing involves deep breathing and the controlled use of muscles in the respiratory system, it may be beneficial for certain lung and breathing conditions.
Studies have shown that the breathing techniques used with singing may offer benefits for people with the following conditions: chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis and others. While singing doesn’t treat or cure any of these conditions, you may benefit from gaining strength in your respiratory muscles.

6. It Develops a sense of belonging and connection:- When you sing together with others, you’re likely to feel the same kind of camaraderie and bonding that players on sports teams experience.
One of the neurochemicals released when people feel bonded together is oxytocin. Spontaneous, improvised singing causes your body to release this feel-good hormone, which may help give you a heightened sense of connectedness and inclusion.

7. It Enhances memory in people with dementia:- People with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia experience a gradual loss of memory. Studies have shown that people with these conditions were able to recall song lyrics more easily than other words.
Some the singers found they remembered more than just the lyrics. For some, singing familiar songs suddenly brought back life memories they had long forgotten.

8. It Helps with grief:- Singing in a group doesn’t just help you with physical pain; it may also help with the emotional pain you feel after you’ve lost someone you love.

9. It Improves mental health and mood:- A 2018 study done in the United Kingdom evaluated 20 people in a singing program known as The Sing Your Heart Out project. The participants included people with mental health conditions, as well as the general public. Researchers found that the participants reported improvements in their mental health, mood, sense of well-being, and feeling of belonging as a result of these singing workshops.

10. It Helps improve speaking abilities:- It has been proven that people who have a hard time with speech due to a neurological condition can benefit from singing.
Scientist have found that singing improves the speaking ability for people with: autism, Parkinson’s disease, and even stuttering.

Singing stimulates multiple areas of the brain at the same time. This may enable people with an impairment in one part of the brain to communicate using other areas of their brain.

John 10:10 says “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”. Don’t let the devil steal your song.

Don't Let Persecution Take Away Your Song. John 16:33 says “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”.

There is going to be persecutions that will you’re your way because our adversary is determined to kill steal and destroy you and he will try whatever he can to do this, but when persecution comes our way keep on singing.

Don't Let People Take Away Your Song. John 16:22 says, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you”.

Living in this day and age we truly see the depravity of man! Depravity speaks of the fallen nature of mankind. People are constantly hurting each other, you cannot pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV without hearing of some atrocity someone has committed against another.

Sadly, it isn't just the sinner who hurt others, even Christian people hurt one another! So many times, we find that they will lie and gossip about others.

They will do what we would never have imagined that they would do. Don't let people take away your song! Sing anyway!

- Some words of a Song by Kirk Franklin titled (Why I Sing) –
Someone asked a question
Why do we sing?
When we lift our hands to Jesus
What do we really mean?
Someone may be wondering
When we sing our song
At times we may be cryin'
And nothing's even wrong
And when we cross that river
We will sing our song to Jesus
The one whom we adore
I love Your name Jesus
Glory Hallelujah
For the rest of my life Jesus
You'll be the reason why I sing.

I pray that I have given you more reasons to sing. Remember when you sing, you glorify God. Singing has such a unique way of bringing our heart, soul, mind, and strength together to focus entirely and completely on God. In an age of distraction, singing grabs the attention of all our senses and focuses us on God.

Psalms 5:11 says “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.” There is an awesome joy that comes upon us when we enter into that secret place of the most High.

 

often circumstances of our everyday lives literally become a yoke leading us down a path of despair, discouragement and defeat. Singing changes our perspective of our situation and begins to lead us to a place of hope.

The Children of Israel lost their song during their captivity in Babylon, they even refused to sing I want to encourage you don’t lose your song.

Revelation 7:9-10 says, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb”.

This is just a glimpse of eternity when a great multitude of people from every tribe, peoples, and languages are singing before the Lamb.

On that day, will you be one of the great multitude that no one can number, singing the song of the Lamb, singing his praises?
Until then Keep On Singing.

 

Living Water

John 4:1-26

 

INTRODUCTION: Good morning church! The fourth chapter of John’s gospel tells a dramatic story of an encounter between Jesus and a woman from the area of Samaria. The point of the story is the same as all the stories we have seen thus far in this gospel: to show Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. John records this event for us as another convincing proof for who Jesus is.

 

The first six verses of this chapter set the scene of how this encounter comes about. John 4:1-6, “1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 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.”[ESV] Jesus learns that the Pharisees know that His popularity is greatly increasing. The Pharisees’ attention is turning away from John and now they focus against Jesus. Jesus left Judea and went north to Galilee, away from Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish leadership and rule.

 

Before we move forward with our background of the story, I am compelled to spend a moment noting the parenthetical statement recorded in verse 2. This is a clarification of what was mentioned in John 3:22. It must be assumed that Jesus took up carrying forward God's work already seen in the labors of John the Baptist, and that the baptism administered by Jesus, (through his disciples), was God's baptism exactly like that of John. John was a servant carrying out God's orders; and Jesus was a Son doing the same thing; but in order not to mislead anyone, Jesus refrained from administering God's baptism personally, doing so only through His disciples.

 

Nothing should be made of the fact that Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples baptized. What one does through his agents he is lawfully said to do; therefore, Jesus baptized. Why did He refrain from doing so personally? We can think of two or three reasons, (1) to avoid any notion that Jesus was one of John's subordinates. Furthermore, although Jesus had submitted to God's baptism as preached by John, and for a time administered by Himself through His disciples, He was nevertheless above John's baptism in the sense that baptism in His name was designed to succeed it. (2) to avoid a rise of jealousies and strife later through some claiming greater privilege in having been baptized personally by the Lord. We saw this sort of thing occur in Corinth. “… one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos…”” (1^st Corinthians 3:4)

 

I bring this up because some try to use this verse to say baptism is not necessary and they ignore other scriptures. To say baptism is not necessary doesn't make any sense when we read the New Testament, and it becomes clear that Jesus is being wise in using His disciples to baptize.

I. The Scene – That brings us to this scene. Verse 3, “He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.” Jesus then leaves the southern region, Judea, and goes back to the northern region, back to Galilee. An undercurrent of opposition is growing, but it's not Jesus' time yet. I suspect that's why He's moving back to Galilee.

A. We are told in verse 4, He had to pass through Samaria. Samaria was located between Jerusalem and Galilee and was the most direct route. The boundaries of Samaria varied in history; but in the time of Jesus, it was a small province about twenty miles wide and about thirty miles long. The eastern boundary was the Jordan River, and the southern line lay about seven miles south of Shechem.

1. The capital city, also called Samaria, was on an impressive butte some six miles northwest of the area where the events of this chapter happened.

2. I submit to you that Jesus did not have to go through Samaria due to geography and could have taken other routes. However, this was the selected route He took and has led some to speculate He did so for the encounter He is going to have here. We are not told.

B. Next, we read, “… he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, 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.”

1. We have enough experience with John’s gospel by now, that we know John is not just throwing out stuff about Jacob, Jacob's land, and Jacob's well. This is going to be a cog in the story, and that's why it's being laid out here for us.

2. Interesting also in verse 6 is we see a little bit of the humanity of Jesus. The apostles never denied that. In proving Jesus to be God, they never obscured or covered up the fact that He was also human, like us. Here we are told it's the sixth hour, high noon, and Jesus is weary. He is worn out, and He sits beside the well which is going to lead to this discussion with a Samaritan woman.

3. A great reminder to us about Jesus, that He is God in the flesh, experiencing everything that we would experience, going through weakness, going through difficulty, going through trial, going through temptation. He is not impervious to these things. He is worn out from walking in the heat of the sun, and is legitimately asking this woman for water, but is also going to use this as a way to draw her to salvation.

C. Verse 7 begins our story. “A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.””

1. By these words, Jesus placed himself in the position of one requesting a favor, and by such a gesture assumed a social equality with her, which astonished her and led to the conversation that followed.

2. Jesus came from heaven to become a man, to take upon Him the form of a servant, and to die for the sins of the whole world. All this is fully known; but, in this specific instance of it, the humiliation of our Lord becomes epic in its depth and intensity.

 

II. The Discussion (John 4:9-24) -- The way this discussion unfolds is fascinating. We perceive the patience in this woman, if you consider how the dialogue goes. Jesus says, give me a drink, and she is stunned that He's talking to her. John explains why in verse 9, “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 dealings with Samaritans.)”

A. What are you doing talking to me, she asks. Most Jews were very disdainful toward the Samaritans. This is why the parable of the good Samaritan is such a shocking parable.

1. She asks how it is that He would ask her for a drink. Jesus’ responds that she should ask Him for a drink. Think about how this discussion has started. Jesus asks her for a drink. She asks, “You are asking me for a drink?” Jesus responds, “You should ask me for a drink.” His reply to her in verse 10 is, “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.”

2. I want us to feel the puzzlement of the beginning dialogue here. Jesus says, give me a drink. She says, “Why are you talking to me?” He responds, if you knew who I was, you would have asked me for a drink, and I would have given it to you. I can imagine her wondering, “Then why are you asking me for water if you're offering me water? What is going on here?” However she is very cordial toward Jesus.

B. “If you knew the gift of God”. Here Jesus referred to himself, the gift of God to all the world. Amazingly, the supreme gift of God sat at that very moment at Jacob's well. This woman, coming to the well in the heat of the day, had suddenly confronted the Lord of life. Contemplate for a moment this woman standing face to face with God incarnate, and yet unaware of it.

C. “Living water” is a reference to the water of life, the spiritual realities that lead to everlasting life in the presence of God. The metaphor was probably suggested by the thirst which had brought them both to the well. Just as the body requires water, just so the soul. If it is to live, it must drink at the everlasting fountain of God's word.

D. Of course, she's intrigued. Verse 11, “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?” She asks how He is going to provide water considering He does not have anything to draw water and the well is deep.

1. The woman's response shows that she did not understand what was meant by "living water," hence the question of its source, especially since Jesus had nothing with which to draw water. This indicates to me that the woman had already figured out that Jesus was not talking about the water of Jacob's well.

2. “Where do you get that living water?” she asks. Flowing water is called "living water" in many cultures and traditions, especially in a spiritual context. In the Middle East, water is scarce and precious, and very much needed for survival. Only a few months of the year does rain fall in Israel, and the rest of the time the ancient peoples survived on still water from wells or cisterns.

3. Jeremiah, when praying for deliverance in Jeremiah 17:13 says, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”

E. The Samaritan woman continues in verse 12, “Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” The well is where they go to get water and tradition says it was provided by Jacob. The well is of great importance, and they appreciate Jacob for it. To obtain “living water” you would need to go beyond Jacob’s well. She is saying, “are you trying to say that you can find better water than what Jacob has given us?” We can see by Jesus’ response that's exactly the point that He wants to make.

F. Verses 13-14. “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.””

1. What a great picture that is given here as Jesus explains. Here is what you have. You have a well, and when you drink from that well, you're going to be thirsty again, but when you drink from the water that I will give you; you will never be thirsty again.

2. Just imagine that idea for a moment — you will never thirst again. Then He says, it will become a spring that flows into eternal life.

G. Verse 15 gives the woman’s response, “… “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.””

1. Give me this water so that I don't need to do this hard laborious work in the sun pulling up water out of this well. It's a lot of work to pull water out of a deep well. It is interesting that she is completely missing the prophetic cues that Jesus is dropping.

2. As with Nicodemus He's being subtle. He's playing the metaphor, but the metaphor is not unfounded. This is not like Jesus came up with this idea to blindside her so that she has no idea what He's talking about. The Old Testament prophets spoke significantly this way.

3. Isaiah 12:2f. “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.” Jesus is resting on prophetic imagery. When the Messiah comes, guess what's going to happen? You're going to draw water out of the well of salvation.

4. Zechariah 14:5f. “5 …Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” Same picture, living waters pouring from Jerusalem, filling the nations and filling the people.

5. In Ezekiel chapter 47 the writer describes water flowing from the temple growing deeper and wider as it goes and he says starting at 47:7, “7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. 9 And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”

H. If you knew who you were talking to, you would have the gift of God and receive this living water. She does not understand yet what's going on in His words. I think what's fascinating about this, is this is what happens throughout this gospel.

1. One of the features of what John the Apostle is doing is trying to show how we, the readers, are so spiritually blind and spiritually dense. When you go back to John 2, Jesus says, tear down this temple and I'll raise it up in three days. What do the people say? “They've been building the temple for 46 years.”

2. Spiritually blind. Chapter 3, Nicodemus. What? There must be a new birth? I must be born again? I don't understand.

3. Total lack of comprehension. Chapter 4, Samaritan woman, I'll give you living water. That would be great because then I don't have to carry a bucket anymore and do hard work in the sun.

4. Guess what happens at the end of this chapter? Jesus disciples come back with food and urge Him to eat. He's going to say, “I have food to eat that you do not know about”. They are going to wonder, where did he get food? How did He eat already? Failing to understand.

5. John is painting a picture for the reader. You can be spiritually blind, walking in darkness and failing to see you are walking before God. As we read this story, we are being placed as the Samaritan woman. We are the ones who do not comprehend, but we need eternal life, we need the living water.

I. At this point Jesus attempts to move her heart from being physically minded to spiritually minded. He must open her eyes a little bit and lead her to understand He is not talking about material things.

1. It is important to see what Jesus does in this story, in trying to move her to see what is being offered. He is not offering an easy physical life but an eternal life. Jesus is trying to give us a spiritual life, something far greater than anything we can have or experience in this world.

2. The problem is that we are blinded by the world. Instead of seeing what Jesus has to offer, we look at Jesus and say, He's going to make things easy and comfortable, right? He's going to make it where I don't have to pull a bucket out of a well. He's going to make my life simple.

 

3. As we read verse 16 don’t be critical of her because Jesus must do that with us also. We get so spiritually lost, so spiritually darkened, so consumed by the things of this world. We get so caught up in all that is going on around us, so consumed by pleasures and convenience and work and joys and family—that we fail to see what the most important thing is. Jesus is offering eternal life.

4. We turn that into; you can have a good marriage and a good family, and you can have all kinds of wealth, and you can have everything that you want in this world. You can make it all comfortable and easy. That's not what we're talking about here. Jesus is trying to give you something better, and we turn it into something about comfort and convenience.

J. That's why Jesus does what He does here in verse 16. “Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”” I wonder how she felt at that second where she's about to sputter out this answer, “I have no husband”.

1. Jesus responds, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Why does Jesus do this? She responds, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” Clearly, you're a man of God to know this. Jesus exposes our sins to wake us up.

2. It is a loving act on God's part, to come into this world and expose our sins. Sometimes it's the only way to wake up. We go along in life like everything's fine. We go to work, come home, watch TV, chill out, relax, and it is all good. Something must happen to startle us out of that, get us out of the darkness, out of our spiritual blindness. Get us to open our eyes and recognize we need something more than what this world has to offer.

K. If God did not love us, He could leave us to our own devices, and say, I hope they figure it out. I hope they recognize one day that they're in total darkness, that they're spiritually blind, and that they need the light to come in. (By the way, this is all chapter one.) I sure hope they figure it all out… God's love is seen in exposing our sin.

1. You see we're just like this woman. We will take everything that God has to say and figure out how it works for me to make me happy, make me comfortable, make me have what I want to have and enjoy the things of this earth. When we are keenly aware of our sin, only then do we then begin to seek Him spiritually. Conversely, when we forget that we are sinners and we think we're good, moral people, then we go about enjoying the things of life without a care for God.

2. We turn “church” into—show up for an hour, pay our dues, then say leave me alone. I'll see you when I feel like being here. What an insult to our Lord who is trying to give us life. We turn around and say, “so what's the bare minimum that I need for that? Give me a list, and not a long one. What can I do to get by so I can get back to my stuff? I mean I’ve got things to do in the here and now.”

L. The woman now perceives Jesus is from God and in verse 20 she asks a question, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” The implied question, where are we supposed to worship God? The Jews say that God must be worshipped in Jerusalem. Her Samaritan ancestors worshipped God on this mountain because Moses had commanded an altar be built here in Deuteronomy 27. Who is right?

1. Jesus' answer is great. Verse 21. “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” What a phenomenal answer that He gives.

2. God is going to be worshipped, not by location, but through Jesus. Here is the Apostle John bringing chapter 2 right back in. Jesus is speaking of Himself as the temple. You will access God, not through location any longer. You will not find atonement in Jerusalem anymore. The day is coming when you will find it through Me. You will meet God through Jesus. You will find atonement through Jesus. You will find salvation through Jesus.

3. Salvation comes from the Jews meaning that the Messiah would come from the Jewish people, He will be the source of eternal life, and He will be the one who is worshiped. Jerusalem is irrelevant, Jesus is what matters. The time will come when worshippers are not identified by their attachment to a shrine, but by the worship of the Lord.

M. God is looking for people who will worship Him properly. The implication is that the worship in both places is not proper. Since God is spirit, proper worship of God is also a matter of the spirit rather than a physical location, physical posture, or external ritual. God wants worship from the heart because worship from the heart leads to proper worship. If I truly love the Lord and understand His grace toward me, then I will worship Him the way that He wants with the heart that He wants. She responds in verse 25, “… I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” She does not seem to fully accept Jesus answer.

1. Verse 26, “Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”” There is the main point of the story. Jesus is the Messiah. the one speaking to you. I know what I am talking about concerning worship because I am the Christ. I am here and that is why I can offer eternal life.

2. The light bulb clicks on. This is not an academic discussion any longer. Jesus is the Christ. Her mind must be reeling from all the things that Jesus has just said to her. If you knew who I was and the gift of God, you would have asked me and I would have given you living water. Jesus offered to give something to her so that she could experience full, true satisfaction.

 

CONCLUSION: Think about those words: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (4:14). What you are lacking in your life Jesus is supplying. We think in physical terms, we'll never thirst again. If you want to drink soda or water it will just be because you wanted to, just be for fun. It wouldn't be because you're parched.

 

We fail to realize that when our life is not right with God then we are thirsty and unsatisfied. This woman has had five husbands and now is on her sixth man. She is thirsting but the water she is drinking is only giving temporary relief. This is exactly the description of this world. We try something… find temporary enjoyment, only to thirst again.

 

What false well are we running to, only to find disappointment and loss? Jesus offers living water to the condemned, to call them to eternal life. We need to move our hearts from physical concerns to spiritual concerns. The light is shining in the world so that we do not have to be blinded by the darkness any longer. Satan blinds us with the things the world, and we do not see the treasure that is Jesus and the living water He provides. We need to see that what Jesus is offering is more valuable than anything this world has to offer. Jesus is the pearl of great value. Jesus is the treasure. He is worth everything.

 

The message is yours. We are about to sing our invitation song. If anyone here has the need to be baptized into Christ, or needs the prayers of faithful people, the invitation is there for you to come forward while we stand and sing.

 

 

# ???

 

Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville