If You Knew the Gift of God

And baptizing more disciples than John. Although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized but his disciples.! When a Samaritan woman came to draw water Jesus said to her will you give me a drink?

His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?

For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asked you for a drink. You would have asked him and he would have given you living water.

Sir the woman said you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us the well and drank from it himself?

As did also his sons and his flocks and herds? Jesus answered everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.

Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The woman said to him sir give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.

And he told her go call your husband and come back. I have no husband she replied. Jesus said to her you are right when you say you have no husband.

The fact is you have had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true. Sir the woman said I can see that you are a prophet.

Our fathers worshipped on this mountain but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. Jesus declared believe me woman a time is coming when you will worship the father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and now has come when the true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and truth.

For they are the kind of worshippers the father seeks. God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. The woman said I know that Messiah called Christ is coming.

When he comes he will explain everything to us. Then Jesus declared I who speak to you am he. Well as I was preparing this message from John chapter 4.

I think it was probably a few months ago. I don't know sometime this past year. Someone had made reference to this chapter in John.

And there's one particular verse that really stood out to me. And as it is as you've probably experienced at times. You read through a passage over and over again at different times in your life as a Christian.

And boy wouldn't you know it you read it again and something stands out to you that you've missed in the past. And it's emphasized to you again. And that's the way that verse was to me that I'll read in a little bit here.

And so I wanted to spend more time in this chapter. And as I did I thought well I'll share what I'm learning with you tonight. And even as I was looking through this chapter.

An illustration that came to mind was one from our past. When our girls were little babies. I don't remember which one it was. But you can remember and thought of the time that we used to sit at the table of course.

And you're eating supper. And we're eating all that good stuff. And they're eating this other stuff that's identified as food. And it's pureed form.

And comes time for dessert. And of course if you're anything like us. Ice cream is usually on the list. Of dessert. And so we put our spoons in that bowl.

And ready to take that first bite of ice cream. And there our daughter sits. You know she has no idea what she's missing. And she hasn't had ice cream yet.

So she's content with the mushed bananas or peas. Or maybe not peas. But carrots or whatever else. And so of course I remember that time.

Well it's time to introduce her to ice cream. And so I take a little bit of that ice cream. And put it in her mouth. Her eyes get bigger. And her arms start shaking.

Her tongue's coming in and out of her mouth. Her feet are kicking. And it's like what have you been holding out on me? And of course from there on.

She wants more and more and more of this good thing. That she hasn't had yet up to this point. And of course some people as adults still act that way when they have ice cream.

Carol. But it made me think of this particular verse in John chapter 4. If you look at that with me. Verse 10. And we're going to be just focusing on the first 10 verses tonight.

I'll be filling in again in November. And so I'll finish the rest of this presentation at that time. But you'll see what I'm talking about from this verse.

And the illustration is so weak in comparison to the reality of this verse. Which is what illustrations are. In verse 10 it says, Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God.

And who it is that asks you for a drink. You would have asked him. And he would have given you living water. And that's the verse that really stood out to me. And as we work through these verses we'll get to that verse and discuss it a little bit more.

But it's a beautiful story of Jesus Christ introducing this woman to someone she never knew. And the effect that that has in this lady's life.

But we also want to look at this chapter in light of the purpose for which the gospel of John was written.

That he mentions and that he writes in John chapter 20 verses 30 through 31. And I'll read those verses to you. Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book.

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing you may have life in his name. So what's recorded in this passage is here to help us help people see the truth about who Jesus is.

And that they would believe that he is the Christ, the Son of God. And that by believing they would have this supernatural life that comes through believing in him.

And in fact that's what we see Jesus doing with this woman. He's really introducing her to himself. And we'll see more and more about this lady's condition and how desperately she needed to know who Jesus is.

So God had John write the gospel of John so that we would have this record of the different things that Jesus had done through his ministry so that we would see the reality of who he is.

And again, that's what's so interesting about this situation of Jesus with this woman. Because he's leading her through that process. Until she gets to that place where she does recognize.

She finally sees. She finally understands. She finally knows. And we'll see next time I fill in. And this is the influence, the impact that this has on her life.

And not on her life alone. But the lives of many other people in the city of Sychar. So we're going to learn various things about the woman. But all that information really is there to highlight for us even more who Jesus is.

And this is not just for unbelievers. This is a book, the Gospel of John is something that we usually use in recommending unbelievers to read it.

So that they obviously would see the works that Jesus Christ has done. And through seeing would believe that he is the Christ, the Son of God.

But it's also for those of us who are believers as well. Because we need these reminders. So that we would remember who indeed Jesus is.

And not waver in faith. In fact, in John chapter 20, 31, it says, These are written so that you may believe.

It can also be translated that you would continue to believe. Seems as though during John's day there was an individual going about preaching and teaching that Jesus was more natural man.

And he was born of two natural parents, Mary and Joseph. And the Christ came upon him at his baptism. And was on him during his earthly ministry.

But when it came time for his suffering and death, the Christ left him. And the rest of his time of suffering and his time on the cross was only experienced as a natural man.

And so John was trying to help not just unbelievers then and now, but those who would be believers as well.

That they would not be drawn away from the different messages that would be declared about this one Jesus Christ. And waver in their faith. But they would continue to believe.

Here, look. Look at all these things. We'll put it on a big screen. We're used to big screens. We'll put this on a big screen of who Jesus is. Look at all the wonders that he has done.

The works that he did. So that you, indeed as believers, would not waver in your faith. And whatever would cause that.

Maybe through some false teaching, which we hear plenty of today. But maybe through some other situations or experiences of life where you're tempted to think not those things that are true of Jesus Christ.

Those things that you held dear initially at your salvation where you indeed believe this is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. But for some reason now, you've wavered and you're beginning to doubt that.

Well, go back to the book of John. Read that and see who Jesus is. Be reminded of who he is. And that's what Jesus is doing here with this lady.

Let me show you who I am. And he does it in just such a beautiful way that we can also learn from that as we always need to learn how to introduce people to Christ.

So let's start working through this passage. And usually I'm the kind of a person, speaker, that works from an outline. You know, here's Roman numeral one, two, eight, so on and so forth.

But I didn't do that this time with this passage. So it might be done more like if you were sitting down, reading your Bible, praying, God, show me Jesus from this passage.

And you're reading down through the narrative. And you see this and what this says and declares about Jesus Christ. And that's impressed upon your heart. Oh, this is Jesus.

And so that you're writing down in your notebook, this is what's true of Jesus. And so that's kind of the approach that I'm taking in this passage and presentation to you tonight.

And so I'll try and highlight different things that I saw in my study. But you may see something else about Jesus. And if so, if that is the case, share that with me and we'll rejoice together in that.

So let's start working through the passage here and just take a little bit of background that leads up to this meeting that Jesus has with the woman. And John 4, verses 1 through 3 just speaks somewhat of what was going on in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

He had been in Judea preaching and making disciples. People were believing and being baptized by his disciples. And then the Pharisees.

There always seems to be the Pharisees. The ones who were mounting up opposition against Jesus Christ. Well, they heard of what was going on and Jesus decided that it was time to leave Judea and head off to Galilee.

Now, he was not leaving because he was fearful of what they might do to him. But I believe leaving because he had much to do yet in his earthly ministry. It wasn't time for his eventual suffering and death.

And so it comes time for him to leave this area of Judea. And in verse 4, we see the statement says, Now he had to go through Samaria.

And literally, the idea is it was necessary for him to go through Samaria. Or it was required of him to go through Samaria. Now, did Jesus have to go through Samaria just because geographically it was between Judea and Galilee?

Well, no, that wasn't the case necessarily. A lot of the strict Jews that traveled at that time, they wouldn't go through Samaria. So they would either go around it to the east or to the west.

And so Jesus could have done the same thing. But our passage tells us that he had to go through Samaria. It was necessary.

It was required for him to go through Samaria. So I can't help but think that as God, he knew of the woman that needed to know him.

And he was compelled, is the idea, he was compelled to go through Samaria. And to stop at a specific city of Sychar at a specific time, about the sixth hour.

And to meet and connect with a specific woman that would be at this well getting water.

So there was a sovereign, divine appointment Jesus had to keep. Obviously, that this woman knew nothing about at the time.

Life for her was going on as normal. But not for Jesus. He was compelled. It was necessary for him to go through Samaria to connect with this particular woman.

So the first thing that I would comment about Jesus is he seeks out sinners. While he spent time certainly seeking out people, and when he spoke to the multitudes, large groups of people, here's a situation where he knew of one woman.

Insignificant in her society, the community in which she was living, an outcast, really, in the eyes of those people. But he knew her.

He knew he had to connect with her at that specific time. Luke 19.10 says, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost, indeed, which is what that woman was.

And so Jesus had to go through Samaria. It was part of his seeking this individual out. So he knew this woman was there, and he was compelled to keep this divine appointment.

And so it is even up until our day today. I still think he has divine appointments that he's keeping. That still need to be, people still need to be connected with.

Now, indeed, he's not here physically. But he has his ambassadors that are going out and making sure that those divine appointments are being kept.

And that's why you're here tonight. I mean, it's no accident that you're here tonight. You could have been many other places. But I believe the divine appointment of God, whether as an unbeliever you're here tonight, it's by divine appointment.

Or as a believer you're here tonight, it's by divine appointment. And God had John write his gospel so many ages ago to preserve his message to people who needed to hear this information about Jesus Christ.

And his word was preserved so that divine appointments could be kept throughout the ages. And it's no mistake that he put me here tonight to be his ambassador, speaking the truth that John recorded about Jesus Christ.

So you have to think and remember. And while I am the human being speaking the message, really the divine appointment you have tonight is with Jesus Christ.

Because it's his word that you're interacting with. And so we want to hear this passage as the voice of Jesus Christ speaking to you truth that you need at this time in your life.

Because as he met the woman at that well, he's meeting you tonight through his word. So we can give thanks to God that he seeks out sinners.

Let's keep going. Verses 5 and 6. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar. Near the plot of ground, Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.

It was about the sixth hour. So we see something more about Jesus Christ. He arrived about noon after a long, strenuous journey.

Now, the little word tired doesn't communicate nearly his condition. From what I read and studied, it was about a 20-mile or so journey that he had been on.

I don't know when he started this journey to get there at the sixth hour at noon. I would have had to start pretty early if it was just one journey. I don't know what that was, but it was an arduous journey.

And the idea of the word here, it means to the point of sweat and exhaustion. He was spent at the end of this journey.

It's an extreme condition, a physical condition that we find Jesus in when he sat down at this well. That's the way I feel sometimes when we go hiking.

Get to the end of the hike, and you just have to sit down. You're spent. You're tired. And this is who Jesus is. And I just saw that, and I had to write down, Jesus was willing to be physically spent in seeking the lost.

Now, of course, the climax of that is seen on the cross. But there are many other times like this one that this was happening on a daily basis. Jesus was being spent in being the servant that was seeking out those that were lost, spending himself physically in many ways.

In Matthew 20, 28, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but came to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.

And so this was the mindset of Jesus Christ in seeking out this woman. You could see, almost imagine him on this journey.

Maybe the disciples, Man, let's take a break. It's not going to hurt anything to sit down for an hour or so. Jesus was compelled to go and to keep this divine appointment.

And it's one of those situations where you don't know all the things that are happening in order to make this meeting of these two people happen at this particular time.

Because, again, she knew nothing about it, but Jesus did. And so he was compelled, driven to be there and to share with this woman what she desperately needed to know that she did not know.

I just had to ask myself, you know, am I willing to be spent that way and to that degree when it comes to keeping these divine appointments that God might have for me during my day?

Am I even approaching my day that way, thinking that there's going to be more than likely a divine appointment that God has for me today?

Now, I don't know who it's going to be with. But there's going to be some that have to be kept. And so I have to start my day that way.

God, help me to be alert to that. And even if I'm tired, help me to be willing to take it up. Or even if I know it's going to cost me something, give me the heart that moves and compels me to go forward.

And to be willing to be spent so that I can help this person come to know Christ. Well, that's what we want in our hearts. And that's who Jesus Christ is.

See, John is revealing something that's true about Jesus Christ. These are things that we are learning about Christ that sets him apart from others in the world at that time.

He indeed was a man, a human, but he was the God-man. He was the exact representation of God. God come in the flesh.

And so we're going to see him and how he approaches life and these opportunities with people and what sets him apart that would make him distinct from others, that would move me to believe that indeed this is not just an ordinary man.

this must be the Christ, the Son of God. I think that's what we're looking for here. And I'm praying that God would help me see Jesus truly in who he is.

And so he came and he met with this woman, had an appointment with this woman. Again, interesting that it wasn't one of the top officials of the city, of course, who wouldn't want to meet with one of the top officials, the mayor or whoever of the city, or some wealthy businessman in the city, or some other famous individual.

Well, those are the people we would want appointments with, thinking that those are the people that could certainly influence the city and have a stage or a platform that they could present the truth about Jesus Christ.

But again, Jesus, distinct. It was a woman, an outcast woman, woman with a broken life and a bad reputation, as we'll continue to learn in the passage.

What does this tell us about Jesus? He's not a respecter of persons. He seeks the lost, the needy, the broken, and the broken, and the broken. Well, indeed, there were those that came to him.

The rich young man came to him. Jesus had the message for him as well. But we have to understand and realize that it wasn't those kind of people that Jesus was dependent upon for his work to be done.

And boy, you know, that could encourage me. That can encourage you and change the perspective that you might have of who you should have divine appointments with.

Reminded me of 1 Corinthians 1, 26-31. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

He chose the lowly things of this world and despised things. Things that are not to nullify the things that are ours so that no one may boast before him. It's because of him that you are in Christ Jesus.

And so he came to this woman. Now, as you've learned and heard from other times you've heard this passage, this wasn't the typical time women came to get water.

They usually would come later in the day when it was cooler. And even this well, while it was a famous well, probably wasn't the closest one to the city.

Again, from what I was reading and studying, this well was quite possibly about a half mile outside the city. And yet we see this lady coming at noon, coming a distance to get water.

Why would she do something like that? Could be because of her reputation. We learn from the passage that Jason read, married five times, presently living with a man, not her husband.

Even in Samaria, this probably would have been scandalous and shameful behavior. The life choices that she had made result in her being an outcast.

Life was not easy for this woman. She wasn't the kind of woman people were looking to have over for dinner.

People wanted to associate with her, to be identified with her. Well, when would you go to get water? Probably at noon.

The hot time of the day. Where would you go? Probably where the least number of people might be. And there she was. She wanted to avoid the scornful looks, the comments that she might likely receive from the others along the way.

So here comes this broken outcast of a woman. And Jesus is sitting at the well. What does he do? Does he draw back and turn away in disgust from this woman?

No. But he draws near to her. And that's the next point I would put down about Jesus.

He draws near and is willing to associate with sinners. Verses 7 and 8. He said to the woman, Will you give me a drink? His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

Now I tend to think that Jesus also encouraged his disciples to go and get food. If they had been there, maybe as a group of men around the well, would this woman want to come to the well?

Probably not. You know, it's that kind of thing that she would want to avoid. Oh, great. Look at the group of men there. What am I going to have to put up with them now? No. No.

Jesus, understanding. Here, you guys. All of you. All of you. Go into town. Go ahead and get some food. Or most likely, the disciples, had they been there, could have tried to prevent Jesus from having such an embarrassing encounter with a Samaritan woman with a bad reputation.

Even when they did return, it says in the verses later on that they were surprised to see him talking with a woman. I mean, that wasn't the practice of Jewish men of the day, to talk to women publicly.

In this case, even a Samaritan woman. So I can't imagine that they would have encouraged this contact and meeting to take place. But Jesus did.

He was all about connecting with this woman and making her a true worshiper of God. And so I wrote down another longer sentence here, that he was coming as a wise, tender shepherd seeking his sheep.

He's clearing away the obstacles for this woman to come and to hear and to know him. I mean, there's a lot that has to happen in this woman's life.

Let's not make it more difficult than what it already is for her. And even in our approach with people, you know, and I remember starting, when I came back, we were done in South Africa.

I had still some time as far as vocationally and needed to do some work. So I connected with the company Dan works for in Walkerton and got a job there in the production line.

And here, you know, I had worked many years, missionary, you know, working in a church. People are usually well-dressed, you know, and speak the right words and the right conversation, etc., etc.

I have similar interests that I do. Now I'm on the production line. And I suppose there would have been individuals that would have come under this category that we find this woman.

In fact, I know there was. And so it was a challenge for me, too. You know, what mindset am I going to bring into this work setting here?

Is it going to be such that I will present myself in such a way as to stand aside from? Or am I going to be Christ to these individuals?

And to remove as many obstacles as possible to the witness that I might have with him. This is what Jesus was doing, I think, here. Well, he comes to her and he stuns her by asking her for a drink.

Now, this wouldn't be a big deal for us today in our culture. But in that situation, it was a very big deal. At that time, as I said, men didn't speak to women in public beyond the fact that this was a Samaritan woman with the kind of reputation that we've heard about.

But the request was even bolder than that as we learn from what's recorded in verse 9. In her response to Jesus' request, she says, You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.

How can you ask me for a drink? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Now, the word translated by the phrase do not associate with carries even a more specific meaning.

It can be translated, use nothing in common with or use not anything together with. There was Jewish legislation that forbade the Jews from sharing common vessels with the Samaritans, with the Gentiles.

And so, this woman was surprised, certainly that Jesus was asking her for a drink, but a drink from her container. Can you imagine?

Not just, can I have one of your extra water bottles over here? Can I have a drink out of that same container that you would use?

And this I just had to say with the phrase, the pursuing grace of Jesus. He isn't letting her reputation, her sin, keep him from pursuing her to be a true worshiper of God.

He isn't letting religious regulations keep him from connecting with this woman who needed to know who he was. But also, we see the humility of Jesus.

This is Jesus living out in daily life his divine humbling. Remember there in Philippians 2, 5, and I'll just read verse 6, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.

Can you give me a drink? Can you give me a drink out of your container? Here's the one who made the water, putting himself in a position of need to an outcast.

What humility of Jesus Christ still drawing the situation, the events, the conversation, this meeting with her to the place where she begins to see something.

What's going on here? You see what's going on here? I mean, Jesus is showing himself distinct more and more. It's almost like a slow revelation of who he is to this woman.

An unraveling. We're seeing, she says, you're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan. This wasn't the normal way things went with Jews and Samaritans.

Jesus was different. Another comment I wrote, his driver's compulsion to display the glory, the glory, the radiance of God.

In this case, the love of God for this hurt, broken neighbor. Compelling love for the glory of God in this woman at his cost.

I mean, we have to recognize that this is something that would be true of God if he was to come and live as a man in flesh. That's what's happening here.

He wouldn't act like other people normally would act in a situation like this because he's operating out of a, who he is.

God is love. And his love compels him to come along people like this to set aside his nature, his being, who in the form of God existed, but he didn't consider that something that he would grab and hang on to to such a degree that it would keep him from asking, can I drink some water out of your container?

That's what we have to remember about Jesus Christ. And that's what this passage is continually pointing out to me and I keep praying. God, show me Jesus. Show me who he truly is and help me be reminded of what he has done as God come in the flesh as the Christ, the Son of God, not just for this woman, but for me, but for you.

And when you're caught in those times when your mind, your thinking is wavering, this is what we have to go back to, the reality of, this is who he is, this is what he did, this is how he was spent for me.

This is Jesus. For the glory of God, John 17, I finished the work you've given me to do. I've glorified you on the earth and this is what he's doing here.

Glorifying God from him is radiating the manifold perfections of who he is as God. John wrote, these things have been written so that you might know.

And while the miracles and great wonders he did were those things that, well, it's easy to see that he's the Son of God there. We don't usually think of, can you give me a drink?

It's a great work of God. But this was a great work of God in the person of Jesus Christ for this woman and the same thing for you as well.

Because we are, we're outcasts as well. Maybe some of us were outcasts in our morality, in our self-righteousness. But just because we were self-righteous, moral people doesn't mean we were not outcasts.

We were. But for the love of God, Christ, Jesus, being willing to magnify the riches of God in this world to us and to this woman, we would still be outside of Christ.

But also, he's wise, discerning, purposeful, counselor, shepherd, evangelist, coming for one of his lost sheep. In this whole encounter with this woman, it's Jesus' intent to ultimately reveal himself as the Christ, the Son of God who she desperately needs to know.

And this request is, I think, one of those first steps of him doing that. Again, as I said, while he looks like any other Jewish man, she knew he was Jewish just by his looks.

By his request, he reveals there's something different about him. And he's come confronting and breaking down these barriers that existed in the society at that time.

But by this request, he also gets her to reveal her sinful heart as well. But that's more and more of what she needed to see. She needed to understand her desperate condition and how he was the answer to what she needed to know.

And so, asking for this water does reveal something about her inner man. And I think it's revealed in her response. I think this is a woman that's just not somebody where just, oh, poor lady, you know, everybody's taking advantage of her.

I mean, she has made some sinful choices. Somebody doesn't just come through that kind of situation, that kind of mindset, those kind of idols that they're pursuing without some bitterness, resentment toward people and how they're treating her and some hardness about herself.

And I think that's coming through in her answer as I studied this out a little bit more. Is it you or a Jew? And I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? It's kind of like she's throwing these customs up in Jesus' face.

I don't see her freely giving him and quickly giving him a drink of water and I think that's revealed in Jesus' response to her. It's kind of like, oh, you Jews, you men, all alike, you know, and nothing good to say to me until you want something.

Now, I've got something you want and you're willing to come and ask me. It's kind of like, well, in the next set of verses here we see Jesus revealing more of himself.

I just write this down. His love moves him to not be quick to take offense. Now, how would we respond? Okay. Fine with you.

I've got other things to do. You know, I did my part. I tried to give him the gospel. Okay. Let's go back over here.

No. He understood her condition. He understood why this is coming out from her. No, he's interested in outer behavior certainly, but he's interested in getting to the heart so that this lady could change and come to know him.

He didn't, she didn't necessarily need to know first of all better communication skills. she probably could have worked on that, but that wasn't a priority in this case.

Jesus was after something more important in this lady's life and he wasn't going to let her hard response push him away from what really needed to happen for this lady.

and so he continues on. It doesn't seem like Jesus answers the woman's question, but he does.

In his response he tells her that in reality she is in greater need than he is and he's the one that can give her much more than what she could ever give him.

She is the one who needs the water and he is the fountain that is able to supply it. Jason mentioned that last week in Zechariah 13 Jesus being that fountain.

Well here it is. The fountain is there and this woman needs to drink from that fountain. Verse 10 Jesus answered her and here's that key verse.

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. So I see Jesus as persistently compassionate.

He answered her. Again, he didn't turn his back on her. Her response he pursued her was continuing on. Again, wasn't about protecting himself but about pursuing lost sheep.

In this case sheep of another pasture. A lost Samaritan woman. And again he was aware of her condition bringing truth to her that she needs.

See what he says here? If you knew obviously that means there's something she does not know. Certainly she doesn't know it what Jesus is going to be revealing to her.

She doesn't know it as information for the Samaritans as I understand it only accepted the books of Moses as books that they would follow and not the rest of the Old Testament books.

And while there's truth about Christ the promised one in those books of Moses she was certainly at a disadvantage information wise when it comes to the promised one.

so she didn't know because of some neglect standing apart from the rest of the scriptures so we have to be careful as well that we don't put ourselves in a situation like that.

We're challenged our faith in Christ being challenged. Have you kept yourself apart from the truth of God's word that could encourage you bring to your remembrance the things you know to be true about Jesus Christ.

But she also didn't know the gift of God and Jesus in an experiential life transforming way that intimate union she didn't know it she wasn't connected in that way with Jesus Christ you don't know the gift of God you don't know it in this intimate experiential way.

She was still living according to her sinful nature and therefore had her mind set on what that nature desires. Romans 8.5 all these other scriptural passages that describe why she didn't know why she was in this condition she was still suppressing the truth and unrighteousness Romans 1.18 she was still dead in her sins Ephesians 2.1 blinded by Satan 2 Corinthians 4.4 apart from the life giving work of the Holy Spirit so that she was unable to understand what God has freely given 1 Corinthians 2.12 and that's really the reason people don't repent and come to Christ.

People might say well there's too many hypocrites in the church we say well why aren't you a Christian too many hypocrites in church. I don't believe in God I don't need it I'm fine just as I am being a Christian can't give me what will really make me happy.

These are all answers that they're trying to give but answers that really don't hit the mark for why they don't believe. All those statements are symptoms of their not knowing Jesus and the gift he gives.

Just symptoms. It's the condition out of which they're making those statements so when you ask somebody and they give a statement like that you know that's not really why. In a discerning way you're going to have to help them understand there's really something beyond deeper that you do not understand you do not know.

But they should also point to us even more the desperate need that they have. Now you're saying that's the reason but I know why you're not.

You don't know. You really don't know. You're in that condition of not knowing and they're in need of knowing.

Coming certainly in hearing how will they hear without a preacher. The preacher has to bring the information but they have to know it very intimately experientially that the work of God and his Holy Spirit that they could truly know.

Well she doesn't know. And if people, she, if people did know they would repent and turn to Christ.

Confess him as their Lord and Savior. I mean if our little girl if you knew how good this ice cream was you'd be asking me. and once they knew they were asking.

I mean that's the difference. It's again a shallow illustration to try and help us understand the reality of knowing and the difference that that makes in our longing for Jesus Christ.

I mean once we know we're going to ask because we're going to see wow this is fantastic, this is beautiful, this is what I've needed. And the next time we get together we'll take a look at the different wells that she was trying to draw from to satisfy this longing within her heart.

And all those wells were missing the mark. She didn't know. But we'll see the difference once she knows.

Like that little baby. Man give me some more. This is wonderful. There was no question. Something happened in her life.

Well, Jesus was oh my. I'm past my time. He was willing to freely give. He says you would have asked me and I would have given.

Well, I gotta quit. I'd love to finish this but I've got another Sunday coming. and so I'll save this and finish the rest of this section of verses.

But I hope through this time that we've had together so far and again it's been my prayer for me as I've been reading through it's my prayer for any that God would bring to this divine appointment tonight.

that they would hear this message this gospel that God had John write and that God has preserved throughout the ages for us to hear tonight.

So that if you're here in this condition of not knowing tonight that you've gotta recognize you've had a divine appointment with Jesus Christ a message that he wanted you to hear.

And he wanted you to be confronted with the reality the truth of who he is so that you might come to believe that he indeed is the Christ the Son of God the Savior of the world and that's what I pray would happen in your life if you're here as an unbeliever.

But if you're here as a believer take heart too from the word of God. Look and see Jesus again. As you go home and have to start your day through the week this is the Jesus that you take with you.

In whatever situation that you're going to be facing this is the Jesus who came to you. And the one that you have the privilege of knowing.

And the one who freely gives to you living water. We'll take a look and see more of what those are next time we're together. Let's pray. Father indeed you are a God who is a God magnificent God at times even beyond our comprehension at times of course many times and yet you sent your son Jesus Christ into the world to reveal something of who you are and he came and connected with this woman who is in desperate need as we all have been in our lives and we pray that you by your spirit would take your word and open our minds to who Jesus is affecting great change within our hearts Father that we might live in the reality of who he is and join the living water the abundance that he brings for your glory in Jesus name Amen