Well Taught - Part Two

October 20, 2002 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: John

Scripture: John 4:16–26

Transcript

Well Taught-Part Two

John 4:16-26
Sunday, October 20, 2002
Pastor Randy Smith



As many of you know, Julie this past week spent two days in Michigan with her family as they gathered to celebrate her grandfather's Homegoing to be with the Lord. That meant Daddy was all alone with the children. Now Julie and I do our best as parents to provide a consistent and disciplined environment for our children, one that will promote optimum spiritual, emotion and physical well-being.

But for those two days, let's just say, Daddy broke a few of the rules. A couple extra videos, pajamas until lunchtime, extended bedtime hours and fast food every night for dinner!

Well, since I am in the habit of breaking the rules this week, I thought I would continue this pattern in the presentation of the sermon. Customarily, it is my habit to discern one main point from the biblical text. I desire all of you each Sunday morning to realize that everything I say sheds light on one single aim. I want all of you to leave with one general point of biblical admonition. Usually I state this objective at the beginning of the sermon and then support it with 3-5 sermon points.

This morning will be an exception. Instead of 1 main point, I plan to leave you with 3 main points all related to the text. In other words, as I preach this sermon, I want your mind to be aware of three specific points of emphasis, three main points. Here they are…

First is the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah (or Christ). I believe this was the apostle John's main point of chapter 4. Look at verse 25-26, "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.' Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'" And verse 29, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?" And verse 42, "And they were saying to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.'" This main point in John 4 concurs with John's main point for the entire gospel. "These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (Jn. 20:31). Therefore the first main point is the revelation of the Messiah.

The second main point will be a continuation from last week. You will remember that Jesus Christ is the only One who can quench the parched thirst of our soul. All of our hearts are longing for satisfaction, meaning and fulfillment. God meets our heart's cry with a gift, a gift none other than that of Himself. In verse 10, "Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water" (Jn. 4:10). The second point: Christ meets all of our needs by abiding with us through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who is also our down payment and guarantee of eternal life.

The third main point came to me this week as I was meditating on this text. As I was considering the sub-divisions of this passage (or the 3 headings in your sermon notes), I realized that each has significant application to the methodology in the current evangelical church. I believe today's church has lost its moorings to the Word of God. The church's practice in regard to its preaching, singing and focus are biblically deficient. They have been replaced by a relative, non-confrontational, emotional, man-centered philosophy that is not according to the Bible.

Again, the three main points: The revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to meet all of our needs, and the model of Jesus Christ for Christian procedures. All three of these main points will be interwoven throughout this sermon.

Since we are concluding the second half of verses 1-26 this week, I thought it would be wise to review the material we covered from last week.

Due to the religious and nationalistic impurities, the Jews had great animosity toward the Samaritans. Most of the Jews when forced to travel from Judea to Galilee would go a much longer route to prevent touching Samaritan soil. However, verse 4 says that "(Jesus) had to pass through Samaria." The One who always did the divine will of the Father (4:34) was not stifled by gender, ethnic or religious bigotries. He had a divine appointment with a woman at the well.

The fully human Jesus arrived at the well tired, hot and thirsty from His journey. As expected, verse 7 says, "There came a woman of Samaria to draw water." Jesus spoke to this socially ostracized, morally impure woman and said, "Give Me a drink" (4:7). The Savior was desperate for water, but He also sought to engage this woman as He began the process of self-disclosure.

Verse 9 describes the woman's expected surprise. "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?" Later in verse 27 we read about the disciples' surprise. "And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He had been speaking with a woman." The cultural shock was understandable. He was a man and she was a woman. He was a Jew and she was a Samarian. He was pure and she was immoral. Major taboos were being violated. Major rituals of spiritual cleanliness were being ignored.

But in verse 10, Jesus reverses the situation. Basically He says, "The amazing thing is not that I being a Jew am asking you for a drink of physical water. Rather the amazing thing is that you being a sinner are not asking Me for a drink of living water!" Jesus was talking about the gift of the Holy Spirit that He had (and still has) to offer. Jesus was talking about the solution to this woman's emptiness and unfulfilled lifestyle. Jesus was talking about the eternal joy and the eternal peace and the eternal life that He had to offer. Jesus was talking about enabling her to forsake her broken cisterns and find true satisfaction from the Living Waters!

The woman's mind was still on physical water so Jesus reminded her in verse 13 that "Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again." In other words, physical water can bring great satisfaction, but the satisfaction is only temporary. Within time, the thirst will reoccur. In the same way, our soul's thirst is also partially and temporarily met with the things of this world. Yet, Jesus Christ can satisfy our soul's thirst forever. Ultimately our soul thirsts for God and He quenches that thirst by filling us with Himself.

Despite this rich teaching, the woman's thinking is still on a naturalistic plane. She said in verse 15, "Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw." She only wanted to eliminate her need for physical thirst and her ongoing trips to the well. She asked the Messiah, "Give me this Living Water!" But she was denied. Why? Let's find out as we move to point number 1.

1. Confrontation of Sin (4:16-18)

Before Jesus was about to dispense this Living Water, He wanted her to be aware of her true need. Her true need was not to satisfy a physical thirst. Her true need was to satisfy a spiritual thirst, that could be quenched only by the Savior. But in order for her to see a need for a Savior, she had to see the need to be (WHAT?) saved. In order for her seek forgiveness; she obviously had to be aware of her (WHAT?) sin. We will never appreciate the gift of God until we see our own wretchedness. Beloved, we will never appreciate the holiness of God until we see our own depravity. Verses 16-18, "He said to her, 'Go, call your husband, and come here.' The woman answered and said, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You have well said, 'I have no husband;' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly."

Christ's razor sharp words created a wound to penetrate into the depths of this woman's heart. In a nutshell, Jesus exposed her sin. He knew that sin would always keep her from approaching the Light (3:20). He knew that sin would keep her from thirsting for God.

Though she would have preferred to keep her shoddy background concealed, Jesus in a kind and gentle way exposed both her disappointment in past relationships and her sin of fornication. He wanted this troubled woman to see that only He could offer lasting satisfaction in a relationship and remove her guilt. Christ did it then, and He continues to work this way in the heart of both unbelievers and believers.

Exposure of sin is the only avenue to salvation for an unbeliever and personal holiness for a believer. Conformity to the image of Christ, God's greatest goal for our lives and hopefully our greatest goal as well, will never occur until we deal with our sin and pursue holiness. Likewise our joy will never increase until we deal with sin. In our desire to glorify God, our life becomes a continual battle to grow in godliness and pursue righteousness. Yes, we will walk away echoing the Apostle Paul, "That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all" (1 Tim. 1:15)." But when our own sin is set against the backdrop of God, we also walk away with a better appreciation of His love, mercy, grace and holiness. It is a paradox that those who see themselves as the biggest sinners are always the godliest of saints. And those who say, "I don't want to hear about my sin or deal with my sin are often the most prideful, insecure and carnal individuals. I'll let you chew on that one yourself.

God wants us to appreciate His holiness, but He also wants to make us holy. He dwells in us through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Obviously, the role of the Holy Spirit is to make us (WHAT?) holy! He says to be holy because I am holy (1 Pet. 1:15-16)! And the way He makes us Holy is to tell us how great we are? No! The way He makes us holy is to reveal our (WHAT?) sin! And the way the Spirit speaks to us and reveals our sin is through the (WHAT?) Word!

You see the Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He is the Author of the Bible. So when we read God's Word or preach God's Word the Holy Spirit is at work. He is doing many things, but one is convicting us of sin. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Ephesians 6:17 calls the Word of God the "sword of the Spirit." God said through the prophet Jeremiah, "Is not My word like fire and like a hammer which shatters a rock" (Jer. 23:29). Any time any portion of the Word is rightly spoken, it will convict the listener of sin. Just as it did with the woman at the well, the Word of God forces people into a face-to-face confrontation with the living God. And when sinful humans are confronted with a holy God, their response should be similar to Isaiah's confrontation, "Woe is me, for I am ruined" (Isa. 6:5)!

The proclamation of the Word brings about these God honoring effects. Yet unfortunately, like the woman at the well, we don't want to deal with our sin. It is uncomfortable. My self doesn't want a "sword" or a "hammer!" It wants pleasantries. Therefore, there has been a consistent pattern throughout history of those who balk at the Word of God.

Do you remember the story about King Ahab in 2 Chronicles 18? He was desirous of attacking Ramoth-gilead. Though he appeared to be seeking the Lord's advice, he sought for himself only the 400 false prophets who would tell him what he wanted to hear (2 Ch. 18:5). King Jehoshaphat however said, "Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him" (verse 6)? In the next verse Ahab replied, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla" (verse 7). Micaiah was brought before the kings and as expected, he spoke the truth. Basically he said that King Ahab would be ill advised to enter battle (verse 16). Yet King Ahab went with the opinion that satisfied his desires. What happened to Micaiah, the man who spoke God's truth? He was hated and thrown into prison (verse 26). What happened to King Ahab, the man who ignored God's Word? He died in battle (verse 34).

Or how about the prophet Jeremiah? He too was almost killed for prophesying the truth among a people who preferred flattering speech. All of this happened, because he didn't speak good and pleasant things for Judah. Though Babylon was about to invade the Southern Kingdom, the people in Jeremiah's day cried for "peace" when there was no peace (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). Jeremiah would have nothing to do with such lies. He stood for God's Word and the people hated him for it.

Elsewhere the rebellious people of Israel refused to listen to the instruction of the Lord. They said to the prophets, "You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions" (Isa. 30:10). The same cry echoes in the corridors of the modern church. "We don't want to hear God's Word, it convicts! Speak to us pleasant words!" The Apostle Paul even warned in the latter days that, "The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

Regardless of what you preach from the Holy Word of God, it will confront people on their sin. In the flesh, humans would prefer to have their consciences eased, their ears tickled and their sin unmentioned rather than deal with the truth of God's Word and grow in Christlikeness.

Much of the "seeker movement" today comes dangerously close to this mentality. Think about it! Many churches, some in neighboring towns, listen to the counsel of the world. They hear people moan, "Speak to us pleasant words." So a church is established based upon what the people want to hear rather than upon a faithful proclamation of what God wants to say. They are far from following the model of Jesus as we observed in John 4. As a result many in these churches have a false assurance of their salvation, and the true Christians are left malnourished from a steady diet of milk. But sin is not mentioned! The people leave feeling wonderful about themselves! It is easy to be a popular preacher and have a large church with such a mentality that caters to the flesh. Yet preach the Word like Jesus and you won't have too many fans. They put Him on a cross!

2. Correct Worship (4:19-24)

How do you think this woman at the well would respond to the unveiling of her sin? Would it be similar to the man in Luke 18 who "was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner'" (Lk. 18:13)! Or Peter who "fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord'" (Lk. 5:8). Or Ezra who said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to Thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens" (Ez. 9:6). Would she respond in this way? As we move to point 2, notice the response of the woman beginning in verse 19. "The woman said to Him, 'Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.'"

Just as Jesus abruptly changed the topic from physical water to sin, the woman abruptly changes the topic from sin to academic controversy. Her response is typical of humans who prefer to leave their sin unchecked. "Jesus this is convicting. I'm uncomfortable. So as long as we are talking about fornication, Jesus, what's Your theological position on the proper location for worship?" John Piper called this "evasive double-talk from a trapped sinner."

Despite this age-old controversy over the proper place to worship, despite the Samaritans affection for Mount Gerizim and the Jews affection for Jerusalem, despite all these viable debates, the main issue is that the woman refused to deal with her sin. Jesus knew that the gospel apart from the preaching and realization of sin was incomplete, and salvation therefore was nonexistent.

We would expect Jesus to bring her back to her sin. However to our surprise, Jesus stays with her fanciful topic of worship. He channels the conversation off of an external place and onto an internal location. By the end of this dialogue, He is back to discussing the issues of the heart.

Verse 21, "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.'" First, Jesus tells her that the time is coming when the physical location of worship will be irrelevant. With the advent of the New Covenant, localized worship will cease. God through the hands of Governor Titus even destroyed the Temple in AD 70 to make sure that the point was understood. The day is arriving when God will accept worship from any physical location, and it is blasphemous to think that some places are more holy than others. "Jesus, where ever Thy people meet, There they behold Thy mercy-seat; Where ever they seek Thee, Thou art found, And every place is hallowed ground" (William Cowper).

Verse 22, "You worship that which you do not know; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews." Second, though Jesus was not about to takes sides on the place of worship, in verse 22, He does take sides on the source of worship. He admits that the Samaritans worship of God was incomplete. He further admits that salvation is from the Jewish system. From the time of God choosing the nation of Israel up through the promised Messiah from the line of David, there is no doubt that salvation is from the Jews. After Paul wept for the salvation of the Israelites, he spoke of them by saying, "To whom belongs the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the templeservice and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever" (Rom. 9:4-5).

Verses 23-24, "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." Third, Jesus informs the woman that the Father is "seeking" "true worshippers." Since "God is spirit," true worshippers according Jesus are ones that "must worship in spirit and truth." That's very important. Let's unpack what it means to worship in "spirit and truth."

Worshipping in spirit means that we are not concerned about a place. Rather we are concerned about the position of our heart. Even when we gather corporately on Sunday morning, for example, God is not concerned with our beautiful church or with the candles or even with the attractive clothes we are wearing. God is concerned with our spirit. He is concerned with the devotion of our heart. Is our spirit in tune with His Spirit and actively engaged in adoring Him? Is it humble and contrite and grateful? From a negative perspective, all this is to say that an individual can come to church and sing, listen, serve and give for 3 hours and not engage in one second of true worship that the Father seeks. From a positive perspective, true worshippers have their hearts prepared before they ever arrive on Sunday morning. They come rested so they can give God their very best. They come excited to corporately meet with God and His people. They focus on the words they are singing and make every verse a praise to their Creator. They give liberally with a cheerful heart in seeking God's Kingdom to be established. They serve humbly, considering others more important, seeking to build others up in their faith. They listen intently to the proclamation of the Word and seek through the Spirit personal points of application. Then they leave with a continual focus upon the Lord, seeking to present themselves as a "living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is (their) spiritual service of worship" (Rom. 12:1). They leave attempting to "do all for the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). Corporate worship may be on Sunday morning, but individual worship is throughout the day, every day of the week in the confines of our heart. God through His Spirit has made our spirit alive. He wants this internal spirit worship.

True worshippers worship in "spirit." The verse says they also worship in "truth." If we seek to worship God contrary to His nature or not according to His prescribed guidelines, our worship is nothing less than idolatry. In John 17:17 Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth." Our worship, like everything we do unto God, must be according to the truth. Or put another way, everything we do unto God must be according to His Word, the source of truth. Additionally, our worship must be Christ-centered because He is the truth (Jn. 14:6), generated from the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17). Just as love is so often coupled biblically with truth in John's writings (c.f. 1 Jn. 3:18; 2 Jn. 1:1, 3; 3 Jn. 1:1), here worship is likewise coupled with truth.

During worship God wants our head and our heart. He wants our thoughts and our emotions. He wants reflection and affection. He wants theology and doxology.

Let's get a little practical. A.W. Tozer once said, "I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the church, the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the "program." This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the public service which now passes for worship among us." Though many modern churches are seeking this pursuit, it is not my intention on Sunday morning to entertain you or stir you into an emotional frenzy or tickle your hearts or ears. Sunday morning is not about our programs. It's not about you or me. It's all about God! You are not my audience; rather we are the audience of God. I am not accountable to please you. I am accountable to please God and according to Hebrews 13, one day I will answer to Him. It is my intention to facilitate you through the opportunities for ministry, fellowship, preaching of the Word and selection of song. This is to help you engage in heart devoted worship in spirit and truth whereby you may be "found" as a true worshipper as you encounter the power of the living God.

We must go deep in order for our worship to go high! But most churches have discarded the meat of the Word. Many have even discarded the Word altogether. Most churches are choosing songs that are either doctrinally inaccurate or about theologically as deep as a stagnate puddle of water. We can sing: "And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord. Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord. Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen." Or we can sing as we did this morning: "Praise to the Lord who does prosper my work and defend me, surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend me. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriend me." Which song do you think honors the truth and enables the spirit for God-exalting worship?

Beloved it is my constant prayer for this church that we will seek to grow and deepen our commitment to Him whereby our worship in spirit and truth exceeds the heavens because it digs deep and ponders the wonders of God: The love of God that would allow a nail to be driven through His hand, the mercy of God that continually forgives sin, the wisdom of God that makes molecular biology sound like a kindergarten class, the knowledge of God that makes the Library of Congress seem like a matchbox.

3. Centralizing the Savior (4:25-26)

As we move to our final point, allow me to briefly touch on the remaining two verses. In verse 25, "The woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.'" The woman was concerned about these issues. She believed in a coming Messiah and was confident that when this great Messiah arrived that all things would be clarified. In verse 26 "Jesus said to her, 'I who speak to you am He.'"

There is not doubt that Jesus Christ put Himself first. There is no doubt that the apostle John put Jesus Christ first in his narrative. May we too in our sermons, conversations, money, time, and talents put Jesus Christ first. May He "come to have first place in everything" (Col. 1:18).

I had a wonderful opportunity with some young women named Hailey and Kayla the two days when my wife was in Michigan. We may have broken some of the rules, but we did have some tremendous talks about God. More than anything else, I want them to see that Jesus is the Messiah. I want them to see that only Jesus can satisfy a thirsty soul. And I want them to understand the true condition of their hearts so they will worship the Father in spirit and truth magnifying the great command in Colossians 3:17. "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."


More in John

May 9, 2004

The Priority of A Disciple

May 2, 2004

From Fishermen To Shepherds

April 25, 2004

Fishing For Men