The Living Word III

Living water

The Living Word III

I would like to continue with our series “The Living Word” from the book of john the 4th gospel.

We know that was written by John the Apostle around 85 and 90 Ad before he went to Patmos.

John wrote this gospel to bring correction to the many false teachings going around and to encourage the believers.

He shares the purpose of his book.

The Purpose of This Book

Joh 20:30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.

Joh 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

In the gospel of John, he showed

Jesus as God, in human flesh.

John’s audience is the whole world.

John tells us who Jesus was.

John’s book is all about Jesus.

Today we are on the chapter 4 of John.

A important conversation in between Jesus and a Samaritan woman by the well.

Let’s pray,

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

1 Jesus showed No prejudice.

Joh 4:1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John—

Joh 4:2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.

Joh 4:3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

Judea, where Jesus was, from Judea through Samaria, Galilee were all Israel.

Under King David and Solomon Israel was one Kingdom, from Galilee through Judea it was one Kingdom, but under Rehoboam Salomon son, because he would not listen to the elders and the people by having mercy on them, the kingdom was split into two.

So you had the northern kingdom of Israel, who’s capitol was Samaria, and later Samaria became a whole region, and the southern Kingdom was called Judah, later called Judea who’s capitol was Jerusalem.

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The Northern Kingdom of Israel was the first of the two kingdoms (Israel and Judah) to fall, when it was conquered by the Assyrian monarchs.

They begin to inter marry and the south would call them half Jews, half-breed

For a Jew to walk through Samaria was a defilement, they would walk around. Jesus did not do that.

Joh 4:4 Now he had to go through Samaria.

Joh 4:5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

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Joh 4:6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

Joh 4:7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?"

The woman came to the well at noon to avoid other people, out of shame

Joh 4:8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

Joh 4:9 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.)

Remember they consider them Half-breed. They despised them, And she was a woman.

Joh 4:10 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."

Joh 4:11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

She was thinking about literal water, at the time they would call living water

A well of spring water.

Joh 4:12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?"

In reality they were half Jews, and half gentiles, they believe that they were descendants of Jacob through Joseph’s sons, most Jews at the time would be offended by this woman’s claims. That’s what they believe but it was not true.

They believe that they descended from Manasseh and Ephraim what was not true, they had no records of that, some people believe what they want about themselves, including senators.

Joh 4:13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,

2 A spring of Water welling up to eternal life.

Joh 4:14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

On John 7 he makes a commentary about the living water.

Joh 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

Joh 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."

Joh 7:39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

Believe in Him and receive the Spirit the living water that will satisfy your thirst.

We all have a thirst, that can not be satisfy, this longing in our lives, that we try to fill it with many things, and we don’t even know why.

We were all created to have intimacy with God when sin came into the world it separated us from God, the only way we will ever be satisfy is when we welcome God into our lives, our Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Joh 4:15 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."

She still didn’t get it. so Jesus brings her reality to her, look into the mirror

Joh 4:16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."

Joh 4:17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband.

Joh 4:18 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."

Dear woman you have a need,

We need to remember that during those days a woman could not get divorced, only the husband could give her a certificate of divorce, she was living with a man who was not her husband living in sin, after 5 divorces. A divorced woman could not survive, she was not a prostitute, John did not point that out.

If she was barren, was enough of a reason for a husband to give her a certificate of divorce, this woman was thirsty for love and acceptance. Jesus knew that. He offered her eternal life.

Ex This weekend Feb 17, 1818 we remember the death Henry Opukahai’a, one of the first Hawaiian to become a Christian.

Henry lost his parents when he was 10 years old, Kamehameha warriors were invading his village and found his family hiding in a cave down south, they first killed his mom the dad came out to help her they kill his father and as Henry try to run away with his brother on his back they speared the brother on his back and kill him,

Henry was the only one left so he asked if the warriors could kill him too, they didn’t, they took him to the north of the Island. After living with the killers of his parents for a year his uncle Pahua, found him and he lived with him until he was 16 years old, he was being trained to be a Hawaiian priest a Kahuna offering human sacrifices at Hikiau heiau.

at the age of sixteen years he dove into the waters of Kealakekua Bay and swam out to Captain Caleb Britnall’s ship the Triumph

1807

He desired to get away from Hawaii after all he endured, Hawaii was the last place he wanted to be, his uncle followed him and demanded to be reimbursed for the training he gave Henry, the captain repaid him with a pig, and he let him go. He ends up in Connecticut,

in 1809 The future Reverend Edwin W. Dwight, a senior in Yale College at the time, he discovered `Opukahai’a sitting on the steps of the college Yale. When `Opukahai’a lamented that "No one give me learning," Dwight agreed to help him find tutoring.[2] `Ōpūkaha`ia took up residence with one of Dwight's relatives, Yale president Timothy Dwight IV, until Samuel Mills came and took him to his home.

Henry became a Christian and learned Hebrew, Greek, Latin created the Hawaiian written language, and he began to translate the bible into Hawaiian. he became well educated and well respected. He began to pray for his people, and God put in his heart to return to Hawaii and share the gospel, so he was recruiting missionaries to come back with him, but contracted typhus fever and died in 1818 in Cornwall at the age of 26.he became an inspiration for many American missionaries to come to Hawaii.

Henry found Jesus, and the living water Jesus gives us.

Joh 4:19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet.

Jesus had a word of Knowledge.

Joh 4:20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."

God had given Moses commands about the valley they were inn

They were in between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim

On Mount Ebal they were to read all the curses from the law

On Mount Gerizim they were to read the blessings, so the people in the valley would be able to hear them.

Mount Gerizim was considered to be Samaritan’s soil, and because the blessings were read from that Mount they believe it was a blessed Mount, so they worship there. God commanded the Jews to worship in the temple in Jerusalem.

Joh 4:21 "Woman," Jesus replied, "believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

Joh 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

3 True worshipers

Joh 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Joh 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

The Jews worshiped outwardly, many different ceremonies, our Heavenly Father is looking for those who worship in Spirit and truth.

This only happens when we welcome the Holy Spirit and offer ourselves to him

Joh 4:25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."

Joh 4:26 Then Jesus declared, "I, the one speaking to you—I am he."

Worship in Spirit and truth, the Samaritan’s were a little short on the truth part, they were not worshiping in truth, they made up their own lineage, they came up with their own mount to worship they even believed that God command Moses to built an altar on mount Gerizim, He didn’t He command Moses to built an altar on Mount Ebal. But often we meet people who creates their own stories, there are churches that unless you dance, or play the shofar you really didn’t experience worship, others if you didn’t sing for an hour before the sermon you didn’t worship. Do you know that you can come to Mokuaikaua worship with Aaron Barker, listen to Kahu David’s sermon and never worship God?

Because true worship is what Paul shares with the saints in Rome

Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Offer your self to Him, this is true worship. Unless you have done this you have not worship God.

Lord I’m yours, all of me, my physical body all my heart all my soul and all spirit.

Living Water, the Spirit of God

Is for everyone, no prejudice, The water Jesus gives us will become a well spring of water leading you to eternal life.

Become a True worshiper, presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.

Make Jesus the Lord of your life.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

To receive Jesus, we need to accept Him as God’s son, repent from our sins and a life of selfishness, we need to ask Him to be our Lord and savior, not that you deserve it, but is a gift from God.

If this is your desire today, please repeat this prayer after me?

Heavenly Father I’m sinner,

I’m sorry for my sins,

I’m willing to turn away from my sins.

I receive Christ as my savior,

I confess him as Lord

from this moment on I want to follow and serve him,

in the fellowship of his church,

In Jesus name. Amen!