ARE YOU THIRSTY?

John 4:4–26 NIV

Now he had to go through Samaria. 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 noon. 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 asks 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 livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.” 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.” 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 ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, 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 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. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the 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, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

INTRODUCTION

Did you know that sometimes I get tired? Does that ever happen to you? You reach the end of a long day or a long week and are ready to find some rejuvenation. (P)

There are a few methods I like to use to accomplish that.

My favorites are either a date night with Rhonda - last Saturday we had a nice dinner together and then went to a York Symphony concert - excellent concert and a very nice evening.

And sometimes, when we aren’t able to do that, we give each other an evening out. My favorite way to spend an evening, if it's just me, is to go to a Ramen place over in the Queensgate Center, Ninja Ramen - excellent. And then I go to the other end of that plaza where the Movie Theater is, and I’ll watch whatever seems most interesting at the time with a nice bag of popcorn. (P)

It really hits the spot when we can do something like that to relax, get our minds off of everything, and have an enjoyable and refreshing evening. (P)

What are some of your rejuvenation activities?

What makes you feel refreshed and energized? (P)

Reflect on that for a moment, and then answer this question:

How long does it last?

Whether you take a day off to spend time with family or do some of your hobbies, or you go on vacation, how long does it take until you're ready for another break? Are you able to make it a couple of weeks, or maybe a few days? Or do you not even get through the first day back to work and realize you’re ready for more rejuvenation?

What happened to that refreshing feeling you just had? (P)

Jesus gives some insight into this in His conversation with the Samaritan woman as the two of them commiserate together on a common problem they each shared.

They were thirsty!

That’s a curse of being human - no matter how much you drink, you will always go back to being thirsty.

Jesus stopped at the well because He was thirsty.

The woman came to the well to draw water so she could have it when she was thirsty, which she probably was after that hike to the well carrying a jug in the hottest part of the day!

No matter how refreshed they once were because of their last drink, there they were, thirsty. And no matter how much they would drink at that well on that day, it would be within hours or less that they would be thirsty again! (P)

But what we discover in the conversation that would ensue is that the thirst Jesus talks about goes much deeper than physical thirst - far worse than a dry mouth and a body devoid of fluids.

Jesus uncovers a spiritual thirst in this woman that was not just her problem, but is something that every one of us faces, often, in moments when we are tired and discouraged, or struggling with temptation and sin. And no matter how many powerful moments we have had in the past when God’s presence was strong in our lives, we still encounter moments of feeling estranged and separated from Him as we deal with our imperfect humanness. (P)

It's why you have probably noticed the common direction our series on our Mission and Vision has taken with each of these three L words that make up the action steps - Love, Light, and Living Water.

That pattern is simply this - before you can love others, before you can shine your light, or more accurately stated, reflect Christ’s light for others, and before you can be a channel through which the living water from God flows to others, you must first find these things in Christ for yourself.

You must discover God’s love for you, and the love you have for Him back. You must allow the light of Christ to illuminate the darkness in your lives, and allow the process of repentance and forgiveness to work for your heart. And you must discover how you can be cleansed by the living water from above, and what that actually means, which is what we are talking about today. (P)

Once we find that for ourselves, then we can do this for others. (P)

So - our Vision and Mission Statements again:

Vision Statement: To be known as a people who embody God’s love, who are a light in the valley, and a means by which His living water flows. [Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 1:7; Matthew 28:19-20]

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Mission Statement: We are here to glorify and love God first through our worship that enables us to live out Christ’s commands in our behavior, acts of service, and Christ-like redeeming relationships towards others, thus fulfilling the Great Commission.

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We will abide and walk in the light of Christ,

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Rapidly flowing with streams of living water from God’s Spirit, which empowers us to share His love and light in the valley and beyond. [John 15:4; Isaiah 58; John 7:37-39]

(P) Now, notice that we aren’t the living water - but the means by which it flows. When we find Christ and allow His water to do its work in us, it becomes like a fountain bubbling up within us, and we take that to others.

The next two weeks are about discovering what that even means and what that looks like. (P)

This is another good news/bad news scenario. The living water is the good news - but it doesn’t mean a whole lot unless we understand the bad news first. (P)

Jeremiah words it this way - and understand, even though he is addressing the wayward Israelites, we are not immune to this problem.

He says: {CLICK}

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

That is, they not only turned their backs on God, but they were trying to dig their own wells. Figuratively, they were trying to find their own source of water. They were leaning on other things instead of God, sometimes idols, to find rejuvenation and satisfaction in life.

It led to sin, idolatry, and separation from God. (P)

The question for us is:

Where do we see this problem in our own lives?

What have we allowed to get in the way of our relationship with God?

What things have taken the place God should have in our hearts?

What things do we lean on instead of God to find the instant gratification of whatever it may be we think we are looking for in that moment? (P)

Jesus came to reverse these trends by bringing the living water that would correct all of this. But to understand how that works and how important this concept is, we must first understand the benefits of this metaphorical water.

One is that: {CLICK}

Living Water breaks barriers.

This interaction between Jesus, who remember, was a Jew, and the Samaritan woman, absolutely flabbergasted her. Look what she says in verse 9 of this text: {CLICK}

John 4:9 NIV

“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.)

This isn’t the first time in recent weeks we have discussed an encounter like this.

A few weeks ago, we discussed the Good Samaritan who helped an injured Jew - and it was a lesson to remind us who our neighbors are. And the lesson from this situation is very similar. (P)

The scuffle between these two groups of people was nothing new. It began as one of the exiles was ending in 2 Kings, and the king of Assyria, where they had been exiled, thought it would be a good idea to settle some exiled folks not of Jewish descent in the land of Samaria with the Jews that had remained and survived the attacks and exile.

Chapter 17 and verse 24 says: {CLICK}

2 Kings 17:24 NIV

The king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites. They took over Samaria and lived in its towns.

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And so what happened is the Jews that were there mixed with these other groups of people, and intermarried together, resulted in a blended concoction of a religion that was not something the Jewish people accepted, because it wasn’t honoring to God, and so they rejected these now Samaritans. They went a little overboard in doing so, and hence the issues we see between them here. (P)

But when Jesus encountered this woman, He wasn’t interested in escalating the conflict, but rather breaking the barriers. And frankly, there were a lot of barriers that had to be broken in this situation because she had a lot working against her.

Three things to be exact:

She was a Samaritan

She was a woman

She was an outcast even among her own people because of the lifestyle she was living, which we discover later in this chapter. (P)

She was just an all-around unwanted person. Can you imagine being in that kind of social position? (P)

That’s why it was such a big deal for Jesus to be talking to her, and it was from that interaction that we see how it would come to benefit this woman, as well as many others she would become a testimony to.

But that’s what had to happen - a breaking of barriers that should have never been there, and that’s what Jesus did. (P)

What are some barriers we must break - both with God and others - to be able to proceed with the work He is calling us to do?

What kinds of barriers do you find keeping you from encountering certain people?

Gender differences?

Race differences?

Political Party?

Differences of opinion?

What is it about them that makes you want to avoid them?

What if you were the one God wanted to use to break the barrier and bring them the message of Christ? (P)

What are some of our barriers with God?

We don’t have or want to take the time to spend with Him?

We don’t understand His way of doing things?

We aren’t patient enough to wait for Him?

We feel we have so much gunk and baggage in our lives that He could never want us? (P)

Jesus had to break some serious barriers to connect with her, to reach her, and to help her understand His ultimate mission, which is the second, and perhaps most powerful benefit we find from His living water: {CLICK}

Living Water brings purification.

Now, there were prophecies about this as far back as the days of the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 12 and verse 3, the Israelites were given this hope: {CLICK}

Isaiah 12:3 NIV

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Later in the 44th chapter, Isaiah makes this promise of the coming Savior: {CLICK}

Isaiah 44:3 NIV

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Then in John 7, Jesus says these words, hinting to the people that He was, in fact, the fulfillment of that prophecy: {CLICK}

John 7:37–38 NIV

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

(P) But, as we see today in the skepticism of many when it comes to faith, especially in Jesus Christ, some are not so easily convinced of this truth. (P)

This Samaritan woman, herself cautious at the bizarre friendliness of this Jewish man, was not going to be so easily convinced of the deity of Jesus, either. We see a little of that in this exchange.

She was still having a hard time getting over the fact that He would ask her for a drink, and she asked Him about it - how could you, as a Jewish man, be asking me for a drink?

And Jesus said in verse 10 of our text:

John 4:10 NIV

“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.”

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Right there is a hint to who He is, but she didn’t get that - you can see from her response that she was taking what He said quite literally.

How can this Jewish man, so desperate for a drink that He has to ask a Samaritan Woman for help, give me any kind of water? He couldn’t even give Himself water.

She probably thought He was off His rocker. (P)

And so when a couple of exchanges of that didn’t work, Jesus realized He needed to dig a little deeper, and get to the heart of the matter, and so He initiated that uncomfortable part of the conversation by telling her to go get her husband and bring Him back, to which she had to reply that she had no husband.

And there it was - the way in.

Jesus informed her that He already knew this, and went on to describe every detail of her marital history that He shouldn’t have known - certainly not as a regular, everyday stranger just passing through town. (P)

This not only proved who He was, but also revealed the very reason she needed this life-giving water He was trying to offer her.

And He wasn’t trying to condemn her - at all. But as we discussed when talking about light, she needed all of this to be exposed and cleansed - because Jesus loved her and cared for her and wanted her to experience the purification He was offering. (P)

God works in interesting ways sometimes. In wanting to find a resource or video or something that would help drive this point home, I typed “Living Water” into Google, and the second result was a website that featured a video that was shot in Friedens, Pennsylvania.

Now, most of you know I grew up in Western PA, and some of you know that I grew up in Somerset. I say Somerset because that’s slightly more familiar than the rinky-dink village I grew up in, smaller than even Loganville, in which my mailing address was Friedens, PA. And the creek in this video, I know quite well, so I had to watch it, and sure enough, I saw a powerful clip that I want to share with you today - and it describes purification quite well. {CLICK}

[SHOW VIDEO]

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Everyone carries some baggage. Some people carry deep, dark pains of the past - whether they are sins, or things that weren’t their fault, but Satan has convinced them they were. And in some situations, it is so dark and heavy that they have, to this day, not told anyone about it.

Perhaps your burden is even greater than what this Samaritan woman had experienced, which made her a social outcast. (P)

I don’t know what everyone is carrying - but even without knowing, I can guarantee you that you have nothing that is beyond the purifying and forgiving power of Christ, who is ready to give you a brand new heart and a brand new start. (P)

Psalm 51 was written on the other side of David’s affair with Bathsheba, and the setting up of her husband’s placement on the front lines so he would be killed in battle. His life was in an absolute tailspin, and when his advisor, Nathan, helped bring him to repentance, these were David’s requests, that he knew with absolute confidence the Lord would provide for him:

Verse 2: {CLICK}

Psalm 51:2 NIV

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Verse 7: {CLICK}

Psalm 51:7 NIV

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Verse 10: {CLICK}

Psalm 51:10 NIV

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

That is what God does for us because of the blood of Jesus, the one from whom the living water flows. It comes to us, and we help it flow to others, which brings us to number 3: {CLICK}

Living Water remains in motion.

This is what transitions us to what we are going to discuss next week.

But what I want to highlight here for today is what Jesus says about worship, and how that carries over into our role as channels through which the living water of Christ flows.

We’ll talk about what it looks like when we go out like streams of living water next week, but again it begins with our relationship with God - and the ways in which we connect with Him, and let Him cleanse us and purify us so we can be ready to go out there. (P)

The conversation here in today’s text makes an interesting shift to worship practices. With the Samaritan woman now acknowledging Jesus as at least a prophet - she’s getting closer - because of His supernatural awareness of what her life had been like, she thought this would be a good person to clear up a misconception about worship, particularly the location it was supposed to take place. (P)

Way back in Deuteronomy 11, it had been established that Mount Gerizim would be a key site for worship. That mountain is in the region of Samaria, and where she had been brought up to believe that was the appropriate worship site. {CLICK}

Deuteronomy 11:29 NIV

When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.

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Later, King David wanted worship to occur in Jerusalem, with his son Solomon establishing the temple, and that’s where most Jews chose to worship. It was a controversy all the way up to the day Jesus and this woman spoke. (P)

Jesus' answer was simple - that it was not about the location, but it was about the attitude.

The Holy Spirit was going to move. That’s why this image of living, or running, water is significant. Worshippers were not going to stay stagnant. Jesus was eventually going to give the proclamation in Matthew 28 that the gospel of Christ was to travel worldwide, and it didn’t matter where they worshipped - what mattered was how, in Spirit and in truth.

That is - we are in tune with the Holy Spirit in us, our focus is on God, and our worship is based on the truth of the gospel. It isn’t watered down. We are not just in it for the good feelings - we are in it as a people who intend to follow God and be obedient to Him, even when it means we are called out of a life he doesn’t approve of, so we can be worshipping God in the right place - not in location, but in heart. (P)

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in Acts 2, as their work of planting the church began, it wasn’t on Mount Gerizim or the temple of Jerusalem; the Holy Spirit came to them right where they were in the house they had been hunkering down in, and it just so happened that it was in the vicinity where many people had gathered, and thousands were added to their number that day, right where the Spirit wanted them. From there, they would go and be on the move, and their work would be huge, and it would be powerful. (P)

It started a literal movement that is to continue today - even right here in York, Pennsylvania. We can and should worship here at this church. We can and should worship throughout the week in our home. We can and should worship in our cars. It will never be in the same place each time because God’s people are to be on the move.

Paul tells Timothy: {CLICK}

1 Timothy 2:8 NIV

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

Our job is to be in praise and worship to God for the purification and second chance He brings us - one that frees us from the burden of our sin, one that releases us from an imperfect past, and one that gives us the right to release any guilt we may continue to carry, thinking God is holding something against us, because we know He’s not.

He’s forgiven us.

He’s purified us.

He loves us.

And we belong to Him.

Because of Jesus, we are free. {CLICK}

John 8:36 NIV

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

CONCLUSION

Mark Twain tells the story in one of his books of a slave who went to sleep one night on a narrow neck of land in Missouri that jutted out into the Mississippi River. That night, there was a great storm, and the river cut a new channel, right through the neck of land.

When the slave awoke the next morning, he found himself not in Missouri, but in Illinois — a free man! The rushing water had freed him.

Twain then says:

Such is the case with the woman at the well: she is freed by the living water.

And such is the case with you. (P)

Nothing is holding you down and holding you back from God. And every time Satan tries to bring up the past, you are perfectly in the right to remind him that he has already been defeated. Nothing in your past is on any permanent record that God keeps, so long as Jesus is the one you trust as your Savior. (P)

You have been cleansed by the living water that comes from Jesus, and the Holy Spirit that comes into the heart of every believer will help you be the channel by which the love and knowledge of who Christ is can reach others. (P)

We will bring this all together next week, but for this week, I want you to focus on your relationship with your Savior.

Have you allowed Him to completely purify you with His living water?

Or is there still some dirt at the bottom of your cup you are letting Satan hold there, keeping your heart from complete purity?

As always, I am up front to pray with you, someone can be in the prayer room with you, and if they aren’t there, find Rhonda, me or one of the prayer shepherds after service to pray and help you release all to Him, because God doesn’t want you to hold onto it.