Jesus and the Woman at the Well Part 4: Jesus Seeks True Worshipers - John 4:19-26

0:50And he, then in verse 15, the woman said to him, Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come here to draw. So he awakens her thirst. He promises her living water if she will but ask. She asks, and then Jesus proceeds to give her living water. And we see this morning that moment where she takes it in. But first, what Jesus does is he puts his finger on her sin, right? Go call your husband. And he exposes her immoral, sinful lifestyle.

1:41And that's where we pick it up. Go call your husband. In verse 16, the woman said, I have no husband. Jesus said, You have correctly 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. Wow. Lays it out there. And now we pick up verse 19 through 26. And let me read these to you. 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. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in 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. 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.

3:02So the woman in verses 19 and 20 makes two statements in response to Jesus' exposure of her sin. First of all, look back at verse 19. The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. And two elements need to be acknowledged. First, her statement is a confession of her guilt. She doesn't try to deny her sin. She doesn't challenge Jesus. How did you know about that? Who's to say? She doesn't excuse her sin.

3:40Well, let me tell you my situation and why I'm living with this man. No, she doesn't go into that. She doesn't blame others. She doesn't start saying, well, let me tell you what my father did. Let me tell you what my mom did. Let me tell you why. None of that. Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. You have put your finger on my sin. The second element of her statement is it's an open recognition of Jesus' spiritual authority, at least to some degree.

4:11She sees Jesus as a prophet. She said, you certainly are, because you can't know what you know unless God has shown you that. So you are a prophet. And of course, she's going to come to learn that he's much more than a prophet. He is the prophet. He is the prophet from which the very spirit of prophecy proceeds. But sure, true, he is a prophet. And she picks up on that. But her next statement, what she does next, is she moves the conversation to worship. Interesting. He's just exposed her sin, and now she moves the conversation to, okay, how do I worship? How do we appease God?

5:00Look at verse 20. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, that is on Mount Gerizim. Our fathers worshiped here. And you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. So she moves the conversation. Where are we to worship God? How are we to please God? Yes, you've put your finger on my sin. Now, how do I worship God? How do we work? How do we appease him? And that's basically her underlying question. And there's a theological issue that she brings up, a debate that's going on between the Samaritans and the Jews, and been going on for a long time. And it involves the place of proper worship. Where is it? Well, the Samaritans thought it was Mount Gerizim. And they thought, well, that's where, first of all, that's where Abraham first offered a sacrifice. Was in this area, so it's on, that's where he, that's the mountain. Now, the Samaritans only recognize the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, as authoritative. And so they don't have any of the other prophetic record of where God directs the temple to be placed. So they just assumed, okay, it's here. Also, what's interesting, the Samaritan Bible had a little bit different reading in Deuteronomy 12, 5. I'll just read you Deuteronomy 12, 5, where God is telling Israel what to do when they get into the land. But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes to establish his name there for his dwelling, and there you shall come. In other words, God will choose a place for you, and you were to worship there.

6:52But this is how the Samaritan Bible reads. But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God has chosen, has already chosen. And of course, they came into the land. That's where Abraham first built an altar. That's from Mount Gerizim, where the blessings were shouted out and the curses were shouted out. And so, and even several Samaritan texts tied the Ten Commandments to Mount Gerizim. So here's this woman at this well with Mount Gerizim in the background and Mount Ebel in the background. Saying, it's on this mountain that we say you should worship. And so the Samaritans built a temple there in 400 BC, or around there, 400 BC. What's interesting is that temple survived the Greek Empire.

7:52It went in Jerusalem, didn't, right? Well, it certainly got profaned, right? But what's interesting is John Hyrucanus destroys it in 128 BC. That's a Maccabees. So the Samaritans built a temple and the Jews tore it down. It survived the Greek Empire, but it didn't survive the Maccabean period. So you can imagine, okay, a little tension going on here, right? So this is more than just a theological debate. So she's saying, it's here. It's here. And you say, Jesus, you say that it's in Jerusalem.

8:39Where are we supposed to worship? That's the underlying idea. And the Jewish position, obviously, they had the rest of the canon. It was there that David determined to build the altar. It was or build the temple. Solomon builds it, and God sanctions sacrifices to be there. His glory. Glory fills the temple. It was rebuilt in Zerubbabel's day, so it's in Jerusalem if you follow the rest of Scripture. But she is bringing up this issue of where are we supposed to worship? Where is the place of proper worship? And she's asking Jesus to weigh in, engage in this theological debate between the Samaritans and the Jews. Some commentators think she's sidestepping the issue. Well, okay, you exposed my sin. Now I'm going to go over here. No, I think her question is honest. You have just exposed my sin. And she knew. She knew. She was living under the frown of God. Every day she walked by the Mount of Curses. She knew. She knew.

9:46She didn't try to hide her sin. She confessed her sin. I think she was convicted of her sin at the very core of her being. And what she is moving the conversation is, what do I do about my sin? How do we worship God? How do I... What do I do with this? How do I know which religion is right? How do I know what's going to make me right with God? I know I live under his frown. I understand the guilt of my sin. How do I deal with that?

10:26You know, I learned a. A lesson in raising kids about being a father. One of the things I learned was it's very important how a father interacts with his children. One particular occasion, I had reprimanded one of my kids. She, I'll say she, and give you that. You still don't know. It's four of them. You can pick, still got four daughters, so you can't figure out who it is. But anyway, I had reprimanded her for something, and my punishment was, I felt very light. But she was just broken and crying. And I looked at her and said, What's going on? I mean, that wasn't that severe. And she said, You're mad at me. You're mad at me. There's a you know, and just it just broke her. And she was not sad. She could not go on with living under my frown, so to speak, right? And listen, there's something I and I've seen this in all my kids, I've seen this in my wife, I've seen this in my relationships, I see this around in every facet of life. We long for the approval of those we esteem, don't we? And I don't care if it's your boss, I don't care if it's somebody you really appreciate, I don't care if it's a father, if it's a brother, if it's a or whoever it is, right?

11:53We don't want those who we esteem to frown upon us. It's a condition. So, listen, just fathers, be very mothers. Your words are very important, right? Employers, employees, brothers, sisters, very important that you relate well to one another, relate godly to one another. But here's this woman. Now, imagine the frown of God. Listen, there is something in us that is not satisfied, that cannot be at peace as long as we know the frown of God is upon us, right? And that's what, when Jesus put his finger on this woman's sin, it awakened that, right? And some of you are living in sin, some of you are in sin, some of you haven't dealt properly with your sin, some of you continue in patterns of sin, and there is a heaviness there. You know, you're under the frown of God.

13:03That's the thirst. Do you see? He's going to give her living water, but what's he going to do? He's going to awaken her thirst for it. What is that living water? It is the soul satisfaction between a holy God. So, Jesus' response: He's going to go on, and He's going to clarify the nature of true worship. And in so doing, He's going to give her this living water, He's going to satisfy her. Her soul with that which truly satisfies. The main idea in the verses that I just read is worship. God is seeking true worshipers. And it's just expressly stated in verse 23 that God is searching, he is seeking true worshipers. And just, you know, you see this throughout Scripture, right? If you just do a word study or just do a study on the eyes of the Lord, Zechariah 4:10 says that the eyes of the Lord range to and fro throughout the earth. You remember in Genesis 6, 8, what did he find? He found Noah, right? At that time when the whole world had gone over the top, apostate deep into sin, hatred, and there's one. God scans and he finds Noah. Deuteronomy 11:12 says this, speaking about the land of Israel. The land of Israel is a land for which the Lord your God cares. The eyes of the Lord are always upon it. So he looks, and then 2 Chronicles 6:19, 16, 9 says, For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. So a constant ongoing pattern of God is that his eyes are running to and fro throughout the earth. Looking for those whose heart is completely his. God is searching. God's the seeker here.

15:09Psalm 34:15 says, The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears are open to their cry. Now, these verses should awaken something into you. Does it not make you want to say, God, I want my heart to be completely yours? God, I want to be righteous in your eyes. This is what you're looking for. God, this is what I want to be. Well, in John 4:23, the eyes of the Lord are seeking true worshipers. It's the same statement here. And doesn't that make you want to be a true worshiper? If all that God is doing in the world and all that He is scanning and seeking, and what He wants, what He wants from His creation is true worship. Doesn't that put everything else aside in importance? Doesn't that awaken something in your heart? Say, Lord, I want to be a true worshiper.

16:11Well, I hope it does. It does me. But it's interesting about Samaria here: it's not only his eyes that are looking for true worshipers, but also his feet, right? I must go through Samaria. Why must he go through Samaria? He is looking for a True worshiper. And he finds one. So I want you to see three essentials of true worship so that you will be a true worshiper. That's where I want to go this morning. I want you to see three essentials of true worship so that you will be a true worshiper. And I hope you want to be. First of all, first essential of being a true worshiper is you must believe Jesus. You must believe Jesus. Look back at verse 21. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me. Now stop there. Woman, believe me.

17:10That's the main imperative in this whole section. Believe. Woman, it's the command. You must believe. You must believe me. And listen, believing him and believing who he is and believing his words cannot be separated. He must be believed. Look, the process of giving living water first starts with conviction and belief. Does that seem like a familiar pattern from Scripture, right? Of course. Woman, you must be believing in me. You must be believing in what I say is true. That's the imperative command. Be believing. The command comes down to us today. You know, you came in and you're sitting on a chair, right?

18:00And the whole idea of believing in something is to have a strong confidence in, to entrust yourself to, right? Most of you came in and sat here, and I would say probably 100% of you came in and sat in the chair without asking the question, I wonder if this chair is going to hold me up. There might be one or two of you that thought, but you didn't even think about it, right? You had such confidence that it didn't even come across your mind whether or not the chair would hold you up. And so you sat, right? That's what to believe is. Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in his words to such a degree that it's like the question of their validity doesn't even come to your mind because you believe.

18:51It's a sad thing when people believe in the wrong chair, right? We had that happen right over here. There's some pews, right? We had a bunch of people sit in. Big family come, wants to visit our church and sits down in this pew and pow! It goes down, right? Say, see, sir, you put your faith in the wrong pew. That one behind you is good. No. But the very essence, 1 Corinthians 13, 7 says, the very essence of love is belief. Belief.

19:21And this is what Jesus is saying. Entrust yourself entirely to me. Woman, believe me. So that's the main command. Now, let's look at what. What does he want us to believe in? What is the main content? Believe what? Look back at verse 21. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming. And he begins to tell her something. What does he want us to believe? Well, there's two things here. First of all, he wants us to believe what he says, right?

19:50Jesus came as a teacher. He wants us to rely upon everything he said. He wants our confidence to be totally in him, in his words. You cannot love his words if you don't believe his words. It's simply, it's that simple. You do not get the benefit of the chair if you do not believe it can hold you up, right? You don't get the benefit of sitting in the chair if you don't believe you. Likewise, you don't get the benefit of Jesus' words if you don't believe them. If you don't have confidence in Jesus' words, you get no benefit out of them. They will do nothing, right?

20:32Second, you have to believe in who he is, who he says he is. So you have to believe his words, but you also have to believe who he says he is. If you look down a few verses later in verses 25 and 26, Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah in no uncertain terms. And we'll come to that. I think he does more. I think he sets himself out more than just the Messiah. But he explicitly empowers. Plainly calls himself Israel's Messiah. Verse 26, Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. And the word Messiah is the Hebrew transliteration of the anointed one. I believe you are God's anointed one. Or that's who Jesus is declaring. You believe me to be God's anointed one. Not only believe my words, but believe that I am God's anointed one. Anointed one in the kingly realm, anointed one in the prophetic realm, anointed one in the priestly realm. I am his anointed. That's what Jesus is saying. And if anybody ever tells you that Jesus didn't claim to be the Messiah, you point him right here. In fact, I was just talking to a Jewish lady just recently who said, Jesus is a prophet. I believe that, but he certainly wasn't Messiah. I said, then he's a big fat liar because he is. He does come. A good prophet doesn't lie.

22:05He is God's anointed one. All things are given to him. He is the Savior. He is the anointed judge. He is the anointed ruler. He is the anointed sustainer of mankind. His anointing is forever. And he commands us to believe in him. And commands us to believe his words. And you cannot separate the two. You cannot say, I believe you are God's anointed one, but I don't believe your words, or I kind of believe your words, or I believe some of your words and not all of your words. You can't have it that way.

22:42Do you believe the first essential of true worship is to believe Jesus? And I want to stop here for just a moment because some of you need to settle your belief in Jesus right now. You cannot go on to the next level. You cannot become a true worshiper if you're still in this, oh, I kind of believe him, or I kind of don't believe him, or he's kind of Messiah or not Messiah. I can't quite. You need to settle your belief in him right now. Do you believe? Do you believe Jesus? Do you believe he is God's anointed one? Do you believe that what he's about to say to you is absolutely true?

23:29Maybe you struggle with your belief. You know what I'm going to ask you to do? Choose to believe him. Believe him. Just say, my default in life is going to be to believe him, to believe his word, believe the testimony about him, and I am going to do that. See, we usually approach it the other way, right? We say, okay, just impress me, prove yourself to me, prove yourself to me. No, go the other way. The default is, I will believe you. I do believe you, and I will continue to believe you, unless there's absolute reason why I shouldn't.

24:08And that's what I'm calling you to do today. I'm calling all of you to do it. Some of you may not even need, this may be the first time you've done that. But I'm going to take a moment and I'm just going to bow in prayer. And I want you all to go before, be honest before the Lord and ask yourself, Do you believe? And decide today, I will believe. I choose to believe. Help my unbelief. Will you do that with me? Let me pray. Heavenly Father, before we can ever become a true worshiper of you, we must believe you. We must believe that Jesus is your anointed. We must believe his words are true, or else we will ever and always be lost and away from you, speculating. So, Father, this day I just pray that you will help our unbelief. Father, and those here today who do not know you, I pray that right now they would pray after me, Lord. I choose to believe. Forgive my unbelief, help my unbelief, and thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.

25:23Okay, so the first essential of true worship is to believe Jesus. The second essential of true worship. Worship is: you must worship in the right place. You must worship in the right place. Now, let's look back. And Jesus is going to address her issue of place. First of all, in verses 21 through 24, he's actually going to address two issues: the issue of place and the issue of manner. I want to talk to you about both of them. So, first, I want to look at the issue of place, the place of worship, and this revolutionary impact that it has on this whole idea of worship. Well, first of all, to note, worship is not specific to a physical location. Look back at verse 21. Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. He's speaking to her.

26:26An hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. Notice how he doesn't say mankind, he says you. He's speaking to her. Jesus made it clear that worship is not about the physical location, whether it be Gerizim or Jerusalem. The place, though it's been contended in Israel and throughout history since and before, the place is not a physical location, but a spiritual location or a Spiritual disposition. Look back. Notice in verses 23 and 24 the expression in spirit. But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit. Verse 24, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit. God is by nature of a, he is a spiritual being. He is spirit. His essence is spirit. And that's why the location of true worship involves that spiritual dimension, the spirit realm, the spiritual. And I think it's very important to point out that the word spirit here is not to be taken as the Holy Spirit. You must worship in the Holy Spirit. Yes, I mean, that may be true, and certainly is. But what he's saying right here is he's talking about the realm, the spirit realm. You must, as opposed to the physical realm, it is an element of the spiritual aspect, the immaterial nature of man. You could be in the best place in the world, and your heart could be very far from God. You could be at a very remote place and be very near to God. He's talking about in spirit, that in material, that heart element, that mind, heart, soul aspect of humanity, not the merely the external. And this is a revolutionary thought about worship. Okay? Worship, think about this. Jesus is saying worship does not just happen in one location, right? It happens wherever a person may find himself or herself.

28:46And this transforms our sanctuary, right? The location is in spirit. And wherever man may be, that is his sanctuary to worship. The hospital room becomes a sanctuary of worship. Even the morgue can become a sanctuary of worship. Every trial, every situation, every geographic location, every endeavor, every relationship, every trial, every difficulty, every victory, all of those are sanctuaries of worship. Because that's where man is. And what is God looking for? True worshipers. The world is the sanctuary.

29:46And God is seeking those who will go out into His world and truly reflect Him, respond to Him, a soul interaction with the Creator. That's what true worship is. Your home, your work, your school, your church, your vocation is a place for worship. Are any of you guys interested in being married for a person to a person one day a week? Okay, I'm not, okay, you know, you know, we have premillennial, we have post-millennial, we have all-millennial, eschatology-wise. Now, I recognize that we have those here who are pre-marriage, post-marriage, and all-marriage. You know, if you read your systematic theology, you'll get the joke. But anyway, the point is, some of you, if you were married, if you were to get married, or if you haven't, do any of you conceive of the idea of marriage as something that is just one day a week? No, by definition, it's not marriage, is it?

30:51You see, God is looking for a true worshiper, and by very definition, true worship is not just one day a week, it's a heart disposition. So, if you are not worshiping outside these walls, you aren't, whatever you're doing in here, is not true worship. Because what God looks for, it's the location, it's wherever man is, God is looking for worshipers who will worship Him in spirit. And yes, it's good to assemble together and worship. Well, we'll move on.

31:25Three essentials of true worship. First, you must believe Jesus. Second, you must worship. Worship in the right place. Third, you must worship in the right manner. Must worship in the right manner. So not only does true worship have to be in the right place, but its content has to be based on true information, not fiction, but on reality, not on ignorance, but on truth, knowledge. And in verse 22, Jesus makes it very clear that all worship is not the same. Look at it. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. He makes a distinction between true worship and false worship. And he doesn't hold any punches, does he? He speaks clearly and truthfully, directly to this woman. And I'd like to make just three observations from this verse strikes me. First of all, Jesus denounced this worship or the worship of the Samaritans as inferior to that of the Jews. Right out the bat, right off the bat. He says, you worship what you do not know.

32:40You see, they had no scriptural authority. They had no revelation of God that would direct their worship. Whatever they were doing had a little bit of revelation and a lot of invention from man. Right? Listen, I realize that. There is tremendous liberty in worship for those who know the truth. But there is a vast sea of ignorant worship, and Jesus does not equate that with true worship. Second interesting observation: look at this. Jesus says to her, You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know. Do you see his solidarity with the Jewish people here? Even though he's just gone down and cleansed the temple, Jesus is and forever will stand in solidarity with his Jewish people. We.

33:40Third interesting observation: Jesus declared the nation from which salvation and truth of salvation is found, right? Look back. Salvation is from the Jews. Salvation itself and true information about salvation is from the Jews. The Savior comes from the Jews. All revelation in history about God has come through the Jews. Salvation is from out of the Jerusalem Jews. So you better pay attention. That's what he's saying, right? Saying to the pay attention. Let me tell you: true information about salvation. Salvation. It's not from your hodgepodge Samaritan ideology and mixture. It is from the Jerusalem Jews, based on relevatory authority. But notice the manner of true worship. Spirit and what? Truth. There's the manner. And these two cannot be separated, right? Look at verse 23. But an hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

35:05For such people the Father seeks, is seeking to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must, absolute must, worship him in spirit and truth. And these two go together. Now, keep in mind, she had just asked a question about the place of worship. And now Jesus is saying, yeah, the place is important. But more important than that is the object of worship, right? Truth. You can worship in spirit, but you could be worshiping the very wrong God.

35:41Spirit and truth must go together. True worship happens not only in a spiritual location, but is also focused upon the correct object of worship. And that is what's supreme. So what is truth? What does he mean by truth? You know, I think we can all readily get it. Okay, we are to worship in spirit. I think now we live in a culture today, a church culture today, where we get, okay, we understand that worship isn't, at least in our circles, we understand that worship isn't so much about the place as it is the heart disposition. Right? I think we all get it, it's in spirit, that there has to be something right with the heart. I think we get that. It's this in truth part that I think trips up many of us today. So what does he mean by spirit and truth? What does he have in mind about truth? Well, I tell you what I believe he does not have in mind. First of all, he does not have in mind sincerity. Oh, I think it's good to be sincere, but he doesn't say those who worship him must worship him in spirit and sincerity, right?

36:52You can be sincerely wrong. No, it's spirit and truth, right? And I don't believe he's talking about, and I certainly don't believe he's talking about the subjective truth of man. In that case, it would read, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and whatever you think truth to be. That's not what he's saying, right? He's talking about truth, revelation, truth, relevatory authority. I also think he isn't talking about symbolic forms. Think about what's going on in Jerusalem and all the forms of worship. You know, I don't think it's to read. And those who worship him must worship him in spirit and symbolic forms, right? No, there's a reality behind those forms. Even we celebrate the Lord's table, right? And there is a ritual, there is a symbolism involved, right? So do you think he's saying those who worship him must have the right forms?

37:53No. He's talking about the realities those forms represent or what they point to, right? So it's not about symbolic forms. And it's, or maybe it should read that. Do you think it reads something like this? Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and superfluous flattery. Of course not, right? But how many of us do that? Not superfluous flattery, but the fruit of our lips expressing gratitude and praise for what the soul has come to know for certain about God. That's a little more close.

38:37Nor is, I don't think he means simply regurgitating great doctrines, even though that is very important. I don't think it says, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and great doctrine or regurgitating great doctrine. No, I think it's more than just being able To recite great truths, but it's the soul being awestruck by the truth content of such doctrines. You see the difference? Worship is taking those great doctrines of truth and being awestruck not just by the catechism of them, but by the realities and the truth. I could go on. But true reflection, what worship is, what he means by truth, is he's talking about a soul reality, dealing not with symbols, not with types, not in mere exercise, not in ignorance, but truth. The life of God being received by the soul of man and the soul of man interacting with his Creator. That is where worship occurs.

40:00It's the soul engaging God. It's the soul truly reflecting God. Isn't that what we were created to do? Made in His image to reflect. So spirit and truth are closely tied in an ideal unity. You cannot have one without the other. Let me keep going. I need to bring this to a close. Three essentials of true worship so that you. Will know how to be a true worshiper. First, you must believe Jesus. Second, you must worship in the right place. Third, you must worship in the right manner. Now, I want you to see how this conversation between Jesus and the woman ends. Look back at 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.

40:56You get a sense that she's going to say, okay, I hear what you're saying, but we're going to have to defer the certainty of what you're saying until the Messiah comes. Do you sense a little bit of her pulling away, saying, What you're saying is good, or what you're saying, but really, ultimate, we have to wait till the ultimate authority comes and settles this matter because only he can settle this issue. Only he can really say with authority what true worship is, or that God is even seeking true worshipers. In verse 26, Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am He.

41:39Interesting, the word he doesn't show up in the Greek. Really, if you just read it, literally be more. I who speak, I am. Of course, he certainly is, it's an affirmation that he is Messiah. Certainly, he's affirmed that, but he's affirming, I believe more than that. I am Yahweh. I am seeking true worshipers. I am the Messiah. I am the one who speaks of the one. I am the anointed one. And I can tell you for sure what I am searching for.

42:17So finally, you remember Jesus, remember the woman asked in verse 12, Are you greater than Jacob? She finally gets her answer, doesn't she? Yes, I am the Messiah. I am the I am. Listen, these words are the fullest declaration which our Lord ever made about his own Messiahship. The gospel records don't record anything more precise, more to the point. Jesus said, I am the Messiah. And he does, he makes such a revelation to an immoral Samaritan woman.

43:08I love what one commentator said. He says, how readily and willing Christ is to reveal himself to a sinner's soul. The very moment that this woman expressed any desire for the Messiah, he at once revealed himself to her. I am he. See how this conversation went? It went from sin to worship to the Messiah. Listen, after studying these words, we must never despise any person. No one could be more worse off than this woman, and yet Jesus did not despise her. So we have no basis to despise anyone. And second, we must never think that anyone is beyond salvation. Right? After reading this passage, if this woman can be transformed, anyone can be transformed.

44:14So just put this in one big context here. Keep in mind, she asked for living water, and he gives it to her. First, conviction of sin. Second, belief in the right person, true information. Third, the goal is true worship. You see, drinking living water is going to make a true worshiper out of you. That's what being made in God's image is about. That's what the Lord came to restore. He is going to make true worshipers out of us. And not just in here, but in every place we go.

45:00Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this promise, this hope that we have in what you give us. You give us everything we need for a life of spiritual vibrancy. Father, it is a gift from you. It is a gift from you, revealed to us in the scriptures through your people, the Jews, and given to us in the person, from the person, based upon the work and the merits of your Son. And, Father, we thank you. And, Father, we desire to truly be a people who will drink in this living water.

45:43Thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.