A PERFECT CONVERSATION

JOHN 4

Sermon of the Week #200728 – July 15, 2007

The number seven in the Bible is regarded as the perfect number. In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus had a conversation with the woman at the well, and in that conversation the Lord said seven things to this woman. If seven is indeed the perfect number in scripture, then this conversation that Jesus had with this woman was a perfect conversation.

The Apostle John said that the Lord and His Apostles were going from Judaea to Galilee and must needs pass through Samaria. Normally a Jew would go a day’s journey around Samaria rather than go through it, even though in this case, it is said He must go through it, for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

Sometimes there are places where the Christian does not feel comfortable, but we must be there. That is why Paul said in 1st Corinthians 5:9-10, “I wrote unto you to have no company with fornicators; not at all meaning the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, and extortioners, or an idolater, for then must ye needs go out of the world.”

Sometimes we must be in a school, or the workplace where the environment is not the best, but we have to live in the same world with them. So if we must be there, may our presence be a witness of our relationship with Jesus, even as it was with the Lord when He must go through Samaria.

In Samaria He came to the city of Sychar and being wearied with His journey sat thus by the well. The Apostles went away into the city to buy food, and while they were gone a Samaritan woman came to draw water at high noon, and the following conversation with the seven statements took place. The first of the seven statements was, “Give Me to drink.”

GIVE ME TO DRINK

The Lord of glory asked this woman for a drink. The One who poured the oceans, and great rivers in their places, and then hung the Big Dipper in the sky, said to this woman, “Give Me to drink.” Again consider the Jesus who says in Revelation 21:6, “I will give unto him that is athirst of the water of life freely,” and the One who asked her for a drink would again ask for a drink on the cross when He cried out just before He dies, “I thirst,” and they offered Him vinegar. This is the One who asks this woman at the well in Sychar, “Give me to drink.”

Jesus is still begging for a drink of water today on behalf of those who are thirsting for the Word of God. And that reminds us of a statement He would make later on, “Whosoever shall give to drink a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

The woman knew this was an unusual situation because she said, “How is it that thou being a Jew asketh drink of me, who am a Samaritan woman?” Racial tension was great between Jews and Samaritans. Race is sometimes a barrier in relationships with other people. But whatever your race there is no barrier between you and Jesus. The song says, “Just as I Am, Thy love unknown has broken every barrier down.” The only barrier that will keep you out of the Pearly Gates is your own stubborn will that says to God, “I won’t do it.”

This meeting with Jesus may have seemed accidental to the woman of Sychar even as many things in life seem accidental to us. What we sometimes think just happened, may be part of the overall plan. It has been said that providence in our lives is God working in our lives anonymously. The fact that you may be listening to this broadcast at this moment could alter the course of your life. It could be that even now the Lord is working anonymously in your life today. He must needs pass through Samaria.

IF THOU KNEWEST THE GIFT OF GOD

The second statement Jesus made in this conversation was when He said, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou woulds’t have asked of Him, and he would have given thee living water.”

That statement of Jesus has two good questions in it. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that speaketh with thee. The answer to both questions is in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.” The gift of God is his only begotten Son, is the answer to the first, and the virgin birth is the answer as to his identity.

Believing on Jesus includes all that he said on the question of salvation. What about repentance? Is that necessary? He said, “Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.”

If Jesus would come down to earth in human form for a visit today and we knew who He is, we would ask of Him many things. But in our case He would not tell us anything that He has not already told us in the Bible. Paul tells us in 2nd Timothy 3, “All scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God might be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.” God has given us all the information He is going to give us. Everything we need to know about the Judgment Day, the second coming, Heaven, Hell, the Devil, the final resurrection, the question of what to do to be saved, is in the Bible. God’s Word is complete; there will be no further revelation. No new gospel truth has been delivered unto mankind since the last Apostle laid down his pen after writing the last verse in the book of Revelation, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with the saints.”

Jesus spoke to the woman about living water. The water we drink resembles the water of life. The water we drink comes down from above, and so does the living water that Jesus gives. There are some places in the world where there is little rain and they are deserts. Then there are some places where there is much rain. In a similar way there are some spiritual deserts, and some places where the water of life is in great abundance. I know of people who have an abundance of Bibles and never drink of the water of life. In many places Bibles are scarce, and people beg for them. Through the generosity of some of you, we have sent over ten thousand Bibles to those who live in spiritual darkness.

Now notice that statement again, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given unto thee living water.” Notice how the Lord had the knack of turning every conversation around and give it a spiritual meaning. When he saw fishermen mending their nets, He said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Here He was sitting by the well and He speaks to this woman about the water of life. When He fed the five thousand, the next day He preached a message on the bread of life. When the Apostles were crossing over the sea to Galilee and He heard them talking about forgetting to take bread, Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and Sadducees.” We need to develop that same technique. Try turning every conversation around into a spiritual lesson.

WHOEVER DRINKS OF THIS WATER SHALL THIRST AGAIN

The third statement that Jesus made to the woman at the well was when He said, “Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”

The things we thirst for on earth will never be satisfied. Jeremiah said that the people had forsaken the living water and made for themselves broken cisterns that would hold no water.

One great billionaire was asked, “How much money do you have to get to be satisfied?” He said, “Just a little bit more.” If you thirst for power, you will thirst for more. I asked one wife of a prominent leader why her husband continued to strive for prominence in an additional area and she said, “He wants one more thing to add to his resume.” Whatever we thirst for in this world we will continue to thirst.

One prominent movie star got out of the movies and went into politics. He was asked why and he said he was bored making movies. The very thing that most Americans would regard the pinnacle of success, the supreme achievement of life, became boring to him. I had to agree with him. While I did not see his movies, if I had gone to see one, I would not have looked at the show more than fifteen minutes without being bored. I would have thought, “What in the world am I doing here looking at this stuff when I could be doing something worthwhile?”

But the most ominous thing about those words regards a person who made money his god when Jesus told the story of a man who had it all. He should have been satisfied, but he died and continued to thirst, “He lifted up his eyes in Hades and being in torment called for Abraham to send Lazarus and dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am in anguish in this flame.” That is the worse thirst of all; thirsty in Hell forever, for all the desires of the flesh, and no outlet for satisfaction. But remember Jesus said, “Those who drink of the water of life shall never thirst.” One of the last statements in Revelation is when the Lord said, “Whosoever will, let him drink of the water of life freely.”

GO CALL THY HUSBAND

The fourth topic brought up in this conversation was, “Go call thy husband.”  She said, “I have no husband.” The woman wanted the water of life, but there was a little matter of her personal life that had to be cleared up first. Go call thy husband. We have to come to terms with the sin problem first. What about that man or that woman you are living with? What about that bottle? What about that drug addiction? What about perversion? What about that pornography? Some think that Jesus died for them, and that their sin had nothing to do with it. Just believe, come into the Church and drag all your sins in with you. God made you this way so enjoy, and live like you always did.

Paul said, “Christ died for our sins,” and again he said in Romans, “What then shall we say, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid, how shall we who have died to sin live any longer therein?” Jesus is still just as much alive as He ever was and we are dealing with one who can tell us all things that ever we did.

THOU HAST HAD FIVE HUSBANDS

And that brings on the fifth statement of Jesus in the conversation when He told her, “Thou saidst well, I have no husband for thou hast had five husbands and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: this hast thou said truly.”

When she returned to the city of Sychar, she said, “Come see a man who told me all things that ever I did.” Evidently, Jesus said more than, “Thou hast had five husbands.” He may have recited the names of all five, and the man with whom she was now living. Jesus also can recite to us everything that we have done, thought, or said. I cannot remember everything I have done or said. There are some things I wish I could forget, but remember, Jesus remembers all of it. John records in his second chapter; “Jesus knew all man and He knows what is in man.” Nothing is hidden from His penetrating gaze. He sees us as we are. There is no hiding place down here, or there. He is the One whose eyes are as a flame of fire.

WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH

The sixth item that Jesus brought up to the woman at the well was in regards to worship. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father is a Spirit. He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. It is possible to worship God in the spirit, but it might not be in the Holy Spirit. John tells us in his first epistle chapter 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

How can you try the Spirit of God? The only rule of trying the spirit, is trying the scripture with scripture. If someone says he has the spirit, and says that baptism is not a part of the plan of salvation, a good way to try that spirit is by the inspired Word of the Holy Spirit in Mark 16:16, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth, and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned.” Suppose you hear a person speak with great spirit, predict that the Lord will return at a certain time. Try that spirit with the Spirit of God in Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.” If someone speaking with the spirit of scholarship denies that Jesus is the virgin-born Son of God, try the spirit with what the Holy Spirit said in Luke 2:31, “And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High God.” Try the spirits with the words of the Holy Spirit, and see if they be of God.

Some may mistake the spirit of enthusiasm for the Holy Spirit. Some may mistake emotionalism for the Holy Spirit. John tells us that Jesus is full of grace and truth. Jesus has grace and He will give us grace, but the grace must be combined with truth. There is no promise that the grace of God will reach us without obedience to the truth. God’s grace is not cheap.

And now the seventh statement Jesus made to the woman at the well in this perfect conversation was, “I that speak unto thee am He.”

I THAT SPEAK UNTO THEE AM HE

Jesus made the confession of Himself, “I that speak unto thee am He.” That statement is loaded with spiritual meaning. Who is it that speaks unto us through the pages of the New Testament? It is the Messiah who speaks. In some Bibles the words of Jesus are printed in red. Those red words are like a red flag for those who are on the road to Hell. But remember, He told the Apostles that He would send the Holy Spirit unto them after He ascended back to Heaven, and the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all things that Jesus had said unto them. The words of the Apostles written in black are all words of Jesus. Every verse in the Word of God says to us, “I that speak unto thee am He.”

Jesus had told the woman to go call thy husband. What an honor that is for Jesus to tell us to go call somebody. He has told us to call somebody when he said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.” She was so thrilled at what she heard that she went to the city not only to tell that one man, she went and told everybody. Notice that she left the water-pot. Did she leave it on purpose to honor the request Jesus had made for a drink of water, or did she forget it? It speaks well of her in either case. If she forgot the water-pot, that is a reminder to us that when people meet the Lord Jesus Christ, and realize all this can mean, many things of this world that seem so important have no more interest to us. When the people of Sychar, in Samaria, came out to meet Jesus, they also believed that He was the Messiah. They besought Him to abide with them and He stayed two days. Then after hearing Him for themselves two more days, many others believed on Him, and then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of thy speaking, for we have heard for ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.” Those who saw for themselves did not have a hand-me-down religion. It is good to say, “I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ”, because of the word of the preacher, but can you also say, “I believe it because I have seen it for myself on the pages of the Word of God, and know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” The Lord said seven things to the woman, and she also said seven things. Six of the seven things she said to the Lord, and the seventh, she said to everybody. It was a perfect conclusion to a perfect conversation.