“Going Through Samaria” Part 2
11/26/2000 p.m. (John 4:11-29) Rodgers Park Baptist Church
This morning we looked at the first 10 verses of John four, in which we concluded that Jesus would go to any length and to any place in order to share the truth of the gospel with the lost. This morning we saw:
I. The Convoy of Hope - Jesus passed through Samaria.
II. The Contact with Heaven - Jesus personally met the stranger at the well.
III. The Conversation with the Holy - Jesus offered favor to the woman.
IV. The Curiosity of the Hearer - She wanted to know who He was and how He was going to meet her need.
Tonight I want to share with you three more simple truths. First consider:
I. The Concession of the Samaritan - (verses 11 - 15)
Joh 4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? 12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? 13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
She may not have understood just what the Lord meant when He said to her, “I’ll give you water that is better than what you will draw from Jacob’s well,” but she understood enough to know that she could not find the water He is offering anywhere else.
So she conceded to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is more than one of the presidential candidates understands tonight. Oh that he would just concede to defeat and let the nation move on with the program at hand.
APP: That’s the truth of the gospel. Before we can experience the joy of forgiveness we too have to concede to the facts of our spiritual inadequacies. We cannot meet our spiritual needs by ourselves. That’s why we need a Savior. That’s why Jesus came. For spiritual success there must be spiritual concession.
The Concession - the Samaritan conceded to the Lord. Please notice secondly:
II. The Confrontation of the Samaritan - (verse 16-26)
She conceded to the Lord, but that was only the beginning. Jesus is going to deal with her past. Two things happened here. First, she was confronted with her:
A. Sin - (verses 16-18)
Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
APP: You cannot change your future until you deal with your past. Now if you want to lay the blame of your sins on everyone else you may, but it won’t do you a bit of good. You are responsible for your actions and yours along. Don’t worry about everyone else’s sins. God does not hold you accountable for their sins: only for your own. And God does not hold anyone else accountable for your sins.
Ro 14:10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
She was confronted with her sin. Next, she was confronted with her:
B. Savior - (verses 19-24)
Joh 4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. 26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
APP: Her sin was revealed, and her Savior was revealed: in that order. The truth is that you will not be able to accept Jesus until you are able to accept the fact of your sin. You will not see the need of a great Savior until you see the ugliness of your sin.
The Concession of the Samaritan - She conceded to the Lord, The Confrontation of the Samaritan - She came face to face with her sin and her Savior. Lastly, notice:
III. The Conversion of the Samaritan - (verses 27-29)
A. Confession - She believed on Jesus Christ.
Joh 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Although this is last in our text it is first in reality. You cannot commence in the Christ life until you confess Him as Savior and Lord. That is what she has done here. By the way, she was saved at the moment she believed, but now she gives evidence of her faith by telling someone else about it.
APP: When you get saved you don’t mind sharing it with others. If Jesus is your Savior and Lord you won’t mind telling others about that. We might be shy, but most of us manage to talk to others about other things. We should not mind sharing Christ with them either.
B. Commencement - She left her water pot.
Joh 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
She came to get some water from Jacob’s well, but she left her water pot without it. She went back into the city with another sort of water. It was the water that Jesus spoke to her of in their early conversation.
Joh 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
APP: One of the evidences of salvation is when people leave their old water pots behind. Why do they need them any longer? They have found real meaning in life. The old water pots that satisfied temporarily do not satisfy any longer. As a matter of fact, we don’t desire them any longer. All of a sudden, they have become useless and vague, and why not?
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The old water pots of the world cannot compare to the new ones found in Jesus Christ.
The Concession of the Samaritan Woman - She conceded to the Lord, The Confrontation of the Samaritan Woman - She came face to face with her sin and her Savior, The Conversion of the Samaritan Woman - She confessed Jesus as Christ and commenced by leaving her old water pot behind.
BI - “Jesus will go to any length and to any place to share the truth of the gospel to the lost. Shouldn’t we?”
Lessons from the Savior on Soul-winning
1] Caution - He refused to argue with her, and avoided theological entanglements.
2] Confrontation - He confronted her with the reality of her sinfulness.
3] Compassion - He avoided brow beating her with her sin. He loved her in spite of her sin.
4] Concentration - He stayed focused on the main thing.
5] Conclusion - He pointed her to Himself.
6] Closure - He drew the net.
